Romans in Han China and Vietnam

[Roma_Victrix]

This is one of those historical topics that has always fascinated me, because our view of things is so incomplete and spotty at best. Here are the things we know for certain:

* Ancient Chinese histories described a distant western empire (i.e. "Daqin") as being a sort of mythical counterpart to the Chinese empire

* Ancient Chinese histories explain how people from Daqin, particularly emissaries, reached Eastern-Han China (and then Western-Jin-dynasty China) by way of their "Jiaozhi" province in what is now Vietnam, via the maritime route through the Indian Ocean

* Numerous Roman archaeological artifacts, including medallions dating to the reign of Marcus Aurelius, have been found in the Pearl River Delta region of southern Vietnam, the same period that the Chinese histories claim that a Daqin embassy arrived (i.e. during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han)

* There are no clear Western historical references to China, Chinese geography and geopolitics until Eastern Roman (i.e. Byzantine) histories of the 6th and 7th centuries AD (e.g. the works of Cosmas Indicopleustes and Theophylact Simocatta), yet these contain astonishingly accurate portrayals of Sui and Tang China

* That being said, the 2nd-century Greco-Roman geography Ptolemy wrote that Greek sailors, who regularly sailed from Roman Egypt to India and even Burma, traveled around a peninsula that is undoubtedly the Malay Peninsula and describes a port city called "Cattigara" that was most likely Óc Eo, Vietnam

* Ptolemy, although obviously believing erroneous things like the tip of South Africa meeting the continent of Asia, nevertheless mapped out a semi-accurate portrayal of the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand

* The supposed Roman contacts with Han China unfortunately occurred right at the onset of the disastrous Antonine Plague and Marcomannic Wars, which could have possibly obscured any concern or interest the Romans might have had in distant eastern countries

* Sinologists and modern scholars have also come to the consensus that any Roman peoples visiting the Orient were most likely merchants, not official diplomats

Phew! Now, with all of that meaty stuff out of the way, let's discuss the plausibility of this hypothetical contact. What do you guys think? I'm obviously leaving out a ton of details, like Roman coins and such found in China, but these are ancillary or minor details compared to the major facts presented above. Feel free to provide other information I might not be familiar with at all!

[Gabriel Oi Taurisia]

This is a super interesting thing. I am afraid, though, that we will never be able to tell if such contacts really took place.

There's an a m a z i n g historical novel, called "Empire of Dragons" (by the italian novelist Valerio Massimo Manfredi) that is right about this topic.
In the book, a small manipulus of roman soldiers, that has survived from a violent attack from Shapur I king of persia, flees towards the east and reaches China after a long travel. (260 AD circa)

This is one of the catchiest historical novels I have ever read (alongside with Manfredi's "Alexandros", about Alexander's life and deeds). The story of these romans is really compelling and fascinating. I strongly suggest it to anyone who's interested in this Roman-Chinese vicissitude.