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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 million square kilometers, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population, was the site of many of the first civilizations. Its 4.7 billion people constitute roughly 60% of the world's population.

Asia shares the landmass of Eurasia with Europe, and of Afro-Eurasia with both Europe and Africa. In general terms, it is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean, and on the north by the Arctic Ocean. The border of Asia with Europe is a historical and cultural construct, as there is no clear physical and geographical separation between them. It is somewhat arbitrary and has moved since its first conception in classical antiquity. The division of Eurasia into two continents reflects East–West cultural, linguistic, and ethnic differences, some of which vary on a spectrum rather than with a sharp dividing line. A commonly accepted division places Asia to the east of the Suez Canal separating it from Africa; and to the east of the Turkish Straits, the Ural Mountains and Ural River, and to the south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black seas, separating it from Europe.

China and India traded places as the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 CE. China was a major economic power for much of recorded history, with the highest GDP per capita until 1500. The Silk Road became the main east–west trading route in the Asian hinterlands while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route. Asia has exhibited economic dynamism as well as robust population growth during the 20th century, but overall population growth has since fallen. Asia was the birthplace of most of the world's mainstream religions including Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Jainism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, as well as many other religions. (Full article...)

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Eastern Hemisphere in AD 50, the middle of the first century

Sino-Roman relations comprised the (primarily indirect) contacts and flows of trade goods, information, and occasional travelers between the Roman Empire and the Han dynasty, as well as between the later Eastern Roman Empire and various successive Chinese dynasties that followed. These empires inched progressively closer to each other in the course of the Roman expansion into ancient Western Asia and of the simultaneous Han military incursions into Central Asia. Mutual awareness remained low, and firm knowledge about each other was limited. Surviving records document only a few attempts at direct contact. Intermediate empires such as the Parthians and Kushans, seeking to maintain control over the lucrative silk trade, inhibited direct contact between the two ancient Eurasian powers. In 97 AD, the Chinese general Ban Chao tried to send his envoy Gan Ying to Rome, but Parthians dissuaded Gan from venturing beyond the Persian Gulf. Ancient Chinese historians recorded several alleged Roman emissaries to China. The first one on record, supposedly either from the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius or from his adopted son Marcus Aurelius, arrived in 166 AD. Others are recorded as arriving in 226 and 284 AD, followed by a long hiatus until the first recorded Byzantine embassy in 643 AD.

The indirect exchange of goods on land along the Silk Road and sea routes involved (for example) Chinese silk, Roman glassware and high-quality cloth. Roman coins minted from the 1st century AD onwards have been found in China, as well as a coin of Maximian (Roman emperor from 286 to 305 AD) and medallions from the reigns of Antoninus Pius (r. 138–161 AD) and Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180 AD) in Jiaozhi (in present-day Vietnam), the same region at which Chinese sources claim the Romans first landed. Roman glassware and silverware have been discovered at Chinese archaeological sites dated to the Han period (202 BC to 220 AD). Roman coins and glass beads have also been found in the Japanese archipelago. (Full article...)

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Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about 331,000 square kilometres (128,000 sq mi) and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's fifteenth-most populous country. One of the two Marxist-Leninist states in Southeast Asia, Vietnam shares land borders with China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west. It shares maritime borders with Thailand through the Gulf of Thailand, and the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia through the South China Sea. Its capital is Hanoi and its largest city is Ho Chi Minh City (commonly known as Saigon).

Vietnam was inhabited by the Paleolithic age, with states established in the first millennium BC on the Red River Delta in modern-day northern Vietnam. The Han dynasty annexed Northern and Central Vietnam under Chinese rule from 111 BC, until the first dynasty emerged in 939. Successive monarchical dynasties absorbed Chinese influences through Confucianism and Buddhism, and expanded southward to the Mekong Delta, conquering Champa. During most of the 17th and 18th centuries, Vietnam was effectively divided into two domains of Đàng Trong and Đàng Ngoài. The Nguyễn—the last imperial dynasty—surrendered to France in 1883. In 1887, its territory was integrated into French Indochina as three separate regions. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, the nationalist coalition Viet Minh, led by the communist revolutionary Ho Chi Minh, launched the August Revolution and declared Vietnam's independence in 1945. (Full article...)

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Ambani in 2007

Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani (born 19 April 1957) is an Indian businessman and the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries. With an estimated net worth of $113.7 billion as of March 2024, he is the richest person in Asia and 11th richest in the world. Sometimes characterized as a plutocrat, he has attracted both fame and notoriety for reports of market manipulation, political corruption, cronyism, and exploitation. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Asia-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Byzantine and Sassanian Empires in 600 AD (from History of Asia)
Image 2The early Muslim conquests, 622–750 (from History of Asia)
Image 3Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 4Language families in South Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 5Daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng (from History of Asia)
Image 6A typical example of Dravidian architecture (from Culture of Asia)
Image 7Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jeruslam (from Culture of Asia)
Image 8Đại Việt, Champa, Angkor Empire and their neighbours, late 13th century (from History of Asia)
Image 9East Asian cultural sphere (from Culture of Asia)
Image 10Philippine cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 11Machiya in Heian period (from History of Asia)
Image 12Projected GDP of 7 largest economies in 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 13Map of Vietnam showing the conquest of the south (the Nam tiến, 1069–1757). (from History of Asia)
Image 14Ancient ziggurat, Iraq (from Culture of Asia)
Image 15Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757 by Francis Hayman (from History of Asia)
Image 16The Song dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 1200 (from History of Asia)
Image 17The Mughal ambassador Khan’Alam in 1618 negotiating with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran. (from History of Asia)
Image 18The Delhi Sultanate. (from History of Asia)
Image 19Indonesian Balinese cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 20Gyeonghoeru of Gyeongbokgung, the Joseon dynasty's royal palace. (from History of Asia)
Image 21Borobudur, a Buddhist temple in Indonesia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 22The Taj Mahal, Agra, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 23Angkor Wat, Khmer Empire (from Culture of Asia)
Image 24British troops taking Zhenjiang from Qing troops (from History of Asia)
Image 25Political cartoon depicting the Afghan Emir Sher Ali with the rival "friends" the Russian Bear and British Lion (1878) (from History of Asia)
Image 26Badshahi Mosque built under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 27Traditional Rajasthani garments from Jaipur, Rajasthan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 28The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830 by Hokusai, an example of art flourishing in the Edo Period (from History of Asia)
Image 29The Qing Empire in 1832. (from History of Asia)
Image 30Gojong (1852–1919), the 26th king of Joseon dynasty and the first emperor of Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 31The Han dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 32Chicken tikka, a well-known dish across the globe, reflects the South Asian cooking style. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 33Balhae in the north, Later Silla in the south (from History of Asia)
Image 34Invasions, destruction and possible population movements during the Late Bronze Age collapse, beginning c. 1200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 35The Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan, which was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010 (from Asian Century)
Image 36The Grand Mosque in Kuwait City, one of the largest mosques in the region (from Culture of Asia)
Image 37Map of Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 38Detail of the Dragon Throne used by the Qianlong Emperor of China, Forbidden City, Qing dynasty. Artifact circulating in U.S. museums on loan from Beijing (from Culture of Asia)
Image 39Sculpture of Prince Shōtoku (from History of Asia)
Image 40The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling (from Culture of Asia)
Image 41Daian-ji temple at Nara, Japan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 42Political map of Asia in 1860 (from History of Asia)
Image 43Detail 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. (from History of Asia)
Image 44Here a Jesuit, Adam Schall von Bell (1592–1666), is dressed as an official of the Chinese Department of Astronomy. (from History of Asia)
Image 45Tang dynasty Chinese poet Li Bai, in a 13th-century depiction by Liang Kai (from Culture of Asia)
Image 46The Russian Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen built in 1768 (from Culture of Asia)
Image 47Korean peninsula in 476 AD. There are three kingdoms and Gaya Union in the picture. This picture shows the heyday of Goguryeo (from History of Asia)
Image 48Hinduism expansion in Asia, from its heartland in Indian Subcontinent, to the rest of Asia, especially Southeast Asia, started circa 1st century marked with the establishment of early Hindu settlements and polities in Southeast Asia. (from History of Asia)
Image 49The First Persian Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 50A stone image of the Buddha (from Culture of Asia)
Image 51Kabsa also called Majboos, famous in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates (from Culture of Asia)
Image 52Sun temple at Konarka, Odisha, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 53The third Inter-Korean Summit, which was held in 2018, between South Korean president Moon Jae-in and North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un. It was a historical event that symbolized the peace of Asia. (from History of Asia)
Image 54Population concentration and boundaries of the Western Zhou dynasty in China (from History of Asia)
Image 55A view of the Fort St George in 18th-century Madras. (from History of Asia)
Image 56A Confucian ritual ceremony in Jeju, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 57Projected shares of global GDP by region to 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 58The Hindu-Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat. (from History of Asia)
Image 59the Goryeo ware, which shows splendid culture of Goryeo in mediaeval Korea. (from History of Asia)
Image 60The global contribution to world's GDP by major economies from 1 AD to 2003 AD according to Angus Maddison's estimates. Before 18th century, China and India were the two largest economies by GDP output. (from Asian Century)
Image 61The Qing conquest of the Ming and expansion of the empire (from History of Asia)
Image 62Some henges at Göbekli Tepe in Turkey were erected as far back as 9600 BC, predating those of Stonehenge, by over seven millennia. (from History of Asia)
Image 63Battle of Talas between Tang dynasty and Abbasid Caliphate c. 751 (from History of Asia)
Image 64The Silk Road in Asia (from History of Asia)
Image 65India's middle-class population of 300 million is growing at an annual rate of 5%. Shown here is an upmarket area in South Mumbai. (from Asian Century)
Image 66Deoksugung, the palace where Emperor Gojong established Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 67Map of Asia for early 20th century (from History of Asia)
Image 68The Syriac Orthodox Saint Ahoadamah Church was a 7th-century church building in the city of Tikrit, one of the oldest in the world until its destruction by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on 25 September 2014. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 69Map of Marco Polo's travels (from History of Asia)

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Featured picture

Harmandir Sahib

Credit: Paul Rudd

A Sikh pilgrim at the Harmandir Sahib, known informally as the "Golden Temple", located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India. The temple is the best-known of the Sikh gurdwaras and was completed in 1604. In the early nineteenth century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh covered the upper floors of the gurdwara with gold, giving it its distinctive appearance.

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Did you know...

... that although he was a former Indonesian prime minister, Soekiman Wirjosandjojo was not arrested during a political purge as he was considered a non-threat?
... that Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, India's second Muslim president, was also the second Indian president to die in office?
... that the Empire of Japan turned a Korean royal cemetery at what is now Hyochang Park into a golf course?
... that Levantine Arabic is often written in Hebrew characters online by Bedouin, Arab Christians, and Druze in Israel?
... that Ein Samiya, which provides the water for Taybeh, the first beer brewed in Palestine, was depopulated in 2023 after harassment by neighboring Israeli settlers?
... that the popularity of "10 Minutes" by Korean singer Lee Hyori led to 2003 being dubbed the "year of Hyori" by domestic media?
... that Sun Haiyan is the first Chinese ambassador to Singapore who was not a member of the Foreign Ministry of China?
... that University of Nebraska alumnus M. Khalid Roashan helped draft the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan?
... that the Pakistani film Shehr e Tabassum was the first animated cyberpunk film to be made by an Urdu development team?
... that the Te'omim Cave in Israel was home to a Bronze Age alabaster quarry, a refuge cave during the Jewish–Roman wars, and a possible center for necromantic activity in late antiquity?

Updated: 6:33, 14 February 2024

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In the news

26 June 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip; An Israeli airstrike on a home in Beit Lahiya in North Gaza kills at least 15 Palestinians. (Al Jazeera)
26 June 2024 –: Two days of heavy rains in Nepal kills 20 people. (Reuters)
25 June 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip; Israeli airstrikes kill at least 24 people in Gaza City, including ten family members of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
25 June 2024 – Russo–Ukrainian War: Russia and Ukraine each return 90 prisoners of war in a prisoner exchange mediated by the United Arab Emirates. (Reuters)

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Major Religions in Asia

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Credit: KennyOMG

The Indus River (locally called Sindhu) is one of the longest rivers in Asia. Originating in the Tibetan Plateau in the vicinity of Lake Manasarovar, the river runs a course through the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, India, towards the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Kashmir and the Hindukush ranges, and then flows in a southerly direction along the entire length of Pakistan to merge into the Arabian Sea near the port city of Karachi in Sindh.

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