 By Rome's central location at the heart of the Empire, ""West"" and "East" were terms used to denote provinces west and east of the capital itself.Therefore, Iberia (Portugal and Spain), Gaul (France), the Mediterranean coast of North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco) and Britannia were all part of the ""West"", while Greece, Cyprus, Anatolia, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, and Libya were part of the "East".Italy itself was considered central, until the reforms of Diocletian dividing the Empire into true two halves