Introduction
The boundaries set between Europe and Asia may not necessarily be a well-defined measure. In most of the following cases, a mix of signals, from cultural traits to traditional heritage markers, shall be identified as accurately and as appropriately as reasonably possible:
European Nations
Definitely identified as within the European continent are Belarus 🇧🇾 and Ukraine 🇺🇦. Both of the aforementioned countries prefer the name “Eastern Europe,” though the Baltic countries further to the north do not. In the Baltic context, the preferred name is “Northern Europe,” including Estonia 🇪🇪, Latvia 🇱🇻, and Lithuania 🇱🇹. Though Finland 🇫🇮 is identified along with Hungary 🇭🇺 as having Asian heritage markers centuries and millennia in the past, geographically, both of the aforementioned nations are firmly within the European continent.
Asian Nations
While the Caucasus are often disputed between the claim to “Europe” and the claim to “Asia,” the continental boundaries are not a well-defined measure. While the Black Sea is typically identified within European history, the Caspian Sea is more important to the history of Central Asia. In the middle of the seas is a region that is realistically at the extreme northern edge of the Middle East, if at all. Usually, the nations identified within the Middle East (a Eurocentric designation, by the way) are firmly identified within the Asian continent, including, though not limited to, the Arabian Peninsula and the areas on either side of the Strait of Hormuz. For the Caucasus, the potentially Asian nations of the region may include Georgia 🇬🇪, Armenia 🇦🇲, and Azerbaijan 🇦🇿. While the Ural Mountains typically divide Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 into Europe and Asia, the western portion of Kazakhstan actually maintains Asian heritage markers similar to eastern Türkiye 🇹🇷. More obviously identified as Asian are the Central Asian nations of Turkmenistan 🇹🇲, Uzbekistan 🇺🇿, Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬, and the three Iranic countries extending toward South Asia.
The Middle East
Even though the nations to the north of Iran 🇮🇷 and Afghanistan 🇦🇫 alike may not necessarily be identified as within the Middle East, the Caucasian Mountains are often identified as on the boundary though predominantly Asian while the regions north of Afghanistan are typically identified as Central Asia. Apart from the aforementioned Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, the national boundaries of Tajikistan 🇹🇯 are also related to the boundary zone of the Middle Eastern area, though only loosely identified as such.
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