|
Barbarians and nomads
In
their respective expansion, the Roman and Chinese empires each absorbed many neighbors
with distinctive cultures, which submerged. The Etruscans were close
neighbors from whom the Romans owed much. The people whose sacrificial
statues astonished archeologists had long disappeared when Qin annexed
Sichuan.
|
|
|
|
Left: Detail of a painted terracotta lid of a sarcophagus from an
Etruscan tomb at Tarquinia. C 550 BCE.
|
|
Bronze statues found in two sacrificial pits in Sanxingdui,
Sichuan. Shang Dynasty, c 1200
BCE.
|
|
|
The
Roman and Han Empires coexisted with the Parthian and Kushan
Empires. The Parthians and Kushans were semi-nomads. Few of their images survived.
|
|
1. A Parthian.
|
|
|
|
2. The Kushan kiing Kanishka.
|
|
|
A Parthian ruler.
Found in Mesopotamia.
|
|
|
The Kushan king Kanishka,
who reigned around 128 or 144.
Red sandstone, Museum of Archeology, Mathura, India.
|
|
|
The
major neighbors to the Roman Empire were the Germans to the north and
Parthians/Persians to the east. In comparing with China, however, the Huns
leap to mind first. These nomads were unknown to the west before 376, and
their influence lasted less than a century. They were small in number;
scholars reckon around 15,000 mounted warriors in total. Their success
depended on their ability to unite the Germans they defeated and lead them
against the Roman Empire. Speculations exist that the Huns were somehow related
to the Xiongnu, whom the Sogdians
called “Hun” in 313. The Xiongnu united the steppe
nomads and extorted tributes from the Han Empire. After a century-long
struggle, the Han defeated the Xiongnu, who
disappeared from Chinese records after 151. Were the Huns descendants of the Xiongnu who moved west? Evidence for and against it are
both scarce.
|
|
3. Attila the Hun.
|
|
|
|
4. A Xiongnu girl.
 
|
|
|
Medallion portrait of Attila. Attila’s campaigns against the Roman
Empire in 441-451 earned him the epithet “The Scourge of God”. (The Mansell
Collection, London.)
|
|
Bronze statues of the warring-states period, before the steppe
nomads united under the Xiongnu. Their round
face, high cheekbones, hair style, dress, and the camel, all indicate
peoples of the north. (Left: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Right: Base of an
oil lamp, Hubei Provincial Museum).
|
|
5. A Germanic barbarian.
|
|
|
|
6. A nomad in Han times.
|
|
|
Barbarian captive, from a Roman sarcophagus. The thick hair and
baggy trousers were characteristic depictions of Germanic peoples. (First-second century, National
Museum, Rome).
|
|
A servant supporting an oil lamp. The facial feature and pointed hat
indicate him to be not a Han-Chinese, but perhaps a Xiongnu.
Former Han Dynasty bronze. (Cultural Relics Publishing House, Beijing).
|
|
7. An Asiatic warrior.
|
|
|
|
8. A nomad.
|
|
|
Details of the Ludovisi sarcophagus relief
showing an Asiatic warrior with the customary pointed hat. Mid third
century.
|
|
Bronze statue of a laughing nomad of the north with bared shoulder.
Early Han tomb figures. (The Avery Brundage
Collection).
|
|
9. Roman emperor kneeling to Persian king.
|
|
|
|
10. A maid from the Dian Kingdom.
|
|
|
Triumph of the Persian King Shapur I over
two Roman emperors. Valerian
was captured. Philip, portrayed kneeling, escaped by paying a large
tribute. Sassanian relief on the tomb of Darius, Naqsh-i-Rustam.
|
|
Detail of a bronze statue of a maid holding a parasol, from the Dian
Kingdom 滇國, a client state to the Han Dynasty in mountainous southwest, now Yunan. First century
BCE.
|
|
|
|
|
Home
|
