The Battle of Altai Mountains (), was a major expedition launched against the
Northern Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomads, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, ...
by the
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 warr ...
in June AD 89. The battle was a success for the Han under
Dou Xian (d. AD 92).
['' Book of Later Han'', vols. 04, 19, 23, 88, 89, 90.]['']Zizhi Tongjian
''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song (960–1127), Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959&n ...
'', vol. 47.[An Tian]
"Dou Xian Po Beixiongnu Zhi Zhan" ("The Battle of Dou Xian's Defeating on the Northern Xiongnu")
In June AD 89, the Han dispatched a force which promptly advanced from
Jilu
Jīlū was a district located in the Hakkari region of upper Mesopotamia in modern-day Turkey.
Before 1915 Jīlū was home to Assyrians and as well as a minority of Kurds. There were 20 Assyrian villages in this district. The area was tradition ...
,
Manyi, and
Guyang in three great columns that included their allies, specifically the main army of the
Southern 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& ...
.
[ The force of General Dou Xian advanced towards the Northern Chanyu into the Altai Mountains.][Yü (1986), 415; Crespigny (2007), 171.] A large detachment then moved to the northwest, and in the major battle of the campaign they defeated the Northern Chanyu at the Altai Mountains and pursued them westwards.[ The Han forces killed 13,000 Xiongnu troops and accepted the surrender of 200,000 Xiongnu from 81 tribes.]
Dou Xian brought the main body of his troops in triumphal progress north to the Khangai Mountains, west of present-day Kharkhorin
Kharkhorin ( mn, Хархорин) is a town and sum (district) center in Övörkhangai Province in Mongolia. The sum population was 13,828 (1994), 13,964 (2000), and 14,765 (2017). The population of Kharkhorin town itself was 14,765 in 2017 and ...
. There he carved the cliff Inscriptions of Yanran, composed by his client, the historian Ban Gu, which celebrated the achievement of the battle.[ This inscription was identified in ]Dundgovi Province
Dundgovi or Dundgobi ( mn, Дундговь, ''Middle Gobi'') is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. It is located in the south of the country, approximately south of Ulaanbaatar. Its capital is Mandalgovi. Dundgovi is the second leas ...
by scholars from Mongolia and China in August 2017.
Aftermath
After the successful campaign of AD 89, the Xiongnu state was destroyed. After the battle, Dou Xian led his forces back, and the " Northern Chanyu", whose name has not survived, sought to negotiate peace. Tuntuhe Chanyu of the Southern Xiongnu, however, was anxious to destroy his rival completely, and early in AD 90, as embassies were still being exchanged, Dou Xian launched an attack, captured his rival's seal and treasure and his wives and daughters.['']Zizhi Tongjian
''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song (960–1127), Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959&n ...
'', vols. 47, 48 (for modern annotation on location see '' Bo Yang's Edition of Zhi Tongjian'').
General Dou Xian soon initiated a punitive expedition against the remaining hostile Xiongnu tribes, subsequently causing the tribes to flee westwards.[Tucker ''et al.'' (2010), 142.] Dou Xian had reported that the ''Northern Chanyu'' was so weak there was no point in treating with him further. In February 91, he mounted a final invasion, with two of his generals Geng Kui and Ren Shang in charge. They advanced from Juyan
The Juyan Lake (; mn, Gashuun Nuur (shown on Chinese maps as 嘎顺淖尔 ''Gāshùn nào'ěr'' or 嘎顺诺尔, ''Gāshùn nuò'ěr'') for western lake, Sogo Nuur for eastern lake) is a former lake in the Gobi desert. It is located in the wes ...
and defeated the Northern Xiongnu ruler, captured his mother and killed 5,000 of his armies, drove him in flight again to the west from Altayn Nuruu. He was not heard from again.[ The rest of the Xiongnu left in ]Dzungaria
Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand') is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. It is thus also known as Beijiang, which means "Northern Xinjiang". Bounded by the ...
, specifically near Lake Barkol
Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County (sometimes Barkul or Balikul in English) is part of Hami Prefecture in Xinjiang and has an area of . It forms part of the China–Mongolia border (bordering the Mongolian provinces of Khovd and Govi-Altai) on the c ...
, had not been directly affected, and some part of the shattered polity was reconstructed under a new chanyu. The new chanyu, however, was killed in 93, and after him no chanyu of the Northern Xiongnu was ever heard of again.[Though there was a rebellion by Xiongnu of the north, they elected a chanyu named Fenghou in 94, but he was of a ''Southern Xiongnu's'' royal house (a son of Tuntuhe) and soon due to intimidation from the ]Xianbei
The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into th ...
, he was forced to surrender to the Han
Han may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group.
** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
court by 118. '' Book of Later Han'', vol. 88 and ''Zizhi Tongjian
''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song (960–1127), Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959&n ...
'', vols. 48, 50. On the frontier of the Han dynasty in present-day Mongolia, the hostile Xiongnu state was ended.[
]
References
Bibliography
*
*Fan Ye et al., ''Hou Hanshu''. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1965.
*
*Sima Guang, comp. ''Zizhi Tongjian''. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1956.
*
* Tucker, Spencer C. ''et al.'' (2010). ''A global chronology of conflict: From the ancient world to the modern Middle East''. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO .
*An, Tian
"Dou Xian Po Beixiongnu Zhi Zhan" ("The Battle of Dou Xian's Defeating on the Northern Xiongnu")
''Encyclopedia of China
The ''Encyclopedia of China'' () is the first large-entry modern encyclopedia in the Chinese language. The compilation began in 1978. Published by the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, the encyclopedia was issued one volume at a time, begin ...
'', 1st ed.
*
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