MENA refers to the Middle East and North Africa. Sumeru appears to take influences from this region of the world as well, besides India. When looking at the Mediterranean Sea region, there is a separation of Europe to the north of the sea and the deserts of North Africa to the south of the sea. Some of this mirrors the separation of Fontaine and Sumeru by water. And indeed it can be said that Mediterranean is where these two regions meet. So the history of MENA will involve the intertwined histories of both the Fontaine and Sumeru regions.
Egypt (埃及) is one of the oldest civilizations in the world and has one of the oldest writing systems in history: the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the origin for many modern writing systems in the west. The ancient Egyptians were famous for building pyramids like those at Giza. They also made use of the Nile river for farming and agriculture. The ancient rulers were known as pharoahs. Tutankhamun was one famous such pharoah. And many ancient Egyptian deities and beings such as the anubis play an influential role in the design of certain Genshin characters (such as Cyno). Egyptian mythology (along with Sumer mythology) would become the fountainhead of much of western mythology (such as Greek and Roman mythology).
It is believed that the 'indigenous' people of Europe (Basque, Etruscan) originated from North Africa before nomadic steppe people from the east invaded the continent.
The Phoenicians were another naval civilization that ruled the Mediterranean. They were a Semitic people (like the Arabs and Egyptians), and they appear in Egyptian historical records. The Phoenicians were predecessors of the Greeks and Romans and influenced the development of the Greek and Roman culture and writing.
Around 2500 years ago, Cyrus founded the Persian empire (Achaemenid empire) that ruled over Egypt. Persia's history is discussed more in Sumeru Iran.
After the Persian empire, Alexander of Macedon (Basileus) conquered Egypt and Persia, establishing Greek influence in the region. To this day, the city Alexandria in Egypt is named after him. After him, the Roman Empire conquered Egypt and much of MENA (Ptolemaic Egypt). The stories of Cleopatra and Cesar originate from this time period.
The Greek and Roman rule of the MENA region can be interpreted as one of the early historical cases of when 'Fontaine' nations ruled over parts of 'Sumeru'. The myths and legends of the Roman nymph Furina (and Egeria/Aegeria) are from this time period. Genshin does seem to support the idea of the hydro archon being involved in the history of Sumeru such as when the previous hydro archon (lord of Amrita) died and gets buried in the Sumeru desert (Vourukasha Oasis and Gaokerena).
Besides the Huns and Germanic people, the Parthians (Persia) were probably the biggest rivals of the Romans in West Asia.
The Roman empire collapsed due to the Hun/Xiongnu/Germanic invasions. Franks, Goths, and other Germanic/Alan/Hunnic people invaded and ruled kingdoms in North Africa. Supposedly the modern nation of France derives its name from the Germanic Frankish people. Indeed, the modern French language is descended from Latin but contains influences from Germanic languages. And thus began the post-Roman chapter of Fontaine history, where figures such as Charlemagne and Chlothar and kingdoms such as the HRE appear. These Frankish dynasties would ultimately play an important role in founding several royal houses across Europe that would eventually lead to the European age of imperialism.
After the Romans, the Arabs rose to power and established caliphates in Egypt and the MENA region, leading to the golden age of Islam. As for Europe, it would essentially enter a warring states period and would not achieve the unity of the Roman empire for another 1000 years. In MENA specifically, the Arabs and Islamic empires were the successors of the Romans.
The Muslims conquered the Iberian peninsula and ruled over it for 1000 years as Al-Andalus. Only after Spain drove out the Muslims (reconquista and inquisition) does Christopher Columbus take the stage and 'discover' the Americas in 1492. But Al-Andalus represents an instance where 'Sumeru' conquered parts of Europe.
Eventually, more Turks (Gokturks) from Tang China started settling in the MENA region. During the Mongol empire (which conquered West Asia), the Mamluk Turks rose to power and ruled Egypt.
Near the end of the Mongol empire, the Turks rose from the ashes of the Ilkhanate. The Ottoman Turks would take over Anatolia and rule over Egypt, Greece, the Balkans, and much of the MENA region for several centuries. Osman I founded the Ottoman empire. It can be observed that the Ottoman influence still lingers to this day in the Balkan / East Europe region.
During the 'Scramble for Africa', various European empires colonized much of the continent. This ultimately led to the implosion of the Ottoman empire. Specifically, the British and French started interfering in the affairs of the Ottoman Turks with the Crimean war, the Greek war of independence, etc. Around 1854, the Suez Canal started construction after a French delegate made an agreement with Sa'id Pasha, Ottoman governor of Egypt. Initially the British opposed its construction as it could have potentially challenged the British naval domination of global shipping. However, in 1875 the British bought a 44% stake in the canal. Today, the canal runs from Port Said to Suez Port.
In 1882, the British empire established rule over Egypt, defeating the Khedive Tewfik Pasha (Khedive of Egypt and Sudan). This led to the end of Ottoman rule in Egypt. The British army was led by Beauchamp Seymour, 1st Baron Alcester. And thus Queen Alexandrina became 'empress of Egypt' as well.
Khedive is a Persian title used for sultans and rulers of the Ottoman empire. Khedive is also the name of a Genshin NPC that appears in the Chasm (2.6, 2.7).
While Britain did colonize much of Africa, it was not the only European power to do so. France also colonized much of Africa, resulting in many modern African nations using French as an official language. And this can almost be seen in the Girdle of Sands, where one tunnel of the desert leading to Fontaine is given a French name: Chemin Oublie (Forgotten Path). If the Greeks and Romans represent an early instance of Fontaine involvement in the Sumeru region, then the British and French empires represent the next instance where Fontaine ruled over parts of Sumeru (during the Alexandrina era).
During the Alexandrina era of the British empire, The Rhodes Colossus cartoon was published, depicting Cecil Rhodes standing across Africa from Cape Town (South Africa) to Cairo (Egypt). This represented the British rule over a continguous swath and north to south corridor of Africa. Indeed, at the time there were talks about building a railway connecting the two ends of the continent (proposed by Edwin Arnold).
Cecil Rhodes (塞西尔·罗兹) was a Brit who ruled over South Africa during the Alexandrina era. The 'Rhodes scholarship' is named after him. So whoever is behind awarding the Rhodes scholarship may want to pay attention to how Genshin treats Cyno, Cecil, etc.
In recent times, South Africa gained its independence with figures such as Nelson Mandela protesting apartheid. South Africa is now part of the so-called BRICS.
To this day, Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa, a memento of the British rule. It is named after Alexandrina Victoria.
Holy buttery Jesus. Honestly, what kind of crack was Alexandrina Victoria smoking? She was empress of India, empress of Africa, ruler of Egypt, first empress of Hong Kong, empress of Singapore and Southeast Asia, ruler of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the one who defeated the Qing dynasty of China. She made English the lingua franca of the world and ruled over the largest empire in modern history since the Mongols. Besides that, she had provinces and lakes named after her. China and India are the two largest countries by population today. Could anyone believe that not too long ago, this queen was the master of both civilizations?
This British lady basically powercrept most empires in world history. A powerful figure, but also controversial given how much of the world her empire colonized. If the original Alexander of Greece is already considered a strong conquerer, then what kind of powerhouse was she?
Regarding Scaramouche's signature weapon, Tulaytullah is the Arabic name of the Spanish city Toledo during Al-Andalus. The weapon is modeled after a Tibet drilbu (དྲིལ་བུ) with a Vajra handle. So the Toledo weapon represents the vast geographic expanse of Sumeru, from Al-Andalus in the west to Tibet, China in the east.
Aladdin supposedly takes place in a city in western China / Central Asia.
After WW1, the Ottoman empire imploded and was partitioned. Britain and France carved spheres of influence in the Levant, MENA, and other former Ottoman territories. These spheres were outlined in the 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement and the 1920 Treaty of Sevres. In the ashes of the Ottoman empire rose the modern Arab world and nation of Turkey.
The French rule over the Levant did not last long though. In the 1945 Levant crisis, France lost control over the region, and Syria gained independence. As part of a global decolonization movement after WW2, Britain and France lost much of their overseas territories.