The Greeks in Bactria and India c10.s5.236

c10.s5.236

But after Chang-k’ien’s death in 114 he got information—it is not recorded how, but doubtless from one of Chang-k’ien’s lieutenants—of the real nature of the Ferghana horses, and sent mission after mission to purchase some; on the arrival of the first ones he transferred the name ‘heavenly horses’ to them from the Wu-sun horses⁵ and himself wrote a poem to celebrate the arrival of the ‘heavenly horse’ in China;⁶ the type of these great chargers can subsequently be traced in Chinese art.⁷ But he then heard from some young men attached to one of the missions⁸ that the king of Ta-yuan, Mu-ku’a, had even finer horses in his city of Ir-shi⁹ than those which he had got, and he sent an envoy to buy some; the murder of this envoy by Mu-ku’a, who thought he was out of reach, led to China’s war with Ta-yuan, which was allied with the K’ang-kiu. There is no need to give details; after more than one fruitless attempt a Chinese army in 101 actually reached Ir-shi and took the lower city, but could not reduce the citadel because, although they had cut off its water supply, there was in it a ‘man from Ts’in’ who knew how to dig wells;¹ finally the Chinese general, fearing the K’ang-kiu whom the besieged had threatened to call in, agreed to a compromise under which he retired after the besieged had killed Mu-ku’a, accepted China’s suzerainty, and handed over a few of the horses.