This topic was posted , got the kw but never pinged, thanks C19fan.
Posted on 09/23/2016 6:22:55 AM PDT by C19fan
The land route to China may have been much safer before 680 AD.
***There were even Roman soldiers found that were captured in the middle east***
Apparently some Roman soldiers were held captive (or settled ) in the farthest west part of China.
As well, some theories suggest the Magi were from China (as it took them two years to arrive — ie, the timing would be correct if they were following the silk road.)
Polo
Contact is very possible. Maybe even by ship—facts:
1. Roman ships had eyes painted on the bow “so they could see where they were going”—Chinese Junks had eyes on them too.
2. The Chinese cultivated Oranges in south China Canton. Roman city of Pompeii had Oranges growing in the estates of the rich.
3. A canal was dug from the Nile to the Red Sea so ships could pass and sail to India and maybe beyond.
4. Chinese invented Crossbows—at some point Romans had them as well (built large ones too).
5. The Chinese knew of the Roman Empire—the Romans knew of the “land of the Chin” (Chin Dynasty) they called China.
Mr. Willoughby. :)
IIRC, (first time i’ve EVER used that abbr. on FR in 2 years!) the special effects were WAY ahead of their time.
I know what i’m treating myself to this weekend.
Sure there wont be obscenities, torrid sex, and blood curdling violence, but i’ll get by :) yes /s
This topic was posted , got the kw but never pinged, thanks C19fan.
Shanghaied........
Captives held by the victorious Parthians would no doubt have been a tradable commodity just like silk. As the intermediaries on the land route (also called Silk Road), they certainly had that ability. Yon Cassius, he of the “lean and hungry look”, was respected for having brought 10,000 Roman soldiers back to Roman controlled Syria from Crassus’ deadly campaign. This was only a small portion of those who had marched east. In fact it was Caesar’s “ambition” to go fight the Parthians again to reclaim Romes honor and avenge Crassus’ death that motivated Cassius to the assassination of Casear. Cassius knew from first hand experience just how deadly the Parthians were in warfare. I believe this was in the area of current Afghanistan. Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are likely to repeat them. At least Rome did not repeat that mistake.
Huns are often considered proto Mongols. The first large scale Hun raids occurred in the 4th century. It’s not out of the question that these skeletons were the result of the slave trade, or even Hun warriors who signed on with Rome. The classic infantry-heavy Roman formations were changing in response to the appearance of bow-armed mounted (vs chariot) cavalry, and Rome would have been recruiting mercenaries and outcasts from enemy formations to figure out how to meet the new challenge. The Huns are often considered proto Mongol tribes that fled Chinese military pressure for regions less accustomed to their military tactics.
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