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Chanyu
Chanyu () or Shanyu (), short for Chengli Gutu Chanyu (), was the title used by the supreme rulers of Inner Asian nomads for eight centuries until superseded by the title "''Khagan''" in 402 CE. The title was most famously used by the ruling Luandi clan of the Xiongnu during the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE) and Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). It was later also used infrequently by the Chinese as a reference to Gokturk leaders. Etymology According to the ''Book of Han'', "the Xiongnu called the Tian, Heaven (天) ''Tengri, Chēnglí'' (撐犁) and they called a child (子) ''gūtú'' (孤塗). As for ''Chányú'' (單于), it is a "vast [and] great appearance" (廣大之貌).". L. Rogers and Edwin G. Pulleyblank argue that the title ''chanyu'' may be equivalent to the later attested title ''tarkhan'', suggesting that the Chinese pronunciation was originally ''dān-ĥwāĥ'', an approximation for ''*darxan''.Universität Bonn. Seminar für Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaft Zentra ...
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Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209 BC, founded the Xiongnu Empire. After their previous rivals, the Yuezhi, migrated west into Central Asia during the 2nd century BC, the Xiongnu became a dominant power on the steppes of East Asia, centred on the Mongolian Plateau. The Xiongnu were also active in areas now part of Siberia, Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang. Their relations with adjacent Chinese dynasties to the south-east were complex—alternating between various periods of peace, war, and subjugation. Ultimately, the Xiongnu were defeated by the Han dynasty in a centuries-long conflict, which led to the confederation splitting in two, and forcible resettlement of large numbers of Xiongnu within Han borders. During the Sixteen Kingdoms era, as one of the "Five B ...
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Hunnu Empire
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209 BC, founded the Xiongnu Empire. After their previous rivals, the Yuezhi, migrated west into Central Asia during the 2nd century BC, the Xiongnu became a dominant power on the steppes of East Asia, centred on the Mongolian Plateau. The Xiongnu were also active in areas now part of Siberia, Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang. Their relations with adjacent Chinese dynasties to the south-east were complex—alternating between various periods of peace, war, and subjugation. Ultimately, the Xiongnu were defeated by the Han dynasty in a centuries-long conflict, which led to the confederation splitting in two, and forcible resettlement of large numbers of Xiongnu within Han borders. During the Sixteen Kingdoms era, as one of the "Five Barba ...
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Wuwei Chanyu
Wuwei (; r. 114–105 BCE) was a chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire. Wuwei succeeded his father Yizhixie in 114 BC and died in 105 BC. He was succeeded by his son, Er Chanyu. Reign Wuwei Chanyu ruled during the reign of the Han emperor Wudi (r. 141–87 BC), after Wudi broke the ''heqin'' peace and kinship treaty with the Huns. His reign was marked by relative peace, with intensive diplomatic activities. The Huns intended to restore the ''heqin'' peace and kinship treaty with the Han empire. In turn the Han Empire wanted to weaken, isolate, and bring the Xiongnu into submission. Neither party succeeded in their main objective, but the Chinese further undermined the Xiongnu's' situation by splitting off their Wusun branch. Wuwei was a son of Yizhixie, and came to the throne by agnatic primogeniture succession. The Chinese annals did preserve his title before the enthronement. Life Wuwei Chanyu succeeded his father in 114 BC. In the autumn of 111 BC, Gongsun He and Zhao Ponu le ...
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Modun Chanyu
Modu, Maodun, Modun (, from Old Chinese (220 B.C.E.): *''mouᴴ-tuən'' or *''mək-tuən'', c. 234 – c. 174 BCE) was the son of Touman and the founder of the empire of the Xiongnu. He came to power by ordering his men to kill his father in 209 BCE. Modu ruled from 209 BCE to 174 BCE. He was a military leader under his father Touman and later Chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire, based on the Mongolian Plateau. He secured the throne and established a powerful Xiongnu Empire by successfully unifying the tribes of the Mongolian-Manchurian grassland in response to the loss of Xiongnu pasture lands to invading Qin forces commanded by Meng Tian in 215 BCE. While Modu rode and then furthered the wave of militarization and effectively centralized Xiongnu power, the Qin quickly fell into disarray with the death of the first emperor in 210 BCE, leaving Modu a free hand to expand his Xiongnu Empire into one of the largest of his time. The eastern border stretched as far as the Liao River, the west ...
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Junchen Chanyu
Junchen (, Old Chinese ( ZS): *''kun-gin''; r. 161–126 BCE) was the son and successor to Laoshang Chanyu. As chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire, Junchen outlived the Han emperors Wen (r. 180–157 BC), Jing (r. 157–141 BC). He died during the reign of the Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BC). All three Han emperors confirmed the ''heqin'' peace and kinship treaty with the Xiongnu. Life Junchen succeeded his father, Laoshang Chanyu, in 161 BCE. Although peace with the Han dynasty generally persisted under his reign, Xiongnu raids still occurred in the years 158, 148, 144, and 142. The Chinese annals note that mutual relations were imperiled on a number of occasions, which included appeals of the Chinese contenders for the Xiongnu's assistance and protection, the Xiongnu's retaliatory raids as punishments for violation of the treaty terms, and one direct Chinese assault against the chanyu. The Xiongnu were especially sensitive about unimperiled trade relations, which were one of th ...
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Xulihu Chanyu
Xulihu Chanyu (; r. 102-101 BC) was a ruler of the Xiongnu Empire. Xulihu Chanyu was the younger brother of Wuwei Chanyu. He succeeded his nephew Er Chanyu in 102 BC. In 101 BC, the Xiongnu raided Dingxiang, Yunzhong, Zhangye, and Jiuquan. Xulihu died in 101 BC and was succeeded by his younger brother Chedihou Chanyu Qiedihou (; r. 101–96 BCE), whose name was probably Qiedi, was a Chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire, and the successor to Xulihu. His reign was contemporaneous with that of the Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BC). He was the younger brother of Xulihu, .... Footnotes References *Bichurin N.Ya., ''"Collection of information on peoples in Central Asia in ancient times"'', vol. 1, Sankt Petersburg, 1851, reprint Moscow-Leningrad, 1950 (''Shiji ch. 110, Qian Han Shu ch. 94a''* * * * * {{s-end Chanyus 2nd-century BC rulers in Asia 100 BC deaths ...
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Er Chanyu
Er Chanyu (; r. 105-102 BC), born Wushilu, was a chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire. He succeeded his father Wuwei Chanyu in 105 BC and died from an illness in 102 BC. Er Chanyu was succeeded by his uncle, Xulihu Chanyu Xulihu Chanyu (; r. 102-101 BC) was a ruler of the Xiongnu Empire. Xulihu Chanyu was the younger brother of Wuwei Chanyu. He succeeded his nephew Er Chanyu in 102 BC. In 101 BC, the Xiongnu raided Dingxiang, Yunzhong, Zhangye, and Jiuquan. Xuli .... In the summer of 103 BC, Zhao Ponu attacked the Xiongnu with 20,000 cavalry, but was surrounded and captured. The Xiongnu tried to take a Han stronghold after the victory but failed. Footnotes References *Bichurin N.Ya., ''"Collection of information on peoples in Central Asia in ancient times"'', vol. 1, Sankt Petersburg, 1851, reprint Moscow-Leningrad, 1950 (''Shiji ch. 110, Qian Han Shu ch. 94a''* * * * * {{s-end Chanyus 2nd-century BC rulers in Asia 102 BC ...
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Laoshang Chanyu
Laoshang (; r. 174–161 BCE), whose personal name was Jiyu (), was a Chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire who succeeded his father Modu Chanyu in 174 BCE. Under his reign, the Xiongnu Empire continued to expand against the Yuezhi and the Xiongnu thus gained control of the Hexi Corridor. Name Laoshang in Chinese means "old and elevated', and is probably a translation from a Xiongnu title, but might represent an attempt to phonetically represent a Xiongnu word. Life In 177 BCE or 176 BCE, following direction from his father Modu, Jiyu put an end to the danger of the Yuezhi, made their king's skull into a drinking cup, and chased them from Gansu. The Yuezhi migrated west. In 174 BCE, Modu died and Jiyu became Laoshang Chanyu. The ''Shiji'' chap. 110 says: "Shortly after this, Maodun died and his son Jizhu was set up with the title of Old ''Shanyu''. When Jizhu became ''Shanyu'' n 174 BCE Emperor Wen sent a princess of the imperial family to be his consort, dispatching a eunuch from ...
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Qiedihou
Qiedihou (; r. 101–96 BCE), whose name was probably Qiedi, was a Chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire, and the successor to Xulihu. His reign was contemporaneous with that of the Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BC). He was the younger brother of Xulihu, who died, after just a one-year reign, during a campaign against a newly built Western Han fort Shuofang in Ordos. Qiedihou reigned during one of the most aggressive periods in Chinese history, and one of the many troubled periods in Xiongnu history. In 101 BCE Qiedihou, wishing to establish relations with the Han, said immediately after accession to the throne: “I am a child. How can I view the Han Emperor as an enemy when I have a venerable old man in front of me?” He returned to the Han all detained ambassadors. Life Qiedihou succeeded his brother Xulihu in 101 BC. In 101 BC, the Xiongnu raided Dingxiang, Yunzhong, Zhangye, and Jiuquan. Considering that Qiedihou would look favourably on the Han dynasty, the Han emperor decided to ...
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Yizhixie Chanyu
Yizhixie (; r. 126–114 BC) was the brother of Junchen Chanyu and his successor to the Xiongnu throne. Yizhixie ruled during a time of conflict with the southern Han dynasty under the military expansionist, Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BC). Defeating Yudan Originally the Eastern Luli-Prince, Yizhixie, a younger brother of Junchen, had to stage a coup against the previous chanyu's son Yudan, the Eastern Tuqi (Wise Prince, 屠耆). Yudan was defeated by Yizhixie in battle and fled to the Han dynasty, where Emperor Wu gave him a princely title. A few months later Yudan died. Life The next year, 125 BC, the Xiongnu in 3 groups, each with 30,000 cavalry, again raided Chinese provinces. The Western Jükü-Prince, incensed that Chinese Court took away Ordos and built Shuofang (朔方城), a few times attacked the borders of China; and when entered the Ordos, plundered Shuofang, and killed and captured a multitude of officials and people. In the spring of 124 BC, Wei Qing and f ...
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Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warring interregnum known as the ChuHan contention (206–202 BC), and it was succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). The dynasty was briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD) established by usurping regent Wang Mang, and is thus separated into two periods—the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and the Eastern Han (25–220 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history, and it has influenced the identity of the Chinese civilization ever since. Modern China's majority ethnic group refers to themselves as the "Han people", the Sinitic language is known as "Han language", and the written Chinese is referred to as "Han characters". The emperor was at the pinnacle of ...
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Touman
Touman ( zh, 頭曼), from Old Chinese (220 B.C.E.): *''do-mɑnᴬ'', is the earliest named leader (''chanyu'') of the Xiongnu, reigning from . Life Competing with the Xiongnu for supremacy were the ''Dōnghú'' (東胡) or 'Eastern Barbarians' and the Yuezhi. In 215 BCE, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, sent a 300,000-strong army headed by General Meng Tian into the Ordos region and drove the Xiongnu northward for 1,000 ''li'' (about 416 km).Watson (1993), p. 133. "Touman, unable to hold out against the Qin forces, had withdrawn to the far north, where he held out for over ten years." After the death of the Chinese general Meng Tian in 210 BCE, Touman led the Xiongnu people to cross the Yellow River back to regain their previous territory.Sima Qian, ''Records of the Grand Historian''"Account of the Xiongnu"quote: "又度河據陽山北假中。" The legend says, that Touman favored a younger son from another concubine. To get rid of his eldest son, Modu (冒 ...
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