Punu () was a chanyu 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& ...

. Punu came to power in 46 AD when his brother Wudadihou died. At the time the Xiongnu were suffering experiencing a severe drought in their territory as well as raids from the

Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, < Eastern Han Chinese: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <

. Punu's uncle Sutuhu offered to act as an agent to ask for aid from 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 ...

. When Punu's officers heard of this they recommended that Sutuhu be arrested and executed. Sutuhu received warning of their advice to Punu and in retaliation gathered some 50,000 men to attack the officers. Afterwards, Sutuhu moved south to the

Ordos region The Ordos Plateau, also known as the Ordos Basin or simply the Ordos, is a highland sedimentary basin in northwest China with an elevation of , and consisting mostly of land enclosed by the Ordos Loop, a large northerly rectangular bend of the Y ...

. In the winter of 48/49 AD, Sutuhu gained an alliance with the Han, and proclaimed himself Bi Chanyu. In 49 AD, Bi sent his brother Mo to attack Punu. They captured Punu's younger brother Aojian and returned with 10,000 captives as well as thousands of livestock. Two of Punu's chiefs also defected to join Bi. Punu was forced to relocate north across the Gobi Desert. Punu's brother escaped from Bi but decided to set himself up as another chanyu. He was defeated by Punu within a few months. In 51 AD, Punu sent envoys to negotiate with the Han in Wuwei Commandery, but they were turned back. Punu sent envoys again in 52 and 55 AD to no avail. At the same time Punu subjugated the oasis states of the

Western Regions The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; ) was a historical name specified in the Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of Yumen Pass, most often Central Asia or sometimes more sp ...

and forced them to send tribute to the Xiongnu court. In 62 AD, the Northern

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 20 ...

made a major raid but was repelled. In 73 AD,

Dou Gu Dou Gu (; died 88 AD), born in Xianyang, was a Chinese military general during the Eastern Han dynasty who fought in the Battle of Yiwulu in 73. Shortly after the battle, Dou Gu sent two of his generals, Ban Chao Ban Chao (; 32–102 CE), co ...

led a force of 12,000 against the

and defeated

Huyan The Huyan (; LHC: *''ha(C)-jan'' <

Old Chinese

(~200 BCE): *''hɑ-jan^H/B'') was a noble house that led the last rem ...

in modern northeastern

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

. In 75 AD, the

besieged Jushi and Chen Mu was killed by the locals. Punu died at an unspecified time and the next mentioned chanyu of 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, ...

was

Youliu Youliu () was a chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire. Although he was a descendant of his predecessor Punu, it is not known what their exact relationship was. He succeeded Punu at an uncertain date and was killed by the Xianbei in 87 AD. Upon taking po ...

, one of his descendants.

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) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Punu Chanyu Chanyus 1st-century monarchs in Asia 1st-century deaths