The 40,000-strong Roman army, defeated in a battle to expand its territory to the east, is said to have wandered as far as 8,000km, to live in a remote Chinese village.
The Romans in the period BC built one of the most powerful empires in history.
In 53 BC, the Roman army under the command of Marcus Licinius Crassus, the richest man in Rome, wanted to extend control of the empire to Parthia (modern day Iran) , according to War History Online.
The Roman army was defeated by the Parthian empire when it expanded eastward.
The campaign was conducted by Marcus unilaterally, without permission or approval from the Roman parliament.
The Roman army led by Marcus traveled far east, reaching Harran in southeastern Turkey where they encountered the Parthians led by Surena at the Battle of Carrhae in May 53 BC.
Initially, Marcus’ army was arranged according to tradition. But due to having to cross the river, most of the formation shrank into square clusters.
General Surena cleverly hid the cavalry, the true strength of the Parthian Empire and left only a few troops ahead for the purpose of luring Marcus’s army across the river.
General Surena himself, with a large and strong body, led the cavalry to attack the Roman army. At this time, despite having a smaller number, the Parthian cavalry combined with archers fought very effectively. Thousands of arrows were fired, leaving the Roman army with no chance to resist.
At this point, Marcus was forced to order his son Publius to bring about 4,000 troops to fight the diversion, attack strongly to create conditions for the main army to counterattack.
The Parthian cavalry rode and arched, causing the Romans to suffer heavy losses.
However, the Pathians were very alert, they knew how to advance and retreat at the right time to be able to encircle this small army. The army of 4,000 men and Publius were defeated by the Parthian army.
Faced with a disastrous defeat, Marcus tried to send his troops back to allied territory. But the Roman army was completely defeated, 3/4 of Marcus’ army was wiped out after the Battle of Carrhae. The 10,000 survivors were taken prisoner and sent to do hard labor.
The Parthians have a tradition of capturing prisoners alive, re-education them into border guards. The remaining 10,000 Roman troops were sent to the eastern front.
Here, the Romans had no chance to flee because they were thousands of kilometers away from their homeland. Most accept that they have to get used to a new life.
A few years later, the Parthians clashed with the Chinese in a modern-day border town of Taraz, Kazakhstan, bordering Kyrgyzstan.
Chinese historians describe the clash at the small village as fierce, but the Chinese won in the end. China under the Han Dynasty was then at the height of its prosperity, constantly expanding its territory to the West. Many Parthians defected to China, including the ancient Roman army.
The Chinese were so impressed with the Roman warriors that they trusted them to guard another border town, this time between China and Tibet.
The Roman legion traveled 8,000km to live in a remote village in China.
An estimated 1,000 Romans lived and guarded the village of Liqian (meaning legion, a fairly common Roman phrase). These men used a variety of tools and turned the area into a fortified fortress, which is common in the Mediterranean, but rare in Asia.
The Romans lived peacefully in Liqian for the rest of the time. 2,000 years later, the scientific community proved that 50% of the DNA samples of the local people living here had white ancestors, blue eyes and superior height. They also share many identifying features with the Romans.
People living in this small village are proud of their roots, often celebrating Roman festivals and worshiping bulls, the mascot of the Roman army.
However, many historians today reject this story. They believe that the village of Liqian is located near the famous Silk Road , so the origin of the white people’s DNA can be traced back to the merchants who stayed here.
Today’s Chinese archaeologists have not found any convincing evidence, such as coins or artifacts of the Romans in Liqian. But if this theory is correct, the story of the defeated Roman army wandering 8,000km, all the way to the land of China to live and settle down is amazing.