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Question: Roman Legion!.!?
When i was at school and was studying ancient history!.!.i read once that during the trajan period there was a roman legion that had one mission only to go as far east and past where alexander the great crossed the indus and explore land and peoples that could be bought in to the roman empire as alies or subservant to rome which ever resulted the best !.!.!.but the roman legion got as far as china but where i dont know all i know when they saw the great expanse and the well governed chiness,,they saw that it was futile to even enter the thought of persuasion of either allinace or submission !.!.so they offered there military services to chine!.!.they settled in china and the place or town became to be known as LEI ZON!.!.does any one know if this true!? and if it is ! is there any futher historical facts to it!.!.!.i did hear that the town still exist in china but where i have no idea!.!.can any one help!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
I've heard this too, but I've never followed it up!. Sounds plausible!.!.!.!.I'm off on an internet hunt and I'll get back to you!.
OK! Check it out! DNA evidence and all! Enjoy!
http://www!.militaryphotos!.net/forums/arc!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
This is pretty far fetched!.
The only possible reference I'm aware to any meeting of Chinese & Roman troops was of soldiers in Parthian garrisons being decribed by Chinese sources as equiped in a typically Roman fashion!. We might guess that these were Roman prisoners or deserters in Parthian service!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Never happened no Roman Legion ever made it to china!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Never heard of a Legion trying to go to China!. IMO it would not make sense- simply because the trade routes to China were well known and there is plenty of evidence of trade between China and Rome- silk being just one of these items
We know for sure the Chinese ships came as far as Zanzibar on the coast of Africa- and traded with Egypt via the Red Sea!. Egypt was a Roman province in Trajan's time!. We also know the ROman Empire extended as far as Basra in today's Iraq!. Plenty of "overlap" IMO!.
Moreover I somehow don't think the Romans would see China as anything but a fat morsel to be eaten!. Bit far to go- that's all!.
However I have heard of a legion sent to explore the sources of the Nile- which vanished!. One theory is that legion gave rise to the Masai tribe- who wear red cloaks (colour reserved for soldiers in the Roman army) and use spears which resemble the Roman Pilum and swords which resemble the Roman Gladius!. If - as the theory claims- the Legion marched as far as it could- took casualties (fight, sickness) and recruited locally to reinforce the numbers it could well have lost any idea of their main purpose- and settled!.
Well, even if not true, it makes a good storyWww@QuestionHome@Com