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The Kidarite (Chinese: Ki-To-Lo) dynasty of the "Ki" clan led the Huna and came from the proto-Mongolic Uar
Uar

Uar, , was the self designation used by the dominant ethnicity of Khwarezm in a confederation known to the Chinese as the Yanda and to the west as the Hephthalites....
 about whom it has been said that their legendary ancestor was Afrasiab
Afrasiab

Afrasiab , is the name of the mythical King and hero of Turan and an archenemy of Iran. It is also the name of a city, referred to Afrosiyob in Uzbek language, in old Samarkand, the second-largest city of modern Uzbekistan....
us. If the Uar were not already present in Turpan, it is thought that when Liu Can
Liu Can

Liu Can , courtesy name Shiguang , Posthumous name Emperor Yin of Han , was an emperor of the History of China/Xiongnu state Han Zhao, who reigned briefly in 318 before being killed by his trusted father-in-law Jin Zhun....
 was overthrown by Jin Zhun
Jin Zhun

Jin Zhun was an official of the History of China/Xiongnu state Han Zhao, who in 318 staged a coup against the Han Zhao emperor and his son-in-law Liu Can and then massacred the imperial Liu family....
, and Shi Le
Shi Le

Shi Le , courtesy name Shilong , formally Emperor Ming of Zhao , was the founding emperor of the History of China/Jie state Later Zhao....
 established his state
Later Zhao

The Later Zhao was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. It was founded by the Shi family of the Jie ethnicity. The Later Zhao was the second in territories to the Former Qin that once unified Northern China under Fu Jian....
, many of the Uar
Uar

Uar, , was the self designation used by the dominant ethnicity of Khwarezm in a confederation known to the Chinese as the Yanda and to the west as the Hephthalites....
 around Pingyang (??, in modern Linfen
Linfen

Linfen is a prefecture-level city in southern Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It is situated along the banks of the Fen River. It was known as Pingyang during the Spring and Autumn Period....
, Shanxi
Shanxi

is a political divisions of China in the North China of the People's Republic of China. Its one-character abbreviation is Jin , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
) fled west along the Silk Road
Silk Road

The Silk Road is an extensive interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent connecting East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean world, including North Africa and Europe....
 causing the Hunas
Hunas

The Huna , as they were known in South Asia, seem to have been part of the Hephthalite group, who established themselves in Afghanistan and Pakistan by the first half of the fifth century, with their capital at Bamyan City....
 to encroach upon Khorasan
Khorasan

Khorasan Khorasan is famous world wide for its saffron and Berberis#Zereshk which are produced in the southern cities of the province. Production is more than 170 tons per year....
 and the frontiers of the Kushan state around 320 AD.

The Kidarite king Grumbat mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus was a cause of much concern to the Persians.






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The Kidarite (Chinese: Ki-To-Lo) dynasty of the "Ki" clan led the Huna and came from the proto-Mongolic Uar
Uar

Uar, , was the self designation used by the dominant ethnicity of Khwarezm in a confederation known to the Chinese as the Yanda and to the west as the Hephthalites....
 about whom it has been said that their legendary ancestor was Afrasiab
Afrasiab

Afrasiab , is the name of the mythical King and hero of Turan and an archenemy of Iran. It is also the name of a city, referred to Afrosiyob in Uzbek language, in old Samarkand, the second-largest city of modern Uzbekistan....
us. If the Uar were not already present in Turpan, it is thought that when Liu Can
Liu Can

Liu Can , courtesy name Shiguang , Posthumous name Emperor Yin of Han , was an emperor of the History of China/Xiongnu state Han Zhao, who reigned briefly in 318 before being killed by his trusted father-in-law Jin Zhun....
 was overthrown by Jin Zhun
Jin Zhun

Jin Zhun was an official of the History of China/Xiongnu state Han Zhao, who in 318 staged a coup against the Han Zhao emperor and his son-in-law Liu Can and then massacred the imperial Liu family....
, and Shi Le
Shi Le

Shi Le , courtesy name Shilong , formally Emperor Ming of Zhao , was the founding emperor of the History of China/Jie state Later Zhao....
 established his state
Later Zhao

The Later Zhao was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. It was founded by the Shi family of the Jie ethnicity. The Later Zhao was the second in territories to the Former Qin that once unified Northern China under Fu Jian....
, many of the Uar
Uar

Uar, , was the self designation used by the dominant ethnicity of Khwarezm in a confederation known to the Chinese as the Yanda and to the west as the Hephthalites....
 around Pingyang (??, in modern Linfen
Linfen

Linfen is a prefecture-level city in southern Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It is situated along the banks of the Fen River. It was known as Pingyang during the Spring and Autumn Period....
, Shanxi
Shanxi

is a political divisions of China in the North China of the People's Republic of China. Its one-character abbreviation is Jin , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
) fled west along the Silk Road
Silk Road

The Silk Road is an extensive interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent connecting East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean world, including North Africa and Europe....
 causing the Hunas
Hunas

The Huna , as they were known in South Asia, seem to have been part of the Hephthalite group, who established themselves in Afghanistan and Pakistan by the first half of the fifth century, with their capital at Bamyan City....
 to encroach upon Khorasan
Khorasan

Khorasan Khorasan is famous world wide for its saffron and Berberis#Zereshk which are produced in the southern cities of the province. Production is more than 170 tons per year....
 and the frontiers of the Kushan state around 320 AD.

The Kidarite king Grumbat mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus was a cause of much concern to the Persians. Between 353 AD and 358 AD, the Xionites
Xionites

File:Tianxia_zh-hant.svgChionites, Chionitae or Xionites were a nomadic tribe prominent in Transoxania and Bactria.Chionites had arrived in the mid-4th century with the wave of immigration from Central Asia into Iran in late antiquity....
 under Grumbat attacked in the eastern frontiers of Shapur II
Shapur II

Shapur II was the ninth King of the Sassanid Empire from 309 to 379. During his long reign, the Sassanid Empire saw its first golden era since the reign of Shapur I ....
's empire along with other nomad tribes. After a prolonged struggle they were forced to conclude a peace, and their king, Grumbate, accompanied Shapur II in the war against the Romans. Victories of Xionites during their campaigns in the Eastern Caspian lands are described by Ammianus Marcellinus:
...Grumbates Chionitarum rex novus aetate quidem media rugosisque membris sed mente quadam grandifica multisque victoriarum insignibus nobilis;
...Grumbates, the new king of the Chionites, while he was middle aged, and his limbs were wrinkled, he was endowed with a mind that acted grandly, and was famous for his many, significant victories."
Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus

Ammianus Marcellinus was a fourth-century Ancient Rome historian. His is the last major historical account of the late Roman empire which survives today....
, 18.6.22.


The southern or "Red" Kidarite vassals to the Kushans in NWFP, became better known as Red Huns from 360 AD after Kidara II
Kidarite Kingdom

There are two different theories regarding the Kidarite kingdom: either it is created in the second half of the 4th c., or in the twenties of the 5th c....
 led a Bactrian portion of Hunni to overthrow the Kushans in India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
. At this time Kidarite Hunni (Kidarites) successfully controlled the length of the Oxus from the Hindu Kush
Hindu Kush

The Hindu Kush is a mountain range located in eastern and central Afghanistan, northwestern Pakistan and northeastern India.The origin of the name Hindu Kush is disputed, despite its coinage apparently dating back no further than c.1330....
 all the way to the Aral Sea
Aral Sea

The Aral Sea is a landlocked endorheic basin in Central Asia; it lies between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south....
.

D.M. Lang (1976) identified the Kidarites with the Kazar and Kudrigur proto-Bulgarians involved in causing Hunnic migrations across the Volga into Europe around 463 according to their envoy Priscus
Priscus

Priscus was from Panium living in the Roman Empire during the 5th century. He was a diplomat, sophist and historian. He accompanied Maximin, the ambassador of Theodosius II, to the court of Attila the Hun in 448....
.

Kidara's southern Xionites were the first "Hunas
Hunas

The Huna , as they were known in South Asia, seem to have been part of the Hephthalite group, who established themselves in Afghanistan and Pakistan by the first half of the fifth century, with their capital at Bamyan City....
" to bother India. Indian records note that the Huna had established themselves in Afghanistan
Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia....
 and NWFP in present day Pakistan
Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia and borders Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046 kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and People's Republic of China in th...
 by the first half of the fifth century, and the Gupta emperor Skandagupta
Skandagupta

Skandagupta was a ruler of northern India under the Gupta dynasty. He is generally considered the last of the great Gupta Emperors. He faced some of the greatest challenges in the annals of the empire having to contend with the Pushyamitras and the Hunas....
 had repelled a Huna invasion in 455.

White Huns


As a result of "vultures" descending upon them in Transoxiana, the Kidarite powerbase moved from Southern "Red" Hunuk to Western "White" Khiva in 460 where the Hephthal dynasty was established by Khingila I
Khingila I

Khingila I c.430-490 apparently of the "Haital" tribe from Kushan , contemporary with Akhshunwar in Khwarezm.In response to this migration of the Wusun from Balkhash to the Pamir region Khingila united the Uar and the Xiyon in 460AD establishing his Hepthalite dynasty....
. At this point Kidarites became known once more as White Huns.

The Greek envoy Rhetor often referred to the west Turanian "White" Huns as Kidarite Xionites while in India, the Kidarite Xionites became known as Sveta-Huna meaning "White Huns" when they united with the Uar
Uar

Uar, , was the self designation used by the dominant ethnicity of Khwarezm in a confederation known to the Chinese as the Yanda and to the west as the Hephthalites....
 under the Hepthalite clan. They were said to have been of fair complexion according to Procopius
Procopius

Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine Empire scholar of the family Procopius . A participant himself in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he was the major historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History....
, although according to the central Asian order of cosmic precedence, White Huns would simply mean Western Huns (as the name Xiyon actually implies).

Although they fought against the Sassanians, early 5th century "OIONO" coins (thought to have been minted by Xionite rulers) imitate Sassanian drachmas. For more information on coins see Alchon.

The Kidarite Xionites flourished under the Hephthalites, until something forced them to migrate from Khiva to Itil under Kandik in the mid 6th century. Not long afterwards, the Hephthalites remaining in Turkmenistan submitted to Gokturk rule in 567AD.

Relation to other "Huns"

The Huns
Huns

The Huns were a confederation of Central Asian Eurasian nomads or semi-nomads, who had established an empire in Eurasia. The Huns may have stimulated the Migration Period, a contributing factor in the collapse of the Roman Empire....
 already present on the Black Sea Steppes might not have been as closely related to the northern Black Desert
Karakum Desert

The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara Gum is a desert in Central Asia. It occupies about 70 percent, or 350,000 km?, of the area of Turkmenistan....
 "Kidarite Xionites
Xionites

File:Tianxia_zh-hant.svgChionites, Chionitae or Xionites were a nomadic tribe prominent in Transoxania and Bactria.Chionites had arrived in the mid-4th century with the wave of immigration from Central Asia into Iran in late antiquity....
" and their related Alchon or Hunas
Hunas

The Huna , as they were known in South Asia, seem to have been part of the Hephthalite group, who established themselves in Afghanistan and Pakistan by the first half of the fifth century, with their capital at Bamyan City....
 as is usually presumed. Though the Chronicles of Kiev do mention how the Ki clan founded Kiev after subjugating the eastern Hunno-Bulgars who subsequently became known as the Kazarig
Kazarig

Kotzarig or Cozarig, a name intricately associated with Ukraine, was, according to Sandilch, the second son of Ernakh after whom the Kozarigurs were named, Ernakh's second son being Utig after whom the Utigurs were named....
s. In Europe the Kidarites became known as the Avar Huns, first mentioned in Balkan province of Turkmenistan attacking the Sabir
Sabir

The Sabir people inhabited the Caspian Depression prior to the arrival of the Eurasian Avars. They appear to have been a Turkic peoples people, possibly of Hun origin....
s in 460 AD and who the following century (in 557) entered Europe under the leadership of Kandik
Kandik

Kandik was a Pseudo-Avar khagan between 554 and 559. He led his people as refugees away from the Turks and approached Sarosios to mediate for him with the Byzantine Empire in 557....
. Because of their very flimsy connection to the Uar
Uar

Uar, , was the self designation used by the dominant ethnicity of Khwarezm in a confederation known to the Chinese as the Yanda and to the west as the Hephthalites....
 the Gokturks objected to the Kidarite Xionites
Xionites

File:Tianxia_zh-hant.svgChionites, Chionitae or Xionites were a nomadic tribe prominent in Transoxania and Bactria.Chionites had arrived in the mid-4th century with the wave of immigration from Central Asia into Iran in late antiquity....
 calling themselves "Avars
Avars

Avars may refer to:* Eurasian Avars, a nomadic people who invaded Europe in the 6th Century AD* Uar * Caucasian Avars, a modern people of the Caucasus...
" in Europe and demanded the Byzantine Emperor Maurice (582-602) recognise the fact that the Uar
Uar

Uar, , was the self designation used by the dominant ethnicity of Khwarezm in a confederation known to the Chinese as the Yanda and to the west as the Hephthalites....
 (from which the Dulo clan descended) of the East who had submitted to Gokturk rule were the true Avars, while the Kidarite Xionites who had entered Europe under Kandik should be called "Pseudo-Avars".

See also

  • Sino-Xiongnu War
    Sino-Xiongnu War

    The Sino-Xiongnu War is a name given to a series of battles between the Han Dynasty and the tribes of Xiongnu between 133 BC and 89. The nature of these battles varied through time between Han conquest and the possession of city-states in central Asia....
    s
  • Ban Chao
    Ban Chao

    Ban Chao , born in Xianyang, Shaanxi, was a Han Dynasty general and cavalry commander in charge of the administration of the "Western Regions" during the Eastern Han dynasty....
  • Battle of Ikh Bayan
    Battle of Ikh Bayan

    The Battle of Ikh Bayan , was a major expedition launched against the Xiongnu by the Han Dynasty in June, 89. The battle was a success for the Han under Dou Xian ....
  • Northern Xiongnu
  • Kidarite Kingdom
    Kidarite Kingdom

    There are two different theories regarding the Kidarite kingdom: either it is created in the second half of the 4th c., or in the twenties of the 5th c....
  • Khazars
    Khazars

    The Khazars were a semi-nomadic Turkic people who dominated the Pontic steppe and the North Caucasus from the 7th to the 10th century CE. The name 'Khazar' seems to be tied to a Turkic languages verb form meaning "wandering"....
  • Kutrigurs
    Kutrigurs

    The Kutrigurs were a horde of equestrian nomads later known as part of the Bulgars that inhabited the Eurasian plains during the Dark Ages. They came into existence when the Eurasian Avars conquered half of the Hunno-Bulgars, whilst the remaining group, who were free were called Utigurs....
  • Alchoni
  • Hunas
    Hunas

    The Huna , as they were known in South Asia, seem to have been part of the Hephthalite group, who established themselves in Afghanistan and Pakistan by the first half of the fifth century, with their capital at Bamyan City....
  • Hazara
  • Uar
    Uar

    Uar, , was the self designation used by the dominant ethnicity of Khwarezm in a confederation known to the Chinese as the Yanda and to the west as the Hephthalites....
  • Priscus
    Priscus

    Priscus was from Panium living in the Roman Empire during the 5th century. He was a diplomat, sophist and historian. He accompanied Maximin, the ambassador of Theodosius II, to the court of Attila the Hun in 448....
  • Zakarias Rhetor