When in Rome, do as the Chinese do (Silk Road week) - That Was Genius Episode 33

Let us take you on a journey to the mysterious East. Or the equally mysterious West. Whatever. It's silk road week!

Yes, this week we're taking a trip down the original information superhighway, the silk road. For centuries, the only route linking the West with the mysterious East, and the East with the mysterious West. A place of luxurious goods beyond your wildest imagination, new ideas that will blow your mind, barbaric hordes, and a bit of plague.

Tom kicks us off by looking at the Lost Legions of Carrhae in 56BC, the theory that ten thousand Roman soldiers, captured in battle against the Parthians, eventually found their way into China where they established a city. It's a controversial theory, but a very fun one!

Next, Sam looks at Rabban Bar Sauma, the Eastern Marco Polo - a monk who travelled from China to Baghdad in the 13th Century, then got sent on an even stranger mission, to form a military alliance between the French and the Mongol Empire. And it very nearly worked...

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Welcome to That Was Genius: Two blokes. A 12-hour time difference. An immature sense of humour. And 10,000 years of human civilisation. A weekly podcast looking at the weirder side of history.

Join Sam Datta-Paulin (he likes history and lives in Britain) and Tom Berry (he also likes history but lives in New Zealand), for a weekly reflection on the bold, the brilliant... And the downright strange.

From bizarre events and stories to equally odd inventions, barely a day goes by without something incredible (or incredibly stupid) happening around the world.

We upload new episodes every Wednesday night/Thursday morning (UK time).

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That Was Genius is produced by Glorious Republic Broadcasting.