What were the major differences between ancient civilizations in Europe and Asia?

I am an American. I am 2nd generation American on my mothers side, and 3rd on my father's. My mom's grandparents emigrated from Ireland, and my father's grandparents came from Poland. So I guess technically I am half Polish and Half Irish (although my dad claims "belligerent drunk" so I prefer to just say I am European)<br><br>I am taking a college course on World Civ. One thing I have noticed in my studies has been the major differences in ancient civilizations between Europe and Asia.<br><br>I have already taken a course covering "European World Civ" so I know a lot about ancient civilizations in Europe already. It has been very interesting to me to learn about the ancient civilizations in Asia and compare them to Europe.<br><br>The two that stand out the most in my mind as being major differences are the Mongols and China.<br><br>My European World Civ Class didn't really cover much outside of Europe, aside from the trade aspects. But in my World Civ class, I am shocked to learn how vast the Mongol empire was, and how long it lasted. I think it actually lasted longer than the Roman empire did. I don't recall learning about the Mongols at all in my European class, so it has been surprising to me how deep they were able to penetrate Europe.<br><br>Learning about China has been surprising to me as well because I didn't realize that China has a long, long history of being a unified nation. I guess I just assumed that they were a collection of city-states like the ancient Greeks were.<br><br>I am only about halfway through the course, so I have yet to learn about the Middle East and Africa, but so far I am very intrigued by the differences between Europe and Asia. I am excited to learn more about the differences in the Middle East and Africa and how they compare to Europe and Asia.<br><br>Can anyone here offer any insight?