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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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The Bengali language movement (Bengali: বাংলা ভাষা আন্দোলন, romanized: Bangla Bhasha Andolôn) was a political movement in former East Bengal (renamed East Pakistan, now Bangladesh) in 1952 advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as a co-lingua franca of the then-Dominion of Pakistan to allow its use in government affairs, the continuation of its use as a medium of education, its use in media, currency and stamps, and to maintain its writing in the Bengali script.

When the Dominion of Pakistan was formed after the separation of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 when the British left, it was composed of various ethnic and linguistic groups, with the geographically non-contiguous East Bengal province having a mainly ethnic Bengali population. In 1948, the Government of the Dominion of Pakistan ordained as part of Islamization of East Pakistan or East Bengal that Urdu will be the sole federal language, alternately Bengali writing in the Perso-Arabic script or Roman script (Romanisation of Bengali) or Arabic as the state language of the whole of Pakistan was also proposed, sparking extensive protests among the Bengali-speaking majority of East Bengal. Facing rising sectarian tensions and mass discontent with the new law, the government outlawed public meetings and rallies. The students of the University of Dhaka and other political activists defied the law and organised a protest on 21 February 1952. The movement reached its climax when police killed student demonstrators on that day. The deaths provoked widespread civil unrest. After years of conflict, the central government relented and granted official status to the Bengali language in 1956. (Full article...)

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Japan is an island country in East Asia, located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland. It is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands—Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu—and thousands of smaller islands, covering around 380,000 square kilometres (150,000 sq mi). With a population of more than 125 million as of 2020, Japan is the 11th most populous country. Tokyo is its capital and largest city. Japan is divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions. About three-quarters of the country's terrain is mountainous and heavily forested, concentrating its agriculture and highly urbanized population along its eastern coastal plains. Greater Tokyo is the world's most populous metropolitan area, with more than 38 million inhabitants as of 2016. Part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, Japan's islands are prone to destructive earthquakes and tsunamis.

The first known habitation of the archipelago dates to the Upper Paleolithic, with the beginning Japanese Paleolithic dating to circa 36,000 BC. Between the fourth and sixth centuries, its kingdoms were united under an emperor in Nara, and later Heian-kyō. From the 12th century, actual power was held by military dictators (shōgun) and feudal lords (daimyō), and enforced by warrior nobility (samurai). After rule by the Kamakura and Ashikaga shogunates and a century of warring states, Japan was unified in 1600 by the Tokugawa shogunate, which implemented an isolationist foreign policy. In 1853, a United States fleet forced Japan to open trade to the West, which led to the end of the shogunate and the restoration of imperial power in 1868. In the Meiji period, the Empire of Japan pursued rapid industrialization and modernization, as well as militarism and overseas colonization. In 1937, Japan invaded China, and in 1941 attacked the United States and European colonial powers, entering World War II as an Axis power. After suffering defeat in the Pacific War and two atomic bombings, Japan surrendered in 1945 and came under Allied occupation. After the war, the country underwent rapid economic growth, although its economy has stagnated since 1990. (Full article...)

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Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Ṭughj ibn Juff ibn Yiltakīn ibn Fūrān ibn Fūrī ibn Khāqān (8 February 882 – 24 July 946), better known by the title al-Ikhshīd (Arabic: الإخشيد) after 939, was an Abbasid commander and governor who became the autonomous ruler of Egypt and parts of Syria (Levant) from 935 until his death in 946. He was the founder of the Ikhshidid dynasty, which ruled the region until the Fatimid conquest of 969.

The son of Tughj ibn Juff, a general of Turkic origin who served both the Abbasids and the autonomous Tulunid rulers of Egypt and Syria, Muhammad ibn Tughj was born in Baghdad but grew up in Syria and acquired his first military and administrative experiences at his father's side. He had a turbulent early career: he was imprisoned along with his father by the Abbasids in 905, was released in 906, participated in the murder of the vizier al-Abbas ibn al-Hasan al-Jarjara'i in 908, and fled Iraq to enter the service of the governor of Egypt, Takin al-Khazari. Eventually he acquired the patronage of several influential Abbasid magnates, chiefly the powerful commander-in-chief Mu'nis al-Muzaffar. These ties led him to being named governor first of Palestine and then of Damascus. In 933, he was briefly named governor of Egypt, but this order was revoked after the death of Mu'nis, and Ibn Tughj had to fight to preserve even his governorship of Damascus. In 935, he was re-appointed to Egypt, where he quickly defeated a Fatimid invasion and stabilized the turbulent country. His reign marks a rare period of domestic peace, stability and good government in the annals of early Islamic Egypt. In 938 Caliph al-Radi granted his request for the title of al-Ikhshid, which had been borne by the rulers of his ancestral Farghana Valley. It is by this title that he was known thereafter. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Asia-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Political cartoon depicting the Afghan Emir Sher Ali with the rival "friends" the Russian Bear and British Lion (1878) (from History of Asia)
Image 2British troops taking Zhenjiang from Qing troops (from History of Asia)
Image 3Kabsa also called Majboos, famous in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates (from Culture of Asia)
Image 4The Silk Road in Asia (from History of Asia)
Image 5Borobudur, a Buddhist temple in Indonesia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 6Sculpture of Prince Shōtoku (from History of Asia)
Image 7The Qing conquest of the Ming and expansion of the empire (from History of Asia)
Image 8Detail 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 9Battle of Talas between Tang dynasty and Abbasid Caliphate c. 751 (from History of Asia)
Image 10Projected GDP of 7 largest economies in 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 11Byzantine and Sassanian Empires in 600 AD (from History of Asia)
Image 12Deoksugung, the palace where Emperor Gojong established Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 13Traditional Rajasthani garments from Jaipur, Rajasthan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 14Daian-ji temple at Nara, Japan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 15The Delhi Sultanate. (from History of Asia)
Image 16Map of Asia for early 20th century (from History of Asia)
Image 17Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757 by Francis Hayman (from History of Asia)
Image 18The early Muslim conquests, 622–750 (from History of Asia)
Image 19Projected shares of global GDP by region to 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 20Gojong (1852–1919), the 26th king of Joseon dynasty and the first emperor of Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 21Indonesian Balinese cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 22Sun temple at Konarka, Odisha, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 23The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830 by Hokusai, an example of art flourishing in the Edo Period (from History of Asia)
Image 24Tang dynasty Chinese poet Li Bai, in a 13th-century depiction by Liang Kai (from Culture of Asia)
Image 25Map of Vietnam showing the conquest of the south (the Nam tiến, 1069–1757). (from History of Asia)
Image 26The Hindu-Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat. (from History of Asia)
Image 27Balhae in the north, Later Silla in the south (from History of Asia)
Image 28A typical example of Dravidian architecture (from Culture of Asia)
Image 29East Asian cultural sphere (from Culture of Asia)
Image 30The Song dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 1200 (from History of Asia)
Image 31The Qing Empire in 1832. (from History of Asia)
Image 32The Mughal ambassador Khan’Alam in 1618 negotiating with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran. (from History of Asia)
Image 33The 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 34Đại Việt, Champa, Angkor Empire and their neighbours, late 13th century (from History of Asia)
Image 35India'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 36Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 37Daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng (from History of Asia)
Image 38Ancient ziggurat, Iraq (from Culture of Asia)
Image 39Machiya in Heian period (from History of Asia)
Image 40Here a Jesuit, Adam Schall von Bell (1592–1666), is dressed as an official of the Chinese Department of Astronomy. (from History of Asia)
Image 41Invasions, destruction and possible population movements during the Late Bronze Age collapse, beginning c. 1200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 42Gyeonghoeru of Gyeongbokgung, the Joseon dynasty's royal palace. (from History of Asia)
Image 43Map of Marco Polo's travels (from History of Asia)
Image 44A Confucian ritual ceremony in Jeju, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 45The Russian Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen built in 1768 (from Culture of Asia)
Image 46Angkor Wat, Khmer Empire (from Culture of Asia)
Image 47the Goryeo ware, which shows splendid culture of Goryeo in mediaeval Korea. (from History of Asia)
Image 48The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling (from Culture of Asia)
Image 49Hinduism 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 50A stone image of the Buddha (from Culture of Asia)
Image 51The Han dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 52The First Persian Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 53Map of Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 54Language families in South Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 55A view of the Fort St George in 18th-century Madras. (from History of Asia)
Image 56Philippine cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 57Some 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 58The Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan, which was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010 (from Asian Century)
Image 59Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jeruslam (from Culture of Asia)
Image 60Political map of Asia in 1860 (from History of Asia)
Image 61Population concentration and boundaries of the Western Zhou dynasty in China (from History of Asia)
Image 62The Taj Mahal, Agra, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 63Chicken tikka, a well-known dish across the globe, reflects the South Asian cooking style. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 64The Grand Mosque in Kuwait City, one of the largest mosques in the region (from Culture of Asia)
Image 65Badshahi Mosque built under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 66Korean 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 67Detail 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 68The 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 69The 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)

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Featured picture

A series of torii at Fushimi Inari shrine, Kyoto, Japan

Fushimi Inari-taisha

Credit: Paul Vlaar

A series of torii, the defining feature of Fushimi Inari-taisha, a Shinto shrine dedicated to the spirit Inari in Kyoto, Japan. The thousands of vermilion torii gates are all donations from individuals, families or companies.

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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

15 July 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: Siege of Gaza City; At least 12 Palestinians are killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza City and Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip. (Anandolu Ajansi); Israel–Hezbollah conflict; An Israeli airstrike on Bint Jbeil, Lebanon, kills three civilians and wounds three others. Israel's military says its fighter jets struck a Hezbollah weapons storage facility in the area. (Reuters)
15 July 2024 – 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement: Over 100 people are wounded in violent clashes in Dhaka, Bangladesh, between supporters of the ruling Awami League party and opposition demonstrators protesting government job quotas which benefit pro-government families. (Al Jazeera)
15 July 2024 –: At least 35 people are killed in Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan due to severe storms. (AP)

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The Central Area of Singapore surrounded by the perimeter of five planning areas: the Marina Bay, the Downtown Core, Marina East, Marina South and Straits View. The area surrounding the bay itself, also called Marina Bay, is a 360 hectare extension to the adjacent CBD. It is also the new downtown of Singapore built on reclaimed land.