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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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Rāma slaying Rāvaṇa, from a royal Mewar manuscript, 17th century

The Ramayana (/rɑːˈmɑːjənə/; Sanskrit: रामायणम्, romanized: Rāmāyaṇam) also known as Valmiki Ramayana, as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as an Sanskrit epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics of Hinduism known as the Itihasas, the other being the Mahabharata. The epic narrates the life of Rama, a prince of Ayodhya in the kingdom of Kosala. The epic follows his fourteen-year exile to the forest urged by his father King Dasharatha, on the request of Rama's stepmother Kaikeyi; his travels across forests in the Indian subcontinent with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana; the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana, the king of Lanka, that resulted in war; and Rama's eventual return to Ayodhya along with Sita to be crowned king amidst jubilation and celebration.

The scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 7th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages extending up to the 3rd century CE, although original date of composition is unknown. It is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature and consists of nearly 24,000 verses (mostly set in the Shloka/Anuṣṭubh metre), divided into seven kāṇḍa (chapters). It belongs to the genre of Itihasa, narratives of past events (purāvṛtta), interspersed with teachings on the goals of human life. (Full article...)

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Georgia (Georgian: საქართველო, romanized: sakartvelo, IPA: [sakʰartʰʷelo] ^ⓘ) is a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe and West Asia. It is part of the Caucasus region, bounded by the Black Sea to the west, Russia to the north and northeast, Turkey to the southwest, Armenia to the south, and Azerbaijan to the southeast. Georgia covers an area of 69,700 square kilometres (26,900 sq mi). It has a population of 3.7 million, of which over a third live in the capital and largest city, Tbilisi. Georgians, who are indigenous to the region, constitute a majority and a titular nation in Georgia.

Georgia has been inhabited since prehistoric times, hosting the world's earliest known sites of winemaking, gold mining, and textiles. The classical era saw the emergence of several kingdoms, such as Colchis and Iberia, that formed the nucleus of the modern Georgian state. In the early fourth century, Georgians officially adopted Christianity, which contributed to their gradual unification and ethnogenesis. In the High Middle Ages, the Kingdom of Georgia reached its Golden Age during the reign of King David IV and Queen Tamar. The kingdom subsequently declined and disintegrated under the hegemony of various regional powers, including the Mongols, the Ottoman Empire, and Persia, before being gradually annexed into the Russian Empire starting in 1801. (Full article...)

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Featured biography

Gold dinar minted by the Umayyads in 695, which likely depicts Abd al-Malik.

Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam (Arabic: عَبْد الْمَلِك ٱبْن مَرْوَان ٱبْن الْحَكَم, romanized: ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam; July/August 644 or June/July 647 – 9 October 705) was the fifth Umayyad caliph, ruling from April 685 until his death in October 705. A member of the first generation of born Muslims, his early life in Medina was occupied with pious pursuits. He held administrative and military posts under Caliph Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680), founder of the Umayyad Caliphate, and his own father, Caliph Marwan I (r. 684–685). By the time of Abd al-Malik's accession, Umayyad authority had collapsed across the Caliphate as a result of the Second Fitna and had been reconstituted in Syria and Egypt during his father's reign.

Following a failed invasion of Iraq in 686, Abd al-Malik focused on securing Syria before making further attempts to conquer the greater part of the Caliphate from his principal rival, the Mecca-based caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr. To that end, he concluded an unfavorable truce with the reinvigorated Byzantine Empire in 689, quashed a coup attempt in Damascus by his kinsman, al-Ashdaq, the following year, and reincorporated into the army the rebellious Qaysi tribes of the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) in 691. He then conquered Zubayrid Iraq and dispatched his general, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, to Mecca where he killed Ibn al-Zubayr in late 692, thereby reuniting the Caliphate under Abd al-Malik's rule. The war with Byzantium resumed, resulting in Umayyad advances into Anatolia and Armenia, the destruction of Carthage and the recapture of Kairouan, the launchpad for the later conquests of western North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, in 698. In the east, Abd al-Malik's viceroy, al-Hajjaj, firmly established the caliph's authority in Iraq and Khurasan, stamping out opposition by the Kharijites and the Arab tribal nobility by 702. Abd al-Malik's final years were marked by a domestically peaceful and prosperous consolidation of power. (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 2Map of Marco Polo's travels (from History of Asia)
Image 3Population concentration and boundaries of the Western Zhou dynasty in China (from History of Asia)
Image 4The Qing conquest of the Ming and expansion of the empire (from History of Asia)
Image 5The Han dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 6A view of the Fort St George in 18th-century Madras. (from History of Asia)
Image 7Daian-ji temple at Nara, Japan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 8Invasions, destruction and possible population movements during the Late Bronze Age collapse, beginning c. 1200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 9Chicken tikka, a well-known dish across the globe, reflects the South Asian cooking style. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 10Ancient ziggurat, Iraq (from Culture of Asia)
Image 11Here a Jesuit, Adam Schall von Bell (1592–1666), is dressed as an official of the Chinese Department of Astronomy. (from History of Asia)
Image 12India'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 13Indonesian Balinese cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 14Tang dynasty Chinese poet Li Bai, in a 13th-century depiction by Liang Kai (from Culture of Asia)
Image 15A typical example of Dravidian architecture (from Culture of Asia)
Image 16The Qing Empire in 1832. (from History of Asia)
Image 17The Hindu-Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat. (from History of Asia)
Image 18British troops taking Zhenjiang from Qing troops (from History of Asia)
Image 19Borobudur, a Buddhist temple in Indonesia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 20Battle of Talas between Tang dynasty and Abbasid Caliphate c. 751 (from History of Asia)
Image 21The 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 22Detail 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 23The Delhi Sultanate. (from History of Asia)
Image 24Angkor Wat, Khmer Empire (from Culture of Asia)
Image 25Machiya in Heian period (from History of Asia)
Image 26The Silk Road in Asia (from History of Asia)
Image 27Philippine cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 28Daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng (from History of Asia)
Image 29Sun temple at Konarka, Odisha, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 30A stone image of the Buddha (from Culture of Asia)
Image 31Language families in South Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 32The Mughal ambassador Khan’Alam in 1618 negotiating with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran. (from History of Asia)
Image 33Kabsa also called Majboos, famous in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates (from Culture of Asia)
Image 34The Grand Mosque in Kuwait City, one of the largest mosques in the region (from Culture of Asia)
Image 35The 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 36The early Muslim conquests, 622–750 (from History of Asia)
Image 37the Goryeo ware, which shows splendid culture of Goryeo in mediaeval Korea. (from History of Asia)
Image 38Detail 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 39Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757 by Francis Hayman (from History of Asia)
Image 40The 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 41Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 42Projected shares of global GDP by region to 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 43Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jeruslam (from Culture of Asia)
Image 44Map of Vietnam showing the conquest of the south (the Nam tiến, 1069–1757). (from History of Asia)
Image 45The Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan, which was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010 (from Asian Century)
Image 46Political map of Asia in 1860 (from History of Asia)
Image 47The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830 by Hokusai, an example of art flourishing in the Edo Period (from History of Asia)
Image 48Deoksugung, the palace where Emperor Gojong established Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 49Badshahi Mosque built under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 50The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling (from Culture of Asia)
Image 51Map of Asia for early 20th century (from History of Asia)
Image 52A Confucian ritual ceremony in Jeju, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 53Sculpture of Prince Shōtoku (from History of Asia)
Image 54Gyeonghoeru of Gyeongbokgung, the Joseon dynasty's royal palace. (from History of Asia)
Image 55Korean 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 56Balhae in the north, Later Silla in the south (from History of Asia)
Image 57East Asian cultural sphere (from Culture of Asia)
Image 58Gojong (1852–1919), the 26th king of Joseon dynasty and the first emperor of Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 59Some 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 60Hinduism 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 61Map of Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 62Projected GDP of 7 largest economies in 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 63Đại Việt, Champa, Angkor Empire and their neighbours, late 13th century (from History of Asia)
Image 64The Song dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 1200 (from History of Asia)
Image 65The First Persian Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 66Traditional Rajasthani garments from Jaipur, Rajasthan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 67Political cartoon depicting the Afghan Emir Sher Ali with the rival "friends" the Russian Bear and British Lion (1878) (from History of Asia)
Image 68The Russian Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen built in 1768 (from Culture of Asia)
Image 69The Taj Mahal, Agra, India (from Culture of Asia)

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Featured picture

Indonesian rupiah

Banknotes: Bank of Indonesia

The rupiah is the national currency of Indonesia. Introduced in 1946 by Indonesian nationalists fighting for independence, the currency replaced a version of the Netherlands Indies gulden which had been introduced during the Japanese occupation in World War II. In its early years the rupiah was used in conjunction with other currencies, including a new version of the gulden introduced by the Dutch. Since 1950, it has had a lengthy history of inflation and revaluation. As of August 2018, the currency—which is issued and controlled by the Bank of Indonesia—is trading for more than 14,600 rupiah to the United States dollar.

This note, denominated 50,000 rupiah, is from a 2011 revision of an earlier series. It depicts I Gusti Ngurah Rai, a National Hero of Indonesia, on its obverse, and Bratan Temple on its reverse.

See other denominations: Rp 1,000, Rp 2,000, Rp 5,000, Rp 10,000, Rp 20,000, Rp 100,000

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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 April 2024 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Israel–Hamas war; Thirty rabbis and peace activists from the United States and Israel are arrested near the Gaza–Israel barrier while protesting to bring awareness to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. (The New York Times); An 18-year-old woman is stabbed in Ramla, Israel, and is reported to be in "serious" condition. (AFP via Yahoo! News) (Jerusalem Post)
26 April 2024 – Moro conflict: The Philippine Army announces that it has killed Nawapi Abdulsaid, an Abu Sayyaf militant, during a shootout two days ago in Hadji Mohammad Ajul, Basilan, Philippines. Abdulsaid was involved in fifteen beheadings as well as in attacks against security forces. (AP)
26 April 2024 –: Four expatriate workers from Yemen are killed by a drone attack in the Khor Mor gas field in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. (Reuters)
26 April 2024 – China–Palestine relations: Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin says that China will host unity talks between Hamas and Fatah. (Reuters)

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Major Religions in Asia

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Central Asia and Surroundings

Indian Subcontinent

Southeast Asia

East Asia

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Selected panorama

Credit: David Castor

The Taj Mahal (Hindi: ताज महल, from Persian/Urdu: تاج محل "crown of palaces") is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage." Taj Mahal is the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Turkish and Indian architectural styles.

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