Of The Economic Development Authority Of The City Of Jordan: Fill & Download for Free

Why hasn't Palestine developed like Israel has in the last 70 years?There are many good answers here so far.And, there are also a few answers that claim the reason why “Palestine” has not thrived like Israel in the last 70 years (as OP asked) can be reduced to one word: the “occupation,” which supposedly explains everything.Except, it doesn’t.Let’s look — BRIEFLY — at the actual historical sequence of events.Before World War One, under Ottoman Turkish rule, Palestine was an under-populated, undeveloped backwater and was not even its own political subdivision of the Ottoman Empire, but simply the name of a region of the Villayat of Syria. Its economy was almost completely agricultural, using primitive, ancient methods, and was stagnant.The Ottomans permitted Jews to move into the Empire and to buy land beginning in the mid-19th century. Jews had been doing so ever since, on a family-by-family basis of multiple repeated individual decisions, even before an organized movement called “Zionism” took root in the late 19th century to promote such immigration with the specific goal of re-creating a national home for the Jews in Palestine, their ancestral homeland.The waves of Jews moving into Palestine brought new enthusiasm, new ideas, and new opportunities for both Arabs and Jews. Waves of Muslim Arab immigration from Arab lands soon followed (most of the newcomers were Muslims; the Christians of Palestine were among those, including Jews and some Muslims, who had lived in the region uninterruptedly for centuries if not millennia — Jews tracing back to the ancient kingdom of Judea destroyed by the pagan Romans in the 2nd century, Christians tracing back to the Byzantine Christian iteration of the Roman Empire beginning in the 4th century, and Muslims tracing back to the Arab Muslim conquest of the Levant under Caliph Omar in the 7th century. The Muslim Arab newcomers were attracted to the jobs and the modern infrastructure which the Jews had begun to build, and which was not found in the lands they had come from.The new immigrant Jews settled for the most part in the fertile coastal plain, the Galilee region near the headwaters of the Jordan River and Lake Kinneret (the “Sea of Galilee”), and near Jerusalem, the Jews’ ancient capital. The new immigrant Arabs tended to settle near where they already had relatives, since Arab culture was then, and to a good extent still is now, based primarily on family ties, and intra-clan, intra-tribal loyalty and identity, lacking any larger sense of national identity.At the same time as large numbers of Arabs were benefiting from the development that Jews had brought to this formerly neglected land, a counter-movement also arose that sought to demonize and expel the Jews, because they refused to fit the model that had characterized Muslim-Jewish relations for centuries: a Muslim-dominated political structure, typically one that is unquestioningly authoritarian in nature, which, depending on its feelings of generosity and mutual benefit, MAY permit “people of the book” — Jews and Christians — to continue to live in a Muslim-ruled land, so long as they accept being dhimmis: (A) kowtow appropriately and humiliatingly to their Muslim masters, and (B) pay a “jizya” head-tax to the Muslim government. Said permission is not seen by Muslim culture as a human “right” — non-Muslims have no “rights” — but as an act of generosity, out of the goodness of the ruler’s hearts, but subject to being withdrawn at any time on any arbitrary whim if the ruler changes his mind.This anti-Jew movement, which began in earnest even before the 1917 British conquest of Palestine from the Ottomans (the two empires were enemies, in World War One), evolved into the Palestinian “national” movement, which, from its inception, focused on expelling or killing Jews, not on building infrastructure to declare an independent, self-governing Palestinian state. Democratic self-governance was not really a “thing,” you see, in the Arab mindset of the time (and still mostly is not today), since the essentially clan-based and tribal-based sociopolitical order of the Arab world was much happier following “strong man” authoritiarian leaders; this obviated the need for the common people to make any political decisions for themselves, which was also compatible with the Islamic worldview and the practice of submission to the will of God that characterized Islam in general.The upshot is that the Jewish community in pre-independence Palestine under the British Mandate (the “yishuv”) worked hard to develop the infrastructure and institutions to be able to hit the ground running with a viable, self-governing independent state once Britain ended its administrative trusteeship that the League of Nations had instituted over the Mandate territory for exactly that purpose — to foster development of a Jewish national home — while the local Arabs did no such thing. When the British finally threw up their hands in 1947 and declared their intention to withdraw from the Mandate by May 1948, the Jews were prepared, and happily sought, to declare an independent state; the Arabs, meaning not just the local tribes and clans, who were not organized in any meaningful fashion except for the purpose of anti-Jewish agitation and terror, had no such plan in mind. Instead, the united nation-states with an Arab majority — the Arab League — declared war on Israel the day after Israel declared independence, seeking to obliterate the Jewish state and “drive the Jews into the sea,” a euphemism for wholesale genocide, to continue the work that Hitler had been interrupted in performing just three years previously.Israel miraculously survived this assault by 7 well-equipped and well-trained regular armies, although by the time an armistice agreement was negotiated at Western insistence in 1949, Egypt was occupying the Gaza region, and Jordan was occupying the hill country of Judea (the ancient Jewish cultural center, including the Old City of Jerusalem) and Samaria (the region just north of Jerusalem). Jordan re-named these territories “the West Bank” in about 1950 — a name that had never been applied to them before — in an attempt to make these conquered parts of the former British Mandate for Palestine (which had, by international law, become part of Israel the moment the British withdrew and Israel declared its independence and the Arabs did not), seem like a natural part of Jordanian territory — the rest of Jordan being the “East Bank,” or, as it was originally known, “Transjordan,” referring to the land just “across” the Jordan River from the side where the British were. Nobody except Britain and Pakistan accepted this ruse when Jordan declared annexation of “the West Bank” then.The Jordanian occupation of the West Bank lasted from 1948 to 1967, 19 years. During that time, Jordan made virtually no effort to develop “the West Bank” in any way whatsoever. In June 1967, Jordan foolishly decided to enter the war that Egypt had started against Israel when Egypt blockaded the Straits of Tiran against Israeli shipping in May of that year, an act of war that would soon strangle Israel of fuel if no counter-steps were taken. After the war Egypt started had lain dormant for a few weeks, Israel overwhelmed the Egyptian and Syrian air forces with a surprise attack in early June, paving the way for a quick victory. But Egypt’s president convinced Jordan’s king that the Arabs were winning, and, despite Israeli pleas that Jordan stay out of the war, Jordan also attacked Israel from the West Bank. Israel defeated that attack as well, and, at the conclusion of hostilities, Israel found itself in possession of the entire West Bank (including eastern Jerusalem and the Old City), all of Gaza, all of the Golan Heights, and all of the Sinai Peninsula up to the Suez Canal. Israel immediately declared its desire to trade land for peace, but the Arab League, meeting in Khartoum, Sudan a few weeks later, declared NO recognition of Israel, NO negotiations with Israel, and NO peace with Israel. Thus, Israel was basically stuck with administering territories with a hostile Arab population that the prior occupying powers did not want back, at least not badly enough to be willing to negotiate for them.And now, we get to the part that actually addresses OP’s question. I hope, dear reader, that you can see it was impossible to answer that question WITHOUT going through that extremely foreshortened capsule history of the conflict. But, at the moment in time when the “occupation” of Gaza and the West Bank began, those regions, recently liberated from Jordanian and Egyptian occupation, had:exactly ZERO institutions of higher learning (except for one agricultural school in the West Bank that was essentially high-school level and had been built by the British during the Mandate);ZERO hospitals or modern medical clinics;NO piped-in water and sewer systems or indoor plumbing, in most areas;NO electric grid, except in parts of eastern Jerusalem;NO free press;FEW paved roads; most Arab villages in the region were collections of rough-cut stone huts with timber or thatched roofs, no glass in the windows, and dirt floors, focused around animal husbandry or agriculture, accessible only by dirt roads or foot trails; andNO institutional structure for unified overall self-government, though clans and tribes were essentially self-governing through local officials.So, Israel started building such things. FOR THE ARABS, not at first for Jewish “settlers.” Starting in 1967, Israel built, for the West Bank and Gaza, multiple universities, hospitals, and news outlets; a modern water and sewer system and electric grid; and a modern road network.Accordingly, by almost every objective measure, the Arabs of the West Bank and of Gaza were much better off economically and developmentally following 25 years of Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza lands than they had been in the preceding 19 years under Egyptian and Jordanian occupation, or at any time previously. Moreover, by these measures, the status of West Bank and Gaza Arabs was superior, under Israeli rule, than the average in virtually every other Arab-majority state. They had a longer life expectancy, a higher average wage, a higher literacy rate, better overall health, and far superior infant-mortality statistics. All because of Israeli development.In 1993, after making peace with Egypt and returning the Sinai (dismantling and moving out all Jewish settlements in the region in the process), and on the verge of making peace with Jordan on similar terms, the Oslo Agreements (negotiated in secret by private actors then “sprung” on Israeli leadership as a fait accompli) brought Yassir Arafat and his Fatah-dominated Palestine Liberation Organization in from the cold — they had been driven out of Jordan, then out of Lebanon, after unsuccessfully attempting to undermine the governments in those Arab nation-states, and had been exiled to Tunisia — to create a new “Palestinian Authority,” which would have complete civil AND security control and governance over some 97% of the Arabs of the West Bank, and 100% of the Arabs of Gaza, in the region the Oslo agreement called “Area A.” The Israeli military retained security control — “occupation” — over a buffer zone called “Area B,” where few Arabs lived, though any Arabs who did live there were under PA civil governance as well. Israel retained full civil and military control over “Area C,” consisting mainly of the uninhabited and undeveloped “state lands” in the Jordan Valley and the areas immediately adjacent to the rest of israel, to provide a security buffer, as a temporary measure pending a full final-status peace agreement which would determine the eventual borders between Israel and the proposed new state of “Palestine.”Unfortunately for the Palestinians, the PA continued spending most of its vast sums of international aid money on fighting Israel — via payments to terrorists, as well as massive propaganda efforts — and putting most of the rest of that money into the pockets and Swiss bank accounts of the PA’s corrupt and kleptocratic leaders, instead of building infrastructure and national institutions.The PA (and later, Hamas, which took over Gaza from the PA in a civil war after Israel unilaterally withdrew all its forces AND all its civilians from Gaza in 2005) also promoted an “anti-normalization” campaign against Israel, which, in addition to silly and stupid results such as the arrest of various West Bank Arabs who committed the “crime” of going to holiday parties being given by Jewish neighbors, also had the even more silly and stupid effect of preventing Arab representatives from sitting on the joint water board that had been created by Oslo, preventing or discouraging individual Arabs from seeking Israeli building permits or otherwise cooperating in any way with the Israeli state, and banning Israeli Jews — even anti-Zionist, pro-Arab ones — from participating in events within “Palestine.” And, of course, no Jews were to be permitted to live in Area A Palestine; the PA passed a law imposing the death penalty on any Arab who sold land to a Jew.That’s where things stand today. And that also, pretty much, is why the areas within the corrupt, incompetent, and “resistance”-obsessed governance of the Palestinian Authority have found themselves living in deteriorating conditions ever since the actual Israeli occupatoin of Area A ENDED in 1993, and was replaced by the Palestinian Authority.The Palestinian Arabs are smart, hard-working, literate, capable people who COULD build an effective economy and a viable nation-state of their own, if they wanted to. The upshot is that they do not want to, at least not until they reclaim their lost honor from their unsuccessful original attempt to destroy Israel in 1948, by completing that destruction of Israel in some other manner. That is the motivation, and the narrative, that has to change, if the Arabs of either Gaza or the West Bank are ever going to be able to climb out of the rut where they have put themselves, and build a viable Palestine willing to live in peace alongside Israel. Until they do that, they have only their own autocratic leadership realistically to blame for the mess in which they find themselves, and against which Israel has been forced to defend itself, time and again, for 70 years.

Israel!​Natalie Portman! The international movie star! She’s best known for playing in French and American movies, but she’s Israeli, born in Jerusalem, to parents from Eastern Europe and the U.S. Check her out in “A Tale of Love and Darkness”, a 2015 film set in Israel’s early days—she speaks Hebrew there. (Image from Wikipedia by user Georges Biard, licensed as CC-BY-SA 3.0.)Israel has small territory. Depending on how you count (see below), Israel’s area is somewhere between 20,770 sq km and 28260 sq km. If you count the narrow value, Israel’s area is between those of El Salvador and Slovenia; if you count the wide value, Israel’s area is between those of Albania and Equatorial Guinea. For Americans who like comparisons to U.S. states, it’s roughly the size of Maryland. For Indians, it’s roughly the size of Manipur.​​​(Image from Wikipedia, by user Addicted04, licensed as CC-BY-SA 3.0.)Now where do these extra 7490 sq km come from? Israel is the place of one of longest and most notable border disputes in the world, namely—what are its borders with Syria and the Palestinian State supposed to be, and also what are the municipal borders of Jerusalem. Countless articles and books were written about the matter, but very roughly and briefly the history goes something like this:Jews (also known as Hebrews or Israelites) lived in the geographical area of Palestine and had their own Kingdom before the Roman conquest about 2000 years ago. The Roman conquest destroyed that kingdom and most of the Jews left to live in other countries during the first millennium.The land changed hands several times. By the 19th century it was administered by the Ottoman Empire and mostly populated by Arabs.In the 19th century Jews from different countries started immigrating to this land, for ideological and religious reasons. The ideology that advocates immigration of Jews into Palestine and establishing a Jewish country there is called Zionism.In 1917 Ottoman Empire lost the First World War and as a result the land moved to be administered by the British Empire. The British Empire agreed that it’s possible to create a Jewish country on part of this land (“The Balfour Declaration”), which made the Jews living there very happy, and started another wave of immigration of Jews from Europe. The rise of Nazis to power in Germany in the 1930s intensified the immigration further.In 1947 the UN voted for the Partitioning Plan, to divide that land into an Arab state and a Jewish state.In 1948 the leadership of the Jews declared independence according to the Partitioning Plan and called the new country Israel. Arab leadership didn’t accept the plan and started a war. By the end of the war, an armistice agreement was reached, which in practice gave Israel a bit more territory than the original Partitioning Plan. The borders of the original plan are largely forgotten, and most of the negotiations since then are about the 1949 demarcation line, also known as “The Green Line”. The areas that were supposed to be used for the Arab state, were in practice occupied and administered by Egypt (The Gaza Strip) and Jordan (West Bank), and it didn’t generate a lot of controversy. The Green Line divided the city of Jerusalem, which Israel declared as its capital.In 1967 Israel got involved in the Six-Day War. Who started this war is a matter of yet more controversy, but it’s not too important. Israel won it, but this victory also messed things up quite a bit. Israel occupied the Gaza Strip, the Sinai peninsula, the West Bank (including all of Jerusalem), and also the Golan heights. The Sinai peninsula was returned to Egypt in 1982 as part of a peace agreement, but as of 2015, Israel still controls in one way or another most of the other territories occupied in 1967.In 1993 the Oslo agreement was signed, which created the autonomous Palestinian Authority, and administration of parts of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank were transferred to it. A lot of people imagined that it would be a step to creating an independent Palestinian state that peacefully coexists with Israel. The peace negotiations got stuck, however, so no completely recognized Palestinian state was ever established. Israel maintains civilian and military control over some parts of these territories, and strictly controls the borders with the areas administered by the Palestinian authority.The Golan heights are still claimed by Syria, but Israel practically annexed this land, settled it with its citizens, and doesn’t plan to withdraw from it, especially given that Syria is so chaotic and dysfunctional as of 2015.​​The current de-facto borders. The Gaza strip is not shown as part of Israel here, which makes sense because Israel doesn’t claim it and no Israelis live there since 2005, although its Arab residents (rightly) complain that Israel controls the border too tightly (as does Egypt). Golan heights and East Jerusalem, in yellow, are de-facto completely administered by Israel, but this is not recognized internationally; both places also happen to be prime tourist destinations. The rest of the West Bank (light brown) is de-facto controlled by Israel, with some areas under the civilian administration of the Palestinian authority, which claims all of it. (Image from Wikipedia, by user Ynhockey, released to the public domain)Confused? We all are. What the Israeli army does in the occupied territories is easily one of the biggest political controversies in the world, and a lot of Israelis are themselves openly unhappy about it. We do all hope that it will end in peace some day. Really.With that mentioned, there’s so much more to tell about Israel except the wars and the border controversies.Israel is stretched from south to north, and narrow from east to west. Driving from Metula in the north to Eilat in the south takes about 6 hours. Driving from Tel-Aviv in the west to Jerusalem in the east takes about one hour, and if you drive further through the West Bank on the Israeli-controlled Jerusalem–Jericho highway, it takes about 45 minutes more. That’s it: less than two hours and you crossed the whole country.Also, Israel is precisely where Asia ends and Africa begins: Israel’s border with Egypt is the only land border between the two continents.The main language of Israel is modern Hebrew. Ancient Hebrew is the language in which the Bible was written (or in Christian terms, the Old Testament). Since (roughly) the 1st century until the 19th century, Hebrew was used for writing numerous books about religion, as well as poetry, philosophy and science, but it was not used as a spoken language. Jewish ideologists in the 19th century led by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda modernized this language and made it suitable for speaking and writing about current events and realities. This is frequently cited as the most successful language revitalization project ever. Hebrew is now used in Israel in writing and speech in all areas of life—family, school, work, shopping, newspapers, web, email, SMS, literature, theater, TV, music, and so on.​Eliezer Ben-Yehuda was the leader of the Hebrew language revival in the late 19th and early 20th century. With his wife Hemda he raised the first children in modern times who had Hebrew as their first native language. He convinced thousands of other people to switch from other languages to Hebrew, wrote a seventeen-volume dictionary of a language that was considered dead, and created a whole modern culture out of almost nothing. Streets are named in many Israeli cities after this man, who did a thing that nobody believed possible, and inspired generations of Israelis to try and do other impossible and unbelievable things.Hebrew, like Arabic, is written right to left. Computer keyboards in Israel are based on the American English keyboard, and you can switch them to typing in Hebrew, and both Latin and Hebrew letters are shown on the keys. Some people also have Arabic, Russian or Armenian letters added.​Israeli Hebrew computer keyboard. (Image from Wikipedia, by user Epson291, released to the public domain)Most of the Jews in Israel are descendants of immigrants who have come from Russia, Poland, France, Germany, England, Morocco, Algeria, Yemen, Ethiopia, Iraq, Iran, India, Argentina, and many other countries since the mid-19th century.​Esther Rada, born in Israel in an Ethiopian-Jewish family, is an internationally known soul singer. She mostly sings in English, and also in Hebrew and Amharic. (Image from Wikipedia by user Fantman, licensed as CC-BY-SA 3.0.)Israeli Jews share an ethnic-religious identity, but their actual beliefs and practices are wildly different: most don’t consider themselves religious and don’t care too much about traditions such as Sabbath, Kosher food, prayers, etc. Some even call themselves atheists. Some call themselves religious, so they pray three times a day, they don’t drive or use electricity of Saturday (Sabbath), they check that all their food is Kosher, etc. Some dedicate almost all of their lives to religion—they are called Haredim or Ultra-Orthodox, and are identified by black clothes and hats for men and long dresses for women.​Shuli Rand is a Haredi Jew, and a highly popular actor and singer all over the country. There are a lot of differences and misunderstandings between Haredi and secular Jews in Israel, but Rand is an example of crossover success and recognition. (Image from Wikipedia by user שלמה [Shlomo], licensed as CC-BY-SA 3.0.)But dividing Israelis into just these three groups doesn’t really do them justice—it’s a large spectrum of opinions, beliefs, practices, and identities, and the label “Jewish” is pretty much the only common thing for them. I know some Israeli Jews who are Christians, Buddhists or Scientologists, but they nevertheless call themselves Jews; this may sound like a contradiction to you, but it’s not a contradiction to them.​Shakhar Tzuberi, Olympic medalist, born in Israel in a Yemenite-Jewish family. (Image from Wikipedia, by user Baderez, licensed as CC-BY-SA 2.5.)Israel is a democracy, with a parliament that is supposed to be elected every four years, although because of frequent political crises the elections are often held earlier. Despite the messiness with elections and parliamentary coalitions, the political system in general has been fairly stable since the establishment of the country in 1948.​The building of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem. We love to hate our parliament members and to complain about their incompetence, corruption and lies, but we can replace them in elections every four years, and usually even earlier. (Image from Wikipedia, by user Beny Shlevich, licensed as CC-BY-SA 2.5.)Roughly 20% of people in Israel are Arabs. Most are Muslim, some are Christians. There are also the Druze people, who speak Arabic, but whose religious and ethnic identity is distinct from the Arabs, as well as small communities of Muslim Circassians and Christian Armenians. They are all citizens of Israel, they vote for the parliament and they can be elected. There were Arab Muslim, Christian and Druze parliament members throughout the history of the country. Arabs in Gaza and the West Bank are citizens of the Palestinian Authority and vote for its own parliament.​Bassam Zuamut was an Arab-Israeli theater and television actor, beloved by both Arabs and Jews. (Image from Eli Eshed’s website. Sorry, no clever licensing remark, I just googled it. I’d love to have a better image—please edit this answer if you find one.)Israel is one of the gay-friendliest countries in the world, and definitely the gay-friendliest in the Middle East. Gay couples live openly and raise children all over the country, and Tel-Aviv is known as the most important gay center. The legislation is relatively egalitarian even if not yet perfect. So many singers, actors, journalists, scientists, and politicians are openly gay, bi or trans that in 2015 it’s not even a big deal any more. There is some homophobia in the religious circles, but this, unfortunately, exists all over the world.​Pride parade in Tel-Aviv. (Image from Wikipedia by the U.S. Embassy staff, licensed as CC-BY-SA 2.0.)The most popular team sports in Israel are football (soccer for Americans) and basketball. Local football teams are passionately loved by the fans, but are not very notable internationally, although some Israeli footballers played abroad, such as Yaniv Katan and Hayim Revivo. In basketball we are actually quite good—the Maccabi Tel-Aviv team won six European cups. Israel also does quite well internationally in tennis, sailing, and judo.​Maccabi Haifa (green) playing with Maccabi Tel-Aviv (yellow). Cricket is played in Israel only by a few immigrants from India and other Commonwealth countries; baseball and American football are played only by a few immigrants from the U.S.; ice hockey is played by a few immigrants from the USSR; golf is played by some millionaires. My apologies to my Indian, American, and Russian readers. (Image from Wikipedia by user Orrling, licensed as CC-BY-SA 3.0.)Both male and female Israelis are drafted to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) when they are 18. That’s right: girls, too. Haredi Jews and Muslim Arabs are exempt from draft, but some do volunteer for service (these exemptions have been one of Israel’s biggest political controversies throughout its history). Service is very varied—infantry, navy, air force, electronics, intelligence, radio, and many other professions are available. For quite a lot of Israelis, the army service is the time when they learn the profession to which they will dedicate their careers after the army. That’s also where a lot of people meet their best friends for life, and in quite a lot cases—their future spouses. You can very often see uniformed soldiers walking the streets of cities and riding buses and trains; they are not patrolling, they are just going about their business, probably from their home to the base or back. Israel is such a small country that a lot of soldiers don’t even have to stay at the base, so they simply go home at the end of the work day.​Israeli soldiers in training. Men and women can serve in any position according to their abilities. (Photo from Wikipedia by the IDF spokesperson, licensed as CC-BY 2.0.)About 70% of Israelis know English. Some better, some worse, but if you know English, you’ll most likely be able to get around.​Rona Kenan, a popular Israeli rock singer. Most of her songs are in Hebrew, and a few are in English. (Image from Wikipedia by user The forgotten, licensed as CC-BY-SA 3.0.)About 15% of Israelis (possibly even more) know Russian, because they immigrated from the Soviet Union. They all learn Hebrew upon arrival, or even before it.​Arkadi Dukhin, one of the biggest rock stars in Israel, was born in Belarus. He knows Russian, but sings in Hebrew. (Image from Wikipedia by Adi Cohen Tzedek, licensed as CC-BY-SA 3.0.)Israel has a beautiful coast line in the west, on the Mediterranean sea. Cities like Acre (Akko), Haifa, Caesarea, Tel-Aviv, and Ashkelon are all highly recommended to tourists.​The ancient theater, well-preserved for 2000 years, in the city of Caesarea built by the Romans on the coast of the Mediterranean sea, which you can see right behind the stage. It’s still used for music and theater shows. Half an hour of driving from Tel-Aviv. (Image from Wikipedia by James Emery, licensed as CC-BY 2.0.)Though its legal status is internationally controversial, as far as Israelis are concerned, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and the seat of its parliament, government, and supreme court. Most tourists who come to Israel visit Jerusalem, especially the old city with its famous churches, mosques and markets, as well as the Western Wall, but the rest of the city is worth a tour as well, for its modern culture and beautiful streets and gardens. (I live here and it’s AWESOME! OK, I’m biased.)​Jerusalem! I love it! Yeah! (Image from Wikipedia by user Nettadi, licensed as CC-BY-SA 3.0.)In the north-east of Israel you have Kinneret, or the Sea of Galilee—actually a lake, but traditionally called a “sea”. It has beautiful nature around it, and is highly meaningful to Christians, because a lot of the events described in the New Testament happened there. That’s where Jesus is told to have walked on water, among other things.​View of the Sea of Galilee, also known as Kinneret, from Mount Arbel. (Image from Wikipedia by user Yuvalr, licensed as CC-BY-SA 3.0.)From the Sea of Galilee the Jordan river flows to the south and into the Dead Sea—actually also a lake, but it’s so special that it’s called a “sea”, too. Its water is the saltiest on the planet, and its coast is the lowest land anywhere on Earth.​The Dead Sea, as seen from Masada, yet another popular tourist destination. (Image from Wikipedia by user Grauesel, licensed as CC-BY-SA 3.0.)The southern tip of Israel is the city of Eilat on the Red Sea, with Jordan and Saudi Arabia on one side and Egypt on the other. It’s a popular tourist destination, both as a resort and as a natural sanctuary connecting sea, colorful fish, corals, and desert mountains.​A seahorse in Eilat, photographed in the natural habitat from the underwater observatory. (Image from Wikipedia by Avishai Teicher, licensed as CC-BY 2.5.)Israeli food is a wild mix of Italian, Polish, French, Moroccan, American, German, Lebanese, Balkan, Egyptian, Yemenite, and Iraqi cuisine. You can be sure of one thing—the food will be tasty everywhere. Excellent latte and espresso coffee is easy to find everywhere, too.​Falafel, though not invented in Israel, became one of the symbols of Israeli life. (Image from Wikipedia by Ted Eytan, licensed as CC-BY-SA 3.0.)Israeli music is as varied as its food—you have classical music, opera, rock, jazz, “mizrahi” (pop music based on Turkish and Arab melodies), reggae, hip hop, various World Music ethnic orchestras, klezmer, and what not.​Sarit Hadad is one of Israel’s most successful pop singers, performing in the Mizrahi style. She also appeared in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2002. And yes, we LOVE our smartphones, but then who doesn’t. (Image from Wikipedia by user Neukoln, licensed as CC-BY-SA 3.0.)Israeli rock music, in particular, in highly diverse, with some artists playing in a completely British-American style (but mostly singing in Hebrew), and some playing with unique Israeli touches (if this makes you curious, check out Berry Sakharof, Ehud Banai, Ofer Shriki, Dikla, Amir Benayoun, and Knesiyat Hasekhel).​Berry Sakharof was born in Turkey and came to Israel when he was three. He is one of the leading figures in Israeli rock music, combining Western rock with oriental influences, as well as electronic music. In the 1980s he was a member or the band Minimal Compact, which achieved some popularity in Europe, but since early 1990s he is having a successful solo career here in his home country. (Image from Wikipedia by Koren Ziv, licensed as CC-BY-SA 3.0.)Two Israeli higher-education institutions appear in the top 100 of the Shanghai Academic Ranking—the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Technion in Haifa. The Weizmann Institute in Rehovot is another study and research institution with international prestige. Despite its tiny size, twelve people from Israel won the Nobel prize: Shmuel-Yosef Agnon, Yitzhak Rabin, Ada Yonath, Dan Shechtman, Yisrael Aumann and others.​Ada Yonath is a winner of the Nobel prize in Chemistry. She was born in Jerusalem in 1939 to Jews who immigrated from Poland six years earlier, just before the Holocaust. Many Jews in general and Israelis in particular are quite obsessed about the Holocaust, which was a genocide of European Jews by the Nazis. Israelis see the very existence of the country, not to mention its people’s successes in economics, science, and culture, as a victory against Nazism. Israel doesn’t have a lot of minerals or oil, so its most important asset is its people. (Image from Wikipedia by Miki Koren, licensed as CC-BY-SA 3.0.)Israel is a power house of electronics and software development. Intel, Microsoft, Google, Apple, Cisco, Qualcomm, 3M, Red Hat, and plenty of other hi-tech companies do a lot of their development work in Tel-Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, Netanya, and other Israeli cities. In particular, Israel is the birth place of instant messaging (ICQ, acquired by AOL), network firewalls (Check Point), pay TV with smart cards (NDS, acquired by Cisco), and many other technologies.​The city of Haifa, and the Haifa bay in the back. Mountains, a sea, and a bay make it slightly similar to San-Francisco, but it’s much smaller and cozier. It’s a city of tourism, science, maritime trade, electronics, software, and chemical processing, as well as the transportation hub of Northern Israel. Have I mentioned that it’s highly recommended for tourists? (Image from Wikipedia by Zvi Roger, licensed as CC-BY-SA 3.0.)It’s an unpleasant thing to say, but if you plan to visit Israel, you should know that while Israeli airport security has a good record of preventing terrorism, it is also notoriously slow and intrusive, both on the way to and from Israel. Also, some taxi drivers tend to be quite rude. But in all honesty, once you are past them, you are among friends.​A beach in Tel-Aviv. “Matkot” is a simple paddle ball game that Israelis love to play on the beach. Not to win, just to have fun. As a matter of fact, it says a lot about this country. (Image from Wikipedia by user David Shankbone, licensed as CC-BY 3.0.)Some other answers about Israel that you might find useful:‎Amir E. Aharoni (אמיר א׳ אהרוני)‎'s answer to Are Jewish people part of an ethnicity, a race, a religion, or all of the above?‎Amir E. Aharoni (אמיר א׳ אהרוני)‎'s answer to What's it like to ride the bus in Israel?‎Amir E. Aharoni (אמיר א׳ אהרוני)‎'s answer to What experiences are unique to Israel?‎Amir E. Aharoni (אמיר א׳ אהרוני)‎'s answer to How did the transition to Hebrew as the language of the majority in Israel occur?

The Confrontation of Talas (751 AD) between the armies of the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258 AD) and the Tang Dynasty of China (618–907 AD) in Central Asia, was one of those many particular skirmishes throughout the history of Man, which though not quite so important at the time, eventually did go on however to indeed become supremely relevant many hundreds of years later.An artist’s impression of the Battle of Talas River between the forces of Abbasid Arabia and Tang China:Was it an event that was historically significant overall though? That might be a bit difficult to answer fully, but honestly not so much in the short term as it proved to be in the medium term. And arguably not so much in the medium either, as it eventually was the case in the long. Therefore it can be said to have been generally relevant to the history of the Human Race, all things considered and accounted for.But in any case when it finally did have an impact however, this was mainly with regards to both the technological, geopolitical and cultural spheres. Otherwise Talas was primarily a “sleeper hit” event historically, and even to this day in fact, still shrouded in relative obscurity and anonymity. Hence why many self-proclaimed “history buffs”, would appear to have never even heard of such an otherwise particularly important event.THUS, since it makes absolutely no sense at all to discuss the importance of such a relatively unknown battle in depth, without first giving context as to the events which occurred both leading up to, during and after the clash, I will have to do just that first of all. Because realistically speaking, in order to understand the skirmish’s importance (or any battle really), one would have to also know what it actually is in the first place, and by extension the context in which it occurs within.Yes, that’s what I’ll do first, before actually answering the question at hand. Sit down, buckle up and be forewarned: fairly lengthy answer dead ahead.To answer such a multi-faceted and complicated question, as per usual I’ll be separating my response into several parts, which is as follows (of course, if you don’t have the patience to read through the entire answer, I’ve also attached a “TL;DR” in the Final Summary section, or, you can just skip straight to chapter III if you really want):Chapter I: “The Rise of Two Empires”: Context Leading up to the Battle of TalasChapter II: “A Clash of Civilizations”: The Events at the Confrontation of TalasChapter III: Why is the Battle of Talas Historically Significant?Final Summary (TL;DR)SourcesChapter I: “The Rise of Two Empires”: Context Leading up to the Battle of TalasAlong the Western half of Eurasia, the air was filled with smoke and blood. The second longest military conflict in the entire history of Man, the “Roman-Persian Wars” (54 BC–628 AD) had long persisted onwards, perpetually with no end in sight for the best of nearly half a millenia by the time it came to a close during the dawn of the 7th Century AD.With the strength of two superpowers now simultaneously sapped by the conflict, and given little time to recover for both, a newly emerging polity was on the upwards trend towards the geographical south. One man, Prophet Muhammad (محمد‎) divinely inspired by the one true god, Allah (الله), by both the word and the sword had managed to unite all of Arabia under one banner; that of the teachings of Islam (إسلام).Such was not a mere trivial matter, but on the contrary even highly crucial, as the religion of Islam was a force which provided for all the various tribes of Arabia - each formerly divided - with a sense of mutual belonging, stability and therefore cohesion. A common identity, based on the teachings of Islam was cemented all throughout the lands of the Arabian Peninsula (شبه الجزيرة العربية‎) to such an extent, that the beginnings of a great empire was now unquestionably ready. All it needed was a precipitant; the fire to the fuel to kickstart it, one which finally came in the form of civilizational weakness from abroad.To the North, to the West, and to the East, the armies of Islam marched onwards to steadfast victory. A period of rapid expansionism with the aim of spreading the teachings of the Prophet to all four corners of the Earth, seldom seen before in history was allowed to occur.Territories of the Rashidun Caliphate (اَلْخِلَافَةُ ٱلرَّاشِدَةُ‎) in 655 AD at its peak, with a maximum land area of 6.4 million km^2:At the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah (معركة القادسيّة‎) in 636 AD for instance, soldiers from the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661 AD) numbering in at 40,000 men, managed to soundly defeat a rivalling force from the Sassanid Shahdom (224–651 AD), numbering in at approximately 80–200,000 (2–5 times larger than it), making Arab subjugation of Persia all but certain, a feat which was sealed merely 6 years later at the Battle of Nahavand (معركة نهاوند) in 642 AD.Here it was once again, an Islamic army of 30,000 managed to subdue a Sassanid force which was roughly 4 times larger in what eventually came to be regarded as a pyrrhic victory, with heavy casualties for both sides. In the aftermath of such an important battle, the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire collapsed, whilst loyalist forces to the House of Sasan held out in Khorasan (Northeastern Iran).An artist’s impression of the select units within the military of the Umayyad Caliphate (ٱلْخِلافَةُ ٱلأُمَوِيَّة):As for the Eastern Roman Empire (285–1453 AD) meanwhile, most intimidated by the vigour with which the captains of Islam had formidably expanded outwards by, most reluctantly surrendered the City of Alexandria, and by extension a significant portion of Byzantine Egypt over to the Rashidun Caliphate all by the year 642 AD.Even prior to that however, the common trend for the most part, as exemplified at the Battle of Yarmouk (معركة اليرموك) in 636 AD was one in which yet again once more, though severely outnumbered several times over, Arab forces emerged victorious over their more ancient counterparts, annexing the geographic region of “the Levant” (the area around contemporary Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) from the clutches of Constantinople henceforth.This continued to be the status quo for several more decades, one in which the forces of Islam proved to be overwhelmingly superior on the battlefields, until the pivotal year of 750 AD, when the territories of the succeeding Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 AD) finally reached its almighty zenith with a peak land area of 13 million km^2, enough to contain 20% of the world’s population at 62 million people:With an empire which was said to have taken the equivalent of up to 200 days to wholly traverse from Islamic Spain, all the way up and over to the former borders of the Sassanid Empire, the power of the Caliphate was now most self-evident indeed. And yet, still it was not enough for the mighty caliphs of Umayyad Arabia. Naturally, thus it came to be that the forces of Islam with the passing of time soon expanded towards Central Asia, a place where the various Turkic peoples had called home for generations on end.To this extent, an event known as the “Muslim Conquest of Transoxiana” (الفتح الإسلامي لما وراء النهر) then took place from over a period of 78 years from 673–751 AD. Despite this, even as far back as by the year 715 AD however, most of the region known as Transoxiana was already under Arab control despite the overdue length of the conquest.A map of the Transoxiana border area in Central Asia:Arab superiority, most unquestionable, most undeniable and most unstoppable during such a turbulent time was such, that the Caliphate could even assist in the adventing of puppet regimes, if it so desired. An example of this was especially the case with regards to Arab manipulation of events in the “Principality of Ferghana” (712–819 AD), when Alutar, a pro-Umayyad king came to the throne thanks directly due to Islamic interventionism.Alas, the power of the Umayyads, as glorious as it was could surely not everlast forever - no empire could - and sooner rather than later, a revolutionary by the name of one Abu al-Abbas Abdullah al Saffah (أبو العباس عبد الله السفّاح‎) ascended to prominence within the borders of the Caliphate, there he proceeded to amass a vast rebel force, which he then used to subsequently overthrow the Umayyad Administration in an event known today as the “Abbasid Revolution” (ٱلْخِلافَةُ الثورة), at last establishing the famous eponymous Caliphate in its stead as a permanent replacement henceforth.Holding dominion over the vast majority of its predecessor’s territories, the Caliphate stood strong over all of North Africa, the Caucasus, Persia, the Levant, and of course Arabia. It’s foremost priority in those early days was the consolidation of power, and the stability of the Caliphate. To this extent, the Abbasids immediately moved to strengthen its newfound hold all over Central Asia. And there it was, that they came to await the imminent arrival of their great Eastern nemesis, long deferred, but now finally within their grasp at last.An artist’s impression of proclamation of As-Saffah as First Caliph of the vastly powerful Abbasid Caliphate, having come to power after initiating and participating in a nationwide revolution against the Umayyads (as extracted from Persian historian, Muhammad Balami (أبو علي البلعمي)’s Tariknama or “Book of History”:Along the Eastern half of Eurasia many decades prior to such times meanwhile, the Celestial civilization of China had also begun to arise from the ashes once more.In the wake of the usurpation of the Han Imperial throne in 220 AD by the infamous Prime Minister Cao Cao (曹操), Sino civilization had entered a 369 year long period of death, destruction, poverty, misery and grief known best as the “Age of Disunity” (220–589 AD), in which Feudalism returned to a country formerly governed by a fully centralized, and powerful quasi-modern bureaucratic superstate, in which many innocents, numbering in the tens of thousands if not millions passed away each and every decade or so.Such a divisive situation only ended in 589 AD when all of China was properly reunified for the first time in 369 years, under the command of a powerful, centralized superstate once more, led by one very particular hardworking micromanager, Yang Jian (楊堅), who eventually went onto become Emperor Wen of Sui (隋文帝). The dynasty, initially prosperous took a turn for the worse when Wen’s son had him murdered, before proceeding to ascend the throne, negating all of his father’s hard-fought, sorely kept progress at maintaining a sense of National Stability all throughout the lands of “all under Heaven”.Territories of the Sui Empire (隋朝) at its peak in 589 AD with a land area of 3 million km^2:A certain aristocratic Li Family in Northern China, fed up with the utter tyranny of what they perceived to be a highly despotic regime unworthy of their loyalty, initiated in a nationwide revolution against the Empire, with the help of angry civilians and turncoat soldiers also dissatisfied with the Sui Regime, but most notably in addition several hundred soldiers from what was then the most powerful country in all East Asia, the almighty Turkic Khaganate (552–744 AD).Consolidating power after having his father (the dynasty’s first ruler) and brothers murdered, Chinese civilization’s greatest sovereign, Li Shimin (李世民), or Emperor Taizong (唐太宗) eventually ascended to the throne of the Empire of Great Tang (大唐). Under the reign of Li, Chinese civilization entered its “Grand Age of Cosmopolitanism and Multiculturalism”, in what has alternatively been called the “Golden Age of China”; a more befitting title truth be told.A portrait of Li Shimin, arguably the greatest ruler of Chinese civilization to have ever arisen, lording over the lands of the Celestial Empire from 626–49 AD:The leniency and great tolerance of Emperor Taizong set in motion a chain of events which saw to the rapid “foreignization” of China. Race as a form of identity largely became very redundant because of this. The world as the Tang and all others surrounding them perceived it, was merely made up of different cultures.This was what allowed the initial openness of the Imperial Army to fully utilize and appreciate foreign talent in the form of Turkic soldiers, albeit very limitedly in the first place. This was made vastly easier in addition, when Taizong claimed the title of “Tängri Qaghan” (the God Emperor), proclaiming himself to be dual master both of the Celestial Empire and of the Steppe.The greatest cavalry by far in the world during the 7th-8th Centuries AD, thus was able to belong to Great Tang in this way, as native Chinese efforts at emulating Turkic superiority with regards to mounted assaults, head on charges, and horse archery was perfected. This came to be particularly useful when open war between the Turkic Khaganates (both Western and Eastern) and China became inevitable.With the advantages of the Steppe all but negated for the most part, the Celestial Empire of Tang emerged as the clear victor. In less than a year from 629–30 AD, the Eastern Khaganate (581–630 AD) had already been subjugated by Tang. The Western Khaganate (581–657 AD) took longer to subdue, roughly 17 years from 640–57 AD under the command of succeeding Chinese sovereigns, but still the Empire emerged victorious in the end. This was such that the Chinese now had in their possession, what would go down in history as Mankind’s largest empire by area ever, at least until it was overtaken by the Umayyads in 750 AD.A map of Great Tang at its almighty zenith in 669 AD under the reign of Emperor Gaozong (唐高宗), with a total land area of approximately 12.37 million km^2:Over the next century, Chinese dominance remained relatively secure for the most part. They did however end up losing much of the land they had formerly worked so hard to pacify. Eventually, many of the Turkic tribes which had previously been under the dominion of China during the rule of Emperor Taizong, encouraged by the temporary weakness of the Empire during the reign of China’s first and last nominal and de facto female sovereign, Wu Zhao (武曌), revolted and in doing so broke away from the dynasty forever.Empress Wu Zetian (武則天) herself on the other hand, was a usurper, she had briefly overthrown the Tang from years 690–705 AD, a status quo which saw the entire ruling Li Family under her tyrannical subjugation during such a time. But by the very end of her own self-proclaimed “Zhou Dynasty” (周朝), sentiments in favour of change begun to arise against her, due to personal conduct in those very last days of neglectful administration, and she was forced to abdicate the throne in favour of the Li Family once more thus.A domino chain effect begun to occur, and eventually, one of the many princes who had suffered for almost his entire life by then under the tyranny of Wu, Li Longji (李隆基) was able to ascend to the throne, after leading a nationwide revolution against additional dissenters who, inspired by Wu, had seeked to overthrow the Li Family once more. Emperor Xuanzong (唐玄宗) thus came to rule over the Empire of Tang in this way.A portrait of Xuanzong of Tang:Desiring foremostly to reverse the consequences arising from Wu’s poor leadership, Xuanzong implemented a number of civil reforms most notably, including restructuring the taxation system, and reducing corruption and nepotism, but his most famous yet also infamous policy however was with regards to the military facet of the Tang Empire.Up until Xuanzong’s reign, the armies of Chinese civilization during the Imperial Era had been commanded under the “Fubing” System (府兵制) which essentially advocated in favour of a numerically superior, but for the most part conscripted and therefore in all likelihood, poorly trained military. Xuanzong, having had enough of such an embarrassing stain on Sino civilization, replaced the Fubing Apparatus instead with the “Jiedushi” Military Command (節度使).A map highlighting all the 10 major administrative divisions within the Tang Empire, which highlighted the whereabouts of the vast majority of the Imperial Army, and their correlated Jiedushi controlled territories by the year 745 AD:Under such a system, massive personnel cutbacks were issued all across the Middle Kingdom as Xuanzong sought to transfer the military from one based on conscription, to one based on professionalism instead. In 714 AD, he fully implemented such reforms, and in a matter of a few years, he had in his possession an all volunteer, and highly multicultural army 500,000 strong.Not only was this allowed to occur, but to several individuals called “Jiedushi Governors” went control of varying fractions of the army also. These Jiedushi, second only to the Imperial Administration itself were given the power to collect their own taxes, along with the absolute authority to command and raise their own armies within reason, promote and demote whosoever they wished, whilst maintaining de facto control over a corresponding province to which they had been allocated.The reforms were effective, and it allowed the Chinese to re-establish control all over East Asia once more, whereas previously their former subjects had been rebelling against them. The Empire under the rule of Xuanzong in this way, was able to at last re-stabilize, but this time around with merely a land area of 8.9 million km^2 in 741 AD (instead of the former 12.37 million km^2 held in 669 AD):It was under the reign of Emperor Xuanzong first as such, that Chinese civilization for the first time had began to come into contact with its Western equivalent, the Umayyad Caliphate.As mentioned previously, the power of the Caliphate had been such that they were able to install several puppet regimes onto various subordinate kingdoms if they so chose. Alutar, sovereign of the Ferghanan Principality was one such example. However, Umayyad superiority, rarely challenged before, would soon meet its match at last in the form of the Empire of Tang, which made it clear that it not only disapproved of the Caliphate’s actions, but would also militarily suppress its expansionism by force if need be.To this extent, Alutar’s predecessor, King Ikhshid fled to the City of Kucha located within the borders of China’s westernmost province Anxi, better known as the “Protectorate General to Pacify the West” (安西都護府) along the Tarim Basin (南疆), in order to seek Chinese assistance in restoring him to his throne, as the deposed Sassanid Shah, Peroz III had once also done when the Rashiduns similarly took both his throne and home away from him.An artist’s impression of several units belonging to the Imperial Army during the Tang Era:Troubled at recent developments concerning their subordinates, the Chinese agreed to intervene by sending 10,000 soldiers under the command of General Zhang Xiaosong (張孝嵩) towards Islamic controlled Ferghana, where the Imperial Army defeated Alutar at the City of Namangan, massacring three entire metropolises from the Kingdom of Sogdiana (328 BC–999 AD) along the way, before reinstalling a pro-Chinese regime back onto the Royal Throne of Ferghana.The Tibetan Empire (618–842 AD), an ally of the Umayyad Caliphate, which had previously launched several botched invasions of the Middle Kingdom, joined forces with the Umayyads merely two years after the return of King Ikhshid, in order to prepare for an imminent invasion of China. A third force of Turkic peoples from the Turgesh Khaganate (699–766 AD) had also joined forces with the Arabs and Tibetans by this point in time, very much so eager to avenge the sufferings of their country at the hands of the Tang Chinese.And in 717 AD, an Arab-Turkic-Tibetan joint strikeforce of an unknown size launched a preeminent invasion of the Tang, with the intentions of wholly crippling Chinese Western centric military capabilities, by taking control of the “Four Garrisons of Anxi” (安西四鎮).The Chinese, not to be outdone on the fields of battle, sent one army composed of Chinese Irregulars under the command of General Tang Jiahui (湯嘉惠), and another made up of several Turkic peoples, chief amongst which were the Karluk Horsemen under the command of Khagan Ashina Xin to meet such a formidable foe directly head on at the Battle of Aksu (717 AD).A mural impression of the Imperial Cavalry returning to China after a successful campaign against the Empire of Tibet (in 848 AD) during the 9th Century AD:In the ensuring battle, suffering merely light casualties themselves, the vast majority of the Umayyad led army was massacred by the Chinese led forces of Great Tang. The Arabs in the aftermath of such a conflict lost a huge portion of their holdings in Transoxiana, and were thus effectively expelled from the region by the Chinese Empire.This was so because in the aftermath of the battle, to indirectly add more “salt on the wound” to Arabia, the Turgesh peoples, former subordinates of Umayyad, swore allegiance to China, and launched several punitive attacks onto the Ferghana valley, defeating the Caliphate in a series of further battles, allowing them to wrestle control of the region from the Arabs for the most part, with the exception of a few forts. Arabia, never again the Chinese thought, would be able to meddle in the foreign affairs of the Middle Kingdom ever again… but they were wrong of course.Just merely a few decades later, the Old Regime that was the Umayyads, was subsequently toppled during the Abbasid Revolution (as mentioned prior) by individuals belonging to the House of Abbas, and replaced instead with a New Regime named after the ruling family. The cunning Chinese, taking advantage of this momentary internal weakness from their Western counterparts, sought to not only engulf the entirety of Transoxiana at once, but also subjugate key allied territories next to the Tibetan Empire in addition.A depiction of the transcontinental trading network, the Silk Road across the continent of Eurasia (apart from political and other reasons relating to cultural supremacy, the entire Central Asian region was a very economically crucial point along what has been called, the World’s “First System of Globalization”. Hence, de facto control of such a lucrative region in Eurasia was of course surely necessary for any aspiring superpower, such as that of Abbasid Arabia, or Tang China):To this extent, Chinese attempts at foreign conquest in the regions surrounding Tibet, were wholly successful when in 747 AD, an Imperial Army headed under the command of an ethnic Korean General, Gao Xianzhi (高仙芝) was able to lead a particular successful subjugation attempt against the State of Lesser Bolü (Unknown date) at the City of Gilgit (in Pakistan), in which a “three-pronged” Imperial Cavalry charge, 10,000 strong won Tang China the battle of that day.In the aftermath of Gao’s campaigns, Tang China’s influence over Afghanistan and Pakistan, had begun to rival that of the newly formed Abbasid Caliphate’s. Tibetan dominance over the Pamir Mountains meanwhile had eroded, all whilst the equivalent of roughly 72 different Indian and Sogdian kingdoms had surrendered over to Chinese supremacy, their sovereignty now null, thus becoming loyal vassals to the Celestial Empire henceforth.An artist’s impression of the famous ethnic Korean commander from the former Kingdom of Goguryeo (37 BC-668 AD), Gao Xianzhi who served under the leadership of the Empire of Tang:And as for Gao meanwhile, he was promoted to the highly prestigious position of “Jiedushi Governor” now possessing in his control the entirety of the Anxi Protectorate along with 20,000 men approximately. During such a turbulent time, the neighbouring yet rival Principalities of Ferghana and Chach (Tashkent, 262 AD ?-????) were feuding with one another. Naturally Ferghana - which had long been under the influence of the Chinese ever since King Ikhshid was placed back onto the throne 35 years prior in 715 AD - asked for Chinese military assistance once again.Governor Gao, formerly General, heeded this cry for foreign intervention and thus sent several thousands soldiers yet again to the region in the early months of 750 AD, in order to wholly subjugate the Chachean Principality. This was done with the due passing of time of course, but it ended not Transoxiana’s perpetual issues, when the sovereign of Chach, most unwilling to back down without at least a struggle first, similarly requested military assistance from the only other regional hegemon mighty enough to avenge their sufferings: the vastly powerful Abbasid Caliphate.Territories of the Abbasid Caliphate (ٱلْخِلافَةُ ٱلْعَبَّاسِيَّة‎) at its peak in 850 AD with a land area of 11.1 million km^2:The Abbasids, despite knowing full well the dangers posed by the Celestial Empire, who they understood had previously defeated the Umayyads in battle both directly and indirectly many times prior, decided to intervene anyway. The time had come at last for Islamic power long bereft, to be restored to the Steppes of Central Asia. To this extent, Ziyad ibn Salih (زياد بن أبيه), Governor of Samarkand (سمرقند) took a force roughly 30,000 strong to intercept Gao’s recently victorious army by marching along the Talas River.Gao, overwhelmingly outnumbered, begun to retreat back in the direction of the neighbouring Beiting province; the “Protectorate-General of the Northern Court” (北庭(大)都護府) with the intention of regrouping with an army of Karluk mercenaries who had been ordered previously to standby and await for further instructions. Once Tang Chinese forces had recuperated, a messenger was sent to the Karluks, issuing a command to have them rendezvous with one another at Talas.Whilst this occured, a minor force from the Principality of Ferghana regrouped also with the main Imperial Chinese Army. On the Abbasid side in the meantime, a similar phenomenon advented to the stage likewise when forces from the Tibetan Empire, most vengeful at what believed to be was Chinese despotism, sent several contigents comprising in the thousands to assist the armies of Islam in their Eastern Campaigns.Eventually, the Abbasid led army having marched for days on end Eastwards, finally managed to capture within their sights, their Chinese counterparts at long last. Thus it came to be naturally therefore, that a military conflict in the form of the Battle of Talas River (Arabic: معركة نهر طلاس; Chinese: 怛羅斯戰役) in late 751 AD, along the Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan border was allowed to come about naturally at long last.The movements of the Four Armies immediately leading up to the Battle of Talas:And thus it was that the middle of the 8th Century AD, two formidable armies, each representing two equally great yet extremely different civilizations, one Islamic, the other Chinese came face to face with one another.From the West arose the mighty Abbasid Caliphate having come to power after overthrowing the Umayyads, the latter itself having subjugated both Rome and Persia. From the East similarly ascended the Cosmopolitan Tang Empire, which similar to its Arab counterparts defeated the preceding Sui Empire, thus precipitating in favour of the “Golden Age” of Sino civilization.Both were immensely powerful. Both were supremely civilized. Both, the sole undisputed regional hegemons of the Western and Eastern halves of Eurasia. And yet, only one could prevail. Only one could emerge as lord of all Central Asia. Alas but both had been born to dominate however, and this was the quintessential issue indeed. For neither could live whilst the other yet still survived, the greatest trans-Eurasian conflict during the 8th Century AD, was now imminently underway thus.Chapter II: “A Clash of Civilizations”: The Events at the Confrontation of TalasAnd so this was how it came to be that two very different superpowers of the Eurasian continent, Abbasid Arabia on one side, and Tang China on the other, imminently faced off against one another at the Battle of Talas River. The accounts of the battle differ greatly indeed, but according to the most consistent of estimates, a Chinese force of roughly 30,000, 1/3 of which was composed of Chinese Irregulars, 2/3 of which was made of Karluk mercenaries had amassed. Whilst a force which numbered anywhere from 30–40,000 was the case for the Arab-Tibetan joint strikeforce by stark contrast.All prejudices aside, this was the case rather than what either of the traditional Arab and Chinese records have claimed previously, whereas a force of roughly 100,000 each - per Abbasid accounts - on both sides were present. This stood in stark contrast meanwhile to an overwhelming force of 200,000 Muslim led soldiers, as opposed to merely 30,000 Tang troops as suggested by Chinese records dating back to the Postclassical Era.An artist’s impression of select soldiers from the mighty Abbasid Caliphate:Given who the victor of this particular battle turned out to be however, it would not be unreasonable thus to suggest then that data inflation was much more omnipresent for the Chinese, than it was for their Western counterparts. However, the crucial takeaway point here, was that the Chinese were probably indeed facing off against a force that was at least as huge as their own, if not more which is the common, academically approved consensus anyway.Regardless, two accounts of the Battle of Talas there exists, one overwhelmingly more so believable than the other in my humble opinion, but alas, since it is not my duty to pass judgement on their credibility such as to not present it at all, I shall still be describing both representations of the confrontation regardless, of my own personal beliefs in the matter.Another artist’s impression (based on the previously introduced mural) of the Tang Imperial Cavalry returning home after a successful campaign against the Tibetan Empire during the 9th Century AD:According to the first account, both armies adopted similar formations all throughout the Clash at Talas River.Ziyad ordered his Archers to sally forth unto the front lines, where they took aim at the Chinese army with their arrows. Giving them a sense of security from the more inner forward assault rows, were several division of Abbasid led Spearmen. The Islamic Heavy Cavalry meanwhile were placed on both flanks of the army, whilst the Light Cavalry along with Ziyad’s personal, yet heavily armoured bodyguards took a backstage approach, and led from the rear, protected by several rows deep of Abbasid and Tibetan troops both.Similarly, Gao perhaps as a response to Ziyad’s formation, or merely due to standard practice, had his Crossbowmen out in front, where they mixed with Standard Archers. Both were supported by several rows thick of Tang Spearmen. This occured whilst the forces from the Principality of Ferghana stayed with Gao at the rear end of the army, whilst both flanks as was the case with Ziyad’s army, were secured with the vast majority of the Chinese Imperial Army, in the form of the Karluk Mercenary Horsemen.An artist’s impression of several units from a 9th Century Abbasid Army:Despite being put into battle formations, the two sides did not attack each other for four straight days. The reason for this was not so clear, but experts have postulated that neither side wanted to risk losing it all, by betraying a fatal flaw in a region which neither of them yet knew so well, one which was on the edge of both’s empire. Regardless of whether this was true or not, both sides did however also possibly have one sure reason for not attacking.Over the course of those four days in which the both sides had refused to attack one another, a third Turkic Karluk army - much smaller than the Abbasid-Tibetan or Tang-Ferghana but still significant - played spectator on the other side of the Talas River, seemingly uninterested in the battle, as they gave off no sign of favouring one side over the other.At the dawn of the fifth day however, something dramatically different occured. The bystanding Karluk third party, which had hitherto merely been observing the two armies (or so it seemed) joined battle on the side of the Abbasids, attacking the Tang Chinese from their left flank. The Chinese, completely taken by surprise, were unable to respond swiftly enough in time to launch a much needed counterattack, thus before long were all but overwhelmed by an Abbasid-Tibetan combined front shock charge.The two simultaneous attacks not only rapidly depleted the morale of the Chinese, but lead also to the massacre of so many of the Celestial Empire’s troops such that the Tang forces, now absolutely overwhelmed and demoralized, had to call in a general retreat. Gao and the Ferghana contingent had managed to escape soundly, unharmed, but the archers and spearman in the front lines were mowed down by the Abbasid Cavalry as they ran for their lives, and that was that: a victory for both the Prophet Muhammad, and the one and only true god, Allah yet again.Reconstructed “Lamellar” Armour of a Dismounted Tang Cavalryman (Source: Tang Cavalry 大唐骑兵):According to the second account of Talas by extreme stark contrast, the formations which were taken up by the Abbasid and Chinese led forces, were also similar to the first story. Where they differ dramatically in their assertions however, was with regards to their recounts of what actually happened once the battle was underway.Similar to its first counterpart, the second insists that the battle took place over several days (four this time around, as opposed to the aforementioned five), wonderful. Unlike the first however, not a single mention of any presence whatsoever from any such bystanding third party is ascertained. And not only that, but apparently it was a fallacy that the two opposing forces stood idle for several days, rather instead they were perpetually locked in a state of bitter conflict for the vast majority of said time.A view of the River of Talas today in the 21st Century:For the entire first three days of the fighting, an eerily similar turn of events was said to have occured.On the very first day of Talas, Gao had his projectile divisions advance forward first, in the same fashion as one moves forward a set of pawns first in chess. Though the reasons for it are not quite so clear as to why, the Tang Archers were able to get the better of their Islamic counterparts, presumably due to either pure luck or better missile technologies (Tang had Crossbows, the Abbasids did not). Regardless, the Abbasid missile division suffered heavy casualties to this extent, and was thus forced to retreat subsequently.Abbasid spearman, hoping to slow the imminent advance of the Chinese moved forward unto the incoming Tang force, where they clashed head on with the spear divisions of the Middle Kingdom. As the Chinese Spear troops had better quality armour however, they were able to also push back their Muslim counterparts in the direction from whence they had come. The Karluks meanwhile, had advanced forward to support the Imperial infantry’s manoeuvres.An artist’s impression of the Battle of Talas (the Chinese forces can be seen on the left hand side, whilst their Abbasid counterparts are on the right):Ziyad, attempting to not only draw the attention of the enemy away, but also assist in alleviating his forces from imminent destruction, sent the Abbasid Cavalry on both flanks, to attack their Karluk counterparts, and in doing so drive the Chinese back to their original position.It worked, but not as well as Ziyad had intended it to, and the Karluks held strong even in the face of an assault from a far more superiorly equipped enemy force.The Governor of Samarkand meanwhile, also sent the Abbasid Light Cavalry to the immediate flanks of the Chinese infantry, but was duly met with equivalent resistance from their Tang counterparts which had been moved up meanwhile by Gao to match, then negate the efforts of his opponent.Something similar to this turn of events occured on the second and third days of the battle once more, with both armies locked in a fierce stalemate, with neither sides being able to make so much as one minor gain. And for any time in which this was not the case, such was not to everlast for so long before the status quo returned once more yet again.Such was not to be the case however, come the advent of the pivotal yet fatal dawn of the fourth day. In the midst of a fairly even battle yet once again which was occuring on that particular day, the Karluk Mercenaries which had been fighting for Tang China hitherto those past three days, betrayed Gao’s army, and smashed into the flanks of the Imperial infantry and projectile forces.Another artist’s impression of the Battle of Talas in full swing roughly 1,267 years ago, in what is modern day Kazakhstan between Abbasid led forces (left) and their Chinese counterparts (right):Most unfortunately for the Chinese also, 2/3 of their army had been composed of Karluk Horsemen prior to the dawn of the battle, so regardless of however large a force they still had left standing, if they were not outnumbered before already by the combined armies of Arabia and Tibet, they most certainly were now. Whilst the Turkic forces were keeping the Chinese occupied, the Arabs and Tibetans launched a full scale frontal charge at the Imperial Army, quickly massacring any Chinese still either brave, or foolish enough to challenge Abbasid superiority.Unsurprisingly, sooner rather than later, the Chinese abandoned all hope as was the case with the first account, and Gao Xianzhi ordered all remaining men to flee for their lives back into the safety of the Empire’s borders. Between 10–20,000 Abbasid led soldiers lost their lives during such a battle according to one source, whilst a variety of other sources seem to agree that the Chinese had lost the vast majority of their 30,000 strong army (since the Karluks didn’t betray Tang until the fourth day, many of them had thus perished too).Chinese supremacy, long unchallenged by any external force outside the borders of the might Celestial Empire for a hundred years in Central Asia by that time, had tasted defeat at the hands of an Islamic Caliphate after having dominated the Umayyads for decades on end. In the immediate aftermath of such a battle, the Tang spared no time in sending another garrison to the Western borders of China, in order to disincentivize an further Abbasid expansion.It worked, and the borders of the Empire and the Caliphate had stabilized at long last, with Talas River mutually recognized by both polities, to have been the physical, sacred border between the two regional superpowers of Eurasia. Islamic influence gained a stronger foothold in Central Asia as a result, and at the parallel expense too of Tang China’s foreign based soft power.Chapter III: Why is the Battle of Talas Historically Significant?The Battle of Talas was indeed quite significant, but its effect and therefore relevance was never consistent as the centuries came and went. Hence it would be better for me to split this chapter into three separate parts, based on three different periods of time for ease of understandability:Part I: Short Term Significance of the Battle of Talas RiverPart II: Medium Term Significance of the Battle of Talas RiverPart III: Long Term Significance of the Battle of Talas RiverPart I: Short Term Significance of the Battle of Talas RiverThe short term significance of the Confrontation at Talas River, was not really that all too important as my “mentor” on Chinese history, Chen Yankai has already explained previously in another answer down below.However, as the opinion of one individual is probably never enough to sway popular consensus, the most optimal course of action for me now would be to thus reinforce his previously introduced assertions, by further expanding upon such points; thereby allowing me to debunk several common misconceptions with regards to the immediate importance of the Battle of Talas, which now that I think about it was almost “nothing”.Firstly, the Battle of Talas River did not actually “put an end to Chinese Western centric expansion” as many have claimed thus prior to this day. Full scale en masse expansion into Central Asia had actually already halted, with the complete subjugation of the Western Gokturk Khaganate at the Battle of Irtysh River (曳咥水) in 657 AD, an entire 94 years prior to the Battle of Talas.A map of the Göktürk Khaganate in 557 AD with a land area of 6 million km^2:Here it was in such a pivotal year, that Khagan Ashina Helu had first surrendered over to the Empire of Tang, allowing Chinese power to be brought about to Kazakhstan again, as was the case once many hundreds of years prior during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) also.Emperor Gaozong, then the sovereign of the Middle Kingdom, by this time anyways had already decided against further expansion for the most part, since the operating costs of managing such an area, far exceeded the accrued National Revenue which was retrieved from said location, in the form both of tributes and State Tax Revenue.In fact, the region eventually became so unprofitable for the Chinese to maintain control over, that the Empire had to eventually abandon much of the land west of Tokmok (Northern Kyrgyzstan) in order to uphold the external stability of the Tang.An Imperial portrait of Gaozong of Tang, the man who subjugated the Western Khaganate, and ruled over the Tang Empire whilst it was at its territorial peak:But in any case regardless, a new Tang commander, Feng Changqing (封常清) as early as two years post the battle in 753 AD had already launched a new campaign against the Western regions, subjugating all of Kashmir (Northernmost India) under Chinese control. And as for Gao Xianzhi, he had likewise also been rebuilding his forces in preparation for a would be imminent revenge campaign against Abbasid Arabia similarly.Secondly, the Battle of Talas did not really “push Chinese influences out of Central Asia” in favour of Abbasid power. Such a phenomenon indeed did eventually occur but was due to other unrelated yet fatal reasons at home (covered later), rather than the Battle itself.There is really little evidence to suggest such a notion anyway. The Karluks for one, though they betrayed the Chinese at Talas, did not continue to bear them any ill will after the conflict, but instead continued to “pretend” as if nothing had changed. To this extent merely two years later, Karluk Yabgu Dunpijia had even offered to capture a Chinese defector, an ethnic Tiele, A-Busi, eventually surrendering him to up to the command of the Imperial Army once more.Even the Principality of Chach which had first invoked the power of Arabia against China (leading them to clash at Talas), had voluntarily offered to become vassals to Tang within the very same year also. An Imperial title was bestowed upon its ruler in due succession as well thus. Chinese power to the West of the Pamir Mountains meanwhile was recorded likewise as still being in tact, whilst even many Islamic controlled polities such as Samarkand, still continued to request Chinese military intervention despite Chinese defeat at Talas River.The Pamir Mountains (Tajikistan) as can be seen still in the 21st Century today:Similarly in the year 754 AD, all nine kingdoms of Western “Turkestan” still continued to request Chinese assistance against Abbasid expansionism, all invitations of which were rejected. Ferghana meanwhile continued to fight along with their Chinese allies all across Central Asia on the battlefields, serving as Tang auxiliaries.Thirdly, the Battle of Talas River, did not actually “lead to the decline of the Tang Empire”. Most people probably do not believe this, but still, I’ve heard it too many times still to think that two small mythbusting paragraphs to address it would not be most appropriate here. Not Talas, rather the eight year long, highly divisive, and supremely destructive An Lushan Rebellion (755–63 AD) which took place merely four years after, was single-handedly responsible for the Empire’s decline.The Rebellion forced Chinese military power to be taken back from being stationed abroad, and redistributed domestically for stability purposes, fatally impacting Chinese influences in Central Asia. And not only that, but it forever also prevented Gao Xianzhi from carrying out his highly anticipated grand campaign against the Caliphate. In the aftermath of the Rebellion, 45% of China’s 80 million people; 36 million were slaughtered, and the Golden Age of Sino civilization all be ruined. Hence the real decline of the Empire, rather than the Battle at Talas River.In addition, the An Lushan Rebellion did not actually spark to life because of the Battle of Talas either. The reasons behind An’s revolt were many; not only was he being bullied within the Imperial Court itself at the time, but he by then also had control over 2/5 of China’s 500,000 strong army, all whilst absent minded Emperor Xuanzong was distracted by the infamous Concubine Yang Guifei (楊貴妃), and unable to pay attention to such fatal developments nor solve them. An’s rebellion was already thus imminent from day one regardless.An artist’s impression of the An Lushan Rebellion (安史之亂) in full swing:Fourthly, the Battle was not all so important for neither of the two powers. Null is the word used to describe a strategic gain for either Abbasid Arabia, and such a supposedly “crucial” loss for Tang China likewise. The reason for this being that the Arabs did not make any further forays into Chinese territory, neither were they able to force a Chinese retreat from neither the Anxi nor Beiting protectorates along what is modern day Xinjiang Province (新疆) either.Actually the battle in fact was so unimportant to even the victorious Arabs, that despite the fact that, “History is written by the victors”, Abbasid historians really didn’t care much to even make mention regarding their victory, nor the events of the conflict. Even under the famous 9th Century Arab historian, Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī (أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري) in fact, no mention is made with regards to such a battle still.It wouldn’t be for another half millennia until the times, of the likes of Muslim historians, Ali 'Izz al-Din Ibn al-Athir al-Jazari (عز الدین بن الاثیر الجزري) and Al-Dhahabi (الذھبی), that any mention of the Talas Confrontation would be officially made at long last.A bust of Al-Tabari, a prominent ethnic Persian historian, serving under the reign of the Abbasid Caliphate who curiously did not make any mention of the Battle of Talas, despite making several detailed recordings of other occurrences:And lastly, the Talas Confrontation did not really impact foreign relations between Arabia and China either. In fact, directly after the battle even, when the An Lushan Rebellion was in full swing and the Capital of Chang’an (長安) had just been captured merely moments before, the new Emperor Suzong of Tang (唐肅宗), realizing that the Rebellion could not be quelled without foreign assistance, openly requested military assistance from the Abbasid Caliphate.To this extent, their pleas were finally heard at long last when Caliph Abu Ja'far Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Mansur (أبو جعفر عبدالله بن محمد المنصور), counterpart to Emperor Suzong decided to aid in favour of the Tang, by sending eastwards a total of 4,000 troops. This was how it came to be thus then, that Chang’an was eventually reclaimed by Chinese-Arab forces imminently. From there until the end of the entire conflict in fact, they stayed in China assisting the Imperial Army at every turn.When the conflict was over, most, having been given the status of “permanent resident”, decided to live out the rest of their days within the borders of the Celestial Empire henceforth. Many married into Chinese families, and were most instrumental in the forming of some of China’s earliest Muslim communities. Eventually as the generations went on, descendents of these initial settlers, though they became thoroughly sinicized, kept their Islamic traditions for the most part, albeit with a fundamentally Chinese twist.An artist’s impression of Caliph al-Mansur, the man who decided in favour of adhering to Chinese request for Abbasid military intervention:And apart from that, even long after the An Lushan Rebellion, emissaries from the Abbasid Caliphate continued to be sent to the Tang Empire in order to deliver diplomatic gifts to the Imperial Chinese Court. From 752–98 AD in fact, a total of 13 different tribute missions to Great Tang were carried out by representatives from the Islamic Caliphate. To this extent, they even went so far as to terminate their alliance with the Tibetans in 789 AD, instead becoming steadfast allies with the Celestial Empire henceforth.So thus it should be obvious by now, that the effects of the Battle of Talas in the immediate years post the conflict were virtually indeed null, having no real effect on neither the Abbasids, nor Transoxiana, nor even the Chinese. The status quo remained largely for the most part, until the advent of the An Lushan Rebellion four years post the Arab-Chinese confrontation. There is much mythos in this respect with regards to the such an otherwise crucial event in the longer term.Part II: Medium Term Significance of the Battle of Talas RiverSpeaking of which, the Battle of Talas though relatively insignificant in the short term, was however very much so more important in the longer, medium term. Three main effects to this extent, one technological, the other two ideological were allowed to arise in the ensuing centuries post the occurrence of such a crucial battle.Firstly, was the intercontinental transfer of Papermaking technology, a formerly exclusive Chinese civilizational advantage over the rest of the world. Traditionally, according to the historians of antiquity, the secrets behind papermaking were transferred Westwards after the Battle of Talas, when several Tang Chinese prisoners, several of whom had detailed expertise in such an area, were ordered to wholly surrender their secrets at the City of Samarkand.This was most likely false however, as knowledge of the papermaking process had already existed for 400 years in Central Asia (confirmed via the discovery of a letter to a certain merchant in Samarkand) long by the year 751 AD, when the Battle of Talas finally occurred. Though this was the case rather than the quasi-legend which was offered up as an explanation, the victory at Talas most likely did however somehow transfer this knowledge over to the Caliphate, which they used to exploit fully in the making of paper.A Ming Era (1368–1644 AD) illustration of the paper making process:And before long, the Caliphate had set up paper mills (a largely Abbasid led development) in various cities all across their borders, metropolises including but not necessarily limited to Samarkand in 751 AD, Baghdad (بغداد) by 793 AD, Damascus (دمشق) soon thereafter, Cairo (القاهرة‎) prior to 900 AD, and Fes (فاس) by 1100 AD.Paper in fact even begun to spread beyond the borders of the Islamic World, and was sooner rather than later was even known in the City of Delhi. Eventually over time too of course, paper would also reach as far as Western Europe, via the establishment of paper mills en masse in Xativa (Valencia), Islamic controlled Spain; Al-Andalus (الأنْدَلُس‎) in 1120 AD. From Spain, paper went unto Italy, before travelling to Germany, then from there all across the European Continent.Wheresoever the invention of paper went, it brought about overwhelmingly positive benefits. Traditionally, whilst China had been using paper en masse for hundreds of years already, the world was meanwhile left in the metaphoric darkness, forced to made do with more primitive methods of writing, such as clay, papyrus, parchment and even animal skins, the latter of which most notably was especially difficult to produce.Paper compared to papyrus, was also unlikely to crack or fray, and since it could also absorb ink as well in addition, was highly valued as a means to combat the forgery of official and other important documents, since the words which were written upon it, could neither easily be erased nor altered.A map illustrating the spread of paper from Eastern Eurasia into the Western end of the continent:Paper, though in the Islamic World as was the case in the Chinese, was not only kept a State secret and used frequently to administrative documents, was also used throughout all facets of the civil sphere also. Paper for example was used to copy and transmit many new additions to literature, including the famous “One Thousand and One Nights” (أَلْف لَيْلَة وَلَيْلَة‎) for example.In addition, anything ranging from medical texts, to trade records, Astronomical and Architectural charts and plans were also dramatically altered by the introduction of paper to the Western half of Eurasia likewise. In the case of the latter especially, paper revolutionized artistic traditions within the Caliphate by allowing Islamic Architects to easily work out their designs, and perfect them before they were actually used. Paper also allowed them to trace their designs elsewhere also, allowing for copies to be made easily in this way.This led to a domino effect all throughout Abbasid society as individuals could continuously refer back to such books (as opposed to memory) en masse, to use as a reference allowing them to continuously perfect and hone in their craftsmanship skills. But of course, many sacred texts such as that of the Holy Quran (القرآن‎) were of course also positively affected by the introduction of such a crucial Chinese innovation.A paper manuscript from the Abbasid Era:This was all such that even already by the 9th Century AD, many Islamic innovations in the fields of bookbinding and book production had already been introduced. Wheares paper had begun to almost wholly replace all other previous substitute materials, most if not all of which were entirely inferior to paper.Before long, the Arabs of the Caliphate had also mastered the art of papermaking to such a degree, that they had even begun to introduce quite a few native innovations themselves. Chief amongst which was a method which the Arabs introduced to make paper thicker, which in turn acted to transform the Paper Manufacturing into a major Industry.The second crucial innovation made by the Arabs meanwhile, was with regards to the “Trip-Hammer” method of paper production, which though the Chinese had known about for hundreds of years by that time, did not use in their papermaking process. The trip hammer method worked in that there were several such objects, all raised to such a height as to be suspended in mid-air, before being subsequently released to fall under the force of gravity. It evolved from, and therefore worked similar to the Chinese “Mortar and Pestle” method.Speaking of which by stark contrast, worked first by soaking several plant fibres at once, before beating and or grinding them to a pulp (similar to the trip hammer method). The slurry was then strained on a cloth sieve, then attached to a frame, leaving a mat of randomly interwoven fibres on the screen, at last before being dried. With the due passing of time however, the Arab method of papermaking was imminently adopted by the Tang Chinese sooner rather than later.A paper manuscript dating back to the Abbasid Era regarding the Astronomical fields:Secondly meanwhile, was the imminent Islamification of Central Asia in a world now devoid of Chinese influences. Though the Battle of Talas itself did not expel Tang soft power from the Transoxiana area, it did however on the other hand act to cement and re-introduce Islamic supremacy to the lands of Central Asia.With the advent of the An Lushan Rebellion (and several other fatal occurrences), Chinese foreign soft power was critically damaged on a scale so large, that it was kept out of Central Asia largely for the most part the next 550 long years, until its imminent return under the reign of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368 AD).During this time, a world formerly Buddhist, Zoroastrian, Hindu and Nestorian Christian for the most part, and dominated with a variety of different cultures including that of Chinese, Persian and Indian influences was now all but spent mostly.Instead, Islam took over the former role of Buddhism, monopolizing control over the lands of Central Asia, whilst Arab superiority completely displaced their more eastern counterparts for the most part henceforth. Even right after the Battle of Talas in fact, a small number of the Karluks who had previously fought for China before betraying them in favour of the Caliphate, converted over into Islam, spearheading Muslim efforts at the imminent Islamification of the Turkic peoples.Spread of Islam throughout the lands of Eurasia from 750–1500 AD:This was such that by the 10th Century AD, most ethnic Turkic peoples had already converted to Islam already by that point in time. Islam around the Central Asian region however, was most notably not as influential as it had been across Western Asia and Northern Africa however, and the consequences arising from this phenomenon saw an influx of Muslim and native elements, creating new forms of Islamic practices, collectively known as “Folk Islam”.The consequences of this saw to it, that they were slower than their brethren elsewhere of adopting fundamental Islamic tenets, such as the prohibition of alcohol, or the act of bathing prior to praying. However, their mere status as nomads however has also been proposed as a reason behind such a historical phenomenon.Because of the Islamification of the Turkic tribes, Central Asia was finally brought about into the Islamic sphere of influence, and therefore Muslim World as a whole by extension. This allowed cities such as Samarkand, Bukhara and Urgench in due course, to soon flourish greatly, known in their times as vast centers of learning, knowledge, culture and art until the Mongol Invasions (1206–1405 AD) halted the process during the early 13th Century AD.A photo depicting the Juma Mosque of Shamakhi which was originally built from 743–44 AD, but was rebuilt several times over, latest of which was back in 2009:This was how it eventually came to be in the longer term, that many prominent Persian scientists such as Al-khawarzmi (محمد بن موسى الخوارزمي), Abu Rayhan Biruni (أبو الريحان البيروني), Farabi (أبو نصر محمد الفارابي) and Avicenna (ابن سينا) to city a few, were able to have an impact in some way shape or form, on the imminent development of Western science in the ensuing centuries.Which is not to say of course that neither Buddhism nor Chinese influences were completely wiped out from Central Asia, as evident by the existence of the Kara-Khitan Khanate (1124–1218 AD), a Buddhist polity, but was indeed largely suppressed for the most part in favour of the teachings of Islam.Lastly in addition finally also, was the accelerated division between the two most major schools of Buddhism. Buddhism of course originated from the Indian Subcontinent, and up until the Battle of Talas had developed all over Asia on what could be said to have been similar lines.However, after the Talas Confrontation in addition to the imminent arrival of Islamic and Arab influences, and the subsequent decline of Sino power in Central Asia post the An Lushan Rebellion, two new major “umbrella” schools begun to emerge, in an Asia which was now divided instead of previously when India and China had been connected to one another via the Silk Road.A photograph depicting a statue from the former “Buddhas of Bamiyan” in Afghanistan, until it recently was destroyed 17 years prior back in 2001:One could be called roughly as “Indian Buddhism”, and was more true to the original teachings which first advented on the original subcontinent hundreds of years prior. The other meanwhile was “Chinese Buddhism”, which could best be described as an once ideology which had undergone steadfast Sinofication over a period of time, influenced profoundly by both Taoism on one hand, and Confucianism on the other.This gave rise to a number of new developments which hitherto had not been seen prior to that time. Because of what was essentially Asia’s version of Christianity’s “Great Schism” (1054 AD), Chinese developments in the ideological sphere were allowed to appear in the forms of two philosophical subtypes, “Pure Land” and “Zen” Buddhism. Collectively the two are placed under the umbrella term of “Mahayana Buddhism”, which was practiced in China from that moment onwards, one which eventually spread all throughout East Asia into Japan, Korea, and Vietnam also.Indian Buddhism by stark contrast, though it spread all throughout South Asia, was not nearly as popular as Hinduism within the subcontinent, but did eventually however spread throughout Mainland Southeast Asia (Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia) on the other hand. This was how over time a new ideology known as “Theravada Buddhism” was allowed to come to light slowly, with the passing of time, which to this day is the most dominant philosophy all throughout Southeast Asia. Of the two schools, Theravada is also more “faithful” to the original teachings of Siddhartha Gautama 2,500 years prior.The spread of Mahayana “Chinese” Buddhism and Theravada “Indian” Buddhism:Then comes the more crucial question: what were the major differences between Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism, these two schools of thought?Excluding location which has prior been covered, there were and still are many differences between the two schools. Starting with their sacred scriptures first, Theravada’s foremost book is the “Pāli Canon” (Tipitaka), which is written in the Pali language.Theravada as mentioned before thus, is much more “conservative” in this respect, as it places importance on the original Pali language as the birth language of the Buddha. Pali is thus used in during worship in Theravada.The many “Sutras” on the other hand are ascribed to the Mahayana variant, written in Sanskrit by stark contrast. Regardless, both however do share the common basic Buddhist teachings of the “Four Noble Truths” and the “Eightfold” path.The Longmen Grottoes, China, built during the Tang Era:Meditation advocations are another interesting matter. Theravada inclines in favour of “Calming” (Samatha) or Insight (Vipassana) meditation; actions to promote silent “mindedness”. Mahayana on the other hand favours mantras and chanting out loud by stark contrast.Their core beliefs are a different matter altogether. Theravada stresses that an individual should be seeking to gain insights attained, from one’s own experiences, application of knowledge and critical reasoning. All of the aforementioned should be weighed against official scriptures and the wisdom of monks however. Mahayana by stark contrast asserts the benefits that would arise from seeking the enlightenment of the collective, as opposed to merely that of an individual.A greater emphasis in Theravada in placed on attaining a state of “Nirvana”. Whilst Mahayana advocated in favour of the “Bodhisattva path”. Enlightenment comes first, even before helping others with regards to the former, whilst this is generally less the case for the latter meanwhile.All this and more, this is just a small sample of the many differences between the two schools hitherto, there are many more aspects that have due to time constraints, cannot all be covered. Here though, is a small list of the differences between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism:The complete displacement of Buddhism in Central Asia, the eventual spread of paper to the far end of the Eurasian Continent, and the imminent split of Buddhism into the Theravada Indian school on the one hand, and Mahayana Chinese on the other; this was the medium term significance of the Talas Confrontation.Part III: Long Term Significance of the Battle of Talas RiverIn the long term, two major consequences from the battle have arisen with the passing of time.The first is not so as important as the second, but is nonetheless crucial to contemporary historians seeking to simultaneously understand both Abbasid Arabia and Tang China at the same time, and by extension their relations with one another.A particular Tang Imperial soldier, Du Huan (杜環) was one of the few unfortunate Chinese individuals to have been captured by the forces of the Caliphate at the Battle of Talas in the mid 8th Century AD. This was crucial as we know for sure that he was then taken Westwards where he and several others were paraded through the lands of Islamic Empire. His importance however primarily stems from the fact, that he was actually the first Chinese individual to have been taken into the core territories of the Islamic world itself.Here it was that several relevant yet external sources on the Caliphate, as foretold from a Chinese point of view (quite rare, as it was often the opposite; foreigners detailing events within China itself), which have allowed us to learn quite a bit about Arabia itself. Though we’ve lost quite a few of his crucial works with the passing of time such as the “Record of Travels” (經行記), we do however have enough to go on with with regards to his existing writings on the other hand.An artist’s impression of Du Huan, the great Chinese traveller to the West:For example, he described “Molin” (Northeastern Africa) to be quite the prosperous place as follows:“We also went to Molin, southwest of Jerusalem. One could reach this country after having crossed the great desert of Sinai and having travelled 1500 km. The people there are black, and their customs are bold. There is little rice and cereals, with no grass and trees on this land. The horses are fed with dried fish, and the people eat Gumang. Gumang is a Persian date.”He does not however have a very particularly high opinion of such a region however, noting that incestual relationships which were practiced by the Jewish peoples, and certain types of diseases common within the subtropics, were often omnipresent in such areas:“Subtropical diseases (Malaria) are widespread. After crossing into the inland countries there is a mountainous country, which gathered a lot of confessions here. They have three confessions, the Arab (Islam), Byzantine (Christianity) and Zimzim (Judaism). The Zimzim practise incest, and in this respect are worst of all the barbarians.”Byzantine art depicting Christ, “the Son”, and foremost figurehead of the Religion of Christianity either second or equal to “the Father” himself, according to many different interpretations:And from a Chinese perspective also, there quite the many things which he was truly perplexed by with regards to the cultural values of the Muslim world, when compared with that of the Tang Chinese. He did however praise the significant skillfulness of Byzantine doctors however:“The followers under the confession of Arab have a means to denote in law, while not entangling the defendant's families or kins. They don't eat the meat of pigs, dogs, donkeys and horses; they don't respect either the king of the country, nor their parents; they don't believe in supernatural powers, perform only sacrifice to heaven (Allah) and to no one else.According to their customs, every seventh day is a holiday (Jumu’ah), on which no trade and no currency transactions are done, whereas when they drink alcohol, they are said to be behaving in a ridiculous and undisciplined way during the whole day. Within the confession of the Byzantines, there are beneficent medical doctors who know diarrhea; they could either recognize the disease before its outbreak, or could remove the worms by opening the brain (Cysticercosis).”Jumu’an (صلاة الجمعة) being celebrated in Malaysia today, which should be the case every Friday as per the teachings of Islam:Having been captured by the Islamic Caliphate itself of course, and therefore being forced to have spent many nights within the territories of the Caliphate itself, Du eventually did also form an opinion on Arabia itself whilst he was staying at the Capital of Kufa (الكوفة):“Dashi, another name “A-ju-luo” (Aqur – the region between the Tigris and the Euphrates River, in other words Kufah in Iraq which was the first capital of the Abbasid dynasty), whose King is called “mu-men”, moved its capital here. The women of the country are tall and beautiful, their clothes bright and clean.When a woman goes outdoors, she must veil her face. Regardless of whether he is noble or common, a man prays five times daily. When they fast, they on the contrary eat meat, regarding butchering animals as a merit and virtue. Men wear silver girdles with silver knives suspended. They abstain from drinking and do not use music. And when they vie against one another, they never go to the degree of fighting against each other.”An artist’s impression of several women labouring away during the Abbasid Era:Du Huan also specifically noted, presumably interested in the theory and practice of Islam itself, how the Arabs of the Caliphate had also built several large scale Mosques, which were large enough to accommodate thousands upon thousands of people. Though he was particular impressed with Arabia’s martial valour, thought that its laws were too lenient compared to China’s:“They also have an assembly hall that accommodates several tens of thousands of people. Once every seven days, the Caliph comes to the hall for prayer. He would sit high and give his speech to the public, saying:‘Life is difficult and the Way of Heaven is not easy to grasp. Whether adultery or robbery or theft, or neglect of minor points of behaviour, or lying for some small trifles, or anything just for keeping safety for yourself but causing harm to others, or bullying the poor and mocking the humble––even if you engage in one of such misconducts, it is a great crime indeed. When you go to a war and you are slain by the enemy, you can go to the Heaven; when you kill one soldier of your enemy, you shall receive abundant rewards in Heaven.’Such preaching teaches the people of the country to accept and follow readily. The law here is lenient, and funerals are simple.”The world renowned “Great Mosque of Samarra” (completed 851 AD), merely one of many like it constructed during the Abbasid Era, which took 3 years to finally complete and could presumably accommodate hundreds (only the 52 metre tall Minaret is picture here, since it is all that remains of the once great Mosque):Du Huan does however also greatly appreciate the greatly cosmopolitan and prosperous nature of the Kufa, which presumably would have reminded him of his Chang’an. The Arabs by his interpretation thus, were not really so different from the Chinese after all it seemed:“Whatever the earth can grow, one can find its products in all the shops in this city. The city is a hub that is like the hub of a wheel with its spokes. Abundant products from all directions are gathered here and then are cheaply sold to different places; the markets are full of [even] silk and pearls are full of the markets.Every street and lane is full of camels, horses, donkeys, and mules for sale. [The people here] carve rock sugar in the form of a hut, which is similar to the [edible] bao-nian [horse coach of the emperor] in China. When a festival comes, [the gifts such as] verulia [opaque glass] utensils, brass bottles and bowls that will be presented to noble men are numerous. [Here] rice and wheat-flour are not any different from those in China.The fruits are badam (almond) and palm dates; the turnip here is as big as dou (a measuring tool for grains) and its flavour is very good. Other vegetables are the same as those in other countries. Some of big grapes are as large as eggs. There are two kinds of rare oils – one is called yasaman, another is “mo-za-shi”, and two kinds of rare herbs– “cha-sai-peng” and “li-lu-ba” (types of herbs).There are technicians of silk-weaving looms, and there are also goldsmiths and silversmiths, and painters. The Han Chinese artisans who can paint are the Jingzhao (present day Xi’an, Shaanxi Province) men, Fan Shu and Liu Ci; the silk-weaving loom technicians are the Hedong (Shamxi province during Tang Dynasty) men, Le Huan and Lu Li.”Mustansiriya University (الجامعة المستنصرية), one of the oldest in the world first established 791 years ago in 1227 AD, and still standing to this day, a testament to the enlightened prosperity of the Abbasid Caliphate:What was particularly interesting however, was his admiration for the horses and camels which the Arabs were quick to utilize. The Chinese often had to borrow stronger steeds from Central Asia (eg. Ferghana Horses), so the Chinese for sure knew the value of a sturdy mount (hence why horses took up so much focus in artistic depictions during the Tang Era), something which Du seems to imply through his admiration here in the following passage:“The steeds here, as sayings goes, are the offspring of the interbreed between the dragon in the West Sea and a common horse, whose bellies are smaller and whose ankles are longer than those of common horses; a good steed of such kind can run three hundred metres within one day.The camels here are small and strong, they have only one hump; a good camel of this kind can gallop one thousand li within one day. There are also ostriches, with the height of more than one and a third metre, whose paws are like camel feet, and whose necks are strong enough that can carry a man to go for two metres; an egg of an ostrich is as big as three sheng (a measurement of weight).”An artist’s impression of a flourishing Abbasid City:But of course, he is also quick to return to a sense of negativity, by making further mentions of the omnipresence of Malaria once more, albeit whilst balancing such an observation with observations of Arab supremacy also this time around:“There are also Zaytun olive trees here, whose nuts are like the dates matured in summer days back in China. The nuts can be used for producing oil, and the oil can cure diseases from miasma.The climate is warm; it never snows nor is there frost. People here suffer from malaria, and five of ten people die of such disease. Today, the country has conquered forty to fifty countries and they have all become its subordinates; Arabia dispatches its troops to garrison in the conquered countries. The territory of the Arabs covers all the West Mediterranean Sea regions.”A coin dating back to the Abbasid Era (1244 AD), a solitary testament to the overflowing wealth of the Caliphate:Thus even though not much of his writing have survived to this day, what little records we do have of such observations from a Chinese party, have allowed us to gain much insight into the mechanics of Abbasid society, and by extension Chinese opinions on their Western counterparts, and by the late 8th Century AD, their new found ally also.The second and more noteworthy significant effect meanwhile, to have arisen from the Battle of Talas, would have to be that of the imminent ascendancy of the Turkic peoples with regards to the end of Western Eurasia.Now of course, the Turkic peoples had always been a powerful force to be reckoned with in the first place, case in point was the existence of the Xiongnu Empire (209 BC-439 AD) which in the earliest days of Imperial China under the Han, was the sole master of all East Asia, forcing the Chinese to submit to them in the form of annual tributes for 73 years on end.A map of the two polities 7 years into the 224 year long Han-Xiongnu War (133 BC-89 AD):However, it was the Islamification of the Turkic peoples (which had partly begun due to the Battle of Talas), experts argue, which finally acted to ensure the final ascendancy of Steppe tribes into greatness, by giving them the future means to eventually subjugate the former lands of the Caliphate, yet not give rise all too much to cultural differences which would threaten the stability of the empire, as the lands which they had just conquered were also Islamic.This was how one branch of Central Asian peoples, the Seljuk Turks (a Western Turkic peoples belonging to the “Oghuz” language family) finally came to rule over the vast majority of Western Asia. When the Islamic Shiite, Buyid Dynasty (934–1062 AD) invaded the Caliphate’s Capital of Baghdad, Caliph al-Qa'im bi-amri 'llah (القائم بأمر الله) urged his Sejuk counterpart, Sultan Tuğrul Bey to intervene on his behalf. And this in turn set in motion a chain of events in what was essentially a domino effect, which would prove to last for hundreds of years on end.Sensing an opportunity for unprecedented power, the Sultan heeded the pleas of the Caliph, and led his forces into Baghdad, winning the battle of that day in 1055 AD. As a result, he was permitted to marry the Caliph’s daughter and in doing so, the implications were clear: an imminent rise to power of his Seljuk Empire (1037–1194 AD), which in due course would soon act as the de facto leader of the Islamic World.A map of the Seljuk Empire at its heights in 1092 AD with a land area of 3.9 million km^2:This was how it came to be, that the Seljuk Empire came to power. Within merely a few years of their dominance throughout a huge portion of Western Asia however, imminent trouble was stirring at long last.Continuing with the conquests of the Abbasid Caliphate, the Seljuk Empire too, which had no love for their northwestern neighbours, begun to expand in said direction towards the borders of the Eastern Roman Empire. Vast territories, long held and protected for generations on end were soon lost to the invading Seljuk Turks - completely unacceptable, the Byzantines had thought.Naturally in due course with the passing of time, the then current administrator of Empire, was toppled from power, his throne usurped by one General Alexios Comnenus, who ascended the throne of the Eastern Empire under the title of Alexios I, Emperor of Byzantium. With his new found power, aware of the imminent Seljuk march to victory from abroad, and the perpetual chaos which had resulted from this development at home, the Emperor knew he had no choice left, but to turn Westwards for military assistance.A portrait of the usurper, Emperor Alexios I Comnenus of Byzantium:It was a shameful, last resort request in the eyes of Constantinople, but alas they had no choice, refusing to swallow their pride would have meant the end of them all. Fortunately, though relations between Western Europe and the Eastern Empire were frosty at best ever since the Great Schism which divided the Christian Church into two, with St.Peter’s Catholic Church on one side, and the Orthodox Church on the other, ties at that particular point in time had been currently warming at long last.This was what finally convinced Alexios to send messengers West to the “City of the Seven Hills”, where the emissaries of the Byzantine Empire pleaded with Pope Urban II, to intervene in favour of suppressing their ever expanding misfortunes.To this extent, they were wholly successful indeed, and already by the year 1096 AD, Urban II was preaching at his pulpit to the vast masses of Europe, made up of noblemen; knights from all over the Continent, insisting that if “God willed it” such for them to retake the lands of Christ, then so be it by force if need be in his holy name. And thus it was, that the famous “First Crusade” (1096–99 AD) in Human history had finally begun, just like that, thanks indirectly all those years ago in 751 AD, to the Battle of Talas River between Arabia and China.Polities of the pivotal event known as the First Crusade (to reclaim the “Holy Land”):Now the Crusades (1095–1291 AD) did end up becoming a failure for the most part (the contrary is wholly arguable however, as it altered the geopolitical landscape of the Levant forever), but even then the chain effect which had been set in motion by the Arab-Chinese confrontation at Talas still did not end then with the conclusion of the Crusades.In due course, a new power was on the rise, which claimed to be a successor “heir state” to the Seljuks, the arguably more famous Ottoman Empire (1299–1923) was here at long last. Priorities aimed at immediate external stability were first amongst the Ottoman agenda.To this extent, the Fall of Byzantium was completed at first, when the centuries old ”impregnable” walls of the Byzantine Capital, Constantinople, were finally toppled by a 50,000 strong Ottoman army led under the command Mehmed II in 1453 AD, via the use of supernaturally powerful gunpowder technologies.This was allowed to occur first, before the Empire embarked on a series of further conquests, starting from 1516 AD, aimed at wholly subjugating the former territories of the Caliphate. Led under the command of Selim I, 9th Sultan of the House of Osman, Egypt, Syria and Yemen in this way were all subjugated soon thereafter.And before long, Europe’s most fear inducing polity had at last reached its territorial zenith by the year 1683 AD, peaking in with a land area of 5.2 million km^2 under the reign of Sultan Mehmed IV:And that, was the true recount of one of the world’s greatest domino effects… or so the story goes. In reality, there is obviously a lot of controversy and official academic debating, as to whether or not the Battle of Talas actually led - even indirectly - to all the aforementioned events immediately mentioned prior eg. Crusades and Turkic ascendancy.Personally, I do not believe that it single-handedly played the most dominant role in allowing this to happen, but, I will insist that the Confrontation of Talas River did however play a disproportionate role in the permanent manipulation of world events.Had the Battle of Talas never occured, much of the world that we all know so well to this very day would have almost certainly have been altered beyond recognition. Fact.Final Summary (TL;DR)In short, the Battle of Talas was quite significant in the Medium and Long Terms, but not so much in the Short Term.Misconceptions define the short term, which insists for example that the Battle of Talas halted Chinese Western centric expansion, which is false, as it had already largely stopped nearly a century prior. Chinese influence also did not appear to be so affected by such a defeat.No strategic gain for Arabia, nor loss for China was suffered. And relations between the two continued to flourish despite such a fact. And of course most frustratingly of all for me to have to continue to repeat such a simple fact, Talas did not lead to the decline of Tang, the An Lushan Rebellion did.In the medium term, the importance of the Battle is made more apparent. Paper was transferred over to the Western ends of Eurasia for one. The Islamification of the Turkic peoples was another, and the indirect, unintentional schism between Theravada “Indian” Buddhism on one hand, and Mahayana “Chinese” Buddhism on the other was the last significant consequence a couple hundred years post the Confrontation at Talas.A statue of the 71 metre tall “Leshan Giant Buddha” in China today, a testament to Tang Chinese Buddhism, taking 90 years to make from 713–803 AD, located in Sichuan Province still today:And in the long term, Du Huan a Chinese soldier who had been captured by Arabia via the use of the written word, recorded much there was to know about the Abbasid Caliphate from his writings (despite much of this having been lost to time), greatly assisting contemporary historians in their quest for knowledge. The Islamification of the Central Asian peoples lead to the rise of the Seljuk Turks eventually which lead to the Crusades, and the rise of the mighty Ottoman Empire, which only ended in 1923 merely 95 years ago.Talas was an important battle indeed, not just because it gives us but a mere glimpse into the possibility of a full scale total war between two Postclassical Era (500–1500s) superpowers, but for all the aforementioned reasons included above also.It’s a great shame indeed that so few people know about the Battle of Talas, when it is truly one of the more important military related events of the Pre-Modern Era, with many far reaching consequences indeed for the rest of the world still perhaps to this very day.SourcesBattle of Talas - WikipediaAbbasids - New World EncyclopendiaTang DynastyArabs Fought the Chinese Back in 751 at the Battle of Talas RiverBattle of Talas in 751Battle of Talas RiverRoman–Persian Wars - WikipediaThe Rise of Islam and the Arab ConquestsRashidun Caliphate - WikipediaMuslim conquest of TransoxianaThe Umayyad CaliphatePrincipality of Farghana - WikipediaThe Abbasid RevolutionAbū al-ʿAbbās as-Saffāḥ | ʿAbbāsid caliphPeriod of disunity 220 ADThe Rise and Fall of the Sui DynastyLi Shimin | Tang emperorTang campaign against the Eastern Turks - WikipediaTang campaigns against the Western Turks - WikipediaWu Zhao | Tang empressLi Longji | Tang emperorFubing system - WikipediaJiedushi 節度使 (www.chinaknowledge.de)Protectorate General to Pacify the WestFour Garrisons of AnxiKarluks - WikipediaTibetan Empire - WikipediaTurgesh - WikipediaSilk RoadGao Xianzhi | Tang governorBattle of Aksu (717) - WikipediaZiyad Ibn Salih | Abbasid governorBeiting Protectorate - WikipediaKings and Generals (Battle of Talas 751) | Youtube channelThe Battle That Kept the Chinese Out of Central AsiaGöktürks - New World EncyclopediaEmperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty | Learn Chinese HistoryAn Lushan Rebellion 1: 安史之乱 Empire FallYang GuiFei (杨玉环)Al-Mansur - New World EncyclopediaSino-Arab relations - WikipediaHistory of paper - WikipediaPaper in the Islamic EmpireTrip hammer - WikipediaPapermaking, Chinese Ancient Inventions, China Ancient CultureKara-Khitan Khaganate - WikipediaIslam in Central Asia - WikipediaFolk religion - WikipediaThe Mongols in World HistoryHistory of Buddhism in India - WikipediaChinese Buddhism - WikipediaSchism of 1054 | Summary, History, & EffectsDifferences between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism |Du Huan - WikipediaJingxingji - WikipediaDu Huan – the first Chinese traveller to the Arab world - Luton Muslims JournalTurkish-Arab relations from past to todayBuyid dynasty - WikipediaAl-Qa'im (caliph) - WikipediaToghrïl Beg | Muslim rulerThe Crusades - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.comAlexios I KomnenosUrban II | popeOttoman Empire - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.comFall of Constantinople - WikipediaMehmet I | Ottoman sultanSelim I | Ottoman sultan