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alternatehistory.com
One of my favorite pieces of Tang Dynasty sculpture and art
The Tang Dynasty is considered by most Chinese historians to be one of China’s golden ages. From the 7th Century to the 10th Century, art and culture flourished, in no small part thanks to the Emperors who sat on the throne, including China’s only female Emperor, Wu Zeitan. During this time, the Tang Dynasty reopened the Silk Road, initially in 639, then again in 699 under Empress Wu’s reign when the Silk Road was recaptured from Tibetan Forces. Through this road, connections were made between the West and the Far East, and ideas were exchanged along the road.
What if the Tang Dynasty rulers saw the reestablishment of the Silk Road as a way to extend their territories and empire beyond China and into Eastern Europe? During the time of the Tang Dynasty, Europe was in the grip of what is known to historians as the Dark Ages. While China was flourishing, Europe was reeling from the fall of Rome that occurred in 410. The Roman Church split in two, resulting in the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. If China had the ambition to look westward towards Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire, it seems that China would have been able to conquer them easily. I am interested to see what people think would have happened had Constantinople had fallen to Tang Dynasty forces and if the push would have ended there, or the push would have been able to continue further into the Western Roman Empire.