Portal:Asia

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The Asia Portal
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Asia (/ˈʒə/ AY-zhə, UK also /ˈʃə/ 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

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.

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...
)

Featured article

temperate
climate, Gangtok is at the centre of Sikkim's tourism industry.

Gangtok rose to prominence as a popular
British India. After India won its independence from the British Empire in 1947, Sikkim chose to remain an independent monarchy, with Gangtok as its capital. After Sikkim's merger with India in 1975, Gangtok continued as the state capital. (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
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...
)

Featured biography

Lady Shirley as painted by Anthony van Dyck in Rome, 1622

and embassies across Europe in the name of the Safavid King (Shah) Abbas the Great
(r.1588–1629).

Teresa was received by many of the
royal houses of Europe, such as English prince Henry Frederick and Queen Anne (her child's godparents) and contemporary writers and artists such as Thomas Herbert and Anthony van Dyck. Herbert considered Robert Shirley "the greatest Traveller of his time", but admired the "undaunted Lady Teresa" even more. Following the death of her husband from dysentery in 1628, and due to impediments from grandees at the court, and the authorities, during the reign of Abbas's successor and grandson Safi (r.1629–1642), Teresa decided to leave Iran. She lived in a convent in Rome for the rest of her life, devoting her time to charity and religion. As a pious Christian, and because of her love for her husband, Teresa had Shirley's remains transported to Rome from Isfahan and reburied; on the headstone of their mutual grave she mentions their travels and refers to her noble Circassian origins. (Full article...)

General images

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

Featured picture

The Qianlong Emperor in Armor on Horseback, by Italian Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione
The Qianlong Emperor in Armor on Horseback, by Italian Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione
The Qianlong Emperor was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, his reign officially began 11 October 1735, lasting for 60 years. Named Hongli, he chose the era name Qianlong, meaning "heavenly prosperity". Although his early years saw the continuation of an era of prosperity and great military success in China, his final years saw troubles at home and abroad converge on the Qing Empire. Qianlong abdicated the throne at the age of 85, to his son, the Jiaqing Emperor, fulfilling his promise not to reign longer than his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor.

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Updated: 6:33, 14 February 2024

In the news


19 May 2024 – 2024 Varzaqan helicopter crash
A helicopter carrying Iranian president Ibrahim Raisi and foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian crashes in Iran's East Azerbaijan province. Rescue workers are attempting to locate the crash site. (AP News) (The National)
19 May 2024 –
Seven villages on the island of Halmahera, Indonesia, are forced to evacuate after the Mount Ibu volcano erupts. (Reuters)
18 May 2024 – Israel–Hamas war
Rafah offensive
The Israeli army recovers the body of Ron Binyamin, who was killed and brought to Gaza by Palestinian militants in October. (Reuters)
Israeli war cabinet
Benny Gantz threatens to withdraw his party from the unity coalition if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't submit a post-war plan for Gaza by June 8. (Al Jazeera)

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Major Religions in Asia


Middle East

Central Asia and Surroundings

Indian Subcontinent

Southeast Asia

East Asia

Selected panorama

150pxHiroshima Peace Memorial
150pxHiroshima Peace Memorial
Credit: Dean S. Pemberton

A panoramic view of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, the site of the first atomic bomb to be used in warfare on August 6, 1945, during the final stages of World War II. Over 70,000 people were killed immediately, and another 70,000 suffered fatal injuries from the radiation, after the U.S. Army Air Force bomber Enola Gay dropped the bomb, codenamed "Little Boy". The Genbaku ("A-bomb") Dome (center) was directly beneath the blast, but managed to survive mostly intact.

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