Ordos bronze plaque of a panther 6th-2nd C. BCE
"According to the legend of his rise to power related in Sima Qian’s Shiji, Modu was the unwanted son of a former wife whom Touman, the Xiongnu king, wished to dispose of in order to secure the succession for his favourite son by another wife. The evil father (or maybe uncle given the possibility of collateral succession to the throne among the Xiongnu and other Inner Asian peoples) is said to have plotted the death of the young hero, sending him as a hostage to the neighbouring Yuezhi and then starting a war with the Yuezhi in order to provoke the Yuezhi to slay the unwanted son.
However, Modu’s destiny was to survive and become the first ruler of a unified Inner Asian world. He escaped the trap set by his sinister father by stealing a horse from the Yuezhi and made his way back to the Xiongnu. Touman was forced to recognize his son’s bravery and he appointed Modu the general of 10,000 horsemen. Modu immediately proceeded to secure his position by gaining the absolute obedience of his men. He instructed his men to all shoot their arrows at targets he would set for them and executed anyone who dared to disobey. The targets progressively became more provocative: Modu’s favourite horse, his favourite wife, then the horse of his father, the reigning Chanyu. After securing the absolute fidelity of his men through drastic measures, Modu carried out a merciless coup and assassinated his father by subjecting him to a hail of arrows from his disciplined troops.
This was only the beginning of Modu’s reign of terror. He then ordered the execution of his half-brothers, step-mother and any members of the Xiongnu aristocracy who opposed him. The brutal purge was then followed by an encounter with the formidable Donghu confederacy to the east. The Donghu in order to test the ability of the new Chanyu sent an ambassador to Modu demanding that the Xiongnu hand over the late Touman’s great warhorse. All the Xiongnu nobles begged Modu to reject the impertinent request, but to everyone’s surprise the indomitable Modu gave up the horse described as the ‘treasure’ of the Xiongnu to the Donghu without a second thought. The Donghu became even more insolent and demanded that Modu surrender one of his wives to them. Again Modu complied against the protests of his nobles who wanted to resist.
The Donghu were by now contemptuous of the Xiongnu Chanyu and without organizing any proper defences they went on to demand from the Xiongnu the barren wasteland between them and the Xiongnu nation. The Xiongnu nobles who had earlier seen their king give up the great horse and favourite woman without resistance thought that giving up some useless land would not be a big deal and advised Modu to comply with the Donghu request as before. At this Modu suddenly flew into a rage. Horses and women can be sacrificed for peace, but land is the foundation of the state he declared. He immediately ordered the execution of all the officials who had advised the surrender of territory and swiftly launched an all-out war against the unsuspecting Donghu. The Donghu who had been fooled by Modu’s deception were overwhelmed and incorporated into the Xiongnu Empire."
-Kim, Hyun Jin. The Huns (Peoples of the Ancient World) (pp. 20-23). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.
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| Ordos bronze plaque of a panther 6th-2nd C. BCE. Width 5 cm x Height 4.2 cm. "The nomadic Ordos civilisation and culture occupied the region of modern Mongolia and China, from the 6th century BC until the 2nd century BC. Although being in direct contact with the Chinese Han Dynasty, the Ordos culture was more influenced by the Scythian peoples of the Steppes. The Ordos civilization is primarily known for its craftsmanship in working metals and bronzes. Bronzes such as belt plaques, horse gears and weapons were decorated and modelled inspired by the natural and animal world. Scenes of animals in combat are linked with ancient Near Eastern art traditions." -taken from source website below |
Source:
Quote:
Kim, Hyun Jin. The Huns (Peoples of the Ancient World) (pp. 22-23). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.
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