Han establishes the Protectorate of the Western Regions
The Han formalise authority over the Tarim oases, garrisoning the corridors and paying for that presence largely in bolts of silk. State expenditure, not private luxury demand, puts the first large volumes of silk into the western trade.
Historical — it happened, and the record is settled.
Subjects
- Han Empire · empire · not located
- Taklamakan Desert · region · China · not located
- Silk · trade_good · not located
Evidence
Verified — Every field is supported by a cited authoritative source.
The Silk Road: A New History
Argues from excavated documents at seven Tarim and Central Asian sites that most recorded traffic was local and small-scale rather than long-distance luxury trade, and that Chinese government military expenditure was the dominant economic driver in the Tarim oases. A necessary corrective to the popular image of continuous caravans crossing the whole length.
Oxford University Press · 2012 · Verified
Valerie Hansen, 2012
Recorded on Han Empire
- Zhang Qian is sent west by Emperor Wu
- Han campaigns against Dayuan for the Ferghana horses
- Han establishes the Protectorate of the Western Regions
Related
Related because they share a subject in the Atlas — never because the text looks similar.
- Han campaigns against Dayuan for the Ferghana horses · 104-101 BCE
- Zhang Qian is sent west by Emperor Wu · 138 BCE