History of the Middle East brought major protests, uprisings, and revolutions to several Middle Eastern countries, followed by prolonged civil wars in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya. In 2014, a terrorist group and self-proclaimed caliphate calling itself the Islamic State made rapid territorial gains in western Iraq and eastern Syria, prompting international military intervention. At its peak, the group controlled an area containing an estimated 2.8 to 8 million people, 98% of which was lost by December 2017. By country: General: Works cited History of the Middle East Home to the Cradle of Civilization, the Middle East (usually interchangeable with the Near East) has seen
Christianity in the Middle East Lebanese Civil War. The majority of self-identifying [[Arab American]]s are [[Eastern Rite Catholic]] or [[Orthodox Christian]], according to the [[Arab American Institute]]. On the other hand, most American Muslims are black (African Americans or Sub-Saharan Africans) or of South Asian (Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi) origin. The largest Christian community in the Middle East are the [[Copts]] of Egypt, whose churches are mainly divided into: Many Christians in the Middle East are [[Semitic people|Semitic]] followers of [[Syriac Christianity]], are ethnically and linguistically distinct from Arabs, and divided into: Christians, belonging mostly to [[Greek Orthodox]] and [[Melkite]] churches: All of them are