The Invention of Asia

This book problematizes the concept of ‘Asia’ as a European invention, presenting a history of this region to argue why it should instead be viewed as eight interconnected sub-continents.

Where did the concept of ‘Asia’ come from? Was this a term coined by the many communities that spanned this great continent, or was it a Western invention, imposed upon those lands and populations that were so ‘other’ to themselves?

This book argues that ‘Asia’ is a European creation, and goes back in time to show how and when this term was invented. Unknown to ‘Asians’ until the 19th century, it grouped together a vast area of diverse cultures and peoples who were simply identified as ‘the other’ in a world dominated by Europe.
Arguing that far from being fixed and separate, Bowring shows how peoples of Europe and Asia flowed fluidly back and forth across the land mass over millennia. Arguing that this continent should therefore be viewed as a series of 8 sub-continents interconnected through religion, trade, cultures and war, he shows how each sub-continent has its own unique history, but were also part of wider human, commodity and knowledge networks.

Challenging our prevailing ideas of regional and national divisions, The Invention of Asia traces some of the major interactions of these subcontinents over the past 5,000 years. From the great migrations of the central continent to the civilizations of Han China and the mighty Achaemenid and Hellenistic Empires, it shows how misleading the Europe-Asia division is, and why new terminology is needed to better reflect their geographical and cultural differences.