Misplaced Pages

#364635

33-813: Because the Mongol Empire spanned most of Eurasia , its impacts on Mongol controlled-areas led to the creation of imperial guards like the Keshik. Kheshig was the term used for the palace guards of the Mughal emperors in India, and also for the matchlocks and sabres, which were changed weekly from Akbar the Great 's armoury for the royal use. The royal guards in Persia who watched the King's person at night were also called Keshikchi. The assassination of

66-681: A few were Mongols, Koreans , Tungusic peoples , Kipchaks and Europeans/Middle Easterners including Alans and even one unit of Russians . The Keshig was converted into an administrative organisation instead. Many elements in the Mughal Empire shared similar heritage to the Mongols . Such examples are Babur , who was a direct descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. The Kheshgi family , an imperial dynasty of Pashtun origin that played important roles throughout Mughal era , are believed to be descendants of

99-496: A more efficient path to the ocean than the existing Volga–Don Canal . This usage can also be seen in the names of Eurasianet , The Journal of Eurasian Studies , and the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies , as well as the titles of numerous academic programmes at US universities. This usage is comparable to how Americans use " Western Hemisphere " to describe concepts and organizations dealing with

132-514: Is a single supercontinent . The concepts of Europe and Asia as distinct continents date back to antiquity , but their borders have historically been subject to change. For example, to the ancient Greeks , Asia originally included Africa but they classified Europe as separate land. Eurasia is connected to Africa at the Suez Canal , and the two are sometimes combined to describe the largest contiguous landmass on Earth, Afro-Eurasia . Primarily in

165-465: Is disputed, since Mount Elbrus would be part of Europe in the latter case, making it (and not Mont Blanc ) Europe's highest mountain. Most accepted is probably the boundary as defined by Philip Johan von Strahlenberg in the 18th century. He defined the dividing line along the Aegean Sea , Dardanelles , Sea of Marmara , Bosporus , Black Sea , Kuma–Manych Depression , Caspian Sea , Ural River , and

198-515: Is often used in Kazakhstan to describe its location. Numerous Kazakh institutions have the term in their names, like the L. N. Gumilev Eurasian National University ( Kazakh : Л. Н. Гумилёв атындағы Еуразия Ұлттық университеті ; Евразийский Национальный университет имени Л. Н. Гумилёва ) ( Lev Gumilev 's Eurasianism ideas having been popularized in Kazakhstan by Olzhas Suleimenov ),

231-1006: The Alps , the Arctic, the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, a definition that has been influential in Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union. Nowadays, partly inspired by this usage, the term Eurasia is sometimes used to refer to the post-Soviet space – in particular Russia, the Central Asian republics, and the Transcaucasus republics – and sometimes also adjacent regions such as Turkey and Mongolia . The word "Eurasia"

264-635: The Arctic Ocean to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the east, and the Indo-Mediterranean to the south. The division between Europe and Asia as two continents is a historical social construct , as neither fits the usual definition; thus, in some parts of the world, Eurasia is recognized as the largest of the six, five, or four continents on Earth. Eurasia covers around 55 million square kilometres (21 million square miles), or around 36.2% of

297-739: The Eurasian Plate includes Europe and most of Asia but not the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian Peninsula or the area of the Russian Far East east of the Chersky Range . From the point of view of history and culture, Eurasia can be loosely subdivided into Western Eurasia and Eastern Eurasia . In geology, Eurasia is often considered as a single rigid megablock, but this is debated. Eurasia formed between 375 and 325 million years ago with

330-686: The Greeks classified Europe (derived from the mythological Phoenician princess Europa ) and Asia which to the Greeks originally included Africa (derived from Asia , a woman in Greek mythology ) as separate "lands". Where to draw the dividing line between the two regions is still a matter of discussion . Especially whether the Kuma-Manych Depression or the Caucasus Mountains form the southeast boundary

363-534: The Italian or Iberian Peninsula. Due to its vast size and differences in latitude , Eurasia exhibits all types of climates under the Köppen classification , including the harshest types of hot and cold temperatures, high and low precipitation, and various types of ecosystems . Eurasia is considered a supercontinent , part of the supercontinent of Afro-Eurasia or simply a continent in its own right. In plate tectonics ,

SECTION 10

#1732851501365

396-730: The Northern and Eastern Hemispheres , Eurasia spans from Iceland and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Russian Far East , and from the Russian Far North to Maritime Southeast Asia in the south, but other specific geographical limits of Eurasia states that the southern limit is in the Weber's line . Eurasia is bordered by Africa to the southwest, the Atlantic Ocean to the west,

429-538: The Soviet Union ) then dominated much of the continent until the end of the Cold War in 1991. Originally, "Eurasia" is a geographical notion: in this sense, it is simply the biggest continent; the combined landmass of Europe and Asia. However, geopolitically, the word has several meanings, reflecting specific geopolitical interests. "Eurasia" is one of the most important geopolitical concepts and it figures prominently in

462-1186: The Transhimalaya . Other high ranges include the Kunlun , Hindu Raj , and Caucasus Mountains . The Alpide belt stretches 15,000 km across southern Eurasia, from Java in Maritime Southeast Asia to the Iberian Peninsula in Western Europe , including the ranges of the Himalayas, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, Alborz , Caucasus, and the Alps . Long ranges outside the Alpide Belt include the East Siberian , Altai , Scandinavian , Qinling , Western Ghats , Vindhya , Byrranga , and Annamite Ranges . The largest Eurasian islands by area are Borneo , Sumatra , Honshu , Great Britain, Sulawesi , Java, Luzon , Iceland, Mindanao , Ireland , Hokkaido , Sakhalin , and Sri Lanka . The five most-populated islands in

495-565: The Ural Mountains . However, at least part of this definition has been subject to criticism by many modern analytical geographers like Halford Mackinder , who saw little validity in the Ural Mountains as a boundary between continents. Nineteenth-century Russian philosopher Nikolai Danilevsky defined Eurasia as an entity separate from Europe and Asia, bounded by the Himalayas, the Caucasus,

528-572: The heterogeneous dispositif such metapolitical constructs used to control and exercise power. Across Eurasia, several single markets have emerged, including the Eurasian Economic Space , European Single Market , ASEAN Economic Community , and the Gulf Cooperation Council . There are also several international organizations and initiatives which seek to promote integration throughout Eurasia, including: In ancient times,

561-669: The Americas (e.g.,  Council on Hemispheric Affairs , Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation ). [REDACTED] Africa [REDACTED] Antarctica [REDACTED] Asia [REDACTED] Australia [REDACTED] Europe [REDACTED] North America [REDACTED] South America [REDACTED] Afro-Eurasia [REDACTED] Americas [REDACTED] Eurasia [REDACTED] Oceania 50°N 80°E  /  50°N 80°E  / 50; 80 Kheshgi The Kheshgi or Khaishgi ( Pashto : خیشکی)

594-573: The Earth's total land area. The landmass contains well over 5 billion people, equating to approximately 70% of the human population . Humans first settled in Eurasia from Africa 125,000 years ago. Eurasia contains many peninsulas, including the Arabian Peninsula , Korean Peninsula , Indian subcontinent , Anatolia Peninsula , Kamchatka Peninsula , and Europe, which itself contains peninsulas such as

627-787: The Eurasian Media Forum, the Eurasian Cultural Foundation ( Евразийский фонд культуры ), the Eurasian Development Bank ( Евразийский банк развития ), and the Eurasian Bank. In 2007 Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev , proposed building a " Eurasia Canal " to connect the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea via Russia's Kuma-Manych Depression to provide Kazakhstan and other Caspian-basin countries with

660-715: The Kheshig who originated in the surrounding areas of Zamand and Keshik in Iran . The modern Mongolian Khishigten clan are also believed to be their descendants, who now inhabit Heshigten Banner within Inner Mongolia in China . Eurasia Eurasia ( / j ʊəˈr eɪ ʒ ə / yoor- AY -zhə , also UK : /- ʃ ə / -⁠shə ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia . According to some geographers, physiographically , Eurasia

693-473: The Western Hemisphere and Oceania geopolitically peripheral to the world's central continent. About 75 per cent of the world's people live in 'Eurasia', and most of the world's physical wealth is there as well, both in its enterprises and underneath its soil. 'Eurasia' accounts for about three-fourths of the world's known energy resources." The Russian " Eurasianism " corresponded initially more or less to

SECTION 20

#1732851501365

726-407: The commentaries on the ideas of Halford Mackinder . As Zbigniew Brzezinski observed on Eurasia: "... how America 'manages' Eurasia is critical. A power that dominates 'Eurasia' would control two of the world's three most advanced and economically productive regions. A mere glance at the map also suggests that control over 'Eurasia' would almost automatically entail Africa's subordination, rendering

759-454: The land area of Imperial Russia in 1914, including parts of Eastern Europe . One of Russia's main geopolitical interests lies in ever closer integration with those countries that it considers part of "Eurasia." The term Eurasia gained geopolitical reputation as one of the three superstates in 1984 , George Orwell 's novel where constant surveillance and propaganda are strategic elements (introduced as reflexive antagonists ) of

792-482: The leaders of rival Mongol tribes was a common occurrence thanks to the ever-shifting loyalties and conflicting interests at play within Mongol tribal politics. The father of Genghis Khan , Yesugei , for example, was unwittingly poisoned by one of his enemies. The risk was especially high at night since the ger that Mongol nomads traditionally sleep in lacked a solid wall, and so a sword or spear could easily penetrate

825-636: The least-densely populated. Eurasia has been the host of many ancient civilizations, including those based in Mesopotamia , the Indus Valley and China. In the Axial Age (mid- first millennium BCE ), a continuous belt of civilizations stretched through the Eurasian subtropical zone from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This belt became the mainstream of world history for two millennia. New connections emerged between

858-513: The merging of Siberia , Kazakhstania , and Baltica , which was joined to Laurentia (now North America), to form Euramerica . This is a list of the longest rivers in Eurasia. Included are all rivers over 3,000 km (1,900 mi). All of the 100 highest mountains on Earth are in Eurasia, in the Himalaya , Karakoram , Hindu Kush , Pamir , Hengduan , and Tian Shan mountain ranges, and all peaks above 7,000 metres are in these ranges and

891-444: The reign of Genghis, it seems to have been divided into four groups, commanded by the four generals Mukhulai , Chormaqan , Bo'orchu and Borokhula. Members of the kheshig outranked almost any other military officers in the Mongol Empire. As it was extremely well paid, the vocation was a popular one, and the numbers of Kheshig grew rapidly, to the extent that they were only normally on duty for three days in succession. In light of this,

924-508: The subregions of Eurasia from the Age of Discovery onwards, with the Iberians discovering new maritime routes in the 1490s, and the 1869 completion of the Suez Canal having paved the way for direct passage through the Indo-Mediterranean and the wave of Western European "New Imperialism" that dominated Africa and Asia until the mid-20th century. The communist presence in Eurasia (primarily driven by

957-492: The use of the traditional Mongol Keshig . Kublai created a new Imperial guard force, the suwei , of which half were Chinese and the other half ethnically mixed. By the 1300s even the Keshig were flooded with Chinese recruits. The suwei were initially 6,500 strong but by the end of the dynasty it had become 100,000 strong. They were divided into wei or guards, each recruited from a particular ethnicity. Most wei were Chinese, while

990-554: The walls and kill the subject inside. As a result, the Mongol monarch in Mongolia typically had personal guards. The Kerait khan Toghoril (Wang Khan) had an imperial guard, Torguud. According to an oral tradition , their descendants could be Torghut people. After the defeat of Wang Khan in 1203, Genghis established the kheshig. The kheshig consisted mainly of sworn personal followers. At first, this consisted of 70 day guards (Torguud or tunghaut) and 80 night guards (khevtuul). During

1023-511: The word kheshig refers favor or blessing in the Mongolian language . Membership in the kheshig was regarded as a supreme honor and was an alternative to the necessity of hostage taking for noblemen . In the early days the guard was composed of 1,000 men. By the middle of Genghis Khan's reign, they had expanded to a tumen (10,000 men) commanded by Nayagha, an uncle of Bayan of the Baarin . The Kheshig

Kheshig - Misplaced Pages Continue

1056-581: The world are Java, Honshu, Great Britain, Luzon, and Sumatra. Other Eurasian islands with large populations include Mindanao, Taiwan , Salsette , Borneo, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Kyushu , and Hainan . The most densely-populated islands in Eurasia are Caubian Gamay Island , Ap Lei Chau , and Navotas Island . In the Arctic Ocean, Severny Island , Nordaustlandet , October Revolution Island , and Bolshevik Island are Eurasia's largest uninhabited islands, and Kotelny Island , Alexandra Land , and Spitsbergen are

1089-548: Was originally consisted Mongolians . As the Empire expanded rapidly, Genghis Khan's successors recruited Persian , Georgian , Armenian , Alan , Korean , Italian and Russian units. Since the kheshig was personal appanage of a monarch, his successors did not inherit them. Instead, the kheshigs of deceased Emperors took care of their lords' families and assisted households. But Güyük Khan took most of his father Ögedei 's old kheshig. For his own bodyguards Kublai Khan retained

#364635