| Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA Notice, This website uses cookies to improve your experience. The genetic findings could also be interpreted to mean that the people of the town descend from a local Caucasian population and there is no indisputable archaeological evidence of a Roman presence in the town in antiquity. In 53BC 10,000 Roman soldiers disappeared after a disastrous battle. The Nephilim: Giant Offspring of the Sons of God and the Daughters of Man? If we read from... What’s Behind Increasing Paranormal Activity? The Legend of the Lost Legion of Carrhae The legend begins in 53 BC with the Battle of Carrhae between the Roman general Marcus Licinius Crassus and the Parthian general Surena. Such was the case with Juba and Cleopatra Selene II. Black metal and extreme sounds label established in the last months of 2002 in Sydney, Australia. This tactic of tightly squared units utilized shields for the first row to cover their body. In almost any culture, an ancient royal couple would have been expected to have provided themselves with a superior, monumental, or otherwise unique final resting place. Khan, Razib. Carrhae is a location near the modern-day Syrian-Turkish border. Was there ever a Trojan War? Has A Lost Roman Legion Been Found In China? View All Close. Groom of the Stool: Was The King’s Toilet Guy The Worst Job Ever? For this reason, any contact between the cultures has fascinated historians ever since Western scholars began to study China and Chinese scholars began to study the West. Crassus was already one of the wealthiest men in the Roman republic, but he had a desire to access the wealth of Parthia, so he convinced the Senate to let him lead 42,000 Roman soldiers into the battlefield against the Parthians. There is debate whether his village was inhabited by Roman soldiers from the lost legion of Carrhae. As the founder of Historic Mysteries, his goal is to share with you the secrets of our past. It is possible that a Roman legion did make it to China, but the evidence is not conclusive. Isolated Stairs in the Woods and Their Creepy Stories. Legion Y27gq-25 Monitor. Charles Hucker proposed that the Roman legionaries may have been amongst the Xiongnu soldiers. ThoughtCo. By bringing together top experts and authors, this archaeology website explores lost civilizations, examines sacred writings, tours ancient places, investigates ancient discoveries and questions mysterious happenings. Roman legions had names, typically based on where they were originally located. Since Rome and China were aware of each other in antiquity, and it was possible to travel between the two empires at the time, this hypothesis is made more plausible. Date published 1972 Bookseller catalogs WORLD WAR II / GERMAN & EASTERN FRONT; Items with Photos; List 84; Terms of Sale. Roman Testudo tortoise shell formation. “The Western Regions According to the Hou Hanshu.” The Han Histories. These Uyghur girls are genetically similar to a few residents of Liqian, today’s ZhelaiZhai. We seek to retell the story of our beginnings. Also, the physical appearance and genetic relations of the villagers doesn’t require that they be directly descended from Mediterranean peoples, since there are many central Asian ethnic groups that also have genetic ties to the Mediterranean region and traits such as blonde or brown hair and blue eyes. Norimitsu Odachi: Who Could Have Possibly Wielded This Enormous 15th Century Japanese Sword? From ancient aliens, creation myths, and races of giants, these subjects are part of a very obscure niche of historical research. Dubs argued that some of the soldiers in exile gave up trying to go back to Rome and hired themselves out as mercenaries for local warlords in the region. Chinese villagers 'descended from Roman soldiers' Genetic testing of villagers in a remote part of China has shown that nearly two thirds of their DNA is of Caucasian … A 2005 DNA analysis of residents in Zhelaizhai indicates that approximately 56 percent have genetic sequences similar to Europeans. And, even though there is circumstantial evidence, there is no evidence that would confirm that Romans had been in Liqian in the past. Li-Jien. The defeat took place at the Battle of Carrhae, located in eastern Turkey, where the Roman fought against 10,000 Parthian archers against seven Roman legions led by Marcus Licinius Crassus. I have participated in archaeological excavations in Greece and San Diego. J. Scalzo (ed. Discover Magazine, October 21, 2019. Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/how-did-crassus-die-120886, “Digging for Romans in China” by Henry Chu (2000). Evidence shows that the people of Zhelaizhai had lined the ancient streets with tree trunks. However, the Roman legions used this strategy throughout the empire and called it the testudo (tortoise shell). U.S. National Library of Medicine, February 2007. Date published 1972 Bookseller catalogs WORLD WAR II / GERMAN & EASTERN FRONT; Items with Photos; List 84; Terms of Sale. Because the legend has been popularized, the town has used it to attract tourists, even going as far as to construct Roman style buildings and statues. The Bringer of Souls: The Stork Myth In Ancient Pan-European Beliefs, The Disturbing True Story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, The Real Story of Medusa: Protective Powers from a Snake-Haired Gorgon, Charon, Son of Night and Shadow, Ferrier of the Dead, Beaver's teeth 'used to carve the oldest wooden statue in the world’, Uncovering Ancient Pyramid Science at Teotihuacan, Where Men Become Gods, Jewelry to Die For: 14th-Century Bulgarian Ring with a Killer Dose. It is believed that they were most likely sent to what is now Turkmenistan. Their Origins May Surprise You, Do you dare enter a fairy ring? Emperor Yuandi established a new county called Lijian (Liqian) or Li-jien, which, according to Hucker, is a name that reflects the Roman legion. But Why is the Plumed Serpent Ubiquitous? According to legend, liquid gold was poured down his throat as a punishment for his greed. The leader’s inexperience became apparent the day he led 45,000 soldiers into battle against the very prepared and mobile Parthian cavalry in Carrhae, now known today as Harran, Turkey. View All Close. Chalfont St. Peter: Bradt Travel Guides, 2005. However, it's certainly a mystery that Liqian people still look like westerners 2000 years after the facts. Some of these former Roman soldiers may have found themselves working for the Huns in their war against the Chinese. Welcome to the 2 nd act of a lost Roman legion in China. ( Public Domain ). When the Hun Jzh Jzh capital was captured by the Ch’en dynasty of China (that is the battle depicted in the painting described by the ancient document) Dubs asserts that the Romans were captured and resettled within the Chinese Empire as the garrison of the town of Li-Jien, supposedly the Chinese version of the word ‘Latin’ – their nationality. In 53 BCE, a humiliating defeat for a Roman army set off a chain of events. I understand that the story of the lost legion may seem dubious; anyway, there have been many greek westerners who eventually settled up in Gansu / Ningxia, such as merchants following Sogdia/Bactria caravans or Nestorius followers who spreaded everywhere in the area after their faith was declared an heresy. In 1957, Homer H. Dubs, the author of A Roman City in China, made a controversial proposal about the lost Roman legion of Marcus Crassus. Another study from 2007 determined that according to paternal (Y) lineage DNA, the people of Zhelaizhai are not descendants of Romans. The fate of the 10,000 captured Legionnaires remained a mystery. Die verlorene Legion Indo-Europeans had spread out into Central Asia well before the Imperial Roman period. Available at: https://www.historyoftheancientworld.com/2013/06/a-roman-legion-lost-in-china-2/, “How Did Crassus Die?” by N.S. Chinese records indicate that in 36 BCE at the Battle of Zhizhi, the Han captured the Xiongnu, led by Zhizhi Changyu in Central Asia, in a place known today as Dzhambul, Uzbekistan, in 36 BCE. Parallels Between The Jewish Fall Festival And Akhenaten’s Royal Jubilee. Historic Mysteries provides captivating articles on archaeology, history, and unexplained mysteries. Chinese scholars who have looked into the etymology of the name say that it is related to the state of Lixuan, which has connections to Ptolemaic Egypt but not to Rome. The goal of Ancient Origins is to highlight recent archaeological discoveries, peer-reviewed academic research and evidence, as well as offering alternative viewpoints and explanations of science, archaeology, mythology, religion and history around the globe.