onsdag 13. januar 2016

The Battle That Kept the Chinese Out of Central Asia


It’s easy to understand why the battle of Talas in 751 between the Abbasid Caliphate’s Arab-Persian army and the Chinese army is often said to be one of the most important battles in Central Asian history. It was, as James A. Millward wrote in his 2007 history of Xinjiang, the “first and last meeting of Arab and Chinese armies.” For many it marks a decisive point in history–”barely noticed by contemporary chroniclers” wrote Svat Soucek–which decided whether Central Asia would come under the influence of the Muslim world or the Chinese. Read more