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'''Sino-Roman relations''' started first on an indirect basis during the ]. ] and ] progressively inched closer with the ] of ] in ] and the military expeditions of China to ], until general ] attempted to send an envoy to Rome around ]. Several alleged Roman embassies to China were recorded by a number of ancient ] ]s. The first one on record, supposedly from either the ] ] or the later emperor ], arrived in ]. '''Sino-Roman relations''' started first on an indirect basis during the ]. ] and ] progressively inched closer with the ] of ] in ] and the military expeditions of China to ], until general ] attempted to send an envoy to Rome around ] CE. Several alleged Roman embassies to China were recorded by a number of ancient ] ]s. The first one on record, supposedly from either the ] ] or the later emperor ], arrived in ].


==Zhang Qian's embassy== ==Zhang Qian's embassy==
] (1st–2nd century CE).]] ] (1st–2nd century CE).]]


In ], with the embassies of the ] to Central Asia, following the reports of the ambassador ] (who was originally sent to obtain an alliance with the ] against the ], but in vain). The ] ] became interested in developing relationships with the sophisticated urban civilizations of ], ] and ]: “The Son of Heaven on hearing all this reasoned thus: Ferghana (]) and the possessions of ] (Daxia) and ] (Anxi) are large countries, full of rare things, with a population living in fixed homes and given to occupations somewhat identical with those of the Chinese people, but with weak armies, and placing great value on the rich produce of China” ''Hou Hanshu'' (]). In ], with the embassies of the ] to Central Asia, following the reports of the ambassador ] (who was originally sent to obtain an alliance with the ] against the ], but in vain). The ] ] became interested in developing relationships with the sophisticated urban civilizations of ], ] and ]: “The Son of Heaven on hearing all this reasoned thus: Ferghana (]) and the possessions of ] (Daxia) and ] (Anxi) are large countries, full of rare things, with a population living in fixed homes and given to occupations somewhat identical with those of the Chinese people, but with weak armies, and placing great value on the rich produce of China” ''Hou Hanshu'' (]).


The Chinese subsequently sent numerous embassies, around ten every year, to these countries and as far as ] ]. “Thus more embassies were dispatched to Anxi (]), Yancai (who later joined the ]), Lijian (] under the ]), Tiaozhi (]) and Tianzhu (northwestern India)… As a rule, rather more than ten such missions went forward in the course of a year, and at the least five or six.” ''Hou Hanshu'' (Later Han History). The Chinese subsequently sent numerous embassies, around ten every year, to these countries and as far as ] ]. “Thus more embassies were dispatched to Anxi (]), Yancai (who later joined the ]), Lijian (] under the ]), Tiaozhi (]) and Tianzhu (northwestern India)… As a rule, rather more than ten such missions went forward in the course of a year, and at the least five or six.” ''Hou Hanshu'' (Later Han History).
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] dress, ] National Museum.]] ] dress, ] National Museum.]]


] followed soon, confirmed by the ] craze for Chinese ] (supplied through the ]) from the ]. The Romans were not aware of ]s and thought the fiber a vegetable product: ] followed soon, confirmed by the ] craze for Chinese ] (supplied through the ]) from the ]. The Romans were not aware of ]s and thought the fiber a vegetable product:


:''The ] (Chinese), are famous for the woolen substance obtained from their forests; after a soaking in water they comb off the white down of the leaves… So manifold is the labour employed, and so distant is the region of the globe drawn upon, to enable the Roman maiden to flaunt transparent clothing in public'' — (], ''The Natural History'' VI, 54 ). :''The ] (Chinese), are famous for the woolen substance obtained from their forests; after a soaking in water they comb off the white down of the leaves… So manifold is the labour employed, and so distant is the region of the globe drawn upon, to enable the Roman maiden to flaunt transparent clothing in public'' — (], ''The Natural History'' VI, 54 ).
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The ] issued, in vain, several edicts to prohibit the wearing of silk, on economic and moral grounds: the importation of Chinese silk caused a huge outflow of gold, and silk clothes were considered to be decadent and immoral: The ] issued, in vain, several edicts to prohibit the wearing of silk, on economic and moral grounds: the importation of Chinese silk caused a huge outflow of gold, and silk clothes were considered to be decadent and immoral:


:''I can see clothes of silk, if materials that do not hide the body, nor even one's decency, can be called clothes... Wretched flocks of maids labour so that the adulteress may be visible through her thin dress, so that her husband has no more acquaintance than any outsider or foreigner with his wife's body''—(] c. ]–], ''Declamations'' Vol. I). :''I can see clothes of silk, if materials that do not hide the body, nor even one's decency, can be called clothes... Wretched flocks of maids labour so that the adulteress may be visible through her thin dress, so that her husband has no more acquaintance than any outsider or foreigner with his wife's body''—(] c. ]–], ''Declamations'' Vol. I).


The Roman historian ] also describes the visit of numerous envoys, including '']'' (perhaps the Chinese), to the first Roman Emperor ], who reigned between ] and ]: The Roman historian ] also describes the visit of numerous envoys, including '']'' (perhaps the Chinese), to the first Roman Emperor ], who reigned between ] and ]:


:''Now that all the races of the west and south were subjugated, and also the races of the north, (...) the Scythians and the Sarmatians sent ambassadors seeking friendship; the Seres too and the Indians, who live immediately beneath the sun, though they brought elephants amongst their gifts as well as precious stones and pearls, regarded their long journey, in the accomplishment of which they had spent four years, as the greatest tribute which they rendered, and indeed their complexion proved that they came from beneath another sky.''—(] ''Epitomae'' II, 34). :''Now that all the races of the west and south were subjugated, and also the races of the north, (...) the Scythians and the Sarmatians sent ambassadors seeking friendship; the Seres too and the Indians, who live immediately beneath the sun, though they brought elephants amongst their gifts as well as precious stones and pearls, regarded their long journey, in the accomplishment of which they had spent four years, as the greatest tribute which they rendered, and indeed their complexion proved that they came from beneath another sky.''—(] ''Epitomae'' II, 34).


A maritime route opened up between Chinese-controlled ] (centred in modern Vietnam, near ]) probably by the ] (eventually hundreds of Roman coins were discovered in North Vietnam in the 70s {{Fact|date=March 2007}}). It extended, via ports on the coasts of India and ], all the way to Roman-controlled ports in ] and the ] territories on the northeastern coast of the ]. The '']'' records that a delegation of Roman envoys arrived in China by this maritime route in ]; this may well have been an exaggeration, by the envoys or the scribe, of a party of Roman merchants. A maritime route opened up between Chinese-controlled ] (centred in modern Vietnam, near ]) probably by the ] CE (eventually hundreds of Roman coins were discovered in North Vietnam in the 70s {{Fact|date=March 2007}}). It extended, via ports on the coasts of India and ], all the way to Roman-controlled ports in ] and the ] territories on the northeastern coast of the ]. The '']'' records that a delegation of Roman envoys arrived in China by this maritime route in ]; this may well have been an exaggeration, by the envoys or the scribe, of a party of Roman merchants.


==Castaways== ==Castaways==
] (), copied by ], wrote that ], ] in ], 59 BC, got 'several Indians' (''Indi'') as a present from a ]. The Indians were driven by a storm to the coasts of ] (''in tempestatem ex Indicis aequoribus''): ] (), copied by ], wrote that ], ] in ], 59 BCE, got 'several Indians' (''Indi'') as a present from a ]. The Indians were driven by a storm to the coasts of ] (''in tempestatem ex Indicis aequoribus''):
:''Metellus Celer recalls the following: when he was Proconsul in ], he was given people from India by the king of the ]; upon asking why they were in this land, he learnt that they were caught in a storm away from India, that they became castaways, and finally landed on the coasts of Germany. They thus resisted the sea, but suffered from the cold for the rest of their travel, and that is the reason why they left.'' (Sueves is an ] to the text.) :''Metellus Celer recalls the following: when he was Proconsul in ], he was given people from India by the king of the ]; upon asking why they were in this land, he learnt that they were caught in a storm away from India, that they became castaways, and finally landed on the coasts of Germany. They thus resisted the sea, but suffered from the cold for the rest of their travel, and that is the reason why they left.'' (Sueves is an ] to the text.)


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==Roman soldiers in the East== ==Roman soldiers in the East==
] were brought to ] by king ].]] ] were brought to ] by king ].]]
There are several known instances of Roman soldiers being captured by the Parthians and transferred to the East for border duty. According to Pliny, in ], after losing at the ], 10,000 Roman prisoners were displaced by the Parthians to ] to man the frontier (of the 40,000 There are several known instances of Roman soldiers being captured by the Parthians and transferred to the East for border duty. According to Pliny, in ], after losing at the ], 10,000 Roman prisoners were displaced by the Parthians to ] to man the frontier (of the 40,000
troops under Crassus, half had lost their lives, one quarter escaped, and one quarter were taken prisoner): troops under Crassus, half had lost their lives, one quarter escaped, and one quarter were taken prisoner):
:"It was to this place (Margiana) that ] conducted such of the Romans as had survived the defeat of ]" (Plin. Hist. Nat. 6. 18<ref>"Next comes the district of ], so remarkable for its sunny climate. It is the only spot in all these regions that produces the vine, being shut in on every side by verdant and refreshing hills. This district is fifteen hundred stadia in circumference, but is rendered remarkably difficult of access by sandy deserts, which extend a distance of one hundred and twenty miles: it lies opposite to the country of Parthia, and in it Alexander founded the city of Alexandria. This place having been destroyed by the barbarians, ], the son of ], rebuilt it on the same site as a Syrian city. For, seeing that it was watered by the Margus, which passes through it, and is afterwards divided into a number of streams for the irrigation of the district of Zothale, he restored it, but preferred giving it the name of Antiochia. The circumference of this city is seventy stadia: it was to this place that ] conducted such of the Romans as had survived the defeat of ]." </ref>). :"It was to this place (Margiana) that ] conducted such of the Romans as had survived the defeat of ]" (Plin. Hist. Nat. 6. 18<ref>"Next comes the district of ], so remarkable for its sunny climate. It is the only spot in all these regions that produces the vine, being shut in on every side by verdant and refreshing hills. This district is fifteen hundred stadia in circumference, but is rendered remarkably difficult of access by sandy deserts, which extend a distance of one hundred and twenty miles: it lies opposite to the country of Parthia, and in it Alexander founded the city of Alexandria. This place having been destroyed by the barbarians, ], the son of ], rebuilt it on the same site as a Syrian city. For, seeing that it was watered by the Margus, which passes through it, and is afterwards divided into a number of streams for the irrigation of the district of Zothale, he restored it, but preferred giving it the name of Antiochia. The circumference of this city is seventy stadia: it was to this place that ] conducted such of the Romans as had survived the defeat of ]." </ref>).


About 18 years later the nomadic ] chief ] established a state in the nearby ], near modern day ]. The Chinese have an account by ] of about "a hundred men" under the command of Zhizhi who fought in a so-called "fish-scale formation" to defend Zhizhi's wooden-palisade fortress against ] forces, in the ] in ]. The historian ] claimed that this might have been the Roman ] and that these men, who were captured by the Chinese, were able to found the village of ] (Li-chien) in ]. There is, however, no evidence that these men were Romans, although male inhabitants of Liqian are to undergo DNA testing to test the hypothesis.<ref>Sources on Roman soldiers in China: , About 18 years later the nomadic ] chief ] established a state in the nearby ], near modern day ]. The Chinese have an account by ] of about "a hundred men" under the command of Zhizhi who fought in a so-called "fish-scale formation" to defend Zhizhi's wooden-palisade fortress against ] forces, in the ] in ]. The historian ] claimed that this might have been the Roman ] and that these men, who were captured by the Chinese, were able to found the village of ] (Li-chien) in ]. There is, however, no evidence that these men were Romans, although male inhabitants of Liqian are to undergo DNA testing to test the hypothesis.<ref>Sources on Roman soldiers in China: ,
. by Ethan Gruber.</ref>. . by Ethan Gruber.</ref>.


A Roman inscription from the 2nd—3rd centuries AD has been found in eastern ] in the Kara-Kamar cave complex, which has been analysed as belonging to some Roman soldiers from the ] ]:<ref>Reference: Ustinova, Yulia, “New Latin and Greek Rock-Inscriptions from Uzbekistan,” ''Hephaistos: New Approaches in Classical Archaeology and related Fields'', 18/2000, pp. 169–179. Through </ref> A Roman inscription of the 2nd—3rd centuries CE has been found in eastern ] in the Kara-Kamar cave complex, which has been analysed as belonging to some Roman soldiers from the ] ]:<ref>Reference: Ustinova, Yulia, “New Latin and Greek Rock-Inscriptions from Uzbekistan,” ''Hephaistos: New Approaches in Classical Archaeology and related Fields'', 18/2000, pp. 169–179. Through </ref>


:PANN <br> :PANN <br>
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==The expedition of Ban Chao== ==The expedition of Ban Chao==
]-]).]] ]-]).]]
In ], ] crossed the ] and ] mountains with an army of 70,000 men in a campaign against the ], who were harassing the trade routes now known as the ]. He went far west past the ] into the territory of ], and reaching the region of what is present-day ]. Upon return, he established base on the shores of the Caspian Sea, after which he reportedly also sent an envoy named ] to ] (]). Gan Ying left a detailed account of western countries, although he only reached as far as Mesopotamia. He intended to sail to Rome through the Black Sea, but some Parthian merchants, interested in maintaining their profitable role as the middleman in trade between Rome and China, told him the trip would take two years at least (when it was actually closer to two months). Deterred, he returned home. In ], ] crossed the ] and ] mountains with an army of 70,000 men in a campaign against the ], who were harassing the trade routes now known as the ]. He went far west past the ] into the territory of ], and reaching the region of what is present-day ]. Upon return, he established base on the shores of the Caspian Sea, after which he reportedly also sent an envoy named ] to ] (]). Gan Ying left a detailed account of western countries, although he only reached as far as Mesopotamia. He intended to sail to Rome through the Black Sea, but some Parthian merchants, interested in maintaining their profitable role as the middleman in trade between Rome and China, told him the trip would take two years at least (when it was actually closer to two months). Deterred, he returned home.


Gan Ying left an account on ] (] in Chinese) which may have relied on second-hand sources. He locates it to the west of the sea: Gan Ying left an account on ] (] in Chinese) which may have relied on second-hand sources. He locates it to the west of the sea:
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==The eastern travels of Maes Titianus== ==The eastern travels of Maes Titianus==
], known as the "Stone Tower" in ], the doorstep to ] (in blue).]] ], known as the "Stone Tower" in ], the doorstep to ] (in blue).]]
] was the ancient traveller of ] culture<ref> His "]ian" origin betokens no more than his cultural affinity, and the name Maës is Semitic in origin (Cary 1956:130).</ref> who penetrated farthest east along the ] from the Mediterranean world. In the early second century AD<ref>The mainstream opinion, noted by Cary 1956:130 note 7, based on the date of Marinus, established by his use of many ]ic foundation names but none identifiable with ].</ref> or at the end of the first century BC,<ref>This is Cary's dating.</ref> during a lull in the intermittent Roman struggles with ], his party reached the famous Stone Tower, '']'',<ref>Centuries later '']'' ('Stone Tower') was the capital of the Pamir kingdom of ].</ref> in the ]. ] was the ancient traveller of ] culture<ref> His "]ian" origin betokens no more than his cultural affinity, and the name Maës is Semitic in origin (Cary 1956:130).</ref> who penetrated farthest east along the ] from the Mediterranean world. In the early second century CE<ref>The mainstream opinion, noted by Cary 1956:130 note 7, based on the date of Marinus, established by his use of many ]ic foundation names but none identifiable with ].</ref> or at the end of the first century BCE,<ref>This is Cary's dating.</ref> during a lull in the intermittent Roman struggles with ], his party reached the famous Stone Tower, '']'',<ref>Centuries later '']'' ('Stone Tower') was the capital of the Pamir kingdom of ].</ref> in the ].


==First Roman embassy== ==First Roman embassy==
With the expansion of the ] in the Middle East during the ], the Romans gained the capability to develop shipping and trade in the ]. Several ports containing Roman ruins have been excavated on the coast of India. With the expansion of the ] in the Middle East during the ], the Romans gained the capability to develop shipping and trade in the ]. Several ports containing Roman ruins have been excavated on the coast of India.


Groups of Romans probably travelled farther eastwards, either on Roman, Indian or Chinese ships. The first group of people claiming to be an ambassadorial mission of Romans to China was recorded in ], sixty years after the westbound expeditions of the Chinese general ]. The embassy came to ] of ] "from ''Antun'' (Emperor ]), king of ] (Rome)". (As '''Antoninus Pius''' died in ], leaving the empire to his adoptive son ], and the convoy arrived in ], confusion remains about who sent the mission given that both Emperors were named 'Antoninus'.) The Roman mission came from the south (therefore probably by ]), entering China by the frontier of ] or ]. It brought presents of ] ]s, ], and ] ], probably been acquired in ]. About the same time, and possibly through this embassy, the Chinese acquired a ] of ] from the Romans. Groups of Romans probably travelled farther eastwards, either on Roman, Indian or Chinese ships. The first group of people claiming to be an ambassadorial mission of Romans to China was recorded in ], sixty years after the westbound expeditions of the Chinese general ]. The embassy came to ] of ] "from ''Antun'' (Emperor ]), king of ] (Rome)". (As '''Antoninus Pius''' died in ], leaving the empire to his adoptive son ], and the convoy arrived in ], confusion remains about who sent the mission given that both Emperors were named 'Antoninus'.) The Roman mission came from the south (therefore probably by ]), entering China by the frontier of ] or ]. It brought presents of ] ]s, ], and ] ], probably been acquired in ]. About the same time, and possibly through this embassy, the Chinese acquired a ] of ] from the Romans.


]'s world map, reconstituted from Ptolemy's ] (circa ]), indicating "Sinae" (]) at the extreme right, beyond the island of "Taprobane" (], oversized) and the "Aurea Chersonesus" (Southeast Asian peninsula).]] ]'s world map, reconstituted from Ptolemy's ] (circa ]), indicating "Sinae" (]) at the extreme right, beyond the island of "Taprobane" (], oversized) and the "Aurea Chersonesus" (Southeast Asian peninsula).]]
The existence of China was clearly known to Roman ] of the time, since its name and position is depicted in ]'s ''Geographia'', which is dated to c. ]. On the map, China is located beyond the ''Aurea Chersonesus'' ("Golden ]"), which refers to the ]n peninsula. It is shown as being on the ''Magnus Sinus'' ("Great Gulf"), which presumably corresponds to the known areas of the ] at the time; although Ptolemy represents it as tending to the southeast rather than to the northeast. Trade throughout the ] was extensive from the ], and many trading ports with links to Roman communities have been identified in ] and ] along the route used by the Roman mission. The existence of China was clearly known to Roman ] of the time, since its name and position is depicted in ]'s ''Geographia'', which is dated to c. ]. On the map, China is located beyond the ''Aurea Chersonesus'' ("Golden ]"), which refers to the ]n peninsula. It is shown as being on the ''Magnus Sinus'' ("Great Gulf"), which presumably corresponds to the known areas of the ] at the time; although Ptolemy represents it as tending to the southeast rather than to the northeast. Trade throughout the ] was extensive from the ], and many trading ports with links to Roman communities have been identified in ] and ] along the route used by the Roman mission.


==Other Roman embassies== ==Other Roman embassies==

Revision as of 15:20, 14 August 2007

Sino-Roman relations started first on an indirect basis during the 2nd century BCE. China and Rome progressively inched closer with the embassies of Zhang Qian in 130 BCE and the military expeditions of China to Central Asia, until general Ban Chao attempted to send an envoy to Rome around 100 CE. Several alleged Roman embassies to China were recorded by a number of ancient Chinese historians. The first one on record, supposedly from either the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius or the later emperor Marcus Aurelius, arrived in 166 CE.

Zhang Qian's embassy

File:HanHorse.JPG
A horse statuette of the Late Han Dynasty (1st–2nd century CE).

In 130 BCE, with the embassies of the Han Dynasty to Central Asia, following the reports of the ambassador Zhang Qian (who was originally sent to obtain an alliance with the Yuezhi against the Xiongnu, but in vain). The Chinese emperor Wudi became interested in developing relationships with the sophisticated urban civilizations of Ferghana, Bactria and Parthia: “The Son of Heaven on hearing all this reasoned thus: Ferghana (Dayuan) and the possessions of Bactria (Daxia) and Parthia (Anxi) are large countries, full of rare things, with a population living in fixed homes and given to occupations somewhat identical with those of the Chinese people, but with weak armies, and placing great value on the rich produce of China” Hou Hanshu (Later Han History).

The Chinese subsequently sent numerous embassies, around ten every year, to these countries and as far as Seleucid Syria. “Thus more embassies were dispatched to Anxi (Parthia), Yancai (who later joined the Alans), Lijian (Syria under the Seleucids), Tiaozhi (Chaldea) and Tianzhu (northwestern India)… As a rule, rather more than ten such missions went forward in the course of a year, and at the least five or six.” Hou Hanshu (Later Han History).

Chinese silk in the Roman Empire

Menade in silk dress, Naples National Museum.

Trade with the Roman Empire followed soon, confirmed by the Roman craze for Chinese silk (supplied through the Parthians) from the 1st century BCE. The Romans were not aware of silkworms and thought the fiber a vegetable product:

The Seres (Chinese), are famous for the woolen substance obtained from their forests; after a soaking in water they comb off the white down of the leaves… So manifold is the labour employed, and so distant is the region of the globe drawn upon, to enable the Roman maiden to flaunt transparent clothing in public — (Pliny the Elder, The Natural History VI, 54 ).

The Senate issued, in vain, several edicts to prohibit the wearing of silk, on economic and moral grounds: the importation of Chinese silk caused a huge outflow of gold, and silk clothes were considered to be decadent and immoral:

I can see clothes of silk, if materials that do not hide the body, nor even one's decency, can be called clothes... Wretched flocks of maids labour so that the adulteress may be visible through her thin dress, so that her husband has no more acquaintance than any outsider or foreigner with his wife's body—(Seneca the Younger c. 3 BCE–65 CE, Declamations Vol. I).

The Roman historian Florus also describes the visit of numerous envoys, including Seres (perhaps the Chinese), to the first Roman Emperor Augustus, who reigned between 27 BCE and 14 CE:

Now that all the races of the west and south were subjugated, and also the races of the north, (...) the Scythians and the Sarmatians sent ambassadors seeking friendship; the Seres too and the Indians, who live immediately beneath the sun, though they brought elephants amongst their gifts as well as precious stones and pearls, regarded their long journey, in the accomplishment of which they had spent four years, as the greatest tribute which they rendered, and indeed their complexion proved that they came from beneath another sky.—(Florus Epitomae II, 34).

A maritime route opened up between Chinese-controlled Jiaozhi (centred in modern Vietnam, near Hanoi) probably by the 1st century CE (eventually hundreds of Roman coins were discovered in North Vietnam in the 70s ). It extended, via ports on the coasts of India and Sri Lanka, all the way to Roman-controlled ports in Egypt and the Nabataean territories on the northeastern coast of the Red Sea. The Hou Hanshu records that a delegation of Roman envoys arrived in China by this maritime route in 166 CE; this may well have been an exaggeration, by the envoys or the scribe, of a party of Roman merchants.

Castaways

Pomponius Mela (Book III,Chapter 5), copied by Pliny the Elder, wrote that Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer, proconsul in Gaul, 59 BCE, got 'several Indians' (Indi) as a present from a Germanic king. The Indians were driven by a storm to the coasts of Germania (in tempestatem ex Indicis aequoribus):

Metellus Celer recalls the following: when he was Proconsul in Gaul, he was given people from India by the king of the Sueves; upon asking why they were in this land, he learnt that they were caught in a storm away from India, that they became castaways, and finally landed on the coasts of Germany. They thus resisted the sea, but suffered from the cold for the rest of their travel, and that is the reason why they left. (Sueves is an emendation to the text.)

It is unclear whether these castaways were people from India or Eastern Asia, since "Indians" designated all Asians, Indian and beyond, during Roman times. Pomponius is using these Indi as evidence for the Northeast Passage and the northward strait out of the Caspian Sea (which in Antiquity was usually thought to be open to Oceanus in the north). Edward Herbert Bunbury suggests that they were of Finnish origin. There are also some speculations that they may have been American Indians castaway across the Atlantic.

Some confusion may be suspected in this passage since Metellus Celer died before taking up his proconsulship, thus leaving it free for Julius Caesar.

Roman soldiers in the East

The Roman prisoners of the Battle of Carrhae were brought to Margiana by king Orodes.

There are several known instances of Roman soldiers being captured by the Parthians and transferred to the East for border duty. According to Pliny, in 54 BCE, after losing at the battle of Carrhae, 10,000 Roman prisoners were displaced by the Parthians to Margiana to man the frontier (of the 40,000 troops under Crassus, half had lost their lives, one quarter escaped, and one quarter were taken prisoner):

"It was to this place (Margiana) that Orodes conducted such of the Romans as had survived the defeat of Crassus" (Plin. Hist. Nat. 6. 18).

About 18 years later the nomadic Xiongnu chief Zhizhi established a state in the nearby Talas valley, near modern day Taraz. The Chinese have an account by Ban Gu of about "a hundred men" under the command of Zhizhi who fought in a so-called "fish-scale formation" to defend Zhizhi's wooden-palisade fortress against Han forces, in the Battle of Zhizhi in 36 BCE. The historian Homer Dubs claimed that this might have been the Roman testudo formation and that these men, who were captured by the Chinese, were able to found the village of Liqian (Li-chien) in Yongchang County. There is, however, no evidence that these men were Romans, although male inhabitants of Liqian are to undergo DNA testing to test the hypothesis..

A Roman inscription of the 2nd—3rd centuries CE has been found in eastern Uzbekistan in the Kara-Kamar cave complex, which has been analysed as belonging to some Roman soldiers from the Pannonian Legio XV Apollinaris:

PANN
G. REX
AP.LG

The expedition of Ban Chao

File:BanChao.jpg
Portrait of the Chinese general Ban Chao (32-102).

In 97, Ban Chao crossed the Tian Shan and Pamir mountains with an army of 70,000 men in a campaign against the Xiongnu, who were harassing the trade routes now known as the Silk Road. He went far west past the Caspian Sea into the territory of Parthians, and reaching the region of what is present-day Ukraine. Upon return, he established base on the shores of the Caspian Sea, after which he reportedly also sent an envoy named Gan Ying to Daqin (Rome). Gan Ying left a detailed account of western countries, although he only reached as far as Mesopotamia. He intended to sail to Rome through the Black Sea, but some Parthian merchants, interested in maintaining their profitable role as the middleman in trade between Rome and China, told him the trip would take two years at least (when it was actually closer to two months). Deterred, he returned home.

Gan Ying left an account on Rome (Daqin in Chinese) which may have relied on second-hand sources. He locates it to the west of the sea:

Its territory covers several thousand li , it has over 400 walled cities. Several tens of small states are subject to it. The outer walls of the cities are made of stones. They have established posting stations… There are pines and cypresses. (Hou Hanshu, cited in Leslie and Gardiner).

He also describes the adoptive monarchy of the Emperor Nerva, and Roman physical appearance and products:

As for the king, he is not a permanent figure but is chosen as the man most worthy… The people in this country are tall and regularly featured. They resemble the Chinese, and that is why the country is called Da Qin (The "Great" Qin)… The soil produced lots of gold, silver and rare jewels, including the jewel which shines at night… they sew embroidered tissues with gold threads to form tapestries and damask of many colours, and make a gold-painted cloth, and a "cloth washed-in-the-fire" (asbestos). (Hou Hanshu, cited in Leslie and Gardiner).

Finally Gan Ying determines Rome correctly as the main economic power at the western end of Eurasia:

It is from this country that all the various marvellous and rare objects of foreign states come. (Hou Hanshu, cited in Leslie and Gardiner).

The eastern travels of Maes Titianus

Maes Titianus went as far as Tashkurgan, known as the "Stone Tower" in Antiquity, the doorstep to China (in blue).

Maës Titianus was the ancient traveller of Hellenistic culture who penetrated farthest east along the Silk Road from the Mediterranean world. In the early second century CE or at the end of the first century BCE, during a lull in the intermittent Roman struggles with Parthia, his party reached the famous Stone Tower, Tashkurgan, in the Pamirs.

First Roman embassy

With the expansion of the Roman Empire in the Middle East during the 2nd century, the Romans gained the capability to develop shipping and trade in the Indian Ocean. Several ports containing Roman ruins have been excavated on the coast of India.

Groups of Romans probably travelled farther eastwards, either on Roman, Indian or Chinese ships. The first group of people claiming to be an ambassadorial mission of Romans to China was recorded in 166, sixty years after the westbound expeditions of the Chinese general Ban Chao. The embassy came to Emperor Huan of Han China "from Antun (Emperor Antoninus Pius), king of Daqin (Rome)". (As Antoninus Pius died in 161, leaving the empire to his adoptive son Marcus Aurelius (Antoninus), and the convoy arrived in 166, confusion remains about who sent the mission given that both Emperors were named 'Antoninus'.) The Roman mission came from the south (therefore probably by sea), entering China by the frontier of Jinan or Tonkin. It brought presents of rhinoceros horns, ivory, and tortoise shell, probably been acquired in Southern Asia. About the same time, and possibly through this embassy, the Chinese acquired a treatise of astronomy from the Romans.

Ptolemy's world map, reconstituted from Ptolemy's Geographia (circa 150), indicating "Sinae" (China) at the extreme right, beyond the island of "Taprobane" (Sri Lanka, oversized) and the "Aurea Chersonesus" (Southeast Asian peninsula).

The existence of China was clearly known to Roman cartographers of the time, since its name and position is depicted in Ptolemy's Geographia, which is dated to c. 150. On the map, China is located beyond the Aurea Chersonesus ("Golden Peninsula"), which refers to the Southeast Asian peninsula. It is shown as being on the Magnus Sinus ("Great Gulf"), which presumably corresponds to the known areas of the China Sea at the time; although Ptolemy represents it as tending to the southeast rather than to the northeast. Trade throughout the Indian Ocean was extensive from the 2nd century, and many trading ports with links to Roman communities have been identified in India and Sri Lanka along the route used by the Roman mission.

Other Roman embassies

Detail of Asia in Ptolemy's world map. Gulf of the Ganges left, Southeast Asian peninsula in the center, China Sea right, with "Sinae" (China).

Other embassies may have been sent after this first encounter, but were not recorded, until an account appears about presents sent in the early 3rd century by the Roman Emperor to Cao Rui of the Kingdom of Wei (reigned 227–239) in Northern China. The presents consisted of articles of glass in a variety of colours. While several Roman Emperors ruled during this time, the embassy, if genuine, may have been sent by Alexander Severus; since his successors reigned briefly and were busy with civil wars.

Another embassy from Daqin is recorded in the year 284, as bringing presents to the Chinese empire. This embassy presumably was sent by the Emperor Carus (282–283), whose short reign was occupied with war with Persia.

Notes

  1. "Next comes the district of Margiane, so remarkable for its sunny climate. It is the only spot in all these regions that produces the vine, being shut in on every side by verdant and refreshing hills. This district is fifteen hundred stadia in circumference, but is rendered remarkably difficult of access by sandy deserts, which extend a distance of one hundred and twenty miles: it lies opposite to the country of Parthia, and in it Alexander founded the city of Alexandria. This place having been destroyed by the barbarians, Antiochus, the son of Seleucus, rebuilt it on the same site as a Syrian city. For, seeing that it was watered by the Margus, which passes through it, and is afterwards divided into a number of streams for the irrigation of the district of Zothale, he restored it, but preferred giving it the name of Antiochia. The circumference of this city is seventy stadia: it was to this place that Orodes conducted such of the Romans as had survived the defeat of Crassus." Source:Plin. Hist. Nat. 6. 18
  2. Sources on Roman soldiers in China: Xinhua, Archaelogy.org Italy Magazine The Daily Telegraph, 2 February 2007. Detailed analysis by Ethan Gruber.
  3. Reference: Ustinova, Yulia, “New Latin and Greek Rock-Inscriptions from Uzbekistan,” Hephaistos: New Approaches in Classical Archaeology and related Fields, 18/2000, pp. 169–179. Through Roman inscriptions in Uzbekistan
  4. His "Macedonian" origin betokens no more than his cultural affinity, and the name Maës is Semitic in origin (Cary 1956:130).
  5. The mainstream opinion, noted by Cary 1956:130 note 7, based on the date of Marinus, established by his use of many Trajanic foundation names but none identifiable with Hadrian.
  6. This is Cary's dating.
  7. Centuries later Tashkurgan ('Stone Tower') was the capital of the Pamir kingdom of Sarikol.

See also

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