Zhang Qian

Zhang Qian served as imperial envoy under Emperor Wu of Han in the late 2nd century BC, dispatched to gather information and forge alliances beyond China's borders. His journeys brought back the first detailed accounts of Central Asia to the Han court, including reports on the Greco-Bactrian remnants of the Macedonian Empire and the Parthian Empire. Emperor Wu commissioned the missions with twin goals: establish transcontinental trade and secure political protectorates through allied states. Zhang's intelligence paved the way for Chinese expansion west of Xinjiang and into lands south of the Hindu Kush. His accounts were later compiled by the historian Sima Qian in the 1st century BC. The routes he opened around 114 BC became the Silk Road, the artery that linked East and West in commerce and alliance for centuries.