1. The borders assigned to Asia on the west are somewhat arbitrary. The
Urals indicate no real division of races, and in both Greek and Turkish
times Asia Minor has been connected with the opposite shores of Europe
rather than with the lands lying to the east. A juster view of early
history is probably obtained by thinking of the countries round the
Mediterranean as interacting on one another than by separating Palestine
and Asia Minor as Asiatic.
Asiatic characteristics.
2. The words "Asiatic" and "Oriental" are often used as if they denoted
a definite and homogeneous type, but Russians resemble Asiatics in many
ways, and Turks, Hindus, Chinese, &c., differ in so many important
points that the common substratum is small. It amounts to this, that
Asiatics stand on a higher level than the natives of Africa or America,
but do not possess the special material civilization of western Europe.
As far as any common mental characteristic can be assigned it is also
somewhat negative, namely, that Asiatics have not the same sentiment of
independence and freedom as Europeans. Individuals are thought of as
members of a family, state or religion, rather than as entities with a
destiny and rights of their own. This leads to autocracy in politics,
fatalism in religion and conservatism in both. Hence, too, Asiatic
history has large and simple outlines. Though longer chronologically
than the annals of Europe, it is less eventful, less diversified and
offers fewer personalities of interest. But the same conditions which
render individual eminence difficult procure for it when once attained a
more ready recognition, and the conquerors and prophets of Asia have had
more power and authority than their parallels in Europe. Jenghiz Khan
and Timur covered more ground than Napoleon, and no European has had
such an effect on the world as Mahomet.
Religion and civilisation.
3. Attention has often been called to the religious character of Asia.
Not only the great religions of the world--Buddhism, Christianity,
Islam--but those of secondary importance, such as Judaism, Parseeism,
Taoism, are all Asiatic. No European race left to itself has developed
any thing more than an unsystematic paganism. It is true that Greek
philosophy advanced far beyond this stage, but it produced nothing
sufficiently popular to be called a religion. On the other hand
Christianity, though Asiatic in its origin and essential ideas, has to a
large extent taken its present form on European soil, and some of its
most important manifestations--notably the Roman Church--are European
reconstructions in which little of the Asiatic element remains.
Christianity has made little way farther east then Asia Minor. Modern
missions have made no great conquests there, and in earlier times the
Nestorians and Jacobites who penetrated to central Asia, China and
India, received respectful hearing, but never had anything like the
success which attended Buddhism and Islam. Yet Buddhism has never made
much impression west of India; and Islam is clearly repugnant to
Europeans, for even when under Moslem rule (as in Turkey) they refuse to
accept it in a far larger proportion than did the Hindus in similar
circumstances. Hence there is clearly a deep-seated difference between
the religious feelings of the two continents.
Since Asiatic records go back much farther than those of Europe, it is
natural that Asia should be thought the birthplace of civilization. But
this originality cannot be absolute, for, whatever may have been the
relations of Babylonia and the Aryans, the latter brought civilization
to India from the west, and it is not always clear whether similarity of
government and institutions is the result of borrowing or of parallel
development. Both in Europe and in Asia small feudal or aristocratic
states tended to consolidate themselves into monarchies, but whereas in
Europe from the early days of Rome onwards royalty has often been driven
out and replaced temporarily or permanently by popular government, this
change seems not to occur in Asia, where revolution means only a change
of dynasty. The few cases where the government is not monarchical, as
Arabia, seem to represent the persistence of very ancient conditions.
The contemplation of Asia suggests that progress is most rapid when
accompanied by the migration of races or the transplantation of ideas
and institutions. Thus Greece excelled the Eastern countries from whom
she may have derived her civilization, and Buddhism had a far more
brilliant career outside India than in it.
General historical outlines.
4. In many parts of southern Asia are found semi-barbarous races
representing the earliest known stratum of population, such as the
Veddahs of Ceylon, and various tribes in China and the Malay
Archipelago. Some of them offer analogies to the Australians. This
connexion, if true, must be very ancient, since it apparently goes back
to a time when the distribution of land and water was other than at
present. In northern Asia are found other aborigines, such as the Ainus
of Japan and the so-called hyperborean races (Chukchis, &c.), but no
materials are at present forthcoming for their history. There is some
record of the migrations of the later races superimposed on these
aborigines. The Chinese came from the west, though how far west is
unknown: the Hindus and Persians from the north-west: the Burmese and
Siamese from the north. We do not know if the Mongols, Turks, &c., had
any earlier home than central Asia, but their extensive movements from
that region are historical.
The antiquity of Asiatic history is often exaggerated. With the
exception of Babylonia and Assyria, we can hardly even conjecture what
was the condition of this continent much before 1500 B.C. At that period
the Chinese were advancing along the Hwang-ho, and the Aryans were
entering India from the north-west. Both were in conflict with earlier
races. The influence of Babylonian civilization was probably widespread.
Some connexion between Babylonia and China is generally admitted, and
all Indian alphabets seem traceable to a Semitic original borrowed in
the course of commerce from the Persian Gulf.
Apart from European conquests, the internal history of Asia in the last
2000 years is the result of the interaction of four main influences: (a)
Chinese, (b) Indian, (c) Mahommedan, (d) Central Asian. Of these the
first three represent different types of civilization: the fourth has
little originality, but has been of great importance in affecting the
distribution of races and political power.
(a) China has moulded the civilization of the eastern mainland and
Japan, without much affecting the Malay Archipelago. In the sphere of
direct influence fall Korea, Japan and Annam; in the outer sphere are
Mongolia, Tibet, Siam, Cambodia and Burma, where Indian and Chinese
influence are combined, the Indian being often the stronger. These
countries, except Japan, have all been at some time at least nominal
tributaries of China. Where Chinese influence had full play it
introduced Confucianism, a special style in art and the Chinese system
of writing. After the Christian era it was accompanied by Chinese
Buddhism. The cumbrous Chinese script maintains itself in the Far East,
but has not advanced west of China proper and Annam.
(b) Indian influence may be defined as Buddhism, if it is understood
that Buddhism is not at all periods clearly distinguishable from
Hinduism. Its sphere includes Indo-China, much of the Malay Archipelago,
Tibet and Mongolia, Moreover, China and Japan themselves may be said to
fall within this sphere, in view of the part which Buddhism has played
in their development. The Buddhist influence is not merely religious,
for it is always accompanied by Indian art and literature, and often by
an Indian alphabet. Much of this art is Greek in origin, being derived
from the Perso-Greek states on the north-west frontiers of India. Indian
alphabets have spread to Tibet, Cambodia, Java and Korea. The history of
Indian civilization in Indo-China and the Archipelago is still obscure,
in spite of the existence of gigantic ruins, but it would appear that in
some parts at least two periods must be distinguished, first the
introduction of Hinduism (or mixed Hinduism and Buddhism), perhaps under
Indian princes, and secondly a later and more purely ecclesiastical
introduction of Sinhalese Buddhism, with its literature and art.
(c) Mahommedanism or Islam is perhaps the greatest transforming force
which the world has seen. It has profoundly affected and to a large
extent subjugated all western Asia including India, all eastern and
northern Africa as well as Spain, and all eastern Europe. Its open
advocacy of force attracts warlike races, and the intensity of its
influence is increased by the fusion of secular and religious power, so
that the Moslem Church is a Moslem state characterized by slavery,
polygamy, and, subject to the autocracy of the ruler, by the theoretical
equality of Moslems, who in political status are superior to
non-Moslems. Thus, whenever the population of a Moslem country is of
mixed belief, a ruling caste of Moslems is formed, as in Turkey at the
present day and India under the Moguls. Islam is paramount in Turkey,
Persia, Arabia and Afghanistan. India is the dividing line: Islam is
strong in northern and central India, weaker in the south. But only
one-fifth of the whole population is Moslem. Beyond India it has spread
to Malacca and the Malay Archipelago, where it overwhelmed Hindu
civilization, and reached the southern Philippines. But it made no
progress in Indo-China or Japan; and though there is a large Moslem
population in China the Chinese influence has been stronger, for alone
of all Asiatics the Chinese have succeeded in forcing Islam to accept
the ordinary limitations of a religion and to take its place as a creed
parallel to Buddhism or any other.
Even more than Buddhism Islam has carried with it a special style of art
and civilization. It is usually accompanied by the use of the Arabic
alphabet, and in the languages of Moslem nations (notably Turkish,
Persian, Hindustani and Malay) a large proportion of the vocabulary is
borrowed from Arabic. Hindi and Hindustani, two forms of the same
language as spoken by Hindus and Mahommedans respectively, are a curious
example of how deeply religion may affect culture.
(d) The great part which central Asian tribes have played in history is
obscured by the absence of any common name for them. Linguistically they
can be divided into several groups such as Turks, Mongols and Huns, but
they were from time to time united into states representing more than
one group, and their armies were recruited, like the Janissaries, from
all the military races in the neighbourhood. Soon after the Christian
era central Asia began to boil over, and at least seven great invasions
and more or less complete conquests can be ascribed to these tribes
without counting minor movements, (i.) The early invasions of Europe by
the Avars, Huns and Bulgarians. (ii.) The invasion and temporary
subjection of Russia by the Mongols, who penetrated as far west as
Silesia, (iii.) The conquests of Timur. (iv.) The conquest of Asia Minor
and eastern Europe by the Turks. (v.) The conquest of India by the
Moguls. (vi.) The conquest of China by the Mongols under Kublai. (vii.)
The later conquest of China by the Manchus. To these may be added
numerous lesser invasions of India, China and Persia.
These tribes have a genius for warfare rather than for government, art
or literature, and with few exceptions (e.g. the Moguls in India) have
proved poor administrators. Apart from conquest their most important
function has been to keep up communications in central Asia, and to
transport religions and civilizations from one region to another. Thus
they are mainly responsible for the introduction of Islam with its
Arabic or Persian civilization into India and Europe, and in earlier
times their movements facilitated the infiltration of Graeco-Bactrian
civilization into India, besides maintaining communication between China
and the West.
5. _Babylonia and Assyria._--The movements mentioned above have been the
chief factors of relatively modern Asiatic history, but in early times
the centre of activity and culture lay farther west, in Babylonia and
Assyria. These ancient states began to decline in the 7th century B.C.,
and on their ruins rose the Persian empire, which with various political
metamorphoses continued to be an important power till the 7th century
A.D., after which all western Asia was overwhelmed by the Moslem wave,
and old landmarks and kingdoms were obliterated.
The materials for the study of their institutions and population are
abundant, but lend themselves to discussion rather than to a summary of
admitted facts. In the early history of south-western Asia the Semites
form the most important ethnic group, which is primarily linguistic but
also shares other remarkable characteristics. Two of the greatest
religions of the world, Christianity and Islam, are Semitic in origin,
as well as Judaism. In politics these races have been less successful in
modern times, but the Semitic states of Babylonia and Assyria were once
the principal centres for the development and distribution of
civilization. It is generally agreed that this civilization can be
traced back to an earlier race, the Sumero-Akkadians, whose language
seems allied to the agglutinative idioms of central Asia. If this
ancient civilized race was really allied to the ancestors of the Turks
and Huns, it is a remarkable instance of how civilization thrives best
by being transplanted at a certain period of growth. Still less is known
of the early non-Aryan races of Asia Minor such as the Hittites and
Alorodians. One hypothesis supposes that the shores of the Mediterranean
were originally inhabited by a homogeneous race neither Aryan nor
Semitic.
The earliest Sumerian records seem to be anterior to 4000 B.C. Shortly
after that period Babylonia was invaded by Semites, who became the
ruling race. The city of Babylon came to the fore as metropolis about
2285 B.C. under Khammurabi. Assyria was an offshoot of Babylonia lying
to the north-west, and apparently colonized before the second
millennium. While using the same language as the Babylonians, the
Assyrians had an individuality which showed itself in art and religion.
In the 9th and 8th centuries B.C. they became the chief power within
their sphere and the suzerain of their parent Babylon. But they
succumbed before the advance of the Medo-Persian power in 606 B.C.,
whereas it was not till 555 that Cyrus took Babylon. Assyria, being
essentially a military power, disappeared with the destruction of
Nineveh, but Babylon continued to exercise an influence on culture and
religion for many centuries after the Persian conquest.
6. _China._--This is the oldest of existing states, though its authentic
history does not go back much beyond 1000 B.C. It is generally admitted
that there was some connexion between the ancient civilizations of China
and Babylonia, but its precise nature is still uncertain. It is clear,
however, that the Chinese came from the west, and entered their present
territory along the course of the Hwang-ho at an unknown period,
possibly about 3000 B.C. In early historical times China consisted of a
shifting confederacy of feudal states, but about 220 B.C. the state of
Tsin or Chin (whence the name China) came into prominence, and succeeded
in forming a homogeneous empire, which advanced considerably towards the
south. The subsequent history of China is mainly a record of struggles
with various tribes, commonly, but not very correctly, called Tatars.
The empire was frequently broken up by successful incursions, or divided
between rival dynasties, but at least twice became a great Asiatic
power: under the Han dynasty (about 200 B.C.-A.D. 220), and the T'ang
(A.D. 618-906). The dominions of the latter extended across central Asia
to northern India, but were dismembered by the attacks of the Kitans,
whence the name Cathay. China proper, minus these external provinces,
was again united under the Sung dynasty (960-1127), but split into the
northern (Tatar) and southern (Chinese) kingdoms. In the 13th century
arose the Mongol power, and Kublai Khan conquered China. The Mongol
dynasty lasted less than a century, but the Ming, the native Chinese
dynasty which succeeded it, reigned for nearly 300 years and despatched
expeditions which reached India, Ceylon and East Africa. In 1644 the
Ming succumbed to the attacks of the Manchus, a northern tribe who
captured Peking and founded the present imperial house.
Until the advent of Europeans, the Chinese were always in contact with
inferior races. Whether they expanded at the expense of weak aboriginal
tribes or were conquered by more robust invaders, Chinese civilization
prevailed and assimilated alike the conquered and the conquerors. It is
largely to this that we must ascribe the national conservatism and
contempt for foreigners. The spirit of the Chinese polity is
self-contained, anti-military and anti-sacerdotal. Rank is nominally
determined by merit, as tested by competitive examinations. Society is
conceived as regulated by mutual obligations, of which the duties of
parents and children are the most important. The emperor is head of the
state and the high priest, who sacrifices to Heaven on behalf of his
people, but he can be deposed, and no divine right is inherent in
certain families as in Japan and Turkey. On the contrary there have been
20 dynasties since the Christian era.
The most conspicuous figure in Chinese literature is Confucius (551-475
B.C.). Though he laid no claim to originality and merely sought to
collect and systematize the traditions of antiquity, his influence in
the Far East has been unbounded, and he must be pronounced one of the
most powerful advocates of peace and humanity that have ever existed.
Confucianism is an ethical rather than a religious system, and hence was
able to co-exist, though not on very friendly terms, with Buddhism,
which reached China about the 1st century A.D. and was the chief source
of Chinese religious ideas, except the older ancestor worship. But they
are not a religious people, and like many Europeans regard the church as
a department of the state.
7. _Japan_ appears to have been formerly inhabited by the Ainus, who
have traditions of an older but unknown population, but was invaded in
prehistoric times by a race akin to the Koreans, which was possibly
mingled with Malay elements after occupying the southern part of the
islands. Authentic history does not begin till about the 6th century
A.D., when Chinese civilization and Buddhism were introduced. The
government was originally autocratic, but as early as the 7th century
the most characteristic feature of Japanese politics--the power of great
families who overshadowed the throne--makes its appearance. We hear
first of the Fujiwara family, and then of the rivalry between the houses
of Taira and Minamoto. The latter prevailed, and in 1192 established the
dual system of government under which the emperor or Mikado ruled only
in name, and the real power was in the hands of a hereditary military
chief called Shogun. Japan has never been invaded in historical times,
but an attempt made by Kublai Khan to conquer it was successfully
repulsed. The chief power then passed to the Ashikaga dynasty of
Shoguns, who retained it for about 200 years and were distinguished for
their patronage of the arts. The second half of the 16th century was a
period of ferment and anarchy, marked by the arrival of the Portuguese
and the rise of some remarkable adventurers, one of whom, Hideyoshi,
conquered Korea and apparently meditated the invasion of China. His
plans were interrupted by his death, and his successor, Ieyasu, who
shaped the social and political life of Japan for nearly 300 years
(1603-1868), definitely decided on a policy of seclusion and isolation.
All ideas of external conquest were abandoned, Christianity was
forbidden, and Japan closed to foreigners, only the Dutch being allowed
a strictly limited commerce. In 1854-1859 the Christian powers,
beginning with the United States, successfully asserted their right to
trade with Japan. The influx of new ideas provoked civil war, in which
the already decadent Shogunate was abolished and the authority of the
Mikado restored. Recognizing that their only chance of competing with
Europeans was to fight them with their own weapons, the Japanese set
themselves deliberately to assimilate the material civilization and to
some extent the institutions of Europe, such as constitutional
government. Their progress and success are without parallel. In 1895
they defeated the Chinese and ten years later the Russians. Their
exceptional status among Asiatic nations has been recognized by treaties
which, contrary to the general practice in non-Christian countries,
place all foreigners in Japan under Japanese law.
This sudden development of the Japanese is perhaps the most important
event of the second half of the 19th century, since it marks the rise of
an Asiatic power capable of competing with Europe on equal terms. Their
history is so different from that of the rest of Asia that it is not
surprising if the result is different. The nation hardly came into
existence till China and India had passed their prime, and remained
secluded and free from the continual struggle against barbarian
invaders, which drained the energies of its neighbours. It was left
untouched by Mahommedanism, and for an unprecedentedly long period kept
Europeans at bay without wasting its strength in hostilities. The
military spirit was evolved, not in raids and massacres of the usual
Asiatic type which create little but intense racial hatred, but in feuds
between families and factions of the same race, which restrained
ferocity and tended to create a temper like that of the feudal chivalry
of Europe. On the other hand it is noticeable that the Japanese have
little which is original in the way of religion, literature or
philosophy. Unlike the Chinese and Indians, they have hitherto not had
the smallest influence on the intellectual development of Asia, and
though they have in the past sometimes shown themselves intensely
nationalist and conservative, they have, compared with India and China,
so little which is really their own that their assimilation of foreign
ideas is explicable.
8. _Korea_ received its civilization and religion from China, but
differs in language, and to some extent in customs. An alphabet derived
from Indian sources is in use as well as Chinese writing. The country
was at most periods independent though nominally tributary to China. In
the 16th century the Japanese occupied it for a short period, and in
1894 they went to war with China on account of her claims to suzerainty.
In 1895 Korea was declared independent.
9. _India._--The population of India comprises at least three strata:
firstly, uncivilized aborigines, such as the Kols and Santhals, and
secondly, the Dravidians (Tamils, Kanarese, &c.), who perhaps represent
the earliest northern invaders, and appear to have attained some degree
of culture on their own account. The most recent authorities are of
opinion that the Kolarians and Dravidians represent a single physical
type; but, whatever the historical explanation may be, they certainly
have different languages and show different stages of civilization. In
prehistoric times they were spread over the whole of India, but were
driven to the centre and south of the peninsula by the third stratum of
Aryans, and perhaps also by invasions of so-called Mongolian races from
the north-west. No historical record has been preserved of these latter,
but they appear to have profoundly affected the population of Bengal,
which is believed to be Mongolo-Dravidian in composition. The Aryans
appear to have been settled to the north of the Hindu Kush, and to have
migrated south-eastwards about 1500 B.C. Their original home has been a
subject of much discussion, but the view now prevalent is that they
arose in southern Russia or Asia Minor, whence a section spread
eastwards and divided into two closely related branches--the Hindus and
Iranians. There were probably two successive Aryan immigrations, and the
tradition of a struggle between them may be preserved in the
_Mahabharata_. The life of the ancient Aryans, as portrayed in their
sacred songs, the _Rig Veda_, was quasi-nomadic and in many ways
democratic, but by the 6th century B.C. settled states had been formed
in the Ganges valley. They were absolute monarchies, but the power of
the king was tempered by the extraordinary influence possessed by the
hereditary sacerdotal class or Brahmans. The position of this class,
which has remained till the present day, is connected with the
institution of caste, a division of the population into groups founded
partly on racial distinctions. The peaceful progress of Brahmanism was
hindered by the doctrine of the Indian prince Gotama, called the Buddha,
which grew into one of the greatest religions of the world. For many
centuries the culture and development of the Hindus depended mainly on
the interaction of the old Brahmanical religion and Buddhism. The latter
was finally absorbed, and disappeared in India itself, but has spread
Indian influence over the whole of eastern Asia, where it still
flourishes.
In 326 B.C. Alexander invaded the Punjab. The immediate result was
small, but the establishment of Perso-Greek kingdoms in central Asia had
a powerful influence on Indian art and culture. It may also have helped
to familiarize the Hindu mind with the idea of an empire, which appeared
among them later than in other Asiatic countries. The first empire,
called Maurya, reached its greatest extent in the time of Asoka (264-227
B.C.), who ruled from Afghanistan to Madras. He was a zealous Buddhist
and gave the first example of a missionary religion, for by his
exertions the faith was spread over all India and Ceylon. No Hindu
empires have lasted long, and the Maurya dominions broke up fifty years
after his death.
In the next period (c. 150 B.C.-A.D. 300) India was invaded from the
north by tribes partly of Parthian and partly of Turki (Yue-chi, &c.)
origin. Owing to the absence of dated records, the chronology of these
invasions has not yet been set beyond dispute, but the most important
was that of the Kushans, whose king Kanishka founded a state which
comprised northern India and Kashmir. They were Buddhists, and it is
probable that the Mahayana or northern form of Buddhism was due to an
amalgamation of Gotama's doctrines with the ideas (largely Greek and
Persian) which they brought with them. Much of Sivaism has probably the
same origin. Another native empire, known as Gupta, rose on the ruins of
the Kushan kingdom, and embraced nearly the whole peninsula, but it
broke up in the 5th century, partly owing to the attacks of new northern
invaders, the Huns. The Malava dynasty maintained Hindu civilization in
the 6th century, and from 606 to 646 Harsha established a brief but
brilliant empire in the north with its capital at Kanauj. This epoch is
marked by the renaissance of Sanskrit literature and the gradual revival
of Hinduism at the expense of Buddhism. But after Harsha Hindu history
is lost in a maze of small and transitory states, incapable of resisting
the ever advancing Mahommedan peril. As early as 712 the Arabs conquered
Sind, and by the end of the 11th century the whole of northern India was
in Moslem hands. Two periods may be distinguished, namely the Turki
(1200-1526) and the Mogul empire. The former comprised several dynasties
of mixed Turki and Iranian race, but was wanting in coherency. In the
neighbourhood of the Moslem capitals, Islam spread rapidly, but in such
districts as Rajputana and specially Vijayanagar (Mysore) Hindu
civilization and religion maintained themselves.
In 1526 the Moguls descended on India from Transoxiana and seized the
throne of Delhi. They never subjugated the south, but the empire which
they founded in the north was for about two centuries, under such rulers
as Akbar and Shah Jehan, one of the most brilliant which Asia has seen.
After 1707 it began to decline: the governors became independent: a
powerful Mahratta confederacy arose in central India; Nadir Shah of
Persia sacked Delhi; and Ahmed Shah made repeated invasions. A still
more formidable danger, the power of the French and English, continued
to increase. Amidst such confusion the authority of the Mogul empire
rapidly disappeared, but it lasted as a name till the Mutiny (1857).
Indian history until Mahommedan times is marked by the unusual
prominence of religious ideas, and is a record of intellectual
development rather than of political events. Whatever national unity the
Hindu peoples possessed came from the persistent and penetrating
influence of the Brahman caste. Kings held a secondary position, and
were generally regarded as adventitious tyrants, rather than as the
heads and representatives of the nation. Even the great dynasties have
left few traces, and it is with difficulty that the patient historian
disinters the minor kingdoms from obscurity, but Indian religion,
literature and art have influenced all Asia from Persia to Japan.
10._Persia._-- The Persians, with whom are often coupled the Medes,
appear to be pure Aryans in origin, and the earliest form of their
language and religion offers remarkable analogies to the Vedas. It is
reasonable to suppose that their ancestors and those of the Hindus at
one time formed a single tribe somewhere in central Asia. The religion
was remodelled by Zoroaster, who seems to be a historical character and
to have lived about the 7th century B.C. About the same time they shook
off the domination of Assyria. From the 6th century onwards their
empire, then known as Median, began to expand at the expense of the
surrounding states. They destroyed Nineveh in alliance with the
Babylonians, and half a century later Cyrus took Babylon and founded the
great dynasty of the Achaemenidae. The substitution of the Persian for
the Median power, which took place with the advent of Cyrus, seems to
indicate merely the pre-eminence of a particular tribe and not conquest
by another race. The power of the Achaemenidae, when at its maximum,
extended from the Oxus and Indus in the east to Thrace in the west and
Egypt in the south, but fell before Greece, after lasting for rather
more than 200 years. Darius and Xerxes were repulsed in their efforts to
subjugate the Greek Peninsula, and Alexander the Great conquered their
successor Darius III. in 329. But the greater part of the empire
continued to exist under new masters, the Seleucids, as a Hellenistic
power which was of great importance for the dissemination of Greek
culture in the East. Bactria soon became independent under an Indo-Greek
dynasty, and the blending of Greek, Persian, central Asiatic and Hindu
influences had an important effect on the art and religion of India, and
through India on all eastern Asia. About the same period (250 B.C.-A.D.
227) the Parthian empire arose under the Arsacids in Khorasan and the
adjacent districts. The Parthians appear to have been a Turanian tribe
who had adopted many Persian customs. They successfully withstood the
Romans, and at one time their power extended from India to Syria. They
succumbed to the Persian dynasty of the Sassanids, who ruled
successfully for about four centuries, established the Zoroastrian faith
as their state religion, and maintained a creditable conflict with the
East Roman empire. But in the 7th century they were defeated by
Heraclius, and shortly afterwards were annihilated before the first
impetus of the Mahommedan conquest, which established Islam in Persia
and the neighbouring lands, sweeping away old civilizations and
boundaries. During the greater part of the Mahommedan period Persia has
been ruled by troubled and short-lived dynasties. It attained a certain
dignity and unity under Abbas Shah (1585-1628), but in later times was
distracted and disorganized by Afghan invasions. The present dynasty,
which is of Turkoman origin, dates from 1789.
The achievements of the Persians in art, literature and religion are by
no means contemptible, but somewhat mixed and cosmopolitan. Owing to its
position, the Persian state, when it from time to time became a
conquering empire, overlapped Asia Minor, Babylon and India, and hence
acted as an intermediary for transmitting art and ideas, sending for
instance Greek sculpture to India and the cult of Mithra to western
Europe. It is perhaps on account of this intermediate flavour that the
literature of Persia--for instance the adaptations of Omar Khayyam--is
more appreciated in Europe than that of other Oriental nations. On the
other hand, the wars between Persia and Greece were recognized both at
the time and afterwards as a struggle between Europe and Asia; the fact
that both combatants were Aryans was not felt, and has no importance
compared to the difference of continent.
11. _Jews._--The Israelites appear to have been originally a nomadic
tribe akin to the Arabs, whom they resemble in their want of political
instinct and in their extraordinary religious genius. Among many
remarkable qualities they have been distinguished from the earliest
times by a species of commensalism, or power of living among other
nations without becoming either socially merged or politically distinct.
Their traditional history represents them as migrating to the borders of
Egypt and living there for some centuries. After the exodus, which
perhaps took place about 1300 B.C., they moved northwards again and
founded a state of modest dimensions, which attained a short-lived unity
under Solomon, but succumbed to internal dissensions and to the attacks
of Assyria and Babylon. Shalmanezer destroyed the northern kingdom or
Israel in 720, and following the practice of the times deported the
majority of the population, whose traces became lost to history. There
is no reason why their descendants should not be found to-day in various
tribes, but the physical type commonly called Jewish is characteristic
not so much of Israel as of western Asia generally. In 588
Nebuchadnezzar carried off the Jews in captivity, but after the Persian
conquest of Babylonia they were allowed to return to Palestine in 538.
Their institutions and ideas were probably considerably modified during
this period. Babylon long continued to be a Jewish centre whence the
Jews radiated to other countries. The restored state of Jerusalem lived
for about six centuries in partial independence under Persian, Egyptian,
Syrian and Roman rule, often showing an aggressively heroic attachment
to its national customs, which brought it into collision with its
suzerains, until the temple was destroyed by Titus in A.D. 70, and the
country laid waste in the succeeding years. But long before this period
the Jews of the Dispersion had become as important as the inhabitants of
Palestine. From choice or compulsion large numbers settled in Egypt in
the time of the Ptolemies, and added an appreciable element to
Alexandrine culture, while gradual voluntary emigration established
Jewish communities in Syria, Asia Minor, Greece and Italy, who
facilitated the first spread of Christianity. In spite of chronic
unpopularity and recurring persecutions they have spread over nearly all
Europe. At the end of the 13th century they were expelled from Spain and
many of the exiles moved eastwards. At present the largest numbers are
to be found in the eastern parts of Europe. It is remarkable that though
the Jews live in relative peace with Asiatics, the great majority of
them prefer Europe as a residence.
12. _Arabs._--The Arabs have hardly any history before the rise of
Islam, although their name is mentioned by surrounding nations from the
9th century B.C. onwards. They appear to have had few states or kings,
but rather tribes and chiefs. Their relationship to the Babylonians and
Jews is indicated by linguistic and ethnological data. The language and
writing of the Semites who, at an unknown period, settled in what is now
Abyssinia, show affinities with those of South Arabia, and these Semites
may have been immigrants into Africa from that region. It is plain from
early Moslem literature that Persian, Christian and especially Jewish
ideas had penetrated into Arabia.
With the rise of Mahommedanism occurred a sudden effervescence of the
Arabs, who during some centuries threatened to impose not only their
political authority but their civilization and new religion on the whole
known world. They successfully invaded India and central Asia in the
east, Spain and Morocco in the west. The Caliphate under the Omayyads of
Damascus, and then the Abbasids of Bagdad, became the principal power in
the nearer East. It had not, however, a sufficiently coherent
organization for permanence; parts of it became independent, others
were first protected and then absorbed by the Turks. The Arab rule in
Spain, which once threatened to overwhelm Europe and was turned back
near Tours by Charles Martel, was distinguished by its tolerance and
civilization, and lingered on till the 15th century.
The collapse of the political power of the Arabs was singularly
complete. The Caliphate, though Arabian, was always geographically
outside Arabia, and on its fall Arabia remained as it was before Islam,
isolated and inaccessible. It is still one of the least known parts of
the globe, and has hardly any political link with the outside, for the
Arabs of northern Africa form separate states. But in spite of this
total political collapse, Arabic religion and literature are still one
of the greatest forces working in the western half of Asia, in northern
Africa and to some extent in eastern Europe.
13. _Ceylon_, though geographically an annex of India, has not followed
its fortunes historically. According to tradition it was invaded by an
Aryan-speaking colony from the valley of the Ganges in the 6th century
B.C. It received Buddhism from north India in the time of Asoka, and has
had considerable importance as a centre of religious culture which has
influenced Burma and Siam. Its medieval history consists of struggles
between the native sovereigns and Tamil invaders. A powerful native
dynasty reigned in the 12th century, but in 1408 the island was attacked
by Chinese, and from 1505 onwards it was distracted by the attacks and
squabbles of Europeans. It was partially subjugated, first by the
Portuguese and then by the Dutch. In 1796 the Dutch were expelled by the
English.
14. _Indo-China._--This is an appropriate name for Burma, Siam,
Cambodia, Annam, &c., for both in position and in civilization they lie
between India and China. Indian influence is predominant as far as
Cambodia (though with a Chinese tinge), Indian alphabets being employed
and the Buddhism being of the Sinhalese type, but in Annam and Tongking
the Chinese script and many Chinese institutions are in use. The
population belongs to various races, and also comprises little-known
wild tribes, (i.) Languages of the group known as Mon-Annam are spoken
in Annam and in Pegu, an ancient kingdom originally distinct from Burma
though now confounded with it. This distribution seems to indicate that
they once spread over the whole region, and were divided by the later
advance of the Siamese and others. Until Annam was taken by the French,
its history consisted of a struggle with the Chinese, who alternately
asserted and lost their sovereignty. The Annamese are, however, a
distinct race. Cochin China was once the seat of a kingdom called
Champa, which appears to have had a hinduized Malay civilization and to
have been subsequently absorbed by Annam. (ii.) The Burmese are
linguistically allied to the Tibetans, and probably entered Burma from
the north-west. The early history consists largely of conflicts between
the Burmese and Talaings. The kingdom which was annexed by Britain in
1885 was founded about 1750 by Alompra, who united his countrymen and
broke the power of the Talaings. He also invaded Siam. (iii.) The Khmers
or Cambodians, whose languages appear to belong to the Mon-Annam group,
form a relatively ancient kingdom, much reduced in the last few
centuries by the advance of the Siamese and new a French protectorate.
Remarkable ruins dating from perhaps A.D. 800 to 1000 attest the former
prevalence of strong Hindu influence, (iv.) The Siamese or Thai, who
speak a monosyllabic language of the Chinese type, but written in an
Indian alphabet, represent a late invasion from southern China, whence
they descended about the 13th century.
15. _Malays._--This widely-scattered race has no political union and its
distribution is a puzzle for ethnography. At present it occupies the
extremity of the Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippines
and other islands of the Malay Archipelago as well as Madagascar, while
the inhabitants of most islands in the South Seas, including New Zealand
and Hawaii, speak languages which if not Malay have at least undergone a
strong Malay influence. It would seem from this distribution that the
Malays are not continental, but a seafaring race with exceptional powers
of dispersal, who have spread over the ocean from some island
centre--perhaps Java. The latest theory, however, is that there is a
great linguistic group (which may or may not prove to correspond to an
ethnic unity) comprising the Munda, Monkhmer, Malay, Polynesian and
Micronesian languages, and that the stream of immigration which
distributed them started from the extreme west. Three periods can be
traced in the history of the Asiatic Malays. In the first (in which such
tribes as the Dyaks have remained) they were semi-barbarous. In the
second, Hindu civilization reached the Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra
and other islands. The presence of Hindu ruins, as well as of numerous
Indian words and customs, testifies to the strength of this influence.
It was, however, superseded by Islam, which spread to the Malay
Archipelago and Peninsula before the 16th century. At the present time
the Arabic alphabet is used on the mainland, but Indian alphabets in
Java, Sumatra, &c.
16. _Tibet._--This remote and mountainous country has a peculiar
civilization. It has entirely escaped Islam, and though it is a nominal
vassal of China, direct Chinese influence has not been strong. The most
striking feature is the religion, a corrupt form of late Indian
Buddhism, known as Lamaism, which, largely in consequence of the favour
shown by Jenghiz Khan and his successors, has attained temporal power
and developed into an ecclesiastical state curiously like the papacy.
17. _Mongols._--Such civilization as the Mongols possess is a mixture of
Chinese and Indian, the latter derived chiefly through Tibet, but their
alphabet is a curious instance of transplantation. It is an adaptation
of the Syriac writing introduced by the early Nestorian missionaries.
Literature, art, science.
18. Almost all Asiatic countries have a literature, but it is often not
indigenous and consists of foreign works, chiefly religious, read either
in translations or the original. Thus with the exception of a little
folklore the literature of Indo-China, Tibet, Mongolia, Korea and
Manchuria is mainly Indian or Chinese. The chief original literatures
are Chinese, Sanskrit, Pali, Arabic and Persian. The Japanese have
produced few books of importance, and their compositions are chiefly
remarkable as being lighter and more secular than is usual in Asia, but
the older Chinese works take high rank both for their merits and the
effect they have had. The extensive Sanskrit literature, which has
reached in translations China, Japan and Java, is chiefly theological
and poetical, history being conspicuously absent. India has also a
considerable medieval and modern literature in various languages. Pali,
though only a form of Hindu literature, has a separate history, for it
died in India and was preserved in Ceylon, whence it was imported to
Burma and Siam as the language of religion. The Pali versions of
Buddha's discourses are among the most remarkable products of Asia. The
literatures of all Moslem peoples are largely inspired by Arabic, which
has produced a voluminous collection of works in prose and poetry.
Persian, after being itself transformed by Arabic, has in its turn
largely influenced all west Asiatic Moslem literature from Hindustani to
Turkish.
If one excepts the Old Testament, which is a product of the extreme west
of Asia, it is remarkable how small has been the influence of Asiatic
literature on Europe. Though Greek and Slavonic almost ceased to be
written languages under Turkish rule, Europeans showed no disposition to
replace them by Ottoman or Arabic literature.
Without counting subdivisions there would seem to be three main schools
of art in Asia at present--Chinese, Indian and Moslem. The first
contains many original elements. It is feeblest in architecture and
strongest in the branches demanding skill and care in a limited compass,
such as painting, porcelain and enamel. It is the main inspiration of
Japanese art, which, however, shows great originality in its treatment
of borrowed themes. Both China and Japan have felt through Buddhism the
influence of Indian art, which contains at least two elements--one
indigenous and the other Greco-Persian. Unlike Chinese art it has a
genius for architecture and sculpture rather than painting. Mahommedan
art is also largely architectural and has affected nearly all Moslem
countries. Except that the use of Arabic inscriptions is one of its
principal methods of decoration, it owes little to Arabia and much to
Byzantium. The Persian variety of this art is more ornate, and less
averse to representations of living beings. Both Moslem and Chinese art
are closely connected with calligraphy, but Hindus rarely use writing
for ornament.
In both art and literature modern Asia is inferior to the past more
conspicuously than Europe.
As for science, astronomy was cultivated by the Babylonians at an early
period, and it is probably from them that a knowledge of the heavenly
bodies and their movements spread over Asia. Grammar and prosody were
studied in India with a marvellous accuracy and minuteness several
centuries before Christ. Mathematics were cultivated by the Chinese,
Indians and Arabs, but nearly all the sciences based on the observation
of nature, including medicine, have remained in a very backward
condition. Much the same, however, might have been said of Europe until
two centuries ago, and the scientific knowledge of the Arabs under the
earlier Caliphates was equal or superior to that of any of their
contemporaries. Histories and accounts of travels have been composed
both in Arabic and Chinese.
Influence of Asia on other continents.
19. It is only natural that Europe should have chiefly felt the
influence of western Asia. Though Europeans may be indebted to China for
some mechanical inventions, she was too distant to produce much direct
effect, and the influence of India has been mainly directed towards the
East. The resemblances between primitive Christianity and Buddhism
appear to be coincidences, and though both early Greek philosophy and
later Alexandrine ideas suggest Indian affinities, there is no clear
connexion such as there is between certain aspects of Chinese thought
and India.
Any general statement as to the debt owed by early European
civilizations to western Asia would at present be premature, for though
important discoveries have been made in Crete and Babylonia the best
authorities are chary of positive conclusions as to the relations of
Cretan civilization to Egypt and Babylonia. Egyptian influence within
the Aegean area seems certain, and the theory that Greek writing and
systems for reckoning time are Babylonian in origin has not been
disproved, though the history of the alphabet is more complex than was
supposed.
In historic times Asia has attempted to assert her influence over Europe
by a series of invasions, most of which have been repulsed. Such were
the Persian wars of Greece, and perhaps one may add Hannibal's invasion
of Italy, if the Carthaginians were Phoenicians transplanted to Africa.
The Roman empire kept back the Persians and Parthians, but could not
prevent a series of incursions by Avars, Huns, Bulgarians, and later by
Mongols and Turks. Islam has twice obtained a footing in Europe, under
the Arabs in Spain and under the Turks at Constantinople. The earlier
Asiatic invasions were conducted by armies operating at a distance from
their bases, and had little result, for the soldiery retired after a
time (like Alexander from India), or more rarely (e.g. the Bulgarians)
settled down without keeping up any connexion with Asia. The Turks, and
to some extent the Arabs in Spain, were successful because they first
conquered the parts of Asia and Africa adjoining Europe, so that the
final invaders were in touch with Asiatic settlements. Though the Turks
have profoundly affected the whole of eastern Europe, the result of
their conquests has been not so much to plant Asiatic culture in Europe
as to arrest development entirely, the countries under their rule
remaining in much the same condition as under the moribund Byzantine
empire.
In general, Europe has in historic times shown itself decidedly hostile
to Asiatic institutions and modes of thought. It is only of recent years
that the writings of Schopenhauer and the researches of many
distinguished orientalists have awakened some interest in Asiatic
philosophy.
The influence of Asia on Africa has been considerable, and until the
middle of the 10th century greater than that of Europe. Some authorities
hold that Egyptian civilization came from Babylonia, and that the
so-called Hamitic languages are older and less specialized members of
the Semitic family. The connexion between Carthage and Phoenicia is more
certain, and the ancient Abyssinian kingdom was founded by Semites from
south Arabia. The traditions of the Somalis derive them from the same
region. The theory that the ruins in Mashonaland were built by
immigrants from south Arabia is now discredited, but there was certainly
a continuous stream of Arab migration to East Africa which probably
began in pre-Moslem times and founded a series of cities on the coast.
The whole of the north of Africa from Egypt to Morocco has been
mahommedanized, and Mahommedan influence is general and fairly strong
from Timbuktu to Lake Chad and Wadai. South of the equator, Arab
slave-dealers penetrated from Zanzibar to the great lakes and the Congo
during the second and third quarters of the 19th century, but their
power, though formidable, has disappeared without leaving any permanent
traces.
The relation to Asia of the pre-European civilizations of America is
another of those questions which admit of no definite answer at present,
though many facts support the theory that the semi-civilized inhabitants
of Mexico and Central America crossed from Asia by Bering Straits and
descended the west coast. Some authorities hold that Peruvian
civilization had no connexion with the north and was an entirely
indigenous product, but Kechua is in structure not unlike the
agglutinative languages of central and northern Asia.
Influence of Europe on Asia.
20. European influence on Asia has been specially strong at two epochs,
firstly after the conquests of Alexander the Great, and secondly from
the 16th century onwards. Alexander's conquests resulted in the
foundation of Perso-Greek kingdoms in Asia, which not only hellenized
their own area but influenced the art and religion of India and to some
extent of China. Then follows a long period in which eastern Europe was
mainly occupied in combating Asiatic invasions, and had little
opportunity of Europeanizing the East. Somewhat later the Crusades kept
up communication with the Levant, and established there the power of the
Roman Church, somewhat to the detriment of oriental Christianity, but
intercourse with farther Asia was limited to the voyages of a few
travellers. Looking at eastern Europe and western Asia only, one must
say that Asiatic influences have on the whole prevailed hitherto (though
perhaps the tide is turning), for Islam is paramount in this region and
European culture at a low ebb. But the case is quite different if one
looks at the two continents as a whole, for improvement in means of
communication has brought about strange vicissitudes, and western Europe
has asserted her power in middle and eastern Asia.
In the 16th century a new era began with the discovery by the Portuguese
of the route to India round the Cape, and the naval powers of Europe
started one after another on careers of oriental conquest. The movement
was maritime and affected the nations in the extreme west of Europe
rather than those nearer Asia, who were under the Turkish yoke. Also the
parts of Asia affected were chiefly India and the extreme East. The
countries west of India, being less exposed to naval invasion, remained
comparatively untouched. It will thus be seen that European (excluding
Russian) power in Asia is based almost entirely on improved navigation.
There was no attempt to overwhelm whole empires by pouring into them
masses of troops, but commerce was combined with territorial
acquisition, and a continuity of European interest secured by the
presence of merchants and settlers. The course of oriental conquest
followed the events of European politics, and the possessions of
European powers in the East generally changed hands according to the
fortunes of their masters at home. Portugal was first on the scene, and
in the 16th century established a considerable littoral empire on the
coasts of East Africa, India and China, fragments of which still remain,
especially Goa, where Portuguese influence on the natives was
considerable. Before the century was out the Dutch appeared as the
successful rivals of the Portuguese, but the real struggle for supremacy
in southern Asia took place between France and England about 1740-1783.
Both entered India as commercial companies, but the disorganized
condition of the Mogul empire necessitated the use of military force to
protect their interests, and allured them to conquest. The companies
gradually undertook the financial control of the districts where they
traded and were recognized by the natives as political powers. The
ultimate victory of England seems due less to any particular aptitude
for dealing with oriental problems than to a better command of the seas
and to considerations of European politics. At the end of the Napoleonic
wars Portugal had Macao and Goa, Holland Java, Sumatra and other
islands, France some odds and ends in India, while England emerged with
Hong Kong, Singapore, Ceylon and a free hand in India. Guided by such
administrators as Warren Hastings, the East India Company had assumed
more and more definitely the functions of government for a great part of
India. In 1809 its exclusive trading rights were taken away by
Parliament, but its administrative status was thus made clearer, and
when after the mutiny of 1857 it was desirable to define British
authority in India there seemed nothing unnatural in declaring it to be
a possession of the crown.
Another category of European possessions in Asia comprises those
acquired towards the end of the 19th century, such as Indo-China
(France), Burma and Wei-Hai-Wei (Britain), and Kiao-Chow (Germany).
Whereas the earlier conquests were mostly the results of large
half-conscious national movements working out their destinies in the
East, these later ones were annexations deliberately planned by European
cabinets. It seemed to be assumed that Asia was to be divided among the
powers of Europe, and each was anxious to get its share or more.
The advance of Russia in Asia is entirely different from that of the
other powers, since it has taken place by land and not by sea. Though
the geographical extent of Russian territory and influence is enormous,
she has always moved along the line of least resistance. She is a
moderately strong empire lying to the north of the great Moslem states,
and having for neighbours a series of very weak principalities or
semi-civilized tribes. The conquest of Siberia and central Asia
presented no real difficulties: Persia and Constantinople were left on
one side, and Russia was defeated as soon as she was opposed by a
vigorous power in the Far East. As the Russian possessions in Asia are
continuous with European Russia, it is only natural that they should
have been russified far more thoroughly than the British possessions
have been anglicized.
There has been great difference of opinion as to the extent to which
Alexander's conquests influenced Asia, and it is equally hard to say
what is the effect now being produced by Europe. Clearly such
alterations as the construction of railways in nearly all parts of the
continent, and the establishment of peace over formerly disturbed areas
like India, are of enormous importance, and must change the life of the
people. But the mental constitution of Asiatics is less easily modified
than their institutions, and even Japan has assimilated European methods
rather than European ideas. (C. El.)
AUTHORITIES.--The modern bibliography of Asia, including the works of
travellers and explorers since 1880, is voluminous. It is impossible
to refer to all that has been written in the Survey Reports and
Gazetteers of the government of India, or in the records of the Royal
Asiatic Society, or the Asiatic Society, Bengal; but amongst the more
important popular works are the following:--Richthofen, "China, Japan,
and Korea," vol. iv. _Jour. R.G.S._, _China_ (Berlin, 1877); Regel,
"Upper Oxus," vol. i. _Proc. R.G.S._, 1879; Dr Bellew, _Afghanistan
and the Afghans_ (London, 1879); Nicolas Prjevalski, "Explorations in
Asia," see vols. i., ii., v., ix. and xi. of the _Proc. R.G.S._,
1879-1889; W. Blunt, "A Visit to Jebel Shammar," vol ii. _Proc.
R.G.S._, 1880; Captain W Gill, _The River of Golden Sand_ (London,
1880); Sir R. Temple, "Central Plateau of Asia," vol. iv. _Proc.
R.G.S._ 1882; Baker, "A Journey of Exploration in Western Ssu-Chuan,"
vol. i. _Supplementary Papers R.G.S._, 1882-1885; Sir C. Wilson,
"Notes on Physical and Historical Geography of Asia Minor," vol. vi.
_Proc. R.G.S._, 1884; General J.T. Walker, "Asiatic Explorers of the
Indian Survey," vol. viii. _Proc. R.G.S._, 1885; Samuel Beal,
_Buddhist Records of the Western World_ (Boston, 1885); Charles
Doughty, _Travels in Northern Arabia_ (Cambridge, 1886); _Travels in
Arabia Deserta_ (Cambridge, 1888); Venukoff, "Explorations," vol.
viii. _Proc. G.R.S._, 1886; Ney Elias, "Explorations in Central Asia,"
see vols. viii. and ix. _Proc. R.G.S._, 1886-1887; Arthur Carey,
"Explorations in Turkestan," see vol. ix. _Proc. R.G.S._, 1887; Henry
Lansdell, _Through Central Asia_ (London, 1887); Archibald Colquhoun,
_Report on Railway Connexion between Burma and China_ (London, 1887);
Major C. Yate, _Northern Afghanistan_ (Edinburgh, 1888); Captain F.
Younghusband, _The Heart of a Continent_ (London, 1893); _A Journey
through Manchuria, &c._ (Lahore, 1888); also see vol. x. _Proc.
R.G.S._, and vol. v. _Jour. R.G.S._; Dutreuil de Rhins, _L'Asie
Centrale_ (Paris, 1889); Pierre Bonvalot, _Through the Heart of Asia_,
trans. Pitman (London, 1889); _From Paris to Tonkin_, trans. Pitman
(London, 1891); Roborovski, translation from Russian _Invalide_,
October 1889, vol. xii. _Proc. R.G.S._; "Central Asia," vol. viii.
_Jour. R.G.S._, 1896; Colonel Mark Bell, "Trade Routes of Asia," vol.
xii. _Proc. R.G.S._, 1890; W.W. Rockhill, "An American in Tibet,"
_Century Magazine_, November 1890; _The Land of the Lamas_ (London,
1891); Theodore Bent, "Hadramut," vol. iv. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1894;
"Southern Arabia," vol. vi. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1896; "Bahrein Islands,"
vol. xii. _Proc. R.G.S._, 1890; Grombcherski, "Explorations in Kuen
Lun," vol. xii. _Proc. R.G.S._, 1890; Lydekker, "The Geology of the
Kashmir Valley and Chamba Territories," vols. xiii. and xiv.
_Geological Survey of India_; Max Muller, _The Sacred Books of the
East_ (Oxford, 1890-1894); Elisee Reclus, _The Earth and its
Inhabitants_ (series, 1890); G.W. Leitner, _Dardistan_; H.F. Blanford,
_Elementary Geography of India, Burma, and Ceylon_ (London, 1890);
_Guide to the Climate and Weather of India_ (London, 1889); Lord
Dunmore, _The Pamirs_ (London, 1892); A. Tissandier, _Voyage au tour
du monde_ (Paris, 1892); Lord Curzon, _Persia and the Persian
Question_ (London, 1892); _Russia and the Anglo-Russian Question_
(London, 1889); _Problems of the Far East_ (London, 1894); Captain
Hamilton Bower, _Diary of a Journey across Tibet_ (Calcutta, 1893);
Szechenyi, _Die wissenschaftlichen Ergebnisse der Reise des Grafen
Bela Szechenyi in Ostasien_ (Wien, 1893); R.D. Oldham, "Evolution of
Indian Geology," vol. iii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1894; Baron Toll,
"Siberia," vol. iii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1894; Delmar Morgan, "The
Mountain Systems of Central Asia," _Scottish Geological Magazine_, No.
10, of 1894; Sir Frederick Goldsmid, "Persian Geography," vol. vi.
_Jour. R.G.S._, 1895; Warrington Smyth, "Siam," vol. vi. _Jour.
R.G.S._, 1895; "Siamese East Coast," vol xi. _Jour._ 1898; Prince
Kropotkin, "Siberian Railway," vol. v. _R.G.S. Jour._, 1895; W.R.
Lawrence, _The Vale of Kashmir_ (Oxford, 1895); Captain Vaughan,
"Persia," vol. viii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1896; Prince H. d'Orleans, "Yunan
to India," vol. vii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1896; "Tonkin to Talifu," vol.
viii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1896; Sir T. Holdich, "Ancient and Medieval
Makran," vol. vii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1896; _The Indian Borderland_
(London, 1901); India (Oxford, 1904); Colonel Woodthorpe, "Shan
States," vol. vii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1896; _Report of the Pamir Boundary
Commission_ (Calcutta, 1896); St George Littledale, "Journey Across
the Pamirs from North to South," vol. iii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1894, and
vol. vii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1896; Sir G. Robertson, _The Kafirs of the
Hindu Kush_ (London, 1896); Captain Stiffe, "Persian Gulf Trading
Centres," vols. viii., ix. and x. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1897; Ney Elias and
Ross, _A History of the Moghuls of Central Asia, from the
Tarskh-i-Rastisdi of Mirza Haidar_ (London, 1898); Grenard, _Mission
scientifique sur la Haute Asie_ (Paris, 1898); Dr Sven Hedin, _Through
Asia_ (London, 1898); Central Asia and Tibet (1903); _Geographie des
Hochlandes van Pamir_ (Berlin, 1894); Captain M.S. Wellby, "Through
Tibet," _R.G.S. Jour._, September 1898; Captain P.M. Sykes, "Persian
Explorations," vol. x. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1898; _Ten Thousand Miles in
Persia_ (1902); Kronshin, "Old Beds of the Oxus," _Jour. R.G.S._,
September 1898; Sir W. Hunter, _History of British India_, vol. i.
(London, 1898); Captain H. Deasy, "Western Tibet," vol. ix. _Jour.
R.G.S._; In Tibet and Chinese Turkestan (London, 1901); A. Little,
_The Far East_ (Oxford, 1905); Captain Rawling, _The Great Plateau_
(London, 1905); _Journal of the Royal Geogl. Society_, vols. xv. to
xxv. (1900-1905); Colonel A. Durand, _The Making of a Frontier_
(London, 1899); R. Cobbold, _Innermost Asia_ (London, 1900).
(T. H. H.*)