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Eurasia: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Eurasia
Eurasia is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia as a single landmass. This combined land covers around 54.8 million square kilometers, or approximately 36.2% of the Earth's total land area, and is home to well over 5 billion people, equating to approximately 70% of the human population. Humans first settled in Eurasia from Africa 125,000 years ago, establishing the foundation for the continent's vast historical narrative. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents dates back to antiquity, but their borders have historically been subject to change. For example, the ancient Greeks originally included Africa in Asia but classified Europe as separate land. Eurasia is connected to Africa at the Suez Canal, and the two are sometimes combined to describe the largest contiguous landmass on Earth, Afro-Eurasia. The division between Europe and Asia as two continents is a historical social construct, as neither fits the usual definition; thus, in some parts of the world, Eurasia is recognized as the largest of the six, five, or four continents on Earth.
Cradles of Ancient Civilization
Eurasia has been the host of many ancient civilizations, including those based in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley and China. In the Axial Age, which spanned the mid-first millennium BCE, a continuous belt of civilizations stretched through the Eurasian subtropical zone from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This belt became the mainstream of world history for two millennia, fostering the development of major philosophical and religious traditions that continue to shape global culture today. The landmass contains many peninsulas, including the Arabian Peninsula, Korean Peninsula, Indian subcontinent, Anatolia Peninsula, Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Italian Peninsula. Due to its vast size and differences in latitude, Eurasia exhibits all types of climates under the Köppen classification, including the harshest types of hot and cold temperatures, high and low precipitation, and various types of ecosystems. The 100 highest mountains on Earth are in Eurasia, in the Himalaya, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, Pamir, Hengduan, and Tian Shan mountain ranges, and all peaks above 7,000 metres are in these ranges and the Transhimalaya. The Alpide belt stretches 15,000 km across southern Eurasia, from Java in Maritime Southeast Asia to the Iberian Peninsula in Western Europe, including the ranges of the Himalayas, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, Alborz, Caucasus, and the Alps.
The Age of Discovery and Empire
New connections emerged between the subregions of Eurasia from the Age of Discovery onwards, with the Iberians discovering new maritime routes in the 1490s. The 1869 completion of the Suez Canal having paved the way for direct passage through the Indo-Mediterranean and the wave of Western European New Imperialism that dominated Africa and Asia until the mid-20th century. The communist presence in Eurasia, primarily driven by the Soviet Union, then dominated much of the continent until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The landmass contains many peninsulas, including the Arabian Peninsula, Korean Peninsula, Indian subcontinent, Anatolia Peninsula, Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Italian Peninsula. The largest Eurasian islands by area are Borneo, Sumatra, Honshu, Great Britain, Sulawesi, Java, Luzon, Iceland, Mindanao, Ireland, Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and Sri Lanka. The five most-populated islands in the world are Java, Honshu, Great Britain, Luzon, and Sumatra. Other Eurasian islands with large populations include Mindanao, Taiwan, Salsette, Borneo, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Kyushu, and Hainan. The most densely populated islands in Eurasia are Caubian Gamay Island, Ap Lei Chau, and Navotas Island. In the Arctic Ocean, Severny Island, Nordaustlandet, October Revolution Island, and Bolshevik Island are Eurasia's largest uninhabited islands, and Kotelny Island, Alexandra Land, and Spitsbergen are the least-densely populated.
Eurasia covers around 54.8 million square kilometers, which is approximately 36.2% of the Earth's total land area. This combined landmass comprises all of Europe and Asia as a single unit.
When did humans first settle in Eurasia?
Humans first settled in Eurasia from Africa 125,000 years ago. This early migration established the foundation for the continent's vast historical narrative.
Which rivers are the longest in Eurasia?
The Yangtze is the longest river in Eurasia and the third longest in the world, stretching 6,300 kilometers. Other major rivers include the Yellow River, Mekong, Lena, Irtysh, Brahmaputra, Ob, Volga, Yenisey, and Indus.
Who defined the modern boundary between Europe and Asia?
Philip Johan von Strahlenberg defined the dividing line along the Aegean Sea, Dardanelles, Sea of Marmara, Bosporus, Black Sea, Kuma-Manych Depression, Caspian Sea, Ural River, and the Ural Mountains in the 18th century. This definition remains the most accepted boundary despite criticism from modern analytical geographers.
When was the Greater Eurasian Partnership initiative proposed?
Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward the Greater Eurasian Partnership initiative in his address to the Federal Assembly in 2015. The initiative aims to form a broad integration framework on the Eurasian continent.
What is the population of Eurasia?
Eurasia is home to well over 5 billion people, equating to approximately 70% of the human population. This makes it the most populous continental area on Earth.
In geology, Eurasia is often considered as a single rigid mega block, but this is debated. Eurasia formed between 375 and 325 million years ago with the merging of Siberia, Kazakhstania, and Baltica, which was joined to Laurentia to form Euramerica. The continent is home to some of the world's most significant rivers, including the Yangtze, which is the longest river in Eurasia and the third longest in the world, stretching 6,300 kilometers. The Yellow River, Mekong, Lena, Irtysh, Brahmaputra, Ob, Volga, Yenisey, and Indus are among the longest rivers in Eurasia, each playing a crucial role in the development of civilizations along their banks. The Volga, for instance, is the longest river in Europe and flows through Russia, while the Yangtze flows through China, supporting one of the world's most populous regions. These rivers have been vital for trade, agriculture, and transportation, connecting diverse regions and facilitating the exchange of goods and ideas across the continent. The landmass contains many peninsulas, including the Arabian Peninsula, Korean Peninsula, Indian subcontinent, Anatolia Peninsula, Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Italian Peninsula. Due to its vast size and differences in latitude, Eurasia exhibits all types of climates under the Köppen classification, including the harshest types of hot and cold temperatures, high and low precipitation, and various types of ecosystems.
Geopolitical Ideologies and Alliances
Originally, Eurasia is a geographical notion, but geopolitically, the word has several meanings, reflecting specific geopolitical interests. Eurasia is one of the most important geopolitical concepts and it figures prominently in the commentaries on the ideas of Halford Mackinder. As Zbigniew Brzezinski observed on Eurasia, the Russian Eurasianism corresponded initially more or less to the land area of Imperial Russia in 1914, including parts of Eastern Europe. One of Russia's main geopolitical interests lies in ever closer integration with those countries that it considers part of Eurasia. The term Eurasia gained geopolitical reputation as one of the three super-states in 1984, George Orwell's novel where constant surveillance and propaganda are strategic elements introduced as reflexive antagonists of the heterogeneous dispositif such metapolitical constructs used to control and exercise power. Across Eurasia, several single markets have emerged, including the Eurasian Economic Space, European Single Market, ASEAN Economic Community, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. There are also several international organizations and initiatives which seek to promote integration throughout Eurasia, including the Asia-Europe Meeting, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges, the Russia-EU Common Spaces, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The Division of Continents
Where to draw the dividing line between the two regions is still a matter of discussion. Especially whether the Kuma-Manych Depression or the Caucasus Mountains form the southeast boundary is disputed, since Mount Elbrus would be part of Europe in the latter case, making it and not Mont Blanc Europe's highest mountain. Most accepted is probably the boundary as defined by Philip Johan von Strahlenberg in the 18th century. He defined the dividing line along the Aegean Sea, Dardanelles, Sea of Marmara, Bosporus, Black Sea, Kuma-Manych Depression, Caspian Sea, Ural River, and the Ural Mountains. However, at least part of this definition has been subject to criticism by many modern analytical geographers like Halford Mackinder, who saw little validity in the Ural Mountains as a boundary between continents. Nineteenth-century Russian philosopher Nikolai Danilevsky defined Eurasia as an entity separate from Europe and Asia, bounded by the Himalayas, the Caucasus, the Alps, the Arctic, the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, a definition that has been influential in Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union. Partly inspired by this usage, the term Eurasia is sometimes used to refer to the post-Soviet space, in particular Russia, the Central Asian republics, and the Transcaucasus republics, and sometimes also adjacent regions such as Turkey and Mongolia.
Modern Integration and Future Visions
The word Eurasia is often used in Kazakhstan to describe its location. Numerous Kazakh institutions have the term in their names, like the L. N. Gumilev Eurasian National University, the Eurasian Media Forum, the Eurasian Cultural Foundation, the Eurasian Development Bank, and the Eurasian Bank. In 2007 Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, proposed building a Eurasia Canal to connect the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea via Russia's Kuma-Manych Depression to provide Kazakhstan and other Caspian-basin countries with a more efficient path to the ocean than the existing Volga-Don Canal. This usage can also be seen in the names of Eurasianet, The Journal of Eurasian Studies, and the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, as well as the titles of numerous academic programs at US universities. The Greater Eurasian Partnership is an initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin, put forward in his address to the Federal Assembly in 2015 with the aim of forming a broad integration framework on the Eurasian continent, as indicated by the Russian Foreign Ministry. In Perm on the 29th of May 2025, Sergey Lavrov stated at the Eurasian International Socio-Political Hearings on the Formation of an Architecture of an Equal and Indivisible System of Security and Cooperation in the Eurasian Space in 2025 that the Greater Eurasian Partnership is not limited to economics, trade, transport and logistics alone. It is the material basis for another Russian initiative, the initiative to form a Eurasian security architecture, which Putin put forward in his speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry on the 14th of June 2024. In Africa, there is a pan-continental organization, the African Union, in Latin America - CELAC, but in Eurasia there is no such pan-continental association yet.