What makes asia a unique region

Christopher Lemery. Email Me. Schedule a Consultation. Contact: Hillman Library. United Nations Subdivisions. When people were nomadic or semi-nomadic, it was difficult to construct a permanent governing system with stable bureaucracies and a reliable tax base. This type of state only developed in areas where there was a settled population, like the large rice-growing plains of the mainland and Java. However, even the most powerful of these states found it difficult to extend their authority into remote highlands and islands.

Islamic teachings began to spread in Southeast Asia from around the thirteenth century. Islam teaches the oneness of God known to Muslims as Allah , who has revealed his message through a succession of prophets and finally through Muhammad ca. These are: 1 the confession of faith. At the height of its power between the eighth and fifteenth centuries, a united Muslim Empire included all North Africa, Sicily, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, western Arabia, and southern Spain. From the tenth century CE Islam was subsequently brought to India by a similar moment of conquest and conversion, and its dominant political position was confirmed when the Mughal dynasty was established in the sixteenth century.

From at least the tenth century, Muslims were among the many foreigners trading in Southeast Asia, and a few individuals from Southeast Asia traveled to the Middle East for study.

In the early stages of conversion, trade passing from Yemen and the Swahili coast across to the Malabar Coast and then the Bay of Bengal was also influential, as well as the growing connections with Muslims in China and India. Muslim traders from western China also settled in coastal towns on the Chinese coast, and Chinese Muslims developed important links with communities in central Vietnam, Borneo, the southern Philippines, and the Javanese coast. Muslim traders from various parts of India e.

Bengal, Gujarat, Malabar came to Southeast Asia in large numbers and they, too, provided a vehicle for the spread of Islamic ideas. As a result of its multiple origins, the Islam that reached Southeast Asia was very varied.

The normal pattern was for a ruler or chief to adopt Islam—sometimes because of a desire to attract traders, or to be associated with powerful Muslim kingdoms like Mamluk Egypt, and then Ottoman Turkey and Mughal India, or because of the attraction of Muslim teaching. Mystical Islam Sufism , which aimed at direct contact with Allah with the help of a teacher using techniques such as meditation and trance, was very appealing. The first confirmed mention of a Muslim community came from Marco Polo, the well-known traveler, who stopped in north Sumatra in Inscriptions and graves with Muslim dates have been located in others coastal areas along the trade routes.

A major development was the decision of the ruler of Melaka, on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula, to adopt Islam around Melaka was a key trading center, and the Malay language, spoken in the Malay Peninsula and east Sumatra, was used as a lingua franca in trading ports throughout the Malay-Indonesian archipelago. Malay is not a difficult language to learn, and it was already understood by many people along the trade routes that linked the island world.

Muslim teachers therefore had a common language through which they could communicate new concepts through oral presentations and written texts. A modified Arabic script displaced the previous Malay script. Arabic words were incorporated into Malay, particularly in regard to spiritual beliefs, social practices, and political life. Local heroes often became Islamic saints, and their graves were venerated places at which to worship. Some aspects of mystical Islam resembled pre-Islamic beliefs, notably on Java.

Women never adopted the full face veil, and the custom of taking more than one wife was limited to wealthy elites. Law codes based on Islam usually made adjustments to fit local customs. Pork was forbidden to Muslims, a significant development in areas like eastern Indonesia and the southern Philippines where it had long been a ritual food. A Muslim could often be recognized by a different dress style, like chest covering for women. Bactrian camels are critically endangered in the wild.

Its size and ability to adapt to hardship make it an ideal pack animal. Bactrians can actually outrun horses over long distances. These camels were the traditional animals used in caravan s on the Silk Road , the legendary trade route linking eastern Asia with India and the Middle East. Aquatic Flora and Fauna The freshwater and marine habitats of Asia offer incredible biodiversity. Aquatic life has been able to evolve for millions of years relatively undisturbed, producing a rich variety of flora and fauna.

It has 1, species of animals and species of plants. The Baikal seal, for instance, is one of the few freshwater seal species in the world. The Baikal seal feeds primarily on the Baikal oil fish and the omul. Both fishes are similar to salmon, and provide fisheries for the communities on the lake. The bay also supports healthy tuna, jack, and marlin fisheries. Many wildlife reserve s in and around the bay aim to protect its biological diversity.

The Sundarbans is a wetland area that forms at the delta of the Ganges and Brahamaputra rivers. The Sundarbans is a huge mangrove forest. Mangrove s are hardy trees that are able to withstand the powerful, salty tide s of the Bay of Bengal as well as the freshwater flows from the Ganges and Brahamaputra. In addition to mangroves, the Sundarbans is forested by palm trees and swamp grasses.

The swampy jungle of the Sundarbans supports a rich animal community. Hundreds of species of fish, shrimp, crabs, and snails live in the exposed root system of the mangrove trees.

The Sundarbans supports more than species of aquatic and wading birds. These small animals are part of a food web that includes wild boar, macaque monkeys, monitor lizards, and a healthy population of Bengal tigers. Asia is the largest and most populous continent, home to the largest Russia and most populous China nations. Usually rivers enter another body of water at their mouths. Also called a nature preserve. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.

The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. Caryl-Sue, National Geographic Society. Dunn, Margery G. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher.

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Languages spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines belong to the same language family; these are all linked with those spoken in the Pacific, thus the term Malayo-Polynesian language.

Indigenous peoples of Australia and New Zealand have deep linguistic ties with this language family. An indigenous culture is the crystallization of the storehouse of wisdom accumulated through life at harmony with nature in the area in question from ancient times. All areas of the Asia-Pacific region have succeeded in nourishing cultures that fuse the indigenous ones with newer ones. This fusion is thought to be a major reason that the region's rich natural environment still remains relatively intact.

Rice culture is a common ecological feature of the region, particularly in continental Asia, Japan and Indonesia. The system of swidden agriculture can be observed in the way of life of the people. In some areas, though, the centuries-old practice of slash-and-burn methods in order to make way to rice, gives rise to land- related problems that need to be addressed in a sustainable way. Another attribute of Asia-Pacific culture is strong ties with the sea.

The ancient civilizations that arose in China, India and Pakistan made their way into the countries on their fringes mainly over the ocean. Similarly, many of the region's countries are composed of islands or have built their biggest cities on the coast.

The proportion of seafood in the total consumption of animal-based food is higher in this region than in any other.