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 BC, founded the Xiongnu Empire.
After overthrowing their previous overlords, the Yuezhi, the Xiongnu became the dominant power on the steppes of East Asia, centred on the Mongolian Plateau. The Xiongnu were also active in areas now part of Siberia, Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang. Their relations with the Chinese dynasties to the south-east were complex, alternating between various periods of peace, war and subjugation. Ultimately, the Xiongnu were defeated by the Han dynasty in a centuries-long conflict, which led to the confederation splitting in two, and forcible resettlement of large numbers of Xiongnu within Han borders.
Later listed as one of the "Five Barbarians", their descendants founded in northern China the dynastic states of Han-Zhao, Xia and perhaps Northern Liang during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, and the Northern Zhou dynasty during the Northern and Southern dynasties.
Attempts to associate the Xiongnu with the nearby Saka and Sarmatians were once controversial. However, archaeogenetics has confirmed their interaction with the Xiongnu, and also possibly their relation to the Huns. The identity of the ethnic core of Xiongnu has been a subject of varied hypotheses, because only a few words, mainly titles and personal names, were preserved in the Chinese sources. The name Xiongnu may be cognate with that of the Huns or the Huna, although this is disputed. Other linguistic links—all of them also controversial—proposed by scholars include Turkic, Iranian, Mongolic, Uralic, Yeniseian, or multi-ethnic.
Name
The word "Xiōngnú" means "fierce slave". They were identified by the Han Chinese as invaders from the north who rode on horseback. The pronunciation of as Xiōngnú is the modern Mandarin Chinese pronunciation, from the Mandarin dialect spoken now in Beijing, which came into existence only in the second millennium CE. The Old Chinese pronunciation has been reconstructed as *xiuoŋ-na or as *qhoŋna according to Wang Li and Zhengzhang Shangfang respectively, the two most widely recognized Old Chinese reconstructions in China. Sinologist Axel Schuessler (2014) reconstructs the pronunciations of as *hoŋ-nâ in Late Old Chinese () and as *hɨoŋ-nɑ in Eastern Han Chinese; citing other Chinese transcriptions wherein the velar nasal medial -ŋ-, after a short vowel, seemingly played the role of a general nasal – sometimes equivalent to n or m –, Schuessler proposes that Xiongnu < *hɨoŋ-nɑ < *hoŋ-nâ might be a Chinese rendition, Han or even pre-Han, of foreign *Hŏna or *Hŭna, which Schuessler compares to Huns and Sanskrit Hūṇā. However, the same medial -ŋ- prompts Christopher P. Atwood (2015) to reconstruct *Xoŋai, which he derives from the Ongi River () in Mongolia and suggests that it was originally a dynastic name rather than an ethnic name.
History
Predecessors
The territories associated with the Xiongnu in central/east Mongolia were previously inhabited by the Slab Grave Culture (Ancient Northeast Asian origin), which persisted until the 3rd century BC. Genetic research indicates that the Slab Grave people were the primary ancestors of the Xiongnu, and that the Xiongnu formed through substantial and complex mixture with West Eurasians.
During the Western Zhou (1045–771 BC), there were numerous conflicts with nomadic tribes from the north and the northwest, variously known as the Xianyun, Guifang, or various "Rong" tribes, such as the Xirong, Shanrong or Quanrong. The Quanrong put an end to the Western Zhou in 771 BC, sacking the Zhou capital of Haojing and killing the last Western Zhou king You. A Scythian culture, it was identified by excavated artifacts and mummified humans, such as the Siberian Ice Maiden, found in the Siberian permafrost, in the Altai Mountains, Kazakhstan and nearby Mongolia. To the south, the Ordos culture had developed in the Ordos Loop (modern Inner Mongolia, China) during the Bronze and early Iron Age from the 6th to 2nd centuries BC. Of unknown ethno-linguistic origin, it is thought to represent the easternmost extension of Indo-European-speakers. The Yuezhi were displaced by the Xiongnu expansion in the 2nd century BC, and had to migrate to Central and Southern Asia.
Early history
Western Han historian Sima Qian composed an early yet detailed exposition on the Xiongnu in one liezhuan (arrayed account) of his Records of the Grand Historian ( BC), wherein the Xiongnu were alleged to be descendants of a certain Chunwei, who in turn descended from the "lineage of Lord Xia", a.k.a. Yu the Great. Even so, Sima Qian also drew a distinct line between the settled Huaxia people (Han) to the pastoral nomads (Xiongnu), characterizing them as two polar groups in the sense of a civilization versus an uncivilized society: the Hua–Yi distinction. Sima Qian also mentioned Xiongnu's early appearance north of Wild Goose Gate and Dai commanderies before 265 BC, just before the Zhao-Xiongnu War; however, sinologist Edwin Pulleyblank (1994) contends that pre-241-BC references to the Xiongnu are anachronistic substitutions for the Hu people instead. Sometimes the Xiongnu were distinguished from other nomadic peoples; namely, the Hu people; yet on other occasions, Chinese sources often just classified the Xiongnu as a Hu people, which was a blanket term for nomadic people. Even Sima Qian was inconsistent: in the chapter "Hereditary House of Zhao", he considered the Donghu to be the Hu proper, yet elsewhere he considered Xiongnu to be also Hu.
Ancient China often came in contact with the Xianyun and the Xirong nomadic peoples. In later Chinese historiography, some groups of these peoples were believed to be the possible progenitors of the Xiongnu people. These nomadic people often had repeated military confrontations with the Shang and especially the Zhou, who often conquered and enslaved the nomads in an expansion drift. During the Warring States period, the armies from the Qin, Zhao and Yan states were encroaching and conquering various nomadic territories that were inhabited by the Xiongnu and other Hu peoples.
Pulleyblank argued that the Xiongnu were part of a Xirong group called Yiqu, who had lived in Shaanbei and had been influenced by China for centuries, before they were driven out by the Qin dynasty. Qin's campaign against the Xiongnu expanded Qin's territory at the expense of the Xiongnu. After the unification of Qin dynasty, Xiongnu was a threat to the northern border of Qin. They were likely to attack the Qin dynasty when they suffered natural disasters.
State formation
The first known Xiongnu leader was Touman, who reigned between 220 and 209 BC. In 215 BC, Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang sent General Meng Tian on a military campaign against the Xiongnu. Meng Tian defeated the Xiongnu and expelled them from the Ordos Loop, forcing Touman and the Xiongnu to flee north into the Mongolian Plateau. In 210 BC, Meng Tian died, and in 209 BC, Touman's son Modu became the Xiongnu chanyu.
In order to protect the Xiongnu from the threat of the Qin dynasty, Modu Chanyu united the Xiongnu into a powerful confederation. This transformed the Xiongnu into a more formidable polity, able to form larger armies and exercise improved strategic coordination. The Qin dynasty fell in 207 BC, and was replaced by the Western Han dynasty in 202 BC after a period of internal conflict. This period of Chinese instability was a time of prosperity for the Xiongnu, who adopted many Han agriculture techniques such as slaves for heavy labor and lived in Han-style homes.
right|thumb|300px|A gold crown belonging to a Xiongnu king, from the early Xiongnu period. Seen at the top of a crown is an eagle with a turquoise head.
After forging internal unity, Modu Chanyu expanded the Xiongnu empire in all directions. To the north he conquered a number of nomadic peoples, including the Dingling of southern Siberia. He crushed the power of the Donghu people of eastern Mongolia and Manchuria as well as the Yuezhi in the Hexi Corridor of Gansu, where his son, Jizhu, made a skull cup out of the Yuezhi king. Modu also retook the original homeland of Xiongnu on the Yellow River, which had previously been taken by the Qin general Meng Tian. Under Modu's leadership, the Xiongnu became powerful enough to threaten the Han dynasty.
In 200 BC, Modu besieged the first Han dynasty emperor Gaozu (Gao-Di) with his 320,000-strong army at Peteng Fortress in Baideng (present-day Datong, Shanxi). After Gaozu (Gao-Di) agreed to all Modu's terms, such as ceding the northern provinces to the Xiongnu and paying annual taxes, he was allowed to leave the siege. Although Gaozu was able to return to his capital Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), Modu occasionally threatened the Han's northern frontier and finally in 198 BC, a peace treaty was settled.
Xiongnu in their expansion drove their western neighbour Yuezhi from the Hexi Corridor in year 176 BC, killing the Yuezhi king and asserting their presence in the Western Regions.
By the time of Modu's death in 174 BC, the Xiongnu were recognized as the most prominent of the nomads bordering the Han empire According to the Book of Han, later quoted in Duan Chengshi's ninth-century Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang:
Xiongnu hierarchy
thumb|upright|Xiongnu chief, 2nd century BC – 1st century AD. Reconstruction by archaeologist [[A. N. Podushkin, in the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan.]]
The ruler of the Xiongnu was called the chanyu. Under him were the tuqi kings. (Chinese: 龍城; Mongolian: Luut; lit. "Dragon City") became the annual meeting place and served as the Xiongnu capital. The ruins of Longcheng were found south of Ulziit District, Arkhangai Province, in 2017.
North of Shanxi with the Tuqi King of the Left was holding the area north of Beijing and the Tuqi King of the Right was holding the Ordos Loop area as far as Gansu.
Marriage diplomacy with Han dynasty
In the winter of 200 BC, following a Xiongnu siege of Taiyuan, Emperor Gaozu of Han personally led a military campaign against Modu Chanyu. At the Battle of Baideng, he was ambushed, reputedly by Xiongnu cavalry. The emperor was cut off from supplies and reinforcements for seven days, only narrowly escaping capture.
The Han dynasty sent commoner women falsely labeled as "princesses" and members of the Han imperial family to the Xiongnu multiple times when they were practicing Heqin () marriage alliances with the Xiongnu in order to avoid sending the emperor's daughters. The Han sent these "princesses" to marry Xiongnu leaders in their efforts to stop the border raids. Along with arranged marriages, the Han sent gifts to bribe the Xiongnu to stop attacking. After the defeat at Pingcheng in 200 BC, the Han emperor abandoned a military solution to the Xiongnu threat. Instead, in 198 BC, the courtier was dispatched for negotiations. The peace settlement eventually reached between the parties included a Han princess given in marriage to the chanyu; periodic gifts to the Xiongnu of silk, distilled beverages and rice; equal status between the states; and a boundary wall as a mutual border.
thumb|upright=1.35|left|A traveling nomad family led by a man in belted jacket and trousers, pulling a nomadic cart. Belt Buckle, Mongolia or southern Siberia, dated to 2nd–1st century BC (Xiongnu period).
thumb|left|upright=1.35|Belt plaque with design of wrestling men, [[Ordos Plateau|Ordos region and western part of North China, 2nd century BC, bronze - Ethnological Museum, Berlin. According to Frankfort, the wrestlers are Xiongnu, and their horses have Xiongnu-type horse trappings.]]
This first treaty set the pattern for relations between the Han and the Xiongnu for sixty years. Up to 135 BC, the treaty was renewed nine times, each time with an increase in the "gifts" to the Xiongnu Empire. In 192 BC, Modun even asked for the hand of Emperor Gaozu of Han widow Empress Lü Zhi. His son and successor, the energetic Jiyu, known as Laoshang Chanyu, continued his father's expansionist policies. Laoshang succeeded in negotiating terms with Emperor Wen for the maintenance of a large scale government sponsored market system.
While the Xiongnu benefited handsomely, from the Chinese perspective marriage treaties were costly, very humiliating and ineffective. Laoshang Chanyu showed that he did not take the peace treaty seriously. On one occasion his scouts penetrated to a point near Chang'an. In 166 BC he personally led 140,000 cavalry to invade Anding, reaching as far as the imperial retreat at Yong. In 158 BC, his successor sent 30,000 cavalry to attack Shangdang and another 30,000 to Yunzhong.
The Xiongnu also practiced marriage alliances with Han dynasty officers and officials who defected to their side by marrying off sisters and daughters of the chanyu to Han Chinese who joined the Xiongnu and Xiongnu in Han service. The daughter of Laoshang Chanyu (and older sister of Junchen Chanyu and Yizhixie Chanyu) was married to the Xiongnu General Zhao Xin, the Marquis of Xi who was serving the Han dynasty. The daughter of Qiedihou Chanyu was married to the Han Chinese General Li Ling after he surrendered and defected. Another Han Chinese General who defected to the Xiongnu was Li Guangli, a general in the War of the Heavenly Horses, who also married a daughter of the Hulugu Chanyu. The Han Chinese diplomat Su Wu married a Xiongnu woman given by Li Ling when he was arrested and taken captive. Han Chinese explorer Zhang Qian married a Xiongnu woman and had a child with her when he was taken captive by the Xiongnu.
The khagans of the Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate claimed descent from the Chinese general Li Ling, grandson of the Han dynasty general Li Guang. Li Ling was captured by the Xiongnu and defected in the first century BC. And since the Tang royal Li family also claimed descent from Li Guang, the Kirghiz Khagan was therefore recognized as a member of the Tang Imperial family. This relationship soothed the relationship when Kyrgyz khagan Are (阿熱) invaded Uyghur Khaganate and executed Qasar Qaghan. The news brought to Chang'an by Kyrgyz ambassador Zhuwu Hesu (註吾合素).
Han–Xiongnu wars
thumb|upright=1.15|The [[Han dynasty in 2 AD]]
The Han dynasty made preparations for war when the Emperor Wu dispatched Zhang Qian to explore the mysterious kingdoms to the west and to form an alliance with the Yuezhi people in order to combat the Xiongnu. During this time Zhang married a Xiongnu wife, who bore him a son, and gained the trust of the Xiongnu leader.]]
Major logistical difficulties limited the duration and long-term continuation of these campaigns. According to the analysis of Yan You (嚴尤), the difficulties were twofold. Firstly there was the problem of supplying food across long distances. Secondly, the weather in the northern Xiongnu lands was difficult for Han soldiers, who could never carry enough fuel. According to official reports, the Xiongnu lost 80,000 to 90,000 men, and out of the 140,000 horses the Han forces had brought into the desert, fewer than 30,000 returned to the Han Empire.
In 104 and 102 BC, the Han fought and won the War of the Heavenly Horses against the Kingdom of Dayuan. As a result, the Han gained many Ferghana horses which further aided them in their battle against the Xiongnu. As a result of these battles, the Han Empire controlled the strategic region from the Ordos and Gansu corridor to Lop Nor. They succeeded in separating the Xiongnu from the Qiang peoples to the south, and also gained direct access to the Western Regions. Because of strong Han control over the Xiongnu, the Xiongnu became unstable and were no longer a threat to the Han Empire.
Xiongnu Civil War (60–53 BC)
thumb|Depiction of a Xiongnu horseman on a bronze plaque.
When a chanyu died, power could pass to his younger brother if his son was not of age. This system normally kept an adult male on the throne, but could cause trouble in later generations when there were several lineages that might claim the throne. When Xulüquanqu Chanyu died in 60 BC, power was taken by Woyanqudi, a grandson of Xulüquanqu's cousin. Being something of a usurper, he tried to put his own men in power, which only increased his number of his enemies. Xulüquanqu's son fled east and, in 58 BC, revolted. Few would support Woyanqudi and he was driven to suicide, leaving the rebel son, Huhanye, as the chanyu. The Woyanqudi faction then set up his brother, Tuqi, as chanyu in 58 BC. In 57 BC three more men declared themselves chanyu. Two dropped their claims in favor of the third who was defeated by Tuqi in that year and surrendered to Huhanye the following year. In 56 BC Tuqi was defeated by Huhanye and committed suicide, but two more claimants appeared: Runzhen and Huhanye's elder brother Zhizhi Chanyu. Runzhen was killed by Zhizhi in 54 BC, leaving only Zhizhi and Huhanye. Zhizhi grew in power, and, in 53 BC, Huhanye moved south and submitted to the Chinese. Huhanye used Chinese support to weaken Zhizhi, who gradually moved west. In 49 BC, a brother to Tuqi set himself up as chanyu and was killed by Zhizhi. In 36 BC, Zhizhi was killed by a Chinese army while trying to establish a new kingdom in the far west near Lake Balkhash.
Tributary relations with the Han
In 53 BC Huhanye decided to enter into tributary relations with Han China. The original terms insisted on by the Han court were that, first, the Chanyu or his representatives should come to the capital to pay homage; secondly, the Chanyu should send a hostage prince; and thirdly, the Chanyu should present tribute to the Han emperor. The political status of the Xiongnu in the Chinese world order was reduced from that of a "brotherly state" to that of an "outer vassal" (外臣).
thumb|right|upright=1.5|Bronze seal of a Xiongnu chief, conferred by the Eastern Han government. Inscribed 漢匈奴/歸義親/漢長 ("The Chief of the Han Xiongnu, who have returned to righteousness and embraced the Han"). Seal, impression, and transcription in standard characters.
Huhanye sent his son, the "wise king of the right" Shuloujutang, to the Han court as hostage. In 51 BC he personally visited Chang'an to pay homage to the emperor on the Lunar New Year. In the same year, another envoy Qijushan was received at the Ganquan Palace in the north-west of modern Shanxi. On the financial side, Huhanye was amply rewarded in large quantities of gold, cash, clothes, silk, horses and grain for his participation. Huhanye made two further homage trips, in 49 BC and 33 BC; with each one the imperial gifts were increased. On the last trip, Huhanye took the opportunity to ask to be allowed to become an imperial son-in-law. As a sign of the decline in the political status of the Xiongnu, Emperor Yuan refused, giving him instead five ladies-in-waiting. One of them was Wang Zhaojun, famed in Chinese folklore as one of the Four Beauties.
When Zhizhi learned of his brother's submission, he also sent a son to the Han court as hostage in 53 BC. Then twice –in 51 BC and 50 BC– he sent envoys to the Han court with tribute. But having failed to pay homage personally, he was never admitted to the tributary system. In 36 BC, a junior officer named Chen Tang, with the help of Gan Yanshou, protector-general of the Western Regions, assembled an expeditionary force that defeated him at the Battle of Zhizhi and sent his head as a trophy to Chang'an.
Tributary relations were discontinued during the reign of Huduershi (18–48 AD), corresponding to the political upheavals of the Xin dynasty. The Xiongnu took the opportunity to regain control of the western regions, as well as neighboring peoples such as the Wuhuan. In 24 AD, Hudershi even talked about reversing the tributary system.
Southern Xiongnu and Northern Xiongnu
thumb|Belt hook depicting an animal fight, Xiongnu, 200–100 BC, bronze. Östasiatiska museet, [[Stockholm.]]
The Xiongnu's new power was met with a policy of appeasement by Emperor Guangwu. At the height of his power, Huduershi even compared himself to his illustrious ancestor, Modu. Due to growing regionalism among the Xiongnu, however, Huduershi was never able to establish unquestioned authority. In contravention of a principle of fraternal succession established by Huhanye, Huduershi designated his son Punu as heir-apparent. However, as the eldest son of the preceding chanyu, Bi (Pi)—the Rizhu King of the Right—had a more legitimate claim. Consequently, Bi refused to attend the annual meeting at the chanyus court. Nevertheless, in 46 AD, Punu ascended the throne.
In 48 AD, a confederation of eight Xiongnu tribes in Bi's power base in the south, with a military force totalling 40,000 to 50,000 men, seceded from Punu's kingdom and acclaimed Bi as chanyu. This kingdom became known as the Southern Xiongnu ().
Northern Xiongnu
The rump kingdom under Punu, around the Orkhon (modern north central Mongolia) became known as the Northern Xiongnu (), with Punu, becoming known as the Northern Chanyu. In 49 AD, the Northern Xiongnu was dealt a heavy defeat to the Southern Xiongnu. That same year, Zhai Tong, a Han governor of Liaodong also enticed the Wuhuan and Xianbei into attacking the Northern Xiongnu. Soon, Punu began sending envoys on several separate occasions to negotiate peace with the Han dynasty, but made little to no progress.
In the 60s, the Northern Xiongnu resumed hostilities as they attempted to expand their influence into the Western Regions and launched raids on the Han borders. In 73, the Han responded by sending Dou Gu and Geng Chong to lead a great expedition against the Northern Xiongnu in the Tarim Basin. The expedition, which saw the exploits of the famed general, Ban Chao, was initially successful, but the Han had to temporarily withdraw in 75 due to matters back home. Ban Chao remained behind and maintained Chinese influence over the Western Regions before his death in 102.
thumb|upright=1.35|Southern and Northern Xiongnu in 200 AD, before the collapse of the [[Han dynasty.]]
Southern Xiongnu
thumb|upright|Xiongnu cauldron, [[Eastern Han]]
Coincidentally, the Southern Xiongnu were plagued by natural disasters and misfortunes—notwithstanding the threat posed by Punu. Hence, in 50 AD, the Southern Xiongnu submitted to tributary relations with Han China. The Chanyu was ordered to establish his court in Meiji County, Xihe Commandery while his followers were resettled in eight frontier commanderies. At the same time, large numbers of Chinese were also resettled in these commanderies, in mixed Han-Xiongnu settlements. Economically, the Southern Xiongnu became reliant on trade with the Han and annual subsidies from the Chinese court.
The Southern Xiongnu served as auxiliaries in defending the northern frontier from nomadic forces and even played a role in defeating the Northern Xiongnu. However, even with the fall of their northern counterpart, they continued to suffer the brunt of incessant raids, this time by the Xianbei people of the steppe. In addition to the poor climate and living conditions of the frontiers, their politics were also interfered with by the Chinese court, who often installed chanyus who were partial towards Han interests. As a result, the Southern Xiongnu rebelled from time to time, occasionally joining forces with the Wuhuan and receiving support from the Xianbei.
During the late 2nd century AD, the Chanyu began sending his people to deal with the Han's internal matters; first against the Yellow Turban Rebellion and then against the Wuhuan in Hebei in 188. Many of the Xiongnu feared that his actions would set a precedent for unending military service to the Han court. At the time, another vassal, the Xiuchuge, had rebelled in Bingzhou and killed the provincial inspector. Subsequently, a rebellious faction among the Southern Xiongnu allied with them and killed the Chanyu as well. The Han court appointed his son, Yufuluo, entitled Chizhi Shizhu, to succeed him, but he was expelled from his territory by the rebels.
Yufuluo travelled to Luoyang to seek aid from the Han court, but the court was in disorder from the clash between Grand General He Jin and the eunuchs, and the eventual intervention of the warlord Dong Zhuo. The Chanyu later settled down with his followers around Pingyang, east of the Fen River in Shanxi, where he died and was succeeded by his brother Huchuquan in 195. Meanwhile, the rebels initially elected their own chanyu, but after he died just a year into his reign, they left the position vacant and had an elderly nominal king put in his place. As the chanyu authority dissipated, many of the Southern Xiongnu tribes broke away and avoided the ongoing Han civil war. Yufuluo's group and the Xiuchuge were drawn into the conflict and were later subdued by the warlord Cao Cao.'
The Southern Xiongnu upheaval caused several frontier commanderies such as Shuofang and Yunzhong to be lost to hostile tribes, prompting Cao Cao to abolish and abandon them. In 216, he detained Huchuquan in the city of Ye and reorganized the last vestiges of the Southern Xiongnu into the Five Divisions (; Left, Right, South, North and Centre) around Taiyuan Commandery in modern-day Shanxi, bringing them closer to the Chinese court's influence. The office of chanyu remained with Huchuquan at Ye until his death, after which it became vacant. The Five Divisions were placed under the supervision of his uncle, Qubei, with each division being led by a local chief, who in turn was under the surveillance of a Chinese resident. This was aimed at preventing the tribes in Shanxi from engaging in rebellion, and also allowed Cao Cao to use them as auxiliaries in his cavalry.
Descendants and later states in northern China
Fang Xuanling's Book of Jin lists nineteen Xiongnu tribes that resettled within the Great Wall: Chuge (屠各), Xianzhi (鮮支), Koutou (寇頭), Wutan (烏譚), Chile (赤勒), Hanzhi (捍蛭), Heilang (黑狼), Chisha (赤沙), Yugang (鬱鞞), Weisuo (萎莎), Tutong (禿童), Bomie (勃蔑), Qiangqu (羌渠), Helai (賀賴), Zhongqin (鐘跂), Dalou (大樓), Yongqu (雍屈), Zhenshu (真樹) and Lijie (力羯). Among the nineteen tribes, the Chuge, also known as the Xiuchuge, were the most honored and prestigious.
With the fall of the Southern Xiongnu, the Xiongnu name gradually fell out of use and disappeared among their descendants, as they were instead lumped into various miscellaneous "Hu" or "barbarian" groups (; záhú). The politics of the Five Divisions was dominated by the Chuge, becoming the new label for their people, while outside of the group, the Xiongnu tribes intermixed among themselves as well as with the surrounding Han Chinese, Xianbei, Wuhuan and other ethnicities. Many of them adopted Chinese family names such as Liu, which was especially prevalent among the Five Divisions.'
Nonetheless, the Xiongnu are often classified in historiography as one of the "Five Barbarians" of the Sixteen Kingdoms period, as the Han-Zhao (Chuge/Luandi), Northern Liang (Lushuihu) and Helian Xia (Tiefu) were all established by families with Xiongnu roots. The founder of the Later Zhao, Shi Le was also a descendant of the Qiangqu tribe, but by his time, he and his people were known as the Jie, who are considered separate from the Xiongnu within the Five Barbarians category.
Han-Zhao dynasty (304–329)
thumb|The [[Han-Zhao|Han-Zhao dynasty in 317 AD, shortly after the fall of the Western Jin dynasty.]]
The Five Divisions eventually grew tired of subservience and attempted to reassert their own power. The Commander of the Left Division, Liu Bao briefly unified them during the mid-3rd century before the Cao Wei and the Western Jin courts intervened and forced them back into five. To further ensure their loyalty, nobles of the Five Divisions had to send their children to the Chinese capital, Luoyang as hostages, where they became sinicized and accustomed to Confucian scholar culture. They were even allowed to hold government offices, but their status remained low compared to their Chinese peers. At the turn of the 4th century, the Western Jin fell into a series of princely civil war, and as the Jin military deteriorated, the princes looked towards the frontier vassal tribes to replenish their forces. Under these circumstances, the Five Divisions plotted to breakaway in 304.
The conspirators acclaimed Liu Yuan, the son of Liu Bao and a general under one of the Jin princes, as the leader of their rebellion. After deceiving his prince that he would bring the Five Divisions as reinforcements, Liu Yuan returned to Shanxi and was welcomed by his people as the Grand Chanyu. Later that year, he declared himself the King of Han. Modern scholars suggest that Liu Yuan was a Chuge, but in contemporary records, he claimed direct descent from the Southern Xiongnu chanyus through Yufuluo. For legitimacy, he depicted his state as a continuation of the Han dynasty, citing that his alleged ancestors were married to Han princesses through heqin since the time of Emperor Gaozu. He adopted the Chinese system of rule for his government and allowed the ethnic Han and non-Chinese tribes to serve under him. He later elevated his title to Emperor of Han and settled at Pingyang as his capital. or that they specifically descended from the Sogdian, Lesser Yuezhi, or Ket people.
The earliest recorded Jie was Shi Le. He was initially a slave to a Chinese magnate before joining Liu Yuan's rebellion and rising through the ranks, eventually becoming powerful enough to breakaway and establish the Later Zhao dynasty in 319. As Later Zhao triumphed over Former Zhao and conquered most of northern China, Shi Le incorporated the Jie and other Hu groups into his core in the Hebei region and granted them privileged positions as Guoren (國人; "countryman"). The Jie and Hu dominated the north for a time, but ethnic tension was evident between them and the common Han Chinese people, especially during the oppressive reign of Shi Hu. When the Later Zhao fell into civil war in 349, the Chinese paramount general, Ran Min, issued an infamous massacre by offering to reward any Han Chinese for every Jie or Hu person they killed. Around 200,000 people died in the massacre, and the Later Zhao was destroyed two years later, after which the Jie seemingly disappeared from history.
Tiefu tribe and Helian Xia dynasty (309–431)
thumb|[[Tongwancheng (meaning "Unite All Nations"), was one of the capitals of the Xia that was built during the reign of Helian Bobo, located in present-day Jingbian County, Shaanxi. The ruined city was discovered in 1996 and the State Council designated it as a cultural relic under top state protection. The repair of the Yong'an Platform, where Helian Bobo reviewed parading troops, was completed and restoration on the tall turret follows.]]
The chieftains of the Tiefu tribe descended from Qubei and were distantly related to the Han-Zhao imperial clan. Based on their name, a term for people with Xiongnu fathers and Xianbei mothers, the tribe had likely intermingled with the Xianbei. Records also refer to them as "Wuhuan", which by the 4th-century was a blanket term for Hu groups with Donghu (Xianbei and Wuhuan) backgrounds. In 309, their chieftain, Liu Hu rebelled against the Western Jin in Shanxi but was driven out to Shuofang Commandery in the Ordos Plateau. The Ordos was largely abandoned during the fall of Han and had become home to an assortment of nomadic tribes. After their arrival, the Tiefu grew into a prominent tribe in the region and developed a rivalry with the Xianbei Tuoba tribe of the northern grasslands.
In 392, the Tuoba, ruling as the Northern Wei dynasty, carried out a large-scale assault against the Tiefu that decimated the tribe. Liu Bobo, a surviving member of the Tiefu, went into exile and eventually submitted to the Qiang-led Later Qin, who garrisoned him at Shuofang. The Qin relied on the vassalage of the tribes in Ordos to defend their northern frontier, particularly from the Northern Wei. However, after suffering a pivotal defeat at the Battle of Chaibi, the Qin were coerced into appeasement and conciliation by the Wei. In 407, angered by peace talks between Qin and Wei, Liu Bobo rebelled and united the Ordos tribes through force to establish the Helian Xia dynasty.
Liu Bobo strongly affirmed his Xiongnu lineage; his state name of "Xia" was based on the claim that the Xiongnu's lineage came from the Xia dynasty. He later changed his family name from "Liu" (劉) to the Xiongnu-sounding "Helian" (赫連), believing it inappropriate to follow his matrilineal line from the Han. Helian Bobo placed the Later Qin in a perpetual state of warfare and greatly contributed to its decline. In 418, he brought the empire to its peak by seizing the Guanzhong region from the Eastern Jin dynasty, roughly a year after Jin conquered the Later Qin.
Following Helian Bobo's death in 425, the Xia quickly declined due to increased military pressure from the Northern Wei. In 428, the emperor, Helian Chang and capital were both captured by Wei forces. His brother, Helian Ding succeeded him and vanquished the Western Qin in 431, but that same year, he was ambushed and imprisoned by the Tuyuhun while attempting a campaign against Northern Liang. The Xia was at its end, and the following year, Helian Ding was sent to Wei where he was executed.
Juqu clan and Northern Liang dynasty (401–460)
The Juqu clan were a Lushuihu family that founded the Northern Liang dynasty in modern-day Gansu in 397. There is debate on whether Lushuihu was simply a general term for Hu people living in northwestern China or referred to a specific ethnic group. A leading theory is that the Lushuihu originated from the Lesser Yuezhi that intermingled with the Qiang people, but based on the fact that the Juqu's ancestors once served the Xiongnu empire, the Lushuihu could broadly fall under the umbrella of Xiongnu. The Northern Liang was known for its propagation of Buddhism in the Hexi Corridor through their construction of Buddhist sites such as the Tiantishan and Mogao caves, and for being the last of the Sixteen Kingdoms, falling to the Northern Wei dynasty in 439. The Northern Liang of Gaochang also existed as a rump state between 442 and 460 before they were wiped out by the Rouran Khaganate.
Assimilation and integration
After the Northern Wei unified northern China in 439, the remaining Xiongnu scions continued to intermarry and render military services while rebelling from time to time. The most powerful among these peoples was Erzhu Rong of the Qihu people (契胡; possibly an extraction of the Jie), a general whose clan violently took control of the Northern Wei government in 528–532. A few families among the Xianbei aristocracy also had Xiongnu ancestry, such as the Dugu (a cousin branch of the Tiefu), Helan and Yuwen. The Yuwen notably founded the Western Wei (535–557) and Northern Zhou (557–581) dynasties.
The last prominent offshoot of the Xiongnu was the Jihu people (稽胡), also known as the Buluoji (步落稽) or Mountain Hu (山胡), who inhabited the mountainous areas of Shaanbei and western Shanxi. They were described as being descendants of the Five Divisions, but had thoroughly mixed with the other surrounding ethnic groups of the region for centuries, developing a distinct language and culture while living among the Han Chinese. The Jihu led several revolts against the ruling dynasties and were last mentioned in the 7th century during the Tang dynasty, with their disappearance signifying the Xiongnu's complete assimilation into Chinese society.
Proposed link to the Huns
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