http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Talas
Is it the Battle of Tours of the East? If the Chinese win how far West do they go unchecked?
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The Battle of Talas marked the end of the Tang Dynasty's western expansion of their territory, this representing the furthest point of territorial expansion to the west by the Tang, or any prior or subsequent Chinese dynasties. Leading up to this battlefield showdown, the Tang army had proceeded further and further westward, in a series of military events during the course of which various cities and states were conquered or overthrown. Meanwhile, a new power had arisen in the region. Beginning with a revolt against the Umayyad Caliphate, the rising Abbasid Caliphate decisively defeated the rival Umayyad Caliphate, at the Battle of the Zab, in 750, which thus freed up their armies for other purposes, one of which would be to challenge the Tang expansion into the region. In July 751, both the Tang troops and the Abbasid troops met in the valley of the Talas River, where the Tang forces were defeated. The Battle of Talas is important because of the resulting changes in the political fortunes of the rival sides, and in the region generally, not to mention the economic importance of control over this strategic region along the Silk Road. There is also a legend that Chinese prisoners captured as the result of the battle allowed for the transference of paper-making technology to the Middle East and eventually Europe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Talas
Is it the Battle of Tours of the East? If the Chinese win how far West do they go unchecked?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Talas
Is it the Battle of Tours of the East? If the Chinese win how far West do they go unchecked?
No farther. Their territorial expanse as done historically was the end of their rope.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Talas
Is it the Battle of Tours of the East? If the Chinese win how far West do they go unchecked?
I partly agree. But, the An Shi rebellion was partly a result of An Lushan against Yang Guozhong, who had not taken power yet by the time of Talas. There's some speculation An would have revolted anyways after Xuanzong died. But it would be possible that the morbidly obese An Lushan would die before Xuanzong. If that happens, a revolt becomes very unlikely. Or at the very least, it might not be as devastating, permitting the Tang to keep their hold over the west for a longer period of time. They can't go any further, but they could keep at least Xinjiang. And that is significant by itself.The great An Shi rebellion beginning 755 would have put a stop to any further adventures in the West, if the Abbasids hadn't checked the T'ang. The T'ang were pretty much at the end of their logistical tether in any event.
A bigger consequence of a T'ang victory than of possible extraterritorial conquests would be butterflying the spread of papermaking techniques that the triumphant Abbasids brought back west with them through their Chinese prisoners. So papermaking wouldn't be introduced in the West for an unspecified amount of time, but at some decades, perhaps.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Talas
Is it the Battle of Tours of the East? If the Chinese win how far West do they go unchecked?