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The Han–Xiongnu Wars. or Sino–Xiongnu Wars, were a series of
military conflict
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organize ...
s fought over two centuries (from 133 BC
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Year 133 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scaevola and Frugi (or, less frequently, year 621 ''Ab urbe condita'') and the Second Year of Yuanguang. The denominati ...
to 89 AD) between the agrarian Chinese Han Empire
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
and the nomad
Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...
ic Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, 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, t ...
confederacy, although extended conflicts can be traced back as early as 200 BC
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Year 200 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus and Cotta (or, less frequently, year 554 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 200 BC for this year has bee ...
and ahead as late as 188 AD.
The Chinese civilization initially clashed with Inner Asia
Inner Asia refers to the northern and landlocked regions spanning North Asia, North, Central Asia, Central, and East Asia. It includes parts of Western China, western and northeast China, as well as southern Siberia. The area overlaps with some d ...
n nomadic tribes (then collectively known as '' Di'') that would later become the Xiongnu during the Warring States period
The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...
, and various northern states
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
built elongated fortifications (which later became the Great Wall
The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand Li (unit), ''li'' long wall") is a series of fortifications in China. They were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection agains ...
) to defend against raid
RAID (; redundant array of inexpensive disks or redundant array of independent disks) is a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical Computer data storage, data storage components into one or more logical units for th ...
s down from the Mongolian Plateau. The unified Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...
, who conquered all other states under the First Emperor
Qin Shi Huang (, ; February 25912 July 210 BC), born Ying Zheng () or Zhao Zheng (), was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. He is widely regarded as the first ever supreme leader of a unitary dynasty in Chine ...
, dispatched General Meng Tian
Meng Tian (c. 250 BC – August or September 210 BC) was a Chinese inventor and military general of the Qin dynasty who distinguished himself in campaigns against the Xiongnu and in the construction of the Great Wall of China. He was the elder ...
in 215 BC
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Year 215 BC was a year of the Roman calendar, pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Albinus/Marcellus/Verrucosus and Gracchus (or, less frequently, year 539 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomi ...
in a successful campaign to expel the Xiongnu from the Ordos region (which was often used as a staging area
A staging area (otherwise staging base, staging facility, staging ground, staging point, or staging post) is a location in which organisms, people, vehicles, equipment, or material are assembled before use. It may refer to:
* In aviation, a desi ...
to threaten Qin's Guanzhong
Guanzhong (, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanised as Kwanchung) region, also known as the Guanzhong Basin, Wei River Basin, or uncommonly as the Shaanzhong region, is a historical region of China corresponding to the crescentic graben str ...
heartland). However, the subsequent civil wars following Qin dynasty's collapse gave the Xiongnu tribes, who were then unified into a large confederacy under Modu Chanyu
Modu () 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 to 174 BCE. He was a military leader under his father Touman and later ''chanyu ...
, the opportunity to reinvade the Ordos region. After the Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
was established in 202 BC
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Year 202 BC was a year of the Roman calendar, pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Geminus and Nero (or, less frequently, year 552 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 202 BC for this y ...
, Emperor Gao tried to fight off Xiongnu invasions but had himself trapped in an ambush during the Battle of Baideng
The Battle of Baideng (白登之戰) was a military conflict between Han China and the Xiongnu in 200 BC.
In an alternate account, GroussetRene Grousset, 'The Empire of the Steppes',1970/2008,page27, says that the Xiongnu invaded Chinese Shanxi a ...
, and a truce
A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...
was negotiated by bribing Modu's wife, thus ending first Han-Xiongnu War. Decades of ''de jure
In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...
'' "peace" then followed with the Chinese gifting " harmony via marriage" to appease the Xiongnu, who still raided Chinese borderlands routinely.
However, starting from the reign of the seventh Han ruler, Emperor Wu, the Han Empire began to change from a relatively passive foreign policy to a proactive strategy seeking to permanently remove the northern threat. The tension fully escalated in 133 BC when the Han army unsuccessfully tried to ambush Xiongnu raiders at Mayi, and retaliatory raids intensified. Emperor Wu then started deploying newer generations of offensive military commanders such as Wei Qing
Wei Qing (died Jun 106 BC?In Emperor Wu's biography in ''Book of Han'' and volume 21 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'', the record of Wei Qing's death appeared after the 4th month of the 5th year of the ''Yuan'feng'' era. Thus, it is likely (but not certai ...
and Huo Qubing
Huo Qubing (140 BC – October 117 BC, formerly ''Ho Ch'ii-ping'') was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was a nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emp ...
, and launched several victorious expeditions to control the Ordos Loop
The Ordos Plateau, also known as the Ordos Basin or simply the Ordos, is a highland sedimentary basin in parts of most Northern China with an elevation of , and consisting mostly of land enclosed by the Ordos Loop, a large northerly rectangular ...
, Hexi Corridor
The Hexi Corridor ( ), also known as the Gansu Corridor, is an important historical region located in the modern western Gansu province of China. It refers to a narrow stretch of traversable and relatively arable plain west of the Yellow River's O ...
and Western Regions
The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; ) was a historical name specified in Ancient Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of the Yumen Pass, most often the Tarim Basin in prese ...
, eventually pushing the Xiongnu north beyond the Gobi Desert
The Gobi Desert (, , ; ) is a large, cold desert and grassland region in North China and southern Mongolia. It is the sixth-largest desert in the world. The name of the desert comes from the Mongolian word ''gobi'', used to refer to all of th ...
with a decisive campaign in 119 BC. After the death of Emperor Wu in 87 BC
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Year 87 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Octavius and Cinna/Merula (or, less frequently, year 667 ''Ab urbe condita'') and the Second Year of Houyuan. The denomi ...
, the conflict de-escalated to mostly small border conflicts, although Emperor Xuan and Yuan had each sanctioned major offensives against the Xiongnu during their reigns. The overall strategic Han successes against the Xiongnu allowed the Chinese to project their influence deeply into Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
, which eventually led to the establishment of a regional protectorate in 60 BC
__NOTOC__
Year 60 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Metellus Celer and Afranius (or, less frequently, year 694 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 60 BC for this year h ...
. For the Xiongnu, the situation deteriorated with each setback, leading to erosion of the 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 AD. The title was most famously used by the ruling L ...
's prestige among the steppe tribes, and the subsequent internal power struggle
A power struggle is situation where two or more people or groups fight to gain dominance over each other. The term is most commonly used in a political context, when parties contend for power or leadership positions, but can also be applied to a ...
s further weakened the nomadic confederacy, fracturing it into various self-ruling factions. The Han Empire then adhered to a divide and rule
The term divide and conquer in politics refers to an entity gaining and maintaining political power by using divisive measures. This includes the exploitation of existing divisions within a political group by its political opponents, and also ...
strategy, using marriage alliance
The Marriage Alliance is an Australian lobby group based in Sydney, New South Wales which supports the definition of marriage between a man and a woman as found in the Marriage Amendment Act 2004. According to the group's website, it "is an in ...
s (such as that of Wang Zhaojun
Wang Qiang (Wang Ch'iang; 王牆, also 王檣 and 王嬙), commonly known by her courtesy name Wang Zhaojun () was known as one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. Born in Baoping Village, Zigui County (in current Hubei Province) in the Weste ...
to Huhanye
Huhanye (), born Jihoushan (), was a ''chanyu'' of the Xiongnu Empire, the son of Xulüquanqu Chanyu. He rebelled in 59 BC with the aid of Wushanmu and Woyanqudi Chanyu soon committed suicide, leaving the Xiongnu torn apart by factional strife. ...
) to recruit some against others.
During the interregnum
An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...
Xin dynasty
The Xin dynasty (; ), also known as Xin Mang () in Chinese historiography, was a short-lived Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese imperial dynasty which lasted from 9 to 23 AD, established by the Han dynasty consort kin Wang Mang, who usurped th ...
, Wuzhuliu
Wuzhuliu () or Wuzhuliuruodi (), born Nangzhiyasi (; , died 13 AD), was a chanyu, ''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 Han dynasty#Weste ...
chanyu waged war in 11 AD
AD 11 ( XI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lepidus and Taurus (or, less frequently, year 764 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination AD 11 for this year ha ...
after Wang Mang
Wang Mang (45 BCE6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun, officially known as the Shijianguo Emperor (), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the ...
, a consort kin
The consort kin or outer kins () were the kin or a group of people related to an empress dowager or a consort of a monarch or a warlord in the Sinosphere. The leading figure of the clan was either a (usually male) sibling, cousin, or parent o ...
who usurp
A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it a ...
ed the Western Han
The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring int ...
throne, attempted to split the Xiongnu by installing 15 new chanyu. Wang Mang mobilized 300,000 troops against Xiongnu and forced Goguryeo
Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...
, Wuhuan
The Wuhuan (, < Eastern Han Chinese: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <
The
conscript
Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...
s and provisions, which led to the mass defection of these vassal state
A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to ...
s. After the Eastern Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
was established in 25 AD
__NOTOC__
AD 25 (Roman numerals, XXV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cossus Cornelius Lentulus (consul AD 25), Lentulus and Marcus Asinius Agrippa, Agrippa ( ...
, the Chinese initially found their hands full after the chaotic civil war and could not afford any full-scale mobilizations against the Xiongnu raids, they therefore resorted to continue lobbying amongst Xiongnu faction rulers instead. This continued for another two decades until 46 AD, when repeated natural disasters severely weakened the Xiongnu and forced them to flee north from an attack by Wuhuan. Xiongnu then permanently split in 48 AD
__NOTOC__
AD 48 ( XLVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vitellius and Poplicola (or, less frequently, year 801 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination AD 48 ...
into two groups, known as the Northern and Southern Xiongnu, respectively. The Southern Xiongnu eventually submitted to the Han Empire and became auxiliaries
Auxiliaries are combat support, support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular army, regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties ...
against the Northern Xiongnu, who continued to resist and was eventually evicted westwards by the further expeditions by the Han Empire and its vassals, as well as the rise of other hostile Donghu states like Xianbei
The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...
. In 89 AD, General Dou Xian
Dou Xian (; - died 92 AD) was a Chinese general and consort kin of the Eastern Han dynasty, famous for destroying the Xiongnu nomadic empire.
Early life
A native of modern-day Xianyang, Shaanxi Province, he was part of the powerful Dou clan whi ...
led 50,000 cavalry on an expedition that decisively defeated the Northern Xiongnu's main force, causing it to split further. In 91 AD, Northern Chanyu was defeated in the Battle of the Altai Mountains, and they fled west into Dzungaria
Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand'), also known as Northern Xinjiang or Beijiang, is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. Bound by the Altai Mountains to the n ...
, where they continued causing sporadic troubles until 151 AD when a 4,000-strong Han militia was enough to defeat them, causing them to flee further west into Central Asia where they disappeared from historical record
Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world his ...
s. Southern Xiongnu, on the other hand, continued cycles of "rebel then resubmit" under the Eastern Han dynasty until as late as the Yellow Turban Rebellion
The Yellow Turban Rebellion, alternatively translated as the Yellow Scarves Rebellion, was a peasant revolt during the late Eastern Han dynasty of ancient China. The uprising broke out in 184 CE, during the reign of Emperor Ling. Although t ...
, but from 89 AD onwards the Han Empire's main concern had already switched to the Qiang people
The Qiang people (Qiangic languages, Qiangic: ''Rrmea''; ) are an List of ethnic groups in China, ethnic group in China. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognised by the People's Republic of China, with a population of approx ...
, who had become a bigger threat than the Xiongnu.
Background
During theWarring States period
The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...
, the Qin, Zhao, and Yan states conquered various nomadic territories inhabited by the Xiongnu and other Hu peoples. They strengthened their new frontiers with elongated wall fortifications.. By 221 BC, the Qin ended the chaotic Eastern Zhou
The Eastern Zhou (256 BCE) is a period in Chinese history comprising the latter two-thirds of the Zhou dynasty. The period follows the Western Zhou era and is named due to the Zhou royal court relocating the capital eastward from Fenghao ...
period by conquering all other states and unifying China proper. In 215 BC, Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; February 25912 July 210 BC), born Ying Zheng () or Zhao Zheng (), was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. He is widely regarded as the first ever supreme leader of a unitary state, unitary d ...
ordered General Meng Tian
Meng Tian (c. 250 BC – August or September 210 BC) was a Chinese inventor and military general of the Qin dynasty who distinguished himself in campaigns against the Xiongnu and in the construction of the Great Wall of China. He was the elder ...
to set out against the Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, 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, t ...
tribes, situated in the Ordos region, and establish a frontier region at the Ordos Loop
The Ordos Plateau, also known as the Ordos Basin or simply the Ordos, is a highland sedimentary basin in parts of most Northern China with an elevation of , and consisting mostly of land enclosed by the Ordos Loop, a large northerly rectangular ...
.. Believing that the Xiongnu were a possible threat, the emperor launched a pre-emptive strike against the Xiongnu with the intention of expanding his empire. Later that year (215 BC), General Meng Tian succeeded in defeating the Xiongnu and driving them from the Ordos region, seizing their territory as result.. After the catastrophic defeat at the hands of Meng, Touman
Touman ( zh, 頭曼), from Old Chinese (220 BCE): *''do-mɑnᴬ'', is the earliest named '' chanyu'' (leader) of the Xiongnu tribal confederation, reigning from , directly preceding the formation of the Xiongnu empire.
Life
Competing with the X ...
Chanyu and his followers fled far into the Mongolian Plateau. Fusu
Fusu (died August or September 210BC) was the eldest son and heir apparent of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty.
Life
After being deceived by two alchemists while seeking prolonged life, Qin Shi Huang supposedly Burning of bo ...
(Prince of Qin) and General Meng Tian were stationed at a garrison in Suide
Suide County () is a county of Yulin, Shaanxi, China, bordering Shanxi province across the Yellow River to the southeast.
Administrative divisions
, Suide County is divided to 15 towns.
;Towns
Climate
Transportation
*China National Highway ...
and soon began the construction of the walled defences, connecting them with the old walls built by Qin, Yan and Zhao states. The fortified walls ran from Liaodong
The Liaodong or Liaotung Peninsula ( zh, s=辽东半岛, t=遼東半島, p=Liáodōng Bàndǎo) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located ...
to Lintao, thus enclosing the conquered Ordos region, safeguarding the Qin empire
The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng engaged in a series ...
against the Xiongnu and other northern nomadic people. Due to the northward expansion, the threat that the Qin empire posed to the Xiongnu ultimately led to the state formation of the many tribes towards a confederacy.
However, after the sudden death of Qin Shi Huang, the ensuing political corruption and chaos during the short reign of Qin Er Shi
Qin Er Shi (230/222207 BC), Chinese given name, given name Ying Huhai, was the second Emperor of China, emperor of the Chinese Qin dynasty, reigning from 210 to 207 BC. The son of Qin Shi Huang, he was put on the throne by Li Si and Z ...
would lead to various anti-Qin rebellions, eventually bringing about the collapse of the Qin dynasty. A massive civil war then erupted between various reinstated states, with Liu Bang
Emperor Gaozu of Han (2561 June 195 BC), also known by his given name Liu Bang, was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 to 195 BC. He is considered by traditional Chinese historiography to be one o ...
eventually victorious to establish the Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
. During the transitional years between Qin and Han, while the Chinese were mainly focused towards the interior of their nation, the Xiongnu took the opportunity to retake the territory north of the wall.. The Xiongnu frequently led incursions to the Han frontier and had considerable political influence over the border regions.. In response, Emperor Gaozu led a Han army against the Xiongnu in 200 BC, pursuing them as far as Pingcheng (present-day Datong
Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province, China. It is located in the Datong Basin at an elevation of and borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Hebei to the east. As of the 2020 census, it had a population o ...
, Shanxi
Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...
) before being ambushed by Modu Chanyu's cavalry. His encampment was encircled by the Xiongnu, but Emperor Gaozu escaped after seven days.. After realizing that a military solution was not feasible for the time being, Emperor Gaozu sent Liu Jing to negotiate peace with Modu Chanyu. In 198 BC, a marriage alliance
The Marriage Alliance is an Australian lobby group based in Sydney, New South Wales which supports the definition of marriage between a man and a woman as found in the Marriage Amendment Act 2004. According to the group's website, it "is an in ...
was concluded between the Han and the Xiongnu, but this proved far from effective as the incursions in the frontier regions continued.
Course
Onset
By the reign of Emperor Wu, theHan empire
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
was prospering and the national treasury had accumulated large surpluses.. However, burdened by the frequent Xiongnu raids at the frontier of the Han empire, the emperor abandoned the policies of his predecessors to maintain peace with the Xiongnu early in his reign. In 136 BC, after continued Xiongnu incursions near the northern frontier, Emperor Wu had a court conference assembled... The faction supporting war against the Xiongnu was able to sway the majority opinion by making a compromise for those worried about stretching financial resources on an indefinite campaign: in an engagement along the border near Mayi, Han forces would lure Junchen Chanyu
Junchen (, Old Chinese (Reconstructions of Old_Chinese#Zhengzhang (1981–1995), ZS): *''kun-gin''; r. 161–126 BCE) was the son and successor to Laoshang Chanyu. As chanyu, ''chanyu'' of the Xiongnu Empire, Junchen outlived the Han emperors ...
over with wealth and promises of defections in order to eliminate him and cause political chaos for the Xiongnu. Emperor Wu launched his military campaigns against the Xiongnu in 133 BC.
In 133 BC, the Xiongnu forces led by the Chanyu were lured into a trap at Mayi, while a Han army of about 300,000 troops laid in ambush against the Xiongnu.. Wang Hui (王恢) led this campaign and commanded a force of 30,000 men strong, advancing from Dai with the intention of attacking the Xiongnu supply route. Han Anguo (韓安國) and Gongsun He (公孫賀) commanded the remaining forces and advanced towards Mayi.. Junchen Chanyu
Junchen (, Old Chinese (Reconstructions of Old_Chinese#Zhengzhang (1981–1995), ZS): *''kun-gin''; r. 161–126 BCE) was the son and successor to Laoshang Chanyu. As chanyu, ''chanyu'' of the Xiongnu Empire, Junchen outlived the Han emperors ...
led his army of 100,000 men towards Mayi, but he became increasingly suspicious of the situation. When the ambush failed, because Junchen Chanyu realized he was about to fall into a trap and fled back north, the peace was broken and the Han court resolved to engage in full-scale war. In light of this battle, the Xiongnu became aware of the Han court's intentions to go to war. By that point the Han empire was long consolidated politically, militarily, and economically, and was led by an increasingly pro-war faction in the imperial court.
Skirmishes at the northern frontier
In the autumn of 129 BC, a Han force of 40,000 cavalrymen launched a surprise attack against the Xiongnu in the frontier markets, where masses of Xiongnu people visited to trade.. In 128 BC, GeneralWei Qing
Wei Qing (died Jun 106 BC?In Emperor Wu's biography in ''Book of Han'' and volume 21 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'', the record of Wei Qing's death appeared after the 4th month of the 5th year of the ''Yuan'feng'' era. Thus, it is likely (but not certai ...
led 30,000 men to battle at the regions north of Yanmen
Yanmen Pass, also known by its Chinese name Yanmenguan and as Xixingguan, is a mountain pass which includes three fortified gatehouses along the Great Wall of China. The area was a strategic choke point in ancient and medieval China, contro ...
and came out victorious. The next year (127 BC), the Xiongnu invaded Liaoxi, killing its governor, and advanced towards Yanmen. Han Anguo mobilized 700 men, but was defeated and withdrew to Yuyang. Thereafter, Wei Qing
Wei Qing (died Jun 106 BC?In Emperor Wu's biography in ''Book of Han'' and volume 21 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'', the record of Wei Qing's death appeared after the 4th month of the 5th year of the ''Yuan'feng'' era. Thus, it is likely (but not certai ...
moved out with a force and captured some Xiongnu troops, causing the main force of the Xiongnu to withdraw.. Meanwhile, Li Xi had led a force across the frontier and also captured some of the Xiongnu troops.
Early campaigns by the Han empire
Between 127 and 119 BC, Emperor Wu ordered the generalsWei Qing
Wei Qing (died Jun 106 BC?In Emperor Wu's biography in ''Book of Han'' and volume 21 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'', the record of Wei Qing's death appeared after the 4th month of the 5th year of the ''Yuan'feng'' era. Thus, it is likely (but not certai ...
and Huo Qubing
Huo Qubing (140 BC – October 117 BC, formerly ''Ho Ch'ii-ping'') was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was a nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emp ...
to lead several large-scale military campaigns against the Xiongnu. Leading campaigns involving tens of thousands of troops, General Wei Qing
Wei Qing (died Jun 106 BC?In Emperor Wu's biography in ''Book of Han'' and volume 21 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'', the record of Wei Qing's death appeared after the 4th month of the 5th year of the ''Yuan'feng'' era. Thus, it is likely (but not certai ...
captured the Ordos Desert
The Ordos Desert () is a desert/ steppe region in Northwest China, administered under the prefecture of Ordos City in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region (centered ca. ). It extends over an area of approximately , and comprises two sub-de ...
region from the Xiongnu in 127 BC and General Huo Qubing
Huo Qubing (140 BC – October 117 BC, formerly ''Ho Ch'ii-ping'') was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was a nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emp ...
expelled them from the Qilian Mountains
The Qilian Mountains (), together with the Altyn-Tagh sometimes known as the Nan Shan, as it is to the south of the Hexi Corridor, is a northern outlier of the Kunlun Mountains, forming the border between Qinghai and the Gansu provinces of n ...
in 121 BC, gaining the surrender of many Xiongnu aristocrats.. The Han court also sent expeditions, ranging to over 100,000 troops, into Mongolia in 124 BC, 123 BC, and 119 BC, attacking the heart of Xiongnu territory. Following the successes of these 127–119 BC campaigns, Emperor Wu wrote edicts in which he heavily praised the two generals for their achievements.
Ordos Loop
In 127 BC, GeneralWei Qing
Wei Qing (died Jun 106 BC?In Emperor Wu's biography in ''Book of Han'' and volume 21 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'', the record of Wei Qing's death appeared after the 4th month of the 5th year of the ''Yuan'feng'' era. Thus, it is likely (but not certai ...
invaded and retook full control of the Ordos region.. Earlier that year, he had departed from Yunzhong towards Longxi to invade the Xiongnu in Ordos. After the conquest, about 100,000 people resettled in the Ordos. In the region, two commanderies were established, Wuyuan and Shuofang
Shuofang () was an ancient Chinese commandery, situated in the Hetao region in modern-day Inner Mongolia near Baotou. First founded by Emperor Wu of Han in the wake of the successful reconquest of the area from Xiongnu tribes, it was dissolved d ...
.. With the old Qin walled fortifications in their control, the Han set out to repair and extend the walls.. In 126 BC, the Xiongnu sent out three forces of 30,000 troops each to raid Dai, Dinxiang, and Shang. In that same year (126 BC), General Wei Qing
Wei Qing (died Jun 106 BC?In Emperor Wu's biography in ''Book of Han'' and volume 21 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'', the record of Wei Qing's death appeared after the 4th month of the 5th year of the ''Yuan'feng'' era. Thus, it is likely (but not certai ...
advanced from Gaoque into Mongolia with 30,000 men and inflicted defeat to the Xiongnu forces of the Tuqi King
The Tuqi King ( zh, c=屠耆王, p=Túqí wáng, w=T'u-ch'i wang) was a high office of the Xiongnu, a title also known to the Chinese as "worthy/wise prince/king".Chen (1999), p. 237–277Ma (2005), p. 397–411 In the 6th to 8th centuries, Chinese ...
and captured 15,000 men along with 10 tribal chiefs. In the autumn of 126 BC, the Xiongnu raided Dai once again; they took some prisoners and killed a Han military commander..
Southern Gobi Desert
During the spring of 123 BC, GeneralWei Qing
Wei Qing (died Jun 106 BC?In Emperor Wu's biography in ''Book of Han'' and volume 21 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'', the record of Wei Qing's death appeared after the 4th month of the 5th year of the ''Yuan'feng'' era. Thus, it is likely (but not certai ...
set off to Mongolia with an army to attack the Xiongnu; they marched back victorious to Dingxiang.. Two months later, the Han army advanced towards the Xiongnu again, but this time the Xiongnu were prepared for the invasion by the Han forces. However, hereafter, due to the military expeditions that the Han empire undertook, the Xiongnu moved their capital and retreated to the far northern regions of the Gobi Desert
The Gobi Desert (, , ; ) is a large, cold desert and grassland region in North China and southern Mongolia. It is the sixth-largest desert in the world. The name of the desert comes from the Mongolian word ''gobi'', used to refer to all of th ...
.
Hexi Corridor
In the Battle of Hexi (121 BC), the Han forces had inflicted a major defeat to the Xiongnu.. Emperor Wu desired to place firm control over theHexi Corridor
The Hexi Corridor ( ), also known as the Gansu Corridor, is an important historical region located in the modern western Gansu province of China. It refers to a narrow stretch of traversable and relatively arable plain west of the Yellow River's O ...
and decided to launch a large military offensive to purge the Xiongnu from the area. The campaign was undertaken in 121 BC by General Huo Qubing
Huo Qubing (140 BC – October 117 BC, formerly ''Ho Ch'ii-ping'') was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was a nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emp ...
. Departing from Longxi that year, General Huo Qubing
Huo Qubing (140 BC – October 117 BC, formerly ''Ho Ch'ii-ping'') was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was a nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emp ...
led light cavalry through five Xiongnu kingdoms, conquering the Yanzhi and Qilian mountain ranges from the Xiongnu.
In the spring of 121 BC, Huo set out from Longxi and advanced into the territory of the Xiutu
Xiutu ( zh, c=休屠王, p=Xiūtú Wáng, also romanized as Hsiu-t'u, lit. "The one who puts an end to massacres") was a king in the Hexi Corridor of the Gansu region, west of Wuwei, during the 2nd century BCE. "Xiutu" (休屠) is also an early C ...
King (休屠王), beyond the Yanzhi Mountains. About 18,000 Xiongnu cavalry were captured or killed..
That summer (121 BC), Huo advanced into the Anshan Desert to invade the regions at the Qilian Mountains
The Qilian Mountains (), together with the Altyn-Tagh sometimes known as the Nan Shan, as it is to the south of the Hexi Corridor, is a northern outlier of the Kunlun Mountains, forming the border between Qinghai and the Gansu provinces of n ...
. At the Qilian Mountains, the Hunye King (渾邪王) saw the deaths of over 30,000 troops in battle against the Han, while 2800 of his troops were captured..
Distraught by the huge losses and fearing the wrath of the Xiongnu Chanyu, the Xiutu King and the Hunye King planned to surrender to the Han forces of General Huo Qubing
Huo Qubing (140 BC – October 117 BC, formerly ''Ho Ch'ii-ping'') was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was a nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emp ...
.. However, the Xiutu King suddenly changed his mind and fled with his followers. General Huo Qubing
Huo Qubing (140 BC – October 117 BC, formerly ''Ho Ch'ii-ping'') was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was a nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emp ...
and the Hunye King gave chase and killed Xiutu and his 8000 troops. In the end, the Hunye King and 40,000 Xiongnu soldiers surrendered, which also led to the Xiongnu tribes of Hunye and Xiutu submitting to the rule of the Han empire. Due to the series of victories, the Han had conquered a territory stretching from the Hexi Corridor
The Hexi Corridor ( ), also known as the Gansu Corridor, is an important historical region located in the modern western Gansu province of China. It refers to a narrow stretch of traversable and relatively arable plain west of the Yellow River's O ...
to Lop Nur
Lop Nur or Lop Nor (, , from an Oirat Mongolic name meaning "Lop Lake", where "Lop" is a toponym of unknown origin) is a now largely dried-up salt lake formerly located within the ''Lop Depression'' in the eastern fringe of the Tarim Basin in ...
, thus cutting the Xiongnu off from their Qiang allies.. In 111 BC, a major Qiang–Xiongnu allied force was repelled from the Hexi Corridor. Hereafter, four commanderies were established in the Hexi Corridor—Jiuquan
Jiuquan, formerly known as Suzhou is a prefecture-level city in the northwesternmost part of Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It is more than wide from east to west, occupying , although its built-up area is mostly located in it ...
, Zhangye
Zhangye ( zh, s=张掖, t=張掖, p=Zhāngyè), Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Changyeh and also formerly known as Kanchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Gansu provinces of China, Province in the ...
, Dunhuang
Dunhuang () is a county-level city in northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Sachu (Dunhuang) was ...
, and Wuwei—which were populated with Han settlers..
North of the Gobi
The Battle of Mobei
The Battle of Mobei () was a military campaign fought mainly in modern-day Mongolia, in the extreme cold and barren lands of the Gobi Desert. It was part of a major strategic offensive launched by the Han dynasty in the winter of January 119 BC ...
(119 BC) saw Han forces invade the northern Gobi Desert, as well as areas north of the Gobi. In 119 BC, two separate expeditionary forces led by the Han generals Wei Qing
Wei Qing (died Jun 106 BC?In Emperor Wu's biography in ''Book of Han'' and volume 21 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'', the record of Wei Qing's death appeared after the 4th month of the 5th year of the ''Yuan'feng'' era. Thus, it is likely (but not certai ...
and Huo Qubing
Huo Qubing (140 BC – October 117 BC, formerly ''Ho Ch'ii-ping'') was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was a nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emp ...
mobilized towards the Xiongnu.. The two generals led the campaign to the Khangai Mountains
The Khangai Mountains form a mountain range, range in central Mongolia, some west of Ulaanbaatar.
Name
Two provinces of Mongolia are named after the Khangai mountains: Arkhangai (North Khangai) and Ovorkhangai (South Khangai). The mild climat ...
and the Orkhon Valley
The Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape sprawls along the banks of the Orkhon River in Central Mongolia, some 320 km west from the capital Ulaanbaatar. It was inscribed by UNESCO in the World Heritage List as representing the development of ...
, where they forced the Chanyu to flee north of the Gobi Desert
The Gobi Desert (, , ; ) is a large, cold desert and grassland region in North China and southern Mongolia. It is the sixth-largest desert in the world. The name of the desert comes from the Mongolian word ''gobi'', used to refer to all of th ...
. The two forces together comprised 100,000 cavalrymen, 140,000 horses,. and few hundred thousand infantry.. They advanced into the desert in pursuit of the main force of the Xiongnu. The military campaign was a major Han military victory against Xiongnu,. where the Xiongnu were driven from the Gobi Desert. The Xiongnu casualties ranged from 80 to 90 thousand troops, while the Han casualties ranged from 20 to 30 thousand troops. In the aftermath, the Han forces had lost around 100,000 horses during the campaign.
During this campaign, Huo Qubing
Huo Qubing (140 BC – October 117 BC, formerly ''Ho Ch'ii-ping'') was a Chinese military general and politician of the Western Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. He was a nephew of the general Wei Qing and Empress Wei Zifu (Emp ...
's elite troops had set off from Dai to link up with Lu Bode
Lu Bode (; –?) was a Chinese military general during the Western Han dynasty.
Lu was from Pingzhou (平州) in the Xihe (西河) region of western China (present-day Lishi District of Lüliang, Shanxi). In 119 BCE, Emperor Wu of Han dispatche ...
's forces in Yucheng, after which they advanced further and engaged the Tuqi King of the Left and his army.. Huo Qubing's army encircled and overran their enemy, killing around 70,000 Xiongnu, including the Tuqi King of the Left. He then went on to conduct a series of rituals upon arrival at the Khentii Mountains
The Khentii Mountains () are a mountain range in the Töv and Khentii Provinces in northeastern Mongolia.
History
The mountains were called the Langjuxu Mountains (狼居胥山) in ancient China. In 119 BC, the Han dynasty army fought the ...
to symbolize the historic Han victory, then continued his pursuit as far as Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is a rift lake and the deepest lake in the world. It is situated in southern Siberia, Russia between the Federal subjects of Russia, federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast, Irkutsk Oblasts of Russia, Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...
.
Wei Qing
Wei Qing (died Jun 106 BC?In Emperor Wu's biography in ''Book of Han'' and volume 21 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'', the record of Wei Qing's death appeared after the 4th month of the 5th year of the ''Yuan'feng'' era. Thus, it is likely (but not certai ...
's army, setting off from Dingxiang, encountered Yizhixie Chanyu
Yizhixie ( zh, c=伊稚邪; Late Old Chinese: ; 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 Han dynasty under the military expansionist Empero ...
's army. Wei Qing ordered his troops to arrange heavy-armoured chariot
A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid Propulsion, motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk O ...
s in a ring formation, creating mobile fortresses that provided archers, crossbowmen, and infantry protection from the Xiongnu's cavalry charges, and allowing the Han troops to utilize their ranged weapons' advantages. A 5000-strong cavalry was deployed to reinforce the array against any Xiongnu attack. The Xiongnu charged the Han forces with a 10,000-strong vanguard cavalry.. The battle solidified into a stalemate until dusk, when a sandstorm obscured the battlefield. Subsequently, Wei Qing sent in his main forces and overwhelmed the Xiongnu. The Han cavalry used the low visibility as cover and encircled the Xiongnu army from both flanks, but Yizhixie Chanyu and a contingent of troops broke through and escaped.
Control over the Western Regions
With the Han conquest of the Hexi Corridor in 121 BC, the city-states at theTarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Xinjiang, Northwestern 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, Ch ...
were caught in between the onslaught of the war, with much shifting of allegiance.. There were several Han military expeditions undertaken to secure the submission of the local kings to the Han empire; the Han took control of the regions for strategic purposes while the Xiongnu needed the regions as a source of revenue. Due to the ensuing war with the Han empire, the Xiongnu were forced to extract more crafts and agricultural foodstuffs from the Tarim Basin urban centres. By 115 BC, the Han had set up commanderies at Jiuquan
Jiuquan, formerly known as Suzhou is a prefecture-level city in the northwesternmost part of Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It is more than wide from east to west, occupying , although its built-up area is mostly located in it ...
and Wuwei, while extending the old Qin fortifications from Lingju to the area west of Dunhuang
Dunhuang () is a county-level city in northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Sachu (Dunhuang) was ...
. From 115 to 60 BC, the Han and Xiongnu competed for control and influence over these states,. which saw the rise of power of the Han empire over eastern Central Asia with the decline of that of the Xiongnu's. The Han empire brought the states of Loulan
Loulan ( zh, t=, p=Lóulán < ''lo-lɑn'' <
Jushi (
Turfan
Turpan () or Turfan ( zh, s=吐鲁番) 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 693,988 (2020). The historical center of the prefectural area has shifted ...
), Luntai
Luntai County, also known as Bugur County or Bügür County ( transliterated from Mongolian), is a county in central Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region under the administration of the Bayin'gholin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture. It contains an area o ...
(Bügür), Dayuan
Dayuan (or Tayuan; ; Middle Chinese ''dâiC-jwɐn'' < : ''dɑh-ʔyɑn'') is the Chinese 
In 115 BC
Kangju
Kangju (; Eastern Han Chinese: ''kʰɑŋ-kɨɑ'' standard Chinese ''Kāngjū''), proposes that it was an Iranian word meaning "stone", and compares it to Pashto ''kā́ṇay'' "stone".
Joseph Marquart, Omeljan Pritsak and Peter B. Golde ...
(Soghdiana) into tributary submission between 108 and 101 BC. The long-walled defence line that now stretched all the way to Dunhuang
Dunhuang () is a county-level city in northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Sachu (Dunhuang) was ...
protected the people, guided caravans and troops to and from Central Asia, and served to separate the Xiongnu from their allies, the Qiang people..
In 115 BC Zhang Qian
Zhang Qian (; died c. 114 BC) was a Chinese diplomat, explorer, and politician who served as an imperial envoy to the world outside of China in the late 2nd century BC during the Western Han dynasty. He was one of the first official diploma ...
was once again dispatched to the Western Regions
The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; ) was a historical name specified in Ancient Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of the Yumen Pass, most often the Tarim Basin in prese ...
to secure military alliances against the Xiongnu... He sought out the various states in Central Asia, such as the Wusun
The Wusun ( ) were an ancient semi-Eurasian nomads, nomadic Eurasian Steppe, steppe people of unknown origin mentioned in Chinese people, Chinese records from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD.
The Wusun originally l ...
. He came back without achieving his goals, but he gained valuable knowledge about the Western Regions like in his previous travels. Emperor Wu received reports from Zhang about the large and powerful horses of Ferghana. These horses were known as " heavenly horses" or "blood-sweating horses". Zhang brought back some of these horses to the Han empire. The emperor thought that the horses were of high importance to fight the Xiongnu.. The refusal of the Dayuan
Dayuan (or Tayuan; ; Middle Chinese ''dâiC-jwɐn'' < : ''dɑh-ʔyɑn'') is the Chinese
Ferghana
Fergana ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Fargʻona, Фарғона, ), () or Ferghana, also Farghana is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 320 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km southwest of ...
, to provide the Han empire with the horses and the execution of a Han envoy led to conflict; the Han forces brought Dayuan into submission in 101 BC. The Xiongnu, aware of this predicament, had tried to halt the Han advance, but they were outnumbered and suffered defeat..
General Zhao Ponu (趙破奴) was sent on an expedition in 108 BC to invade Jushi (Turfan), a critical economic and military stronghold of the Xiongnu in the Western Regions. After he conquered the region, the Han forces repelled all Xiongnu attacks to regain control over Jushi. When King Angui acceded the throne of Loulan
Loulan ( zh, t=, p=Lóulán < ''lo-lɑn'' <
Due to the many losses inflicted on the Xiongnu, rebellion broke out and their enslaved rose up in arms. Around 80 BC, the Xiongnu attacked the
Fu Jiezi Fu Jiezi (), born in Qingyang, Gansu, was responsible for the assassination of the Loulan king Angui in 77 BC.
Career
Although fond of study, at fourteen years of age he threw his writing-tablets aside, saying with a sigh, “Tis in foreign lands t ...
and held a banquet for the envoy, who came under the guise of bringing many coveted gifts. During the banquet, Fu Jiezi requested a private discussion with King Angui, which was a pretence for the assassination of the Loulan ruler by two of Fu Jiezi's officers. Amid the cries of horror, Fu Jiezi proclaimed an admonition to the Loulan aristocracy and beheaded the dead king. The Han court informed Weituqi—who was an ally of the Han—of his brother's death, had him escorted back from Chang'an
Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...
to Loulan, and installed him as the new monarch of the kingdom, which was renamed Shanshan
Shanshan (; ) was a kingdom located at the north-eastern end of the Taklamakan Desert near the great, but now mostly dry, salt lake known as Lop Nur.
The kingdom was originally an independent city-state, known in local Gandhari documents as '' ...
. Thereafter, the royal seat was relocated to the southern parts of Shanshan
Shanshan (; ) was a kingdom located at the north-eastern end of the Taklamakan Desert near the great, but now mostly dry, salt lake known as Lop Nur.
The kingdom was originally an independent city-state, known in local Gandhari documents as '' ...
(present-day Kargilik or Ruoqiang), outside the sphere of Xiongnu influence.
The Xiongnu practised marriage alliances with Han dynasty officers and officials who defected to their side. The older sister of the Chanyu (the Xiongnu ruler) was married to the Xiongnu General Zhao Xin, the Marquis of Xi who was serving the Han dynasty. The daughter of the Chanyu was married to the Han Chinese General Li Ling
Li Ling (, died 74 BC), courtesy name Shaoqing (), was a Chinese military general of the Western Han dynasty who served during the reign of Emperor Wu. He later defected to the Xiongnu after being defeated in an expedition in 99 BC.
Early lif ...
after he surrendered and defected. The Yenisei Kirghiz
The Yenisei Kyrgyz () were an ancient Turkic people who dwelled along the upper Yenisei River in the southern portion of the Minusinsk Depression from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th century CE. The heart of their homeland was the forested T ...
Khagans claimed descent from Li Ling. Another Han Chinese General who defected to the Xiongnu was Li Guangli
Li Guangli (died 89 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 Li ...
who also married a daughter of the Chanyu.
Decline of the Xiongnu
Due to the many losses inflicted on the Xiongnu, rebellion broke out and their enslaved rose up in arms. Around 80 BC, the Xiongnu attacked the Wusun
The Wusun ( ) were an ancient semi-Eurasian nomads, nomadic Eurasian Steppe, steppe people of unknown origin mentioned in Chinese people, Chinese records from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD.
The Wusun originally l ...
in a punitive campaign and the Wusun monarch requested military support from the Han empire. In 72 BC, the joint forces of the Wusun
The Wusun ( ) were an ancient semi-Eurasian nomads, nomadic Eurasian Steppe, steppe people of unknown origin mentioned in Chinese people, Chinese records from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD.
The Wusun originally l ...
and Han invaded the territory of the Luli King of the Right. Around 40,000 Xiongnu people and many of their livestock were captured before their city was sacked.. The very next year, various tribes invaded and raided the Xiongnu territory on all fronts; Wusun from the west, Dingling
The Dingling (174 BCE); (200 BCE); Eastern Han Chinese: *''teŋ-leŋ'' < Old Chinese: *''têŋ-rêŋ'' were an ancient people who appear in Chinese historiography in the context of the 1st century BCE.
The Dingling are considered to have been ...
from the north, and Wuhuan
The Wuhuan (, < Eastern Han Chinese: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <
Hanshu
The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), ...
'', this event marks the beginning of Xiongnu decline and the dismantlement of the confederation.
Internal discord between the Xiongnu
As the Xiongnu economic and military situation deteriorated, the Xiongnu were willing to renew peace during the reigns ofHuyandi Chanyu
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 ...
(r. 85–69 BC) and Xulüquanqu Chanyu (r. 68–60 BC), but the Han court gave only one option, tributary submission. After Xulüquanqu Chanyu's death in 60 BC, a Xiongnu civil war broke out in 57 BC over the succession, which fully fragmented the Xiongnu confederation with many contenders.. In the end, only Zhizhi Chanyu
Zhizhi or Chi-Chi (, from Old Chinese (58 BCE): *''tśit-kie'' < *''tit-ke'';Schuessler 2014, p. 277 died 36 BCE), also known as Jzh-jzh, was a
Huhanye Chanyu survived the struggle to power. After Zhizhi Chanyu (r. 56–36 BC) had inflicted serious losses against his rival Huhanye Chanyu (r. 58–31 BC), Huhanye and his supporters debated whether to request military protection and become a Han vassal.. In 53 BC, Huhanye decided to do so and surrendered to the reign of the Han empire.
General
Chen Tang Chen Tang may refer to:
* Chen Tang (general), Chinese military general of the Western Han dynasty
* Chen Tang (actor), Zhuang American actor
* Chen Tang (footballer), Chinese footballer
See also
* Tang Chen, Hong Kong actress
{{hndis} ...
and Protector General Gan Yanshou, acting without explicit permission from the Han court, killed Zhizhi Chanyu at his capital city (present-day Taraz
Taraz ( ; also historically known as Talas) is a city and the administrative center of Jambyl Region in Kazakhstan, located on the Talas (river), Talas (Taraz) River in the south of the country near the border with Kyrgyzstan. It had a populatio ...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
) in 36 BC... Taking the initiative, Chen Tang had forged an imperial decree, which led to the mobilization of 40,000 troops in two columns.. The Han forces besieged and defeated the forces of Zhizhi Chanyu
Zhizhi or Chi-Chi (, from Old Chinese (58 BCE): *''tśit-kie'' < *''tit-ke'';Schuessler 2014, p. 277 died 36 BCE), also known as Jzh-jzh, was a
His head was sent to the Han capital
Chang'an
Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...
. On return to Chang'an, the two officers faced legal enquiries for forging a decree, but were pardoned. Chen and Gan received modest rewards, although the Han court was reluctant to do so due to the precedent that this event set.
Collapse of power
In 9 AD, the Han officialWang Mang
Wang Mang (45 BCE6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun, officially known as the Shijianguo Emperor (), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the ...
usurped the Han throne and proclaimed a new Chinese dynasty, known as Xin.. He regarded the Xiongnu as lowly vassals and relations rapidly deteriorated. During the winter 10 to 11 AD, Wang amassed 300,000 troops along the northern frontier, which forced the Xiongnu to defer launching large-scale attacks... Although Han rule was restored in August 25 AD by Emperor Guangwu
Emperor Guangwu of Han (; 15 January 5 BC29 March AD 57), born Liu Xiu (), courtesy name Wenshu (), was a Chinese monarch. He served as an emperor of the Han dynasty by restoring the dynasty in AD 25, thus founding the Eastern Han dynasty. He ...
, its grip over the Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Xinjiang, Northwestern 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, Ch ...
had weakened.. The Xiongnu had taken advantage of the situation and gained control over the Western Regions
The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; ) was a historical name specified in Ancient Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of the Yumen Pass, most often the Tarim Basin in prese ...
.
The first half of the 1st century BC witnessed several succession crises for the Xiongnu leadership, allowing the Han empire to reaffirm its control over the Western Regions. Huduershi Chanyu was succeeded by his son Punu (蒲奴) in 46 AD, thus breaking the late Huhanye's orders that only a Xiongnu ruler's brother was a valid successor. Bi (比), the Rizhu King of the Right and Huduershi's nephew, was outraged and was declared a rival Chanyu by eight southern Xiongnu tribes in 48 AD.. The Xiongnu confederation fell apart in 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 209&nb ...
and 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& ...
, and Bi submitted to the reign of the Han empire in 50 AD. The Han took control of the Southern Xiongnu under Bi, which had 30–40 thousand troops and a population of roughly twice or thrice the size..
Between 73 and 102 AD, General Ban Chao
Ban Chao (; 32–102 CE), courtesy name Zhongsheng, was a Chinese diplomat, explorer, and military general of the Eastern Han dynasty. He was born in Fufeng (region), Fufeng, now Xianyang, Shaanxi. Three of his family members—father Ban Biao, ...
led several expeditions in the Tarim Basin, re-establishing Han control over the region. At the capital of Shanshan by Lop Nur, Ban Chao and a small party of his men slaughtered a visiting Northern Xiongnu embassy to Shanshan. Ban Chao presented their heads to King Guang of Shanshan, who was overwhelmed by the ordeal, whereupon he sent hostages to Han. When Ban Chao traveled further to Yutian (Khotan), King Guangde received him with little courtesy. The king's soothsayer told the king that he should demand Ban Chao's horse, so Ban Chao killed the soothsayer for the insult. Impressed by the ruthlessness that he witnessed, the king killed a Xiongnu agent and offered submission to Han. Going further westward, Ban Chao and his party arrived at Shule. Earlier, King Jian of Qiuci had deposed the former king and replaced him with his officer Douti. In 74 AD, Ban Chao's forces captured King Douti of Kashgar
Kashgar () or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is a city in the Tarim Basin region of southern Xinjiang, China. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. For over 2,000 years, Kashgar ...
(Shule 疏勒), both a puppet of Kucha
Kucha or Kuche (also: ''Kuçar'', ''Kuchar''; , Кучар; zh, t= 龜茲, p=Qiūcí, zh, t= 庫車, p=Kùchē; ) was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the northern edge of what is now the Taklam ...
(Qiuci 龜玆) and an ally of the Xiongnu. Local opponents to the new regime had offered support to the Han. Tian Lü (Ban Chao's officer) took Douti captive and Ban Chao put Zhong (a prince of the native dynasty) on the throne. Ban Chao, insisting on leniency, send Douti back to Qiuci unharmed.
In 73 AD, General 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 and Guo Xun, on a diplomatic e ...
and his army departed from Jiuquan
Jiuquan, formerly known as Suzhou is a prefecture-level city in the northwesternmost part of Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It is more than wide from east to west, occupying , although its built-up area is mostly located in it ...
and advanced towards the Northern Xiongnu, defeating the Northern Xiongnu and pursuing them as far as Lake Barkol before establishing a garrison at Hami
Hami ( zh, c=哈密) or Kumul () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Xinjiang, China. It is well known for sweet Hami melons. In early 2016, the former Hami county-level city merged with Hami Prefecture to form the Hami prefecture-level city ...
.. In 74 AD, Dou Gu retook Turfan from the Xiongnu. The Han campaigns resulted in the retreat of the Northern Xiongnu to Dzungaria
Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand'), also known as Northern Xinjiang or Beijiang, is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. Bound by the Altai Mountains to the n ...
, while Ban Chao was threatening and bringing the city-states at the Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Xinjiang, Northwestern 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, Ch ...
to submission under the Han empire once again.. In 74 AD, the King of Jushi submitted to the Han forces under General 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 and Guo Xun, on a diplomatic e ...
as the Xiongnu were unable to engage the Han forces..
Later in the year (74 AD), the kingdoms of Karasahr
Karasahr or Karashar (), which was originally known in the Tocharian languages as ''Ārśi'' (or Arshi), Qarašähär, or Agni or the Chinese derivative Yanqi ( zh, s=焉耆, p=Yānqí, w=Yen-ch'i), is an ancient town on the Silk Road and the capi ...
(Yanqi 焉耆) and Kucha
Kucha or Kuche (also: ''Kuçar'', ''Kuchar''; , Кучар; zh, t= 龜茲, p=Qiūcí, zh, t= 庫車, p=Kùchē; ) was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the northern edge of what is now the Taklam ...
were forced to surrender to the Han empire. Although Dou Gu was able to evict the Xiongnu from Turfan
Turpan () or Turfan ( zh, s=吐鲁番) 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 693,988 (2020). The historical center of the prefectural area has shifted ...
in 74 AD, the Northern Xiongnu soon invaded the Bogda Mountains while their allies from Karasahr
Karasahr or Karashar (), which was originally known in the Tocharian languages as ''Ārśi'' (or Arshi), Qarašähär, or Agni or the Chinese derivative Yanqi ( zh, s=焉耆, p=Yānqí, w=Yen-ch'i), is an ancient town on the Silk Road and the capi ...
and Kucha
Kucha or Kuche (also: ''Kuçar'', ''Kuchar''; , Кучар; zh, t= 龜茲, p=Qiūcí, zh, t= 庫車, p=Kùchē; ) was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the northern edge of what is now the Taklam ...
killed the Protector General Chen Mu
Chen Mu (, d. 75) was a governor and general during the Han dynasty who served the first Protector General of the Western Regions under Eastern Han between 74 and 75. During his service, he was killed by the rebels in Karasahr
Karasahr or Karash ...
and his men.. As a result, the Han garrison at Hami was forced to withdraw in 77 AD, which was not reestablished until 91 AD.
Final stages
In 89 AD, GeneralDou Xian
Dou Xian (; - died 92 AD) was a Chinese general and consort kin of the Eastern Han dynasty, famous for destroying the Xiongnu nomadic empire.
Early life
A native of modern-day Xianyang, Shaanxi Province, he was part of the powerful Dou clan whi ...
led a Han expedition against the Northern Xiongnu... The army advanced from Jilu, Manyi, and Guyang in three great columns. In the summer, the forces, comprising a total of 40,000 troops, assembled at Zhuoye Mountain.. Near the end of the campaign, Dou's forces chased the Northern Chanyu into the Altai Mountains
The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The ...
, killing 13,000 Xiongnu and accepting the surrender of 200,000 Xiongnu from 81 tribes. A light cavalry of 2000 was sent towards the Xiongnu at Hami, capturing the region from them. General Dou Xian
Dou Xian (; - died 92 AD) was a Chinese general and consort kin of the Eastern Han dynasty, famous for destroying the Xiongnu nomadic empire.
Early life
A native of modern-day Xianyang, Shaanxi Province, he was part of the powerful Dou clan whi ...
marched with his troops in a triumphal progress to the heartland of the Northern Xiongnu's territory and engraved an inscription commemorating the victory on Mount Yanran, before returning to Han. The Han victory in the campaign of 89 AD resulted in the destruction of the Xiongnu state. In 2017, a joint Sino-Mongolian archaeological expedition rediscovered the Inscription of Yanran in the Khangai Mountains
The Khangai Mountains form a mountain range, range in central Mongolia, some west of Ulaanbaatar.
Name
Two provinces of Mongolia are named after the Khangai mountains: Arkhangai (North Khangai) and Ovorkhangai (South Khangai). The mild climat ...
of central Mongolia.
Aftermath
In 90 AD, GeneralDou Xian
Dou Xian (; - died 92 AD) was a Chinese general and consort kin of the Eastern Han dynasty, famous for destroying the Xiongnu nomadic empire.
Early life
A native of modern-day Xianyang, Shaanxi Province, he was part of the powerful Dou clan whi ...
had encamped at Wuwei. He sent Deputy Colonel Yan Pan with 2000 light cavalry to strike down the final Xiongnu defenses in the Western Regions, capturing Yiwu and receiving the surrender of Jushi. Major Liang Feng was dispatched to capture the Northern Chanyu, which he did, but he was forced to leave him behind as Dou Xian had already broken camp and returned to China. In the tenth month of 90 AD, Dou Xian sent Liang Feng and Ban Gu to help the Northern Chanyu make preparations for his planned travel as he wished to submit to the Han court in person the following month.
However, this never came to pass as Dou Xian dispatched General Geng Kui and Shizi of the Southern Xiongnu with 8,000 light cavalry to attack the Northern Chanyu, encamped at Heyun (河雲), in 90 AD. Once the Han forces arrived at Zhuoye Mountains, they left their heavy equipment behind to launch a swift pincer movement towards Heyun. Geng Kui attacked from the east via the Khangai Mountains
The Khangai Mountains form a mountain range, range in central Mongolia, some west of Ulaanbaatar.
Name
Two provinces of Mongolia are named after the Khangai mountains: Arkhangai (North Khangai) and Ovorkhangai (South Khangai). The mild climat ...
and Ganwei River (甘微河), while Shizi attacked from the west via the Western Lake (西海).. The Northern Chanyu—said to be greatly shocked by this—launched a counterattack, but he was forced to flee and left his family and seal behind. The Han killed 8,000 men and captured several thousands. In 91 AD, General Geng Kui and Major Ren Shang with a light cavalry of 800 advanced further via the Juyan Gol (Juyansai) into the Altai Mountains, where the Northern Chanyu had encamped. At the Battle of Altai Mountains, they massacred 5000 Xiongnu men and pursued the Northern Chanyu until he escaped to an unknown place. By 91 AD, the last remnants of the Northern Xiongnu had migrated west towards the Ili River
The Ili River (, , ; ; ; zh, 伊犁河, ; , ; , ) is a river in Northwest China and Southeastern Kazakhstan. It flows from the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region to the Almaty Region in Kazakhstan.
It ...
valley.
The Southern Xiongnu—who had been situated in the Ordos region since about 50 AD—remained within the territory of the Han empire as semi-independent tributaries. They were dependent to the Han empire for their livelihood as indicated by a memorial from the Southern Chanyu to the Han court in 88 AD.. Following the military successes against the Xiongnu, General Ban Chao
Ban Chao (; 32–102 CE), courtesy name Zhongsheng, was a Chinese diplomat, explorer, and military general of the Eastern Han dynasty. He was born in Fufeng (region), Fufeng, now Xianyang, Shaanxi. Three of his family members—father Ban Biao, ...
was promoted to the position of Protector General and stationed in Kucha
Kucha or Kuche (also: ''Kuçar'', ''Kuchar''; , Кучар; zh, t= 龜茲, p=Qiūcí, zh, t= 庫車, p=Kùchē; ) was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the northern edge of what is now the Taklam ...
in 91 AD. At the remote frontier, Ban Chao reaffirmed absolute Han control over the Western Regions
The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; ) was a historical name specified in Ancient Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of the Yumen Pass, most often the Tarim Basin in prese ...
from 91 AD onwards.
Impact
Military
Chao Cuo
Chao Cuo (, ca. 200–154 BC) was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and writer. He was a political advisor and official of the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), renowned for his intellectual capabilities and foresight in martial and polit ...
was one of the first known ministers to suggest to Emperor Wen that Han armies should have a cavalry-centric army to counter the nomadic Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, 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, t ...
to the north, since Han armies were still primarily infantry with cavalry and chariots
A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Ru ...
playing a supporting role.. He advocated the policy of "using barbarians to attack barbarians", that is, incorporating surrendered Xiongnu and other nomadic tribes into the Han military, a suggestion that was eventually adopted, especially with the establishment of dependent states of different nomads living on the Han empire's frontiers.
In a memorandum entitled ''Guard the Frontiers and Protect the Borders'' that he presented to the throne in 169 BC, Chao compared the relative strengths of Xiongnu and Han battle tactics. In regards to the Han armies, Chao deemed the Xiongnu horsemen better prepared for rough terrain due to their better horses
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 milli ...
, better with horseback archery, and better able to withstand the elements and harsh climates... However, on level plains, he regarded Xiongnu cavalry inferior especially when faced with Han shock
Shock may refer to:
Common uses
Healthcare
* Acute stress reaction, also known as psychological or mental shock
** Shell shock, soldiers' reaction to battle trauma
* Circulatory shock, a medical emergency
** Cardiogenic shock, resulting from ...
cavalry and chariots as the Xiongnu are easily dispersed. He emphasized that the Xiongnu were incapable of countering the superior equipment
Equipment most commonly refers to a set of tool
A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by ...
and weaponry. He also noted that in contrast the Han armies were better capable to fight in disciplined formations. According to Chao, the Xiongnu were also defenseless against coordinated onslaughts of arrows—especially long-ranged and in unison—due to their inferior leather armour and wooden shields. When dismounted in close combat, he believed that the Xiongnu, lacking the ability as infantry, would be decimated by Han soldiers.
During Emperor Jing's reign, the Han court initiated breeding programs for military horses and established 36 large government pastures in the border regions, extending from Liaodong
The Liaodong or Liaotung Peninsula ( zh, s=辽东半岛, t=遼東半島, p=Liáodōng Bàndǎo) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located ...
to Beidi
The Di or Beidi (Northern Di) were various ethnic groups who lived north of the Chinese ('' Huaxia'') realms during the Zhou dynasty. Although initially described as nomadic, they seem to have practiced a mixed pastoral, agricultural, and huntin ...
. In preparation for the military use of the horses, the best breeds were selected to partake military training. The Xiongnu frequently raided the Han government pastures, because the military horses were of great strategic importance for the Han military against them. By the time of Emperor Wu's reign, the horses amounted to well over 450,000..
At the start of Emperor Wu's reign, the Han empire had a standing army
A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers who may be either career soldiers or conscripts. It differs from army reserves, who are enrolled for the long term, but activated only during wars ...
comprising 400,000 troops, which included 80,000 to 100,000 cavalrymen, essential to the future campaigns against the Xiongnu.. However, by 124 BC, that number had grown to a total of 600,000 to 700,000 troops, including 200,000 to 250,000 cavalrymen. In order to sustain the military expeditions against the Xiongnu and its resulting conquests, Emperor Wu and his economic advisors undertook many economic and financial reforms, which proved to be highly successful.
In 14 AD, Yan Yu presented the difficulties of conducting extended military campaigns against the Xiongnu. For a 300-day campaign, each Han soldier needed 360 liters of dried grain. These heavy supplies had to be carried by oxen, but experience showed that an ox could only survive for about 100 days in the desert. Once in the territory of the Xiongnu, the harsh weather would also prove to be very inhospitable for the Han soldiers, who could not carry enough fuel for the winter. For these reasons, according to Yan Yu, military expeditions seldom lasted longer than 100 days.
For their western campaigns against the Xiongnu, the Han armies exacted their food supplies from the Western Regions. This placed a heavy burden to the western states, thus the Han court decided to initiate agricultural garrisons in Bugur and Kurla. During Emperor Zhao's reign (r. 87–74 BC), the agricultural garrison in Bugur was expanded to accommodate the heavy Han military presence which was the natural result of the empire's westward expansion. During Emperor Xuan's reign (r. 74–49 BC), the farming soldiers in Kurla were increased to 1500 under Protector-General Zheng Ji's administration in order to support the military expeditions against the Xiongnu in Turfan.. Immediately after the Han conquest of Turfan, Zheng established an agricultural garrison in Turfan. Even though, the Xiongnu unsuccessfully tried to prevent the Han from making Turfan into a major economic base by military force and threats.
Diplomacy
In 162 BC, the Xiongnu troops ofLaoshang Chanyu
Laoshang (; r. 174–161 BCE), whose personal name was Jiyu (), was a c''hanyu'' 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 with the Xiongnu ...
had invaded and driven the Yuezhi from their homeland; the Chanyu had the Yuezhi
The Yuezhi were an ancient people first described in China, 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 defea ...
monarch executed and his skull fashioned into a drinking cup.. Thus the Han court decided it was favourable to send an envoy to the Yuezhi to secure a military alliance.. In 138 BC, the diplomat Zhang Qian
Zhang Qian (; died c. 114 BC) was a Chinese diplomat, explorer, and politician who served as an imperial envoy to the world outside of China in the late 2nd century BC during the Western Han dynasty. He was one of the first official diploma ...
left with an envoy and headed towards the Yuezhi encampments. However, the envoy was captured by the Xiongnu and held hostage. A decade went by, until Zhang Qian and some of his convoy escaped. They travelled to the territories of Ferghana
Fergana ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Fargʻona, Фарғона, ), () or Ferghana, also Farghana is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 320 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km southwest of ...
(Dayuan
Dayuan (or Tayuan; ; Middle Chinese ''dâiC-jwɐn'' < : ''dɑh-ʔyɑn'') is the Chinese
Soghdiana (
In 169 BC, the Han minister Chao Cuo presented to Emperor Wen a memorandum on frontier defence and the importance of agriculture. Chao characterized the Xiongnu as people whose livelihood did not depend on permanent settlement and were always migrating.. As such, he wrote, the Xiongnu could observe the Han frontier and attack when there were too few troops stationed in a certain region. He noted that if troops are mobilized in support, then few troops will be insufficient to defeat the Xiongnu, while many troops will arrive too late as the Xiongnu will have retreated by then. He also noted that keeping the Xiongnu mobilized will be at a great expense, while they will just raid another time after dispersing them. To negate these difficulties, Chao Cuo elaborated a proposal, which in essence suggested that military-agricultural settlements with permanent residents should be established to secure the frontier and that surrendered tribes should serve along the frontier against the Xiongnu.
When Emperor Wu made the decision to conquer the Hexi Corridor, he had the intention to separate the Xiongnu from the Western Regions and from the Qiang people. In 88 BC, the Xianling tribe of the Qiang people sent an envoy to the Xiongnu, proposing a joint-attack against the Han in the region as they were discontented that they had lost the fertile lands at Jiuquan and Zhangye.. It had often been the meeting place between the Xiongnu and the Qiang before the Han empire had conquered and annexed the Hexi Corridor. In 6 BC, Wang Shun (王舜) and Liu Xin noted that the frontier commanderies of Jiuquan, Zhangye, and Dunhuang were established by Emperor Wu to separate the then-powerful Chuoqiang tribe of the Qiang people from the Xiongnu. The Chuoqiang tribe and its king, however, eventually submitted to the Han empire and took part in the campaigns against the Xiongnu.
In 119 BC, when the Xiongnu suffered a catastrophic defeat by the Han armies, the Chanyu moved his court (located in present-day Inner Mongolia) to another location north.. This had the desired result that the Xiongnu were separated from the Wuhuan people, which also prevented the Xiongnu from exacting many resources from the Wuhuan. The Han court placed the Wuhuan in tributary protection and resettled them in five northeastern commanderies, namely
Kangju
Kangju (; Eastern Han Chinese: ''kʰɑŋ-kɨɑ'' standard Chinese ''Kāngjū''), proposes that it was an Iranian word meaning "stone", and compares it to Pashto ''kā́ṇay'' "stone".
Joseph Marquart, Omeljan Pritsak and Peter B. Golde ...
康居), and Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian language, Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization in Central Asia based in the area south of the Oxus River (modern Amu Darya) and north of the mountains of the Hindu Kush, an area ...
(Daxia
Daxia, Ta-Hsia, or Ta-Hia (; literally: 'Great Xia') was apparently the name given in antiquity by the Han Chinese to Tukhara or Tokhara: the main part of Bactria, in what is now northern Afghanistan, and parts of southern Tajikistan and Uz ...
大夏), ultimately finding the Yuezhi forces north of the Amu River. Despite their efforts, the envoy could not secure a military alliance. As the Yuezhi had settled in those new lands for quite some time, they had almost no desire to wage a war against the Xiongnu.. In 126 BC, Zhang Qian headed to the Hexi Corridor
The Hexi Corridor ( ), also known as the Gansu Corridor, is an important historical region located in the modern western Gansu province of China. It refers to a narrow stretch of traversable and relatively arable plain west of the Yellow River's O ...
in order to return to his nation. While traveling through the area, he was captured by the Xiongnu, only to escape a year later and return to China in 125 BC.
The Xiongnu attempted to negotiate peace several times, but every time the Han court would accept nothing less than tributary submission of the Xiongnu. Tributary relations with the Han comprised out of several things. Firstly, the Chanyu or his representative was required to come pay homage to the Han court. Secondly the heir apparent or a prince needed to be delivered to the Han court as hostage. Thirdly, the Chanyu had to present tribute to the Han emperor and in return will receive imperial gifts.. Accepting the tributary system meant that the Xiongnu were lowered to the status of outer vassal, while the marriage alliance meant that the two nations were regarded as equal states. In 119 BC, Yizhixie Chanyu
Yizhixie ( zh, c=伊稚邪; Late Old Chinese: ; 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 Han dynasty under the military expansionist Empero ...
(126–114) sent an envoy, hoping to achieve peaceful relations with the Han. However, the peace negotiations collapsed, since the Han court disregarded his terms and gave him the option to become an outer vassal instead, which infuriated Yizhixie Chanyu.. In 107 BC, 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 Wu ...
(114–105) also attempted to negotiate peaceful relations and even halted the border raids. In response, the Han disregarded his terms and demanded that the Chanyu sent his heir apparent as a hostage to Chang'an
Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...
, which once again led to the breakdown of the peace negotiations.
In 53 BC, Huhanye Chanyu decided to submit to the Han court. He sent his son Zhulouqutang (朱鏤蕖堂), the Tuqi King of the Right, as hostage to the Han court in 53 BC. In 52 BC, he formally requested through the officials at the Wuyuan commandery to have an audience with the Han court to pay homage. Thus, the next year (51 BC), he arrived at court and personally paid homage to Emperor Xuan during the Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...
. In 49 BC, he traveled to the Han court for a second time to pay homage to the emperor. In 53 BC, Zhizhi Chanyu also sent his son as hostage to the Han court.. In 51 and 50 BC, he sent two envoys respectively to Han to present tribute, but failed to personally come to the Han court to pay homage. Therefore, he was rejected by the Han court, leading to the execution of a Han envoy in 45 BC. In 33 BC, Huhanye Chanyu came to the Han court to pay homage again. During his visit, he asked to become an imperial son-in-law. Instead of granting him this request, Emperor Yuan decided to give him a court lady-in-waiting. Thus, the Han court allowed Huhanye Chanyu to marry Lady Wang Zhaojun
Wang Qiang (Wang Ch'iang; 王牆, also 王檣 and 王嬙), commonly known by her courtesy name Wang Zhaojun () was known as one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. Born in Baoping Village, Zigui County (in current Hubei Province) in the Weste ...
.. Yituzhiyashi (伊屠智牙師), the son of Huhanye and Wang Zhaojun, became a vocal partisan for the Han empire within the Xiongnu realm.. Although peaceful relations were momentarily achieved, it fully collapsed when the Han official Wang Mang
Wang Mang (45 BCE6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun, officially known as the Shijianguo Emperor (), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the ...
came to power.
When Bi, the Southern Chanyu, decided submit to the Han in 50 AD, he sent a princely son as hostage to the Han court and prostrated to the Han envoy as he received the imperial edict from them.. During the Eastern Han period, the tributary system had made some significant changes, which placed the Southern Xiongnu more tightly under regulation and supervision of the Han. The Chanyu was required to send tribute and a princely hostage annually, while an imperial messenger would be dispatched to escort the previous princely hostage back.. The Southern Xiongnu were resettled inside the empire at the northern commanderies and were overseen by a Han prefect, who acted as an arbiter in their legal cases and monitored their movements.. Attempts by Punu, the Northern Chanyu, to establish peaceful relations with the Han empire always failed, because the Northern Xiongnu were unwilling to come under Han's tributary system and the Han court had no interest to treat them along the same lines as the Southern Xiongnu instead of dividing them.
Geography
In 169 BC, the Han minister Chao Cuo presented to Emperor Wen a memorandum on frontier defence and the importance of agriculture. Chao characterized the Xiongnu as people whose livelihood did not depend on permanent settlement and were always migrating.. As such, he wrote, the Xiongnu could observe the Han frontier and attack when there were too few troops stationed in a certain region. He noted that if troops are mobilized in support, then few troops will be insufficient to defeat the Xiongnu, while many troops will arrive too late as the Xiongnu will have retreated by then. He also noted that keeping the Xiongnu mobilized will be at a great expense, while they will just raid another time after dispersing them. To negate these difficulties, Chao Cuo elaborated a proposal, which in essence suggested that military-agricultural settlements with permanent residents should be established to secure the frontier and that surrendered tribes should serve along the frontier against the Xiongnu.
When Emperor Wu made the decision to conquer the Hexi Corridor, he had the intention to separate the Xiongnu from the Western Regions and from the Qiang people. In 88 BC, the Xianling tribe of the Qiang people sent an envoy to the Xiongnu, proposing a joint-attack against the Han in the region as they were discontented that they had lost the fertile lands at Jiuquan and Zhangye.. It had often been the meeting place between the Xiongnu and the Qiang before the Han empire had conquered and annexed the Hexi Corridor. In 6 BC, Wang Shun (王舜) and Liu Xin noted that the frontier commanderies of Jiuquan, Zhangye, and Dunhuang were established by Emperor Wu to separate the then-powerful Chuoqiang tribe of the Qiang people from the Xiongnu. The Chuoqiang tribe and its king, however, eventually submitted to the Han empire and took part in the campaigns against the Xiongnu.
In 119 BC, when the Xiongnu suffered a catastrophic defeat by the Han armies, the Chanyu moved his court (located in present-day Inner Mongolia) to another location north.. This had the desired result that the Xiongnu were separated from the Wuhuan people, which also prevented the Xiongnu from exacting many resources from the Wuhuan. The Han court placed the Wuhuan in tributary protection and resettled them in five northeastern commanderies, namely Shanggu
Shanggu Commandery ( zh, 上谷郡) was a commandery in imperial China from the Warring States period to Tang dynasty. It was located in present-day Hebei and Beijing.
The commandery was established by the state of Yan for the defense against the ...
, Yuyang, Youbeiping (present-day Hebei
Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...
), Liaoxi, and Liaodong
The Liaodong or Liaotung Peninsula ( zh, s=辽东半岛, t=遼東半島, p=Liáodōng Bàndǎo) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located ...
(present-day Liaoning
)
, image_skyline =
, image_alt =
, image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong
, image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg
, ...
).. A new office, the Colonel-Protector of the Wuhuan, was established in Shanggu in order to prevent contact between the Wuhuan with the Xiongnu and to use them to monitor the Xiongnu activities. Nevertheless, the effective Han control over the Wuhuan was lacking through much of the Western Han period, since the Xiongnu had considerable military and political influence over the Wuhuan while relations between the Wuhuan and Han often remained strained at best. This can be exemplified by a situation in 78 BC, when the Xiongnu led a punitive campaign against the Wuhuan, resulting in General Fan Mingyou (范明友) leading a Han army to impede further incursions. When they learned that the Xiongnu had left by the time the army arrived, the Han court ordered Fan to attack the Wuhuan instead, killing 6000 Wuhuan men and three chieftains, since the Wuhuan had recently raided Han territory.. Only in 49 AD, when 922 Wuhuan chieftains submitted during Emperor Guangwu's reign, did many of the Wuhuan tribes come under tributary system of the Han empire.. The Han court provided for the Wuhuan and in return the Wuhuan tribes guarded the Han frontier against the Xiongnu and other nomadic peoples.
When the Hunye King surrendered to the Han in 121 BC, the Han court resettled all the 40,000 Xiongnu people from the Hexi Corridor into the northern frontier regions. The Hexi Corridor proved to be an invaluable region, since it gave direct access and became the base of military operations into the Western Regions
The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; ) was a historical name specified in Ancient Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of the Yumen Pass, most often the Tarim Basin in prese ...
Possession of the Western Regions was economically critical to the Xiongnu, since they exacted many of their necessary resources from the western states. The diplomat Zhang Qian suggested to the emperor to establish diplomatic relations with the western states. He proposed to try convince the Wusun
The Wusun ( ) were an ancient semi-Eurasian nomads, nomadic Eurasian Steppe, steppe people of unknown origin mentioned in Chinese people, Chinese records from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD.
The Wusun originally l ...
in reoccupying their former territory in the Hexi Corridor and to form an alliance with them against the Xiongnu.. In 115 BC, Zhang Qian and his men were sent towards the Western Regions, but they did not succeed in convincing the Wusun to relocate. They were, however, successful in establishing contact with the many states, such as Wusun, Dayuan (Ferghana), Kangju
Kangju (; Eastern Han Chinese: ''kʰɑŋ-kɨɑ'' standard Chinese ''Kāngjū''), proposes that it was an Iranian word meaning "stone", and compares it to Pashto ''kā́ṇay'' "stone".
Joseph Marquart, Omeljan Pritsak and Peter B. Golde ...
(Soghdiana), Daxia
Daxia, Ta-Hsia, or Ta-Hia (; literally: 'Great Xia') was apparently the name given in antiquity by the Han Chinese to Tukhara or Tokhara: the main part of Bactria, in what is now northern Afghanistan, and parts of southern Tajikistan and Uz ...
(Bactria), and Yutian (Khotan).. Although the Han empire tried to diplomatically sway the western states over the years, it met with little success due to the Xiongnu's influence over the Western Regions at the time. Therefore, from 108 BC onwards, the Han resorted to conquest in order to bring the western states to submission.
Since Loulan (Cherchen) was the closest western state to Han, it was key for the Han empire's expansion into Central Asia.. Turfan (Jushi), on the other hand, was the Xiongnu's entrance into the Western Regions. By conquering Loulan and Turfan, the Han empire would gain two critical locations in the Western Regions, achieving direct access to the Wusun
The Wusun ( ) were an ancient semi-Eurasian nomads, nomadic Eurasian Steppe, steppe people of unknown origin mentioned in Chinese people, Chinese records from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD.
The Wusun originally l ...
in the Ili River
The Ili River (, , ; ; ; zh, 伊犁河, ; , ; , ) is a river in Northwest China and Southeastern Kazakhstan. It flows from the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region to the Almaty Region in Kazakhstan.
It ...
valley and Dayuan
Dayuan (or Tayuan; ; Middle Chinese ''dâiC-jwɐn'' < : ''dɑh-ʔyɑn'') is the Chinese
Syr and
Amu Darya
The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...
. This happened in 108 BC, when General Zhao Ponu conquered these two states. The farthest-reaching invasion was Li Guangli's campaign against Ferghana
Fergana ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Fargʻona, Фарғона, ), () or Ferghana, also Farghana is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 320 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km southwest of ...
.. If the Han armies succeeded in conquering Ferghana, the Han empire would demonstrate certain military might to the western states and consolidate its control, while gaining many of the famed Ferghana horses. The Xiongnu were aware of the situation and attempted to stop the invasion, but they were defeated by Li Guangli
Li Guangli (died 89 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 Li ...
's forces. After a campaign that lasted four years, Li Guangli conquered Ferghana in 101 BC.
The control over Turfan, however, often fluctuated due to its proximity to the Xiongnu. In 90 BC, General Cheng Wan (成娩) led the troops of six western states against Turfan to prevent it from allying the Xiongnu.. The fact that the forces used comprised solely from the troops of the western states was, as remarked, a clear indication of the political influence that the Han empire had over the region. Cheng was a former Xiongnu king himself, but he had submitted to the Han and was ennobled as Marquis of Kailing (開陵侯). As a result of the expedition, the Han court received the formal submission of Turfan later in the year (90 BC). This victory was significant in the sense that Turfan's location was the closest to the Xiongnu of all the western states, thereby they lost their access into the Western Regions with this Han conquest..
In 67 BC, the Han empire gained absolute control over the Turfan Depression after inflicting a significant defeat to the Xiongnu. During the former Xiongnu rule of the Western Regions, the area was under the jurisdiction of the Rizhu King (日逐王) with the office "Commandant in
Charge of Slaves".. However, in 60 BC, the Rizhu King surrendered to Protector General Zheng Ji. Afterwards (60 BC), the Han imperial court established the Protectorate of the Western Regions
The Protectorate of the Western Regions () was an imperial administration (a Protectorate (imperial China), protectorate) situated in the Western Regions administered by Han dynasty, Han dynasty China and its successors on and off from 59 or 6 ...
. The Han empire, now in absolute control of the Western Regions
The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; ) was a historical name specified in Ancient Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of the Yumen Pass, most often the Tarim Basin in prese ...
, placed it under the jurisdiction of its Protector General... As its dominance of the area was established, the Han were effectively controlling the trade and shaping the early history of what would be known as the Silk Road
The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...
.
In 25 AD, Liu Xiu
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as st ...
was established as Emperor Guangwu, restoring the Han throne after a usurpation by the Han official Wang Mang
Wang Mang (45 BCE6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun, officially known as the Shijianguo Emperor (), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the ...
, thus initiating the Eastern Han period. During his reign, the Han empire began to abandon its offensive strategy against the Xiongnu, which allowed the latter to frequently raid the northern frontier.. It resulted in large migrations southwards, which led to the depopulation of the frontier regions. During the Eastern Han period, various nomadic peoples were resettled in these frontier regions, serving the Han empire as cavalry against the Xiongnu. With his primary focus still towards the interior of the empire, Emperor Guangwu declined several requests from the western states to re-establish the office of Protector-General of the Western Regions
The Protectorate of the Western Regions () was an imperial administration (a protectorate) situated in the Western Regions administered by Han dynasty China and its successors on and off from 59 or 60 BCE until the end of the Sixteen Kingdom ...
.. Early in Emperor Guangwu's reign, King Kang of Yarkand united neighbouring kingdoms to resist the Xiongnu.. At the same time, he protected the Han officials and people of the former Protector-General, who were still left behind after Wang Mang's reign. In 61 AD, Yarkand was conquered by Khotan and the western states fell in conflict with each other. Taking this opportunity, the Northern Xiongnu recovered their control over the Western Regions, which threatened the security of the Hexi Corridor. In 73 AD, General 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 and Guo Xun, on a diplomatic e ...
was sent on a punitive expedition to the Xiongnu and inflicted them a considerable defeat. Immediately, the fertile lands of Hami (Yiwu) was reoccupied and an agricultural garrison established. The next year (74 AD), he expelled the Xiongnu from Turfan and reoccupied the state. The recovery of Hami and Turfan facilitated the re-establishment of the Protector-General, since these important locations were key points to control the Western Regions.
See also
* ''Book of Han
The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), ...
'', a classical historiographical work covering the early history of the Han empire
* Han dynasty in Inner Asia, expansion of realm and influence of the Han dynasty in Inner Asia
* Han–Nanyue War
The Han conquest of Nanyue was a military conflict between the Han Empire and the Nanyue kingdom in modern Guangdong, Guangxi, and Northern Vietnam. During the reign of Emperor Wu, Imperial Han military forces formally launched a punitive ca ...
, a military campaign launched by Emperor Wu against Nanyue
* Gojoseon–Han War
The Han conquest of Gojoseon was a campaign launched by Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty against Wiman Joseon between 109 and 108 BCE. It resulted in the fall of Gojoseon and the establishment of the Four Commanderies of Han in the northern half ...
, a military campaign launched by Emperor Wu against Gojoseon
* ''The Emperor in Han Dynasty
''The Emperor in Han Dynasty'', also released under the title ''The Emperor Han Wu'' in some countries, is a 2005 Chinese historical drama television series based on the life of Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty. It uses the histori ...
'', a 2005 Chinese television series based on the life story of Emperor Wu
* Li Ling
Li Ling (, died 74 BC), courtesy name Shaoqing (), was a Chinese military general of the Western Han dynasty who served during the reign of Emperor Wu. He later defected to the Xiongnu after being defeated in an expedition in 99 BC.
Early lif ...
, a Han military leader and defector to the Xiongnu
* ''Records of the Grand Historian
The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...
'', a classical historiographical work written in this era
* Sima Qian
Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...
, author of the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' who was punished for defending Li Ling
* Su Wu
Su Wu (; 140s BC - 60 BC) was a Chinese diplomat and politician of the Western Han dynasty. He is known in Chinese history for making the best of his mission into foreign territory. During his mission he was captured and then detained for nin ...
, a Han statesman and diplomat who was a captive of the Xiongnu for about two decades
Notes
References
Bibliography
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Further reading
* Yap, Joseph P. (2019). ''The Western Regions, Xiongnu and Han, from the Shiji, Hanshu and Hou Hanshu''. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Han-Xiongnu War 2nd-century BC conflicts 1st-century BC conflicts Wars involving the Han dynasty Wars involving the Xiongnu Wars involving Mongolia