During the Han dynasty, the Xiongnu nomadic tribes posed the main threat to Chinese rule in Central Asia. One of the contenders for the title of Shanyu (supreme leader) of the Huns, known as Zhi Zhi, caused the most trouble. He had the audacity to kill the official Chinese ambassador and, in order to avoid inevitable retaliation, retreated with his army far to the west of Sogdiana, a kingdom located south of Russia on the territory of modern Uzbekistan. Zhi Zhi received an offer from the ruler of Sogdiana to help defeat some of the nomadic tribes that invaded his territory.
Having achieved success in this venture, Zhi Zhi decided to found his own empire in Central Asia and built a new capital on the Talas River. From here, he began to impose tribute on neighboring tribes, which were partially under the official protection of the Chinese Empire. Determined to get rid of this contagion forever, Chen Tang, who had the title of "Deputy Defender General of the Western Frontier," in 36 BC. e. conceived a campaign with the aim of destroying the city of Zhi Zhi and executing the self-appointed ruler.
Chen Tang gathered his strike force, made a 1000-mile march towards Zhi Zhi's citadel, and took it by storm. Zhi Zhi himself was captured and beheaded. The Chinese border army was victorious, but Chen Tang was in trouble. In his desire to quickly assemble an army, he took a desperate step and forged the order of the emperor himself. The usual punishment for such crimes was the death penalty, but Chen Tang hoped to earn forgiveness for his successes. To this end, he made special efforts to publicize his victory. A series of paintings, or maps, were produced depicting the storming of the city and the capture of Zhi Zhi; they made a great impression at the court of the emperor and were even shown to the ladies from his harem. Chen Tang's plan succeeded, he managed to avoid shame and execution.
These illustrations (now lost) served as the main source of information for describing Chen Tang's military campaign 100 years later in a book called History of the Early Han Dynasty. The compiler gives a detailed description of the siege, including the disposition of Zhi Zhi's forces in and around the city when the Chinese arrived:
“More than a hundred horsemen rode out and galloped back and forth against the wall. About two hundred infantry, lined up on either side of the gate, marched in formation shaped like fish scales. The people on the wall, one by one, challenged the Chinese army, shouting, "Come out and fight!"
The mention of the structure in the form of fish scales is very curious. It is hard to imagine that it could imply anything other than a maneuver with overlapping shields, which immediately brings to mind the tactics developed by the Romans. Few armies in the ancient world were sufficiently well trained for such maneuvers, and only the Romans had quadrangular shields suitable for forming a formation in the form of fish scales. The Scuta, the standard Legionnaire shield, was a rectangular, cylindrically curved shape and was perfect for lining up and forming temporary defensive walls. The most famous tactic of formation with shields was called the testudo (turtle). It was brought to perfection at the end of the 1st century. BC BC: the square of the legionnaires connected the shields from above and from all sides, which gave them complete cover from enemy fire.
When the orientalist Homer Dabe drew attention to the mention of the formation of battle in the form of fish scales, he immediately remembered the Roman legionnaires:
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"The line of Roman shields running in a continuous chain along the front of the infantry will resemble fish scales to someone who has never seen such a formation before, especially since the shields had a rounded surface. It is difficult to think of a better term to describe."
The second hint pointed in the same direction. The History of the Early Han Dynasty states that the city gate was protected by a double palisade. This again brings to mind the Romans: the legionnaires were unsurpassed masters of such fortifications, which consisted of a ditch surrounded by rows of pointed stakes in front and behind. Dabe consulted with his fellow historians and found that no other ancient people used such fortifications. In particular, the Xiongnu nomads did not have any knowledge of military engineering.
Combining the fish-scale lines of battle and the double palisade, Dabe suggested that Zhi Zhi's army included several hundred Roman legionnaires who somehow ended up far to the east and entered his service as mercenaries. Despite its fascination, this idea seems a bit crazy. What were the Roman soldiers doing so far from home, within the reach of the imperial army of ancient China?
Defeat Crassus
Some historical evidence from the Roman side shows that a significant number of Roman soldiers could have been in approximately the right place at the right time. The greatest threat to Roman rule in the east has always been the Parthian Empire, centered in Iran. Reviving the old imperial ambitions of the ancient Persians, the Parthians established their rule over Iraq, Syria, and Palestine. In 54 BC. e. Krasé - one of the most ambitious, albeit the least competent Roman generals - set out on a campaign to "cut the Parthian knot" in the Middle East. At first he was lucky. His army - seven Roman legions, 4,000 horsemen and almost as many lightly armed infantrymen (about 42,000 in total) - advanced significantly into northern Iraq. Then, in May 53 BC. e.,she came face to face with the enemy at Karrakh (Harran).
Crassus's allies deserted even before the battle began, taking with them most of the cavalry. His forces, although vastly superior to those of the enemy, were almost entirely infantry. A cavalry army, including a detachment of about 9,000 experienced archers, marched towards them. The Parthian heavy cavalry quickly defeated Crassus's auxiliary forces, while agile archers threw confusion into his main battle formations. The legionaries formed a defensive square and closed their shields around them, but without much success. The Romans still had to perfect the testudo maneuver; although Crassus's soldiers were protected on all sides, they were still vulnerable from above. Shooting high into the air, the Parthian archers rained arrows at them. Unable to withstand such an onslaughtthe Romans retreated to a higher position to regroup. Krasé was distracted from his troops by the fraudulent promise of a peace treaty and was killed, and his head was sent to Parthia as a trophy of war. The Roman army was in complete disarray. Twenty thousand Romans were killed on the spot, another ten thousand were captured. It was one of the worst military disasters in Roman history.
The Romans did not forget about the shame of Carrach. Eighteen years later, the famous Mark Antony returned to Parthia to avenge Crassus' defeat. This time, the Romans perfected the art of forming the testudo and were able to provide themselves with complete protection from the Parthian arrows. Although Antony's expedition did not achieve complete success, it was far less disastrous for the Roman army than Crassus's military campaign.
What happened to the ten thousand legionnaires captured at Carrach? Roman chronicles say that the Parthian king ordered them to be transported 1,500 miles to the opposite end of his empire. Many died during the long and arduous journey, but the survivors settled as mercenaries in the province of Margiana on the eastern border of Parthia. The Roman poet Horace suggested that the warriors, desperate to ever return home, married the local women and set up their new life.
So we know that around 50 BC. e. several thousand Roman legionnaires were indeed in Central Asia, in a place located only 500 miles from the capital Zhi Zhi on the Talas River. This, according to Dubs, explained the presence of the Romans in Zhi Zhi's army 17 years after the Battle of Carrach. Perhaps the Parthian king sold some of his legionnaires to the ruler of neighboring Sogdiana, who was the patron of Zhi Zhi, or maybe some Romans were able to escape and continued their journey east as "soldiers of fortune."
Be that as it may, the evidence from the Roman side about the outcome of the Battle of Carrachus suggests the possibility that the soldiers who performed the formation in the form of "fish scales" in 36 BC. e., were indeed Roman legionaries. What happened to them after the battle with Chen Tang's army? Can we trace their path even further?
Romans in China
The Chinese chronicles state that after the battle with Zhi Zhi, 145 enemy soldiers were captured in action, and another 1,000 surrendered. The captives were then distributed as slaves among the various allied rulers who contributed their forces to the expedition. Dabe noted that the number 145 in a curious way corresponds to the number ("about 200") of the soldiers performing the formation like "fish scales", and put forward the assumption that among the prisoners there could be many Romans.
In any event, it is reasonable to assume that the Romans were not massacred; they were a curiosity and thus a valuable commodity. They could be driven further east as slaves or mercenaries to one of the states of Chinese Turkestan, which provided its troops for the expedition of Chen Tang. After completing his research in 1941, Dabe wondered if any of them could have reached China? But later he came to the conclusion that "such an event seems unlikely."
A few years later, Dabe returned to this topic; this time he had information that the legionnaires had indeed ended up in China. Together with information about the final stage of the journey undertaken by the Romans against their will, it seems to confirm history as a whole. In the Chinese census, which took place around 5 AD. BC, among the cities of the Kansu province in northwestern China there is a place called Li Chan (or Li Kan). This name coincides with the Chinese name for the Greco-Roman world. Why did the Chinese city get such an unusual name? The mystery is only made worse by the change that took place in 9 AD. e., when Emperor Weng Man issued a decree according to which all the names of cities had to "correspond to reality." Thus, Li Chan was renamed Cheng Liu.which can mean "descendants of prisoners" or "prisoners captured during the assault." The only literal conclusion that can be drawn from the name is that the city was inhabited by people from somewhere in the Roman Empire, captured during the assault on another city. Here, apparently, are the last traces of Roman soldiers, the tiny remnant of Crassus's legions that crossed half the world against their will (unless the population of the city has undergone significant changes in the last two thousand years, DNA analysis may someday provide the last piece to complete this puzzle).the last traces of Roman soldiers, a tiny remnant of Crassus's legions that have crossed half the world against their will, are lost (unless the city's population has undergone significant changes over the past two thousand years, DNA analysis may someday provide the last piece to complete this puzzle).the last traces of Roman soldiers, a tiny remnant of Crassus's legions that have crossed half the world against their will, are lost (unless the city's population has undergone significant changes over the past two thousand years, DNA analysis may someday provide the last piece to complete this puzzle).
Named after Roman captives, this Chinese city ends the story of the missing legionnaires - but it was not the last contact between China and the Roman Empire. Trade gradually began to bring these two distant civilizations closer together. Apparently, at first there was no direct contact between them; The Romans became acquainted with the Chinese, whom they knew by the name "sina", thanks to the Chinese products delivered to the Mediterranean by caravan routes through Central Asia and Parthia. Silk, of course, was of the greatest interest to the Romans. The poet Virgil (1st century BC), apparently unaware of the existence of silkworms, writes with amazement about "the fine wool that blues weave from the leaves of trees."
Indirect contacts continued in this form for two or three centuries, until in 166 AD. e. the astonishing record did not appear in the Chinese annals. It speaks of the arrival of an "embassy" from King An Tong of Daqin, one of two Chinese names for the Roman Empire. An Tong was apparently the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (161-80 BC). The "embassy," or rather a trade delegation, offered gifts consisting of ivory, rhino horn, and turtle shells. But, as the Chinese remarked with some irritation, "there were no precious stones in their tribute." The enterprising Romans appear to have arrived by sea, as the annals say they came in the direction of Vietnam. Presumably, they sailed around India, which indicates that the Roman traders were not afraid of great distances. This accidental piece of history may be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to direct contact between the Roman and Chinese empires. On the other hand, the Chinese annals specifically state that the embassy in 166 AD. e. was the beginning of official trade relations between Rome and China. The ill-conceived choice of gifts (ivory, rhino horn and turtle shell) hints that Roman traders or ambassadors did arrive unexpectedly. What need could a Chinese emperor have for such oriental goods as ivory, rhino horn, and tortoiseshell? For him, Mediterranean and European goods - such as North Sea amber, Phoenician glassware from Lebanon, or even blonde wigs made from German hair - would be much more "exotic" and interesting. Maybe,we will never know if the Roman traders managed to learn this lesson and establish regular contacts between the two countries.
