, a woollen wall hanging from
Lop County,
Hotan Prefecture,
Xinjiang, China, showing a possibly
Greek soldier from the
Greco-Bactrian kingdom (250–125 BC), with
blue eyes, wielding a spear, and wearing what appears to be a
diadem headband; depicted above him is a
centaur, from
Greek mythology, a common
motif in
Hellenistic art;
Xinjiang Region Museum.
Prelude Some contact may have occurred between
Hellenistic Greeks and the
Qin dynasty in the late 3rd century BC, following the Central Asian campaigns of
Alexander the Great, king of
Macedon, and the establishment of
Hellenistic kingdoms relatively close to China, such as the
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. Excavations at
the burial site of China's first Emperor
Qin Shi Huang (r. 221–210 BC) suggest ancient
Greeks may have provided gifts to the
Han Chinese Qin dynasty evidenced by
Greek stylistic and
technological influences in some of the artworks found buried there, including a few examples of the famous
Terracotta Army. Cultural exchanges at such an early date are generally regarded as conjectural in academia, but excavations of a 4th-century BC tomb in Gansu province belonging to the
state of Qin have yielded Western items such as glass beads and a blue-glazed (possibly
faience) beaker of Mediterranean origin. Trade and diplomatic relations between China's Han Empire and remnants of Hellenistic Greek civilization under the rule of the nomadic
Da Yuezhi began with the Central Asian journeys of the Han envoy
Zhang Qian (d. 113 BC). He brought back reports to the court of
Emperor Wu of Han about the "
Dayuan" in the
Fergana Valley, with
Alexandria Eschate as its capital, and the "
Daxia" of
Bactria, in what is now Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The only well-known Roman traveller to have visited the easternmost fringes of Central Asia was
Maes Titianus, a contemporary of
Trajan in either the late 1st or early 2nd century AD who visited a "Stone Tower" that has been identified by historians as either
Tashkurgan in the Chinese
Pamirs or a similar monument in the
Alai Valley just west of
Kashgar, Xinjiang, China.
Embassy to Augustus The Roman historian Florus described the visit of numerous envoys, including the "
Seres" (possibly the Chinese) to the court of the first
Roman Emperor Augustus (r. 27 BC – 14 AD): In the entire corpus of
Roman literature and
historiography, Yule was unable to uncover any other mention of such a direct diplomatic encounter between the Romans and the Seres. Yule notes that the 1st-century AD
Periplus mentioned that people of
Thinae (
Sinae) were rarely seen, because of the difficulties of reaching that country. It states that their country, located under
Ursa Minor and on the farthest unknown reaches of the
Caspian Sea, was the origin of raw silk and fine silk cloth that was traded overland from Bactria to
Barygaza, as well as down the Ganges. Ann Kolb and Michael Speidel stress how the emperor Augustus never mentioned the Seres in his monumental memoir, the
Res Gestae Divi Augusti, and, contrary to the claim by Florus, the Chinese historical records describe no official attempts by the Han dynasty to engage in diplomacy with Rome until the travels of Gan Ying.
Envoy Gan Ying encyclopedia
Sancai Tuhui, 1609 The
Eastern Han general
Ban Chao (32–102 AD), in a series of military successes which brought the
Western Regions (the
Tarim Basin of Xinjiang) back under Chinese control and suzerainty, defeated the Da Yuezhi in 90 AD and the
Northern Xiongnu in 91 AD, forcing the submission of city-states such as
Kucha and
Turfan,
Khotan and
Kashgar (Indo-European
Tocharian and
Saka settlements, respectively), and finally
Karasahr in 94 AD. An embassy from the
Parthian Empire had earlier arrived at the Han court in 89 AD and, while Ban was stationed with his army in
Khotan, another Parthian embassy came in 101 AD, this time bringing exotic gifts such as
ostriches. In 97 AD, Ban Chao sent an envoy named Gan Ying to explore the far west. Gan made his way from the Tarim Basin to
Parthia and reached the Persian Gulf. Gan left a detailed account of western countries; he apparently reached as far as Mesopotamia, then under the control of the Parthian Empire. He intended to sail to the Roman Empire, but was discouraged when told that the trip was dangerous and could take two years. Deterred, he returned to China bringing much new information on the countries to the west of Chinese-controlled territories, as far as the
Mediterranean Basin. The
Book of the Later Han gives a positive, if inaccurate, view of
Roman governance: Yule noted that although the description of the
Roman Constitution and products was garbled, the
Book of the Later Han offered an accurate depiction of the
coral fisheries in the Mediterranean.
Coral was a highly valued luxury item in Han China, imported among other items from India (mostly overland and perhaps also by sea), the latter region being where the Romans sold coral and obtained
pearls. The original list of Roman products given in the
Book of the Later Han, such as
sea silk,
glass,
amber,
cinnabar, and
asbestos cloth, is expanded in the
Weilüe. The
Weilüe also claimed that in 134 AD the ruler of the
Shule Kingdom (Kashgar), who had been a hostage at the court of the
Kushan Empire, offered blue (or green) gems originating from
Haixi as gifts to the Eastern Han court. The
Book of the Later Han also asserts that the Parthians (
Chinese: 安息;
Anxi) wished "to control the trade in multi-coloured Chinese silks" and therefore intentionally blocked the Romans from reaching China.
Possible Roman Greeks in Burma and China ceramic vessels showing acrobats balancing by hand on their rims; the
Shiji and
Book of Han state that
Mithridates II of the Parthian Empire sent gifts including Syrian
jugglers to the court of
Emperor Wu of Han; It is known that in both the Parthian Empire and Kushan Empire of Asia, ethnic Greeks continued to be employed after the
Hellenistic period as musicians and athletes. The
Book of the Later Han states that Emperor An transferred these entertainers from his countryside residence to the capital
Luoyang, where they gave a performance at his court and were rewarded with gold, silver, and other gifts. With regard to the origin of these entertainers, Raoul McLaughlin speculates that the Romans
were selling slaves to the Burmese and that this is how the entertainers originally reached Burma before they were sent by the Burmese ruler to Emperor An in China. Meanwhile, Syrian jugglers were renowned in Western
Classical literature, and Chinese sources from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD seem to mention them as well. As Antoninus Pius died in 161 AD, leaving the empire to his adoptive son Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, and the envoy arrived in 166 AD, confusion remains about who sent the mission, as both emperors were named "Antoninus". The Roman mission came from the south (therefore probably by sea), entering China by the frontier of
Rinan or
Tonkin (present-day Vietnam). It brought presents of
rhinoceros horns,
ivory, and
tortoise shell, probably acquired in
Southern Asia. The text states that it was the first time there had been direct contact between the two countries. Historians
Rafe de Crespigny,
Peter Fibiger Bang, and
Warwick Ball believe that this was most likely a group of
Roman merchants rather than official diplomats sent by Marcus Aurelius. Crespigny stresses that the presence of this Roman embassy as well as others from
Tianzhu (in
northern India) and
Buyeo (in
Manchuria) provided much-needed prestige for Emperor Huan, as he was facing serious
political troubles and fallout for the forced suicide of politician
Liang Ji, who had dominated the Han government well after the death of his sister
Empress Liang Na. Yule emphasised that the Roman embassy was said to come by way of
Jiaozhi in northern Vietnam, the same route that Chinese sources claimed the embassies from Tianzhu (northern India) had used in 159 and 161 AD.
Other Roman embassies cup unearthed from an
Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 AD) tomb of
Guangxi (bordering modern-day Vietnam in
southern China) embassy to
Emperor Taizong of Tang in 643 AD The
Weilüe and
Book of Liang record the arrival in 226 AD of a merchant
named Qin Lun () from
the Roman Empire (Daqin) at
Jiaozhou (Chinese-controlled northern Vietnam). According to the
Weilüe and
Book of Liang Roman merchants were active in
Cambodia and Vietnam, a claim supported by modern archaeological finds of ancient Mediterranean goods in the
Southeast Asian countries of Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Another embassy from Daqin is recorded as bringing tributary gifts to the Chinese
Jin Empire (266–420 AD). This occurred in 284 AD during the reign of
Emperor Wu of Jin (r. 266–290 AD), and was recorded in the
Book of Jin, as well as the later
Wenxian Tongkao.
Fulin: Eastern Roman embassies (r. 626–649 AD) receives
Gar Tongtsen Yülsung, ambassador of the
Tibetan Empire, at his court.
Later copy of a 641 painting by the
Tang court artist Yan Liben (600–673 AD). Chinese histories for the
Tang dynasty (618–907 AD) record contacts with merchants from "Fulin" (), the new name used to designate the Byzantine Empire. The first reported diplomatic contact took place in 643 AD during the reigns of
Constans II (641–668 AD) and
Emperor Taizong of Tang (626–649 AD). The
Old Book of Tang, followed by the
New Book of Tang, provides the name "Po-to-li" (,
pinyin:
Bōduōlì) for Constans II, which Hirth conjectured to be a transliteration of
Kōnstantinos Pogonatos, or "Constantine the Bearded", giving him the title of a
king (王
wáng). and S. A. M. Adshead offer a different transliteration stemming from "
patriarch" or "
patrician", possibly a reference to one of the acting
regents for the 13-year-old Byzantine monarch. The Tang histories record that Constans II sent an embassy in the 17th year of the Zhenguan () regnal period (643 AD), bearing gifts of
red glass and green
gemstones. Tang Chinese sources also recorded how Sasanian prince
Peroz III (636–679 AD) fled to Tang China following the
conquest of Persia by the growing Islamic caliphate. Yule asserts that the additional Fulin embassies during the Tang period arrived in 711 and 719 AD, with another in 742 AD that may have been Nestorian monks. Adshead lists four official diplomatic contacts with Fulin in the
Old Book of Tang as occurring in 643, 667, 701, and 719 AD. He speculates that the absence of these missions in Western literary sources can be explained by how the Byzantines typically viewed political relations with powers of the East, as well as the possibility that they were launched on behalf of frontier officials instead of
the central government. Yule and Adshead concur that a Fulin diplomatic mission occurred during the reign of
Justinian II (r. 685–695 AD; 705–711 AD). Yule claims it occurred in the year of the emperor's death, 711 AD, whereas Adshead contends that it took place in 701 AD during the usurpation of
Leontios and the emperor's exile in
Crimea, perhaps the reason for its omission in
Byzantine records and the source for confusion in Chinese histories about precisely who sent this embassy. Justinian II regained the throne with the aid of
Bulgars and a marriage alliance with the
Khazars. Adshead therefore believes a mission sent to Tang China would be consistent with Justinian II's behaviour, especially if he had knowledge of the permission
Empress Wu Zetian granted to
Narsieh, son of Peroz III, to march against the Arabs in Central Asia at the end of the 7th century. It also came as Leo III had just defeated the Arabs in 717 CE. The Chinese annals record that "In the first month of the seventh year of the period
Kaiyuan [719 CE] their lord [拂菻王, "the King of Fulin"] sent the Ta-shou-ling [an officer of high rank] of T'u-huo-lo [吐火羅,
Tokhara] (...) to offer lions and ling-yang [antelopes], two of each. A few months after, he further sent Ta-te-seng ["priests of great virtue"] to our court with tribute." During its long voyage, this embassy probably visited the
Turk Shahis king of
Afghanistan, since the son of the king took the title "
Fromo Kesaro" when he acceded to the throne in 739 CE. In Chinese sources "Fromo Kesaro" was aptly transcribed
"Fulin Jisuo" (拂菻罽娑), "
Fulin" (拂菻) being the standard
Tang dynasty name for "
Byzantine Empire". The year of this embassy coincided with Xuanzong's refusal to provide aid to the
Sogdians of
Bukhara and
Samarkand against the
Arab invasion force. The last diplomatic contacts with Fulin are recorded as having taken place in the 11th century AD. From the
Wenxian Tongkao, written by historian
Ma Duanlin (1245–1322), and from the
History of Song, it is known that the Byzantine emperor
Michael VII Parapinakēs Caesar (,
Mie li sha ling kai sa) of Fulin sent an embassy to China's
Song dynasty that arrived in 1081 AD, during the reign of
Emperor Shenzong of Song (r. 1067–1085 AD). The
History of Song described the tributary gifts given by the Byzantine embassy as well as the products made in Byzantium. It also described punishments used in
Byzantine law, such as the
capital punishment of being stuffed into a "feather bag" and thrown into the sea, The final recorded embassy arrived in 1091 AD, during the reign of
Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118 AD); this event is only mentioned in passing. The
History of Yuan offers a biography of a Byzantine man named Ai-sie (transliteration of either Joshua or Joseph), who originally served the court of
Güyük Khan but later became a head
astronomer and
physician for the court of
Kublai Khan, the Mongol founder of the
Yuan dynasty (1271–1368 AD), at
Khanbaliq (modern
Beijing). He was eventually granted the title Prince of Fulin (,
Fúlǐn wáng) and his children were listed with their
Chinese names, which seem to match with transliterations of the
Christian names Elias, Luke, and Antony. Within the
Mongol Empire, which
eventually included all of China, there were enough Westerners travelling there that in 1340 AD
Francesco Balducci Pegolotti compiled a
guide book for fellow merchants on how to exchange silver for
paper money to purchase silk
in Khanbaliq (Beijing). By this stage the Eastern Roman Empire, temporarily dismantled by the
Latin Empire, had shrunk to the size of a rump state in
parts of Greece and
Anatolia.
Ma Duanlin, author of the
Wenxian Tongkao, noted the shifting political boundaries, albeit based on generally inaccurate and distorted
political geography. It is speculated that the merchant was a
former archbishop of
Khanbaliq called Nicolaus de Bentra (who succeeded
John of Montecorvino for that position). The
History of Ming goes on to explain that contacts between China and Fulin ceased after this point and an envoy of the great western sea (the
Mediterranean Sea) did not appear in China again until the 16th century AD, with the 1582 AD arrival of the Italian
Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci in Portuguese
Macau. ==Trade relations==