Kangju
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Kangju (also known as Kangly) (Chinese: 康居) was an ancient kingdom in central Asia, located directly north of Sogdiana and about 1,000 kilometers northwest of Dayuan (Ferghana)[1] and corresponding to the area of Sogdiana. It was mentioned by the Chinese traveller and diplomat Zhang Qian who visited the area c. 128 BCE:
- "Kangju is situated some 2,000 li [832 kilometers] northwest of Dayuan. Its people are nomads and resemble the Yuezhi in their customs. They have 80,000 or 90,000 skilled archer fighters. The country is small, and borders Dayuan. It acknowledges sovereignty to the Yuezhi people in the South and the Xiongnu in the East."[2]
Kangju was later named Kang (康国) during the Sui and Tang dynasties, though by that time the area was ruled by Türkic peoples of the Gokturk Khaganate.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Zhang Qian account in "Records of the Great Historian, Han Dynasty II", Sima Qian, translated by Burton Watson, Revised edition (1993) Columbia University Press, p. 234. ISBN 0-231-08167-7
- ^ "Records of the Great Historian, Han Dynasty II", Sima Qian, translated by Burton Watson, Revised edition (1993) Columbia University Press, p. 234. ISBN 0-231-08167-7
[edit] References
- Hill, John E. 2004. The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu. Draft annotated English translation.[1]
- Hill, John E. 2004. The Peoples of the West from the Weilüe 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢: A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE. Draft annotated English translation. [2]
- Liu, Xinru: Migration and Settlement of the Yuezhi-Kushan. Interaction and Interdependence of Nomadic and Sedentary Societies in: Journal of World History, 12 (No. 2) 2001, p. 261-292. See [3]
- The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West. J. P. Mallory and Victor H. Mair. Thames & Hudson. London. (2000), ISBN 0500051011
[edit] See Also
- Kangly (Possible inhabitants of Kangju).
