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XIONGNU CHIEFTAIN. Done for my project about Zhang Qian, a Chinese envoy to the Greco-Bactrian kingdom two centuries after Alexander’s death, and the subsequent War of the Heavenly Horses.
The Xiongnu were a large tribal confederation that emerged from the Mongolian steppes in the 3rd century BC and were the nemesis of China until the 1st century AD. There is a widely accepted hypothesis that the Xiongnu may be the same people as (or related with) the Huns that in the 5th century AD, led by their king Attila “the scourge of God”, played a decisive role in the final destruction of an already weakened Western Roman Empire. The ethno-linguistic identity of the Xiongnu and their successors the Huns has been heavily debated and is not clear yet. Because both the Xiongnu and the Huns had similarities with different nomadic groups of the steppe, it is usually believed they were not a homogenous group. People of Mongolic, Turkic, Yeniseian and East Iranic (Scythian) background may have formed or been assimilated by the Xiongnu (a name given to them by the Chinese). The later Huns became even more diverse, as they assimilated not only Iranic peoples, but also many Germanic tribes during their war against Rome.
In the 2nd century BC, emperor Wu of Han (see my last post), took the war with the Xiongnu very seriously. His desire to beat the Xiongnu was the reason that pushed him to seek allies and military reinforcements in Central Asia, sending his envoy Zhang Qian to the Yuezhi for that purpose, although Zang Qian ended up visiting the Hellenised Bactria as well. While travelling to the west, Zhang Qian was captured and enslaved by the Xiongnu for 13 years, and while in captivity, he married a Xiongnu woman and had a child. In 119 BC, emperor Wu launched an expeditionary campaign led by general Huo Qubing to the Xiongnu steppe, pursuing them as far north as Lake Baikal in Siberia.

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Description

XIONGNU CHIEFTAIN. Done for my project about Zhang Qian, a Chinese envoy to the Greco-Bactrian kingdom two centuries after Alexander’s death, and the subsequent War of the Heavenly Horses.
The Xiongnu were a large tribal confederation that emerged from the Mongolian steppes in the 3rd century BC and were the nemesis of China until the 1st century AD. There is a widely accepted hypothesis that the Xiongnu may be the same people as (or related with) the Huns that in the 5th century AD, led by their king Attila “the scourge of God”, played a decisive role in the final destruction of an already weakened Western Roman Empire. The ethno-linguistic identity of the Xiongnu and their successors the Huns has been heavily debated and is not clear yet. Because both the Xiongnu and the Huns had similarities with different nomadic groups of the steppe, it is usually believed they were not a homogenous group. People of Mongolic, Turkic, Yeniseian and East Iranic (Scythian) background may have formed or been assimilated by the Xiongnu (a name given to them by the Chinese). The later Huns became even more diverse, as they assimilated not only Iranic peoples, but also many Germanic tribes during their war against Rome.
In the 2nd century BC, emperor Wu of Han (see my last post), took the war with the Xiongnu very seriously. His desire to beat the Xiongnu was the reason that pushed him to seek allies and military reinforcements in Central Asia, sending his envoy Zhang Qian to the Yuezhi for that purpose, although Zang Qian ended up visiting the Hellenised Bactria as well. While travelling to the west, Zhang Qian was captured and enslaved by the Xiongnu for 13 years, and while in captivity, he married a Xiongnu woman and had a child. In 119 BC, emperor Wu launched an expeditionary campaign led by general Huo Qubing to the Xiongnu steppe, pursuing them as far north as Lake Baikal in Siberia.

www.facebook.com/JFoliveras/

instagram: jfoliveras