Editing Constans II (section)

=== Record in Chinese sources ===
{{further information|Sino-Roman relations|Europeans in Medieval China}}
The [[Twenty-four Histories|Chinese dynastic histories]] of the ''[[Old Book of Tang]]'' and ''[[New Book of Tang]]'' mention [[:zh:s:新唐書/卷221下|several embassies made by ''Fu lin'']] (拂菻), which they equated with [[Daqin]] (the [[Roman Empire]]).<ref name="halsall 2000"/> These are recorded as having begun in the year 643 with an embassy sent by the king ''Boduoli'' (波多力, Constans II Pogonatos) to [[Emperor Taizong of Tang]], bearing gifts such as [[Cranberry glass|red]] [[Roman glass|glass]] and green [[gemstone]]s.<ref name="halsall 2000">{{cite web|orig-year=1885|date=2000|author=Hirth, Friedrich|editor=Jerome S. Arkenberg|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/romchin1.html|title=East Asian History Sourcebook: Chinese Accounts of Rome, Byzantium and the Middle East, c. 91 B.C.E. – 1643 C.E.|publisher=[[Fordham University]]|website=Fordham.edu|access-date=10 September 2016|archive-date=10 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910050947/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/romchin1.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Other contacts are reported taking place in 667, 701, and perhaps 719, sometimes through Central Asian intermediaries.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mutsaers |first=Inge |url=https://www.routledge.com/Byzantine-Trade-4th-12th-Centuries-The-Archaeology-of-Local-Regional/Mango/p/book/9780754663102 |title=Byzantine Trade, 4th–12th Centuries |editor=Marlia Mundell Mango |year=2009 |access-date=10 September 2016}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=January 2019|reason=Inge Mutsaers isn't mentioned in the summary of this source}} These histories also record that [[Early Muslim conquests|the Arabs]] (''Da shi'' 大食) sent their commander "Mo-yi" ([[Chinese language|Chinese]]: 摩拽伐之, [[Pinyin]]: ''Mó zhuāi fá zhī''), to [[Siege of Constantinople (674–678)|besiege the Byzantine capital]], [[Constantinople]], and forced the Byzantines to pay them tribute.<ref name="halsall 2000"/>

This Arab commander "Mo-yi" was identified by historian [[Friedrich Hirth]] as [[Muawiyah I]] (r. 661–680), the [[History of Syria#Medieval era|governor of Syria]] before becoming the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad caliph]].<ref name="halsall 2000" /> The same books also described Constantinople in some detail as having [[Walls of Constantinople|massive granite walls]] and a [[water clock]] mounted with a golden statue of man.<ref name="halsall 2000" /> The Byzantine historian [[Theophylact Simocatta]], writing during the reign of [[Heraclius]] (r. 610–641), relayed information about [[Geography of China|China's geography]], its capital city ''Khubdan'' ([[Old Turkic language|Old Turkic]]: ''Khumdan'', i.e. [[Chang'an]]), its current ruler ''Taisson'' whose name meant "[[Son of Heaven|Son of God]]" (Chinese: [[Chinese emperor|''Tianzi'']]), and correctly pointed to its reunification by the [[Sui dynasty]] (581–618) as occurring during the reign of [[Maurice (emperor)|Maurice]], noting that China had previously been divided politically along the [[Yangzi River]] by [[Southern and Northern dynasties|two warring nations]].<ref>{{citation|last=Yule |first=Henry |author-link=Henry Yule|url=https://archive.org/stream/cathaywaythither01yule#page/n3/mode/2up|access-date=21 September 2016|title=Cathay and the Way Thither: Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of China, Vol I: Preliminary Essay on the Intercourse Between China and the Western Nations Previous to the Discovery of the Cape Route|location=London|publisher=London: Hakluyt Society|editor=Henri Cordier |year=1915|volume=1|pages=29–31; see also footnote #4 on p. 29; footnote #2 on p. 30; and footnote #3 on page 31}}</ref>