#99 - Tang 17: The Battle of Talas

The History of China

Chris Stewart

History

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 29 May 2016

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The armies of the Far West Anxi Protectorate of the Tang face down a force commanded by the ascendant Abbasid Islamic Caliphate, fresh off its victorious insurgency over the Umayyad Caliphate. But in this one and only clash between Chinese and Arab might, the ramifications for both will be felt long after the blood dries on the battlefield along the Talas River. Time Period Covered: May- September, 751 Major Historical Figures: Tang Dynasty – Protectorate of Western Pacification Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Li Longji) Governor-General Fumeng Lingcha Governor-General Gao Xianzhi (Go Seonji) Bian Lingchen, Court Eunuch on Assignment to Anxi Lieutenant Li Siye Officer Duan Xiushi Transoxiana: Lesser Bolü Kingdom (Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan) Shi Kingdom (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) Turgesh Khannate Karluk (Qarluq) Turks Tibetan Empire Abbasid Islamic Caliphate: Governor Ziyad ibn Salih Major Works Cited: Bartold, Vasily (1928). Turkestan Down to the Mongol Invasion (Trans. T. Minorsky & C.E. Bosworth). Chen, Sanping (2012). Multicultural China in the Early Middle Ages. Golden, Peter B. (1990). “The Kharakhanids and early Islam” in The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, vol. 1 (ed. Denis Sinor). Hoberman, Barry (Sept/Oct. 1982). “The Battle of Talas” in Aramco World, vol. 33 no. 5. Ibn al-Athir, Ali (ca. 1231) The Complete History. Sima, Guang (1084). Zizhi Tongjian. Soucek, Svak (2000). A History of Inner Asia. Starr, S. Frederick (2004). Xinjiang: China’s Muslim Borderland. Szczepanski, Susan (2015). “Battle of Talas River” in About.com: http://asianhistory.about.com/od/centralasia/a/BattleofTalas.htm Tsien Tsuen-hsuin (1985). “Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 1: Paper and Printing.” In Science and Civilization in China: Vol. 5. Twitchett, Denis (ed.) (1979).“Hsuang-Tsüng: Li-Lin Fu’s Regime” in The Cambridge History of China, vol. 3. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You're listening to an Airwave Media Podcast.
0:05.0	Before we launch into the show today, let me first recommend that, after you're done here, of course,
0:10.0	you go check out Royfield Brown's excellent 10 American President's podcast.
0:14.6	In each show Royfield has a guest give us the life and legacy of 10 of the U.S.
0:19.0	most influential leaders.
0:21.2	My personal favorite episode is in fact the first, which is the life and
0:24.8	administration of Richard Nixon, as told by none other than Dan Carlin.
0:28.6	Yeah, that Dan Carlin.
0:30.6	Please give it a listen, and while you're doing doing that check out all of the other shows on offer through
0:35.2	the Agora Podcast Network at W.W.orga Podcast Network.
0:40.0	Thanks again and enjoy the show. And welcome to the history of China.
1:00.0	Episode 99, the Battle of Talis.
1:13.0	Today we're going to pick up more or less where we left off last episode at the conclusion of our broad sweep across the Western and Northern borderlands of the Tang Chinese Empire round about the year 750. Up to this point, Emperor Shrensong's militaries have been largely successful in their clashes with neighboring civilizations, and a few hiccups with the Kitan and Koreans notwithstanding,
1:23.2	have been able to push both Chinese interests and borders
1:26.2	outwards with very few setbacks.
1:28.6	Well, that's all about to change today,
1:32.0	as the Tong Empire faces off against a new and
1:34.7	unfamiliar foe in its furthest western reaches of Central Asia, which we're going to continue
1:39.6	to collectively identify as just Transoxiana. It's a class between two world empires, one old, one new, that has for centuries been passed over, ignored, and virtually forgotten as insignificant, and yet one which more recent scholarship has shown to be far more important than the historians of the ancient world could have possibly realized at the time.
2:01.0	Before getting to the titular battle, however, let's take a look at the time. Before getting to the titular battle, however, let's take a look at the man who would come
2:06.2	to be in command of the Chinese military of the far Western Unshi Protectorate in 751,
2:12.4	and who would be so embarrassingly defeated there that year.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Chris Stewart, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Chris Stewart and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.