Latest / Trade Routes That Changed Human History Forever — Fexingo History
The Diplomat Who Opened the Silk Road: Zhang Qian's Odyssey
In 138 BCE, the Han emperor Wu sent a young diplomat named Zhang Qian west into unknown territory. His mission: find the Yuezhi people and forge an alliance against the Xiongnu. Captured and held by the Xiongnu for a decade, Zhang Qian escaped, continued to the Yuezhi in Transoxiana, and returned with detailed intelligence on the kingdoms of Central Asia—Ferghana, Bactria, Parthia. His report opened China's eyes to a world beyond the steppe and set the stage for the Silk Road. This episode traces Zhang Qian's thirteen-year odyssey, the politics of the Han-Xiongnu conflict, and how…
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