![]() The Abbasids continued the process of the Islamicization of much of southwestern and central Asia, which the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) had initiated, but also took to the sea, adding an Arab overlay to the Persian seafarers who until then had dominated long-distance trade (in ways that often make it difficult to distinguish between the two), and by the tenth century had accumulated a large body of information concerning China and routes to it. It was also a period of significant change at both ends of the continent. At its height, it involved a flourishing and lucrative trade in luxuries between the two great Asian empires of the day: the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258) in the west and the Tang Empire (618–907) in the east. This age was a period quite distinct from those that followed. We will be returning to this question here it is enough to note that this incident marks the first mention of Arabs in Tang documentary sources – a signpost, as it were, for the early stages of the first great age of Asian maritime commerce. They might also have been traders enraged by grievances against local officials or some other trade issue (thus the burning of the warehouses). Footnote 2 Who were these men who – thousands of miles from their homes in west Asia – were able to seize one of the major cities of the Tang, if only briefly? Speculative answers have included seeing them as a reflection of the newly established Abbasid Caliphate, as disgruntled troops sent by the Caliph to quell a rebellion in central Asia (who somehow made their way to the coast of China), or as followers of the Hainanese warlord Feng Ruofang 馮若芳, who specialized in capturing and enslaving Persian sailors, about whom we will have more to say. Footnote 1 Another source describes them as troops from the countries of Arabia (Dashi 大食) and Persia (Bosi 波斯) and recounts that they captured the city after the prefect, Wei Lijian 韋利見, abandoned the city and went into hiding. According to two sources, they plundered the city and burned its warehouses and storehouses before departing by sea. One day in late September of 758, Persians and Arabs raided the frontier port city of Guangzhou (Canton).
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