Stele of the Vultures: King Eannatum leading the army of Lagash over the bodies of defeated enemies. Girsu, c. 2450–2425 BCE / Musée du Louvre

Turkic head, 5th–7th centuries CE. Afrasiyab, Samarkand (photograph of the artifact) / Wikimedia Commons

Flying Horse. Bronze statuette. China, Gansu Province. Han Empire period (2nd–3rd centuries CE). Similar depictions of horses spread in China after the introduction of horses from Central Asia, which were regarded as “heavenly” creatures / Getty Images

Letter of Abylai Khan to the Chinese Emperor. 1760 / Wikimedia Commons

A Soviet vessel sprays a Chinese fishing vessel with a water cannon during the Sino-Soviet border conflict. Ussuri River, 6 May 1969 / China Photo Service, Nationaal Archief of the Netherlands

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Xi Jinping during the official welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People. Beijing, China, 11 September 2019 / Getty Images