Western Xia Dynasty
he Western Xia Empire (1038–1227) is kind of mysterious. It was in the area of the northwest where a lot of nomads traveled. Then the Mongols devastated the empire so that few records and little architecture remained. It is known that they had a high culture for their times and fought off much bigger empires for 200 years.
A Strategic Region and a High Culture
They controlled a strategic location desired by other people. The Gansu Corridor where Gansu Province is now was in their territory. The empire was in an interesting region of the world, and they controlled a portal to the east and west.
The Gansu Corridor (also called the Hexi Corridor)is a wide and long area of lowland about a thousand kilometers long between mountains and plateaus. Whoever controlled it controlled easy access to the Far East, the trade and military movements. The Silk Road trade route went through it.
Historians believe that they had advanced weaponry and architecture for their times and their own writing system. Their music and literature was described as "sparkling". However, historians don't know much about their history or ethnicity.
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