Orient Middle East or the Far East. The term Oriental is often used to describe objects from the Orient. However, given its Eurocentric connotations and shifting, inaccurate definition through the ages, it is generally considered offensive as a label for people from Asia. The term "Orient" derives from the Latin word "oriens" meaning "east" (lit. "rising" < "orior" " rise"). The use of the word for "rising" to refer to the east (where the sun rises) has analogs from many languages: compare the terms "Levant" (< French "levant" "rising"), "Vostok" (< Russian "voskhod" "sunrise"), "Anatolia" (< Greek "anatole"), "mizrahi" in Hebrew
Religions of the ancient Near East justified to summarize the whole region under a single term, but that does not mean, of course, that each historical period and each region should not be looked at individually for a detailed description. This article will attempt to outline the common traits of ancient Near Eastern religions, and refer to sub-articles for in-depth descriptions. The ancient Near East includes the following subregions: The earliest sources, from c. 2500 BC, allow glimpses of Sumerian religion and ancient Egyptian religion. Early Hittite religion bore traits descended from Proto-Indo-European religion, but the later Hittite religions became more and more assimilated to Mesopotamian