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ASIA

ception of the conquest of Babylonia by tlio Ira- nian conqvipror Cyrus and the supremacy of Sius- sanian dynasties over the eiustern half of Western Asia the Indo-Iranian tril)es of South and west- Central Asia developed no particularly remarkable kingdoms or iM)wer. The earliest event of Hindu historical chronology does not date farther back than 1400 n. c, and possibly later. It is the war of the Mahabharat, the story of which is contained in a poem written al)Out 5(K) b. c, that forms a part of the epic literature of ancient India. The accounts of antecedent periods are manifestly mythical, and merely indicate the probability of the gradual progress of the conquering Brahminic race from west to east. From that time down to the beginning of the nineteenth century, India was governed by various native and Mogul dynasties; and towards the beginning of thelast century it passed into the power of Kngland.

Religions of Ash. — The principal religions of Asia are: Brahminism, Budcihism, Confucianism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism. Mohammedanism, .ludaism. and Christianity. lirnhminism is the oldest known and the prevailing religious svstem of India, count- ing 21,(X)0,000 Hindu adherents. Buddhism (from Buddha, "the wise", "the enlightened") owes its origin to Gautama, otherwise called Sah/a Mxmi (i. e. the Sakya sage"), who flourished towards the middle of the sixth century B. c. It is by far the widest-spread religion in Asia, coimting more than 400,000,000 adherents, 300,000,000 of whom are in China, where it is the chief of the three recognized religions. Its other followers are found in Siberia, Korea, Japan, and India (Ceylon and Burmah). Reformed Buddhism is a recent develop- ment in China and Japan, and it plainly shows the influence of Christianity. Cnnjucinnism is one of the three chief religions of China, the other two being Buddhism and Taoism. Confucianism is a system of philosophy rather than religion. It is the official religion of the State, and the basis of the social and [xjlitical life of the Chinese nation. Taoism is the third recognized religion of China. It takes its name from that of its foimder, Laou-tsze, or LSo-tze, who lived in the sixth centurj' before the Christian Era. Taoism as a religious system has degenerated from its high original mysticism into a system of superstitious olwervances, and so forms the accepted religion of the lowest and most igno- rant class of Chinese, counting about 100,000.000 adherents. It has also many followers in Cochin- China and Japan. Zoroastrianism is the religion of the ancient Iranians and Persians. Its founder was Zoroaster, the great prophet of Iran, who flourished towards the sixth century B. r. Once a very power- ful religion, Zoroastrianism has almost vanished before Islamism, counting nowadays only a few- thousand followers in Persia and India.

MoH.\MMED.\NisM IN AsH. .Mohammedanism, or Islamism, is one of the three great Semitic religions, the other two being Judaism and Christianity. No accurate statistics have as yet tieen t'lken of the Mo- hammedan population of the world. The latest approved estimate, however, places the number at a little over two hundred millions. Of these, sixty millions are in Africa, and most of the rest in -■Vsia. as follows: 18,000,(M) in Asiatic Turkey; 30.0(H).000 in China; 60,000,000 in India and Burmah; 31 ,000,(K)0 in the Malay .\rcliiiwlago; and the rest in Persia, AfghaiiislriTi. Cauciisia, and Russian Turkistan. In Ihc Miii(l:itiao Kiiiga, we find the Hebrews per- manentlj' settled in Palestine. The earliest known Hebrew migrations from Palestine occurred during the reign of Sargon, King of Assyria (722-70.5 n. c), who having in 722 captured Samaria, the capital of the norlhcni Israelitish kingdom, transported 27,000 Samaritan Hebrews to As.syria and the frontiers of Media. A century and a half later, Nabuchodonosor, King of Babylon (60.5-.5(i2 B. c), carried off from Jerusalem into Babylonia .some twenty thou.sand Jews. Soon after his capture of Babylon, Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Palestine. The jioorest class returned, but the most prosperous families remained in the land of their exile, where they .soon rose to great social and financial prosperity. Towards 3,50 n. r., Artaxerxes Ochus deported to Hyrcania a group of Jews that had revolted. I^poii the triumph of the Macedonian army, and under the successors of Alexander the dreat, great numliers of Jews migrated into F.gypt. .After the overthrow of the last JewLsh kingdom, and following the fall of Jerusalem, and the destruction of the Temple at the hands of the Romans, Judaism at large passed beyond the limits of its ancient centres and began to spread over Egypt, North .\frica, and Western .Asia. During the first five centuries of the Christian Era, we find numerous Jewish colonies scattered all over Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, A.s^yria. Babylonia, Media, and as far as South Arabia. In the last-mentioned country they obtained political supremacy for a while, under the Himyarite King Dhii-Nuwits. In .southern Babylonia, and especially during the Sassanian dynasty of Persia, they ac- quired great ascendancy, with very flourishing religious and educational centres, such as the famous academies of Sura, Nehardea, Pumbadita, and Mahuza, whence sprang the Babylonian Talmud,

With the advent of Islam, however, and the rapid conquests of the Mohammedan armies, Judaism suffered greatly in Arabia and in all the newly conquered provinces. Its followers were almost always harshly and severely dealt with by the Mos- lems, although under the reign of several Abbasid caliphs they were kindly treated. The Byzan- tine emperors, on the other hand, were anything but friendly to them; and it is noteworthy that, al- though in the first three centuries of Christianity the Jews were the first to liecomc Christian proselytes, nevertheless, the two religions developed afterwards the most lamentable antiigonism which lasted for a great many centuries. Notwithstanding the many persecutions to which they had to submit, the Jews nave preserved their racial and religious unify in vari- ous countries of Asia, where they are divided as fol- lows: 6.5,(K)0 in Asia Minor; 90,000 in Syria and Pales- tine; 70,000 in Mesopotamia and Irak; 60,000 in Arabia; .58,000 in the Caucasus; 3.5.000 in Siberia; 8,000 in Ferghana; 9,000 in Bokhara; 2,000 in Khiva; 3.000 in .\den; 1.5.000 in British India; 2,000 in Afghanistan; 25,000 in Persia; 1,000 in China, and .500 in various other Asiatic countries, making a total of about 4.50,000, or less than half a million.

Christianitte' in Asia. — Asia is the cradle and the primitive home of Christianity; for it was in its extreme .south-western borders, i. e. in Palestine. the home of the chosen people, that the Founder of Christianity chose to appear, to live, and to preach the New Dispensation. Soon after Jesus' death. His .Viwstles and Disciples cctively began the evan- gelization of the world, and tradition tells us that the .\p<istles went to different localities: some to Palestine, others to Asia Minor, some to Greece and Rome, and others to Mesofxitamia, Armenia, Baby- lonia, Arabia. Egypt, Ethiopia, and even as far as India. Palestine and Syria, however, were naturally the first recipients of the new religion, and here