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History of Asia: Jump To Navigation Jump To Search

The history of Asia can be seen as the collective history of distinct coastal regions like East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia linked by the interior Eurasian steppe. Early civilizations developed around fertile river valleys in these coastal regions, sharing technologies. Nomadic groups inhabited the steppe and could reach all areas of Asia. Mountains, deserts, and grasslands separated the coastal regions from the interior. The spread of Islam led to the Islamic Golden Age and Timurid Renaissance, influencing later Islamic empires, while gunpowder was innovated in China and advanced warfare.

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214 views2 pages

History of Asia: Jump To Navigation Jump To Search

The history of Asia can be seen as the collective history of distinct coastal regions like East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia linked by the interior Eurasian steppe. Early civilizations developed around fertile river valleys in these coastal regions, sharing technologies. Nomadic groups inhabited the steppe and could reach all areas of Asia. Mountains, deserts, and grasslands separated the coastal regions from the interior. The spread of Islam led to the Islamic Golden Age and Timurid Renaissance, influencing later Islamic empires, while gunpowder was innovated in China and advanced warfare.

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Ronald
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History of Asia

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Contemporary political map of Asia

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 Outline of South Asian history for further details.
The coastal periphery was the home to some of the world's earliest known civilizations
and religions, with each of the 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, India, and 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.

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