Tang's Interactions with Islamic Empires 大食

choi

(1) "阿拉伯帝国（632年－1258年） * * * 唐代以来的中国史书，如《经行记》、《旧唐书》、《新唐书》、《宋史》、《辽史》等，均称之为大食（波斯语Tazi或Taziks的译音，即今塔吉克), 而 [(only)中古 medieval] 西欧则习惯将其称作萨拉森帝国（在拉丁文中意指「东方人的帝国」"  zh.wikipedia.org for 阿拉伯帝国.
(a) 经行记
https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/经行记
("唐玄宗天宝十年七月（公元751年）右羽林大将军高仙芝亲率蕃、汉兵数万进攻大食爆发怛逻斯之战（战于今哈萨克江布尔城附近），唐朝战败，此役 '士卒死亡略尽，所余才千余人。' 杜环成为唐军俘虏的一员。杜环在中亚、西亚及地中海等大食占据的地区停留十多年。更可能是曾到达摩洛哥的中国人。  唐代宗宝应元年（公元762年）杜环等人被准许回国，杜环附商船由海路返回广州，将他的游历见闻著作成书")
(b) Tazi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tazi
(may refer to "Tāzīg/Tāzīk/Tāzī, the word for 'Arab' in Sasanian Persia [en.wikioedia.org for Sasanian Empire: 224–651 (conquered by Arabs/muslims, whose state-imposed islamization successfully targeted 'Zoroastrian majority': en.wikipedia.org for Iran) ")
(c) Click "Tāzīg/Tāzīk/Tāzī" in the preceding sentence leads to Tayy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tayy
( (letter-for-letter) romanization of Arab: Tayyi [Tayy is an English word]; an ancient Arab tribe; section 2 Pre-Islamic era, section 2.2 Relations with Sassanids and Byzantines, section 2.2.1 Fifth century: "The Tayy were so widespread and influential throughout the Syrian Desert that Syriac authors from Mesopotamia used their name, Taienos, Tayenoi, Taiyaya or Tayyaye (ܛܝܝܐ), to describe Arab tribesmen in general in much the same way 'Saracenos [accusative (direct object) plural of Saracenus]' was often used by authors from Byzantine Syria and Egypt as a generic term for Arabs. The Syriac word also entered into the language of the Sasanid Persians as Tāzīg (Middle Persian: tʾcyk') and later Tāzī (Persian: تازی), also meaning 'Arab' ") (footnotes omitted).
(d) Saracen (n; etymology: "Middle English, from Old French sarrazin, via late Latin [noun masculine Saracēnus] from late Greek Sarakēnos, perhaps from Arabic šarqī eastern"): "an Arab or Muslim, especially at the time of the Crusades"
https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/saracen


(2) etymology:
caliph (n): "late 14c, 'ruler of a Muslim country,' from Old French caliphe (12c, also algalife), from Medieval Latin [noun masculine] califa, from Arabic [noun masculine] khalifa successor (from [verb] khalafa succeed). Title given to the successor of Muhammad as leader of the community and defender of the faith; originally Abu-Bakr, who succeeded Muhammad in the role of leader of the faithful after the prophet's death."

(3) I will expand on (1)(a) above.
(a) 高仙芝
https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hans/高仙芝
(? - 756; section 1 生平, section 1.1 家世: "高仙芝本是高句丽人。 '高' 乃高句丽王族扶余王之姓。"/ section section 1.2 征服小勃律国 Little Patola; section 1.3 怛罗斯战役: "天宝九载（750年），高仙芝征服石国（塔什干），俘虏其王，送到长安斩首。新近崛起的阿拉伯帝国阿拔斯王朝派出东征军，在呼罗珊波斯人的协助下进攻高仙芝。天宝十年（751年），高仙芝领导的二万五千安西都护府军队在怛罗斯战役中败于阿拔斯王朝的东征军，被迫返回龟兹 [English: Kucha or Kuche; related to-present-day 新疆维吾尔自治区阿克苏地区库车市]。之后高仙芝试图反攻，但因兵力不足作罢。此役使得中国的造纸术和指南针流入阿拉伯，对之后阿拉伯和欧洲的发展起了重要的作用。唐帝国虽然本身没有失去领土，但从此失去了对中亚各王国的控制")
(b) 怛罗斯战役 and An Lushan Rebellion (755-763)

James Frankel, Islam in China. Bloomsbury, June 29, 2021, at three consecutive pages (page numbers not shown).
https://books.google.com/books?i ... 0muslim&f=false

Consecutive paragraphs:

"stalemate, however, did not l;ast long as events took a sudden turn. The Qarluq mercenaries proved to be unreliable allies when, in the midst of the battle, they switched sides. The Tang army, besieged on one side by 'Abbasid forces and Quarluq warriors on the other, were soon overwhelmed. General Gao escaped with his life and a few thousand troops. The muslim army briefly gave chase before being repelled by Tang reinforcementss to the east. In the end, while the 'Abbasids could claim a victory over the Tang dynasty in the battle of Talas (or Artlakh), the territorial status quo was essentially maintained. The Caliphate could not press any advantage as a result of the victory, and never advanced further eastwards. Perhaps this is the reason why the Battle of Talas does not figure prominently in Islamic historiography of the time, though it is mentiomned in later Muslim sources as well as in the official Chinese histories of the Tang dynasty.

"The immediate effects on the ground of the 'Abbasid victory and Tang defeat may not have been obvious. Legend has it that the Muslim army captured some Chinese artisans, including a few who knew how to make paper (a Chinese invention). These artisans were brought to Samarkand where they transmitted their craft, thereby spreading papermaking technology to the Islamic lands. More importantly, Islamic influence over Central Asia up to the Amu Syr region was permanently established in the aftermath of Talas. But Chinese involvement in the region did not cease as a result of the defeat. The dynamic, oif volatile, politics of Central Asia often meant that allegiances could change swiftly against the persistent background of ongoing trans-Eurasioan trade and cultural exchange. Arabic sources hardly mention the victory at Talas, which was treated more as a border skirmish than a great military triumph. Official Chinese sources, on the other hand, likely exaggerate the size of the muslim armies (by some accounts, upwars of 200,000 troups) perhaps to account for the defeat/ Because the battle caused no significant territorial loss or gain, and the borders remained virtually unchanged, its geopolitical consequences were minor. Muslims continued to consolidate their hold on western Central Asia, while the Chinese maintained considerable influence (political, economic and cultural) in its eastern extremes. Consequently, in spite of the tensions that precipitated the Battle of Talas, the 'Abbasid Caliphate and Tang dynasty would have to find a way to co-exist at the crossroads of their empires in the aftermath of their conflict.

"An unusual turn of events helped to improve relations between the Chinese and Muslims empires. Beginning in 755 CE, only four years after Talas, the Tang Empire experienced internal strike, an existential threat to its survival. In what turned out to be the final year of the reign of Emperor Xuanzong 玄宗 ([685-762 (77 years old); had Noble Consort Yang 貴妃 (719 – 756; died at 37) in 743 when she was 14 and he 58;] r. 713-56), a Tang general of central Asian descent by the name of An Lushan 安祿山 (709357) fomented rebellion against the regime. Having seized Luoyang 洛陽, the Tang dynasty's eastern capital, An Lushan declared himself Emperor of Great Yan 大燕 dynasty in early 756 CE. From Luoyang he set his sights on the western capital of Chang'an. When the rebel forces were poised to invade, Emperor Xuanzong and his court fled the capital to seek refuge in present-day Sichuan province. It was there that Xuanzong abdicated in favor of his son, who ascended as Emperor Suzong 肅宗 (r. 756-62 [died bedridden after illness]) in Lingwu 靈武[郡], present-day Ningxia province [玄宗 and 太子 fled Chang’an in different direction and 太子 ascended to the throne on his own; 玄宗 learned of it and abdicated].

"Emperor Suzong, determined to retake Chang'an, supplemented his regular (loyalist) army with troops from the Uyghur Khaganate [回鶻 or 回紇], Tang allies based in present-day Mongolia. In addition, esperate for any assistance he could receive, the emperor requested military aid from the 'Abbasid Caliph al-Manṣūr (r. 754-75) in Baghdad.26 Al-Manṣūr sent approximately 4,000 mercenary troops to fight alongside the Tang loyalists and the Uyghurs. Intrigue and treachery within the Great Yan court made the rebel dynasty increasingly vulnerable. An Lushan was assassinated by his son and two of his ministers in 757 CE. Soon thereafter the Tang coalition ousted the rebels from Chang'an, and recaptured Luoyang not long afterwards. The 'Abbasid Caliphate, having helped to defeat the rebels, resumed friendly relations with the Tang Empire. An 'Abbasid diplomatic missin was welcomed by the Tang court in Chang'an in 758 CE.27 Emperor Suzong alsorewarded the Arab-Muslim soldiers who had fought for him, inviting them to remain in China where they were goiven plots of land and permitted to mary Chinese brides.

"The remnants of the rebellion, now under the command of An Lushan's deputy, Shi Shiming [sic; should be Siming] 史思明 (703-61), tried to regroup and regain lost territory, including the capital, but were finally defeated in 763 CE, during the reign of the Tang emperor Daizong 代宗 (r. 762-79). However, the damage done to the dynasty began the slow decline of the empire over the next one and half centuries. TangChina would never regain the power, prestige and prosperity oiy had enjoyed during its golden age before the rebellion. The empire lost its footing in Central Asia, as other smaller regional frontier states filled the power gap. Nevertheless, the post-rebellion era ushered in a period of good political relations and robust maritime trade between the Tang and 'Abbasid spheres.

Note:
(i) Karluks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karluks   
(also Qarluqs; known as 葛逻禄 to Chinese; "were a prominent nomadic Turkic tribal confederacy residing in the regions of Kara-Irtysh (Black Irtysh [Irtysh 额尔齐斯河]) and the Tarbagatai Mountains west of the Altay [or Altai] Mountains in Central Asia")
(ii) Battle of Talas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Talas
(May to September 751; "between Abbasid Caliphate along with its ally, the Tibetan Empire [吐蕃 (618-842) (decline following civil war over succession to last Tibetan emperor who died in 842)], against the Chinese Tang dynasty * * * The defeat marked the end of the Tang westward expansion and resulted in Muslims control of Transoxiana for the next 400 years. Control of the region was economically beneficial for the Abbasids because it was on the Silk Road. Chinese prisoners captured in the aftermath of the battle are said to have brought paper-making technology to West Asia")
(iii) For Amu Syr region, see Amu Darya
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amu_Darya
, where a map shows two large rivers empty into Aral Sea: Amu Darya and Syr Darya.