Man from Ordos (bronze figurine) 3rd-1st C. BCE
"The Xiongnu Huns were expelled from their homeland in the Ordos region (modern Inner Mongolia in northern China) by the First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi, the infamously cruel tyrant who unified China in 221 BC. Qin Shi Huangdi erected the famous Great Wall in order to ward off Hu (nomadic barbarian) invaders from the north and to secure his own territories. Tens of thousands of labourers are said to have perished in order to build the wall. However, the glory of Qin (the state-name from which the modern name China is thought to derive) turned out to be short-lived. The dynasty collapsed in the midst of chaotic rebellion and China descended into a period of anarchy. The Xiongnu under their king Touman (the first Xiongnu ruler whose name appears in the historical record) were able to capitalize on this disorder to make a comeback and reoccupy the Ordos region. At this stage the Xiongnu Huns were only one among many steppe confederacies competing with each other for dominance in the eastern steppes. They were sandwiched between two more powerful Inner Asian steppe peoples: the proto-Mongolic Donghu to the east and the Indo-European Yuezhi to the west. It is in this historical context that the first great conqueror of steppe history emerged onto the annals of Inner Asian history, Modu Chanyu (Shanyu)."
-Kim, Hyun Jin. The Huns (Peoples of the Ancient World) (p. 20). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.
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| Man from Ordos (bronze figurine) 3rd-1st C. BCE. British Museum. |
Source:
Quote:
Kim, Hyun Jin. The Huns (Peoples of the Ancient World) (p. 20). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.
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