In 629 AD the Buddhist monk Xuanzang slipped out of Tang China against the emperor's orders on a journey to the land of the Buddha. He crossed the deserts of Central Asia, the cities of the Silk Road, Samarkand and Bactria, and studied for years at the monastic university of Nalanda in India, before returning in 645 with 657 Buddhist texts and relics, to a hero's welcome from Emperor Taizong. He spent his last years translating them. His Records of the Western Regions is a prime source on the geography and history of seventh-century India, and his journey inspired the novel Journey to the West.
Before and after
- 628 CEBrahmagupta sets out the rules for zero
- March 628 CETreaty of Hudaybiyyah
- 629 CEConquest of Mecca
- from 629 CE to 1050Arab–Byzantine wars
- from 629 CE to 645 CEXuanzang travels from China to India
- 631 CEOrigins of Islam
- from 632 CE to 633 CERidda Wars
- from June 632 CE to July 661 CERashidun Caliphate
- 8 June 632 CEDeath of Muhammad
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The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes. You can also browse everything in the 7th century.