Editing History of Asia (section)

===Western Asia (Middle East)===
{{main|Medieval Middle East}}
[[File:Byzantine and Sassanid Empires in 600 CE.png|thumb|right|310px|Byzantine and Sassanian Empires in 600 AD]]
The Arabian peninsula and the surrounding [[Middle East]] and [[Near East]] regions saw dramatic change during the Medieval era caused primarily by the spread of [[Islam]] and the establishment of the Arabian Empires.

In the 5th century, the Middle East was separated into small, weak states; the two most prominent were the [[Sassanian Empire]] of the [[History of Iran|Persians]] in what is now [[Iran]] and [[Iraq]], and the Byzantine Empire in [[Anatolia]] (modern-day [[Turkey]]). The Byzantines and Sassanians fought with each other continually, a reflection of the rivalry between the Roman Empire and the Persian Empire seen during the previous five hundred years. The fighting weakened both states, leaving the stage open to a new power. Meanwhile, the nomadic [[Bedouin]] tribes who dominated the Arabian desert saw a period of tribal stability, greater trade networking and a familiarity with Abrahamic religions or monotheism.

While the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] Roman and [[Sassanian Empire|Sassanid]] Persian empires were both weakened by the [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628]], a new power in the form of [[Islam]] grew in the Middle East under [[Muhammad in Medina]]. In a series of rapid [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim conquests]], the [[Rashidun army]], led by the [[Caliph]]s and skilled military commanders such as [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]], swept through most of the Middle East, taking more than half of Byzantine territory in the [[Arab–Byzantine wars]] and completely engulfing Persia in the [[Muslim conquest of Persia]]. It would be the Arab [[Caliphate]]s of the [[Middle Ages]] that would first unify the entire Middle East as a distinct region and create the dominant [[Arab|ethnic identity]] that persists today. These Caliphates included the [[Rashidun Caliphate]], [[Umayyad Caliphate]], [[Abbasid Caliphate]], and later the [[Seljuq Empire]].

[[File:Caliphate 750.jpg|thumb|270px|The [[early Muslim conquests]], 622–750]]
After Muhammad introduced Islam, it jump-started Middle Eastern culture into an [[Islamic Golden Age]], inspiring achievements in [[architecture]], the revival of old advances in science and technology, and the formation of a distinct way of life. Muslims saved and spread Greek advances in [[History of medicine|medicine]], [[History of elementary algebra|algebra]], [[History of geometry|geometry]], [[History of astronomy|astronomy]], [[History of anatomy|anatomy]], and [[History of ethics|ethics]] that would later find their way back to Western Europe.

The dominance of the Arabs came to a sudden end in the mid-11th century with the arrival of the [[Seljuq Turks]], migrating south from the Turkic homelands in Central Asia. They conquered Persia, Iraq (capturing Baghdad in 1055), Syria, Palestine, and the [[Hejaz]]. This was followed by a series of Christian Western Europe invasions. The fragmentation of the Middle East allowed joined forces, mainly from England, France, and the emerging [[Holy Roman Empire]], to enter the region. In 1099 the knights of the [[First Crusade]] captured [[Jerusalem]] and founded the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]], which survived until 1187, when [[Saladin]] retook the city. Smaller crusader fiefdoms survived until 1291. In the early 13th century, a new wave of invaders, the armies of the [[Mongol Empire]], swept through the region, sacking Baghdad in the [[Siege of Baghdad (1258)]] and advancing as far south as the border of [[Egypt]] in what became known as the [[Mongol conquests]]. The Mongols eventually retreated in 1335, but the chaos that ensued throughout the empire deposed the Seljuq Turks. In 1401, the region was further plagued by the Turko-Mongol, [[Timur]], and his ferocious raids. By then, another group of Turks had arisen as well, the [[Ottoman Turks|Ottomans]].