Eastern Christianity is one of the original denominations of Christianity, originating in the Middle East, Africa, Asia Minor, India, and parts of East Asia. It is different from Latin Christianity and Protestantism in that it originated in the east, and it includes non-Orthodox denominations such as Miaphysitism, Nestorianism, and Monophysitism. Eastern Christianity differs from Western Christianity in culture, language, and politics as well as theology, with Nestorianism splitting from mainstream Christianity in 424 and Miaphysitism splitting after the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Nestorianism was the most powerful branch of Eastern Christianity, spreading from its heartland in Persian-ruled Assyria to the Mediterranean, India, and China. Starting in the 14th century, the Nestorian Church of the East went into decline, and the Assyrian Church of the East continues to exist among Assyrians in Iraq and Syria.