In 138 BC the Han emperor Wu sent the officer Zhang Qian west to seek an alliance with the Yuezhi against the Xiongnu. Captured and held by the Xiongnu for ten years, he escaped and reached the Ferghana valley and Bactria, and came home in 126 BC with reports of great cities, fine horses and trade goods in Central Asia. His accounts led China to send embassies and armies westward and to set up the trade routes later called the Silk Road, which carried silk, spices, ideas and diseases between China, India, Persia and Rome for 1,500 years.
Before and after
- from 146 BCE to 330 CERoman Greece
- 145 BCEBirth of Sima Qian
- 141 BCEPaper
- 2nd century BCEVenus de Milo
- 139 BCEZhang Qian's mission opens the Silk Road
- 134 BCETiberius Gracchus is murdered and the Republic enters its crisis
- c. 131 BCEHipparchus discovers the precession of the equinoxes
- from 111 BCE to 105 BCEJugurthine War
- 3 January 106 BCEBirth of Cicero
More in Exploration & discovery
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- 1021Vikings are at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland
- 6 September 1522Magellan's expedition completes the first circumnavigation
- 14 December 1911Amundsen reaches the South Pole
- 24 December 1968Apollo 8 orbits the Moon and photographs Earthrise
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 2nd century BCE.