Episodes
The Sogdian Shadow: How Silk Road Traders Spoke for Empires
In this episode of Silk Road Empires, Lucas and Luna look past the famous names and battles to trace the quiet power of the Sogdians who worked between empires. We follow their caravans across the Pamirs, listen in on their letters from the 4th century, and watch them carry not just silk and silver but religions, scripts, and political messages. From the courts of the Göktürks to the markets of Chang'an, we see how a merchant network became the nervous system of the Silk Road. We also get into…
The Iron Route: How Sogdian Metal Shaped the Silk Road
In this episode of Silk Road Empires, Lucas and Luna explore a less-traveled strand of the Silk Road: the iron trade. While silk gets the glory, it was iron—wrought, cast, and traded from the Tian Shan to the Levant—that built the caravans, armed the armies, and underpinned empires from the Sogdians to the Tang. We meet the Sogdian merchants who ran this trade from their cities in the Zeravshan Valley, the smiths of the Fergana Valley who made legendary steel, and the monks who carried iron…
The Sogdian Spies Who Toppled an Empire
In this episode of Silk Road Empires, Lucas and Luna explore the shadowy world of Sogdian intelligence during the Göktürk–Sassanid wars of the 6th century. They uncover how a merchant network, skilled in languages and trade routes, became the eyes and ears of empires, and how one Sogdian agent, Maniakh, used his caravan contacts to forge an alliance that would redirect the silk trade and set the stage for the rise of the Khazars. Along the way, they discuss the legendary 'Sogdian letters' found…
The Silk Road's Desert Detectives: Geographers of the Karakoram
Before GPS and satellite imagery, the Silk Road's vast network of routes across Central Asia was mapped by a handful of intrepid geographers. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the forgotten figures who charted the Karakoram passes, the Taklamakan Desert, and the Pamir Mountains — from the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang to the Arab scholar al-Muqaddasi. They uncover how these early cartographers relied on hearsay, dead reckoning, and sheer endurance, and how their maps shaped the course of trade…
The Silk Road's Lost City of Paper: Samarkand's 200-Year Secret
In this milestone episode, Lucas and Luna dig into the century after the Battle of Talas, when Samarkand became the Silk Road's paper capital — and how a Sogdian merchant named Abu'l-Fadl al-Samarqandi may have carried the technique to Baghdad. We trace the spread of paper from China to the Abbasid caliphate, the rise of the first paper mills in Samarkand and Baghdad, and the human stories behind an invention that changed how the world remembered. Along the way, we visit a caravanserai in Merv…
The Silk Road's Secret Verse: Poems of Sogdian Merchants
Before the Sogdian merchants vanished into history, they left behind something unexpected: poetry. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Sogdian verse found in the caves of Dunhuang and the letters of Mount Mugh, revealing a people who measured their lives in caravans and verses. From the haunting laments of exile to the tender metaphors of trade, these poems offer a rare glimpse into the emotional world of the Silk Road's most restless travelers. Join us as we decode the rhythms of a…
The Sogdian Merchant Who Brought Silk to Byzantium
Before the monks smuggled silkworm eggs, a Sogdian merchant named Sogdianos tried to open a direct silk trade route from Samarkand to Constantinople. This episode follows his journey, the treaty he negotiated with the Byzantine emperor Justin II, and the deal that fell apart when the Persians bought off the Turks. Lucas and Luna explore how a single failed embassy shifted the course of history, sparking the search for a sea route to the East and eventually leading to the silkworm smuggling…
The Sogdians Who Invented the Silk Road's Bill of Exchange
Long before Venice, before the Medici, before PayPal, a network of Sogdian merchants from Central Asia was already moving money across the Silk Road. This episode unpacks the Sogdian banking revolution that made long-distance trade possible: how they used letters of credit (sufsaja) and promissory notes to avoid carrying gold across bandit country. We trace the evolution from the Sogdian city-states like Samarkand and Panjikent to the Tang dynasty's flying cash (feiqian) and the Abbasid…
The Silk Road's Paper Revolution: From China to Baghdad
Before Gutenberg, before the printing press, paper traveled the Silk Road from China to the Islamic world, forever changing how knowledge spread. In this episode, Lucas and Luna follow the journey of paper — from its origins in Han dynasty China, through the Battle of Talas in 751 CE, to the great Abbasid paper mills of Baghdad. Along the way, they explore the technology of papermaking, the role of Chinese prisoners of war, the rise of the paper industry in Samarkand, and how paper replaced…
Rashid al-Din: The Silk Road's Forgotten Historian
In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into the life and work of Rashid al-Din, the 14th-century Persian historian and vizier who compiled the Jami' al-Tawarikh, a universal history that bridges East and West. Rashid al-Din, a Jewish convert to Islam serving the Mongol Ilkhanate, chronicled the Mongols, Chinese, Indians, and Franks from a uniquely global perspective. We trace his rise from court physician to vizier, his collaboration with Mongol nobles to preserve oral traditions, and his…
The Sogdian Letter That Saved Samarkand's Last King
In this episode, we unravel the extraordinary story of Divashtich, the last Sogdian king of Panjikent, whose desperate letter to the Türgesh Khagan was discovered nearly 1,300 years later in the ruins of a mountain fortress. We explore how this letter, written on a wooden stick in Sogdian script, reveals the final days of a civilization caught between the Abbasid Caliphate and the Turkic steppe. We follow the siege of Mount Mugh, the betrayal that led to Divashtich's capture, and his brutal…
The Slave Soldiers Who Toppled the Tang: A Silk Road Tale
In this episode, Lucas and Luna uncover the story of the An Lushan Rebellion's unlikely victors—the Uyghur Khaganate's cavalry, and the devastating aftermath that reshaped the Silk Road. From the Battle of Talas to the Tang dynasty's desperate plea for help, we trace how a nomadic empire's intervention saved Chang'an but sowed the seeds of the Silk Road's decline. We explore the Uyghur khagans' exploitation of their victory, the Sogdian influence at their court, and the Manichaean faith they…
The Sogdian Merchant Who Invented Paper Money
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how Sogdian merchants, based in the Zeravshan Valley cities of Samarkand and Panjikent, pioneered a financial revolution that would shape the Silk Road and the world. Long before the Song dynasty issued paper currency, Sogdian traders were using letters of credit called 'feiqian' and promissory notes called 'suftaja' to move wealth across thousands of miles without physical coins. Lucas traces these innovations back to the cosmopolitan bazaars of…
The Sogdian Ruins of Mount Mugh: Last Stand Against the Caliphate
In 722 CE, the last Sogdian ruler, Divashtich, made a desperate last stand against the Umayyad Caliphate in a mountain fortress called Mount Mugh. This episode follows the dramatic events that led to his fall, the discovery of the Sogdian archives in the 1930s, and what those documents reveal about the end of Sogdian independence. We explore the political intrigue, the siege, and the cultural legacy of the Sogdians, who for centuries were the backbone of Silk Road trade. Lucas and Luna also…
The Sogdian Silver Trade and the Rise of Paper Money
Long before Marco Polo, a network of Sogdian merchants from Samarkand and Panjikent dominated the Silk Road's lucrative silver trade, shipping ingots, coins, and bullion across Eurasia. Their commercial innovations—letters of credit, bills of exchange, and standardized weights—laid the groundwork for the world's first paper currency, issued by the Tang dynasty in the 9th century. But the Sogdians' influence didn't stop at finance; their silver mines in the Zeravshan Valley fueled a monetary…
The Sogdian Ruins of Panjikent: Murals of a Lost World
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Sogdian city of Panjikent, a Silk Road hub whose spectacular wall paintings survived centuries in the Tajik mountains. They discuss the city's rise as a merchant state, the vivid murals that depict Sogdian life, religion, and epic heroes, and the Arab conquest that ended it all in the eighth century. Along the way, they touch on the Sogdian trade networks, the influence of Zoroastrianism and Buddhism, the role of Panjikent in the Sogdian revival under…
The Sogdian Merchants Who Weathered the Muslim Conquest
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the quiet resilience of Sogdian merchants as the Arab conquest of Transoxiana reshaped the Silk Road. Through the lens of a surviving letter written from Mount Mugh in 722, we trace the fall of Panjikent, the diplomacy of Divashtich, and the complex choices faced by a trading people caught between the Umayyad Caliphate and the Türgesh khaganate. We look at how Sogdian caravaneers adapted to Islam, kept their networks alive, and transformed Samarkand into…
The Sogdian Caravan Leader Who Mapped the Silk Road
In this episode, Lucas and Luna travel with a Sogdian caravan leader across the Pamir Mountains to the Tarim Basin, uncovering how these merchants not only moved goods but also mapped the Silk Road. From the frozen passes of the Karakoram to the oasis cities of Kashgar and Kucha, we trace the routes that connected China to the Mediterranean. Along the way, we meet the Sogdians' network of trading partners, from the Kushans to the Tang, and see how their knowledge of geography, climate, and…
The Battle of Talas: How the Silk Road Changed Papermaking
In 751 AD, along the Talas River in present-day Kyrgyzstan, a battle between the Tang Dynasty and the Abbasid Caliphate abruptly ended Chinese expansion into Central Asia. But its most lasting impact wasn't territorial—it was technological. When Arab forces captured Chinese papermakers, the secret of papermaking spread from Samarkand to Baghdad and eventually transformed the Islamic world and Europe. This episode follows the Goguryeo-born Tang general Gao Xianzhi, the Arab commander Ziyad ibn…
The Uyghur Khaganate: Silk Road's Manichaean Empire
In this episode of Silk Road Empires, we explore the Uyghur Khaganate, a Turkic empire that dominated the eastern Silk Road from 744 to 840 CE. Learn how the Uyghurs allied with the Tang dynasty against the An Lushan rebellion, adopted Manichaeism as their state religion, and built Ordu-Baliq, a capital that rivaled Chang'an. We discuss their unique religious tolerance, their role in reviving Tang power, and how their fall to the Kyrgyz opened the door for the Mongol Empire. Along the way, we…
The Sogdian Alphabet: How a Merchant Script Wrote Empires
They were the merchant kings of the Silk Road, but the Sogdians’ greatest export wasn't silk or spices — it was an alphabet. In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace how a script born from Aramaic in the bazaars of Samarkand became the writing system of the Uyghur Khaganate, the Mongol Empire, and even the Manchu court. Meet Tata-tonga, the Uyghur scribe who adapted Sogdian letters for Genghis Khan, and see how a trader's convenience shaped the legal codes, epic poems, and diplomatic seals of…
The Monks Who Smuggled Silkworms to Byzantium
How did silk production—a monopoly guarded by China for centuries—suddenly appear in the Mediterranean? In this episode, Lucas and Luna unravel one of the Silk Road's most audacious heists: the sixth-century smuggling of silkworm eggs into the Byzantine Empire. We follow the shadowy Nestorian monks who, according to the historian Procopius, hid the eggs in hollow bamboo canes and walked from 'Serinda' (likely Sogdiana or the Tarim Basin) to Constantinople. We explore the Byzantine emperor…
The Khazars: Silk Road Empire That Chose Judaism
Lucas and Luna explore the Khazar Khaganate, a Turkic state that dominated the trade routes between the Black and Caspian Seas from the 7th to 10th centuries. Unlike any other empire of its time, Khazaria's ruling elite adopted Judaism as its state religion. This episode traces the rise of the Khazars under Khagan Bulan, their role as middlemen between the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate, and their eventual fall to the Kievan Rus' under Prince Sviatoslav. Along the way, we touch on…
The Mongol Yam: How a Postal Network United Eurasia
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Mongol Yam, a vast relay postal system that stretched from the Black Sea to the Pacific. Under Genghis Khan and his successor Ögedei, this network of stations and riders transformed the Silk Road, enabling swift communication, safe travel, and the flow of goods, ideas, and even plagues across continents. Learn about the yam's organization, the use of paiza passports, the horse relay system that averaged 200 miles a day, and how merchants like Marco…
The Nestorian Stele: Christianity on the Silk Road
In 781 AD, a stone slab carved in Chinese and Syriac was erected in the Tang capital Chang'an, recording the arrival of a new faith from the West. This episode tells the story of Alopen, a Nestorian monk who journeyed from Persia to China in 635, bringing with him the sacred texts of the Church of the East. We explore how the Tang emperors received this exotic religion, allowing it to flourish alongside Buddhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism. The stele itself, rediscovered in the 17th century…
The Radhanites: Jewish Merchants of the Silk Road
Episode 179 of Silk Road Empires explores the Radhanites, a network of Jewish merchants who crisscrossed Eurasia from the Rhone valley to Tang China in the 9th and 10th centuries. Drawing on the 9th-century Persian geographer Ibn Khordadbeh's description and letters from the Cairo Geniza, we follow their four main routes, their multilingualism, and the goods they traded—from Frankish swords to Chinese silks. Learn how they operated on trust and credit centuries before Italian banks, and why…
The Parthian Middlemen: Silk Road's Forgotten Empire
When we think of the Silk Road's great empires, the Romans, Han Chinese, and Sassanians get most of the attention. But for three centuries, the Parthian (Arsacid) Empire was the indispensable middleman, controlling the western leg from the Euphrates to the Indus. This episode explores how the Parthians leveraged their position to monopolize silk trade, the diplomatic dance with Han envoys like Zhang Qian's second mission (who brought back news of the 'Anxi' kingdom), and the famous 'Parthian…
Zhang Qian: The Han Dynasty Spy Who Opened the Silk Road
Long before Sogdian merchants carried Buddhism and paper across Eurasia, a single Han Chinese diplomat named Zhang Qian ventured into the unknown. In 138 BCE, Emperor Wu of Han sent him west to forge an alliance against the Xiongnu nomads. Zhang Qian was captured, imprisoned for a decade, escaped, and trekked through the Ferghana Valley, Bactria, and the lands of the Yuezhi. Though his alliance mission failed, his detailed report of Greek-influenced kingdoms, heavenly horses, and trade routes…
Kanishka and the Kushan Empire: Silk Road Crossroads of Culture
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Kushan Empire, a forgotten giant of the Silk Road that bridged China, India, and Rome. They focus on Emperor Kanishka I, who ruled from Purushapura (modern Peshawar) in the 2nd century CE. Lucas explains how the Kushans, descendants of the Yuezhi nomads, controlled the overland routes from Bactria to the Ganges, issuing gold coins that blended Greek, Persian, and Indian motifs. He dives into Kanishka's patronage of Buddhism: the Fourth Buddhist…
The Sogdian General Who Ruled China's Silk Road Province
In 756, the Tang emperor fled Chang'an as rebel forces closed in. But one man held the key to the empire's survival: a Sogdian military governor named Geshu Han. Born into a merchant family in the Hexi Corridor, Geshu Han rose through the ranks to command the Tang's most elite troops, defending the northwestern frontier against Tibetans, Turks, and the Uyghurs. This episode tells the story of his dramatic career — from his stunning victory at the Battle of Shibao in 747 to his tragic betrayal…
The Sogdian Wine Kings Who Drank with Emperors
Long before champagne or Bordeaux, the Sogdian wine trade dominated the Silk Road. In this episode, Lucas and Luna uncork the story of Sogdiana's legendary vineyards in the Zeravshan Valley, the amphorae shipped across the Pamirs, and the wine-soaked banquets of Tang Chang'an where poets like Li Bai wrote odes to grape wine. They explore how Sogdian merchants turned wine into currency, how the Arab conquest disrupted the trade, and why a single vine variety still grows in Samarkand today. With…
The Sogdian Merchant Who Outwitted the Tang Secret Police
This episode digs into the shadowy world of Sogdian intelligence networks under the Tang Dynasty. We focus on a real figure from the Sogdian Ancient Letters: Nanai-vandak, a merchant who also ran a spy ring for the Tang Secret Police—the 皇城司 (Huángchéng Sī). Operating out of Dunhuang in the 8th century, he used his caravans to gather military and political intelligence from the Tarim Basin to Chang'an. We explore how Sogdian merchants became trusted informants for the Tang, their role in the An…
The Sogdian Diplomat Who Saved Samarkand from the Caliphate
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the story of a Sogdian diplomat named Divashtich, who in the early 8th century tried to preserve Sogdian autonomy by negotiating with the Umayyad Caliphate. Set against the backdrop of the Arab conquest of Transoxiana, we examine how Divashtich used a mix of tribute, alliances with the Türgesh, and a final desperate stand at his mountain fortress of Mugh. We discuss the discovery of the Mugh documents — a cache of Sogdian letters that reveal his strategy…
The Sogdian Star of Maracanda
In this episode, we uncover the story of the Sogdian Star of Maracanda, a remarkable astronomical instrument forged in the heart of Sogdiana during the 5th century CE. This celestial globe, crafted by a Sogdian astronomer named Varkhuman, was not merely a scientific tool but a diplomatic masterpiece traded along the Silk Road. We trace its journey from the observatories of Samarkand to the court of the Tang emperor Taizong, where it sparked a cross-continental exchange of astronomical…
The Sogdian Monks Who Brought Buddhism to China
Before Xuanzang made his famous journey, Sogdian merchants and monks had already carried Buddhism from Gandhara across the Tarim Basin into China. This episode follows the path of early Sogdian translators like Kang Sengkai and Zhi Qian, who worked in the third century CE to render Buddhist sutras into Chinese. We explore the Sogdian Buddhist cave murals at Kizil and Bezeklik, where donors and monks appear side by side, and discuss how Sogdian art blended Indian, Persian, and Chinese styles.…
The Sogdian Caravanserai Network: Silk Road Hospitality
This episode of Silk Road Empires takes you deep into the Sogdian caravanserai network—the inns that made long-distance trade possible across Central Asia. Lucas and Luna explore how the Sogdians built and operated these waystations, from the mud-brick ribats of the Zeravshan Valley to the fortified sarays of the Tian Shan passes. They discuss the caravanserai's role as a hub for commerce, culture, and diplomacy, touching on the famous Rabat-i Malik in Uzbekistan, the Sogdian innkeepers who…
The Sogdian Wine Trade: Fermenting Empire on the Silk Road
Before silk or spices, Sogdian merchants built fortunes on wine. In this episode, Lucas and Luna uncork the story of how Sogdiana became the heart of a vast viniculture network stretching from Samarkand to Chang'an. They explore the legendary 'wine lake' of Maracanda, the 8th-century amphorae found on the Pamir trade routes, and the cultural impact of Sogdian drinking customs on Tang dynasty poetry — including Li Bai's famous drunken verses. Lucas explains the archaeological evidence from…
The Sogdian Merchant Who Invented International Banking
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the story of the Sogdian merchant who essentially invented the medieval letter of credit—a financial instrument that powered Silk Road trade for centuries. They focus on a single, remarkable document from the Sogdian Ancient Letters: a promissory note from the early 4th century CE, written by a merchant named Nanai-vandak to his business partner in Samarkand. The episode unpacks how this system of credit, known as the suftaja in later Islamic finance…
The Sogdian Letters: Lost Mail from a Silk Road Merchant
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Sogdian Ancient Letters, a cache of 5th-century correspondence discovered in a watchtower near Dunhuang. These letters, written on paper by Sogdian merchants, offer an extraordinary glimpse into the daily realities of Silk Road trade—debt collection, family disputes, and the chaos of the Hunnic invasions. Lucas reads from one letter where a desperate merchant named Nanai-vandak begs for news of his daughter, abducted during a raid. The conversation…
The Sogdian Rock: Alexander's Impossible Siege Revisited
In this episode of Silk Road Empires, Lucas and Luna revisit the legendary siege of the Sogdian Rock in 327 BCE, where Alexander the Great faced one of his most audacious challenges. They explore the geography of Sogdiana, the strategic importance of the fortress, and the daring night climb that turned the tide. Lucas explains how this victory led to Alexander's marriage to Roxana and the integration of Sogdian elites into his empire. The conversation also touches on the legacy of the Sogdian…
The Sogdian Merchant Who Brought Paper to the West
In this episode of Silk Road Empires, Lucas and Luna uncover the story of the Sogdian merchants who carried paper-making technology from Tang China to the Abbasid Caliphate after the Battle of Talas in 751 CE. They explore how Sogdian traders, already masters of the caravan routes, became the conduit for one of history's most transformative inventions. The episode follows the journey of a specific merchant named Vargoman, a Sogdian from Samarkand who witnessed the battle and later established a…
The Sogdian Diplomat Who Made Tang China and the Caliphate Neighbors
In 723 CE, a Sogdian merchant named Tashkent Sogdian (unclear) arrived in Chang'an carrying gifts from the Umayyad Caliph. But a Tang official turned him away, igniting a diplomatic crisis between Asia's two greatest empires. This episode unpacks the Sogdian role as middlemen between the Tang Dynasty and the Abbasid Caliphate before the Battle of Talas. We explore the politics of gift-giving, the arrogance of protocol, and how one stubborn Tang courtier reshaped Central Asian diplomacy. Plus…
The Sogdian Merchant Who Funded the Tang Army
In this episode, Lucas and Luna follow the remarkable story of Shi Sini, a Sogdian merchant from Samarkand who became one of the Tang Dynasty's most vital financiers during the An Lushan rebellion. Using his vast trade network stretching from the Zeravshan Valley to Chang'an, Sini provided horses, grain, and silver that kept the Tang army in the field. We explore how Sogdian merchants leveraged Silk Road connections to become creditors to emperors, the risks of lending to a desperate crown, and…
The Sogdian Buddha of Kizil: Silk Road Art Lost and Found
In the Taklamakan Desert, the Kizil Caves once held hundreds of Buddhist cave temples, adorned with vibrant murals painted by Sogdian and Tocharian artists between the 3rd and 8th centuries. This episode follows the story of a single mural — the 'Sogdian Buddha' — a masterpiece that blended Indian, Persian, and Chinese styles. We trace how German explorer Albert von Le Coq cut it from the cave wall in 1914 and shipped it to Berlin, where it survived WWII only to be lost again during the Cold…
The Sogdian Silver Coin That Funded the Silk Road Revival
In 751 CE, the Abbasid victory at the Battle of Talas reshaped Central Asia—but what happened to the Sogdian merchants who survived? This episode follows the journey of a single silver coin minted in Samarkand under the Samanid dynasty, tracing how Sogdian moneylenders and their dirhams bankrolled the Tang restoration after the An Lushan rebellion. We explore the bimetallic system of silver and silk, the rise of the Samanid silver mines at Panjshir, and how a coin struck in a Sogdian city could…
The Forgotten Silk Road Currency: Cowrie Shells in Eurasia
Episode 159 of Silk Road Empires turns away from the usual gold and silver to explore the most widespread currency on the ancient trade routes: the cowrie shell. Lucas and Luna trace how these small, glossy sea shells from the Maldives traveled across India, Central Asia, and China, becoming the preferred medium of exchange from the Shang dynasty to the Tang era. They discuss the logistical marvel of moving millions of shells overland, the role of Bengali pirates in disrupting supply, and the…
The Sogdian Couriers Who Outran Empires on the Silk Road
Before the Pony Express, before the Yam, there were the Sogdian couriers — mounted messengers who sprinted across the deserts and passes of Central Asia, linking the courts of Persia, India, and Tang China. In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace the relay system that carried diplomatic letters, trade secrets, and military orders across thousands of miles at speeds that shocked even the Romans. They explore the network of caravanserais, the use of fire signals and horse relays, the famous Sogdian…
The Sogdian Who Sold Heaven: Manichaean Merchants on the Silk Road
Long before Manichaeism became the official religion of the Uyghur Khaganate in 763, Sogdian merchants were already carrying its scriptures from Mesopotamia to the Tarim Basin. This episode follows the Sogdian expatriate community in Chang'an who built a Manichaean temple in the 620s, decades before the faith reached the steppe. We explore how a dualist religion founded by a third-century Persian prophet named Mani became the faith of choice for Sogdian traders — not just as a personal belief…
The Sogdian City That Defied the Caliphate Twice: Bukhara's Revolt of 806
In 806 CE, the Sogdian merchants and nobles of Bukhara rose against the Abbasid Caliphate in a rebellion led by Rafi ibn al-Layth, a descendant of the last Sogdian kings. This episode explores how the revolt spread across Transoxiana, drawing support from Sogdian dihqans (landed gentry), Turkic tribes, and even the Uyghur Khaganate. We trace the rebellion's roots in Abbasid exploitation, the role of Samarkand and the Zarafshan Valley, and how Caliph Harun al-Rashid's response—sending the…
The Silk Road Treaty That Stopped a War: Tang-Tibet Alliance of 821
In 821 CE, the Tang emperor and the Tibetan king signed a peace treaty carved in stone at a temple in Lhasa. This episode tells the story of that treaty: the decades of warfare along the Silk Road that preceded it, the diplomatic missions that negotiated it, and the multilingual stele that still stands in the Jokhang Temple. We look at how the treaty defined borders between two empires, how it involved Uyghur mediators, and how the alliance broke down. Along the way, we explore the role of…
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