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Detail of Chinese silk from the 4th century BCE. The characteristic trade of silk through the Silk Road connected various regions from China, India, Central Asia, and the Middle East to Europe and Africa.
The history of Asia can be seen as the collective history of several distinct peripheral coastal regions such as East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East linked by the interior mass of the Eurasian steppe. See History of the Middle East and History of the Indian Subcontinent for further details on those regions.
The coastal periphery was the home to some of the world's earliest known civilizations and religions, with each of three regions developing early civilizations around fertile river valleys. These valleys were fertile because the soil there was rich and could bear many root crops. The civilizations in Mesopotamia, ancient India, and ancient China shared many similarities and likely exchanged technologies and ideas such as mathematics and the wheel. Other notions such as that of writing likely developed individually in each area. Cities, states, and then empires developed in these lowlands.
The steppe region had long been inhabited by mounted nomads, and from the central steppes, they could reach all areas of the Asian continent. The northern part of the continent, covering much of Siberia was also inaccessible to the steppe nomads due to the dense forests and the tundra. These areas in Siberia were very sparsely populated.
The centre and periphery were kept separate by mountains and deserts. The Caucasus, Himalaya, Karakum Desert, and Gobi Desert formed barriers that the steppe horsemen could only cross with difficulty. While technologically and culturally the city dwellers were more advanced, they could do little militarily to defend against the mounted hordes of the steppe. However, the lowlands did not have enough open grasslands to support a large horsebound force. Thus the nomads who conquered states in the Middle East were soon forced to adapt to the local societies.
The spread of Islam waved the Islamic Golden Age and the Timurid Renaissance, which later influenced the age of Islamic gunpowder empires.
Asia's history features major developments seen in other parts of the world, as well as events that have affected those other regions. These include the trade of the Silk Road, which spread cultures, languages, religions, and diseases throughout Afro-Eurasian trade. Another major advancement was the innovation of gunpowder in medieval China, later developed by the Gunpowder empires, mainly by the Mughals and Safavids, which led to advanced warfare through the use of guns.
The historyofAsia can be seen as the collective historyof several distinct peripheral coastal regions such as East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and...
The historyof Southeast Asia covers the people of Southeast Asia from prehistory to the present in two distinct sub-regions: Mainland Southeast Asia (or...
HistoryofAsia in the 2020s covers history on the continent, other than elections, from 2020 onwards. The Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan...
South Asia is the southern subregion ofAsia, which is defined in both geographical and ethnic-cultural terms. As commonly conceptualized, the modern states...
historyofAsian art includes a vast range of arts from various cultures, regions, and religions across the continent ofAsia. The major regions of Asia...
The historyof Central Asia concerns the historyof the various peoples that have inhabited Central Asia. The lifestyle of such people has been determined...
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East Asia generally encompasses the historiesof China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, and Taiwan from prehistoric times to the present. Each of its countries...
Asian American history is the historyof ethnic and racial groups in the United States who are ofAsian descent. The term "Asian American" was an idea...
outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the historyof South Asia: Historyof South Asia – South Asia refers to the broader region in...
Ancient history in Asia is usually taken to include Southwest Asia The Ancient Near East Historyof Iran, from Elam to the Persian Empire South Asia Ancient...
Asian Australian history is the historyofAsian ethnic and racial groups in Australia who trace their ancestry to Asia. The term Asian Australian, was...
Inner Asia refers to the northern and landlocked regions spanning North, Central and East Asia. It includes parts of western and northeast China, as well...
decolonisation ofAsia was the gradual growth of independence movements in Asia, leading ultimately to the retreat of foreign powers and the creation of several...
Asia (/ˈeɪʒə/ AY-zhə, UK also /ˈeɪʃə/ AY-shə) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44...
Christianity in Asia has its roots in the very inception of Christianity, which originated from the life and teachings of Jesus in 1st-century Roman Judea...
makeup and population historyof East Asian peoples and their connection to genetically related populations (i.e. Southeast Asians, Siberians, Polynesians...
number of adherents of Islam have lived in Asia especially in West Asia and South Asia since the beginning of Islamic history. The spread of Islam outside...
The historyof Eurasia is the collective historyof a continental area with several distinct peripheral coastal regions: Southwest Asia, South Asia, East...
The evolution and historyof women in Asia coincide with the evolution and historyofAsian continent itself. They also correspond with the cultures that...
list of wars and conflicts in Asia, particularly East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Russia. For a list of conflicts in Southwest Asia, Asia Pacific...
Asian immigration to the United States refers to immigration to the United States from part of the continent ofAsia, which includes East Asia, South Asia...
This is a chronology of the early European exploration ofAsia. 515 BC: Scylax explores the Indus and the sea route across the Indian Ocean to Egypt....
East Asia originated in China, evolving from ink rubbings made on paper or cloth from texts on stone tablets, used during the sixth century. A type of printing...
East Asia is a region ofAsia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia...
Genetics and archaeogenetics of South Asia is the study of the genetics and archaeogenetics of the ethnic groups of South Asia. It aims at uncovering these...
from other parts of Asia. In the 16th century, the historyof Bali started to be marked by Western influence with the arrival of Europeans, to become...
1997 Asian financial crisis The 1997 Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East and Southeast Asia during the late...
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