Quick Answer: Who Was Gao Xianzhi?
Gao Xianzhi (高仙芝, Gāo Xiānzhī, died 756) was a general of the Тан (唐, Táng). He led expeditions from the western garrisons and commanded the Tang army that lost the Battle of Talas (怛罗斯之战, Dáluósī Zhī Zhàn) in 751.[5]
- Western campaign: Gao captured the ruler of Little Balur (小勃律, Xiǎo Bólǜ) after an expedition in 747.[1][2]
- Talas: Gao’s forces lost to an Abbasid army after a group of Tang allies changed sides.[3][5]
- Final command: During the rebellion against the Tang court, Gao withdrew to Tong Pass (潼关, Tóngguān), where he was executed on imperial orders.[6]
His career connects the Tang court to military garrisons, local rulers and shifting alliances along the Silk Road.
In one campaign Gao sent three columns through the mountains to meet at a single fort. Four years later, his army reached the Talas River, where a reversal of alliances helped decide the battle.
Anxi and the Little Balur Campaign
Gao came from a military family of Goguryeo (高句丽, Gāogōulí) origin. He followed his father into service in Anxi (安西, Ānxī), the Tang command responsible for its western garrisons.[1]
Little Balur lay in the region of present-day Gilgit, where the Tang and the Tibetan Empire (吐蕃, Tǔbō) competed for mountain routes. Gao led the Tang expedition there in 747.[8] The Old Book of Tang (旧唐书, Jiù Tángshū) describes three columns ordered to converge at Lianyun Fort (连云堡, Liányún Bǎo). Gao’s forces later cut a bridge before Tibetan reinforcements could use it. Gao took the ruler and his wife back as captives.[1] After the campaign he took command of the Anxi garrisons.[2]
Why Gao’s Army Reached Talas
Gao campaigned against Shash (石国, Shíguó), around present-day Tashkent, in 750.[2] Its rivalry with neighboring Fergana drew in the Tang and Abbasid commanders.[5] The Zizhi Tongjian (资治通鉴, Zīzhì Tōngjiàn) says the ruler’s son sought support after Gao seized his father. The chronicle describes Gao marching against Abbasid forces after hearing of a possible attack on the Tang garrisons.[3]
Historian Shigeo Saitō points to a document from Turfan dated 751 and an epitaph from 783. Both name Suyab (碎叶, Suìyè) as the initial destination. He argues that Gao set out expecting to face local Turkic forces and encountered the Abbasids at Talas during the campaign.[4]
The Abbasid force was led by Ziyad ibn Salih.[5] According to the chronicle, the Karluks (葛逻禄, Gěluólù) turned against Gao and attacked alongside the Abbasids. The Tang army lost, and Gao withdrew with survivors.[3]
The Retreat to Tong Pass
An Lushan (安禄山, Ān Lùshān) rebelled in 755. After his army took Luoyang (洛阳, Luòyáng), Gao and fellow commander Feng Changqing (封常清, Fēng Chángqīng) withdrew to Tong Pass to protect the route to Chang’an (长安, Cháng’ān).[1]
The military supervisor Bian Lingcheng (边令诚, Biān Língchéng) accused Gao of giving up territory and withholding soldiers’ rations and rewards. Gao denied taking the supplies. Emperor Xuanzong (玄宗, Xuánzōng) ordered both commanders executed at the pass.[6]
FAQs About Gao Xianzhi
Was Gao Xianzhi of Goguryeo descent?
The official Tang biography identifies his family as coming from Goguryeo. Gao and his father both served in Tang armies.[1]
Did the Battle of Talas end Tang influence in Central Asia?
Tang and Abbasid contacts continued. Six Abbasid embassies reached Chang’an in 753–754. The An Lushan rebellion later weakened the Tang court’s ability to intervene in Central Asia.[5]
Did Talas introduce papermaking to the Islamic world?
A later story credited captured craftsmen. Historian Jonathan Bloom questions that account and notes that paper already circulated in Central Asia before the battle. The episode belongs to a longer history of paper across Asia.[7]
Источники
[1] Liu Xu and others. Old Book of Tang, chapter 104, Gao Xianzhi biography
[2] Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica. Annotated Tongdian, Border Defense, notes on Gao Xianzhi and Talas, p. 226
[3] Sima Guang and others. Zizhi Tongjian, chapter 216, Talas and the Anxi command
[4] Shigeo Saitō. Battle of Talas and Suiye, Tōyō Gakuhō 105.2
[5] Michal Biran. Islamic Expansion into Central Asia and Muslim-Buddhist Encounters, pp. 22–25
[6] Sima Guang and others. Zizhi Tongjian, chapter 217, Tong Pass and the executions
[7] Jonathan M. Bloom. Paper in the Iranian World Prior to Printing, Encyclopaedia Iranica
[8] UNESCO. History of Civilizations of Central Asia, vol. III, The Fight for Independence, p. 382