They were involved in internecine warfare seeking regional supremacy.
Host Bangladesh reclaimed the regional supremacy by winning gold medal in the most one-sided final in the history of the game.
For centuries, Turkey and Russia have been rivals for regional supremacy.
The demarcated tribal areas were actually a creation of the British, used as a buffer against their Russian competitors in the "great game" for regional supremacy.
It was about checking a well-armed local despot who was making a bid for regional supremacy, and who broke all the local rules along the way.
Montpellier supporters view Nîmes as their greatest enemies in a rivalry that began to become more important from the start of the 1980s when the Nîmois had regional supremacy.
Another historian Helen James writes that "these wars were primarily struggles for regional and dynastic supremacy and were neither national nor ethnic conflicts."
That brings us to the real fear which various Asian States experience within the ASEM process: that of the Chinese pursuit of regional supremacy, including territorial demands.
On the other side are Iran and Syria and their allied regimes that are playing out their contest for political, military, nuclear and regional supremacy in Lebanon.
Ramses II was the last Pharaoh to savor the full glory of regional supremacy.