Asian Studies (Quiz Notes)

o Civilization of Southwest Asia

 Southwest Asia- sub region of Asia, bounded on the west by the Mediterranean Sea, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Red Sea and on the
south and southeast by the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf.

 Countries under Southwest Asia

Armenia Kuwait Yemen

Azerbaijan Lebanon United Arab Emirates
Bahrain Oman Jordan
Cyprus Qatar
Georgia Saudi Arabia
Iraq Syria
Israel Turkey

I. Ancient Period

 Mesopotamia is a region of southwest Asia in the Tigris and Euphrates river system that benefitted from the area’s climate and
geography to host the beginnings of human civilization.
 Mesopotamia derived from the ancient word “meso” means between/ middle and “potamos” means river.
 It is part of the Fertile Crescent, an area also known as “Cradle of Civilization” for the number of innovations that arose from the
early societies in this region, which are among some of the earliest known human civilizations on earth.

o Humans first settled in Mesopotamia in the Paleolithic era. By 14,000 B.C., people in the region lived in small settlements with
circular houses.
o Mesopotamia is located in the region now known as the Middle East

a. Major Contributors

1.) Sumerians
 One of the great contributions the Sumerians made to civilization was their many inventions. They  invented the first form of writing, a
number system, the first wheeled vehicles, sun-dried bricks, and irrigation for farming. Sumerians are considered the creators of
civilization as modern humans understand it.
 Cuneiform- writing system

2.) Akkadian Empire

 The first Empire to rule all of Mesopotamia was the Akkadian Empire. It lasted for around 200 years from 2300 BC to 2100 BC. The
Akkadians lived in northern Mesopotamia while the Sumerians lived in the south. They had a similar government and culture as the
Sumerians, but spoke a different language.
 The Akkadian Empire created the first postal system where clay tablets inscribed in cuneiform Akkadian script were wrapped in outer
clay envelopes marked with the name and address of the recipient and the seal of the sender.

3.) Babylonian
 It was a state in ancient Mesopotamia. The city of Babylon, whose ruins are located in present-day Iraq, was founded more than
4,000 years ago as a small port town on the Euphrates River. It grew into one of the largest cities of the ancient world under the rule
of Hammurabi.
  We can thank the Babylonians for pioneering discoveries like the wheel, the chariot, and the sailboat, as well as the development of
the first-known map, which was engraved on clay tablets.

4.) Assyrian
 -The Assyrians were one of the major peoples to live in Mesopotamia during ancient times. The Assyrian Empire rose and fell several
times throughout history. The Assyrians first rose to power when the Akkadian Empire fell.
 -The Assyrians invented the world's first written language and the 360-degree circle, established Hammurabi's code of law, and are
credited with many other military, artistic, and architectural achievements.
Ziggurats Assyrian Soldiers

b. Kingship and Administrative

 They believed in kingship, and it was an honor for a man by the gods. In contrast with other civilizations such as ancient Egypt,
Mesopotamians consider a king to be a great man that was selected by the gods to represent them on earth and not divine.
 Administration, Mesopotamian rulers had wide duties. Not only had they to maintain law and order, but they had to ensure that the
canals and irrigation systems were in proper working order, so that agriculture could thrive.

c. Social Stratification
 The Mesopotamia social hierarchy basically consisted of three classes such as nobility, free citizens and slaves.
 King
 Priests
 Scribes
 Merchants and the Artisans
 Commoners
 Slaves

d. Religious Beliefs
 Mesopotamians were polytheistic; they worshipped several major gods and thousands of minor gods. Each Mesopotamian city, whether
Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian or Assyrian, had its own patron god or goddess. Each Mesopotamian era or culture had different
expressions and interpretations of the gods.

II. Classical Age

1.) Achaemenian Empire

Also known as Achaemenid Empire.

Was an ancient Iranian empire that was based in Western Asia and founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC
For a number of centuries they fell under the domination of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911-609 BC), based in northern
Mesopotamia. It is also known from imposing a successful model of centralized bureaucratic administration via the used of
satraps; multicultural policy; building infrastructure, such as road systems and a postal system.
 
2.) Hellenistic World

 -The Hellenic World' is a term which refers to that period of ancient Greek history between 507 BCE (the date of the first
democracy in Athens) and 323 BCE (the death of Alexander the Great). This period is also referred to as the age of Classical
Greece.
 -Alexander the Great, a Macedonian king, conquered the eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, the Middle East, and parts of Asia in a
remarkably short period of time. His empire ushered in significant cultural changes in the lands he conquered and changed the
course of the region's history.
 3.) Persian and Roman Empire in Asia

 Fought for almost 681 years,

 The Roman–Persian Wars, also known as the Roman–Iranian Wars, were a series of conflicts between states of the Greco-Roman world
and two successive Iranian empires: the Parthian and the Sasanian,
 The wars were ended by the Arab Muslim Conquests, which led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire and huge territorial losses for the
Byzantine Empire, shortly after the end of the last war between them, and the expense of resources during the Roman–Persian Wars
ultimately proved catastrophic for both empires.

III. Islamic Age

 The Islamic Age refers to a period in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 13th century, during which
much of the historically Islamic world was ruled by various caliphates and science, economic development, and cultural works flourished.
 The Islamic Golden Age started with the rise of Islam and establishment of the first Islamic state in 622.

1.) Political Administration

 The present role of Islam in Middle Eastern politics is not a continuation but a reconstruction of the historical paradigms
 One was of an integral state and society unified under the political and moral leadership of a charismatic religious teacher
 The second tradition made room for purely secular monarchical concepts and a secular political culture

Socio Economic Conditions

-A Southwest Asia country without large oil reserves with a mixed economy who is moving towards a more diversified market economy
from a more command economy. When a country has many different industries. A southwest Asia country very reliant on the oil
industry. Its economy is mixed and closer to command than market.

o East Asian Philosophy (Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Bushido)

PHILOSOPHIES:

- Confucianism
 Confucianism was a way of life for ancient Chinese people.
 The founder of Confucianism, named Confucius, lived from 551 to 479 B.C.E.
 GOLDEN RULE: “Do not do unto others what you would not want others to do unto you.”
 FIVE VIRTUES: humanity or goodness (ren or ji), righteousness (yi), proper conduct (li), wisdom (chi), and trustworthiness (xin

- Taoism
 Taoism (also spelled Daoism) is a religion and a philosophy from ancient China
 One of the main ideas of Taoism is the belief in balancing forces, or yin and yang.
 Taoism has temples, monasteries, and priests who make offerings, meditate, and perform other rituals for their communities.

- Buddhism
 Taoism has temples, monasteries, and priests who make offerings, meditate, and perform other rituals for their communities.
 Shotoku Taishi (born in 574, ruled 593-622) is regarded as the "father of Japanese Buddhism." 
 The are numerous Buddhist sects in Japan. The largest is the Nichiren sect with about nine million members. The Zen sect has about 4.5
million members. Most Japanese Buddhist sects embrace beliefs of East Asian Mahayana ("Greater Vehicle")

o Mongols, Ottoman Turks, and other civilization in north Asia.

I. Emergence of Warrior Organization

 It is specializing warfare within the tribal or clan based warrior society that recognize class or caste. Recreation of a mounted
warrior from the Mongol Empire. The Mongol empire was the largest land empire in history and its military was highly
respected and feared. Warriors seem to have been present in the earliest pre-state societies. Most of the basic weapons
used by warriors appeared before the rise of most hierarchical systems.
 Bows and arrows, clubs, spears, swords, and other edged weapons were in widespread use. However, with the new findings
of metallurgy, the aforementioned weapons had grown in effectiveness.
 a. Home and culture of steppe and desert people

 What is culture?
 Nomadic empires, sometimes also called steppe empires, Central or Inner Asian empires, were the empires erected by the bow-
wielding, horse-riding, nomadic people in the Eurasian Steppe, from classical antiquity (Scythia) to the early modern era (Dzungars).
 Where are steppes found?
o The world's largest steppe region, often referred to as "the Great Steppe", is found in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and
neighbouring countries stretching from Ukraine in the west through Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to the
Altai, Koppet Dag and Tian Shan ranges in China.

b. Military advantages of the steppe people

 The military advantages of nomadism became apparent even before the speed and strength of horses had been fully harnessed for
military purposes. Military primacy shifted to the northern steppes, where horses were easy to raise, and away from the southern
grasslands.
 Transfer of troops between units was forbidden. The leaders on each level had significant license to execute their orders in the way they
considered best. This command structure was highly flexible and allowed in the army to attack en masse, divide into smaller groups to
encircle their enemies and either lead them into an ambush or divide into small groups of roughly 10 to mop up a fleeing and broken
army.

II. The huns or Hsiung Nus

 Xiongnu, Wade-Giles Hsiung-nu, nomadic pastoral people who at the end of the 3rd century BCE formed a great tribal league that was
able to dominate much of Central Asia for more than 500 years. China’s wars against the Xiongnu, who were a constant threat to the
country’s northern frontier throughout this period, led to the Chinese exploration and conquest of much of Central Asia.
 The Xiongnu first appear in Chinese historical records about the 5th century BCE, when their repeated invasions prompted the small
kingdoms of North China to begin erecting what later became the Great Wall. The Xiongnu became a real threat to China after the 3rd
century BCE, when they formed a far-flung tribal confederation under a ruler known as the chanyu, the rough equivalent of the Chinese
emperor’s designation as the tianzi (“son of heaven”).

III. The mongols

 Mongols are member of a Central Asian ethnographic group of closely related tribal peoples who live mainly on the Mongolian Plateau
and share a common language and nomadic tradition.

a. The Military career of Genghis khan

 A Mongolian warrior-ruler, one of the most famous conquerors of history, who consolidated tribes into a unified Mongolia and then
extended his empire across Asia to the Adriatic Sea.
 Genghis Khan was a warrior and ruler of genius who, starting from obscure and insignificant beginnings, brought all the nomadic tribes
of Mongolia under the rule of himself and his family in a rigidly disciplined military state.

b. Expansion of Mongol Empire

 During Europe’s High Middle Ages the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous land empire in history, began to emerge. The Mongol
Empire began in the Central Asian steppes and lasted throughout the 13th and 14th centuries.
 At its greatest extent it included all of modern-day Mongolia, China, parts of Burma, Romania, Pakistan, Siberia, Ukraine, Belarus, Cilicia,
Anatolia, Georgia, Armenia, Persia, Iraq, Central Asia, and much or all of Russia. Many additional countries became tributary states of the
Mongol Empire.
 During Europe’s High Middle Ages the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous land empire in history, began to emerge. The Mongol
Empire began in the Central Asian steppes and lasted throughout the 13th and 14th centuries.
 At its greatest extent it included all of modern-day Mongolia, China, parts of Burma, Romania, Pakistan, Siberia, Ukraine, Belarus, Cilicia,
Anatolia, Georgia, Armenia, Persia, Iraq, Central Asia, and much or all of Russia. Many additional countries became tributary states of the
Mongol Empire.

c. Impact of Mongol Invasion

 The Mongol invasion of Europe in the 13th century occurred from the 1220s into the 1240s. In Eastern Europe, the Mongols
conquered Volga Bulgaria, Cumania, Alania, and the Kievan Rus' federation.
 In an era of religious fighting, the Mongols built a religious tolerance that spanned almost all religions they knew—Islam,
Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism. Chinese sciences, astronomy, medicine, engineering, and mathematics exploded in
the Mongol era, as the Khans understood the value of sciences.

o Why were the Mongols so effective?

 Owing to their adaptability, their skill in communications, and their reputation for ferocity, the Mongols
swept across Eurasia over the 13th and 14th centuries, quickly assembling the largest contiguous empire in
world history. These non-state actors had to quickly learn how to become a state themselves.
 The Mongols could run over the brutally cold lands of Siberia and the brutally hot lands of Arabia. They didn't care if they were running
into the empty grasslands of the Steppes or the deep tropical jungles of Burma. They could run the paddy fields of China and also run
through Himalayas as though it was some irrelevant hill. They could as easily mount the horses as easily as they could launch naval
attacks. It is as though geography is some irrelevant detail that they didn't bother about.
 The Mongols could run over the brutally cold lands of Siberia and the brutally hot lands of Arabia. They didn't care if they were running
into the empty grasslands of the Steppes or the deep tropical jungles of Burma. They could run the paddy fields of China and also run
through Himalayas as though it was some irrelevant hill. They could as easily mount the horses as easily as they could launch naval
attacks. It is as though geography is some irrelevant detail that they didn't bother about.

IV. The Ottoman Turks

 What is the Ottoman Empire known for? The Ottomans were known for their achievements in art, science and medicine. Istanbul
and other major cities throughout the empire were recognized as artistic hubs, especially during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent.
 Ottoman Empire, empire created by Turkish tribes in Anatolia (Asia Minor) that grew to be one of the most powerful states in the world
during the 15th and 16th centuries. The Ottoman period spanned more than 600 years and came to an end only in 1922, when it was
replaced by the Turkish Republic and various successor states in southeastern Europe and the Middle East.

a. Tamarlane and his achievements Russia

Who is Tamarlane?
 Born in 9th April 1336, Shahrisabz, Uzbekistan Timur (Former Amir of the Timurid Empire).
 Timur was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia,
becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty.
 As an undefeated commander, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest military leaders and tacticians in history.
 Known by his nickname, Tamerlane, it’s unclear why many people in the Western world have never heard of this brutal and ingenious
warlord.
 During his mid-twenties, Tamerlane was crippled by injuries to his right leg and right hand. Legend states that he was shot by arrows
when his band of thieves was ambushed by a shepherd. It’s more likely that the injuries were sustained in battle when he was a soldier
for the Khan of Sistan (in north-east Iran). Tamerlane’s ambition was to rebuild the empire of Genghis Khan, who had died a century
earlier. Legacy.
 Timur started life as the son of a minor chieftain, much like his putative ancestor Genghis Khan. Through sheer intelligence, military skill,
and force of personality, Timur was able to conquer an empire stretching from Russia to India and from the Mediterranean Sea to
Mongolia.

o Brahmanism, Hinduism, Buddhism

RELIGIONS IN SOUTH ASIA

 Hinduism
 HINDUISM is the world's oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots and customs dating back more
than 4,000 years. Today, with about 900 million followers, Hinduism is the third-largest religion behind
Christianity and Islam. Roughly 95 percent of the world's Hindus live in India.

BELIEFS – PHILOSOPHY OF HINDUISM

• Hindu believes in (the continuous cycle of life, death, and reincarnation).

• The goal of the individual soul is moksha.

• The importance of Yoga and Nyaya to Indian (Hindus) Philosophy. (actually there is 6 common).

• Yoga teaches the Hindu to practice the mind, self control, concentration.

• Nyaya teaches the Hindu that the only thing in life that is acceptable is when you prove it with experience. (logical thinking).

BELIEFS-PHILOSOPHY OF BUDDHISM

• The four noble truths are that existence is suffering (dukhka), suffering has a cause, craving and attachment (trishna), there is a cessation
of suffering (nirvana).

• Eightfold path which are the right views, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and
right concentration. Buddhism emphasizes process and relation over entity or substance.

o Coming of Islam and Christianity in Southeast Asia

  Islamic Religion

ORIGIN: Islam began in the northwest part of Arabia in the 7th century and spread into Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Iran,
Central Asia, Egypt, and eventually Spain and Portugal.

 Islam is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity, with 1.8 billion Muslim worldwide.
 Monotheistic religion
 Allah-God
 Muhammad-Prophet/Messenger

 The Holy Qur’an

 The sacred scripture of Islam. The Holy Quran is the last revelation form Allah sent to all of mankind
and it was revealed to his final messenger, Prophet Muhammad. It contains 114 chapters and it was revealed
1,400 years ago to Prophet Muhammad.

 THE 5 PILLARS OF ISLAM THE CORE BELIEFS AND PRACTICES

1. Belief- Shahada
2. Prayer- Salah (five obligatory prayers) –Fajr, -Duhr, -Asr, - Maghrib, -Isha
3. Alms-giving- Zakat
4. Fasting- Sawm
5. Hajj- constitute the basic norms of Islamic practice

SPREAD OF ISLAM RELIGION TO SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRIES

 The spread of Islam religion to Southeast Asian Countries is somewhat debated no one knows how this religion
spread throughout the Southeast Asia.

Contribution of Islam religion to Southeast Asia:

 Islamic Influence on Southeast Asian Visual Arts, Literature, and Performance. Muslims were known to have a
commercial talent notably encouraged by Islam, as well as excellent sailing skills.

 Christianity Religion

 Christianity began in the 1st century CE after Jesus died and was said to be resurrected.
 Christianity is the most widely practiced religion in the world, with more than 2 billion followers.
 Monotheistic religion
 Christians believe in one God, the God of Abraham

The Holy Bible

 The sacred text of Christianity is the Holy Bible. The Christian Bible has two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.

THE SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY RELIGION TO SOUTHEAST ASIA

 Christianity was first introduced successfully to Southeast Asia by Iberian (Portuguese and Spanish) (Iberian, Spanish Ibero, one of a
prehistoric people of southern and eastern Spain who later gave their name to the whole peninsula) missionaries and colonists. In 1511
the Portuguese began spreading Catholism the region after having secured their position in Malacca (Malaysia).

Contribution of Christianity Religion to Southeast Asia:

 The contribution of Christianity religion to Southeast Asia is medical care, an inspiration for art, culture and philosophy. Also the
important traditions like Lent and Holy Week, All Souls' Day, as well as many local fiestas honoring patron saints and especially the Virgin
Mary.