Xiongnu

The Xiongnu () were a nomadic pastoral people of Central Asia, generally based in present day Mongolia. From the 3rd century BC they controlled a vast steppe empire extending west as far as the Caucasus. They were active in the areas of southern Siberia, western Manchuria and the modern Chinese provinces of Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang. Nevertheless their origins and ethnic composition remain unclear.

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Relations between the Chinese and the Xiongnu were complicated and included military conflict, exchanges in tribute and trade, as well as marriage treaties.

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The overwhelming amount of information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources. There is no way of reconstructing any substantial part of the Xiongnu language. What little we know of their titles and names come from Chinese transliterations. The Chinese terms for the people - "Xiongnu" - or its leaders - "chanyu" (??) - presumably reflects the sound of the foreign tongue.

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Central Asia: Central Asia (Russian: ??????? ????/"Srednyaya Azia" for "Middle Asia" or ??????????? ????/"Tsentrallnaya Azia" for "Central Asia"; Mandarin Chinese: ??/ pinyin: "Zh?ngy?"; Arabic: pending/"Asya al Wsta") is a vast landlocked region of Asia. Though various definitions of its exact composition exist,...

Mongolia: :For the region of the same name, see Mongolia (region)...

Steppe: In physical geography, a steppe (from Russian step') is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally reckoned as being dominated by tall grasses, while short grasses are said to be the norm in the steppe. It may be ...