10. China's Han Dynasty - The First Empire in Flames
Fall of Civilizations Podcast
00:00
The Han Dynasty and the Marriage Alliance
The shongnu encircled the city of ba dang and besieged it for seven days. But some creative diplomacy at the chinese court came through. The siege was lifted, and the emperor han kausu returned to his capital a much humbled man. From this point on, he abandoned the idea of a military solution to the barbarian problem. Instead, he pursued a policy of diplomacy and appeasement. It saw imperial china pay vast amounts of tribute to the shong no in the form of what they called imperial gifts. In exchange, the shongnu agreed to stop their raids on the borders of the empire. And for a time, an uneasy peace
Transcript
Play full episode
