The term Eastern can have multiple meanings depending on its context. Most modern uses of the term refer to Eastern philosophy, Eastern or Asian countries, Eastern history or ancient Asian culture, typically also including those countries whose ethnic identity and their dominant culture derive from ancient Asian culture. Thus, in various contexts, the term "Eastern" may refer to something that came from the East.
Culturally, the term is usually associated with a tradition that traces its origins to ancient Indian and East Asian thought and religions like Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Jainism and Taoism. Cornerstones in this tradition are beliefs in spiritual, karmic, or ancestral forces.
In many sources the term "Eastern Europe" still encompasses most, or all, such European countries that until the end of the "Cold War" (around 1989) were under communist regimes or direct Soviet control, i.e., the former "Eastern Bloc".
The term "Eastern Europe" first arose in the 19th century and was used to describe an area that was falling behind the rest of Europe economically.
Most of Europe's historically Protestant and Roman Catholic countries (with the exception of Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Croatia, and the various European microstates) were now EU members, while most of Europe's historically Eastern Orthodox countries (with the exception of Greece and Cyprus) were outside the EU.
The previously communist countries of Central Europe became included in the era of the Cold War: Historical lands and provinces in Central Europe Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe.
Categories: Eastern Europe A subregion is a conceptual unit which derives from a larger region or continent and is usually based on location.
A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.
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