West Asia, strictly speaking, is divided into four large blocks, the Arabian Peninsula, the Iranian Plateau, the Asia Minor Peninsula, and the Mediterranean coast. Located between three continents, this region is a transit point for land trade and even the Silk Road. It is also a junction point of civilization, and it has possessed world-leading civilization and technology for a long time. The Mesopotamian plains nourished the most splendid civilization, the Mediterranean coast watered several immortal religions, the Iranian plateau forged countless warriors, and the mountains of Asia Minor connected distant Europe.
There are mountains and rivers with snow in winter, hot deserts, calm Mediterranean Sea, oil-producing Persian Gulf, mountainous peninsulas, and fertile plains. There are also different religious stories, and there are many ethnic groups with different beliefs. This place is both rich and desolate. This may be one of the most water-scarce areas in the world, but it is also one of the places with the least lack of history.
West Asia history
The situation has changed, time has changed, here has changed from a fertile field to a desert, countless ethnic groups have come here, and many ethnic groups have left, there has been the most glorious ancient civilization, and there has also been the bloodiest massacre. And this land has also nourished countless big countries.
1. Assyrian Empire
The first superpower in the history of the world that can be called a superpower, the peak is across the two continents of Asia and Africa, reaching Hormuz in the east and the Nile River in the west. The territory is vast and powerful, and of course it is notorious for its brutality. From 2500 BC to 605 BC, the Assyrian Empire operated Mesopotamia for nearly two thousand years , divided into the ancient Assyrian period, the early Assyrian period, the middle Assyrian period, and the Neo-Assyrian period. The Assyrian Empire (English: Assyrian empire, 935 BC-612 BC), dominated Western Asia for about 300 years!
It was the most powerful around the ninth century BC , and it was a powerful military empire dominated by force expansion. Militarism, endless external expansion and massacre, barbaric conquest, tyrannical rule, and cruel ethnic policy have left a bad reputation in history.
2. First Persian Empire
The First Persian Empire, also known as the Achaemenid Dynasty , had a vast territory at its peak, starting from the Indus River Basin in the east and reaching Libya in the west. The Black Sea was an inner lake, spanning three continents, Asia, Africa and Europe. The most powerful empire. From 550 BC to 330 BC , the Persians ruled Western Asia for more than two hundred years.
The Persians came down from the Iranian plateau, took powerful cavalry and chariot troops, and occupied the ancient city of Babylon. The army entered the Indus River Valley, crossed the Nile River, and occupied Egypt. No one can compete for the front. However, when the empire was gradually declining, Alexander of Macedonia in northern Greece rose up and led his army to defeat the Persian Empire . The monarch Darius III died on the way to escape.
First Persian Empire
3. The Seleucid Empire
Alexander's Macedonian Kingdom With the death of Alexander the Great, the empire collapsed in an instant, and the Seleucid Kingdom was separated from the Macedonian Kingdom during this period. At its peak, the Seleucid Empire occupied the entire Iranian Plateau, most of Asia Minor and almost all of the Mesopotamian Plain, covering an area of 3.5 million square kilometers.
From about 320 BC to about 67 BC , the Seleucid Empire made little military achievements, but developed industry and commerce. It suffered repeated defeats in foreign wars, and its land area gradually shrank, but it was relatively wealthy.
4. Parthian Empire
The Parthian Empire is also known as the Parthian Empire. From 247 BC to 224 AD , the territory of the Parthian Empire in its heyday reached the Euphrates River in the southeast of Asia Minor in the west and the Amu Darya in the east . Covering half of Central Asia and half of West Asia was the greatest enemy of ancient Rome. Mainly believe in Zoroastrianism.
The Parthian Empire was created by Parthia, which originated in the northeastern part of Persia. Because of its origin with the Persians and the Parthian recognition of the First Persian Empire, some people also call the Parthian Empire the Second Persian Empire . The Parthian Empire is a relatively loose tribal alliance-style country. Although it continues to expand, its national cohesion is average. Located at the junction of Eastern and Western civilizations, industry and commerce are developed.
5. The Third Persian Empire
Since Darius III was defeated by Alexander, the Persians have been silent for nearly six hundred years. It finally achieved its rise in the third century AD. The Sasanian Dynasty, the last overlord of West Asia in the pre-Islamic period. Guozuo began in 224 AD and died in 651 .
After the rise of the unified Sasanian Dynasty, it quickly replaced the loosely organized Parthian Kingdom. At its peak, the territory stretched from the Indus River Valley in the east, to the grasslands of Kazakhstan in the north, to Oman and Yemen in the south, and to the west of Egypt in the west, with a territory of 5.6 million square meters Kilometers, vast territory, strong national strength, and developed culture, it is the pinnacle of ancient Persian culture. It has an important influence on Europe and West Asia.
Arab Empire
6. Arab Empire
The Arab Empire, which rose in the Arabian desert, pushed West Asia to the highest peak in history, spanning Europe, Asia and Africa, with its territory reaching Central Asia in the east, Morocco in Africa and Spain in Europe in the west, covering an astonishing 13.4 million square kilometers, and its cavalry was invincible , was the first great empire in history to unify the entire Arabian Peninsula.
The Arab Empire, driven by religious belief and culture as its soft power, possessed extremely strong tension and conquest, and was invincible. From its establishment in 632 to its demise in 1258 , for more than 600 years , although there were ups and downs, they all showed big country attitude.
7. The Seljuk Empire
The huge empire established by the Turks that existed between 1037 and 1194 had an extremely important influence on the entire West and Central Asia. The territory of the empire stretched from the Pamir Plateau in the east to the Turkish Strait in the west, Kievan Rus in the north, and the Persian Gulf in the south. It once severely damaged the Eastern Roman Empire and captured Roman Emperor Romanus IV.
The Seljuk Empire is one of the famous great empires in world history, with an area of nearly five million square kilometers, spanning Central Asia and northern West Asia. In the later period, due to the split of the empire, it was defeated by its strong neighbors, and finally went to perish.
Seljuk Empire
8. Ilkhanate
The Ili Khanate (1256–1335 ) , one of the four major Mongolian Khanates , was founded by Hulagu, the son of Torre. The empire stretched from the Amu Darya and the Indus Rivers in the east, the Caucasus in the north, the Persian Gulf in the south, and most of the country in the west . Asia Minor. At its peak, it had severely damaged small countries such as Egypt and Syria, and also repelled the attacks of the Chagatai Khanate and the Golden Horde.
9. The Fourth Persian Empire
The Fourth Persian Empire , also known as the Safavid Dynasty, 1502-1736 . When the Safavid dynasty was strong, its territory stretched from Khorasan in the east, to the Euphrates River and Eastern Turkey in the west, to the Karakum Desert and the Aral Sea in the north, and to the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea in the south.
However, the Persian Empire faced the rise of its powerful neighbor Ottoman in the middle and late stages. Therefore, in the history of the empire, although its territory was vast and its national strength was strong, it seemed a bit bullying and fearful. It defeated Kurds and Armenians, but was defeated by Turks and Russians many times.
Ottoman Empire
10. Ottoman Empire
From 1299 to 1923 , Ottoman, the super empire that has been rampant in West Asia for six hundred years , is a super empire across Europe, Asia and Africa. Since the destruction of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, the Turks have expanded wildly, covering the Balkan Peninsula, the Middle East and Most of the territory of North Africa extends from the Strait of Gibraltar to the west, the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf to the east, present-day Austria and Slovenia to the north, and present-day Sudan and Yemen to the south.
The Ottoman Empire controls the hub of trade between the East and the West, and has an overwhelming attitude towards Europe. To a large extent, it forced Europe to enter the maritime civilization and indirectly changed the world. In the 18th century, the Ottoman Empire began to decline and became the object of European powers. However, Ottoman Turkey's military capabilities are still quite recognized. In World War I, as a side of the Allies, the Ottoman army was not bad, and it was stronger than the millions of troops of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
However, after World War I, it faced sanctions from the Allied Powers. The Ottoman Empire split, and Turkey took advantage of the situation to establish a modern Turkish Republic.