01-25-2002, 07:20 PM
The "ambassadors" from An-tun (probably Marcus Aurelius Antoninus) were certainly unofficial -- & most likely just some enterprising merchants from Alexandria (which the Chinese thought was the capital of the Roman Empire). [Note that a small hoard of aurei (gold coins) of Marcus have been found in Viet Nam.] Also, about the year 100, a Chinese general was sent exploring the far west, he reached the Caspian sea, and dispatched an emissary to make contact with Rome. The man made it to Ctesiphon, but the King of Parthia talked him out of going further -- the last thing the Parthians wanted was friendly relations between the powerful hostile empire on their western borders and the powerful, as yet unfamiliar empire approaching from the East. All this is documented in some detail in Chinese sources (Chinese historiograohy is incredible -- there are literally thousands of surviving volumes of history written before 1000 AD -- though very little is available in translation. Chinese archives contain tens of thousands of ancient manuscripts that have never been translated into modern Chinese -- noone today even knows what they contain! It boggles the mind! -- well, enough OT stuff).<br>
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And, I must agree that the Chinese/legionary story is rather dubious at best.<br>
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Regards,<br>
John <p></p><i></i>
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And, I must agree that the Chinese/legionary story is rather dubious at best.<br>
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Regards,<br>
John <p></p><i></i>
