Levant

The Levant (/ləˈvænt/; Arabic: المشرق /ʔal-maʃriq/) is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the eastern Mediterranean. In its widest historical sense, the Levant included all of the eastern Mediterranean with its islands, that is, it included all of the countries along the eastern Mediterranean shores, extending from Greece to Cyrenaica. The term Levant entered English in the late 15th century from French. It derives from the Italian Levante, meaning "rising", implying the rising of the sun in the east. As such, it is broadly equivalent to the Arabic term Mashriq, 'the land where the sun rises'. The western counterpart in Arabic is the Maghreb, and Ponente in Italian, meaning 'west, where the sun sets'.

In the 13th and 14th centuries, the term levante was used for Italian maritime commerce in the eastern Mediterranean, including Greece, Anatolia, Syria-Palestine, and Egypt, that is, the lands east of Venice. Eventually the term was restricted to the Muslim countries of Syria-Palestine and Egypt. In 1581 England set up the Levant Company to monopolize commerce with the Ottoman Empire.

Levant (wind)

The levant (Catalan: Llevant, Italian: Levante, Maltese: Lvant, Greek: Λεβάντες, Spanish: Levante) is an easterly wind that blows in the western Mediterranean Sea and southern France, an example of mountain-gap wind. In Roussillon it is called "llevant" and in Corsica "levante". In the western Mediterranean, particularly when the wind blows through the Strait of Gibraltar, it is called the Viento de Levante or the Levanter. It is also known as the Solano.

When blowing moderately or strongly, the levant causes heavy swells on the Mediterranean. Usually gentle and damp, the levant frequently brings clouds and rain. When it brings good weather, it is known as the "levant blanc".

The origin of the name is the same as the origin of the Levant, the region of the eastern Mediterranean: it is the Middle French word "levant", the participle of lever "to raise" — as in soleil levant "rising sun" — from the Latin levare. It thus referred to the Eastern direction of the rising sun.

Etymology

Council for British Research in the Levant

The Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) was established to promote, sponsor and carry out high quality research in the Levant in the Humanities and Social Sciences. It was formed in 1998 with the amalgamation of the British Institute at Amman for Archaeology and History and the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem.
Since 2003, the British Institute (Amman) and the Kenyon Institute in Jerusalem has been providing researchers with access to research labs, accommodation, libraries and computing equipment, but most importantly gives membership to a diverse community of scholars at all career stages from many countries working in different fields, all with a passion for the research they conduct.

Purpose and activities

The CBRL promotes the study of the humanities and social sciences (e.g. archaeology, geography, history, literature, linguistics, social anthropology) as relevant to the countries of the Levant (Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories and Syria), and especially for contemporary issues such as the Arab uprisings, includes research being conducted in a much wider area, including Egypt and North Africa.