What was the situation in Europe and Arabia during the Tang Dynasty in China?

The 6th to 8th century AD is the "dark age" in the eyes of western Europeans. However, the world outside Western Europe is not "dark" at this time, and there are three empires in Eurasia. In addition to Byzantium in Southeast Europe and the Near East, the other two are the Tang Empire and the Arab Empire.

China at that time.

75 1 year, China was in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. During the reign of Li Longji, the national strength of the Tang Dynasty reached its peak, and foreign troops were used many times.

Although Li Longji became more and more addicted to debauchery, he was no longer the wise monarch who made great efforts to govern the country. A serious crisis lurked under the surface of a prosperous society. At least at that time, the Tang Dynasty was still a "big" Tang Dynasty and the most respectable power in the world.

Arabia at that time

Almost at the same time, Arabs in the Middle East also rose rapidly.

Since the Prophet Muhammad and the four orthodox caliphs, Muslims have controlled a vast territory beyond the dreams of Assyrians, Persians and Romans, expanded from several tribes in the Arabian Peninsula to an unprecedented empire spanning Europe, Asia and Africa, occupied the whole of North Africa and Spain to the west, and absorbed the whole of West Asia and most of Central Asia to the east. The Mediterranean Sea of the Arab Empire became the inner lake of Arabs.

The Arab Empire became another powerful force that influenced the western regions besides China and Tubo. At the beginning of the 8th century, hajjaj ben yusuf, the supreme commander of the Arab Empire in the East, promised his two generals Muhammad and qutaybah ibn muslim that whoever set foot on the territory of China first would be appointed as the chief of China.

So the former conquered the Indian frontier, while the latter conquered many Central Asian regions, such as Talikan, Schumann, Ta Hastan and Bukhara, but none of them crossed the border of China. In the third and fifth years of Kaiyuan, rustics, together with Tubo and grain soldiers, launched two wars against Anxi four towns, both of which were repelled. The five-year battle of Kaiyuan was seen in Zi Tong Zhi Jian, and the newly published Turpan document also involved this battle.

Due to the great geographical advantages of the Arab Empire, and the fact that Tang Jun fought against the Tubo countries in Qinghai during this period, it was too busy to take care of the western regions, and the influence of Arabia was gradually reflected. Originally, most countries in the western regions believed in Buddhism, Zoroastrianism or their own traditional religions. They were uneasy about the eastward advancement of Islamic culture and were even more afraid of tough Muslim fighters, so many countries turned to the Tang Dynasty for help.

Extended data

The name of the Tang Dynasty is "Tang", which was an ancient place name in the Jin Dynasty. Tang Gaozu tang gaozu's grandfather Li Hu was one of the eight pillars of the Western Wei Dynasty, and posthumous title was the "Tang Gong". Later, the title was passed on to Li Yuan. Li Yuan was left behind in Jinyang, the imperial palace of Sui Dynasty. He set out in the name of respecting Sui and took Chang 'an in every battle. After Emperor Yangdi abdicated, he took Tang as his country name. Because the monarch's surname is Li, it is called the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty made great achievements in politics, economy, society, culture and diplomacy, and was one of the world powers at that time. The neighboring countries of the Tang Dynasty, Silla, Koguryo, Baekje, Bohai Sea and Japan, were greatly influenced by the Tang Dynasty in political system and social culture. ?

In the first half of the Tang Dynasty, the economy and society showed an upward trend, the society was advanced and the culture was prosperous. Historically, China was a great dynasty whose culture, art and technology were exported to neighboring countries, and its social atmosphere was inclusive. At the same time, it provided an unprecedented exchange and integration environment for all ethnic groups living in Cyprus since the Sixteen Countries, and the rulers also learned a lot from foreign civilizations.

The late Tang Dynasty was in the transitional period of China's history, and the reform of land, salt and iron, taxation and other systems marked the social changes. The prosperity since the mid-Tang Dynasty is mainly manifested in the prosperity of industry and commerce.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Tang Dynasty

Baidu encyclopedia-Arabic