Asia A Concise History

by Cotterell, Arthur

• ISBN13: 9780470825044
• ISBN10: 0470825049
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-08-30
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Utterly unique in offering an overview of Asian history in a single volume, this study at long last provides the general reader with a means of understanding the heritage of a continent in which the majority of mankind resides. It traces the emergence of the world's very first civilization in Mesopotamia around 3000 BC, through the rise and fall of ancient great powers like Assyria and Persia; then marvels at the richness and diversity of the medieval states which flourished after the advent of Islam; and finally explores the modern transformation triggered by the lightning conquests of imperial Japan. The great events and figures of Asian history are discussed along with the monumental remains which bear witness to their times: the ziggurats of Iraq, the Ajanta caves, the mosques of Isfahan, the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, the temple complex of Angkor, and the sacred monument of Borobodur.

Author Biography

Arthur Cotterell, currently residing in England, was a former Principal of Kingston College in London. He has spent many years combining senior educational management with historical research. Arthur currently spends most of his time on writing, and travels extensively throughout Asia.
Arthur is the respected author of more than thirty books. His most recent publications include, The Imperial Capitals of China, Leadership and Chariot.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Introduction	p. xiii
List of Maps	p. xx
Photo Credits	p. xxi
Ancient Asia	p. 1
Ancient West Asia	p. 3
The First Civilisation: Sumer	p. 3
The Great Empires: Babylon, Assyria and Persia	p. 12
Understanding the World: Religion and Myth	p. 21
Endgame: Greco-Roman Europe Versus Persian Asia	p. 30
Ancient South Asia	p. 41
Asia's Second Civilisation: The Indus Valley	p. 41
Epic India: The Aryan Invasion	p. 49
The Buddhist Revolution: The Mauryan Empire	p. 55
The Age of Invasion: From the Bactrians to the Huns	p. 64
Ancient East Asia	p. 74
The Cradle of the East: The Shang Dynasty	p. 74
Classical China: The Zhou Dynasty	p. 82
Imperial Unification: The Qin and Former Han Emperors	p. 90
Imperial Crisis: The Failure of the Later Han	p. 100
Ancient Central Asia	p. 107
The Steppe: An Intercontinental Highway	p. 107
Nomads: The Scourge of the Sown	p. 116
The Spread of Buddhism: The First Pan-Asian Faith	p. 126
The Great Raid: Attila the Hun	p. 135
Medieval Asia	p. 141
Medieval West Asia	p. 143
Islam: The Second Pan-Asian Faith	p. 143
The Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates	p. 151
The Coming of the Seljuks	p. 157
The Crusades	p. 161
Safavid Persia	p. 166
The Ottoman Empire	p. 171
Medieval South Asia	p. 178
The Arrival of Islam	p. 178
The Hindu and Buddhist Kingdoms	p. 186
The Mughal Empire	p. 192
European Rivalry	p. 202
The British Triumph	p. 210
Medieval East Asia	p. 213
Tang and Song China	p. 213
Confucian Korea	p. 225
Feudal Japan	p. 230
The Ming Revival	p. 239
Medieval Central Asia	p. 246
The Turks and the Qidans	p. 246
The Tibetan Empire	p. 251
The Mongol Empire	p. 256
Tamerlane, the Sword of Islam	p. 267
The Manchu Conquests	p. 271
Medieval Southeast Asia	p. 277
Independent Vietnam	p. 277
The Khmer Empire	p. 282
The Kingdoms of Burma	p. 289
The Island Powers: Srivijaya, Mataram and Majapahit	p. 293
The Slow Spread of Islam	p. 300
The Advent of European Power	p. 302
The Rise of the Thai	p. 307
Modern Asia	p. 315
Modern West Asia	p. 317
The Fall of the Ottoman Empire	p. 317
Between World Wars	p. 322
The Founding of Israel	p. 327
Syria, Lebanon and Jordan	p. 328
Iraq versus Iran	p. 330
Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States	p. 335
Modern Turkey	p. 336
Modern South Asia	p. 339
The British Raj	p. 339
The Indian Mutiny	p. 344
The End of Company Rule	p. 351
Gandhi and Indian Nationalism	p. 353
Independence and Partition	p. 358
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh	p. 360
Modern East Asia	p. 363
China's Humiliation	p. 363
Japanese Imperialism	p. 369
The People's Republic of China	p. 378
The Korean War	p. 382
The Rise of the Pacific Rim	p. 384
Modern Central Asia	p. 386
The Russian Advance	p. 386
The Great Game	p. 393
Afghanistan, the Land of Bones	p. 397
Siberia and Mongolia	p. 400
The Central Asian Republics	p. 403
Modern Southeast Asia	p. 407
The Dutch East Indies	p. 407
The British Possessions	p. 410
French Indochina and Thailand	p. 415
The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere	p. 419
Post-War Decolonisation	p. 423
The Republic of Indonesia	p. 427
The Tragedy of Vietnam	p. 430
Filipino Democracy	p. 434
Postscript: The Rise of Present-Day Asia	p. 437
Glossary	p. 441
Further Reading	p. 444
Index	p. 453
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