Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Ferghana horses
were one of China's earliest major imports, originating in an area in
Central Asia. These horses, as depicted in Tang Dynasty pottery
representations of them, "resemble the animals on the golden medal of
Eucratides, King of Bactria (Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris)." Coin
showing Eucratides of Bactria and his horse. Map showing Dayuan at 130
BCE Dayuan, north of Bactria, was a nation centered in the Ferghana
Valley of present-day Central Asia, and even as early as the Han
Dynasty, China projected its military power to that area. The Han
imperial regime required Ferghana horses and imported such great numbers
of them that the rulers of Ferghana closed their borders to such trade.
That move resulted in a war that China won. In 102 CE, the Chinese
required of the defeated Ferghana that they provide at least ten of
their finest horses for breeding purposes, and three thousand Ferghana
horses of ordinary quality. However, there are other views: the Records
of the Grand Historian and Book of Han provide no description of
Ferghana horses, and as it seemed from these chronicles they were not
employed in any known Han expeditions and campaigns.
