PFH1176670: Iran / Persia: Illustration from Zakarīyā ibn Muḥammad al-Qazwīnī, 'Ajā'ib al-makhlo / Bridgeman Images

PFH1176688: Iran / Persia: Illustration from Zakarīyā ibn Muḥammad al-Qazwīnī, 'Ajā'ib al-makhlo / Bridgeman Images

PFH1165964: India: Moudevi , also known as Jyestha or in Tamil as Kakkaikkodiyal (crow-bannered) / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166119: Laos: Lao and Vietnamese porters carrying supplies south along the Hoi Chi Minh Trail to resupply the insurgency in the south, c. 1963. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166372: China: 'Moonlight over the Huangpu River', Shanghai, 1930s. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166406: Laos: A dugout barge navigates the rapids on the Mekong River during the 1919 dry season. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166410: Burma / Myanmar: Young Lisu women from the Hmai Kha area in festive attire in 1890. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166416: Vietnam: An 1890 photograph of My Tho in French Cochinchina. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170284: Burma/ Myanmar: The dragon-shaped Ava Pagoda, c.1920s. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170293: Burma/ Myanmar: A staircase inside Thatbyinnyu Pagoda in Bagan, Upper Burma, c.1920s. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170300: Burma/ Myanmar: An old Buddhist monk with prayer beads, c.1920s. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170304: Burma/ Myanmar: A minor chedi and pavilion inside the compound of Shwedagon pagoda, Rangoon, c. 1920s. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170320: Burma/ Myanmar: A troupe of young performers entertains locals at a makeshift theatre in Pekon, Taunggyi District, Shan State, c.1920s. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170326: Burma/ Myanmar: A Buddha statue in a temple near Ava, Upper Burma, c.1920s. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170411: China: Shunzhi, 3rd Qing Emperor (1638 - 1661), his temple name was Shizu. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170480: China: Noble Consort Xin (- c.1766), concubine of the Qianglong Emperor. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170527: Afghanistan: Detail of a miniature painting of Noah's Ark, c. 1425 / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170560: China: Consort Xiang (- 1861), concubine of the Daoguang Emperor / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170598: Netherlands/ Indonesia: Herman Willem Daendels, the 36th Governor General of the Dutch East Indies (1808 –11), posthumously painted by Raden Syarif Bustaman Saleh / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166442: Laos: Mail delivery on the Mekong by the Post & Telegraph service in northern Laos in 1919. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166518: Afghanistan: A Durrani Tribesman / Douran (1843). / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166723: China: A wealthy family seated in a group, 1885. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1177380: China: Xia Meng (a.k.a Hsia Moon or Miranda Yang; born Yang Meng (杨濛) on 16 February 1932 in Shanghai, China) is a Hong Kong actress and film producer / Bridgeman Images

PFH1177531: Malaysia: Tan Cheng Lok, Malayan Peranakan businessman and public figure, CBE, OBE, KBE (1883-1960) / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170716: Japan: Shinbashi, Tokyo, 1907; inset of Sengaku Soto Zen Buddhist shrine. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170735: Japan: Smoke rising from silk factories in Shizuka City, Mie Prefecture, 1934. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170739: Japan: Kobe railway station, 1897. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170747: Japan: The Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo, 1896. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170792: Thailand: The Ratana Chedi and the Chedi Suwanna Chang Kot (or Mahapon Chedi) , Wat Chama Thewi, Lamphun (c. 1920) / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170838: Indonesia: A young woman of Ambon in Maluku, c. 1791. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170991: India: Shah Adarang Sahib (Mian Firuz Khan) with Tansin, Mian Karim Khan, and musicians Shah Sadarang Sahib and Mian Ni'mat Khan. (Ragmala miniature painting, c.1800). / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166921: Nigeria: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (1954- ), Finance Minister of Nigeria (2003-2006) and Managing Director of the World Bank (2007-11). / Bridgeman Images

PFH1167109: China / Taiwan: Map of the distribution of indigenous peoples in Taiwan. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1171152: Tunisia: Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, President of Tunisia 1987-2011. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1171358: Japan: Lost Horyuji Temple fresco from a pre-1949 photograph: No.3 wall, Avalokitesvara. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1171385: Japan: Lost Horyuji Temple fresco from a pre-1949 photograph: No.12 wall, Avalokitesvara. / Bridgeman Images