Possibly Xiongnu short sword (duan jian) from Xinjiang 4th-1st C. BCE
"77 BCE: The Kingdom of Loulan was situated at the eastern most extreme of the Western Regions and was the closest Kingdom to Han (Loulan and Dunhuang were separated by four hundred km); separating the two kingdoms was a vast desert - the Beilongdui Desert (the desert is 20,000 sq. km in area). There was a dire lack of water sources in the surrounding areas and the people of Loulan had often been given the task of supplying water and transportation of food and fodders to help the Han envoys traveling to and from the Western Regions. These Han bureaucrats and envoys were mostly ferocious like brigands and atrocious to boot, finally the people at Loulan having been persistently pestered and battered by such unsavory treatments could bear them no longer and started to drift away from Han. When Xiongnu instigated by plodding discord Loulan finally broke all diplomatic ties with Han and started to kill Han envoys.
Meanwhile, a Fine Steed Superintendent - Fu Jiezi was ordered to carry out an envoy mission to Dayuan, the Han Court had asked him to investigate into why Loulan and Quizi kingdoms had abruptly switched loyalty. When Fu Jiezi arrived at Loulan and Quizi both kings had assuredly expressed penitence for having defected over to the Xiongnu. On his passage back from Dayuan, Fu Jiezi and his entourage while traversing through the Kingdom of Quizi unexpectedly came across a Xiongnu envoy entourage returning from a mission to Wusun, the Han envoys ambushed it; cutting down the group to the last man".
-Wars with the Xiongnu according to Zizhi Tongjian, translated by Joseph P. Yap
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| Possibly Xiongnu short sword (Duan Jian) from Xinjiang 4th-1st C. BCE. L. 26 3/8 in. (67 cm); W. 2 in. (5.1 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 6.5 oz. (637.9 g). Medium: Steel, bronze, gold. MET Museum says they aren't able to identify which culture this sword was affiliated with but that one similar example was found in Yunan (southern modern-day China) and many other similar examples were found in Ningxia (northern modern-day China) indicating it seems to have originated from Ningxia. Ningxia was initially inhabited by nomads, such as Scythians and Xiongnu. Later, the Qin & Han Dynasties invaded the area. Ningxia was a part of the original heartland of the Xiongnu and they formally controlled it for most of this time period, so this is quite possibly a Xiongnu sword. Will update if I learn anything more concrete. |
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Wars with the Xiongnu according to Zizhi Tongjian, translated by Joseph P. Yap
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