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Asia (/ˈeɪʒə, ˈeɪʃə/ (listen)) is Earth's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the Eastern and Northern Hemispheres. It shares the continental landmass of Eurasia with the continent of Europe, and the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa and Europe. Asia covers an area of 44,579,000 square kilometres (17,212,000 sq mi), about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8.7% of the 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 constitutes roughly 60% of the world's population.

In general terms, Asia 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. The most commonly accepted boundaries place 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 alternated in being the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 CE. China was a major economic power and attracted many to the east, and for many the legendary wealth and prosperity of the ancient culture of India personified Asia, attracting European commerce, exploration and colonialism. The accidental discovery of a trans-Atlantic route from Europe to America by Columbus while in search for a route to India demonstrates this deep fascination. 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 (particularly East Asia) 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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Tripura (/ˈtrɪpʊrə, -ərə/) is a state in northeastern India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers 10,491.69 km² (4,050.86 sq mi) and is bordered by Bangladesh to the north, south, and west, and the Indian states of Assam and Mizoram to the east. In 2011 the state had 3,671,032 residents, constituting 0.3% of the country's population.

The area of modern Tripura — ruled for several centuries by the Manikya dynasty — was part of an independent princely state under the protectorate of the British Empire. The independent Tripuri Kingdom (also known as Hill Tippera) joined the newly independent India in 1949. (Full article...)

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Cyprus (/ˈsaɪprəs/ (listen)), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea south of the Anatolian Peninsula. It is the third-largest and third-most populous island in the Mediterranean, and is located south of Turkey, west of Syria, northwest of Lebanon, Israel, and the Gaza Strip (Palestine), north of Egypt, and southeast of Greece. Its capital and largest city is Nicosia.

The earliest known human activity on the island dates to around the 10th millennium BC. Archaeological remains from this period include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia, and Cyprus is home to some of the oldest water wells in the world. Cyprus was settled by Mycenaean Greeks in two waves in the 2nd millennium BC. As a strategic location in the Eastern Mediterranean, it was subsequently occupied by several major powers, including the empires of the Assyrians, Egyptians and Persians, from whom the island was seized in 333 BC by Alexander the Great. Subsequent rule by Ptolemaic Egypt, the Classical and Eastern Roman Empire, Arab caliphates for a short period, the French Lusignan dynasty and the Venetians was followed by over three centuries of Ottoman rule between 1571 and 1878 (de jure until 1914). (Full article...)

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Tōru Takemitsu (武満徹, Takemitsu Tōru, October 8, 1930 – February 20, 1996; pronounced [takeꜜmitsɯ̥ toːɾɯ]) was a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Largely self-taught, Takemitsu was admired for the subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre. He is known for combining elements of oriental and occidental philosophy and for fusing sound with silence and tradition with innovation.

He composed several hundred independent works of music, scored more than ninety films and published twenty books. He was also a founding member of the Jikken Kōbō (Experimental Workshop) in Japan, a group of avant-garde artists who distanced themselves from academia and whose collaborative work is often regarded among the most influential of the 20th century. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830 by Hokusai, an example of art flourishing in the Edo Period (from History of Asia)
Image 2Contemporary political map of Asia (from History of Asia)
Image 3India'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 4Chicken tikka, a well-known dish across the globe, reflects the amalgamation of South Asian cooking styles with those from Central Asia. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 5The Silk Road in Asia (from History of Asia)
Image 6Borobudur, a Buddhist temple in Indonesia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 7Map of Asia for early 20th century (from History of Asia)
Image 8Traditional Rajasthani garments from Jaipur, Rajasthan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 9Political cartoon depicting the Afghan Emir Sher Ali with the rival "friends" the Russian Bear and British Lion (1878) (from History of Asia)
Image 10The Delhi Sultanate. (from History of Asia)
Image 11The Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan, which was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010. (from Asian Century)
Image 12Korean 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 13Battle of Talas between Tang dynasty and Abbasid Caliphate c. 751 (from History of Asia)
Image 14The early Muslim conquests, 622–750 (from History of Asia)
Image 15the Goryeo ware, which shows splendid culture of Goryeo in mediaeval Korea. (from History of Asia)
Image 16The Mughal ambassador Khan’Alam in 1618 negotiating with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran. (from History of Asia)
Image 17Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jeruslam (from Culture of Asia)
Image 18The Grand Mosque in Kuwait City, one of the largest mosques in the region (from Culture of Asia)
Image 19Detail 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 20Byzantine and Sassanian Empires in 600 AD (from History of Asia)
Image 21The Russian Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen built in 1768 (from Culture of Asia)
Image 22Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 23Map of Marco Polo's travels (from History of Asia)
Image 24Deoksugung, the palace where Emperor Gojong established Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 25The 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 26Sun temple at Konarka, Odisha, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 27The 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 28Tang dynasty Chinese poet Li Bai, in a 13th-century depiction by Liang Kai (from Culture of Asia)
Image 29The First Persian Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 30The Qing Empire in 1832. (from History of Asia)
Image 31A view of the Fort St George in 18th-century Madras. (from History of Asia)
Image 32Gojong (1852–1919), the 26th king of Joseon dynasty and the first emperor of Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 33Projected shares of global GDP by region to 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 34Population concentration and boundaries of the Western Zhou dynasty in China (from History of Asia)
Image 35A map of the Bronze Age collapse, c. 1200 BCE (from History of Asia)
Image 36Daian-ji temple at Nara, Japan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 37Expansion of Hinduism in Southeast Asia (from History of Asia)
Image 38Philippine cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 39The Taj Mahal, Agra, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 40Indonesian Balinese cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 41Angkor Wat, Khmer Empire (from Culture of Asia)
Image 42Balhae in the north, Later Silla in the south (from History of Asia)
Image 43Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757 by Francis Hayman (from History of Asia)
Image 44Sculpture of Prince Shōtoku (from History of Asia)
Image 45Projected GDP of 7 largest economies in 2050. (from Asian Century)
Image 46The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling (from Culture of Asia)
Image 47Kabsa also called Majboos, famous in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates (from Culture of Asia)
Image 48The 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 49Gyeonghoeru of Gyeongbokgung, the Joseon dynasty's royal palace. (from History of Asia)
Image 50Language families in South Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 51The first King of Goryeo, as known as Taejo of Goryeo (918–943) (from History of Asia)
Image 52A typical example of Dravidian architecture (from Culture of Asia)
Image 53East Asian cultural sphere (from Culture of Asia)
Image 54A Confucian ritual ceremony in Jeju, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 55Ancient ziggurat, Iraq (from Culture of Asia)
Image 56Detail 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 57Here a Jesuit, Adam Schall von Bell (1592–1666), is dressed as an official of the Chinese Department of Astronomy. (from History of Asia)
Image 58The Hindu-Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat. (from History of Asia)
Image 59A stone image of the Buddha (from Culture of Asia)
Image 60Badshahi Mosque built under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan (from Culture of Asia)

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Featured picture

Mount Everest

Credit: Luca Galuzzi

The north face of Mount Everest, as seen from Tibet. Everest is the highest mountain on Earth, as measured by the height of its summit above sea level, which is 8,848 metres (29,029 ft). In 1865, Everest was given its official English name by the Royal Geographical Society upon recommendation of Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India at the time.

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Did you know...

... that Iranian-American aerospace engineer Joe Youssefi was posthumously awarded a gold medal for his collection of Persian stamps?
... that Thomas Patrick Payne received the US Medal of Honor for the heroism he displayed five years ago today while liberating hostages during the offensive against ISIL in northern Iraq?
... that with 21 goals, Hassan Maatouk is the Lebanon national football team's all-time top goalscorer?
... that Semuel Jusof Warouw advocated Minahasan independence to gain leverage in Dutch–Indonesian negotiations?
... that the song "Catallena" by South Korean girl group Orange Caramel interpolates a sample of the Punjabi folk song "Jutti Meri"?
... that during the Battle of Kalijati, a Royal Air Force pilot managed to creep into his plane under Japanese fire and take off with it?
... that in 2014, the government of Bangladesh removed 2,367 former communist guerrilla fighters from the official listing of freedom fighters, but this move was overruled by the High Court?
... that people in Taiwan changed their legal names to something involving salmon in order to get free sushi?
... that Nihonga artist Yumeji Takehisa was arrested in connection with a plot to assassinate Emperor Meiji of Japan?
... that the All India Anglo-Indian Association maintains that Anglo-Indians are unique because they are Christians and have historical links to both Europe and India?

Updated: 1:33, 9 March 2022

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In the news

8 March 2022 – International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War: Chinese officials look to buy shares in recently-distressed Russian energy and minerals companies, seeking supply security. The negotiations, however, are still at an early stage. (Bloomberg)
7 March 2022 – Russo-Ukrainian War: Ukraine says that it has killed 41st Combined Arms Army general Vitaly Gerasimov, who allegedly took part in the annexation of Crimea, Russia's intervention in Syria, and the Second Chechen War, in the Kharkiv Oblast. He is the second general to be killed by Ukrainian forces after Andrey Sukhovetsky. (Ukrinform) (The Independent)
7 March 2022 – COVID-19 pandemic: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China; China reports 526 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, which is the highest daily total in the country in two years. (Bloomberg)
7 March 2022 –: President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte approves a bill raising the age of consent in the Philippines from 12 to 16. (Reuters)
6 March 2022 – Russo-Ukrainian War: U.S. officials claim that Russia has started recruiting Syrian mercenaries experienced in urban combat. (The Wall Street Journal)

Updated: 1:33, 9 March 2022

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Selected panorama

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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