Lands of Asia layouts (Eng) 26.11.21

part ii | states
Northern Bactria and Southern Sogdia continued to exist for many years following
these events.
Northern, and later Southern Bactria, was occupied by the Yuezhi who migrated
there under pressure from the Huns (Xiongnu). Subsequently, one of the Yuezhi
clans, the Kushans, formed the great Kushan state, and it was the Yuezhi who
prompted the Chinese discovery of the Western Regions, as they referred to Central
Asia at that time.
Diplomatic relations between Inner Asian countries and
China during the Han dynasty (206 BC– 220 AD)
First period (end of the 2nd century BC to the first half of the 1st century AD). From
the time of its establishment, the Han Empire pursued an aggressive, expansionist
policy, striving to extend its reach beyond its small territory between the Huang He
(commonly known as the Yellow River) and Yangtze rivers. This policy was vigorously
pursued under the Emperor Wudi (140–87 BC), who was particularly interested in
the western territories.
Zhang Qian’s mission. The Western Regions, that isCentral Asia and Eastern
Turkestan, are thought to have remained unknown to the Chinese until Zhang Qian’s
journey. However, this does not mean that they were completely unaware of the vast
land inhabited by numerous peoples that existed to the west. There are accounts
suggesting that even before Zhang Qian’s journey, an envoy was sent from the Kangju
region to China.
However, it is also highly likely that active attempts to establish diplomatic
relations with the peoples inhabiting this territory, as well as exploration of the
caravan routes with a view to its colonisation and a further move westwards, were
undertaken only under the Han emperor Wudi (140–87 BC).
The main reason for China’s diplomatic contacts with the Western Regions was
the war that broke out in the first half of the 2nd century BC between the two most
powerful tribes of Inner Asia, the Huns and the Yuezhi – or Tokharians, as they are
referred to in Greek texts. The Yuezhi suffered a terrible defeat and were forced, for
the most part, to move from the territory of present-day Gansu province, where they
originally lived, to the Semirechye region. However, the Huns pursued the Yuezhi
even here and killed their leader, and turned his skull into a lacquered drinking vessel.
The Yuezhi moved to the south of Central Asia, to Bactria, where, along with other
tribes, they contributed to the collapse of the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom. Many years
later their descendants were to create the great Kushan state.
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