The Phryni ( grc, Φρύνοι) were an ancient people of eastern Central Asia, probably located in the eastern part of the

Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hydr ...

, in an area connected to that of the

Seres Seres are the people of Serica, one of the easternmost countries of Asia known to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Seres may also refer to: People * * * Brands and enterprises * See also * Celes (disambiguation) Celes may refer to: * ...

and the

Tocharians The Tocharians, or Tokharians ( US: or ; UK: ), were speakers of Tocharian languages, Indo-European languages known from around 7600 documents from around 400 to 1200 AD, found on the northern edge of the Tarim Basin (modern Xinjiang, China). ...

. They are mentioned several times in Classical sources. Strabo, speaking of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom explains that "they extended their empire even as far as the

and the Phryni". Strabo, ''Geography''
XI.XI.I
/ref> Later,

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

includes the Phryni (whom he names "Phruri") in his description of the people of the Far East:

References

Bactrian and Indian Hellenistic period Ancient peoples of China Tocharians {{Asia-ethno-group-stub