Comments by "Big Blue" (@bigblue6917) on "Aksum: A Forgotten Empire" video.

  1. Africa has some almost forgotten kingdoms and great trading cities long since disappeared.
    5
  2. The nomadic people who dominated Central Asia, parts of Eastern Europe east of the Vistula River, and parts of South Asia. Their culture flourished from around 900 BC to around 200 BC, by which time they had extended their influence all over Central Asia – from China to the northern Black Sea.
    4
  3. I do know of the Kingdom of Aksum and its importance in the region but it is good to hear of further details of the kingdom and those that lived there. I wonder if the term 'King of Kings' follows the ancient use, from the time of Ancient Egypt, whereby if you capture land from another kingdom you could claim to be a king of kings. I did read of one king in the ancient middle east capturing land from the neighbouring kingdom. He then sent a message to the defeated king saying am I now a king of kings. Obviously not someone to be goaded. You mentioned Rome and China. They were not only aware of each other but also had diplomatic relations with each other. Having said that China did invade the eastern part of the Roman Empire during the reign of Hadrian. A Chinese army was sent west to drive off a group who was causing trouble for the Chinese Empire on its western border. Having achieved that goal, and with no orders to return, the army carried on west. Eventually they defeated the Parthians and were told by some prisoners there was a greater prize to the west. So the army carried on west. But after several days, and with the prisoners giving further information, the Chinese realised they had accidentally invaded the Roman Empire and withdrew. Interestingly with an army of some 50,000 strong, and many of them elite troops, if the Chinese general had decided to continue into the Roman Empire Rome would have been in series trouble. At that time the Roman Army was scattered all over the empire. And even if all could be grouped together they may well have been out numbered. You have to wonder what the result would have been for the empire. Even if they had defeated the Chinese army, or at least driven them back, with too few troops to return it to Roman control, many having to stay on the border, it could mean the end of the Roman Empire. Alternatively it could mean the Middle East and parts if not the whole of Europe and North Africa coming under Chinese control. How about that for a complete change in word history.
    1