Once upon a time, maybe two years ago, there was this brief forum craze with getting Alexander the Great to China. I vaguely recall responding to this - my basic idea was that you probably couldn't get our Alexander to China, but getting a hypothetical child of his... that might be plausible. The idea being basically this - Alexander lives for another dozen years or so (not wholly unfeasible) and then some of his kids end up fighting over the crown. One in particular goes eastwards, and takes an army into China.
So my first question is this - I'm trying to read as many books as possible on the warring states era - political histories, military histories, social histories - anything that can help me get a grasp on it. Looking for recommendations. If I'm going to pick this idea back up, I'd like to be informed.
A secondary (but less critical topic) is anyone who has any recommendations for books re: the Tarim basin circa 300-200 BCE. I have a lot more confidence in my ability to find good sources for that area than the former.
Now, let me roll this back - I think a Greek conquest of what today is "China" is pretty absurd and crazy. What I'm more trying to do is have a Pyrrhos of Epiros type incursion into China (possibly with some significant short-term conquests) that would put the region on a different historical trajectory as a result.
So far, I've pinned down two main issues that will have to be addressed before I can get a substantial number of Greeks into China:
Distance: we're looking at a few thousand kilometers, and those are not pleasant kilometers. Now, there are certainly overland trade routes and the like in the Tarim basin, and by the Han era at least it seems that the area was capable of sustaining a substantial military presence. Although a desert, the region that is now Xinjiang seems to present logistical difficulties but not impossibilities. Keeping some hodge-podge invading army together across this ordeal definitely raises a lot of questions.
Disproportionate strength: by the end of the fourth century BCE, the Qin are the regional power of regional powers. The annexation of Ba and Shu has given them substantial territory and they just have more resources to draw on. Annoyingly, the first thing any would be Hellenistic conqueror of China (or even just Hellenistic interferor) has to contend with is the Qin. That means armies of hundreds of thousands, well trained and well-organized forces. The only advantage I can see is that the warring-states era armies do over-rely on chariots and mixed units of archers and foot infantry - the kinds of forces that seem obsolete to any Near Eastern general. So despite the organization and quality of warring states era armies, they seem to have some significant tactical issues when it comes to field engagements. I may, of course, be wrong about this. The Chinese states of the period were organized and bureaucratic, and based around the small family farmer with a 5-6 acre plot of land. These farmers, as I understand it, owed military service to what's basically an absolute monarchy. That's a pretty significant well of manpower, and as far as I understand it, pretty unlike the Hellenistic model.
Curious for people's thoughts and recommendations.
So my first question is this - I'm trying to read as many books as possible on the warring states era - political histories, military histories, social histories - anything that can help me get a grasp on it. Looking for recommendations. If I'm going to pick this idea back up, I'd like to be informed.
A secondary (but less critical topic) is anyone who has any recommendations for books re: the Tarim basin circa 300-200 BCE. I have a lot more confidence in my ability to find good sources for that area than the former.
Now, let me roll this back - I think a Greek conquest of what today is "China" is pretty absurd and crazy. What I'm more trying to do is have a Pyrrhos of Epiros type incursion into China (possibly with some significant short-term conquests) that would put the region on a different historical trajectory as a result.
So far, I've pinned down two main issues that will have to be addressed before I can get a substantial number of Greeks into China:
Distance: we're looking at a few thousand kilometers, and those are not pleasant kilometers. Now, there are certainly overland trade routes and the like in the Tarim basin, and by the Han era at least it seems that the area was capable of sustaining a substantial military presence. Although a desert, the region that is now Xinjiang seems to present logistical difficulties but not impossibilities. Keeping some hodge-podge invading army together across this ordeal definitely raises a lot of questions.
Disproportionate strength: by the end of the fourth century BCE, the Qin are the regional power of regional powers. The annexation of Ba and Shu has given them substantial territory and they just have more resources to draw on. Annoyingly, the first thing any would be Hellenistic conqueror of China (or even just Hellenistic interferor) has to contend with is the Qin. That means armies of hundreds of thousands, well trained and well-organized forces. The only advantage I can see is that the warring-states era armies do over-rely on chariots and mixed units of archers and foot infantry - the kinds of forces that seem obsolete to any Near Eastern general. So despite the organization and quality of warring states era armies, they seem to have some significant tactical issues when it comes to field engagements. I may, of course, be wrong about this. The Chinese states of the period were organized and bureaucratic, and based around the small family farmer with a 5-6 acre plot of land. These farmers, as I understand it, owed military service to what's basically an absolute monarchy. That's a pretty significant well of manpower, and as far as I understand it, pretty unlike the Hellenistic model.
Curious for people's thoughts and recommendations.