Descendants of ancient Romans found in China

[Cao Pi]

Descendants of ancient Romans found in China

Published Nov 9 2010

The ruin of ancient Liqian​

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Residents of a remote village in China could be the descendants of a mysteriously disappeared legion of the ancient Rome Empire. Their physical appearances are similar to the Romans. Many of them are blond, have high nose bridge and blue eyes. And their traditional food is a kind of pancake that similar to pizza while many structures in the village resemble the architectural style of ancient Rome. Archaeologists have a strong belief that these villagers in Yongchang of Gansu Province are linked to Rome. "They are most probably the descendants of the defeated forces of Marcus Licinius Crassus."

Some residents of Yongchang​

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A resident, who wanted to find out more about his origin, had a DNA test that showed him carrying the gene of the Westerners. Historians said Yongchang was named Liqian, which meant Rome, during the Han Empire (202 BC to 220 AD). Lanzhou University has on Saturday set up the Italian Cultural Research Centre to find out the origin of these blue-eyes villagers. Comprising researchers from China and abroad, the centre is the first in the country to focus on comparative studies and research into Chinese and Italian culture.

One of the typical Roman formations in war​

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Crassus (115 BC – 53 BC) was a Roman general and politician. He was defeated and killed in the war to bring down the Parthian Empire (now Iran). Thinking that the surviving soldiers were captured, the Rome Empire asked Parthian to return the war prisoners in 20 BC. But he was told that the 6,000 soldiers did not surrender. They escaped. Since then, the survivors of the legion became a mystery.

According to Han Dynasty's records, its army defeated a group of soldiers drawn up in typical Roman formation in a war with the Hunnic Empire in 36 BC. The 145 war prisoners captured were later resettled in Liqian. It was believed that Crassus' legion had served the Hunnic Empire before they finally settled down in China.