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145-793: 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

290-553: A European one. Its hegemony was the heart of an empire that would include Taiwan and Korea . During World War II, Japanese expansionism with its imperialist aspirations through the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere would incorporate Korea, Taiwan, much of eastern China and Manchuria, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia under its control establishing itself as a maritime colonial power in East Asia. After

435-404: A bufferstate to the independent Assyrians in the east. Tell Halaf became a Hittite city led by the viceroy of Carchemish. Ramesses III of Egypt states in an inscription dating to his 8th Year from his Medinet Habu mortuary temple that Carchemish was destroyed by the "Sea Peoples". This was a period of climate change and social unrest caused by drought, weakening the central powers, and marking

580-501: A century of exploitation by the European and Japanese colonialists, post-colonial East Asia saw the defeat and occupation of Japan by the victorious Allies as well as the division of China and Korea during the Cold War . The Korean peninsula became independent but then it was divided into two rival states , while Taiwan became the main territory of de facto state Republic of China after

725-450: A common writing system reflected in the histories of Japan and Korea . The Imperial Chinese tributary system was the bedrock of network of trade and foreign relations between China and its East Asian tributaries, which helped to shape much of East Asian affairs during the ancient and medieval eras. Through the tributary system, the various dynasties of Imperial China facilitated frequent economic and cultural exchange that influenced

870-503: A contrasting independent nature compared to the Chinese women who continued to be suppressed. Mongol women often rode out on hunts or even to war. Kublai's wife, Chabi , was a perfect example of this; Chabi advised her husband on several political and diplomatic matters; she convinced him that the Chinese were to be respected and well-treated in order to make them easier to rule. However, this was not enough to affect Chinese women's position, and

1015-613: A decline in its popularity occurred. The Kushan Empire would fall apart by 220 AD, creating more political turmoil in India. Then in 320, the Gupta Empire (Sanskrit: गुप्त राजवंश, Gupta Rājavanśha) was established and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta , the dynasty was the model of a classical civilization. Gupta kings united the area primarily through negotiation of local leaders and families as well as strategical intermarriage. Their rule covered less land than

1160-597: A direct result of growing Chinese contact and influences. In 603, Prince Shōtoku of the Yamato dynasty began significant political and cultural changes. He issued the Seventeen-article constitution in 604, centralizing power towards the emperor (under the title tenno , or heavenly sovereign) and removing the power to levy taxes from provincial lords. Shōtoku was also a patron of Buddhism and he encouraged building temples competitively. Shōtoku's reforms transitioned Japan to

1305-512: A high level of town planning and arts. The cause of the destruction of these regions around 1700 BC is debatable, although evidence suggests it was caused by natural disasters (especially flooding). This era marks Vedic period in India, which lasted from roughly 1500 to 500 BC. During this period, the Sanskrit language developed and the Vedas were written, epic hymns that told tales of gods and wars. This

1450-501: A highly centralized government , and significant infrastructure developments. Later, in Darius the Great 's rule, the territories were integrated, a bureaucracy was developed, nobility were assigned military positions, tax collection was carefully organized, and spies were used to ensure the loyalty of regional officials. The primary religion of Persia at this time was Zoroastrianism , developed by

1595-569: A long period. The Mitanni Empire controlled this region in the 15th century BC until around 1345 BC. In the Late Bronze, Suppiluliuma I of Hatti conquered the Mitanni stronghold of Carchemish, leading to the assassination of Tushratta of Mitanni around 1345 BC. With the fall of the Mitanni Empire, Carchemish became the seat of a hittite viceroy who ruled the region with the remnants of Mitanni as

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1740-491: A measurable increase in the frequency and severity of heatwaves . The region is also expected to see the intensification of its monsoon, leading to more flooding. China has notably embarked on the sponge cities program, where cities are designed to increase the area of urban green spaces and permeable pavings in order to help deal with flash floods caused by greater precipitation extremes. Under high-warming scenarios, "critical health thresholds" for heat stress during

1885-717: A permit to dig and he had to depart. Oppenheim also unsuccessfully tried to sell some of his finds in New York and again negotiated with the German government about the purchase of the Tell Halaf artefacts. In 1943, eight German-owned orthostat reliefs stored in New York were seized by the US Office of Alien Property Custodian. Amid these negotiations and activities, the Tell Halaf Museum in Berlin

2030-408: A philosophy). Shrines devoted to Confucius were built and Confucian philosophy was taught to all scholars who entered the Chinese bureaucracy. The bureaucracy was further improved with the introduction of an examination system that selected scholars of high merit. These bureaucrats were often upper-class people educated in special schools, but whose power was often checked by the lower-class brought into

2175-686: A reflection of the rivalry between the Roman Empire and the Persian Empire seen during the previous five hundred years. The fighting weakened both states, leaving the stage open to a new power. Meanwhile, the nomadic Bedouin tribes who dominated the Arabian desert saw a period of tribal stability, greater trade networking and a familiarity with Abrahamic religions or monotheism. While the Byzantine Roman and Sassanid Persian empires were both weakened by

2320-469: A result, the Chinese government at this time tended to be very decentralized and weak, and there was often little the emperor could do to resolve national issues. Nonetheless, the government was able to retain its position with the creation of the Mandate of Heaven , which could establish an emperor as divinely chosen to rule. The Zhou additionally discouraged the human sacrifice of the preceding eras and unified

2465-608: A shared written language, a shared culture, and a shared Confucian societal value system (involving shared Confucian philosophical tenets) once instituted by Imperial China. Other usages define China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, North Korea, South Korea and Taiwan as countries that constitute East Asia based on their geographic proximity as well as historical and modern cultural and economic ties, particularly with Japan and Korea in having retained strong cultural influences that originated from China. Some scholars include Vietnam as part of East Asia as it has been considered part of

2610-423: A small steam train. The costs totaled around 750,000 Mark and were covered by von Oppenheim's father's banking fortune. On arrival, the archaeologists discovered that since 1899 locals had uncovered some of the findings and heavily damaged them – in part out of superstition, in part to gain valuable building material. Oppenheim had recruited five hundred locals from Tell Halaf to help towards the excavation. During

2755-428: A woman ruler, which was rare at the time. However, Buddhism would also experience some backlash, especially from Confucianists and Taoists. This would usually involve criticism about how it was costing the state money, since the government was unable to tax Buddhist monasteries, and additionally sent many grants and gifts to them. The Tang dynasty began to decline under the rule of Emperor Xuanzong , who began to neglect

2900-595: Is an archaeological site in the Al Hasakah governorate of northeastern Syria , a few kilometers from the city of Ras al-Ayn near the Syria–Turkey border . The site, which dates to the sixth millennium BCE, was the first to be excavated from a Neolithic culture, later called the Halaf culture , characterized by glazed pottery painted with geometric and animal designs. It is thought to have been historically named Guzana , i.e.

3045-619: Is commonly known as that of the Six Dynasties . The first part of this included the Three Kingdoms which started in 220 and describes the brief and weak successor "dynasties" that followed the Han. In 265, the Jin dynasty of China was started and this soon split into two different empires in control of northwestern and southeastern China. In 420, the conquest and abdication of those two dynasties resulted in

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3190-615: Is completed around 2025, the Western Palace façade will be the entrance to the new Vorderasiatisches Museum. Artistically, the many fragmented sculptures tell a new story, not only of their ancient heritage, but of their journey in possession and the politics of the 20th century. Some sculptures were destroyed in WW2 in the Tell Halaf Museum in Berlin. Only upon the reunification of Germany in 1990 could those family members who were vested in

3335-515: Is not known how, were fundamental to the portrayal of Kapara along with their political power. By the end of the 9th century it was a famous Syro-Hittite state . In 894 BCE, the Assyrian king Adad-nirari II recorded the site in his archives as a tributary Aramaean city-state. In 808 BCE, the city and its surrounding area was reduced to a province of the Assyrian Empire . The governor's seat

3480-583: Is not known. In 1899, when the area was part of the Ottoman Empire , Max von Oppenheim , a German diplomat travelled from Cairo through northern Mesopotamia on behalf of Deutsche Bank , working on establishing a route for the Bagdad Railway . On 19 November, he discovered Tell Halaf, following up on tales told to him by local villagers of stone idols buried beneath the sand. Within three days, several significant pieces of statuary were uncovered, including

3625-511: Is sometimes grouped with Central Asian countries such as Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. Xinjiang and Tibet are sometimes seen as part of Central Asia (see also Greater Central Asia ). Broader and looser definitions by international agencies and organisations such as the World Bank refer to East Asia as the "three major Northeast Asian economies, i.e. mainland China , Japan, and South Korea ", as well as Mongolia, North Korea ,

3770-520: Is still currently broad (3500–500 BC). The Iron Age saw the widespread use of iron tools, weaponry, and armor throughout the major civilizations of Asia. The Achaemenid dynasty of the Persian Empire , founded by Cyrus the Great , ruled an area from Greece and Turkey to the Indus River and Central Asia during the 6th to 4th centuries BC. Persian politics included a tolerance for other cultures,

3915-485: Is very sparsely distributed, with Mongolia having the lowest population density of a sovereign state . The overall population density of the region is 133 inhabitants per square kilometre (340/sq mi), about three times the world average of 45/km (120/sq mi). China was the first region settled in East Asia and was undoubtedly the core of East Asian civilization from where other parts of East Asia were formed. The various other regions in East Asia were selective in

4060-544: The Bronze Age began about 3500 BC, replacing the Neolithic cultures. The Indus Valley civilization (IVC) was a Bronze Age civilization (3300–1300 BC; mature period 2600–1900 BC) which was centered mostly in the western part of the Indian Subcontinent; it is considered that an early form of Hinduism was performed during this civilization. Some of the great cities of this civilization include Harappa and Mohenjo-daro , which had

4205-689: The Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 , a new power in the form of Islam grew in the Middle East under Muhammad in Medina . In a series of rapid Muslim conquests , the Rashidun army , led by the Caliphs and skilled military commanders such as Khalid ibn al-Walid , swept through most of the Middle East, taking more than half of Byzantine territory in the Arab–Byzantine wars and completely engulfing Persia in

4350-690: The Chinese language . Finally, the Zhou government encouraged settlers to move into the Yangtze River valley, thus creating the Chinese Middle Kingdom. But by 500 BC, its political stability began to decline due to repeated nomadic incursions and internal conflict derived from the fighting princes and families. This was lessened by the many philosophical movements, starting with the life of Confucius . His philosophical writings (called Confucianism ) concerning

4495-777: The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft the Vorderasiatisches Museum engaged in its largest-scale restoration project since the reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate . From 2001 to 2010, more than 30 sculptures were reconstructed out of around 27,000 fragments. They were exhibited at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin in 2011 and at the Bundeskunsthalle Bonn in 2014. When the reconstruction of the Museumsinsel

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4640-587: 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

4785-639: The Kingdom of Jerusalem , which survived until 1187, when Saladin retook the city. Smaller crusader fiefdoms survived until 1291. In the early 13th century, a new wave of invaders, the armies of the Mongol Empire , swept through the region, sacking Baghdad in the Siege of Baghdad (1258) and advancing as far south as the border of Egypt in what became known as the Mongol conquests . The Mongols eventually retreated in 1335, but

4930-762: The Muslim conquest of Persia . It would be the Arab Caliphates of the Middle Ages that would first unify the entire Middle East as a distinct region and create the dominant ethnic identity that persists today. These Caliphates included the Rashidun Caliphate , Umayyad Caliphate , Abbasid Caliphate , and later the Seljuq Empire . After Muhammad introduced Islam, it jump-started Middle Eastern culture into an Islamic Golden Age , inspiring achievements in architecture ,

5075-603: The Nara period (c. 710 to c. 794), with the moving of the Japanese capital to Nara in Honshu . This period saw the culmination of Chinese-style writing, etiquette, and architecture in Japan along with Confucian ideals to supplement the already present Buddhism. Peasants revered both Confucian scholars and Buddhist monks. However, in the wake of the 735–737 Japanese smallpox epidemic , Buddhism gained

5220-455: The Nara period , Japan began to aggressively import Chinese culture and styles of government which included Confucian protocol that served as a foundation for Japanese culture as well as political and social philosophy. The Japanese also created laws adopted from the Chinese legal system that was used to govern in addition to the kimono , which was inspired from Chinese hanfu during the eighth century. For many centuries, most notably from

5365-883: The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), as well as the Pacific island of Guam , which is a member of the Oceania National Olympic Committees . It is one of five Regional Games of the OCA. The others are the Central Asian Games , the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), the South Asian Games and the West Asian Games . [REDACTED] Seoul Tel Halaf Tell Halaf ( Arabic : تل حلف )

5510-589: The Pala . Under Rajendra Chola the Cholas created the first notable navy of Indian subcontinent. The Chola navy extended the influence of Chola empire to southeast asia . During this time, pastoral peoples whose land had been cleared to make way for the growing agricultural economy were accommodated within caste society, as were new non-traditional ruling classes. The Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent mainly took place from

5655-601: The Russian Far East , and Siberia . The Council on Foreign Relations includes the Russia Far East, Mongolia, and Nepal . The World Bank also acknowledges the roles of Chinese special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macau , as well as Taiwan , a country with limited recognition. The Economic Research Institute for Northeast Asia defines the region as "China, Japan, the Koreas , Nepal, Mongolia, and eastern regions of

5800-489: The Russian Federation ". The UNSD definition of East Asia is based on statistical convenience, but others commonly use the same definition of Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. Certain Japanese islands are associated with Oceania due to non-continental geology, distance from mainland Asia or biogeographical similarities with Micronesia . Some groups, such as

5945-548: The South China Sea and northern Vietnam . Greater organization brought a uniform tax system, a national census, regulated road building (and cart width), standard measurements, standard coinage, and an official written and spoken language. Further reforms included new irrigation projects, the encouragement of silk manufacturing, and (most famously) the beginning of the construction of the Great Wall of China—designed to keep out

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6090-588: The World Health Organization , categorize China, Japan and Korea with Australia and the rest of Oceania. The World Health Organization label this region the "Western Pacific", with East Asia not being used in their concept of major world regions. Their definition of this region further includes Mongolia and the adjacent area of Cambodia , as well as the countries of the South East Asia Archipelago (excluding East Timor and Indonesia ). In

6235-535: The economic rise of Hong Kong , South Korea , and Taiwan , in addition to the respective handovers of Hong Kong and Macau near the end of the twentieth century. The onset of the 21st-century in East Asia led to the integration of Mainland China into the global economy through its entry in the World Trade Organization while also enhancing its emerging international status as a potential world power reinforced with its aim of restoring its historical established significance and enduring international prominence in

6380-547: The frontier regions ), 16 native to the island of Taiwan (collectively known as Taiwanese indigenous peoples ), one native to the major Japanese island of Hokkaido (the Ainu ) and four native to Mongolia ( Turkic peoples ). The Ryukyuan people are an unrecognized ethnic group indigenous to the Ryukyu Islands in southern Japan, which stretch from Kyushu to Taiwan. There are also several unrecognized indigenous ethnic groups in mainland China and Taiwan. East Asians comprise around 1.7 billion people, making up about 33% of

6525-439: The 12th century onwards, though earlier Muslim conquests include the limited inroads into modern Afghanistan and Pakistan and the Umayyad campaigns in India, during the time of the Rajput kingdoms in the 8th century. Major economic and military powers like the Delhi Sultanate and Bengal Sultanate , were seen to be established. The search of their wealth led the Voyages of Christopher Columbus . The Vijayanagara Empire based in

6670-565: The 1860s. Around the same time, the Meiji Restoration in Japan sparked rapid societal transformation from an isolated feudal state into East Asia's first industrialised nation. The modern and militarily powerful Japan would galvanise its position in the Orient as East Asia's greatest power with a global mission poised to advance to lead the entire world. By the early 1900s, the Empire of Japan succeeded in asserting itself as East Asia's most dominant geopolitical force. With its newly found international status, Japan would begin to challenge

6815-432: The 21st century will be at times breached, in areas like the North China Plain . China, Japan and the Republic of Korea are expected to see some of the largest economic losses caused by sea level rise. The city of Guangzhou is projected to experience the single largest annual economic losses from sea level rise in the world, potentially reaching US$ 254 million by 2050. Under the highest climate change scenario and in

6960-461: The 21st century. Baseball is one of the main sports in East Asia, having been introduced through mid-19th century American contact and further spread by the Japanese Empire. The game has gained millions of fans in China since the 2010s. Formerly the East Asian Games , it is a multi-sport event organized by the East Asian Games Association (EAGA) and held every four years since 2019 among athletes from East Asian countries and territories of

7105-440: The 7th to the 14th centuries, China stood as East Asia's most advanced civilization and foremost military and economic power, exerting its influence as the transmission of advanced Chinese cultural practices and ways of thinking greatly shaped the region up until the nineteenth century. As East Asia's connections with Europe and the Western world strengthened during the late nineteenth century, China's power began to decline. By

7250-401: The Biblical Gozan . Tell Halaf is the type site of the Halaf culture, which developed from Neolithic III at this site without any strong break. The Tell Halaf site flourished from about 6,100 to 5,400 BCE, a period of time that is referred to as the Halaf period . The Halaf culture was succeeded in northern Mesopotamia by the Ubaid culture (c. 5300-4300 BC). The site was then abandoned for

7395-451: The Chinese bureaucracy. A Ministry of Rites was established and the examination system was improved to better qualify scholars for their jobs. In addition, Buddhism became popular in China with two different strains between the peasantry and the elite, the Pure Land and Zen strains, respectively. Greatly supporting the spread of Buddhism was Empress Wu , who additionally claimed an unofficial "Zhou dynasty" and displayed China's tolerance of

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7540-875: The Chinese influences they adopted into their local customs. Historian Ping-ti Ho referred to China as the cradle of Eastern civilization, in parallel with the cradle of Middle Eastern civilization along the Fertile Crescent encompassing Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt as well as the cradle of Western civilization encompassing Ancient Greece . Chinese civilization emerged early, and prefigured other East Asian civilisations. Throughout history, imperial China would exert cultural, economic, technological, and political influence on its neighbours. Succeeding Chinese dynasties exerted enormous influence across East Asia culturally, economically, politically and militarily for over two millennia. The tributary system of China shaped much of East Asia's history for over two millennia due to Imperial China's economic and cultural influence over

7685-445: The Deccan Plateau region of South India, was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, patronized by saint Vidyaranya, the 12th Shankaracharya of Sringeri in Karnataka. The empire rose to prominence as a result of attempts by the southern powers to resist and ward off Turkic Islamic invasions by the end of the 13th century. At its peak, it subjugated almost all of South India's rulers and pushed

7830-422: The European colonial powers and inextricably took on a more active role within the East Asian geopolitical order and world affairs at large. Flexing its nascent political and military might, Japan soundly defeated the stagnant Qing dynasty during the First Sino-Japanese War as well as defeating Russia in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905; the first major military victory in the modern era of an East Asian power over

7975-402: The French authorities. His share (approximately 80, or about two-thirds of the total) was transported to Berlin, while the other 35 were brought to Aleppo to form a core collection of today's National Museum . In 1929, he resumed excavations and the new findings were divided. Attempts by Oppenheim to have his findings exhibited at the newly constructed Pergamon Museum in Berlin failed, as

8120-485: The Golden Age of India and were marked by extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, art, religion, and philosophy that crystallized the elements of what is generally known as Indian culture. The religions of Hinduism and Buddhism , which began in Indian sub-continent, were an important influence on South, East and Southeast Asia. By 600 BC, India had been divided into 17 regional states that would occasionally feud amongst themselves. In 327 BC, Alexander

8265-407: The Great came to India with a vision of conquering the whole world. He crossed northwestern India and created the province Bactria but could not move further because his army wanted to go back to their family. Shortly prior, the soldier Chandragupta Maurya began to take control of the Ganges river and soon established the Maurya Empire . The Maurya Empire (Sanskrit: मौर्य राजवंश, Maurya Rājavaṃśa)

8410-456: The Han Chinese conquered the northern part of the Korean peninsula and established a province called Lelang . Chinese influences were transmitted and soon took root in Korea through the inclusion of the Chinese writing system, monetary system, rice culture, philosophical schools of thought, and Confucian political institutions. Jomon society in ancient Japan incorporated wet-rice cultivation and metallurgy through its contact with Korea. Starting in

8555-487: The Maurya Empire, but established the greatest stability. In 535, the empire ended when India was overrun by the Hunas . Since 1029 BC, the Zhou dynasty ( Chinese : 周朝 ; pinyin : Zhōu Cháo ; Wade–Giles : Chou Ch'ao [tʂóʊ tʂʰɑ̌ʊ] ), had existed in China and it would continue to until 258 BC. The Zhou dynasty had been using a feudal system by giving power to local nobility and relying on their loyalty in order to control its large territory. As

8700-412: The Medieval era caused primarily by the spread of Islam and the establishment of the Arabian Empires. In the 5th century, the Middle East was separated into small, weak states; the two most prominent were the Sassanian Empire of the Persians in what is now Iran and Iraq , and the Byzantine Empire in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey ). The Byzantines and Sassanians fought with each other continually,

8845-403: The Middle East and the Romans, through the Silk Road , with which they were able to trade many commodities—primarily silk. Many ancient civilizations were influenced by the Silk Road , which connected China, India , the Middle East and Europe. Han emperors like Wu also promoted Confucianism as the national "religion" (although it is debated by theologians as to whether it is defined as such or as

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8990-428: The Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Genghis Khan was a Khagan who tolerated nearly every religion. The Indian early medieval age, 600 to 1200, is defined by regional kingdoms and cultural diversity. When Harsha of Kannauj , who ruled much of the Indo-Gangetic Plain from 606 to 647, attempted to expand southwards, he was defeated by the Chalukya ruler of the Deccan. When his successor attempted to expand eastwards, he

9135-404: The Mongol hordes that showed little mercy for those who resisted and the Southern Song Chinese were quickly losing territory. In 1271 the current great khan, Kublai Khan , claimed himself Emperor of China and officially established the Yuan dynasty. By 1290, all of China was under control of the Mongols, marking the first time they were ever completely conquered by a foreign invader; the new capital

9280-406: The Northern Zhou dynasty. He proclaimed himself Emperor Wen of Sui and appeased the nomadic military by abandoning the Confucian scholar-gentry. Emperor Wen soon led the conquest of the southern Chen dynasty and united China once more under the Sui dynasty . The emperor lowered taxes and constructed granaries that he used to prevent famine and control the market. Later Wen's son would murder him for

9425-486: The Pacific Ocean and the Continental Asian landmass makes it strategically significant for facilitating international maritime trade and transportation. The contemporary economic, technological, political, and social integration of East Asia coupled with its rich history of diversity, division, and divergent development have all contributed to its enduring complexity, scientific and technological advancement, cultural richness, economic prosperity, and geopolitical significance on

9570-412: The Sui dynasty. Fortunately, one of Yang's most respectable advisors, Li Yuan, was able to claim the throne quickly, preventing a chaotic collapse. He proclaimed himself Emperor Gaozu , and established the Tang dynasty in 623. The Tang saw expansion of China through conquest to Tibet in the west, Vietnam in the south, and Manchuria in the north. Tang emperors also improved the education of scholars in

9715-527: The Tang political system, Prince Naka no oe launched the Taika Reform in 645 AD where he radically transformed Japan's political bureaucracy into a more centralised bureaucratic empire. The Japanese also adopted Mahayana Buddhism, Chinese style architecture, and the imperial court's rituals and ceremonies, including the orchestral music and state dances had Tang influences. Written Chinese gained prestige and aspects of Tang culture such as poetry , calligraphy , and landscape painting became widespread. During

9860-418: The Three Kingdoms (220–265 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the period of the Han dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history. One of the Han dynasty's greatest emperors, Emperor Wu of Han , established a peace throughout China comparable to the Pax Romana seen in the Mediterranean a hundred years later. To this day, China's majority ethnic group refers to itself as the "Han people". The Han dynasty

10005-422: The Turkic homelands in Central Asia. They conquered Persia, Iraq (capturing Baghdad in 1055), Syria, Palestine, and the Hejaz . This was followed by a series of Christian Western Europe invasions. The fragmentation of the Middle East allowed joined forces, mainly from England, France, and the emerging Holy Roman Empire , to enter the region. In 1099 the knights of the First Crusade captured Jerusalem and founded

10150-611: The absence of adaptation, cumulative economic losses caused by sea level rise in Guangzhou would exceed US$ 1 trillion by 2100. Shanghai is also expected to experience annual losses of around 1% of the local GDP in the absence of adaptation. The Yangtze River basin is a sensitive and biodiverse ecosystem, yet around 20% of its species may be lost throughout the century under 2 °C (3.6 °F) and ~43% under 4.5 °C (8.1 °F). China, North Korea, South Korea and Taiwan are all unrecognised by at least one other East Asian state because of severe ongoing political tensions in

10295-443: The aforementioned nomadic tribes and local leaders would fight for control of China in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period . By 960, most of China proper had been reunited under the Song dynasty , although it lost territories in the north and could not defeat one of the nomadic tribes there—the Liao dynasty of the highly sinicized Khitan people . From then on, the Song would have to pay tribute to avoid invasion and thus set

10440-579: The art, living in West Berlin, revisit the destroyed pieces in East Berlin. The pieces, after being reconstructed, boasted the cracks and imperfections of their war ridden existence (see photo right). Some even were left with the glass from the roof of the Berlin museum on the sculpture itself. The exhibition Rayyane Tabet / Alien Propert y by Rayyane Tabet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art displays

10585-525: The bounds of the Asia-Pacific, although the term Indo-Pacific is more commonly used for such a definition. Observers preferring a broader definition of "East Asia" often use the term Northeast Asia to refer to China, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan, with the region of Southeast Asia covering the ten ASEAN countries. This usage, which is seen in economic and diplomatic discussions, is at odds with

10730-759: The brief Hellenistic period . He was unable to establish stability and after his death, Persia broke into small, weak dynasties including the Seleucid Empire , followed by the Parthian Empire . By the end of the Classical age, Persia had been reconsolidated into the Sassanid Empire , also known as the second Persian Empire. The Roman Empire would later control parts of Western Asia. The Seleucid , Parthian and Sassanid dynasties of Persia dominated Western Asia for centuries. The Maurya and Gupta empires are called

10875-570: The bureaucracy through their skill. The Chinese imperial bureaucracy was very effective and highly respected by all in the realm and would last over 2,000 years. The Han government was highly organized and it commanded the military, judicial law (which used a system of courts and strict laws), agricultural production, the economy, and the general lives of its people. The government also promoted intellectual philosophy, scientific research, and detailed historical records. However, despite all of this impressive stability, central power began to lose control by

11020-460: The capital to Heian-kyō to avoid a Buddhist takeover. This marked the beginning of the Heian period and the end of Taika reform. East Asia East Asia has long been a crossroads of civilizations, as the region's prominence has facilitated the transmission of ideas, cultural exchanges, commercial trade, scientific and technological cooperation, and migration, as its position and proximity to both

11165-730: The center of political governance and conflict. It also addresses the role of an encyclopedic museum in conversation and collaboration with the past, and its voices. Today, of the 194 excavated orthostat reliefs from Tell Halaf, 59 are in Berlin, 4 are in Paris, 15 are in London, 4 are in New York, 4 are in Baltimore, 34 are in Aleppo, 1 is in Deir ez-Zor, 6 are missing, 12 have been destroyed, and 55 have disappeared. In 2006, new Syro-German excavations were started under

11310-528: 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

11455-909: The chaos that ensued throughout the empire deposed the Seljuq Turks. In 1401, the region was further plagued by the Turko-Mongol, Timur , and his ferocious raids. By then, another group of Turks had arisen as well, the Ottomans . The Mongol Empire conquered a large part of Asia in the 13th century, an area extending from China to Europe. Medieval Asia was the kingdom of the Khans. Never before had any person controlled as much land as Genghis Khan . He built his power unifying separate Mongol tribes before expanding his kingdom south and west. He and his grandson, Kublai Khan, controlled lands in China, Burma, Central Asia, Russia, Iran,

11600-488: The classics of Chinese literature and culture were seen as the foundations for a civilized life in East Asia. Imperial China served as a vehicle through which the adoption of Confucian ethical philosophy, Chinese calendar system, political and legal systems, architectural style, diet, terminology, institutions, religious beliefs, imperial examinations that emphasised a knowledge of Chinese classics, political philosophy and cultural value systems, as well as historically sharing

11745-584: The collection of neolithic findings at the site consists of two phases. Around 5500 BC the Halafian culture appeared in Lebanon , Israel , Syria , Anatolia , and northern Mesopotamia , based upon dryland agriculture. In southern Mesopotamia were the alluvial plains of Sumer and Elam . Since there was little rainfall, irrigation systems were necessary. The Ubaid culture flourished from 5500 BC. The Chalcolithic period (or Copper Age) began about 4500 BC, then

11890-551: The context of business and economics, "East Asia" is sometimes used to refer to the geographical area covering ten Southeast Asian countries in ASEAN , Greater China , Japan, and Korea. However, in this context, the term " Far East " is used by the Europeans to cover ASEAN countries and the countries in East Asia. On rare occasions, the term is also sometimes taken to include India and other South Asian countries that are not situated within

12035-433: The cultures of Japan and Korea and drew them into a Chinese international order. The Imperial Chinese tributary system shaped much of East Asia's foreign policy and trade for over two millennia due to Imperial China's economic and cultural dominance over the region, and thus played a huge role in the history of East Asia in particular. The relationship between China and its cultural influence on East Asia has been compared to

12180-615: The decline. They started to proclaim magical powers and promised to save China with them; the Taoist Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184 (led by rebels in yellow scarves) failed but was able to weaken the government. The aforementioned Huns combined with diseases killed up to half of the population and officially ended the Han dynasty by 220. The ensuing period of chaos was so terrible it lasted for three centuries, where many weak regional rulers and dynasties failed to establish order in China. This period of chaos and attempts at order

12325-573: The dominant philosophies of the Far East during the Middle Ages. Marco Polo was not the first Westerner to travel to the Orient and return with amazing stories of this different culture, but his accounts published in the late 13th and early 14th centuries were the first to be widely read throughout Europe. The Arabian peninsula and the surrounding Middle East and Near East regions saw dramatic change during

12470-470: The economy and military and caused unrest amongst the court officials due to the excessive influence of his concubine, Yang Guifei , and her family. This eventually sparked a revolt in 755. Although the revolt failed, subduing it required involvement with the unruly nomadic tribes outside of China and distributing more power to local leaders—leaving the government and economy in a degraded state. The Tang dynasty officially ended in 907 and various factions led by

12615-462: The excavations Oppenheim found the ruins of the town of Guzana (or Gozan). Significant finds included the large statues and reliefs of the so-called "Western Palace" built by King Kapara , as well as a cult room and tombs. Some of the statuary was found reused in buildings from the Hellenistic period . In addition, they discovered Neolithic pottery of a type which became known as Halaf culture after

12760-431: The final days of the war had severely damaged the building and the archaeological findings had to be dug out of the rubble. Once again, it was found that the locals had damaged some of the stone workings. Since he had made plaster casts during the original excavation, Oppenheim was able to repair most of the damage done to the statues and orthostat reliefs. He managed to achieve a generous division of his previous finds with

12905-729: The first of the Southern and Northern dynasties . The Northern and Southern dynasties passed through until finally, by 557, the Northern Zhou dynasty ruled the north and the Chen dynasty ruled the south. During this period, the Eastern world empires continued to expand through trade, migration and conquests of neighboring areas. Gunpowder was widely used as early as the 11th century and they were using moveable type printing five hundred years before Gutenberg created his press. Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism were

13050-453: The fourth century AD and Japan by the seventh century AD, Japan and Korea actively began to incorporate Chinese influences such as Confucianism , the use of Chinese characters , architecture , state institutions, political philosophies , religion, urban planning, and various scientific and technological methods into their culture and society through direct contacts with Tang China and succeeding Chinese dynasties. Drawing inspiration from

13195-562: The fourth century AD, Japan adopted Chinese characters , which remain integral to the Japanese writing system . Utilizing the Chinese writing system allowed the Japanese to conduct their daily activities, maintain historical records and give form to various ideas, thoughts, and philosophies. During the Tang dynasty , China exerted its greatest influence on East Asia as various aspects of Chinese culture spread to Japan and Korea . The establishment of

13340-482: The greater Chinese cultural sphere . Though Confucianism continues to play an important role in Vietnamese culture, Chinese characters are no longer used in its written language and many scholarly organizations classify Vietnam as a Southeast Asian country. Mongolia is geographically north of Mainland China yet Confucianism and the Chinese writing system and culture had limited impact on Mongolian society. Thus, Mongolia

13485-526: The historical influence of Greco-Roman civilization on classical Western civilisation. Religion in East Asia (2020) *Japan switched the date to the Gregorian calendar after the Meiji Restoration. *Not always on that Gregorian date, sometimes April 4. East Asian popular culture, such as anime and manga from Japan and K-pop and K-dramas from South Korea, have become highly popular worldwide in

13630-591: The historical meanings of both "East Asia" and "Northeast Asia". The Council on Foreign Relations of the United States defines Northeast Asia as Japan and Korea. East Asia is home to many climatic zones. It also has unique weather patterns such as the East Asian rainy season and the East Asian Monsoon . Like the rest of the world, East Asia has been getting warmer due to climate change, and there had been

13775-570: The increasingly Neo-Confucian successors of Kublai further repressed Chinese and even Mongol women. The Black Death, which would later ravage Western Europe, had its beginnings in Asia, where it wiped out large populations in China in 1331. Japan's medieval history began with the Asuka period , from around 600 to 710. The time was characterized by the Taika Reform and imperial centralization, both of which were

13920-721: The indigenous populations of northeastern China such as the Manchus . The major languages in East Asia include Mandarin Chinese , Japanese , and Korean . The major ethnic groups of East Asia include the Han in China and Taiwan, Yamato in Japan, and Koreans in North and South Korea. and Mongols in Mongolia. There are 76 officially-recognized minority or indigenous ethnic groups in East Asia; 55 native to mainland China (including Hui , Manchus, Chinese Mongols , Tibetans, Uyghurs , and Zhuang in

14065-453: The largest unified population in East Asia, the most literate and urbanised as well as being the most economically developed, as well as the most technologically and culturally advanced civilization in the region at the time. Cultural and religious interaction between the Chinese and other regional East Asian dynasties and kingdoms occurred. China's impact and influence on Korea began with the Han dynasty's northeastern expansion in 108 BC when

14210-457: The last Zhou emperor and established the Qin dynasty. The Qin dynasty (Chinese: 秦朝; pinyin: Qín Cháo) was the first ruling dynasty of Imperial China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The new Emperor abolished the feudal system and directly appointed a bureaucracy that would rely on him for power. Huang's imperial forces crushed any regional resistance, and they furthered the Chinese empire by expanding down to

14355-521: The latter lost Mainland China to the People's Republic of China in the Chinese Civil War . During the latter half of the twentieth century, the region would see the post war economic miracle of Japan , which ushered in three decades of unprecedented growth, only to experience an economic slowdown during the 1990s , but nonetheless Japan continues to remain a global economic power. East Asia would also see

14500-699: The medieval Tang dynasty rekindled the impetus of Chinese expansionism across the geopolitical confines of East Asia. Similar to its Han predecessor, Tang China reasserted itself as the center of East Asian geopolitical influence during the early medieval period which spearheaded and marked another golden age in Chinese history . During the Tang dynasty, China exerted its greatest influence on East Asia as various aspects of Chinese culture spread to Japan and Korea. In addition, Tang China also managed to maintain control over northern Vietnam and northern Korea . As full-fledged medieval East Asian states were established, Korea by

14645-420: The mid-nineteenth century, the weakening Qing dynasty became fraught with political corruption, obstacles and stagnation that was incapable of rejuvenating itself as a world power in contrast to the industrializing Imperial European colonial powers and a rapidly modernizing Japan. The United States Commodore Matthew C. Perry would open Japan to Western influence , and the country would expand in earnest after

14790-595: The museum refused to agree to Oppenheim's financial demands. He thus opened his own private "Tell Halaf Museum" in an industrial complex in Berlin-Charlottenburg in July 1930. The museum's concept of presenting the exhibits is considered quite modern even by today's standards. In 1939, Oppenheim once more travelled to Syria for excavations, coming within sight of Tell Halaf. However, the French authorities refused to award him

14935-534: The museum's orthostat reliefs and Tabet's graphite transfers, Orthostates , in tandem with his family heirlooms. The exhibition explores the task of locating and tracing provenance, particularly through reference to the Alien Property Act and the objects purchased at auction by the museum after they had been seized by the Office of Alien Property Custodian. It conveys the fragmentation and division as Tell Halaf sat at

15080-484: The nomadic raiders who'd constantly badger the Chinese people. However, Shi Huang was infamous for his tyranny, forcing laborers to build the Wall, ordering heavy taxes, and severely punishing all who opposed him. He oppressed Confucians and promoted Legalism , the idea that people were inherently evil, and that a strong, forceful government was needed to control them. Legalism was infused with realistic, logical views and rejected

15225-803: The north was overthrown by the Jin dynasty of the Manchu-related Jurchen people . The new Jin kingdom invaded northern China , leaving the Song to flee farther south and creating the Southern Song dynasty in 1126. There, cultural life flourished. By 1227, the Mongols had conquered the Western Xia kingdom northwest of China. Soon the Mongols incurred upon the Jin empire of the Jurchens. Chinese cities were soon besieged by

15370-402: The philosopher Zoroaster . It introduced an early form of monotheism to the area. The religion banned animal sacrifice and the use of intoxicants in rituals; and introduced the concept of spiritual salvation through personal moral action, an end time , and both general and Particular judgment with a heaven or hell . These concepts would heavily influence later emperors and the masses. It

15515-520: The pieces had been recovered and they were further damaged by frost and summer heat. Stored in the cellars of the Pergamon Museum during the period of communist rule under the GDR , the remains were left untouched. After reunification, the Masterplan Museumsinsel of 1999 brought up the idea of having the Western Palace front from Tell Halaf restored. With financial support from Sal. Oppenheim and

15660-416: The pleasures of educated conversation as frivolous. All of this made Shi Huang extremely unpopular with the people. As the Qin began to weaken, various factions began to fight for control of China. The Han dynasty ( simplified Chinese : 汉朝 ; traditional Chinese : 漢朝 ; pinyin : Hàn Cháo ; 206 BC – 220 AD) was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin dynasty and succeeded by

15805-571: The population in Continental Asia and 20% of the global population. The region is home to major world metropolises such as Beijing – Tianjin , Busan – Daegu – Ulsan – Changwon , Guangzhou , Hong Kong , Osaka – Kyoto – Kobe , Seoul , Shanghai , Shenzhen , Taipei , and Tokyo . Although the coastal and riparian areas of the region form one of the world's most populated places, the population in Mongolia and Western China , both landlocked areas,

15950-503: The precedent for other nomadic kingdoms to oppress them. The Song also saw the revival of Confucianism in the form of Neo-Confucianism . This had the effect of putting the Confucian scholars at a higher status than aristocrats or Buddhists and also intensified the reduction of power in women. The infamous practice of foot binding developed in this period as a result. Eventually the Liao dynasty in

16095-417: The present day include the Japanese , Korean , and Mongolian civilizations. Various other civilizations existed as independent polities in East Asia in the past but have since been absorbed into neighbouring civilizations in the present day, such as Tibet , Manchuria , and Ryukyu (Okinawa), among many others. Taiwan has a relatively young history in the region after the prehistoric era ; originally, it

16240-508: The region, and thus played a huge role in the history of East Asia in particular. Imperial China's cultural preeminence not only led the country to become East Asia's first literate nation in the entire region, it also supplied Japan and Korea with Chinese loanwords and linguistic influences rooted in their writing systems. Under Emperor Wu of Han , the Han dynasty made China the regional powerhouse in East Asia, projecting much of its imperial influence onto its neighbours. Han China hosted

16385-416: The region, specifically the division of Korea and the political status of Taiwan . thousands (2023) [REDACTED] The culture of East Asia has been deeply influenced by China , as it was the civilization that had the most dominant influence in the region throughout the ages that ultimately laid the foundation for East Asian civilization. The vast knowledge and ingenuity of Chinese civilization and

16530-658: The respect of elders and of the state would later be popularly used in the Han dynasty. Additionally, Laozi 's concepts of Taoism , including yin and yang and the innate duality and balance of nature and the universe, became popular throughout this period. Nevertheless, the Zhou dynasty eventually disintegrated as the local nobles began to gain more power and their conflict devolved into the Warring States period , from 402 to 201 BC. One leader eventually came on top, Qin Shi Huang ( Chinese : 始皇帝 , Shǐ Huángdì ), who overthrew

16675-505: The revival of old advances in science and technology, and the formation of a distinct way of life. Muslims saved and spread Greek advances in medicine , algebra , geometry , astronomy , anatomy , and ethics that would later finds it way back to Western Europe. The dominance of the Arabs came to a sudden end in the mid-11th century with the arrival of the Seljuq Turks , migrating south from

16820-603: The root from which many other East Asian calendars are derived. Major religions in East Asia include Buddhism (mostly Mahayana ), Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism , Taoism , ancestral worship , and Chinese folk religion in Mainland China, Hong Kong , Macau and Taiwan , Shinto in Japan, and Christianity and Musok in Korea. Tengerism and Tibetan Buddhism are prevalent among Mongols and Tibetans while other religions such as Shamanism are widespread among

16965-512: The site and had it circulated to several leading archaeologists like Theodor Nöldeke or Ignác Goldziher to sign. Armed with this letter, Max von Oppenheim was now able to ask for his dismissal from the diplomatic service (which he did on 24 October 1910) while being able to call on financing from his father for the excavation. With a team of five archaeologists, Oppenheim planned a digging campaign that began on 5 August 1911. Substantial amounts of equipment were imported from Germany, including

17110-451: The site where it was first found. At the time, this was the oldest painted pottery ever found (together with those discovered at Samarra by Herzfeld). In 1913, Oppenheim decided to return temporarily to Germany. The finds of Tell Halaf were left at the building he and his team had inhabited during the dig. Most of them were securely packaged and stored. The outbreak of World War I prevented Oppenheim from returning. However, Oppenheim

17255-437: The so-called "Sitting Goddess". A test pit uncovered the entrance to the "Western Palace". Since he had no legal permit to excavate, Oppenheim had the statues he found reburied and moved on. According to noted archaeologist Ernst Herzfeld , he had urged Oppenheim in 1907 to excavate Tell Halaf and they made some initial plans towards this goal at that time. In August 1910, Herzfeld wrote a letter calling on Oppenheim to explore

17400-501: 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

17545-522: The southern tip). He eventually converted to Buddhism, though, and began a peaceful life where he promoted the religion as well as humane methods throughout India. The Maurya Empire would disintegrate soon after Ashoka's death and was conquered by the Kushan invaders from the northwest, establishing the Kushan Empire . Their conversion to Buddhism caused the religion to be associated with foreigners and therefore

17690-680: The spread of Buddhism , and the advent of Neo-Confucianism . It was an unsurpassed era for Chinese ceramics and painting. Medieval architectural masterpieces the Great South Gate in Todaiji, Japan, and the Tien-ning Temple in Peking, China are some of the surviving constructs from this era. A new powerful dynasty began to rise in the 580s, amongst the divided factions of China. This was started when an aristocrat named Yang Jian married his daughter into

17835-452: The status of state religion and the government ordered the construction of numerous Buddhist temples, monasteries, and statues. The lavish spending combined with the fact that many aristocrats did not pay taxes, put a heavy burden on peasantry that caused poverty and famine. Eventually the Buddhist position got out of control, threatening to seize imperial power and causing Emperor Kanmu to move

17980-443: 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

18125-639: The subcontinent in the western margins of the Indus River alluvium approximately 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BC. Göbekli Tepe is a Neolithic site in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey . Dated to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic , between c. 9500 and 8000 BC, the site comprises a number of large circular structures supported by massive stone pillars –

18270-748: The sultans of the Deccan beyond the Tungabhadra-Krishna river region. After annexing modern day Odisha (ancient Kalinga) from the Gajapati Empire, became a notable power. The empire lasted until 1646 after a major military defeat in the Battle of Talikota in 1565 by the combined armies of the Deccan sultanates . China saw the rise and fall of the Sui, Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties and therefore improvements in its bureaucracy,

18415-430: The throne and declare himself Emperor Yang of Sui . Emperor Yang revived the Confucian scholars and the bureaucracy, much to anger of the aristocrats and nomadic military leaders. Yang became an excessive leader who overused China's resources for personal luxury and perpetuated exhaustive attempts to conquer Goguryeo . His military failures and neglect of the empire forced his own ministers to assassinate him in 618, ending

18560-613: The time of King Kapara, and the "North-Eastern Palace", the seat of the Assyrian governors. In the lower town a temple (or cult room) in Assyrian style was discovered. The site is located near the city of Ra's al-'Ayn in the fertile valley of the Khabur River (Nahr al-Khabur), close to the modern border with Turkey . The name Tell Halaf is a local Aramaic placename , tell meaning "hill", and Tell Halaf meaning "made of former city"; what its original inhabitants called their settlement

18705-530: The transition from the Late Bronze to the Iron Age. Furthermore, it saw the emergences of Neo-Hittite city-states. In the 10th century BCE, the rulers of the small Aramaean kingdom Bit Bahiani took their seat in Tell Halaf, re-founded as Guzana or Gozan. King Kapara built the so-called hilani , a palace in Neo-Hittite style with a rich decoration of statues and relief orthostats. These sculptures, even though it

18850-428: The turn of the Common Era . As the Han dynasty declined, many factors continued to pummel it into submission until China was left in a state of chaos. By 100 AD, philosophical activity slowed, and corruption ran rampant in the bureaucracy. Local landlords began to take control as the scholars neglected their duties, and this resulted in heavy taxation of the peasantry. Taoists began to gain significant ground and protested

18995-418: The world economy. As of at least 2022, the region is more peaceful, integrated, wealthy, and stable than any time in the previous 150 years. In common usage, the term "East Asia" typically refers to a region including Greater China , Japan , Korea and Mongolia . China , Japan , and Korea represent the three core countries and civilizations of traditional East Asia, as they once had

19140-513: The world stage. With the region having been home to various influential empires, kingdoms, and dynasties throughout history, each leaving its mark on the region and transforming the region's geopolitical landscape ranging from distinct dynastic kingdoms to colonial possessions to independent modern nation-states. East Asia, especially Chinese civilization , is regarded as one of the earliest cradles of civilization . Other ancient civilizations in East Asia that still exist as independent countries in

19285-412: The world's oldest known megaliths . The prehistoric Beifudi site near Yixian in Hebei Province, China, contains relics of a culture contemporaneous with the Cishan and Xinglongwa cultures of about 8000–7000 BC, neolithic cultures east of the Taihang Mountains , filling in an archaeological gap between the two Northern Chinese cultures. The total excavated area is more than 1,200 square meters and

19430-481: Was a major site of Austronesian civilisation prior to colonisation by European colonial powers and China from the 17th century onward. For thousands of years, China was the leading civilization in the region, exerting influence on its neighbours. Historically, societies in East Asia have fallen within the Chinese sphere of influence , and East Asian vocabularies and scripts are often derived from Classical Chinese and Chinese script . The Chinese calendar serves as

19575-471: Was a palace in the eastern part of the citadel mound. Guzana survived the collapse of the Assyrian Empire and remained inhabited until the Roman-Parthian Period. In historical times, the mound itself became the citadel of the Aramaean and Assyrian city. The lower town extended 600 m N–S and 1000 m E–W. The citadel mound housed the palaces and other official buildings. Most prominent are the so-called Hilani or "Western Palace" with its rich decor, dating back to

19720-524: Was able to sell some of the stone reliefs, pottery and other artefacts he had excavated to various museums after the war including the British Museum and Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. In 1926, Germany joined the League of Nations and it thus became possible for German nationals to conduct excavations in what was now the French-ruled Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon . Preparing for new excavations, in 1927 Oppenheim again travelled to Tell Halaf. Artillery fire exchanged between Osman and French troops in

19865-413: Was defeated by the Pala king of Bengal . When the Chalukyas attempted to expand southwards, they were defeated by the Pallavas from farther south, who in turn were opposed by the Pandyas and the Cholas from still farther south. The Cholas could under the rule of Raja Raja Chola defeat their rivals and rise to a regional power. Cholas expanded northward and defeated Eastern Chalukya , Kalinga and

20010-505: Was established at Khanbaliq (modern-day Beijing ). Kublai Khan segregated Mongol culture from Chinese culture by discouraging interactions between the two peoples, separating living spaces and places of worship, and reserving top administrative positions to Mongols, thus preventing Confucian scholars to continue the bureaucratic system. Nevertheless, Kublai remained fascinated with Chinese thinking, surrounding himself with Chinese Buddhist, Taoist, or Confucian advisors. Mongol women displayed

20155-415: Was established when two peasants succeeded in rising up against Shi Huang's significantly weaker successor-son. The new Han government retained the centralization and bureaucracy of the Qin, but greatly reduced the repression seen before. They expanded their territory into Korea , Vietnam , and Central Asia , creating an even larger empire than the Qin. The Han developed contacts with the Persian Empire in

20300-404: Was hit by a British phosphorus bomb in November 1943. It burnt down completely, all wooden and limestone exhibits were destroyed. Those made from basalt were exposed to a thermal shock during attempts to fight the fire and severely damaged. Many statues and reliefs burst into dozens of pieces. Although the Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin took care of the remains, months passed before all of

20445-413: Was itself heavily influenced by earlier much older ancient religious beliefs and practices dating to the beginning of known history and before. The Persian Empire was successful in establishing peace and stability throughout the Middle East and were a major influence in art, politics (affecting Hellenistic leaders), and religion. Alexander the Great conquered this dynasty in the 4th century BC, creating

20590-434: Was the Tamilakam , an independent country dominated by three dynasties, the Pandyans , Cholas and Cheras . The government established by Chandragupta was led by an autocratic king, who primarily relied on the military to assert his power. It also applied the use of a bureaucracy and even sponsored a postal service. Chandragupta's grandson, Ashoka , greatly extended the empire by conquering most of modern-day India (save for

20735-601: Was the basis for the Vedic religion, which would eventually sophisticate and develop into Hinduism . China and Vietnam were also centres of metalworking. Dating back to the Neolithic Age, the first bronze drums, called the Dong Son drums have been uncovered in and around the Red River Delta regions of Vietnam and Southern China. These relate to the prehistoric Dong Son Culture of Vietnam. In Ban Chiang, Thailand (Southeast Asia), bronze artifacts have been discovered dating to 2100 BC. In Nyaunggan, Burma bronze tools have been excavated along with ceramics and stone artifacts. Dating

20880-412: Was the geographically extensive and powerful empire in ancient India, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 BC. It was one of the world's largest empires in its time, stretching to the Himalayas in the north, what is now Assam in the east, probably beyond modern Pakistan in the west, and annexing Balochistan and much of what is now Afghanistan , at its greatest extent. South of Mauryan empire

21025-428: 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. A report by archaeologist Rakesh Tewari on Lahuradewa, India shows new C14 datings that range between 9000 and 8000 BC associated with rice, making Lahuradewa the earliest Neolithic site in entire South Asia. Settled life emerged on

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