Xiongnu

E85577

The Xiongnu were a powerful confederation of nomadic tribes from the eastern Eurasian Steppe who frequently clashed with ancient China and influenced the region’s military and political history.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (3)

Surface form Occurrences
Northern Xiongnu 1
Southern Xiongnu 1
Xiongnu Empire 1

Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf historical people
nomadic tribal confederation
capital Longcheng
conflict Han–Xiongnu War
Qin–Xiongnu conflicts
continent Asia
country China
culturalPractice horse-based warfare
nomadic pastoralism
yurt dwelling
economy horse breeding
long-distance trade
pastoral nomadism
raiding and tribute
ethnicGroupIn China
influenced Chinese frontier policy
Great Wall of China expansion
military reforms of Han dynasty
knownFrom Chinese historical records
archaeological remains
languageFamily possibly Proto-Mongolic
possibly Turkic
mainEnemy Han dynasty
surface form: Eastern Han dynasty

Han dynasty
Qin dynasty
Han dynasty
surface form: Western Han dynasty
militaryStrength light cavalry
mounted archers
notableEvent heqin marriage alliances with Han dynasty
submission of Southern Xiongnu to Han
notableLeader Chanyu
surface form: Huhanye Chanyu

Chanyu
surface form: Laoshang Chanyu

Chanyu
surface form: Modu Chanyu

Chanyu
surface form: Zhizhi Chanyu
notableLeaderTitle Chanyu
politicalStructure steppe empire
tribal confederation
possibleSuccessor Huns
Xianbei
region eastern Eurasian Steppe
successor Xiongnu self-linksurface differs
surface form: Northern Xiongnu

Xiongnu self-linksurface differs
surface form: Southern Xiongnu
timePeriod 1st century BCE
1st century CE
2nd century BCE
2nd century CE
3rd century BCE
usedAnimal camel
horse
usedWeapon composite bow

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

this entity surface form: Xiongnu Empire
Xiongnu successor Xiongnu self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Southern Xiongnu
Xiongnu successor Xiongnu self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Northern Xiongnu