The Xiongnu were a confederation of nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppe who formed a powerful state north of China, in what is now Mongolia, Inner Mongolia and southern Siberia. Under the leader Modu Chanyu they created an empire, defeated rival peoples such as the Yuezhi and Donghu, and pressed hard on Han dynasty China, which paid tribute and sent princesses in marriage until Emperor Wu launched large campaigns against them. Rivalry and civil war split the Xiongnu into northern and southern groups in the 1st century CE, and the northern group was eventually defeated by the Han and the Xianbei. Later states in northern China were founded by Xiongnu descendants. Whether they were related to the later Huns is much debated.
Before and after
- from 305 BCE to 30 BCEPtolemaic Kingdom
- 304 BCEBirth of Ashoka
- from 4th century BCE to 5th centuryOrigins of Tanais
- 4th century BCEElements
- from 4th century BCE to 5th centuryXiongnu
- 4th century BCEPublication of Arthashastra
- from 4th century BCE to 4th centuryFounding of Library of Alexandria
- 4th century BCEOrigins of Paris
- 300 BCEFounding of Chankillo
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- from c. 753 BCE to 476 CEAncient Rome
- 7th century BCEConstruction of Hanging Gardens of Babylon
- from 312 BCE to 63 BCESeleucid Empire
- from 279 BCE to 1480Construction of Lighthouse of Alexandria
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires.