Middle East

• Assyria
  • Assyria — Ancient empire in Mesopotamia; founded by Ninus and Semiramis as the first world monarchy
  • Nineveh — Capital of the Assyrian Empire; Jonah called it to repentance and under its name announced salvation to the nations
• Egypt
  • Alexandria — Major port city in Egypt; great center of learning in the ancient world
  • Memphis — Ancient Egyptian city; site of prophets/priests whom Pythagoras visited
• Iraq
  • Mesopotamia (alias)
• Israel
  • Bethlehem (alias)
  • Jerusalem (alias)
• Jordan
  • Plains of Moab (alias)
• Mesopotamia
  • Babylon — Capital of the Babylonian Empire; heard the voice of the exiled saints of Judah on the banks of its rivers
  • Nisibis — City in upper Mesopotamia (modern southeastern Turkey); site of schools of sacred Scripture established in the time of Emperor Justinian
• Palestine
  • Bethlehem — Town in Palestine; sought by St. Jerome as his place of study and asceticism
  • Cana — Village in Galilee; site of the wedding feast where Jesus performed his first miracle
  • Cedron — Valley and seasonal watercourse east of Jerusalem; Jesus crossed it on the night of his arrest
  • Galilee — Northern region of Palestine; where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount and conducted much of his public ministry
  • Jericho — Ancient city in Palestine; an anonymous translation of Scripture was found in jars there in the 7th year of Caracalla
  • Jerusalem — Holy city in Palestine; destination of St. Lietbert's pilgrimage
  • Jordan — Principal river of Palestine; Joshua crossed it to enter the promised land; Jesus was baptized in it by John the Baptist
  • Judea — Southern region of Palestine; where Jesus spoke and lived during his public ministry
  • Moresheth — Town in Judah; birthplace of the prophet Micah
  • Nazareth — Town in Galilee; where Jesus grew up in the obscure house of an artisan
  • Palestine — The biblical Holy Land; location of Jerome's Bethlehem and a region full of followers of monastic life
  • Samaria — Capital of the northern kingdom of Israel; mentioned by Jerome in connection with Hosea and Amos
  • Zion — Hill in Jerusalem; symbol of the holy city and the people of God
• Syria
  • Antioch — Major city of the Roman East; one of the first centers of Christianity
  • Damascus — Ancient city in Syria; Paul visited Damascus and Arabia before going up to Jerusalem to see Peter
• Arabia — Region east and south of Palestine; Paul visited Arabia after his conversion, before going to Jerusalem
• Edom — Region south of Judea inhabited by the descendants of Esau (Edomites)
• Egypt — Ancient land; place of Moses' captivity under Pharaoh and a region full of monastic life
• Lebanon — Mountain region in the ancient Near East; referenced in Isaiah 40 as a biblical illustration of God's immensity
• Mesopotamia — Ancient region between the Tigris and Euphrates; named as full of followers of monastic Christian philosophy
• Moab — Ancient kingdom east of the Dead Sea; its leaders are struck in Balaam's prophecy of Christ
• Persia — Ancient empire east of Mesopotamia; Apollonius entered Persia on his journey eastward
• Phoenicia — Ancient coastal region on the eastern Mediterranean; Cadmus was the first to bring Greek letters from Phoenicia to the Greeks
• Tyre — Ancient Phoenician port city; Ezekiel describes the wealth and fall of its king