Pita or pitta (/ˈpitə/ or US /ˈpiːtə/) also known as Arabic Bread or Lebanese Bread or Syrian Bread, is a soft, slightly leavened flatbread baked from wheat flour that originated in the Near East, most probably Mesopotamia around 2500 BC. It is used in many Mediterranean, Balkan and Middle Eastern cuisines and resembles other slightly leavened flatbreads such as Iranian nan-e barbari, South Asian flatbreads, Central Asian naan, and pizza crust.