Towards the end of the 6th Century AD the Sui Dynasty managed to re-unite China after several hundred years of turmoil. Their reign was short lived however, its fall being mainly brought about by a disasterous invasion of Korea. The Tang Dynasty which followed saw the Chinese empire at its greatest extent, its early rulers vying with the Turks, Tibetans and Arabs for control of the lucrative silk trade routes through central Asia. Tang armies places great reliance on their mounted troops now they had access to larger horses bred on state stud farms. They also employed the composite crossbow to a great extent, in some armies of the period every trooper and footman was so equiped. The Tang domination of Central Asia was shattered by their defeat at the Battle of Talas in 751 AD by a combined Arab/Turkic army
15mm Sui & Tang Chinese
