2 ASIA 



Alexander, or the conquerors of the ancient world. Upon the declkib 

 of those empires, great part of Asia submitted to the Roman arms ; 

 and afterwards, in the middle ages, the successors of Mahommed, or, 

 as they were usually called, Saracens, founded in Asia, in Africa, and 

 in Europe, a more extensive empire than that of Cyrus, Alexander* 

 or even the Roman when in its height of power. The Saracen great- 

 ness ended with the death of Tamerlane ; and the Turks, conquerors 

 on every side, took possession of the middle regions of Asia, which 

 they still enjoy. The prevailing form of government, in this division 

 of the globe, is absolute monarchy. If any of its inhabitants can be 

 said to enjoy some share of liberty, it is the wandering tribes, as the 

 Tartars and Arabs. Many of the Asiatic nations, when the Dutch 

 first came among them, could not conceive how it was possible for 

 any people to live under any other form of government than that of 

 a despotic monarchy. Turkey, Arabia, Persia, part of Tartary, and 

 part of India, profess Mahommedanism. The Persian and Indian 

 Mahommedans are of the sect of Ali, and the others of that of Omar ; 

 but both own Mahommed for their law-giver, and the Koran for their 

 rule of faith and life. In the other parts of Tartary, India, China, 

 Japan, and the Asiatic islands, they are generally heathens and idola- 

 ters. Jews are to be found every where in Asia. Christianity, though 

 planted here with wonderful rapidity, by the apostles and primitive 

 fathers, suffered an almost total eclipse by the conquests of the Sara- 

 cens, and afterwards of the Turks : incredible indeed have been the 

 hazards, perils, and sufferings of the catholic missionaries, to pro- 

 pagate their doctrines in the most distant regions, and among the 

 grossest idolaters ; but their labours have hitherto failed of success, 

 owing in a great measure to the avarice, cruelty, and injustice, of the 

 Europeans, who resort thither in search of wealth and dominion. 



The principal languages spoken in Asia are, the modern Greek, 

 the Turkish, the Russian, the Tartarian, the Persian, the Arabic, the 

 Malayan, the Chinese, and the Japanese. The European languages 

 are also spoken upon the coasts of India and China. 



The continent of Asia is situated between 25 and 190 degrees of 

 east or 170 of west longitude, and between the equator and 78 de- 

 grees of north latitude. It is about 6050 miles in length from the 

 Dardanelles on the west, to the eastern shore of Tartary ; and about 

 5460 miles in breadth, from the most southern part of Malacca, to 

 the most northern cape of. Asiatic Russia. It is bounded by the 

 Frozen Ocean on the north ; on the west it is separated from Africa 

 by the Red Sea, and from Europe by the Levant or Mediterranean, 

 the Archipelago, the Hellespont, the Sea of Marmora, the Bosphorus, 

 the Black Sea, the river Don, and a line drawn from it to the river 

 Tobol, and from thence to the river Oby, which falls into the Frozen 

 Ocean. On the east, it is bounded by the Pacific Ocean, or South 

 Sea, which separates it from America ; and on the south, by the 

 Indian Ocean ; so that it is almost surrounded by the sea. The prin- 

 cipal regions which divide this country are as follow : 



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