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Modu Shanyu
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Modu Shanyu (Chinese: ????, Maotun, Tengrikut, Baatur, Bator, Baghadur) (born 234 BC) was the founder of the Asian Hun Empire (Xiongnu Empire), in 209 BC. According to Chinese records, the name is Modu. The beginning of his rule is also accepted as the formation of the first systematic nomad army. The years of his rule were 209 BCE to 174 BCE.
He was a military leader under his father Touman, and later the Shanyu and emperor of the Xiongnu Empire, located in modern day Mongolia.
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Modu Shanyu (Chinese: ????, Maotun, Tengrikut, Baatur, Bator, Baghadur) (born 234 BC) was the founder of the Asian Hun Empire (Xiongnu Empire), in 209 BC. According to Chinese records, the name is Modu. The beginning of his rule is also accepted as the formation of the first systematic nomad army. The years of his rule were 209 BCE to 174 BCE.
He was a military leader under his father Touman, and later the Shanyu and emperor of the Xiongnu Empire, located in modern day Mongolia. He made many conquests in Central Asia, before the Turkic Göktürks, Genghis Khan and the Mongol conquests.
Legend to the throne
His legendary ascension to the throne was recorded by Chinese scholars.
He was the eldest son of Toumen, the leader of the Xiongnu at the time. Since his childhood, Modu was well-known for his outstanding courage and valor. He was so valourous that he was regarded as one of the most heroic men in the realm. However, a beauty called E'shi was the favourite wife of Toumen and he decided to raise her son to be his successor. Touman's new wife had wanted to kill Modu so he adopted a cruel plot to kill Modu by another person's hands: his father sent him to the Yuezhi, a different tribe of peoples, as a hostage and then he waged wars against them, to make Modu the victim. Fortunately, Modu had sensed something suspicious so he pretended to be seriously sick when he was staying in the Yuezhi camp. His guards then slackened their guard. In the evening when Toumen was massing his troops to attack the Yuezhi tribe, Modu killed the guards, stole the Yuezhi's precious horse and fled. To avoid the pursuit of the Yuezhi tribe and a surprise attack by his father, Modu disguised himself and was able to return.
Later for his bravery his father gave him a tumen of soldiers. He controlled his 10,000 men strictly, and trained them hard every day for battle.
On a hunting trip, he killed his father with a fatal arrow shot to seek revenge for deceiving him. Also his father's wife and the rival heir were executed. After this he gained the leadership of all the tribes his father had controlled and he was crowned as the new Xiongnu ruler. He disciplined all the tribes for warfare and to follow his every command. Legend says that he invented the whistling arrow, and commanded every man to shoot and charge in the direction of the sound. Sometimes he tested his soldiers' loyalty: commanded them to kill his favorite wife (concubine), or favorite horse. Whoever questioned or hesitated to follow his orders were immediately executed. Due to this ruthless and evil behaviour, he was feared by his men and allegedly, none would challenge his authority. After his army was ready for war, he began his conquests.
The rise of the Xiongnu Empire
First he marched on the Donghu, the Xiongnu’s eastern neighbours, and brought them under his rule in 208 BC. After his Donghu campaign (the Donghu split into Xianbei and Wuhuan); he defeated Turkic peoples living in Northern Mongolia like the Dingling and finally he defeated the Yuezhi in 203 BC and brought them under the Xiongnu rule. With these victories, he was able to gain the control of the important trade roads, which later supplied the Xiongnu with great incomes. He later (in 200 BC) fought a three-year campaign with the Han Dynasty of China, and decisively defeated the Han ruler Gaodi (by shrewdly trapping him and his forces), forcing him to pay humiliating yearly tributes to the Xiongnu: when Emperor Gao of Han Dynasty launched a military offensive against him, Modu (with 40,000 soldiers) lured the Han army into a trap and ambushed the emperor reputedly with 300,000 elite Xiongnu cavalry, and encircled them for seven days at Baideng. The emperor was cut off from supplies and reinforcements. The siege was only relieved when the Han royal court sent spies to bribe Modu's wife. The result of this campaign resulted in Han China resorting to the humiliating "marriage alliance" strategy with Xiongnu for the next seventy years.
Modu never tried to invade China completely, because he thought that a foreign dynasty couldn't have ruled such a vast country for a long time. After his Chinese Campaign, Modu forced the Yuezhi and the Wusun to become vassals of the Xiongnu.
During his reign, many peoples were brought under Xiongnu rule. He united all of them under one empire, all the nomad horse archer tribes of the steppes. Apart from his nomadic subjects, Modu also made the oasis city-states of the Tarim Basin swear fealty to him. His organizations in both military and administration were later used by many other Central Asian peoples and states.
Under his rule, he launched 26 major war campaigns to conquer 26 countries, and became greatly feared widely throughout Asia, even in the mighty Chinese Empire. He was a great warrior and a master tactician and was undefeated in his battles against many empires including the Chinese.
Name
The word "Baatur" (Batur, Bator) means brave, courageous, in old Hunnic, Mongolian, Turkic languages and Hungarian language. Baghadur (Baghatur): hadur means warlord in Hungarian.
So his name approximately could be translated to meaning Brave Warlord.
Modu Shanyu in popular culture
Modu appeared in the action RPG The Prince of Qin as a hero who can be part of the team. He belongs to the Muscleman character class. In the game, Modu first appeared in Yanmen Pass and meets the main character Prince Fusu. The player can choose to help him kill his evil father Toumen and seize the position of Khan of the Xiongnu. In return, Modu can join the team and promises not to wage war on the Central Plains for ten years.
Modu was also depicted as the villain, Shan Yu, in Disney's Mulan based on the Chinese folk tale of Hua Mulan. Much like the history of the Xiongnu, the fictional Shan Yu was identified as a Hun that led nomadic warriors who threatened China's northern border during the Han dynasty.
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