Near East

• Type: Geographical Region
• Location: A real-world geographical term referring to the region at the crossroads of Western Asia, Southeastern Europe, and Northeastern Africa.
• Owner/Residents: Unspecified Witches and Wizards.
• Key Features: Known in Wizarding World history as the site of a significant and disastrous magical event.

The Near East is a region on Earth known to both Muggles and wizards. In wizarding history, it is primarily remembered as the location of a calamitous incident referred to by Ludo Bagman as “that business in the Near East.” While the specifics of this event are never detailed, its mention is used to illustrate the extreme dangers associated with large-scale international magical cooperation in centuries past. When discussing the history of the Triwizard Tournament before its revival in 1994, Ludo Bagman lists the Near East incident alongside another disaster where a cockatrice went on a rampage in 1792, injuring the Heads of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. The fact that the two events are mentioned in the same context suggests the incident in the Near East was of a comparable or even greater magnitude, contributing to the discontinuation of the Triwizard Tournament for nearly two centuries. The exact date and nature of the event remain unknown.

The “business in the Near East” serves as a piece of historical lore that enriches the backstory of the Wizarding World. Its only mention, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, functions to build suspense and underscore the real dangers that led to the cancellation of the original Triwizard Tournament. This vague but ominous reference highlights that the wizarding community has a long and often-violent history, filled with disasters that predate the modern era of regulated magic governed by bodies like the Ministry of Magic and the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. It effectively establishes the high stakes of the revived Tournament and provides historical context for the safety measures put in place by Bartemius Crouch Sr. and Ludo Bagman.

There are no specific wizarding locations, such as villages, schools, or residences, explicitly mentioned as being located within the Near East in the novels.

The use of a real-world geographical region like the Near East is a world-building technique J.K. Rowling employs to ground the magical world within our own, suggesting that wizarding history has unfolded across the entire globe. By leaving the details of “that business” ambiguous, she creates a sense of a vast and deep history that extends far beyond the main narrative, inviting reader speculation without needing to provide a full exposition.