What if a defeated Roman army didn't just vanish, but marched thousands of miles into the heart of China? The legend of the Lost Legion of Carrhae is one of history's most tantalizing "what ifs," suggesting a band of captive soldiers began an impossible odyssey from the Middle East to the Far East, forever altering the course of two empires.

This episode digs into the catastrophic Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC, where the arrogant Roman financier Marcus Licinius Crassus led seven legions to a crushing defeat against the Parthians. We follow the historical and archaeological trail of the 10,000 Roman prisoners taken that day, tracing the persistent theory that they were used as border guards on the empire's eastern fringe, and may have eventually fought their way to China, where strange, Roman-like artifacts have been found.

We'll separate compelling evidence from romantic fiction, examining ancient Chinese records, DNA studies on a remote Chinese village, and the staggering implications of a transcontinental journey that would have connected Rome and Han China a century before the Silk Road. You'll discover how a single military disaster spawned a mystery that spans continents and centuries.

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Hosted by Ibnul Jaif Farabi. Produced by Light Knot Studios (lightknotstudios.com).