After Chang Ch'ien's journey to Fergana during the Han Dynasty, there were many other ambassadors sent by the Chinese emperor to the west. One of them went to Parthia from 115 to 105 B.C., Parthian was an ancient kingdom located in the country which is today's Iraq. The Parthians are an Iranian tribe from southeast of the Caspian Sea. They had a well-established empire stretching from the Pamirs to the Syrian desert by the beginning of the 1st century B.C. When this ambassador went back to China he brought a Parthian ambassador and many Parthian goods along with him. This meeting established the trade relations between China and Persia.
The newly opened silk route passed through this area, and the Pathians soon began to prosper. They would collect taxes on the caravans passing through their territory. Also their traders would buy goods from the incoming caravans and resell them at a profit to other caravans passing through their territory.
This stone relief of Parthian warriors shows their military power at that time. The Parthians defeated the Romans and took control of the silk route around the Iranian region. From their trousers we can see that these warriors were horsemen.