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The Orient

When the Romans referred to "The Orient" , they were speaking about a different region from the area we think of as the Orient today. The Romans considered the Near East and Middle East to be the Orient, as well as the mysterious lands of China and India much farther east. Their Orient consisted of Persia, Syria, Mesopotamia, Tyre, Sidon, Phoenicia, and sometimes Egypt. Judea was also considered to be an Oriental province. Today, we do not think of Jewish people as being Orientals, but the Romans make reference to Oriental Judea numerous times in surviving written accounts.


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