Chinese Historian Describes the Byzantine Empire // 7-10th century "Book of Tang" // Primary Source @VoicesofthePast

Uploaded November 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

This is the third in our series on the relationship between China and the Roman Empire - in this case the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire).

Here we have an extract from the Old Book of Tang, the first history compiled of the Tang Dynasty in 945 AD. It is a compilation of earlier annals, dating from the 7th century up until the 10th, which shine light on the Chinese opinion of the Byzantine empire and the various embassies between the two states.

Thanks again to the Seattle Silk Road website - a great resource:

https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/texts.html

How do we actually know about history? Voices of the Past is a channel dedicated to recreating the original accounts from the people who lived through events, or who lived far closer to them than we do today. We do this word for word, with an accompanying soundtrack of rousing music and images.

— Thanks for watching! Don’t forget to subscribe for new videos every single week! & Let us know in the comments what you’d like to see covered in the future.

— Don’t forget to subscribe to our other channel History Time, where we make full length historical documentaries:-
youtube.com/historytime

— Music courtesy of:-
- Epidemic Sound

— Voice actor & editor:-
David Kelly

We try to use copyright free images at all times. However if we have used any of your artwork or maps then please don't hesitate to contact me and we’ll be more than happy to give the appropriate credit.

Thanks to:

SY [CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

Ichthyovenator [CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

Getoryk [CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

en:User:Bigdaddy1204 [CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]

Cabinet des Médailles [CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]

By Taha b. Wasiq b. Hussain - Created by the help of Muawiya's bust on coins and historical descriptions of him. Medium: Acrylic paintPreviously published: scontent.fkhi10-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/75223621_967363183596811_4941094870270869504_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&_nc_oc=AQnObarlPkLHP4JhpdHaHNAwTp3o4sAnKPkfyNw4OZzk0Yof68winqTkYmHc_ICZxrI&_nc_ht=scontent.fkhi10-1.fna&oh=4e11884204262da573c3d0a231aa2f3d&oe=5E5E508B, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=83421817

Chinese Historian Describes the Byzantine Empire // 7-10th century Book of Tang // Primary Source

Assyrian God-King Speaks of his Conquests // Ancient Primary Source // 640 BC Sennacherib

Earliest Western Account of India + Caste System // 300 BC Megasthenes // Ancient Primary Source

Napoleon Justifies His Disastrous Invasion of Russia (1812) // From His Diaries and Letters

First European Description of Life in Japan // 1585 Striking Contrasts Luis Frois - Primary Source

Liutprand of Cremona meets Nikephoros II Phokas // 968 // Byzantine History

$Calgacus Speech of Freedom // The Agricola by Tacitus (98AD) // Roman Primary Source On the edge of the world, the Roman Empire is advancing. The year is 84, and Gnaeus Julius Agricola has finally goaded the Caledonians into battle, a tribe still clinging to independence in the cold north of the island. Much of Britannia has already been subjugated, along with Gaul, and absorbed into the voracious maw of the greatest empire the world has ever seen. Agricolas campaign comes to us through the words of Tacitus (56 - 120 AD), famous Roman historian. Here he gives us a speech from the leader of the Caledonian Confederation, the chieftain Calgacus, urging his followers to reject bondage and fight to their last against Roman slavery. He asks them to fight for their freedom. How do we actually know about history? Voices of the Past is a channel dedicated to recreating the original accounts from the people who lived through events, or who lived far closer to them than we do today. We do this word for word, with an accompanying soundtrack of rousing music and images. — Thanks for watching! Don’t forget to subscribe for new videos every single week! & Let us know in the comments what you’d like to see covered in the future. — Become a patron for as little as a dollar a month & help keep this project going:- https://www.patreon.com/historytimeUK — Don’t forget to subscribe to our primary channel History Time, where we make full length historical documentaries:- https://www.youtube.com/historytime — History Time is now a podcast. You can find us wherever you get your podcasts from. —Join our community on social media:- Twitter:- https://twitter.com/HistoryTimeUK/ Facebook:- https://www.facebook.com/HistoryTimeOfficial/ Instagram:- https://www.instagram.com/historytime_ig/ — Music courtesy of:- - Epidemic Sound - Joss Edwards Music:- https://soundcloud.com/jossedwardsmusic Derek & Brandon Fiechter Kevin MacLeod — Voice actor & editor:- David Kelly Weve compiled a reading list of our favourite history books via the Amazon influencer program. If you do choose to purchase any of these incredible sources of information then Amazon will send us a tiny fraction of the earnings (as long as you do it through the link) (this means more and better content in the future) Ill keep adding to and updating the list as time goes on:- https://www.amazon.com/shop/historytime Are you a budding artist, writer, illustrator, cartographer, or music producer? Send us an email! No matter how professional you are or even if you’re just starting out, we can always use new music and images in my videos. Get in touch! I’d love to hear from you. We try to use copyright free images at all times. However if we have used any of your artwork or maps then please dont hesitate to contact me and we’ll be more than happy to give the appropriate credit.$

Roman Scholar Describes Ancient China // 1st century AD // Pliny the Elder on the Seres

Ohthere of Hålogalands Voyage to the White Sea // Anglo-Saxon Primary Source (890)

Ibn Rusta on the Volga Bulgars (903-913 AD) / Primary Source

Plato Describes Atlantis // First Mention of the Island // 360 BC Critias