| 1904–1905 | 1925 |
| Russo-Japanese War ends in Russia’s defeat | Reza Shah Pahlavi proclaims himself shah of Persia and begins modernization campaign |
| 1916 | 1927 |
| Sykes-Picot Agreement divides Ottoman Empire; Lucknow Pact forms alliance between Hindus and Muslims in India; New Culture Movement in China begins | Jiang Jieshi, leader of Chinese Nationalist Party, purges his Communist allies |
| 1917 | 1930 |
| Balfour Declaration establishes Jewish homeland in Palestine | Gandhi leads Indians on march to the sea to protest the British salt tax |
| 1919 | 1931 |
| Amritsar Massacre in India; May Fourth Movement in China; Treaty of Versailles; Afghanistan achieves independence | Japan occupies Manchuria |
| 1920 | 1932 |
| King of Syria deposed by French; Gandhi launches campaign of nonviolent resistance against British rule in India | Iraq gains independence in return for military alliance with Great Britain |
| 1920s–1930s | 1934 |
| Large numbers of European Jews immigrate to Palestine; Hebrew becomes common language | Mao Zedong leads Chinese Communists on Long March; Philippines gains self-governing commonwealth status from United States |
| 1923 | 1937 |
| Sun Yatsen allies Nationalist Party with Chinese Communists; Treaty of Lausanne ends war in Turkey; Mustafa Kemal begins to modernize and secularize Turkey | Japanese militarists launch attack on China; Rape of Nanjing |