After being weakened and divided by the Han Dynasty, a part of the Xiongnu decided to migrate to the west, opening a whole new page in history for this warlike nation.
Around the years 48 to 60 AD, the Xiongnu basically became weak and exhausted after successive defeats against the Han, which resulted in the empire being split into two territories in turn. individual.
Map of the territory of North and South Xiongnu after being divided by the Han Dynasty.
At this point, the once mighty Xiongnu empire was completely overwhelmed by the Han dynasty. In order to continue to exist, the Xiongnu tribes have chosen for themselves 3 separate paths: some stay in the old place and harmonize with other ethnic minorities in the north, others go south to submit to the people. Han, Southern Xiongnu and the rest began a long journey west.
The Xiongnu territory in the south was considered an autonomous region by the Han Dynasty. The chanyu here became the vassals of the Han king and had to pay regular tribute, although some of them still rebelled against the oppression of the Han people, notably the uprising of the Zen wu An. Kingdom in 94.
In 216, Cao Cao re-divisioned the entire Southern Xiongnu territory into 5 sets: left, right, north, central, and south. Each ministry was allowed to appoint one person from the Xiongnu nobility as its leader, but had to be placed under the supervision of a Han official. This was to prevent the seeds of rebellion from the Xiongnu exiles, as well as to allow Cao Cao to freely use the Xiongnu as auxiliary forces for his cavalry.
The Southern Xiongnu completely surrendered and became an autonomous territory of China.
These upheavals indirectly accelerated the Sinicization of the Xiongnu in the South. Most of the Xiongnu aristocracy here changed to the surname Liu, and at the same time dressed and learned the lifestyle of the Han people to maintain their prestige and prestige. Many Southern Xiongnu nobles also claimed to be related to the Han royal family.
The Xiongnu also settled in the northern steppes known collectively as the Northern Xiongnu . Although still outside the control of the Chinese dynasties, in the face of continuous attacks by the Han and Southern Xiongnu between 89 and 91, the Northern Xiongnu could not resist and were forced to practice large-scale migrations to the west.
The great migration of the Xiongnu started from the Mongolian plateau, passed through Xinjiang, then into Central Asia, across the vast steppe region of southern Russia, and finally stopped in the Danube basin. in Eastern Europe, with a travel distance of more than 10,000 km, and a period of nearly 300 years.
The entire westward migration of the Xiongnu was slow and gradual, divided into three main stages: the first period, from 91 to 160, mainly reached areas of present-day Xinjiang. ; the second, from 160 to 373, to the regions from the Aral Sea to the basins of the Volga and East Rivers of Russia, and the third, from 374 to 468, to Eastern Europe with settlement area mainly in the territory of present-day Hungary.
The Northern Xiongnu made a great journey to the West, traveling 10,000km over 300 years.
The first migration of the Northern Xiongnu to the west was marked by the conquest of the kingdom of Wun – one of the 36 ancient countries in the Western Region (now in the territories of Xinjiang, east of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan), and settled there for 70 years. During this time, the Northern Xiongnu twice sent emissaries to Eastern Han to request reconciliation in 105 and 106, but were refused.
The appearance of the Xiongnu in this area is confirmed by archaeologists through the discovery of their tombs in the northern regions of Xinjiang, from Lake Barkol to the Turfan boundary, and from the Hoa Tinh region. , Xinjiang to the eastern regions of the territory of Kazakhstan.
Around AD 160, the Northern Xiongnu were attacked by the Xianxi and recaptured parts of the former kingdom of Wun. The Xiongnu had to continue to migrate to more remote territories in Central Asia.
During this period, although the Xiongnu have long disappeared from Chinese history, there was the first appearance of European historical documents called “Huns” , with records of invasions. in Central Asia and Eastern Europe in the 4th century AD.
During a period of 100 years, the Xiongnu also fought many times with the dynasties of Persia, Mesopotamia, and even with the northern kingdoms of India for a long time, so it was named by Indian historians. for the names “Huna” or “Sita Huna “.
The Xiongnu repeatedly waged war against Persia and the northern Indian kingdoms in Central Asia.
The Roman historian Amianas recorded the fall of the kingdom of the Alans (an ancient nomadic people of Central Asia, closely related to the Persians) to the invasion of the Xiongnu: “In the year 350 AD, two armies of the Xiongnu and Alan fought fiercely along the coast. The Xiongnu were victorious, King Alan was killed, the Alan kingdom was destroyed, and the surviving Alans either surrendered to the Xiongnu or fled to Rome. After the destruction of the Alan kingdom, the Xiongnu continued to move westward to the Volga and Don rivers for a few years, to continue to attack Europe.
From 374, the Xiongnu continued to move westward and invade Eastern Goth, one of the two kingdoms of the ancient Germanic tribes in the Danube basin, next to the Western Goth, in present-day Romania and Hungary. . That was the time when Europe trembled before the hooves of nomads from the east.
The first impression of the Xiongnu in Europe was the successful conquest of Eastern Goth territory.
After the destruction of the Eastern Goths, the Western Goths were like birds afraid of bent branches, pulling each other to flee. In 376, they sent representatives to submit to the Western Roman Empire, and was approved by the Western Roman Emperor. From there, the Western Goths flocked into Roman territory and ceded to the Xiongnu the Danube basin.
The Xiongnu, after capturing the Danube basin, continued to massively attack the south, invading the Byzantine Empire as far as the city of Constantinople. In dire circumstances, the Eastern Roman king had to accept submission to the Xiongnu and annually tribute 2,100 taels of gold, and cede most of the Balkan peninsula to them.
In 444, the Xiongnu empire in Europe was officially established in the Danube basin, led by the Zen wu Attila, whom Western historians nicknamed “the whip of God”. The border of the Xiongnu lies across Eurasia, east from the Persian Sea to the west of the Rhine River, to the south to the Balkan Peninsula, to the north by the Baltic Sea. The emperors of Eastern and Western Rome and the chiefs of many small European countries had to submit and pay annual tribute to the Xiongnu empire.
The hooves of the Xiongnu cavalry continued to roam across Europe for another 20 years, until Attila’s death.