Hulugu () was a
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for Chengli Gutu Chanyu (), was the title used by the supreme rulers of Inner Asian nomads for eight centuries until superseded by the title "''Khagan''" in 402 CE.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 L ...
of the
Xiongnu 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 ...
. He was the son and successor of
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, ...
and reigned from 96 to 85 BC.
Hulugu originally did not want to become chanyu but was convinced to take the title by his brother.
In the spring of 90 BC,
Li Guangli
Li Guangli (died 88 BC) was a Chinese military general of the Western Han dynasty and a member of the Li family favoured by Emperor Wu of Han. His brother Li Yannian was also close to Emperor Wu. With the suicide of Emperor Wu's crown prince ...
and two other generals led a force of 79,000 against the Xiongnu. Li defeated a Xiongnu detachment 5,000 strong and another one 20,000 strong, but he overextended and his supplies ran out, exhausting his men and horses. The Xiongnu outpaced them and dug ditches across their line of retreat. When they tried to cross the ditches, the Xiongnu fell on them, routing the entire army. Li Guangli surrendered. The other Han generals
Shang Qiucheng and
Ma Tong managed to return safely.
Li Guangli married Hulugu's daughter. About a year later, he was executed after having a conflict with
Wei Lü
Wei or WEI may refer to:
States
* Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States
* Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...
(
衛律), another Han defector who was favoured by the Chanyu.
Hulugu died in 85 BC and was succeeded by his son
Huyandi
Huyandi () was the son and successor of Hulugu Chanyu. He ruled as the Chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire from 85 to 68 BC.
Huyandi was not first in the line of succession and only became chanyu due to a plot by his mother Zhuanqu Yanzhi and the Han ...
.
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
*
*
*
*
*Taskin B.S., ''"Materials on Sünnu history"'', Science, Moscow, 1968, p. 31 (In Russian)
*
{{s-end
Chanyus
1st-century BC rulers in Asia
85 BC deaths