Ussun
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Ussun
OR:
Ussun on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

The Wusun (;
Eastern Han Chinese Eastern Han Chinese or Later Han Chinese is the stage of the Chinese language revealed by poetry and glosses from the Eastern Han period (first two centuries AD). It is considered an intermediate stage between Old Chinese and the Middle Chinese ...
*''ʔɑ-suən'' <
Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 ...
(140 BCE < 436 BCE): *''Ɂâ-sûn'') were an ancient semi-
nomadic A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...
steppe people mentioned in
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
records from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD. The Wusun originally lived between the
Qilian Mountains The Qilian Mountains (, also romanized as Tsilien; Mongghul: Chileb), together with the Altyn-Tagh (Altun Shan) also known as Nan Shan (, literally "Southern Mountains"), as it is to the south of Hexi Corridor, is a northern outlier of the Kunlu ...
and Dunhuang ( Gansu) near the
Yuezhi The Yuezhi (;) were an ancient people first described in Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defeat ...
. Around 176 BC the
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 ...
raided the lands of the
Yuezhi The Yuezhi (;) were an ancient people first described in Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defeat ...
, who subsequently attacked the Wusun, killing their king and seizing their land. The Xiongnu adopted the surviving Wusun prince and made him one of their generals and leader of the Wusun. Around 162 BC the Yuezhi were driven into the Ili River valley in
Zhetysu Zhetysu, or Jeti-Suu ( kk, , Жетісу, pronounced ; ky, ''Jeti-Suu'', (), meaning "seven rivers"; also transcribed ''Zhetisu'', ''Jetisuw'', ''Jetysu'', ''Jeti-su'', ''Jity-su'', ''Жетысу'',, National Geospatial-Intelligence Age ...
,
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 ...
and
Tian Shan The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...
, which had formerly been inhabited by the
Saka The Saka ( Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who hist ...
. The Wusun then resettled in Gansu as vassals of the Xiongnu. In 133–132 BC, the Wusun drove the Yuezhi out of the Ili Valley and settled the area. The Wusun then became close allies of 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 ...
and remained a powerful force in the region for several centuries. The Wusun are last mentioned by the Chinese as having settled in the Pamir Mountains in the 5th century AD due to pressure from the Rouran. They possibly became subsumed into the later
Hephthalites The Hephthalites ( xbc, ηβοδαλο, translit= Ebodalo), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during th ...
.


Etymology

''Wusun'' is a modern pronunciation of the
Chinese Character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanj ...
s '烏孫'. The Chinese name '烏孫' (Wūsūn) literally means ''wū'' 'crow, raven' + ''sūn'' 'grandson, descendant'. There are several theories about the origin of the name.王明哲, 王炳華 (Mingzhe Wang & Binhua Wang): 從文獻與考古資料論烏孫歷史的幾個重大問題 (Important questions about the history of Wusun arising from the contemporary documents and archaeological investigations). In: 烏孫研究 (Wusun research), 1, 新疆人民出版社 (People's publisher Xinjiang), Ürümqi 1983, S. pp. 1–42. Canadian Sinologist
Edwin Pulleyblank Edwin George "Ted" Pulleyblank (August 7, 1922 – April 13, 2013) was a Canadian sinologist and professor at the University of British Columbia. He was known for his studies of the historical phonology of Chinese. Life and career Edwin G. ...
reconstructed the pronunciation of 烏孫' Wūsūn as in
Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the '' Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...
as ''ou-suən'', from
Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 ...
''aĥ-smən'' and linked the Wusun to the Άσμίραιοι ''Asmiraioi'', who inhabited modern
Issyk-Kul Issyk-Kul (also Ysyk-Köl, ky, Ысык-Көл, lit=warm lake, translit=Ysyk-Köl, , zh, 伊塞克湖) is an endorheic lake (i.e., without outflow) in the Northern Tian Shan mountains in Eastern Kyrgyzstan. It is the seventh-deepest lake i ...
and Semirechiye and were mentioned in
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
's
Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...
(VI.16.3). Another theory links them to the
Issedones The Issedones (Ἰσσηδόνες) were an ancient people of Central Asia at the end of the trade route leading north-east from Scythia, described in the lost ''Arimaspeia'' of Aristeas, by Herodotus in his ''History'' (IV.16-25) and by Ptolemy in ...
. Sinologist Victor H. Mair compared ''Wusun'' with
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
''áśva'' 'horse', ''aśvin'' 'mare' and Lithuanian ''ašvà'' 'mare'. The name would thus mean 'the horse people'. Hence he put forward the hypothesis that the Wusun used a
satem Languages of the Indo-European family are classified as either centum languages or satem languages according to how the dorsal consonants (sounds of "K", "G" and "Y" type) of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) developed. An ...
-like language within the
Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
. However, the latter hypothesis is not supported by
Edwin G. Pulleyblank Edwin George "Ted" Pulleyblank (August 7, 1922 – April 13, 2013) was a Canadian sinologist and professor at the University of British Columbia. He was known for his studies of the historical phonology of Chinese. Life and career Edwin G. ...
.
Christopher I. Beckwith Christopher I. Beckwith (born October 23, 1945) is an American philologist and distinguished professor in the Department of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. He has a B.A. in Chinese from Ohio State Unive ...
's analysis is similar to Mair's, reconstructing the Chinese term Wusun as
Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 ...
*''âswin'', which he compares to
Old Indic The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily concentrated in India, P ...
''aśvin'' 'the horsemen', the name of the
Rigvedic The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one S ...
twin equestrian gods. Étienne de la Vaissière identifies the Wusun with the ''wδ'nn'p'', mentioned on Kultobe inscriptions as enemies of the Sogdian-speaking
Kangju Kangju (; Eastern Han Chinese: ''kʰɑŋ-kɨɑ'' < *''khâŋ-ka'' (c. 140 BCE)) was the Chinese name of a kingdom in
Central Asia< ...
confederation. ''Wδ'nn'p'' contains two morphemes ''n'p'' "people" and *''wδ'n'' iðan which is cognate with Manichaean Parthian ''wd'n'' and means "tent". Vaissière hypothesized that the Wusun likely spoke an Iranian language closely related to Sogdian, permitting Sogdians to translate their endonym as *''wδ'n'' iðanand Chinese to transcribe their endonym with a native Chinese /s/ standing for a foreign
dental fricative The dental fricative or interdental fricative is a fricative consonant pronounced with the tip of the tongue against the teeth. There are several types (those used in English being written as ''th''): *Voiced dental fricative - as in the English ...
. Therefore, Vaissière reconstructs Wusun's endonym as *''Wəθan'' " eople of theTent(s)".


History


Early history

The Wusun were first mentioned by
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
sources as living together with the
Yuezhi The Yuezhi (;) were an ancient people first described in Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defeat ...
between the
Qilian Mountains The Qilian Mountains (, also romanized as Tsilien; Mongghul: Chileb), together with the Altyn-Tagh (Altun Shan) also known as Nan Shan (, literally "Southern Mountains"), as it is to the south of Hexi Corridor, is a northern outlier of the Kunlu ...
and Dunhuang ( Gansu), although different locations have been suggested for these toponyms. Beckwith suggests that the Wusun were an eastern remnant of the
Indo-Aryans Indo-Aryan peoples are a diverse collection of Indo-European peoples speaking Indo-Aryan languages in the Indian subcontinent. Historically, Aryan were the Indo-European pastoralists who migrated from Central Asia into South Asia and intr ...
, who had been suddenly pushed to the extremities of the Eurasian Steppe by the
Iranian peoples The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separat ...
in the 2nd millennium BCE. Around 210–200 BCE, prince
Modu 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 B ...
, a former hostage of the Yuezhi and prince of the
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 ...
, who were also vassals of the Yuezhi, became leader of the Xiongnu and conquered the Mongolian Plain, subjugating several peoples. Around 176 BCE Modu Chanyu launched a fierce raid against the Yuezhi. Around 173 BCE, the Yuezhi subsequently attacked the Wusun, at that time a small nation, killing their king (Kunmi or Kunmo ) Nandoumi (). According to legend Nandoumi's infant son Liejiaomi was left in the wild. He was miraculously saved from hunger being suckled by a she-wolf, and fed meat by ravens. The Wusun ancestor myth shares striking similarities with those of the
Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-centra ...
, the Zhou Chinese, the
Scythians The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...
, the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, the
Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled mos ...
,
Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
,
Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
and
Dzungars The Dzungar people (also written as Zunghar; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand') were the many Mongol Oirat tribes who formed and maintained the Dzungar Khanate in the 17th and 18th centuries. Historically they were one of major tr ...
. Based on the similarities between the ancestor myth of the Wusun and later
Turkic peoples The Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West, Central, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members speak languages belonging t ...
,
Denis Sinor Denis Sinor (born Dénes Zsinór, April 17, 1916 in Kolozsvár (Austria-Hungary, now Cluj-Napoca, Romania) – January 12, 2011 in Bloomington, Indiana) was a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Central Asian Studies at the Department of Ce ...
has suggested that the Wusun,
Sogdians :''This category lists articles related to historical Iranian peoples'' Historical Peoples Iranian Iranian Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples ...
, or both could represent an Indo-Aryan influence, or even the origin of the royal Ashina Türks. In 162 BCE, the Yuezhi were finally defeated by the Xiongnu, after which they fled Gansu. According to
Zhang Qian Zhang Qian (; died c. 114) was a Chinese official and diplomat who served as an imperial envoy to the world outside of China in the late 2nd century BC during the Han dynasty. He was one of the first official diplomats to bring back valuable inf ...
, the Yuezhi were defeated by the rising Xiongnu empire and fled westward, driving away the Sai (Scythians) from the
Ili Valley The Ili ( ug, ئىلى دەرياسى, Ili deryasi, Ili dəryasi, 6=Или Дәряси; kk, Ile, ; russian: Или; zh, c=伊犁河, p=Yīlí Hé, dng, Йили хә, Xiao'erjing: اِلِ حْ; mn, Ил, literally "Bareness") is a river sit ...
in the
Zhetysu Zhetysu, or Jeti-Suu ( kk, , Жетісу, pronounced ; ky, ''Jeti-Suu'', (), meaning "seven rivers"; also transcribed ''Zhetisu'', ''Jetisuw'', ''Jetysu'', ''Jeti-su'', ''Jity-su'', ''Жетысу'',, National Geospatial-Intelligence Age ...
and
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 ...
area. The Sai would subsequently migrate into
South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
, where they founded various
Indo-Scythian Indo-Scythians (also called Indo-Sakas) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples of Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into modern day Pakistan and Northwestern India from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th centur ...
kingdoms. After the Yuezhi retreat the Wusun subsequently settled the modern province of Gansu, in the valley of the ''Wushui-he'' (lit. "Raven Water-River"), as vassals of the Xiongnu. It is not clear whether the river was named after the tribe or vice versa.


Migration to the Ili Valley

The Xiongnu ruler was impressed with Liejiaomi, considering him a supernatural being, and adopted the child. When the child grew up the Chanyu made him leader of the Wusun and a Xiongnu general. He won many victories for the Xiongnu and the Wusun became powerful. Liejiaomi constantly requested the Xiongnu ruler for permission to avenge his father, and around 133–132 BCE, he successfully attacked the Yuezhi in the Ili Valley. The Yuezhi then migrated to Sogdia and then Bactria, where they became unified under
Kujula Kadphises Kujula Kadphises (Kushan language: Κοζουλου Καδφιζου, also Κοζολα Καδαφες; Kharosthi: 𐨐𐨂𐨗𐨂𐨫 𐨐𐨯, IAST: ', '; Ancient Chinese: 丘就卻, ''Qiujiuque''; reigned 30–80 CE, or 40-90 CE according to B ...
and expanded into South Asia, founding the Kushan Empire, which at its peak under
Kanishka Kanishka I (Sanskrit: कनिष्क, '; Greco-Bactrian: Κανηϸκε ''Kanēške''; Kharosthi: 𐨐𐨞𐨁𐨮𐨿𐨐 '; Brahmi: '), or Kanishka, was an emperor of the Kushan dynasty, under whose reign (c. 127–150 CE) the empire ...
stretched from
Turpan Turpan (also known as Turfan or Tulufan, , ug, تۇرپان) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of the autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. It has an area of and a population of 632,000 (2015). Geonyms The original name of the cit ...
in the
Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hydr ...
to
Pataliputra Pataliputra ( IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at the ...
on the
Gangetic plain The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, around half of Pakistan, virtually all of Bangla ...
and played an important role in the development of the Silk Road and the transmission of Buddhism to China. The Wusun subsequently took over the Ili Valley, expanding over a large area and trying to keep away from the Xiongnu. According to
Shiji ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...
, Wusun was a state located west of the Xiongnu. When the Xiongnu ruler died, Liejiaomi refused to serve the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu then sent a force against the Wusun but were defeated, after which the Xiongnu even more than before considered Liejiaomi a supernatural being, avoiding conflict with him.


Establishing relations with the Han

After settling in the Ili Valley the Wusun became so strong that the Han was compelled to win their friendship in alliance. Chinese sources name the Scythian ''Sai'' (Saka), and the ''Yuezhi'' who are often identified as
Tocharians The Tocharians, or Tokharians ( US: or ; UK: ), were speakers of Tocharian languages, Indo-European languages known from around 7600 documents from around 400 to 1200 AD, found on the northern edge of the Tarim Basin (modern Xinjiang, China). ...
, among the people of the Wusun state in the Zhetysu and Dzungaria area. The Wusun realm probably included both Yuezhi and Saka. It is clear that the majority of the population consisted of linguistically Iranian Saka tribes. In 125 BCE, under the Han Emperor
Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), formally enshrined as Emperor Wu the Filial (), born Liu Che (劉徹) and courtesy name Tong (通), was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign la ...
(156-87 BCE), the Chinese traveller and diplomat
Zhang Qian Zhang Qian (; died c. 114) was a Chinese official and diplomat who served as an imperial envoy to the world outside of China in the late 2nd century BC during the Han dynasty. He was one of the first official diplomats to bring back valuable inf ...
was sent to establish an alliance with the Wusun Against the Xiongnu. Qian estimated the Wusun to number 630,000, with 120,000 families and 188,000 men capable of bearing arms.
Hanshu The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. I ...
described them as occupying land that previously belonged to the Saka (Sai). To their north-west the Wusun bordered
Kangju Kangju (; Eastern Han Chinese: ''kʰɑŋ-kɨɑ'' < *''khâŋ-ka'' (c. 140 BCE)) was the Chinese name of a kingdom in
Central Asia< ...
, located in modern Kazakhstan. To the west was
Dayuan Dayuan (or Tayuan; ; Middle Chinese ''dâiC-jwɐn'' < LHC: ''dɑh-ʔyɑn'') is the Chinese
( Ferghana), and to the south were various city states. The Royal Court of the Wusun, the walled city of Chigu (), was located in a side valley leading to Issyk Kul. Lying on one of the branches of the Silk Road Chigu was an important trading centre, but its exact location has not been established. The Wusun approved of a possible alliance, and Zhang Qian was sent as ambassador in 115 BCE. According to the agreement the Wusun would jointly attack the Xiongnu with the Han, while they were offered a Han princess in marriage and the return of their original Gansu homeland (
heqin ''Heqin'', also known as marriage alliance, refers to the historical practice of Chinese monarchs marrying princesses—usually members of minor branches of the ruling family—to rulers of neighboring states. It was often adopted as an appeaseme ...
). Due to fear of the Xiongnu, the Wusun however had second thoughts and suggested sending a delegation to the Han rather than moving their capital further west.


As Han allies

Some time after the Han-Wusun negotiations had ended, the Han inflicted several blows to the Xiongnu. The Han then threatened war upon the Wusun, after which Liejiaomi finally agreed to an alliance, sending tributary horses and accepting
Princess Xijun Liu Xijun (, 123?–101 BC), also known as Princess Xijun (細君公主), Princess of Jiangdu () or the Princess of Wusun (), was a princess of the Han dynasty sent to marry the King of Wusun as marriage alliance. A poem said to be by her is one of ...
as his wife. Along with the Yuezhi and the Kangju of the
Ferghana Valley The Fergana Valley (; ; ) in Central Asia lies mainly in eastern Uzbekistan, but also extends into southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan. Divided into three republics of the former Soviet Union, the valley is ethnically diverse and in the ...
, the Wusun became the main suppliers of horses for the Han. The Xiongnu had however also sent a princess to marry Liejiaomi, and the Xiongnu princess was declared his senior consort, with Xijun becoming his junior wife. Since Liejiaomi was already an old man, Xijun was however married to his successor Cenzou (), to which Wu agreed. Xijun wrote a famous poem, the ''Beichouge'' (), in which she complains about her exile in the land of the " barbarians": Xijun bore the Wusun a daughter but died soon afterward, at which point the Han court sent
Princess Jieyou Princess Jieyou (; 121 BC – 49 BC), born Liu Jieyou (), was a Chinese princess sent to marry the leader of the Wusun kingdom as part of the Western Han Chinese policy of heqin. Biography As the granddaughter of the disgraced Prince Liu Wu (劉 ...
() to succeed her. After the death of Cenzou, Jieyou married Wengguimi (), Cenzou's cousin and successor. Jieyou lived for fifty years among the Wusun and bore five children, including the oldest Yuanguimi (), whose half-brother Wujiutu () was born to a Xiongnu mother. She sent numerous letters to the Han requesting assistance against the Xiongnu. Around 80 BCE, the Wusun were attacked by the Xiongnu, who inflicted a devastating defeat upon them. In 72 BCE, the Kunmi of the Wusun requested assistance from the Han against the Xiongnu. The Han sent an army of 160,000 men, inflicting a crushing defeat upon the Xiongnu, capturing much booty and many slaves. In the campaign the Han captured the
Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hydr ...
city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
of Cheshi (
Turpan Turpan (also known as Turfan or Tulufan, , ug, تۇرپان) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of the autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. It has an area of and a population of 632,000 (2015). Geonyms The original name of the cit ...
), a previous ally of the Xiongnu, giving them direct contact with the Wusun. Afterwards the Wusun allied with the
Dingling The Dingling ( (174 BCE); (200 BCE); Eastern Han Chinese: *''teŋ-leŋ'' <
Old Chinese
: *''têŋ-rêŋ'') were ancient peopl ...
and
Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, < Eastern Han Chinese: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <
to counter Xiongnu attacks. After their crushing victory against the Xiongnu the Wusun increased in strength, achieving significant influence over the city-states of the Tarim Basin. The son of the Kunmi became the ruler of Yarkand, while his daughter became the wife of the lord of
Kucha Kucha, or Kuche (also: ''Kuçar'', ''Kuchar''; ug, كۇچار, Кучар; zh, t= 龜茲, p=Qiūcí, zh, t= 庫車, p=Kùchē; sa, कूचीन, translit=Kūcīna), was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road ...
. They came to play a role as a third force between the Han and the Xiongnu. Around 64 BCE, according to
Hanshu The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. I ...
, Chinese agents were involved in a plot with a Wusun kunmi known as Wengguimi ("Fat King"), to kill a Wusun kunmi known to the Chinese as Nimi ("Mad King"). A Chinese deputy envoy called Chi Tu who brought a doctor to attend to Nimi was punished by castration when he returned to China. In 64 BCE another Han princess was sent to Kunmi Wengguimi, but he died before her arrival. Han emperor Xuan then permitted the princess to return, since Jieyou had married the new Kunmi, Nimi (), the son of Cenzou. Jieyou bore Nimi the son Chimi (). Prince Wujiutu later killed Nimi, his half-brother. Fearing the wrath of the Han, Wujiutu adopted the title of Lesser Kunmi, while Yuanguimi was given the title Greater Kunmi. The Han accepted this system and bestowed both of them with the imperial seal. After both Yuanguimi and Chimi were dead, Jieyou asked Emperor Xuan for permission to return to China. She died in 49 BCE. Over the next decades the institution of Greater and Lesser Kunmi continued, with the Lesser Kunmi being married to a Xiongnu princess and the Greater Kunmi married to a Han princess. In 5 BCE, during the reign of
Wuzhuliu Chanyu Wuzhuliu () or Wuzhuliuruodi (), born Nangzhiyasi (), was a chanyu of the Xiongnu Empire. The brother and successor of Juya Chanyu, he reigned from 8 BC to 13 AD. Wuzhuliu sent his son Wududiyasi to the Western Han imperial court upon his acce ...
(8 BCE – CE 13), the Wusun attempted to raid
Yueban Yueban () (Middle Chinese: */jiuᴇt̚-pˠan/ < Late Han Chinese: */jyat-pɑn/), colloquially: "Weak
Wang Mang Wang Mang () (c. 45 – 6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun (), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the Han dynasty and later seized the thron ...
and internal strife brought disorder, and in 2 BCE one of the Wusun chieftains brought 80,000 Wusun to Kangju, asking for help against the Chinese. In a vain attempt to reconcile with China, he was duped and killed in 3 CE. In 2 CE,
Wang Mang Wang Mang () (c. 45 – 6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun (), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the Han dynasty and later seized the thron ...
issued a list of four regulations to the allied Xiongnu that the taking of any hostages from Chinese vassals, i.e. Wusun,
Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, < Eastern Han Chinese: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <
and the statelets 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 ...
, would not be tolerated. In 74 CE the Wusun are recorded as having sent tribute to the Han military commanders in Cheshi. In 80 CE Ban Chao requested assistance from the Wusun against the city-state Quchi (Kucha) in the Tarim Basin. The Wusun were subsequently rewarded with silks, while diplomatic exchanges were resumed. During the 2nd century CE the Wusun continued their decline in political importance.


Later history

In the 5th century CE the Wusun were pressured by the Rouran and may have migrated to the Pamir Mountains. They are last mentioned in Chinese historical sources in 436 CE, when a Chinese envoy was sent to their country and the Wusun reciprocated. It is possible that they became subsumed into the later
Hephthalites The Hephthalites ( xbc, ηβοδαλο, translit= Ebodalo), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during th ...
. After this event the Wusun seem to disappear from Chinese records: Wusun were last mentioned in 938 CE alongsides
Tuyuhun Tuyuhun (; LHC: *''tʰɑʔ-jok-guənʔ''; Wade-Giles: ''T'u-yühun''), also known as Henan () and Azha (; ), was a dynastic kingdom established by the nomadic peoples related to the Xianbei in the Qilian Mountains and upper Yellow River valle ...
and Mohe, as
tributary state A tributary state is a term for a pre-modern state in a particular type of subordinate relationship to a more powerful state which involved the sending of a regular token of submission, or tribute, to the superior power (the suzerain). This to ...
s to the
Khitan Liao The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yel ...
.


Physical appearance

The ''Hanshu'' and ''Shiji'' do not make any special note of the physical appearance of the Wusun. The first description of the Wusun's physical appearance is found in a
Western 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 war ...
book of divination, the ''
Jiaoshi Yilin ''Jiaoshi Yilin'' ( (or just "Mr. Jiao's Many Thoughts on the Book of Changes") is a Chinese book of divination composed during the Western Han Dynasty. Modeled on the ''I Ching'', the work was attributed to Jiao Yanshou (焦延壽, see :zh:焦贛 ...
'', which describes the women of the Wusun as "with deep eyesockets, dark, ugly: their preferences are different, past their prime
till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...
without spouse" A later 7th century commentary to the Hanshu by
Yan Shigu Yan Shigu () (581–645), formal name Yan Zhou (), but went by the courtesy name of Shigu, was a famous Chinese historian, linguist, politician, and writer of the Tang Dynasty. Biography Yan was born in Wannian (, in modern Xi'an, Shaanxi). Hi ...
says: Initially, when only a few number of skulls from Wusun territory were known, the Wusun were recognized as a
Caucasoid The Caucasian race (also Caucasoid or Europid, Europoid) is an obsolete racial classification of human beings based on a now-disproven theory of biological race. The ''Caucasian race'' was historically regarded as a biological taxon which, de ...
people with slight
Mongoloid Mongoloid () is an obsolete racial grouping of various peoples indigenous to large parts of Asia, the Americas, and some regions in Europe and Oceania. The term is derived from a now-disproven theory of biological race. In the past, other terms ...
admixture. Later, in a more thorough study by
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
archaeologists of eighty-seven skulls of
Zhetysu Zhetysu, or Jeti-Suu ( kk, , Жетісу, pronounced ; ky, ''Jeti-Suu'', (), meaning "seven rivers"; also transcribed ''Zhetisu'', ''Jetisuw'', ''Jetysu'', ''Jeti-su'', ''Jity-su'', ''Жетысу'',, National Geospatial-Intelligence Age ...
, the six skulls of the Wusun period were determined to be purely Caucasoid or close to it.


Language

The Wusun are generally believed to be an
Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
people and speak a language belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch. They are thought to be
Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...
-speaking by the archaeologist Elena Kuzmina,
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
János Harmatta János Harmatta (2 October 1917 – 24 July 2004) was a Hungarian linguist. He deciphered the Parthian ostraca and papyri of Dura Europos and was the first to decipher a major Bactrian inscription.Ritoók, Zsigmond. (1997"The contribution of ...
,
Joseph Kitagawa Joseph Mitsuo Kitagawa (March 8, 1915 – October 7, 1992) was an eminent Japanese American scholar in religious studies. He was professor emeritus and dean of the University of Chicago Divinity School. He is considered one of the founders of th ...
, David Durand-Guédy,
Turkologist Turkology (or Turcology or Turkic studies) is a complex of humanities sciences studying languages, history, literature, folklore, culture, and ethnology of people speaking Turkic languages and Turkic peoples in chronological and comparative con ...
Peter B. Golden and
Central Asian Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former S ...
scholar Denis Sinor.
Yan Shigu Yan Shigu () (581–645), formal name Yan Zhou (), but went by the courtesy name of Shigu, was a famous Chinese historian, linguist, politician, and writer of the Tang Dynasty. Biography Yan was born in Wannian (, in modern Xi'an, Shaanxi). Hi ...
(581 - 645 CE) described the Wusun's descendants with the exonym ''Húrén'' "foreigners, barbarians", which had been used since the 6th century to denote
Iranian peoples The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separat ...
, especially
Sogdians :''This category lists articles related to historical Iranian peoples'' Historical Peoples Iranian Iranian Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples ...
, in
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
, besides other non-Chinese peoples. Archaeological evidence also supports the idea that Wusuns were Iranian speakers.
Edwin G. Pulleyblank Edwin George "Ted" Pulleyblank (August 7, 1922 – April 13, 2013) was a Canadian sinologist and professor at the University of British Columbia. He was known for his studies of the historical phonology of Chinese. Life and career Edwin G. ...
has suggested that the Wusun, along with the Yuezhi, the Dayuan, the Kangju and the people of Yanqi, could have been Tocharian-speaking.
Colin Masica Colin Paul Masica (June 13, 1931 – February 23, 2022) was an American linguist who was professor emeritus in thDepartment of South Asian Languages and Civilizationsand the Department of Linguistics at the University of Chicago. Besides being a s ...
and David Keightley also suggest that the Wusun were Tocharian-speaking. Sinor finds it difficult to include the Wusun within the Tocharian category of Indo-European until further research. J. P. Mallory has suggested that the Wusun contained both Tocharian and Iranian elements. Central Asian scholar Christopher I. Beckwith suggests that the Wusun were Indo-Aryan-speaking. The first syllable of the Wusun royal title Kunmi was probably the royal title while the second syllable referred to the royal family name. Beckwith specifically suggests an Indo-Aryan etymology of the title Kunmi. In the past, some scholars suggested that the Wusun spoke a Turkic language. Chinese scholar Han Rulin, as well as G. Vambery, A. Scherbak, P. Budberg, L. Bazin and V.P. Yudin, noted that the Wusun king's name ''Fu-li'' 拊離 ( OC (20 BCE) > LHC ), as reported in Chinese sources and translated as 'wolf', resembles Proto-Turkic *''bȫrü'' 'wolf'. This suggestion however is rejected by Classical Chinese Literature expert Francis K. H. So, Professor at
National Sun Yat-sen University National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU; ) is a public research-intensive university renowned as an official think tank scholars' community, located in Sizihwan, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. NSYSU is listed as one of six national research universities, ...
. Other words listed by these scholars include the title ''bag'', ''beg'' 'lord'. This theory has been criticized by modern Turkologists, including Peter B. Golden and
Carter V. Findley Carter Vaughn Findley is a Humanities Distinguished Professor in the History Department at Ohio State University, where he teaches the history of Islamic civilization, with emphasis on the Ottoman Empire and the modern Middle East. He is the autho ...
, who explain that none of the mentioned words are actually Turkic in origin. Findley notes that the term ''böri'' is probably derived from one of the Iranian languages of Central Asia (cf. Khotanese ''birgga-''). "The term ''fu-li'' 離 used to identify the ruler's retinue as 'wolves,' probably also derived from one of the Iranian languages." Meanwhile, Findley considers the title '' beg'' as certainly derived from the Sogdian ''baga'' 'lord', "Many elements of non-Turkic origin also became part of Türk statecraft. Important terms, for example, often came from non-Turkic languages, as in the cases of ''khatun'' for the ruler's wife and ''beg'' for 'aristocrat', both terms of Sogdian origin and ever since in common use in Turkish." a cognate of
Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle ...
''baγ'' (as used by the rulers of the Sassanid Empire), as well as
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
''
bhaga ''Bhaga'' is the Vedic god of wealth, as well as a term for "lord, patron" and "wealth, prosperity". He is an Āditya, a group of societal deities who are the sons of Aditi. Bhaga's responsibility was to make sure that people received a share ...
'' and
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
''bog''. According to
Encyclopædia Iranica ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encyc ...
: "The origin of beg is still disputed, though it is mostly agreed that it is a loan-word. Two principal etymologies have been proposed. The first etymology is from a Middle Iranian form of Old Iranian '' baga''; though the meaning would fit since the Middle Persian forms of the word often mean 'lord,' used of the king or others. The second etymology is from Chinese 伯 ( MC ''pˠæk̚'' > ''bó'') 'eldest (brother), (feudal) lord'.
Gerhard Doerfer Gerhard Doerfer (8 March 1920 – 27 December 2003) was a German Turkologist, Altaicist, and philologist best known for his studies of the Turkic languages, especially Khalaj. Biography Doerfer was born on March 8, 1920 in Königsberg (prese ...
on the other hand seriously considers the possibility that the word is genuinely Turkish. Whatever the truth may be, there is no connection with Turkish ''berk'', Mongolian ''berke'' 'strong' or Turkish ''bögü'', Mongolian ''böge'' 'wizard, shaman.'"


Economy

According to the ''Shiji'' (c. 123) and the ''Hanshu'' (c. 96),
Liu Xijun Sara Liu Xijun (), is a Chinese pop singer who rose to fame through televised singing competitions. Born 30 April 1988 in Shenzhen, Guangdong, she began as a singer by ranking fifth in the fourth season (2009) of a singing contest in China, '' ...
, a daughter of the Han prince Liu Jian, was sent to the ruler (Kunmi or Kunmo) of the Wusun between 110 BCE and 105 BCE. She describes them as nomads who lived in felt tents, ate
raw meat Raw meat generally refers to any type of uncooked muscle tissue of an animal used for food. In the meat production industry, the term ‘meat’ refers specifically to mammalian flesh, while the words ‘poultry’ and ‘seafood’ are used to ...
and drank fermented mare's milk. Some early Chinese descriptions of the people were pejorative, describing them as "bad, greedy and unreliable, and much given to robbery", but their state was also described as very strong. However, the Wusun were also noted for their harmony towards their neighbours, even though they were constantly raided by the Xiongnu and Kangju. The principal activity of the Wusun was cattle-raising, but they also practiced
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
. Since the climate of Zhetysu and Dzungaria did not allow constant wandering, they probably wandered with each change of season in the search of pasture and water. Numerous archaeological finds have found querns and agricultural implements and bones of domesticated animals, suggesting a semi-nomadic pastoral economy.


Social structure

The social structure of the Wusun resembled that of the Xiongnu. They were governed by the Great Kunmi, whose power was hereditary. The Great Kunmi and his two sons, who commanded the east and left flanks of the Wusun realm, each commanded a force of 10,000 men. The Wusun also fielded a regular army, with each freeman being considered a warrior. Their administrative apparatus was fairly sophisticated, consisting of sixteen officials. The Great Kunmi was assisted by a council of elders, which limited his power to some degree. The Wusun elite maintained itself through tribute from conquered tribes, war booty and trading profits. The booty acquired by the Wusun in their frequent conflicts enabled the administrative elite and members of the Kunmi's guard to amass enormous riches. Wusun society seems to have been highly stratified. The main source of this stratification seems to have been
property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
ownership. The wealthiest Wusuns are believed to have owned as many as 4,000 to 5,000 horses, and there is evidence pointing to privileged use of certain
pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...
s. Typical of early patriarchal stratified societies, Wusun
widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...
s were obliged to remain within the family of their late husband by marrying one of his relatives, a concept known as levirate marriage. Y. A. Zadneprovskiy writes that the
social inequality Social inequality occurs when resources in a given society are distributed unevenly, typically through norms of allocation, that engender specific patterns along lines of socially defined categories of persons. It posses and creates gender c ...
among the Wusun created social unrest among the lower strata. Wusun society also included many slaves, mostly prisoners of war. The Wusun are reported as having captured 10,000 slaves in a raid against the Xiongnu. Wusun slaves mainly laboured as servants and craftsmen, although the freemen formed the core of the Wusun economy.


Archaeology

Numerous sites belonging to the Wusun period in Zhetysu and the
Tian Shan The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...
have been excavated. Most of the cemeteries are burial grounds with the dead interred in pit-graves, referred to as the Chil-pek group, which probably belong the local Saka population. A second group of
kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into much of Central As ...
s with burials in lined "catacomb" chamber graves, of the so-called Aygîrdzhal group, are found together with the Chil-pek tombs from the 2nd century BCE to the 5th century CE, and have been attributed to the Yuezhi. Graves of the Wusun period typically contain personal belongings, with the burials of the Aygîrdzhal group often containing weapons. A famous find is the Kargali burial of a female
Shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...
discovered at an altitude of 2,300 m, near Almaty, containing jewellery, clothing, head-dress and nearly 300 gold objects. A beautiful diadem of the Kargali burial attest to the artistic skill of these ancient jewellers. Another find at Tenlik in eastern Zhetysu contained the grave of a high-ranking warrior, whose clothing had been decorated with around 100 golden bosses.


Connection to Western histography

Some scholars such as Peter B. Golden have proposed that the Wusun may have been identical with the people described by
Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...
(IV. 16–25) and in
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
's ''Geography'' as
Issedones The Issedones (Ἰσσηδόνες) were an ancient people of Central Asia at the end of the trade route leading north-east from Scythia, described in the lost ''Arimaspeia'' of Aristeas, by Herodotus in his ''History'' (IV.16-25) and by Ptolemy in ...
(also ''Issedoni'', ''Issedoi'' or ''Essedoni''). Their exact location of their country in Central Asia is unknown. The Issedones are "placed by some in Western Siberia and by others in Chinese Turkestan," according to E. D. Phillips. French historian Iaroslav Lebedynsky suggests that the Wusun may have been the
Asii The Asii, Osii, Ossii, Asoi, Asioi, Asini or Aseni were an ancient Indo-European people of Central Asia, during the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. Known only from Classical Greek and Roman sources, they were one of the peoples held to be responsible ...
of ''Geographica''.


Genetics

A genetic study published in ''
Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
'' in May 2018 examined the remains of four Wusun buried between ca. 300 BC and 100 BC. The sample of
Y-DNA The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes (allosomes) in therian mammals, including humans, and many other animals. The other is the X chromosome. Y is normally the sex-determining chromosome in many species, since it is the presence or abse ...
extracted belonged to
haplogroup R1 Haplogroup R1, or R-M173, is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. A primary subclade of Haplogroup R (R-M207), it is defined by the SNP M173. The other primary subclade of Haplogroup R is Haplogroup R2 (R-M479). Males carrying R-M173 in modern populat ...
. The samples of
mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...
extracted belonged to C4a1, HV6, J1c5a and U5b2c. The authors of the study found that the Wusun and
Kangju Kangju (; Eastern Han Chinese: ''kʰɑŋ-kɨɑ'' < *''khâŋ-ka'' (c. 140 BCE)) was the Chinese name of a kingdom in
Central Asia< ...
had less East Asian admixture than the
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 ...
and the
Saka The Saka ( Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who hist ...
. Both the Wusun and Kangju were suggested to be descended from
Western Steppe Herders In archaeogenetics, the term Western Steppe Herders (WSH), or Western Steppe Pastoralists, is the name given to a distinct ancestral component first identified in individuals from the Eneolithic steppe around the turn of the 5th millennium BCE, ...
(WSHs) of the Late Bronze Age who admixed with Siberian hunter-gatherers and peoples related to the
Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex The Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (short BMAC) or Oxus Civilization, recently dated to c. 2250–1700 BC,Lyonnet, Bertille, and Nadezhda A. Dubova, (2020b)"Questioning the Oxus Civilization or Bactria- Margiana Archaeological Cultu ...
. One theory has suggested that the Uissun tribe of Kazakhstan is descended from the Wusun, based on the superficial similarity of the ethnonym 'Uissun' to Wusun. A 2020 study could not find support for this theory, as the Uissun have a very low frequency of Haplogroup R1a (6%), most of it belonging to the Z94 clade rather than the Iranian Z93 clade. Most of the Uissun lineages were typical of Mongols, supporting their historically attested Mongolian origin.


See also

*
Iranians in China Iranian people such as Persians and Sogdians have lived in China throughout various periods in Chinese history. History The Parthian Iranians, An Shigao and An Xuan, introduced Buddhism to China. A village dating back 600 years in Yangzhou in Jia ...
*
Mitanni Mitanni (; Hittite cuneiform ; ''Mittani'' '), c. 1550–1260 BC, earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, c. 1600 BC; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat (''Hanikalbat'', ''Khanigalbat'', cuneiform ') in Assyrian records, or ''Naharin'' in ...
*
Maryannu Maryannu is an ancient word for the caste of chariot-mounted hereditary warrior nobility, which existed in many of the societies of the Middle East during the Bronze Age. The term is attested in the Amarna letters written by Haapi. Robert Drew ...
* Qiang * Kassites *
Hyksos Hyksos (; Egyptian '' ḥqꜣ(w)- ḫꜣswt'', Egyptological pronunciation: ''hekau khasut'', "ruler(s) of foreign lands") is a term which, in modern Egyptology, designates the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt (fl. c. 1650–1550 BC). T ...


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * A survey of theories of ethnic affiliations and identification of the Wusun and the Yuezhi. * * * * * * Hill, John E. 2004. ''The Peoples of the West from the Weilue'' 魏略 ''by Yu Huan'' 魚豢'': A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE (sic.).'' Draft annotated English translation
Weilue: The Peoples of the West
* 陈连开 (Liankai, Chen) (1999). 中国民族史纲要 (''Outlines on China's Ethnicities''). Beijing: China Financial and Economic Publishing House. . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Stein, Aurel M. 1921. ''Serindia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China'', 5 vols. London & Oxford. Clarendon Press. Reprint: Delhi. Motilal Banarsidass. 1980
国立情報学研究所『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
* * * 王明哲. 王明哲,王炳华著. 王炳华 (Wang Mingzhe et al.) (1983). 乌孙硏究 (''Research on Wusun)''. Ürümqi: Xinjiang People's Press. * * * * {{Authority control Ancient peoples of China History of Kazakhstan History of Kyrgyzstan Historical Iranian peoples Indo-Aryan peoples Indo-European peoples Nomadic groups in Eurasia Tocharians History of China Iranian nomads