Did Ancient Rome and China Know About Each Other? (Short Animated Documentary)

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  • Опубликовано: 8 июн 2024
  • Did Ancient Rome or Ancient (Han) China know about each other? Did these two empires communicate, did they trade and what did they think of each other? Find out in this short and simple animated history documentary.
    Twitter: / tenminhistory
    Patreon: www.patreon.com/user?u=4973164
    Merch: teespring.com/stores/history-...
    Special Thanks to the following Patrons for their support on Patreon:
    Alen
    Kevin Sanders
    Chris Fatta
    Richard Wolfe
    Stefan Møller
    Ian Jensen
    D. Mahlik
    anon
    sharpie660
    Andrew Niedbala
    Qi Xiao
    Wolf
    Ariadni Voulgari
    John Garcia
    Mitchell Wildoer
    Paul McGee
    Nathan Perlman
    Bernardo Santos
    Christopher Godfrey
    Perry Gagne
    Shaun Pullin
    Danny Ansteht
    James Castañeda
    Sam
    Chris Hall
    August Block
    Henry Rabung
    Joooooshhhhh
    Magdalena Reinberg-Leibel
    Vesko Dinev
    Yasin Ayas
    Troy Schmidt
    Mitchell Watene
    hamid kadiwala
    Blake Dryad
    Adam Barrett
    I’m Not In The Description
    Lachlan
    Haydn Noble
    FuzzytheFair
    Liam Gilleece
    Byzans_Scotorius
    Jeffrey Schneider
    Sources:
    Ruler of the Treasure Country : the Image of the Roman Empire in Chinese Society from the First to the Fourth Century AD by Lin Yang
    Provincializing Rome: The Indian Ocean Trade Network and Roman Imperialism by Matthew P. Fitzpatrick

Комментарии • 3,6 тыс.

  • @lonelychameleon3595
    @lonelychameleon3595 4 года назад +14873

    China: "I want to be friends with Rome"
    Persia: "No, you don't"

    • @someguy3766
      @someguy3766 4 года назад +1147

      Also Persia: "I'll be honest, it's in my interest for you not to team up with them, but I'm also being honest here. These guys are hell-bent on conquest and the only thing they know about you is that you are another nation for them to invade and subjugate. Trust me dude... just walk away. You have no idea what I've been through."

    • @sandrojones8068
      @sandrojones8068 4 года назад +374

      Persia being a jerk.
      Wanted the beautiful Rome as his gf only.

    • @SteveGamesFTW
      @SteveGamesFTW 4 года назад +377

      @@sandrojones8068 more like Persia wanted the beautiful Greece (before Roman conquest) to be his gf, but then she got snatched up my Rome.

    • @GreenStorm01
      @GreenStorm01 4 года назад +12

      @Lt Fuckwit 539 BCE - 2020.

    • @Leonardo-or1ll
      @Leonardo-or1ll 4 года назад +15

      Lt Fuckwit Funny because we say the same in the West about the Byzantines

  • @Twigs1836
    @Twigs1836 4 года назад +13024

    *Rome:* "I will salt the earth upon which your disgusting lesser kingdom stands."
    *China:* "I think you're cute too."

  • @aspenlovelock8115
    @aspenlovelock8115 4 года назад +15163

    China: oh my god rome is so great
    Rome: oh my god I am so great

    • @TheEarlsRenegade
      @TheEarlsRenegade 4 года назад +510

      Basically, look who fell first.

    • @connorh2215
      @connorh2215 3 года назад +894

      The Earls Renegade China did, the Han dynasty formally fell in 220 and the Roman Empire ended in 1453

    • @shengzhang4190
      @shengzhang4190 3 года назад +467

      @@connorh2215 Han dynasty is only one of the dynasties that China empire had. Just like Roman empire had a lot of dynasties as well.

    • @kousvetkousvet4158
      @kousvetkousvet4158 3 года назад +589

      @@shengzhang4190 but rome's dynastys weren't that important, in China a simple trancission cost the lives of 25 million people.

    • @connorh2215
      @connorh2215 3 года назад +498

      Sheng Zhang China’s dynasties were basically new countries each time one changed as most of the time when the dynasties ended the country was fractured until a new power managed to come back and re unite the country, imagine if America fell apart every time the party changed and each time a new state reformed America

  • @michaelh13
    @michaelh13 3 года назад +8536

    China: "If I were not China, I would want to be Rome"
    Rome: "If I were not Rome, I'd also want to be Rome"

    • @zkistiazx2365
      @zkistiazx2365 3 года назад +159

      Nice reference

    • @gamechanger8908
      @gamechanger8908 2 года назад +248

      Nice Alexander and Diogenes reference

    • @michaelh13
      @michaelh13 2 года назад +34

      @@eterntsin6415 It wasn't Rome itself, but Roman merchants

    • @michaelh13
      @michaelh13 2 года назад +112

      @@eterntsin6415 The mentality of "Anyone not Roman is a barbarian who should be conquered" was a mindset adopted by the Roman aristocracy and political class, not merchants

    • @Aurora-cx3fe
      @Aurora-cx3fe 2 года назад +76

      @@eterntsin6415 they knew that Chinese were not barbarian I believe they just wanted to underestimate China to make themselves better

  • @battleverdun1914
    @battleverdun1914 4 года назад +10851

    A lot of people don’t know but back in Rome a lot of products had “made in Serica” back then

  • @leeeeedle1844
    @leeeeedle1844 4 года назад +10737

    China: ah, my western equal. im a big fan of yo-
    Rome: *barf*

    • @edgelord8337
      @edgelord8337 4 года назад +486

      Just like how britain viewed china.

    • @isnitjustkit
      @isnitjustkit 4 года назад +308

      edge lord Or how everyone viewed China as it seems

    • @HVLLOWS1999
      @HVLLOWS1999 4 года назад +516

      By the Ming dynasty China viewed the hole world as inferior to them, because they had their fat empire back and they were filthy rich.

    • @edgelord8337
      @edgelord8337 4 года назад +64

      @@HVLLOWS1999 china still is rich but not as powerful or big as they were before.

    • @edgelord8337
      @edgelord8337 4 года назад +57

      @@isnitjustkit actually japan, korea, and indo china bowed to them at one point.
      Vietnam never was conquered.

  • @hexa3389
    @hexa3389 3 года назад +2670

    I love how the Chinese broke out of the stereotype and admired Rome while the Roman's were like "not 100% Trojan descendant stoic conqueror? Sounds like a barbarian to me"

    • @sushidope1701
      @sushidope1701 2 года назад +13

      I do believe the Romans considered themselves both Trojan and Latin, because Aeneus CHADUS MAXIMUS married a Latin girl, not a Trojan women. Remember, Dovahhaty’s Unbiased History isn’t 100% historically accurate 😂

    • @hexa3389
      @hexa3389 2 года назад +68

      @@sushidope1701 I'm exaggerating for comedic effect. Although it clearly didn't work if you took it so literally.

    • @sushidope1701
      @sushidope1701 2 года назад +7

      @@hexa3389 It’s not really about that, I just said that so any people passing by your comment knew the reality and also to call you out on watching dovahhatty cuz I saw one of your comments in one of his videos about germanics restarting the Roman empire when they were the ones who killed it off. I thought it was funny

    • @hexa3389
      @hexa3389 2 года назад +34

      @@sushidope1701 And? His videos are entertaining and I watch them for entertainment. And when you're discussing fiction you are not dealing with history, but fiction. So in this context saying something that is historically invalid is ok as you're not talking about history, you're talking about fiction. Why people fail to understand this is beyond me.
      Again, what I said was exaggerated in purpose of comedy, it was not a historically valid statement in purpose of education.

    • @sushidope1701
      @sushidope1701 2 года назад +19

      @@hexa3389 bruh, why are you being defensive to start with tbh

  • @NegativeAsmolav
    @NegativeAsmolav 3 года назад +770

    China: *Sends Friend Request to Rome*
    Server: *You can’t send Friend Request Right now. There are Persians near by.*
    China: *Resends*
    Rome: no

    • @cookieblue7797
      @cookieblue7797 3 года назад +4

      Hhahahahaha, hahahahaha, Looks like whity made up history again.
      First: Roman was not white, so don’t boast about Rome makes yourself hap, and using full time Roma map vs founding of Han dynasty map? Yo man, before your Jesus was born, Xinjiang was already the territory of China. China was much bigger than this. Do your research first please or you did it on purpose?
      China conquered Hun, Hun ran to the west, conquered German, then German conquered western Roma.
      China conquered Turks, Turks ran to west, then Turk conquered eastern Roma.
      So ya, to be honest, China had a lot of things to do, China didn’t pay much attention on Roma, they only knew some stupid country in the western was begging for some silks and ect ect.
      Second: China calls Roma , only becuz Persia called Roma : Dasnia, by transliteration, it became daqin, it nothing about Roma is great.
      Third: China always sees herself is the center of the world , everyone as barbarian, including Roma and whatever it is.
      4th: About trade, China only knew some stupid country in the west was always crying for cheap silk here, it was the roman who kept wanting to trade with china, not China, please. Roma lost tons of gold to the eastern only because they want silk by itself, and most of gold were took by Persians.
      In the end, I want to say
      China conquered Hun, Hun ran to west, conquered German, then German ended western Roma.
      China conquered Turks, Turks ran to west, then Turk ended eastern Roma.
      China was sorry ended your western civilization, and force you went into dark mid age.

    • @NegativeAsmolav
      @NegativeAsmolav 3 года назад +29

      @@cookieblue7797 what are you talking about.. i just said that rome is not interested in china and that the persians dont want the two to be friends ._.

    • @skeletonjanitor
      @skeletonjanitor 3 года назад +11

      @@cookieblue7797 bait

    • @kramcherryp197
      @kramcherryp197 2 года назад +11

      @@cookieblue7797 Ok I think it's time to go to bed

    • @robertevbayekha6639
      @robertevbayekha6639 2 года назад +5

      @@cookieblue7797 ofc the hun is the past is the same hun now back then

  • @clonetrooper730
    @clonetrooper730 4 года назад +11601

    Imagine a reality where Rome and China endured over the centuries and eventually did meet closer in central Asia.

    • @someguy3766
      @someguy3766 4 года назад +1317

      I'm imagining that reality, and at some point in that reality war were declared.

    • @ThreeMinuteHistory
      @ThreeMinuteHistory 4 года назад +1369

      An ancient cold war, brewing for centuries

    • @CCPJAYLPHAN1994
      @CCPJAYLPHAN1994 4 года назад +426

      You mean like China still exist, but not Rome. Yea we Chin outlasted the Rome, the Communist party effectively rule as another dynasty

    • @JasonDoe1000
      @JasonDoe1000 4 года назад +725

      @@CCPJAYLPHAN1994 Your chinese empire ended when the Mongols took over
      And at the times the mongols took over the Roman Empire was still a thing and most importantly distinctly Roman and not a foreign ruled nation

    • @ravenlord4
      @ravenlord4 4 года назад +47

      Or in the middle of the Americas.

  • @thehoosher9322
    @thehoosher9322 4 года назад +4627

    Why does this guy always know what questions I have?

    • @Cnut_the_grape
      @Cnut_the_grape 4 года назад +30

      Totally not spies

    • @illiteratethug3305
      @illiteratethug3305 4 года назад +11

      Yes, milk, 2 sugars, thanks for asking mate :)

    • @andrei1637
      @andrei1637 4 года назад +6

      Invicta has a good video about this. And Voices of the Past if you want more

    • @Spongebrain97
      @Spongebrain97 4 года назад +8

      Next video idea: what did the american general public think about hitler prior to ww2?

    • @AnnedolfFrankler911
      @AnnedolfFrankler911 4 года назад +10

      He knows your porn search history.

  • @urphakeandgey6308
    @urphakeandgey6308 2 года назад +468

    Interesting tangential fact: An ancient Roman coin depicting Constantine was found in Katsuren Castle in Okinawa, Japan. The first Ancient Roman artifact to ever be found in Japan, though it's good to note that at the time, Okinawa would've been the Ryukyu Kingdom and much more closely aligned with China.

    • @SuperLol
      @SuperLol 2 года назад +25

      but are we sure it was brouoght to Japan during that time tho? or later or much later like by collectors and such. 🤨

    • @flavio0004
      @flavio0004 2 года назад +12

      @@SuperLol its fun to think its ancient

    • @SuperLol
      @SuperLol 2 года назад +18

      @@flavio0004 yeah that's fair. apparently they found traces of judaism in Japan too like there are myths and religious books that resemble some tribes that went missing during their pilgrimage from egypt to isreal, if i recall correctly. And also some god that look exactly the same from Mesopotamia to south America. It's crazy to think the word might have intra-connections far before marco polo and colombus.

    • @RasheedKhan-he6xx
      @RasheedKhan-he6xx 10 месяцев назад +2

      The coin could have arrived there much later. Like fallen out of tourist's fanny pack in 1984.

    • @KingJohnMichael
      @KingJohnMichael 10 месяцев назад +4

      This comment section is truly stupid

  • @pagaun
    @pagaun 3 года назад +653

    China: Finally! A worthy opponent, our battle will be legendary!
    Rome: Omg another barbarian tribe

    • @cookieblue7797
      @cookieblue7797 3 года назад +8

      Hhahahahaha, hahahahaha, Looks like whity made up history again.
      First: Roman was not white, so don’t boast about Rome makes yourself hap, and using full time Roma map vs founding of Han dynasty map? Yo man, before your Jesus was born, Xinjiang was already the territory of China. China was much bigger than this. Do your research first please or you did it on purpose?
      China conquered Hun, Hun ran to the west, conquered German, then German conquered western Roma.
      China conquered Turks, Turks ran to west, then Turk conquered eastern Roma.
      So ya, to be honest, China had a lot of things to do, China didn’t pay much attention on Roma, they only knew some stupid country in the western was begging for some silks and ect ect.
      Second: China calls Roma , only becuz Persia called Roma : Dasnia, by transliteration, it became daqin, it nothing about Roma is great.
      Third: China always sees herself is the center of the world , everyone as barbarian, including Roma and whatever it is.
      4th: About trade, China only knew some stupid country in the west was always crying for cheap silk here, it was the roman who kept wanting to trade with china, not China, please. Roma lost tons of gold to the eastern only because they want silk by itself, and most of gold were took by Persians.
      In the end, I want to say
      China conquered Hun, Hun ran to west, conquered German, then German ended western Roma.
      China conquered Turks, Turks ran to west, then Turk ended eastern Roma.
      China was sorry ended your western civilization, and force you went into dark mid age.

    • @cookieblue7797
      @cookieblue7797 3 года назад +19

      LMFAO I see boonch of British are very hap and don’t realize that they were the real bar /barian/s to the Rome XD

    • @jackal25301
      @jackal25301 3 года назад +9

      rome wasn't white read your facts germanic brbr

    • @jinvonastrea1141
      @jinvonastrea1141 2 года назад +12

      @@cookieblue7797 i cant find the brit comment u were replying too.

    • @nutterinherbutter5080
      @nutterinherbutter5080 2 года назад +9

      @@cookieblue7797 you need to stop getting off your meds, you are speaking in tongues

  • @catavar9921
    @catavar9921 4 года назад +8123

    So in the end, the Han remained Solo?

  • @xaviersaavedra7442
    @xaviersaavedra7442 4 года назад +3882

    “Many believe it was Rome fate to conquer China”
    Third & Fourth Rome: Soon.

    • @GaysianAmerican
      @GaysianAmerican 4 года назад +141

      and yet, only one is left standing.

    • @toreq1127
      @toreq1127 4 года назад +167

      ahh can`t wait for fiFtH aND sIxTh rOmE

    • @atruv2089
      @atruv2089 4 года назад +269

      @@GaysianAmerican Well, Rome's legacy via it's culture, architecture, art & sciences, and writing system (which China uses before teaching children Hanzi), still survives, and though Rome itself as a country is no more, it's successor states here and doing well, and China itself has adopted many things from Rome's successors, like science and modern architecture, political ideas and art. And honestly, China itself is nothing but a successor state as well. The Han Dynasty is long gone, like Rome, but its legacy lives on, like Rome.

    • @rubycooly962
      @rubycooly962 4 года назад +27

      @Baldur no Moscow has the best claim

    • @AlexisPerez-yy7dk
      @AlexisPerez-yy7dk 4 года назад +22

      Who's the fourth rome?

  • @sabre7212
    @sabre7212 3 года назад +67

    China: I love you!
    Rome: I love myself too

  • @aporifera
    @aporifera 3 года назад +382

    China might've had more indirect influence on Rome than this video suggests. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han (no he had nothing to do with the city of Wuhan), the Han Dynasty defeated the people of Xiongnu, as the Chinese called them. As a result, Southern Xiongnu submitted to his reign while Northern Xiongnu pushed West, away from Han, taking over numerous cities in Central Asia. It is speculated that the Xiongnu are likely the same people as the Huns from studies on the timeline of migration and genetic continuity (which is why in Mulan, they directly translated Xiongnu to Huns, the name Westerners are more familiar with). The Huns did not have a central government but raided European cities, including Roman cities, for loot, which may have stimulated the Great Migration that contributed to the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

    • @bugraegebaydar9409
      @bugraegebaydar9409 2 года назад +29

      Mulan epic is originally about the war against the Rouran Khaganate if I'm not mistaken. The animation just changed it into the Huns as it's better known in the west

    • @nkl7345
      @nkl7345 2 года назад +22

      Apparently ancient Chinese pronunciation of xiongnu is more like Hong-nu soooooooo the Huns bounced off China and wreaked havoc on Europe ouch

    • @SuperLol
      @SuperLol 2 года назад +16

      yeah i studied ancient history in italian schools. I learned that Huns were one of the direct reasons for the fall of Western Acient Rome. They were fast on horse and pushed ostrogoths and visigoths west into Rome's territory. They invaded all the way to river of Po (close to Milan), and while residing there they drank infected river water and most likely decimated due to disease spread among warriors. It's unknown if any of them ever remained alive but they were very close but not close enough to reach Rome. Visigoths invaded Rome (Sack of Rome) not long after tho and Rome was pretty much officially done for.

    • @VisualdelightPro
      @VisualdelightPro Год назад +3

      @@bugraegebaydar9409 the ballad of mulan. The Xianbeis are steppe Nomad kingdom.

    • @abbyalphonse499
      @abbyalphonse499 Год назад

      There were non-roman european cities?

  • @jesseberg3271
    @jesseberg3271 4 года назад +4375

    It's hard for us today to understand how short in distance each segment of the silk road could be. Caravans would move goods between cities, rarely more than a few hundred kilometers apart, then sell them to intermediaries and turn back. Therefore, even most merchants never saw much of the Silk Road. As a result, what Rome and China knew about each other was mostly hearsay, passed through dozens of hands and many translations before arriving. The few people, if any, who actually managed to travel the whole route in a single lifetime would have had only their word to go against whatever rumors were prevalent at the time.

    • @michaelweston409
      @michaelweston409 4 года назад +426

      Best overall explanation yet. This is it. The higher officials in both empires knew the best information available. They knew that vast empires existed on opposite ends of the silk route.

    • @ernstschmidt4725
      @ernstschmidt4725 4 года назад +25

      so... it's like aliens?

    • @jesseberg3271
      @jesseberg3271 4 года назад +345

      @@ernstschmidt4725 If aliens are real, and if we occasionally receive signals from them... then maybe?
      It's more like the brother of some guy your sister dated for awhile back in college. You've never met either the boyfriend or his brother, and your sister went to school in another state, they broke up after 6 months and you never connected with any of them on Facebook. You know he exists, and you think he's an accountant, or maybe a guitarist? You're not sure, but you know someone who knows someone who knows him.

    • @stijndelie1458
      @stijndelie1458 4 года назад +89

      That was such an interesting explanation. Must have been like a mystical obscure far away land...

    • @someguy3766
      @someguy3766 4 года назад +136

      The goods traded themselves would also provide information. Artwork for example, even simple things like pottery or glassware decorated with Roman/Chinese people, symbols and language, gives some insight into the world these items came from. It's not the same as travelling to these lands but it can help you paint a picture of their architecture, their clothing, their faiths, their physical traits etc.

  • @APineTree
    @APineTree 4 года назад +4004

    The one time in history I can think of China considering somebody equal, and they don't get the same respect back. Harsh.

    • @michaelweston409
      @michaelweston409 4 года назад +118

      mPky1 a war between both would have been a stalemate & immensely destructive

    • @josephstahl9119
      @josephstahl9119 4 года назад +379

      @@michaelweston409 Actually not really. While the Romans might have had an arguable technological advantage the Han could Soviet Union Meme right over them metaphorically and literally.*

    • @eleethtahgra7182
      @eleethtahgra7182 4 года назад +41

      Thats how they would treat...diplomatic relation. Good face, good smiles. Unless the said country turn out to be in conflict with china.

    • @eleethtahgra7182
      @eleethtahgra7182 4 года назад +35

      @@michaelweston409
      Lets say no side copy tech from the other, only adapt their strategy.
      So, the reason would be Arrows n cavalry.
      With rome, their infantry is their backbone while their cavalry is a support. Archer isnt much.
      With china, infantry the majority, cavalry is the elite, lots of archer. And they got stirrup too for their cav.
      So, rome would bombard china with long range artillery, china would swamp over roman cavalry and harass the flank with their horse archer.
      At any rate, rome got artillery units while china got better cavalry n archer.
      BUt yeah, rome was larger. Too bad it fell apart.

    • @michaelweston409
      @michaelweston409 4 года назад +95

      Eleeth Tahgra I think Rome would have a advantage when it came to their walls. Romans had great engineering ability & could construct large unpregnible city walls that no invader could get past until the advent of gunpowder. The Chinese had superior archers. The Chinese had repeating hand held crossbows which they armed over a 100,000 of their own archers with. The repeating crossbow could fire almost like a mideval machine gun. They would darken the sky with arrows until no Roman was left.

  • @calng1100
    @calng1100 2 года назад +250

    The Han Empire called the Roman Empire "Daqin" which actually referred to the last Chinese Dynasty Qin. Qin is the first unified empire that illustrated the current-day Chinese border, but eventually was overthrown because of the bloody ruling style. Han succeeded Qin, and seeing the greatness of the Romans, they named it "Daqin" since it was as great as the last dynasty.

    • @Aceshot-uu7yx
      @Aceshot-uu7yx 2 года назад +2

      Actually the han dynasty happened after three other dynasties known as the Shang, song and the one that built the terracotta soldiers.

    • @mypasswordisuod7f1kwjrvzx32
      @mypasswordisuod7f1kwjrvzx32 2 года назад +10

      @@Aceshot-uu7yx but they aren’t unified empires, which op mentioned above

    • @Aceshot-uu7yx
      @Aceshot-uu7yx 2 года назад +1

      @@mypasswordisuod7f1kwjrvzx32 actually to be a ruling dynasty they were united as china's boarders have changed significantly over the ages. They are still dynasties of power but using united as a dying characteristic would be wrong.
      The Qin were the great dynasty which they modeled themselves on so calling the intermediate dynasties between them an less important just because they lacked land would be ridiculous.

    • @Schizz76
      @Schizz76 10 месяцев назад +2

      @@Aceshot-uu7yx Its the (likely mythical) Xia, then Shang, the Zhou, then Qin. Only the Qin unified what is no called China proper (so not tibet or sinkiang), therefore is called the "First Chinese Empire".

  • @jordanscherr6699
    @jordanscherr6699 Год назад +226

    This actually speaks a lot for how the "known world" was defined by the barrier of great distances. Communication of any kind was difficult at best. So with the two empires a world away, and most middle-men NOT wanting Rome involved, it was unlikely they'd ever have relations besides adventurous traders.

    • @mosswine5417
      @mosswine5417 Год назад +5

      I can imagine it was like another planet during these times. How do people come in to be able to communicate and come up with translation in the first place?

    • @jordanscherr6699
      @jordanscherr6699 Год назад

      @@mosswine5417 well, "other languages" would not have been an unheard of concept. One as different as Chinese would have been a VERY special case though. But we're talking the best linguists on both sides establishing some form of interpreters, probably more among the Chinese than the glass-house Romans.

    • @pdruiz2005
      @pdruiz2005 10 месяцев назад +1

      The Parthian Empire had had long and bloody wars with Rome. Thus the Parthians (i.e. Persians) were not too keen on anyone making alliances with Rome. This random envoy from Han China alarmed them, so Parthian authorities sought to confuse him enough to send him back to China. I bet this Chinese envoy would've made it all the way to Rome if the Parthian Empire hadn't existed to "poison the well" so to speak...

    • @beamazed1162
      @beamazed1162 10 месяцев назад

      @@pdruiz2005 It is completely fake. If you can calm down and look at the archaeological process of China and Italy, the comparison of cultural relics will show how big your lie is. Ancient Rome had no civilization, it was forged later

  • @trantor2135
    @trantor2135 4 года назад +1950

    *Chinese diplomat:* so hey about Rome how about I g-
    *Persia:* _no_

    • @terrypennington2519
      @terrypennington2519 4 года назад +146

      *Persia:* Believe me dude, it's for your own good that you don't go to Rome...

    • @muntadar1655
      @muntadar1655 4 года назад +2

      @@biliminsrlar5752 wait you guys actually fought persia? I thought the byzantines were greek

    • @supernt7852
      @supernt7852 3 года назад +9

      @Bilimin Sırları Turks evolves into Ottoman Empire: *Sieges Constantinople, Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) falls, Roman civilization ends*
      Turks looking at Romans, Persians and the Chinese: Ya'll are cute

    • @yourboss001
      @yourboss001 3 года назад +2

      @@biliminsrlar5752 Keyboard master?

    • @mirzahamzabaig5667
      @mirzahamzabaig5667 3 года назад +3

      @@supernt7852
      Also Turks: *Takes over South Asia and form Mughal empire and form timirud empire in middle..*

  • @Corium1
    @Corium1 4 года назад +1808

    China: Rome is an empire equal to our own, in both riches and land!
    Rome: Ew, foreigner!

    • @eyyze
      @eyyze 4 года назад +24

      @Andrew Smith I mean, Rome is still better than China will ever be.

    • @FutureMan420Blazer
      @FutureMan420Blazer 4 года назад +39

      @Andrew SmithYou cant make those conclusions. The political rule of china was overthrown, conquered and transformed many times. As others has said its not the same state that survived to today. Its just the name of the country still in use. Its like saying the ottomans still lives because there is a Turkey. Or France and the franks...

    • @girlgarde
      @girlgarde 4 года назад +15

      @Andrew Smith True but Rome heavily influenced the peoples that they ruled over so even after Rome's fall, their cultures bore their influence plus they revered the memory of Rome and sought to be like them and they'd go on to become strong nations that formed great empires that outdid all non-European nations.
      Today, Western civilization can be regarded as the heir to Rome and has achieved a level of dominance over the world that the Romans could only have dreamed of.
      Of course, China's continued survival through numerous dynasties and times of upheaval is remarkable and once again, China is one of the world's major powers despite its problems and crappy government. It's odd though that despite everything that's happened since the time of Rome, we end up with China and the West as two opposing powers facing off against each other and having poor relations.

    • @klol3369
      @klol3369 4 года назад +6

      Andrew Smith actually the nation itself is not the same as the China of old, you could argue that the culture is the same, but that’s just like the Roman Empire, all of Western Europe is it’s descendants, so ask yourself, staying a National identity for thousands of years, or an entire continents national identity coming from Rome, and technically Rome still exists as Italy anyways

    • @stevej1235
      @stevej1235 4 года назад +6

      @@klol3369 yes, you can say that Rome still alive in Italy, but today Rome is much much weaker than his ancient era, while China is much much powerful than before included territory is much extended, try to compare to Rome, that is the main difference

  • @branc2658
    @branc2658 3 года назад +61

    As an Italian I can say that the word Serica also in today's Italian means "made with silk" , and this is because the Chinese people were called "Seri" by the Romans

  • @palestallion_tm
    @palestallion_tm Год назад +19

    China: "I respect your culture."
    Rome: "I respect my culture too."

  • @aksjhdbaksjhdbNotASpam
    @aksjhdbaksjhdbNotASpam 4 года назад +650

    China: I think about you a lot

    • @jimmyryan5880
      @jimmyryan5880 4 года назад +27

      Ireland: Quite down over there

    • @tauempire1793
      @tauempire1793 4 года назад +27

      Kingdom of Ghana: yo you guys want some good shit?

    • @fristnamelastname5549
      @fristnamelastname5549 4 года назад +49

      Correction!
      China: I think about you alot!
      Rome: I think about ravaging your land, and salting your fields. Killing your elderly, and taking your valuables. I think about conquering your land, and enslaving your women! I will conquer you. Like how I conquered the Carthagens, the Celts, and the natives of the Bulgarians! That is what I THINK ABOUT!
      China: You sound so cute.

    • @Dou_Y
      @Dou_Y 4 года назад +7

      why you westerners think China was thinking about you ? That's disgusting .

    • @stevej1235
      @stevej1235 4 года назад +10

      @Julio Argentino Roca well, history proved itself, arrogant Rome eliminated while China still thriving

  • @galiciangladiator5857
    @galiciangladiator5857 4 года назад +1285

    History Matters: Answering the questions we didn't know we were asking

    • @LucidFL
      @LucidFL 4 года назад +6

      This is a common question

    • @shibavekreal
      @shibavekreal 4 года назад +2

      Professor Shibe up shut

    • @biliminsrlar5752
      @biliminsrlar5752 4 года назад +2

      I was wondering this lol.

    • @Cjnw
      @Cjnw 3 года назад

      James Bissonette has entered the chat

    • @calebcorrea7556
      @calebcorrea7556 3 года назад

      I have wonder it before

  • @trlacr1781
    @trlacr1781 4 года назад +382

    China: Wow Rome you are so impressive! We admire you!
    Rome: Cringe barbarian

  • @cryingcatgoesbark310
    @cryingcatgoesbark310 3 года назад +94

    China: “hey Rome wanna be frie-“
    Persia: “don’t worry Rome everything is fine!”

  • @NewNicator
    @NewNicator 4 года назад +1642

    'Did the Romans ever meet the Chinese? Or any far eastern peoples?'
    "They were aware of each other, like you are aware that the clothes you are wearing right now were made in some East Asian shithole. But since it's so far away, you don't really give much of a shit. That was the general vibe." - Dovahhatty

    • @AlexanderDiviFilius
      @AlexanderDiviFilius 4 года назад +163

      Ah yes, Dovahhatty, my favourite unbiased RUclips historian

    • @NewNicator
      @NewNicator 4 года назад +10

      @@AlexanderDiviFilius
      :)

    • @felps1917
      @felps1917 4 года назад +20

      Ahhh I see you are a person with patrician taste as well

    • @matchlockashigaru9755
      @matchlockashigaru9755 4 года назад +76

      Aggressive Tubesock low iq bait

    • @jeffreythezeldafan
      @jeffreythezeldafan 4 года назад +12

      Aggressive Tubesock I’m sure he’s very concerned what you think of him

  • @UwU-xk5cx
    @UwU-xk5cx 4 года назад +2613

    A "did the aztecs and incas know about each other?" Would be pretty cool

    • @marlonmoncrieffe0728
      @marlonmoncrieffe0728 4 года назад +79

      No, they did not know of each other.

    • @michaelweston409
      @michaelweston409 4 года назад +265

      Yes they did. They traded frequently.

    • @fantasia55
      @fantasia55 4 года назад +64

      Michael Weston I've read they did not trade with each other - chiles in Peru and no potatoes in Mexico, for example.

    • @gog_magpie
      @gog_magpie 4 года назад +143

      There weren't any kingdom between both to trade and the juggles were very hard to travel

    • @saxorex7972
      @saxorex7972 4 года назад +6

      Yes they did and trade among the two regions was common if not direct.

  • @567secret
    @567secret 3 года назад +40

    1:55 Imagine being most of the way to the Roman Empire only to be convinced to turn around after years of travel.

    • @richtersundeen6105
      @richtersundeen6105 3 года назад +16

      It's even worse than the video makes it out. The Persians told him it'd be another 3 years travel to get to Rome.
      It was actually just a few more months to get to Antioch, where you could just take one of the regularly-departing boats to Rome.

    • @ttq3661
      @ttq3661 Год назад

      @@richtersundeen6105 Sneaky Parthians

  • @dmdrosselmeyer
    @dmdrosselmeyer 2 года назад +43

    I love the idea of people in Rome believing it was their destiny to one day conquer "Serica". The collapse of civilization very often seems unthinkable to those who live within it, and depending on the time period there would be no reason to assume that society would become more fragmented and less unified over time. It's a glimpse into ancient thinking, kind of like that story about the Gaulish envoys telling Alexander that the thing they feared most was the sky falling on top of them. It's charming in a grotesque way lol

    • @sarasamaletdin4574
      @sarasamaletdin4574 2 месяца назад

      Romans actually did believe in collapse of civilisations and that eventually all would fall. That’s why to them it was their destiny to conquer Serica. It’s the destiny of all empires eventually to fall (and they would fall by conquests and not complex economic reasons). And so then would be only be natural that only strongest empire of the would be able to defeat the second strongest one in the East. And Rome was the strongest! They didn’t assume they could fall if there was not much stronger empire around to defeat them directly. Although fracturing of empire in many civil wars was a concern.

  • @star_lord1431
    @star_lord1431 4 года назад +455

    China: Hey how are you doing
    Rome: S E R I C A D E L E N D A E S T

    • @marcus4046
      @marcus4046 4 года назад +31

      Someone has been watching to much dovahatty

    • @noodlecoffee193
      @noodlecoffee193 3 года назад +14

      Is that a bad thing?

    • @satch5471
      @satch5471 3 года назад +15

      @@noodlecoffee193 if you dislike humor, yes.

    • @tritium1998
      @tritium1998 3 года назад +4

      And then the Roman empire got deleted.

    • @insaneweasel1
      @insaneweasel1 3 года назад

      @@marcus4046 *angry Han noises*

  • @gododoof
    @gododoof 4 года назад +845

    I love stuff like this. The Indo Greeks existed at the same time and the Chinese were trying to open up relations with them too.

    • @gododoof
      @gododoof 4 года назад +35

      @Somali Kid Hell yeah. Such underrated Kingdoms.

    • @-haclong2366
      @-haclong2366 4 года назад +48

      Ah, yeah, Da-Yuan (Great(er) Ionia) actually was conquered by the Chinese, because they liked their horses, these horses were the only thing that could actively fight against the Xiongnu.

    • @gododoof
      @gododoof 4 года назад +6

      @@-haclong2366 I thought the Greco Bactrians were known as Daxians, and were conquered by the Yuezhi.

    • @lukas.prochazka
      @lukas.prochazka 4 года назад +10

      Everybody needs some heavenly horses

    • @Gorboduc
      @Gorboduc 4 года назад +15

      Pour one out for the Greco-Buddhists.

  • @taopilot2669
    @taopilot2669 3 года назад +289

    Both empires also considered themselves to be the center of the world, showed by naming conventions. Mediterranean means middle of the earth, and 中国, or ZhongGuo, means middle kingdom.

    • @sharon_ng
      @sharon_ng 2 года назад +10

      Actually, 中國 is the shorthand form for 中華人民共和國,which means People's Republic of China. The name 中國 wasn't invented until 1911 when Republic of China was established.

    • @DieFlabbergast
      @DieFlabbergast 2 года назад +13

      Werrll ... Mediterranean DOES sort of mean "in the middle of the Earth," but Many other peoples lived along its shores, not just the Romans. The sea got its Latin name very early on, long before the Roman Empire came into existence, and if it belonged to anyone, it would have been the Greeks and the Carthaginians. Do you have any more convincing arguments?

    • @davidbernemojar1542
      @davidbernemojar1542 2 года назад +1

      @@DieFlabbergast different nations lived on the shores of the Mediterranean until Rome conquered it, so OP is still kind of correct.

    • @elbpc
      @elbpc 2 года назад +20

      Mediterranean is the name of the SEA that is encircled by land ergo its name. It has nothing to do with being the center of the world

    • @michaelliu8887
      @michaelliu8887 2 года назад +15

      @@sharon_ng Usage of the name 中國 can be dated back very long however it is not used as a name for a country but rather a general term for a region, similar to 中原, which means central plains.

  • @YG-eu4df
    @YG-eu4df 3 года назад +234

    China: "I heard they conquered half of the world, they are the greatest warriors that the world has ever seen"
    Persia: "Rome?"
    China: "So that is their name, "Rome".....Finally! a worthy Opponent! OUR BATLLE WILL BE LEGENDARY!!"
    Rome: "I dont even know who you are"

    • @casparvoncampenhausen5249
      @casparvoncampenhausen5249 3 года назад +18

      Oh, they knew, they just thought they were filthy barbarians

    • @julianscheu8735
      @julianscheu8735 3 года назад +2

      kung fu panda? XD

    • @YG-eu4df
      @YG-eu4df 3 года назад +1

      @@julianscheu8735 FINALLY! A worthy Opponent!

    • @crkcrk702
      @crkcrk702 3 года назад

      @@YG-eu4df you worthily opponent

    • @yjiang750
      @yjiang750 3 года назад +21

      But in the end China defeated the Huns and drove them to the West, and the Huns who fled to the West led to the demise of Rome.

  • @pridelander06
    @pridelander06 4 года назад +364

    Just wait until Britannia finds out about tea.

  • @novaterra973
    @novaterra973 4 года назад +207

    The Chinese were interested in Western wine, btw. There is a record of a man in Eastern Han who managed to become a provincial official after 'gifting' wine to his superior.

    • @takarifan
      @takarifan 4 года назад +3

      Let me guess. Sima Yi?

    • @novaterra973
      @novaterra973 4 года назад +21

      @@takarifan No, his name was Meng Tuo, the superior in question was Zhang Rang, one of the Ten Attendants eunuchs, and the account is from The Book of the Later Han.

  • @alabamaal225
    @alabamaal225 3 года назад +77

    The easternmost extent of the Roman Empire and the westernmost extent of the Han Dynasty were at least 2800 miles apart, straight line distance, and probably more than 3500 miles by the shortest land routes. That means it would probably take a minimum of a full year for a traveler to traverse not only very daunting mountains and deserts, but also be in constant danger of bandits along the way. Not surprising contact between the two empires were slight.

  • @michaelheliotis5279
    @michaelheliotis5279 2 года назад +34

    The video is intended to be short so I woudn't expect it to mention every little detail, but I think I remember learning in one of my classes that despite their unenthusiastic attitude to China, the Romans did briefly consider the possibility of establishing an alliance with them in the hopes that China would attack and distract Persia from the other side and facilitate Roman conquest. Apart from the communication troubles, though, I believe Rome lost interest when rising internal struggles rendered the prospect of conquering Persia much less of a realistic priority.

  • @jonbaxter2254
    @jonbaxter2254 4 года назад +783

    You ever had a one-sided friendship, where one person likes the other a great deal more than they like them?
    yeah this is it but geographically.

    • @adrianatgaming8640
      @adrianatgaming8640 4 года назад +14

      sigh. can relate.

    • @jgr7487
      @jgr7487 4 года назад +15

      and then there's the common frenemy who wants to keep the status quo

    • @oriontigley5089
      @oriontigley5089 4 года назад +16

      It's a long distance repationship too

    • @checkmate1826
      @checkmate1826 3 года назад +6

      Gay

    • @pirouz8042
      @pirouz8042 3 года назад +6

      relatable, these kinds of friendships unfortunately can't last

  • @jwa2y
    @jwa2y 4 года назад +333

    There are a few interesting videos I've seen that are readings of a Chinese scholar's opinions on Rome. You can tell they had lots of respect for the Romans and understood their culture quite well for it being so alien to them.

    • @pasqualesimonelli1513
      @pasqualesimonelli1513 3 года назад +7

      Where can I find this videos?

    • @ABUBBA22
      @ABUBBA22 3 года назад +11

      Romans and Chinese have a lot of similarities in attatudes and some cultural practices. Hell even today doing buisness in modern China is very similar to how the Romans did buisness.

  • @TheeDrGroyper
    @TheeDrGroyper 3 года назад +75

    Ancient China being friendzoned by Ancient Rome is probably the saddest thing I’ll ever hear.

    • @voongnz
      @voongnz 3 года назад +10

      Doesn't make sense since they were trying to be friendzoned but weren't.

    • @KasumiRINA
      @KasumiRINA 3 года назад +5

      In 2nd century China had a war with casualties Europe won't see until World War 2. I don't think they cared about Rome when kidnapping emperors, burning the capital, and starving to cannibalism.

  • @arpit0092
    @arpit0092 2 года назад +13

    China: This guy trades with me and also is an empire, he must be a great empire
    Rome: This guy trades with me and also is an empire, i must be a great empire

  • @mitchellblake1475
    @mitchellblake1475 4 года назад +507

    China called them "Great China" and Rome still hated them. Oh Rome.

    • @michaelweston409
      @michaelweston409 4 года назад +35

      Mitchell Blake basically how white people think

    • @randomname5083
      @randomname5083 4 года назад +206

      @@michaelweston409 Romans hated other white people more than they hated China. (Germanic and Celtic tribes).

    • @brianplum1825
      @brianplum1825 4 года назад +41

      @@randomname5083 The Ancient Romans considered the Germanic tribes barbarians. Now their descendants, the Anglo-Saxons, along with Celtic cohorts like the Welsh and Scots, are running the world and English is the lingua franca that replaced Latin.

    • @kukifitte7357
      @kukifitte7357 4 года назад +67

      @@brianplum1825 then again, english is like 60% latin lol

    • @brianplum1825
      @brianplum1825 4 года назад +24

      @@kukifitte7357 That's dumb as hell if I may be blunt. English belongs in the Germanic language branch while Latin is in the Romance branch. Both belong to the Indo-European family but share nothing close to 60% in neither grammar nor vocabulary.

  • @GiulioImparato
    @GiulioImparato 4 года назад +377

    2:18
    "Hello there"
    *"General Chinobi!!"*

  • @NoName-hg6cc
    @NoName-hg6cc 2 года назад +8

    China: remember those times, Italy?
    Italy: good times. Too bad we didn't get to know each other closely back then!
    Iran, *chuckling in the corner* : too bad

  • @zhiqianwen
    @zhiqianwen 3 года назад +34

    Imagine if they actually started sharing cultures between each other, that'd be so cool

    • @aniime6463
      @aniime6463 3 года назад

      Lol you are everywhere

    • @zhiqianwen
      @zhiqianwen 2 года назад +5

      @@aniime6463 I have no life, that’s why

    • @ronaldmaggay2100
      @ronaldmaggay2100 2 года назад

      ROMAN EMPIRE: NO!

    • @ryanmcclure8868
      @ryanmcclure8868 Год назад

      We’d probably be throwing in some mandarin around with our english right now

    • @varoonnone7159
      @varoonnone7159 10 месяцев назад

      @@ryanmcclure8868
      There probably wouldn't be any english

  • @hildenburg5
    @hildenburg5 4 года назад +88

    Bro, i was just playing Three Kingdoms and saw the Roman Trade upgrade... friggin eerie

  • @Sammie1053
    @Sammie1053 4 года назад +744

    Friend of mine is a huge Asian history buff and speaks a bit of mandarin, he told me a while ago that Daqin meant "Great China" in the same sense as the "Great Wall" i.e. that it's very big. His completely believable and _freaking hilarious_ explanation for this is that Han China, viewing themselves as the center of the known universe, made a habit of referring to other regions/nations as "___ China" with the blank space being filled with whatever adjective most clearly differentiated that region from their own territory. They couldn't pick a geographic descriptor (Rome covered a diverse array of topograpgies and climates over three continents) but they also couldn't call them "rich China" and imply that the Han empire itself was poor, so they went "fuck it, they've got a lot of land, they're BIG China." because size is not necessarily a value judgment.

    • @SuperLol
      @SuperLol 2 года назад +114

      the modern name of China "Zhong Guo" literally means "Central Country", because they believed they were the center of the world. I don't think whoever came up with these names were very original with naming stuff. "As long it sounds important" I guess is their logic lol.

    • @alessandragonzales8190
      @alessandragonzales8190 2 года назад +134

      @@SuperLol To be fair, I think any empire that gets big enough just runs out of names. Just look at the number of places in Canada and America that are basically just named "New [English place]"

    • @SuperLol
      @SuperLol 2 года назад +6

      @@alessandragonzales8190 Nah that's fair. I think it's more depending on how modern people use it, it can get pretentious sometimes. And that is ofc the same with many things in the West too.

    • @rosewong9225
      @rosewong9225 Год назад +44

      That's not true. The Qin Dynasty was the ruling dynasty before Han, and the Han China called themselves Da Han (Great Han). So Da Qin means that Han saw Rome as an equal empire, not a greater one.

    • @bobjones2959
      @bobjones2959 Год назад +19

      That might be possible, but seems unlikely to me. At the time, China referred to itself as "Great Han," while "Qin" was seen as its predecessor state. Even today in Chinese history, the Qin dynasty is seen as hugely important and the root of the Chinese dynastic legacy, so to use "Qin" to refer to Rome would imply at the very least an acknowledgement of Rome as a heritage rivaling that of China.

  • @Fenrisson
    @Fenrisson 2 года назад +3

    I love this channel for being fun and keeping things short.

  • @thedailybellringer
    @thedailybellringer 4 года назад +263

    Interesting comparing these two amazing empires.

    • @edgelord8337
      @edgelord8337 4 года назад +4

      I like the mongol china more.

    • @ls200076
      @ls200076 4 года назад +42

      @@edgelord8337 I like the Mongol Europe better.

    • @davidthewhale7556
      @davidthewhale7556 4 года назад +31

      I like the Mongol galaxy more, oh wait sorry I’m too early

    • @edgelord8337
      @edgelord8337 4 года назад +5

      @@davidthewhale7556 mongol universe is better.

    • @edgelord8337
      @edgelord8337 4 года назад +1

      @@ls200076 lol.

  • @starchington
    @starchington 4 года назад +121

    would love more "what did this historic people know about X" videos

    • @the135joker3
      @the135joker3 4 года назад +26

      Would love more historic Xvideos

    • @theshlauf
      @theshlauf 4 года назад +1

      Check out the channel Voices of the Past

    • @misschauchatcultistbernie2740
      @misschauchatcultistbernie2740 4 года назад

      @@the135joker3 *Hehehehe*

    • @yarpen26
      @yarpen26 4 года назад

      There's just so many huge blank spots in Western historiography that channels like this could easily fill instead of focusing on the well familiar. I mean, fine, we may be getting more and more details of the twentieth century but wouldn't it be a bit cooler to find out at least _something_ about, say, Egypt in the hugeass period spanning between Cleopatra and the British rule? The Mameluk reign over Egypt is something that has no close equivalent in Western history and would make for more than one great video. Or hell, what was happening in the Middle East during the Napoleonic Wars? The Saudis and Wahhabis were trying to take over the entire Arabian peninsula, that's what. Another fantastic topic for discussion.

  • @AdamIqball
    @AdamIqball 2 года назад +6

    So basically Alexander the Great and Diogenes dynamic lmao.
    China: "If I were not China I would want to be Rome."
    Rome: "If I were not Rome I would want to be Rome."

  • @privatebandana
    @privatebandana 3 года назад +23

    So Persia didn't want to become ancient Poland getting sandwished by two superpowers, smart!

    • @ajdarmar
      @ajdarmar Год назад +4

      Back then Persia was a superpower. Roman been fighting them over Armenia and Mesopotamia for 5 centuries.

    • @sarasamaletdin4574
      @sarasamaletdin4574 2 месяца назад

      @ajdarmar
      Apart from the Crisis (and Byzantine era) Rome was the aggressor however

  • @Gala-yp8nx
    @Gala-yp8nx 4 года назад +315

    Now imagine if the Han diplomatic mission had reached Rome.

    • @michaelweston409
      @michaelweston409 4 года назад +93

      Carter Kinoy nothing serious would have happened. Both were separated by so much distance that it didn’t matter. Mountains, deserts, seas.

    • @eleethtahgra7182
      @eleethtahgra7182 4 года назад +109

      Two possibilities.
      1. The persian was right and he would be killed.
      2. The romans was quite sensible that they would exchange some sort of diplomatic contact and thats about it. Gift exchange (we are talking about lots of goods here) and formal visit would be too difficult due to distance and security. I mean the persian would not allow even 100 roman soldiers pass through their border. Same with han's neighbours.

    • @brianplum1825
      @brianplum1825 4 года назад +84

      @@eleethtahgra7182 The Persians and Arabs and Turks wanted to remain the middle men in the lucrative trade between East Asia and Europe. They succeeded for 1500 years and drove Columbus to try sailing west in order to reach Asia.

    • @someguy3766
      @someguy3766 4 года назад +38

      I imagine the Chinese would have showered the Romans with praise and gifts, gasping in awe at everything they saw, weeping tears of joy at the dawn of a great new era of contact between two civilisations of immense power and glory. The Romans, meanwhile, would entertain their guests cordially, but would see their visit as nothing more than an opportunity to gain information about a potentially threatening foreign land. They would try to manipulate them, bribe them, get them drunk, anything to get them talking freely.
      It is quite possible they might simply torture them for information and kill them - I can see the Romans cynically thinking it better they never return home, as then Rome has had the advantage of contact, but not China. China could be idealistic and hopeful, whereas Rome was more pragmatic and ruthless.
      Of course if the Romans knew just how far away China was, and how many tribes, nations and geographical barriers were between them, they would realise China was not a threat and not a practical trade or military partner either, and therefore have little interest in such contact with them aside from the sheer novelty of it.

    • @brianplum1825
      @brianplum1825 4 года назад +17

      @anonymous opinions You're incorrect for the most part. Columbus was neither indifferent nor ignorant of China. It was his goal. South Asia was a destination in addition to China -- not instead of China.

  • @pisse3000
    @pisse3000 4 года назад +34

    I never get tired of the signs they hold up

  • @killer3000ad
    @killer3000ad Год назад +22

    Gan Ying actually got pretty close to the eastern provinces of Rome. Had they just kept heading east a bit more they would have reach it in a few weeks but the Persians, fearing a Rome-Han alliance told Gan it would take many more years to reach Rome in an attempt to dissuade the Han.

  • @Alucard-lp3zk
    @Alucard-lp3zk 3 года назад +5

    Sun Tzu: Be friend with your enemy's neighbor to surround your enemy.
    Han and Rome: copy that

  • @someguy3766
    @someguy3766 4 года назад +107

    China: "Oh cool, another great empire! We should be buddies and take lands from Parthia. :)"
    Rome: "It is your destiny to be but one of our many conquests."
    China: "...not cool, man. I was nice and everything. :("

    • @TheEarlsRenegade
      @TheEarlsRenegade 4 года назад +2

      @Julio Argentino Roca well played, well played.

    • @johnsaunders2109
      @johnsaunders2109 3 года назад

      I doubt it! Rome was never serious in its attempts to conquer Parthia let alone China !!

  • @blackpowderuser373
    @blackpowderuser373 4 года назад +93

    China: Hey Rome, I find you as an equal-
    Rome: *NO*
    China: What's the matter, I just want to make friends with-
    Persia: *NO*
    China: :((

  • @meteoricdec5337
    @meteoricdec5337 2 года назад +159

    This is a pretty west-centric view. From a east-centric view the reason Rome is called "Daqin" is a reference to the first unifying dynasty in China, the Qin Regime. Rome shared a lot of great similarities to Qin in terms of unification smaller surrounding regions, law, nation identity, centrality of government, etc. Hence the respect and understanding despite the distance.

    • @akapam57
      @akapam57 2 года назад +12

      As usual.

    • @GeHeum
      @GeHeum Год назад +8

      @MeteoricDec I don't understand your reasoning can you explain further.
      For both sides he did not go into the reason for both empires to respect/distain the other.
      So to me it means that there is neither West nor East centric point of view to the other because that was left out in order to make a nice short video

    • @MA1S0
      @MA1S0 Год назад +3

      How is it west-centric? He talked about both in detail for the short duration of the video. Can't mention every detail in 3 minutes

    • @smaller_cathedrals
      @smaller_cathedrals Год назад +2

      Given that the audience is, per RUclips design, mostly western, it makes complete sense.

    • @fanofrpgalore1546
      @fanofrpgalore1546 Год назад +1

      No this is incorrect. China did not call other empires “big China” “small China”. Foreign empires are formally named phonetically. It is a series of phonetic corruptions and mistranslations across geography and time that caused Chinese transliteration of “Latin” to sound like “Da Qin” which just happened to be the name of a major dynasty, but it is not named so because China thought it was its equal. On that basis, China would’ve given it the name of Han, not Qin.
      Of course, this is just a theory, but there’s no confirmation on why China called Rome “Da Qin”

  • @lucashudak7709
    @lucashudak7709 2 года назад +5

    "So are you two friends?"
    China: "Yes."
    Rome: "No."

  • @memofromessex
    @memofromessex 4 года назад +27

    One random fact I know is that a Chinese emissary did make it to Constantinople during 8th century, at the same time an Anglo-Saxon Bishop was also visiting the city. I wonder if they ever met.

  • @Heatmaker
    @Heatmaker 4 года назад +101

    Roman Empire: *collapses*
    China who fought a million civil wars: Hey, I've seen this one!

    • @Mr.LaughingDuck
      @Mr.LaughingDuck 4 года назад +33

      *Rome cries*
      China: "First time?"

    • @eyyze
      @eyyze 4 года назад +12

      I mean, Rome was plagued by so many civil wars that it's not even a joke to say that they were a Civil War Empire for most of their existence, especially after the West fell.

    • @papercat2599
      @papercat2599 3 года назад +8

      @Silver Chariot are you just straight up making up history? Mongol didn’t happen much much later? Also mongol didn’t destroy or change the culture of China at all.

    • @princesstinklepanties2720
      @princesstinklepanties2720 3 года назад +3

      @@eyyze yeah but Chinese civil wars are ridiculous. Especially the one where 1/6 the human race died

    • @KasumiRINA
      @KasumiRINA 3 года назад

      @@papercat2599 Black Box is right, look up Five Barbarians. After Three Kingdoms wars and short unification under Jin, there was another civil war of Eight Princes followed by barbarian invasions, most capitals were taken by foreign invaders: Western Jin collapsed in 316 and Eastern in 420, beginning the era of Northern and Southern dynasties. I.e not a united China. Parallels to Byzantine and all.

  • @scronx
    @scronx 2 года назад +1

    Fantastic info and you get straight to the point!!! So often I see a hot historical topic in the mix but it's 10, 30, 90 minutes long.

  • @danm7235
    @danm7235 3 года назад +2

    I've just found your channel and I kinda love it great topics in mostly ten minutes or less

  • @worsethanjoerogan8061
    @worsethanjoerogan8061 4 года назад +26

    Gan Ying might have also failed because he had trouble communicating with the traders/sailors he was asking about travel to Rome. He apparently was trying to get there by sea and so traders told him it would take years while they sailed around Arabia. He might have continued on if he knew there was a land border with Parthia a relatively short distance away

  • @Jeff-vs2wc
    @Jeff-vs2wc 4 года назад +23

    Love these more obscure topics that you don’t know you need to know about until you see the video.

  • @grey-spark
    @grey-spark 10 месяцев назад +6

    Rome: "Our morality system says he must reject luxuries."
    Also Rome: Lives in expansive palaces filled with so many amenities that they are literally called the treasure country by a nation on the other side of the world.

  • @timothychivers7324
    @timothychivers7324 Год назад +1

    Thanks for your great video much appreciated your efforts

  • @SkiddyGaming
    @SkiddyGaming 4 года назад +15

    2:16 China: "Hello there"
    Rome: "General Kenobi"

  • @kaiserkhosrow3724
    @kaiserkhosrow3724 4 года назад +39

    being an iranian, watching this video and hearing "barbarian neighbours!" (and the look on that character's face. LOL!) Hilarious

    • @soroushtorabi98
      @soroushtorabi98 3 года назад

      Forget these guys . You know the truth and that enough

  • @oliversherman2414
    @oliversherman2414 Год назад +1

    I love your channel keep up the great stuff!!!!!

  • @ValGOPLock
    @ValGOPLock 3 года назад +6

    If they ever met and made an alliance, it'd be the greatest crossover in history

  • @Jack-bm5vk
    @Jack-bm5vk 4 года назад +14

    Roman: I want to try some of that Chinese food but we have no direct contact with them.
    ancient uber eats: allow us to introduce ourselves

  • @nickwynn8145
    @nickwynn8145 4 года назад +5

    Thank you for so brilliantly answering a question I would never have thought to ask!! This channel is great!

  • @persontaco1102
    @persontaco1102 Год назад +6

    China: Rome is so great I want us to be friends!
    Persia: no

  • @polemius01
    @polemius01 3 года назад +1

    The topic of the video was always something in the back of my mind, but I didn't care enough to research it.
    Thanks for doing the heavy lifting!

  • @stevenjlovelace
    @stevenjlovelace 4 года назад +64

    When it comes to ancient cross-cultural ideas, I've always been intrigued by the idea of Greco-Buddhism.

    • @tonycapella1402
      @tonycapella1402 4 года назад +5

      Ditto

    • @ernstschmidt4725
      @ernstschmidt4725 4 года назад +2

      it's mostly a seleucid thing

    • @Flight_of_Icarus
      @Flight_of_Icarus 4 года назад +7

      Supposedly, Alexander the Great brought back a lot of philosophical ideas from India, but that was long before Buddhism.

    • @Aceshot-uu7yx
      @Aceshot-uu7yx 2 года назад

      @@Flight_of_Icarus both occurred in the 5th century B.C. in fact if I remember correctly the whole Greco-Roman budism thing a a fascinating but fringe example of this cultural exchange. Would love to see if any Indians converted to hellenism.

    • @TheSuperappelflap
      @TheSuperappelflap 2 года назад

      @@Aceshot-uu7yx alexander founded several hellenic kingdoms in central asia in what is now azerbaijan and the countries around there which endured for centuries so the answer to your question is yes. these areas still have legends about alexander, as portrayed in the film "the man who would be king".

  • @cock5268
    @cock5268 4 года назад +5

    Even though this channel is supposed to be a guide for studying history it is still very fun and humorous to watch

  • @MrJoeGarner
    @MrJoeGarner 3 года назад +1

    I enjoy these short history videos, thanks and keep it up!

  • @GijsTheDog
    @GijsTheDog 3 года назад +12

    When in mid 19th century a British delegation entered the imperial court they we're greeted in Latin, because the Chinese had maintained the language in case the Romans sought contact again.

    • @TheSuperappelflap
      @TheSuperappelflap 2 года назад

      thats quite funny, i can imagine the british diplomats arriving and being greeted with "ave". must have been quite surprising for them

    • @spleehk21
      @spleehk21 Год назад +1

      China is already in contact with expanding Russia at the time and they communicated in Latin. For example, the Treaty of Nerchinsk of 1689 was in Latin.

    • @limecilla7612
      @limecilla7612 11 месяцев назад

      There were Jesuit missionaries in Beijing since 17th century, during Ming Dinasty, and the Chinese court was aware that Latin was a diplomatic language in Europe during the Modern Ages. It had no direct connection to ancient Rome, but with Papal and later, different European nations who sent envoys in 18th century (see the extremely good collection of mechanical clocks inside the Forbidden City; it was a very sought diplomatic gift in the 1700s). The British always like to think they're the first to arrive to places.

  • @hiyukelavie2396
    @hiyukelavie2396 4 года назад +12

    I like how Rome is resented on the thumbnail by a soldier, while China is represented by a bureaucrat

  • @Flight_of_Icarus
    @Flight_of_Icarus 4 года назад +18

    This was more than I was expecting, actually. I figured most of the trading was done through third parties, and they didn't care too much about the origins of the goods being sold. Actually knowing about each other to the point of having a name for each other is fascinating.
    Alexander the Great went as far as India, but that's pretty much the end of it. I assumed the Romans didn't think there was much beyond the Ganges, at least early on.
    I figured China knew more though, and I've read there were a few points where Chinese explorers almost reached Roman territory.

  • @hoodrobin4397
    @hoodrobin4397 2 года назад +5

    In fact GUAN YING asked the Persia how to get to Roma. Persian emperor answered, you can only take the boat, and mostly die on the sea, and also it is very far away, could take years.

  • @jesuschrist9513
    @jesuschrist9513 3 года назад +3

    China: we're not so different, you and I
    Rome: *screams*

  • @TheRoboteer
    @TheRoboteer 4 года назад +7

    Any chance at an episode on the Soviet-Afghan war? It's a conflict I've been wanting to learn more about and I'd be interested to see your take on it

  • @kfaughter4350
    @kfaughter4350 3 года назад +9

    China: hey just want you to know that you're awesome and I love what your doing
    Romans: I know

  • @aznluvr7
    @aznluvr7 3 года назад

    That's a great video and what an interesting subject!

  • @Luboman411
    @Luboman411 3 года назад +13

    There is a strong suspicion that Gan Ying at 1:40 actually lied about the Persians telling him not to go further. He was clearly homesick, so when he reached the Persian Gulf coast/the Mediterranean Sea coast people along his travels told him he had thousands of miles left to go before reaching the city of Rome. Upon realizing this, he called it quits. So he made up the whole story of the Persians telling him not to go further. It's not like he was going to get punished for lying--how would the Chinese emperor ever find out? So he went back home on the back of that lie.

  • @TheHylianBatman
    @TheHylianBatman 2 года назад +3

    I have been waiting to watch this video for SO LONG. About a year.
    Finally, I get to learn that Rome and China didn't really know each other, but knew of each other.

  • @aquagaming8749
    @aquagaming8749 Год назад +6

    China: I love rome
    Rome: I love rome

  • @superpowerdragon
    @superpowerdragon Год назад +6

    0:38 you are actually wrong here, daqin doesn't actually mean great China in this case, qin is indeed the name of the previous dynasty, but its most likely doesn't have anything to do with the previous dynasty. regardless, the chinese definitely didn't see the romans as equal, after han wudi (which is the period when china official started to have contact with the western world) the chinese sees themselves as the center of the world, and the rest of the world are basically barbarians including the romans

    • @Crzenxy156
      @Crzenxy156 Год назад

      Seems like USA in 2023 lol

  • @chat3087
    @chat3087 4 года назад +26

    China: Hey Ro-
    Roman Empire: *No*

  • @nicholasleopold3826
    @nicholasleopold3826 4 года назад +16

    Like America vs China today 😊

    • @joshuakevinserdan9331
      @joshuakevinserdan9331 3 года назад

      Nah, Chinese don't look up to Americans or any Westerners like how Chinese looked up to Romans.

    • @chickenchicken8097
      @chickenchicken8097 3 месяца назад

      american history be like 30 years or something🤣

  • @graceantonio3573
    @graceantonio3573 3 года назад

    Thank u🙂 this was great, God bless u😇

  • @warbaby8897
    @warbaby8897 3 года назад

    This is so interesting I love it.

  • @WindFireAllThatKindOfThing
    @WindFireAllThatKindOfThing 4 года назад +10

    Julius Caesar: I came, I saw, I conquered
    Lo Pan: Boil them until their flesh falls off....You heard me!

  • @icecoldpolitics8890
    @icecoldpolitics8890 4 года назад +111

    so you thought you could trade with us swerican
    I am not serican I am a Han
    oh a Ham
    no Han
    "centurion strikes him very roughly"