West Asia

In West Asia, the birthplace of prehistoric civilizations and cultures. In the Silk Road era, two Persian empires – the Achaemenid Empire and the Sassanid Empire – and the Parthian Empire between the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Kushan Dynasty of Central Asia, the Western Turkic Empire in the West and the Han and Tang Dynasties in the East, have long been the center of the ancient world. Calendars and astronomy to winged monsters represented by Griffin, patterns of grapevine, honeysuckle, and lions, and other creations originating in West Asia, have brought significant influence to the areas along the Silk Road.