Xiongnu - Origins and early history of the Xiongnu

The Xiongnu (Chinese: 匈奴; Hanyu Pinyin: Xiōngnú; Wade-Giles: Hsiung-nu) were a nomadic (and probably Hunnic/proto-Bulgar) people of Central Asia, generally based in present day Mongolia. From the 3rd century BC they controlled a vast steppe empire extending west as far as the Caucasus. They were active in the areas of southern Siberia, western Manchuria and the modern Chinese provinces of Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang. Very anci ...

Including:

• Xiongnu - Origins and early history of the Xiongnu
• Xiongnu - Confederation under Maodun
• Xiongnu - Nature of the Xiongnu state
• Xiongnu - The marriage treaty system
• Xiongnu - War with Han China
• Xiongnu - Leadership struggle among the Xiongnu
• Xiongnu - Tributary relations with the Han
• Xiongnu - Northern and southern Xiongnu
• Xiongnu - The Xiongnu after the Han Dynasty
• Xiongnu - Did the Xiongnu become the Huns?
• Xiongnu - Footnotes

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According to Sima Qian, the Xiongnu were descendants of Chunwei (淳維), possibly a son of Jie, the final ruler of the Xia Dynasty. However, while there is no direct evidence contradicting this theory, there is no direct evidence supporting it either, and it should be noted that ancient Chinese historians often credit, without sufficient evidence, theories of origins for foreign nations that relate their ancestry back to ancient Chinese figures. It is unknown what the language of the Xiongnu was. It may have been Turkic based on their geographic location and their connection to the Huns (se ...

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Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Origins and early history of the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Confederation under Maodun, Xiongnu - Nature of the Xiongnu state, Xiongnu - The marriage treaty system, Xiongnu - War with Han China, Xiongnu - Leadership struggle among the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Tributary relations with the Han, Xiongnu - Northern and southern Xiongnu, Xiongnu - The Xiongnu after the Han Dynasty, Xiongnu - Did the Xiongnu become the Huns?, Xiongnu - Footnotes

Read more here: » Xiongnu: Encyclopedia II - Xiongnu - Origins and early history of the Xiongnu

The Xiongnu's new power was met with a policy of appeasement by Emperor Guangwu. At the height of his power, Huduershi even compared himself to his illustrious ancestor, Modu. Due to growing regionalism among the Xiongnu, however, Huduershi was never able to establish unquestioned authority. When he designated his son as heir apparent (in contravention of the principle of fraternal succession established by Huhanye), Bi, the Rizhu king of the right, refused t ...

See also:

Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Origins and early history of the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Confederation under Maodun, Xiongnu - Nature of the Xiongnu state, Xiongnu - The marriage treaty system, Xiongnu - War with Han China, Xiongnu - Leadership struggle among the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Tributary relations with the Han, Xiongnu - Northern and southern Xiongnu, Xiongnu - The Xiongnu after the Han Dynasty, Xiongnu - Did the Xiongnu become the Huns?, Xiongnu - Footnotes

Read more here: » Xiongnu: Encyclopedia II - Xiongnu - Northern and southern Xiongnu

The complicated ethnic situation of the mixed frontier settlements instituted during the Eastern Han had grave consequences, not fully apprehended by the Chinese government until the end of the 3rd century. At that time, non-Chinese unrest reached alarming proportions along the whole of the Western Jin frontier. In 304 the descendants of the southern Xiongnu rose in rebellion in Shanxi, taking advantage of the Civil War of the Princes then raging around the Western Jin capital Luoyang. Under the leadership of the sinicised Liu Yuan � ...

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Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Origins and early history of the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Confederation under Maodun, Xiongnu - Nature of the Xiongnu state, Xiongnu - The marriage treaty system, Xiongnu - War with Han China, Xiongnu - Leadership struggle among the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Tributary relations with the Han, Xiongnu - Northern and southern Xiongnu, Xiongnu - The Xiongnu after the Han Dynasty, Xiongnu - Did the Xiongnu become the Huns?, Xiongnu - Footnotes

Read more here: » Xiongnu: Encyclopedia II - Xiongnu - The Xiongnu after the Han Dynasty

The Xiongnu have often been identified with the Huns, who populated the frontiers of Europe, starting with the writings of the French historian de Guignes in the eighteenth century. This theory remains at the level of speculation, although it is accepted by a large number of scholars including Chinese ones. DNA testing of Hun remains has not proven conclusive in determining the origin of the Huns. A variation of the name Xiongnu is Hs ...

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Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Origins and early history of the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Confederation under Maodun, Xiongnu - Nature of the Xiongnu state, Xiongnu - The marriage treaty system, Xiongnu - War with Han China, Xiongnu - Leadership struggle among the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Tributary relations with the Han, Xiongnu - Northern and southern Xiongnu, Xiongnu - The Xiongnu after the Han Dynasty, Xiongnu - Did the Xiongnu become the Huns?, Xiongnu - Footnotes

Read more here: » Xiongnu: Encyclopedia II - Xiongnu - Did the Xiongnu become the Huns?

In 53 BC Huyanye decided to enter into tributary relations with Han China. The original terms insisted on by the Han court were that, first, the chanyu or his representatives should come to the capital to pay homage; secondly, the chanyu should send a hostage prince; and thirdly, the chanyu should present tribute to the Han emperor. The political status of the Xiongnu in the Chinese world order was reduced from that of a "brotherly state" to that of an "outer vassal" (外臣). During this period, however, the Xiongnu mai ...

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Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Origins and early history of the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Confederation under Maodun, Xiongnu - Nature of the Xiongnu state, Xiongnu - The marriage treaty system, Xiongnu - War with Han China, Xiongnu - Leadership struggle among the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Tributary relations with the Han, Xiongnu - Northern and southern Xiongnu, Xiongnu - The Xiongnu after the Han Dynasty, Xiongnu - Did the Xiongnu become the Huns?, Xiongnu - Footnotes

Read more here: » Xiongnu: Encyclopedia II - Xiongnu - Tributary relations with the Han

In the winter of 200 BC, following a siege of Taiyuan, Emperor Gao personally led a military campaign against Modu. At the battle of Baideng, he was ambushed reputedly by 300,000 elite Xiongnu cavalry. The emperor was cut off from supplies and reinforcements for seven days, only narrowly escaping capture. After the defeat at Pingcheng, the Han emperor abandoned a military solution to the Xiongnu threat. Instead, in 198 BC, the courtier Liu Jing (劉敬) was despatched for negotiations. The peace settlement eventually reached between t ...

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Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Origins and early history of the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Confederation under Maodun, Xiongnu - Nature of the Xiongnu state, Xiongnu - The marriage treaty system, Xiongnu - War with Han China, Xiongnu - Leadership struggle among the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Tributary relations with the Han, Xiongnu - Northern and southern Xiongnu, Xiongnu - The Xiongnu after the Han Dynasty, Xiongnu - Did the Xiongnu become the Huns?, Xiongnu - Footnotes

Read more here: » Xiongnu: Encyclopedia II - Xiongnu - The marriage treaty system

Han China was making preparations for a military confrontation from the reign of Emperor Wen. The break came in 134 BC, following an abortive trap to ambush the chanyu at Mayi. By that point the empire was consolidated politically, militarily, and financially, and was led by an adventurous pro-war faction at court. In that year, Emperor Wu reversed the decision he had made the year before to renew the peace treaty. Full scale war broke out in autumn 129 BC, when 40,000 Chinese cavalry made a surprise attack on the Xiongnu at th ...

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Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Origins and early history of the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Confederation under Maodun, Xiongnu - Nature of the Xiongnu state, Xiongnu - The marriage treaty system, Xiongnu - War with Han China, Xiongnu - Leadership struggle among the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Tributary relations with the Han, Xiongnu - Northern and southern Xiongnu, Xiongnu - The Xiongnu after the Han Dynasty, Xiongnu - Did the Xiongnu become the Huns?, Xiongnu - Footnotes

Read more here: » Xiongnu: Encyclopedia II - Xiongnu - War with Han China

As the Xiongnu empire expanded, it became clear that the original leadership structures lacked flexibility and could not maintain effective cohesion. The traditional succession to the eldest son became increasingly ineffective in meeting wartime emergencies in the 1st century BC. To combat the problems of succession, the chanyu Huhanye (58 BC-31 BC) later laid down the rule that his heir apparent must pass the throne on to a younger brother. ...

See also:

Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Origins and early history of the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Confederation under Maodun, Xiongnu - Nature of the Xiongnu state, Xiongnu - The marriage treaty system, Xiongnu - War with Han China, Xiongnu - Leadership struggle among the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Tributary relations with the Han, Xiongnu - Northern and southern Xiongnu, Xiongnu - The Xiongnu after the Han Dynasty, Xiongnu - Did the Xiongnu become the Huns?, Xiongnu - Footnotes

Read more here: » Xiongnu: Encyclopedia II - Xiongnu - Leadership struggle among the Xiongnu

In 209 BC, just three years before the founding of the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu were brought together in a powerful confederacy under a new chanyu named Maodun (冒頓; Cantonese IPA: /mɐk6 tuk6/). The Xiongnu's political unity transformed them into a much more formidable foe by enabling them to concentrate larger forces and exercise better strategic coordination. The cause of the confederation, however, remains unclear. It has been suggested that the unification of China prompted the nomads to rally around a political centre in orde ...

See also:

Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Origins and early history of the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Confederation under Maodun, Xiongnu - Nature of the Xiongnu state, Xiongnu - The marriage treaty system, Xiongnu - War with Han China, Xiongnu - Leadership struggle among the Xiongnu, Xiongnu - Tributary relations with the Han, Xiongnu - Northern and southern Xiongnu, Xiongnu - The Xiongnu after the Han Dynasty, Xiongnu - Did the Xiongnu become the Huns?, Xiongnu - Footnotes

Read more here: » Xiongnu: Encyclopedia II - Xiongnu - Confederation under Maodun