The delegation did not stay in the Western Chalukya Kingdom for too long. Like in other countries, they basically only stayed for two days.
The fleet arrived on the first day, replenished fresh water and food on the second day, and set off on the third day.
Since the Guangdong navy no longer provided escort after leaving the Strait of Malacca, the number of diplomatic envoys was greatly reduced.
But it already had more than a hundred officials, clerks and entourage at all levels in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Rites, and then recruited more than three thousand sailors, plus two thousand guards, totaling nearly six thousand people.
Including the more than 200 soldiers on the Guangzhou ironclad ship and the entourage and servants brought by the big merchants who served as part-time translators and guides, the total number of people was still about 6,000.
The number of ships alone reached more than 80, and they were all medium and large ocean-going ships, carrying all kinds of materials and personnel. The lineup was extremely large.
Dozens of large capsized ships hoisted their sails and sailed north along the coast of the Indian peninsula to the Solanki Dynasty.
This was a dynasty located in the later Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Although its territory was not large, it was a dynasty that became wealthy through trade and also held a considerable amount of gold.
The delegation also traded arms orders with the local area, and then at the end of May or early June, it officially began to enter the Persian Gulf and the Middle East.
At this time, chaos in the Middle East emerged.
The Abbasid Dynasty, a vast empire that once spanned the European, Asian and African continents and had fought against the Tang Dynasty, has now completely declined. Its vast territory has been divided into more than ten small countries.
The most powerful among them were undoubtedly the Buyid Dynasty and the Samanid Dynasty.
At its peak, the Buyid Dynasty controlled most of the Persian Gulf, including large territories such as later Iraq and Iran.
The Abbasid Dynasty was like the Zhou Dynasty during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Its territory was limited to the capital Baghdad and a few surrounding areas. Most of the rest of the dynasty's hinterland was occupied by the Buyid Dynasty, which shows how powerful the Buyid Dynasty was.
Another powerful dynasty, the Samanid Empire, controlled a large area of Central Asia, which later became Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and a small part of northern India. Its territory was no less than that of the Buyid Empire.
However, the Samanid Empire, established by the Persians, had an awkward geographical location. To the west was the Buyid Empire, to the north were the rising Turks, to the southeast were the Indian countries, and to the northeast was the Kara Khanate. It could be said that it was surrounded by enemies on all sides and was attacked from all sides.
In the late 10th century AD, the Turks rose to power. One group established the Kara Khanate in Transoxiana, while the other group established the Ghaznavid Empire in Ghazni, 40 kilometers southwest of Kabul, the later capital of Afghanistan.
They jointly launched an attack on the Samanid Empire, and the offensive was very swift. They quickly defeated the Samanid Empire and occupied its territory.
At the end of the 10th century, that is, in 999 AD, the Samanid Empire was destroyed by the Ghaznavid Empire and the Kara Khanate.
Among them, the Ghaznavid dynasty obtained the southern territory of the Samanid dynasty, namely Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Kara Khanate acquired the territories to the north of the Samanid Empire, including Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and other places.
However, the Turks' happiness did not last long. The Kara-Khanid Empire was destroyed by the Song Dynasty last year, and the Ghaznavid Empire was almost destroyed by the newly rising Seljuks.
Currently, only a few territories such as Kabul, Lahore, Punjab, and Makran remain, which are equivalent to the southeastern part of Afghanistan and the entire territory of Pakistan in later generations. It is far less powerful than before.
In contrast, the Seljuks continued to advance with unstoppable force, and in recent years they successively conquered most of the eastern territory of the Buyid Dynasty, even including large areas such as Azerbaijan, Armenia, Khorasan, and Khwarezm.
Therefore, the Buyid Dynasty now only has the territory of later Iraq, and in history, three years later, that is, in 1055 AD, Baghdad was conquered by the Seljuk Empire, and the Buyid Dynasty disappeared in the long river of history.
During this period, the Turks established the vast Seljuk Empire, which stretched from Jerusalem in the west to the Fergana Basin (Dayuan) in the east, from the Caucasus and Khwarezm in the north to the Gulf of Oman in the south.
And more than 20 years later, the Seljuk Empire almost destroyed the Byzantine Empire and conquered the Anatolian Peninsula, leaving the Byzantine Empire with only part of the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, which was later Bulgaria and Greek territory.
Therefore, if the Song Dynasty did not intervene, the Middle East at this time would be the time when the Seljuk Empire rose, which is equivalent to the founding of a huge empire.
It is in such a situation.
In early June, the Song Dynasty envoys' fleet sailed into the Gulf of Oman, passed through the Strait of Hormuz, and arrived at the port of Leng.
This place has been the most important port in the Middle East since the Arab Empire era, especially its pearling industry is the most prosperous, and trade is constant.
The envoys actually knew that most of the Middle East was occupied by the Seljuk Empire during this period, so after they arrived at the port of Lenger, they sent people to communicate with the authorities.
Unfortunately, the Seljuks have only risen in recent years and only captured Isfahan in the east of the Buyid Dynasty last year. Therefore, there are no big Seljuk merchants in Guangzhou, and naturally there is a lack of communication channels with the Seljuk Empire.
Therefore, they could only wait patiently, hoping that the people of Port Lunger could convey their demands.
However, what was unexpected was that the delegation waited at the port for almost a week but did not receive any high-level dialogue from the Seljuk Empire, and even the local officials did not convey any news to them.
This made Tan Wenxue and others very dissatisfied.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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