Chronology of European exploration of Asia

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**Early Land Exploration**:
– 515 BC: Scylax explores the Indus and the sea route to Egypt.
– 330 BC: Alexander the Great conquers parts of Central Asia and northwestern India.
– 300 BC: Seleucus Nicator’s unsuccessful foray into northwestern India.
– 250 – 120 BC: Greco-Bactrian states in Central and South Asia.
– 180 BC – 10 AD: Establishment of the Indo-Greek Kingdom in present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and north-west India.

**Middle Ages Exploration**:
– ~500–1000: Dominance of Radhanites in trade between Christian and Islamic worlds.
– ~550: Geographical descriptions by Cosmas Indicopleustes from travels to Eritrea, Ethiopia, India, and Sri Lanka.
– 568: Eastern Roman general Zemarchus’ travels to Samarkand and the Western Turkic Kaganate.
– 639–640: Muslims subjugate Egypt, disrupting direct trade between Europe and India.

**Silk Road Trade and Exploration**:
– 13th century: Height of Silk Road trade during the Pax Mongolica.
– 1245–1247: First European embassy to the Great Khan in Mongolia.
– 1264–c. 1269: Expeditions of Niccolò and Maffeo Polo to China.
– ~1318–1329: Travels of Franciscan friars Odoric of Pordenone and James of Ireland to China.

**European Exploration of Asia by Sea**:
– 1487–1491: Pêro da Covilhã gathers information for a sea route between Portugal and India.
– 1557–1572: Anthony Jenkinson’s travels across the Caspian Sea to Bukhara and Persia.
– 1583–1591: Ralph Fitch’s travels to India and Portuguese Malacca.

**Noteworthy Discoveries and Explorers**:
– 1488: Bartolomeu Dias reaches the Cape of Good Hope.
– 1497–1499: Vasco da Gama reaches India by an all-sea route.
– 1519–1522: Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition circumnavigates the globe.
– 1549: Francis Xavier arrives in Japan as a missionary.
– 1582: Matteo Ricci reaches Ming China and co-publishes the first world map in Chinese.

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