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The vasT conTinenT of asia is home to the oldest civilizations
and religions in the world. Because asia contains many virtually
impassable deserts and mountain ranges, individual countries
developed separately from each other. however, links between
these countries sprang up as merchants traveled along the silk
Road, indian kings invaded neighboring countries, Buddhist
monks crossed the himalayas, and arab traders sailed across the
indian ocean. as a result, the great hindu, Buddhist, and islamic
religions spread across the continent. for much of the last 500 years,
europe controlled large parts of asia, but since 1945, asian countries have
gained their independence. Many of them are now world-class economies.silk Road
The silk Road was an important
trading route that stretched across
asia from loyang, china’s capital,
in the east to the Mediterranean sea
in the west. it was called the silk Road
because of the chinese silk that was
traded along its length. The road was
not continuous but was made up of a
series of well-marked routes connecting
major towns. here, merchants bought
and sold their goods, creating a
link between asia and europe.aRaB TRadeRs
arab merchants were great travelers and
adventurers, crossing deserts and oceans in
search of new markets in which to buy and
sell their goods. on their journeys, they
converted local people to their islamic
religion, founded by Muhammad in arabia
in the early 600s. as a result, islam spread
across asia as far as the southeastern islands.eaRly civilizaTions
asia’s extreme land forms,
such as the towering peaks
of the himalayas that separate
india from china, meant
that early asian cultures
had little contact with each
other, or with the rest of the
world. as a result, the first
great asian civilizations,
such as the indus valley
civilization in the indian
subcontinent and the
shang dynasty in
china, developed
very different and
distinct cultures.Mongols
The Mongols were fierce
warriors who lived as nomads
on the steppes, or grasslands,
of central asia. in the 1200s,
they created an empire that
stretched from china into
eastern europe. Their power
declined in the 1300s, but in
1369, one of their leaders,
Tamerlane the great, became
ruler of central asia. he built
many fine mosques in his
capital, samarkand.BuddhisT Monks
siddhartha gautama, the
founder of Buddhism, was
born in india c. 563 bce.
By his death c. 483 bce,
his teaching had spread
throughout india. from
about 100 ce, Buddhist
monks took Buddhism
across the himalayas to
china and along the silk
Road into central asia.
Today most of the world’s
Buddhists live in asia.hinduisM
hinduism began in the ancient civilizations of
the indus valley, in india, around 2500 bce.
over the centuries, the religion spread across
india to sri lanka and the islands of southeast
asia. hinduism is the oldest religion in the
world still practiced today and provides a
thread linking together all of india’s history.Bactrian (two-humped)
camel pottery made
in China.history of
AsiA
Buddhist monks shave
their heads and wear
saffron-colored robes.US_043_Asia_1_Hist_of.indd 43 20/01/16 4:32 pm