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Posted by Webmaster on September 21 2004, 04:37 PM
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The tragic adventure of the legionaries of Marcus Licinius Crasus, defeated first for the Parthians in Carrhae (53 BCE) and later for the Chinamen in Uzbekistan, ended in an altiplane to the doors of the Tibet, to seven thousand kilometres from Rome. The suspicion which the Romans had come to China thousand two hundred years before that Marco Polo started making way in academic means when the expert in chinese culture Homer Hasenpflug Dubs discovered in the year 1955 the perfect link of the information of Plutarchus and Plinius with the historical chronicles of the Han dynasty, that reigned in the Empire of the Center (China) between the years 25 BCE and 220 CE.Several years ago, the American newspaper The Angeles Times extracted to the light the first information identifying a remote settlement as final point of the adventure of the legionaries of Crassus. Since then, ADN's analyses realized by Lanzhou's university confirm that 46 per cent of inhabitants of Zhelaizhai - many of them are red-haired citizens a nd peoples with aquiline nose - show a curious genetic affinity with european populations. Therefore the 'lost legion', which track vanished in East in the year 53 BCE, reappears nowadays in the shape of genetic fingerprint in a remote place of the desert of Gobi. This history began during the epoch of the first triunvirate of Iulius Caesar, Pompeius and Crassus, when this last one took charge of the campaign against the parthians and advanced across their territories, on the current Turkey, at the head of an impressive army of 42.000 Soldiers. But the reviled 'barbarians' of the current territory of Iraq and Iran humiliated to the most powerful army of the world. They gave death to Crassus and did prisoners to more than ten thousand of his soldiers.The majority of them were destined for the slavery and the forced works, but the Parthians preserved some units ready to continue fighting, instead of suffering the death or the slavery. A part of the prisioners was sent to Turkmenistan to fight against the predecessors of the Huns, and there their track disappear in the History. But this legion 'lost' for the roman historians reappears in the chinese chronicles in the year 36 BCE.
Around 40 BCE, Chinese troops attacked the capital of the Hun chieftain Jsh-Jsh, who had carved out a small chiefdom in the region between China's west frontier and the eastern borders of Parthia. The campaign of pacification of the western border of the Chinese Empire culminated with the assault and the capture of the capital of the Huns, nowadays Tashkent, in Uzbekistan. The historians of the dynasty Have they documented with detail the square fortifications and the military tactics of some 'Barbarians' (always from the Chinese point of view) that fought in a way extraordinarily organized. Reading the former chronicles, the expert in chinese culture Homer Hasenpflug Dubs managed to close the circle: the defenders of Taskent were the members of the 'Lost legion' that, defeated again, would sink even more in the oblivion. The Chinamen did thousand prisoners and sent the last remains of the army Roman to a remote village in the desert of Gobi, where they should be had lost forever. But the Zhelaizhai's former name, which one finds in Gansu's province, has ended for extracting them to the light after two thousand years. The toponym 'Li-Jien', documented from the year 5 CE, is not but a Chinese variant of 'Legion', the name designated also for Rome.
Since the former chinamen had news of her opulence and power thanks to their merchants in Alexandria. Officially, the first contact between Rome and China was in the year 166 CE. when an ambassador of Marcus Aurelius managed to come up to Luoyang, the capital city of another different great empire. But the enormous distance prevented supporting contacts and the 'Li Jien's' roman colony ended, little by little with the step of time, forgetting its past. |
User Comments:
| SpartanGlory1983
:: May 24 2007 |
| Interesting article,but can be difficult to understand due to poor grammer in certain areas. |
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| Fionn
:: June 23 2008 |
This is fascinating.
If these people are not Romans, they are definitely Tocharians, a supposedly Celtic people who lived in the Tarim Basin. This would explain the Zhelaizhai fascination with th bull, as the bull was a very sacred image in the Celtic world. Also the light hair is also a pointer to the Celts. However, the story of the "Lost Legion" is very romantic and would make a good film. Well, at least it would be better than "The Last Legion". |
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| veronius
:: December 22 2008 |
I rewrote it and tried to clean it up a bit. But make sure I didn't get anything wrong!
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The tragic tale of the lost legionaries of Marcus Licinius Crassus, defeated first by the Parthians at Carrhae (53 BCE) and later by the Chinese in Uzbekistan, ended on an altiplano at the gateway to Tibet, seven thousand kilometres from Rome. Tales that the Romans had arrived in China 1200 years before Marco Polo first began to be taken seriously in academic circles in 1955, when Homer Hasenpflug Dubs, an expert on Chinese culture, discovered a direct link between accounts of Plutarch and Pliny and the historical chronicles of the Han Dynasty, which reigned over the Empire of the Center in China between the years 25 BCE and 220 CE.
Several years ago, The Los Angeles Times shone a spotlight on Zhelaizhai, a remote settlement in China’s Gansu Province now believed to be the last stop in the incredible odyssey traced by Crassus’ soldiers. Since then, studies by ADN (need definition) at Lanzhou University have confirmed that 46 per cent of Zhelaizhai’s inhabitants are red-haired and have aquiline noses - a seemingly out-of-place genetic affinity with European peoples. In this way the 'lost legion,' which disappeared into the East in 53 BCE, reappears as a fascinating genetic fingerprint in a remote Gobi Desert town.
The story begins during the First Triumvirate of Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great and Crassus, when the latter led a campaign against the Parthians at the head of an impressive army of 42,000 legionaries. But the despised 'barbarians' from today’s Iraq and Iran humiliated the most powerful military of the day. Crassus was defeated and killed, and more than ten thousand of his soldiers were captured. While most of the captives were destined for slavery, the Parthians maintained some units intact and in fighting form. Some of these were sent to Turkmenistan to fight against the predecessors of the Huns, and vanish from history. But the ‘lost legion’ reappears in Chinese chronicles in the year 36 BCE.
Around 40 BCE, Chinese troops under the Han Dynasty attacked the capital of the Hun chieftain Jsh-Jsh, who had carved out a small chiefdom in the region between China's western frontier and the eastern borders of Parthia. The campaign culminated in the capture of the Hun capital, today Tashkent in Uzbekistan. Han historians documented in detail the square fortifications and military tactics of some of the “barbarians,” who they say fought with extraordinary organization and discipline.
Reading these chronicles, Homer Hasenpflug Dubs was able at last to close the circle on the mystery: the defenders of Tashkent were none other than the remnants of the 'lost legion' which, defeated one final time, sank into oblivion. The Chinese captured a thousand of these men and dispatched them to a remote village in the Gobi Desert. There they might have been lost to history for good, but for the former name of Zhelaizhai, a toponym which appears in the historical record in the year 5 CE. It is 'Li-Jien,' a direct Chinese transliteration of the word “legion.”
The ancient Chinese did learn of Rome’s opulence and power, through their merchants in Alexandria. Officially, the first contact between the two great empires occurred in the year 166 CE when an ambassador from the Roma emperor Marcus Aurelius managed to make his way to the Chinese capital Luoyang. However the huge distances involved prevented contact from being maintained, and the Roman colony in 'Li Jien' died out, its fascinating story buried in the sands of time.
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