Editing Levant (section)

==Geography and modern-day use of the term==
[[File:Levant - Satellite.png|thumb|Satellite view of the Levant including [[Cyprus]], [[Syria]], [[Lebanon]], [[Israel]], [[Palestine]], [[Jordan]] and the Northern [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] ([[Egypt]])]]

Today, "Levant" is the term typically used by archaeologists and historians with reference to the history of the region. Scholars have adopted the term Levant to identify the region due to its being a "wider, yet relevant, cultural corpus" that does not have the "political overtones" of Syria-Palestine.{{efn|"Nevertheless, despite such a well-reasoned basis for the identification of Levantine archaeology, the adoption of this term by many scholars has been, for the most part, simply the result of individual attempts to consider a wider, yet relevant, cultural corpus than that which is suggested by the use of terms like Canaan, Israel, or even Syria-Palestine. Regardless of the manner in which the term has come into common use, for a couple of additional reasons it seems clear that the Levant will remain the term of choice. In the first place scholars have shown a penchant for the term Levant, despite the fact that the term 'Syria-Palestine' has been advocated since the late 1970s. This is evident from the fact that no journal or series today has adopted a title that includes 'Syria-Palestine'. However, the journal ''Levant'' has been published since 1969 and since 1990, ''Ägypten und Levante'' has also attracted a plethora of papers relating to the archaeology of this region. Furthermore, a search through any electronic database of titles reveals an overwhelming adoption of the term 'Levant' when compared to 'Syria-Palestine' for archaeological studies. Undoubtedly, this is mostly due to the fact that 'Syria-Palestine' was a Roman administrative division of the Levant created by Hadrian (Millar 1993). The term 'Syria-Palestine' also carries political overtones that inadvertently evoke current efforts to establish a full-fledged Palestinian state. Scholars have recognized, therefore, that—for at least the time being—they can spare themselves further headaches by adopting the term Levant to identify this region" {{harv|Burke|2010|p=}}{{page needed|date=April 2017}}<!--efn--> }}{{efn|"At the beginning of this Introduction I have indicated how difficult it is to choose a general accepted name for the region this book deals with. In Europe we are used to the late Roman name 'Palestine,' and the designation 'Palestinian Archaeology' has a long history. According to Byzantine usage it included CisJordan and TransJordan and even Lebanon and Sinai. In modern times, however, the name 'Palestine' has exclusively become the political designation for a restricted area. Furthermore, in the period this book deals with a region called 'Palestine' did not yet exist. Also the ancient name 'Canaan' cannot be used as it refers to an older period in history. Designations as: 'The Land(s) of the Bible' or 'the Holy Land' evoke the suspicion of a theological bias. 'The Land of Israel' does not apply to the situation because it never included Lebanon or the greater part of modern Jordan. Therefore I have joined those who today advocate the designation 'Southern Levant.' Although I confess that it is an awkward name, it is at least strictly geographical." {{harv|Geus|2003|p=6}}<!--efn-->}} The term is also used for modern events, peoples, states or parts of states in the same region, namely [[Cyprus]], [[Egypt]], [[Iraq]], [[Israel]], [[Jordan]], [[Lebanon]], [[Palestine]], [[Syria]], and [[Turkey]] are sometimes considered Levant countries (compare with [[Near East]], [[Middle East]], [[Eastern Mediterranean]] and [[West Asia]]).{{citation needed|date=June 2024}} Several researchers include the island of [[Cyprus]] in Levantine studies, including the [[Council for British Research in the Levant]],<ref>{{cite web|author=Sandra Rosendahl |url=http://www.cbrl.org.uk/ |title=Council for British Research in the Levant homepage |publisher=Cbrl.org.uk |date=2006-11-28 |access-date=2010-07-05}}</ref> the [[UCLA]] Near Eastern Languages and Cultures department,<ref>[http://www.nelc.ucla.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=98 Biblical and Levantine studies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206044808/http://www.nelc.ucla.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=98 |date=6 December 2013 }}, [[UCLA]]</ref> ''[[Journal of Levantine Studies]]''<ref>{{cite journal |title=About JLS |journal=Journal of Levantine Studies |url=http://www.levantine-journal.org/AboutJLS.aspx |date=2022 |access-date=2024-05-18}}</ref> and the [[University College London|UCL]] Institute of Archaeology,<ref name=UCL>[https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20060514092649/http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/ The Ancient Levant], [[University College London|UCL]] Institute of Archaeology, May 2008</ref> the last of which has dated the connection between Cyprus and mainland Levant to the early [[Iron Age]]. Archaeologists seeking a neutral orientation that is neither biblical nor national have used terms such as [[Levantine archaeology]] and archaeology of the [[Southern Levant]].<ref name=DeverEncyclopedia>Dever, William G. "Syro-Palestinian and Biblical Archaeology", pp. 1244–1253.</ref><ref name= Sharon>Sharon, Ilan "Biblical archaeology" in ''Encyclopedia of Archaeology'' Elsevier.</ref>

While the usage of the term "Levant" in academia has been restricted to the fields of archeology and literature, there is a recent attempt to reclaim the notion of the Levant as a category of analysis in political and social sciences. Two academic journals were launched in the early 2010s using the word: the ''Journal of Levantine Studies'', published by the [[Van Leer Jerusalem Institute]]<ref>Anat Lapidot-Firilla, "Editor's Note", ''Journal of Levantine Studies'' '''1''':1:5-12 (Summer 2011) [https://levantine-journal.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/jls-summer2011_Editor-1.pdf full text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919115635/https://levantine-journal.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/jls-summer2011_Editor-1.pdf |date=19 September 2020 }}</ref> and ''The Levantine Review'', published by [[Boston College]].<ref>Franck Salameh, "From the Editors", ''The Levantine Review'' '''1''':1:1-6 (Spring 2012), {{doi|10.6017/lev.v1i1.2154}}, [https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/levantine/article/view/2154/1796 full text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828033742/https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/levantine/article/view/2154/1796 |date=28 August 2020 }}</ref>

The word ''Levant'' has been used in some translations of the term ''ash-Shām'' as used by the organization known as [[Names of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIL, ISIS, and other names]], though there is disagreement as to whether this translation is accurate.<ref name=BBC2015>{{cite news |last= Irshaid |first= Faisal |title= Isis, Isil, IS or Daesh? One group, many names |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=2 December 2015 |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-27994277 |access-date=21 July 2018}}</ref>

===In archaeology: a definition===
In ''The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: c. 8000–332 BCE'' (OHAL; 2013), the definition of the Levant for the specific purposes of the book is synonymous to that of the Arabic "''bilad al-sham'', 'the land of sham [Syria]'", translating in Western parlance to [[greater Syria]].<ref name=OHAL2/> OHAL defines the boundaries of the Levant as follows.<ref name=OHAL2/><ref name=OHAL9/>
* To the north: the [[Taurus Mountains]]<ref name=OHAL2/> or the [[Amik Valley|Plain of 'Amuq]]<ref name=OHAL9/>
* To the east: the eastern deserts, i.e. (from north to south) the Euphrates and the [[Jebel Bishri|Jebel el-Bishrī]] area for the northern Levant, followed by the [[Syrian Desert]] east of the eastern hinterland of the [[Anti-Lebanon]] range (whose southernmost part is [[Mount Hermon]]), and [[Transjordan (region)|Transjordan]]'s highlands and eastern desert (also discussed at Syrian Desert, also known as the [[Badia (region)|Badia region]]).<ref name=OHAL9/> In other words, Mesopotamia and the North [[Arabian Desert]].<ref name=OHAL2/>
* To the south: [[Wadi al-Arish]] in Sinai<ref name=OHAL9/>
* To the west: the Mediterranean Sea<ref name=OHAL2/>

;Subregions
A distinction is made between the main subregions of the Levant, the northern and the southern:<ref name=OHAL9/>
* The [[Litani River]] marks the division between the [[Northern Levant]] and the [[Southern Levant]].<ref name=OHAL9/>
The island of Cyprus is also included as a third subregion in the archaeological region of the Levant:<ref name=OHAL9/>
* Cyprus, geographically distinct from the Levant, is included due to its proximity and natural resources (copper in particular), which induced close cultural ties.<ref name=OHAL9/>