Modu Chanyu

Modu, who lived from about 234 to 174 BCE, was the son of Touman and the founder of the Xiongnu empire on the Mongolian Plateau. He first served as a military leader under his father and came to power in 209 BCE by ordering his men to kill him. As chanyu he unified the tribes of the Mongolian-Manchurian grassland, a response to the loss of Xiongnu pasture lands to invading Qin forces under Meng Tian in 215 BCE, and he militarized the confederation and centralized its power. The Qin fell into disarray after the death of its first emperor in 210 BCE, which left him a free hand to expand. His empire reached the Liao River in the east, the Pamir Mountains in the west and Lake Baikal in the north, making it one of the largest of its time. His raids into China led the Chinese dynasty to agree to pay an annual tribute of goods such as silk, grain and rice, and he was succeeded by his son Laoshang.