Brian E Walter - Blue Water War: Maritime Struggle in the Mediterranean and Middle East, 1940–1945

The large body of crystal blue water separating the European continent from Africa has been called many names throughout history. The ancient Egyptians referred to it as Wadj-Wer. The ancient Israelis primarily referred to it as HaYam HaGadol(Great Sea) in the Hebrew Bible. In classic Persian texts, it was referred to as Daryy-e m(the Western Sea or Syrian Sea). The ancient Greeks had many names for this body of water, including H Thlassa(the Sea), H Megl Thlassa(the Great Sea), H Hmtera Thlassa(Our Sea) or H Thlassa H KathHms(the sea around us). The Romans followed suit initially calling it Mare Magnum(Great Sea) or Mare Internum(Internal Sea), but eventually settled upon Mare Nostrum(Our Sea) with the rise of the Roman Empire. Ancient Arabic literature agreed with this sentiment generally referring to it as al-Rm()(the Sea of the Romans or the Roman Sea). Of course, in the modern western world, we have come to refer to this expanse of water as the Mediterranean Sea.

Stretching approximately 2,500 miles from east to west and varying in width from a few dozen to several hundred miles north to south, the Mediterranean Sea encompasses an area of roughly 965,000 square miles. While this clearly represents an immense regional presence, the Mediterranean is actually quite small compared to the worlds great oceans, making up only 0.7 percent of the worlds ocean surface. Another interesting fact regarding the Mediterranean is that it is almost entirely landlocked with its only natural access to the worlds outer oceans being the Strait of Gibraltar located on the extreme western side of the sea. This strait, which is a mere 8.1 miles across at its narrowest point, is positioned between the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco and provides a direct connection to the Atlantic Ocean. In 1869 the Mediterranean gained a second access point to the outer world when a European consortium completed and opened the Suez Canal through the Isthmus of Suez, thus connecting the Eastern Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. In turn, this development allowed the Mediterranean to become a viable transportation artery between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

While its relative size compared to the worlds oceans is limited, the Mediterraneans impact upon history has been immense. For more than three millennia, the region served as the focal point for the formation and advancement of western civilization.