Historical regions (or historical areas) are
geographical region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
s which at some point in time had a
cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...
,
ethnic
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
,
linguistic
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
or
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing social development of
period
Period may refer to:
Common uses
* Era, a length or span of time
* Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Period (music), a concept in musical composition
* Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...
-specific cultures without any reference to contemporary political, economic or social organisations.
The fundamental principle underlying this view is that older political and mental structures exist which exercise greater influence on the spatial-social identity of individuals than is understood by the contemporary world, bound to and often blinded by its own worldview - e.g. the focus on the nation-state.
Definitions of regions vary,
[xiii, Tägil] and regions can include
macroregion A macroregion is a geopolitical subdivision that encompasses several traditionally or politically defined regions or countries. The meaning may vary, with the common denominator being cultural, economical, historical or social similarity within a ma ...
s such as Europe, territories of traditional
states or smaller
microregion
Microregion is a designation for territorial entities.
Austria
*Microregion (Tyrol)
Brazil
* Microregion (Brazil)
Klaus Roth and Ulf Brunnbauer
A microregion is a geographic region of a size between that of a community and that of a district.p. ...
al areas. A geographic proximity is the often required precondition for emergence of a
regional identity.
In Europe, the regional identities are often derived from the
Migration Period
The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...
but for the contemporary perspective are often related to the
1918–1920 time of territorial transformation, and another in the
post-Cold War period.
Some regions are entirely invented, such as the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
in 1902 by a
military strategist
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
,
Alfred Thayer Mahan
Alfred Thayer Mahan (; September 27, 1840 – December 1, 1914) was a United States naval officer and historian, whom John Keegan called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His book '' The Influence of Sea Power ...
, to refer to the area of the Persian Gulf.
[p. 65, Lewis, Wigen]
Lists
*
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
*
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
*
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
* Denmark (
Lands
Land is the solid surface of the Earth that is not covered by water.
Land, lands, The Land, or the Lands may also refer to:
Entertainment and media Film
* ''Land'' (1987 film), a British television film by Barry Collins
* ''Land'' (2018 film), ...
/
Districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
)
* Finland (
Historical
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
/
Former)
* Greece (
Ancient
Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian language, Sumerian c ...
/
Traditional
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
/
Geographic)
*
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
*
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
*
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
* Sweden (
Lands
Land is the solid surface of the Earth that is not covered by water.
Land, lands, The Land, or the Lands may also refer to:
Entertainment and media Film
* ''Land'' (1987 film), a British television film by Barry Collins
* ''Land'' (2018 film), ...
/
Provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
)
*
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
References
Works cited
* Sven Tägil, (ed.), ''Regions in Central Europe: The Legacy of History'', C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1999
* Marko Lehti, David James Smith, ''Post-Cold War Identity Politics: Northern and Baltic Experiences'', Routledge, 2003
* Compiled by V. M. Kotlyakov, A. I. Komarova, ''Elsevier's dictionary of geography: in English, Russian, French, Spanish, German'', Elsevier, 2006
* Martin W. Lewis, Kären Wigen, ''The Myth of Continents: A Critique of
Metageography'', University of California Press, 1997
Further reading
* Susan Smith-Peter, ''Imagining Russian Regions: Subnational Identity and Civil Society in Nineteenth-Century Russia'', Brill, 2017
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