Many things which we recognise in western culture had their origins in the continent of Asia. From the delights of Chinese or Thai food, to sports such as Japanese karate or Indian snooker. The game of chess is also thought to have originated in India, and the figures we use to represent numbers come to us via the Arabs.
The countries of Asia have given us many things throughout history. Find out a little more about them and the flags they use in this informative quiz.
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The area covered by modern day Pakistan has been a part of many different empires including those of the Persians, the Greeks, the Mongols and the British. When Britain gave up its empire in the Indian subcontinent, Pakistan was created as a nation for its Muslim population
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Iran has its origins in the Persian Empire of the 7th century BC. This endured until the Islamic Revolution of 1979 which replaced the ruling Shah with an Ayatollah, and the country was renamed the Islamic Republic of Iran
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The Malaysian flag is called Jalur Gemilang, which translates into English as "Stripes of Glory." It bears a passing resemblance the flag of the USA, but is actually thought to have been inspired by the flag of the British East India Company
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Korea, which had been annexed by the Japanese during World War Two, was divided into two zones in 1945. The south was occupied by the USA and the north by the USSR. This led to the creation of two separate states which have been officially at war since 1950
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Although the vast majority of Kazakhstan is in Asia, one of its cities, Oral, is on the western side of the Ural River which separates the two continents, and so is entirely within Europe
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The former British colony of Hong Kong was given back to China in 1997. Since then the island has become a Special Administrative Region of China
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Singapore gained independence from Britain in 1963 and became a part of Malaysia. However, it was expelled from Malaysia in 1965 and has been a sovereign city state ever since
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Under its fifth Emperor, Kublai Khan, the Mongol Empire conquered China in the 13th century. However, by the end of the 17th century the roles had been reversed and Mongolia was ruled by the Chinese. It became an independent state once more in 1911
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Brunei is a very small country and has a population well under a million. It had formerly had its own small empire, but was taken over by the British in 1888. It regained its independence in 1984
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India has produced as many major religions as the entire Middle East, which has itself seen the founding of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
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