nomadic confederation · China, Tibet and Mongolia
Southern Xiongnu
Origins
In 48 CE Bi, a grandson of the shanyu Huhanye, led eight Xiongnu tribes to submit to the Han Dynasty and took the title of shanyu, splitting the Xiongnu Empire. In 50 the Han settled his people in the frontier commanderies of the Ordos and northern Shanxi, with the shanyu's court at Meiji.
Rule and society
The Southern Xiongnu kept their own shanyus and aristocratic lineages but were supervised by a Han official, the Protector of the Xiongnu, and received annual gifts of grain and silk. Their cavalry fought for the Han against the Northern Xiongnu and later in the Yellow Turban wars. Over time they took up farming and Chinese ways.
Decline and legacy
In 216 Cao Cao detained the shanyu Huchuquan at Ye and divided the Southern Xiongnu into Five Divisions under Chinese supervision, ending the shanyu's independent authority. In 304 Liu Yuan, a descendant of the shanyus, founded Han Zhao, the first of the Sixteen Kingdoms.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Southern Xiongnu was a vassal of Han Dynasty50 CE – 216 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Southern Xiongnu. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/southern-xiongnu
- MLA
- “Southern Xiongnu.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/southern-xiongnu. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Southern Xiongnu.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/southern-xiongnu.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Southern Xiongnu’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/southern-xiongnu (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻