Xiongnu

The Xiongnu were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209 BC, founded the Xiongnu Empire. After overthrowing their previous overlords, the Yuezhi, they became the dominant power on the steppes of East Asia, centred on the Mongolian Plateau, and were also active in parts of Siberia, Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang. Their relations with the Chinese dynasties to the south-east alternated between peace, war and subjugation, and they were finally defeated by the Han dynasty in a centuries-long conflict that split the confederation in two and led to the resettlement of many Xiongnu within Han borders. Most of what is known comes from Chinese sources, and the ethnic core of the Xiongnu remains a subject of varied and disputed hypotheses.