War has played a key role in the history of the United States, from the nation's founding right down to the present.

Wars made the United States independent, kept it together, increased its size, and established it as a global superpower.

Hi, I'm James Early, host of the Key Battles of American History podcast.

In each episode, I discuss American history through the lens of the most important battles of America's Wars.

To start listening now, go to pathanonpodcast.com or search Key Battles of American History on your favorite podcast and platform.

The history of North America podcast is a sweeping historical saga of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, from their deep origins to our present epoch.

Join me, Mark Vinet, on this exciting, fascinating epic journey through time, focusing on the compelling, wonderful, and tragic stories of North America's inhabitants, heroes, villains, leaders, environment, and geography.

I invite you to come along for the ride.

Welcome to the History Unplugged Podcast.

The unscripted show that celebrates unsung heroes, myth busts historical lies, and rediscoveres the forgotten stories that changed our world.

I'm your host, Scott Rank.

Hi, everyone. Welcome to another in-between episode where I answer any question that you can throw at me.

Today's question is this.

Did Rome and China know of each other?

Very interesting question.

Here you have the two great civilizations of the day, and you can't help but wonder, what would these two make of each other?

Their technological and cultural and political evolutions were very different from each other, so how would they understand one another conceptually?

Well, there is reason to believe that the two could have had some indirect contact with each other.

Starting at about 150 BC or so, the Silk Road consolidates enough to where the Han Dynasty is expanding into central Asian sections of the trade routes, largely through missions and explorations of the Chinese Imperial envoys.

China really took a great interest in expanding its economy through trade, part of why the Great Wall was built in order to ensure the safety of their trade products and protect the trade route.

Trade on the Silk Road played a huge role in the development of civilizations in China, but also Korea and Japan, and the Indian subcontinent, Persia, Europe, and the Horn of Africa and Arabia.

Now, it's not as if one traveler would go along the Silk Road entirely.

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