Rome vs Han essay- want get some opinions

[Chariovalda]

Trajan crushed Dacia like a bug.

Well.... it took several swats to kill that bug, didn't it? Shall we say a big bug? Really really big? :twisted:

Alright then, a biggish bug. Quite hairy too. :wink:

Karghalik (about 10,000 inhabitants), Turfan (about 4,000 inhabitants), and Dere (a whopping 670 people).
The states of Nan-Yue and Choson

Tremble, oh great nation of the Han, for these untold masses!!!

But seriously, maybe even a few of these villages could make trouble enough for the Han borders, seeing that the terrain would make it difficult to 'search and destroy' them?

Well, actually the oasis states of the Tarim basin were sort of rather vulnerable. Oasis farmers are not exactly known for their mobility. Logistics would have been a major problem for the Han, although they could operate out of the western end of the Gansu corridor.
Chinese sources refer several times to really small armies - hundreds or thousands - being sent to the oasis states. There are sometimes also references to larger armies operating in the "Western Regions", which are either inflated figures or evidence of a very well-organised logistical apparatus. Both are possible, I think (and there's a third option, those armies being partly or even largely composed of natives).

"In the first yongyuan year [89 CE], during the reign of Emperor He, the General-in-Chief Dou Xian had a great victory over the Xiongnu. In the second year [90 CE], (Dou) Xian sent Deputy Commandant Yan Pan, at the head of more than 2,000 cavalry, on a surprise attack against Yiwu (Hami), which he conquered."
...
In the second yanguang year [123 CE], the Governor of Dunhuang, Zhang Dang presented a report setting out three plans:

“I believe that the king of the Huyan [clan] of the Northern Savages (the Northern Xiongnu) frequently circulates on inspection between Pulei (Barkol) and Lake Qin. He has imposed his rule on the Western Regions and united them to raid and pillage. We should assemble more than 2,000 officers and soldiers taken from Jiuquan (Suzhou) and its dependent kingdoms at the Gunlun frontier-pass.

They should immediately attack the Huyan [clan’s] king, and cut him off from his base. Therefore, 5,000 soldiers should be sent from Shanshan (Charkhlik) to restrain the tribe of Further Jushi (Jimasa). This is the best plan.

If we cannot send an army, a Division Commander with five hundred officers and men supplied with farm draft cattle, grain, and provisions by the four commanderies [of Hexi], should occupy Liuzhong (Lukchun). This is the middle-ranking plan.

If even that can’t be done, then the town of Jiaohe (Yarkhoto, 20 li west of Turfan) must be abandoned, and [the people of] Shanshan (Charkhlik), and other places, be gathered together and taken within the Barrier. This is the worst plan.â€