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Rouran
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Rouran (; Wade-Giles: Jou-jan), Ruanruan/Ruru also known as Tan Tan was the name of a confederation of nomadic tribes on the northern borders of China Proper from the late 4th century until the late 6th century. It has sometimes been hypothesized that the Rouran are identical to the Eurasian Avars who later appeared in Europe. The term Rouran is a Mandarin Chinese transcription of the pronunciation of the name the confederacy used to refer to itself.
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Rouran (; Wade-Giles: Jou-jan), Ruanruan/Ruru also known as Tan Tan was the name of a confederation of nomadic tribes on the northern borders of China Proper from the late 4th century until the late 6th century. It has sometimes been hypothesized that the Rouran are identical to the Eurasian Avars who later appeared in Europe. The term Rouran is a Mandarin Chinese transcription of the pronunciation of the name the confederacy used to refer to itself. Ruanruan and Ruru remained in modern usage despite once being derogatory. They derived from orders given by the Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei, who waged war against the Rouran and intended to intimidate the confederacy.
The power of the Rouran was broken by an alliance of Göktürks, the Chinese Northern Qi and Northern Zhou dynasties and tribes in Central Asia in 552.
Origin and expansion
The Rouran were confederation of Xianbei people who remained in Mongolian steppes after most Xianbei migrated south to Northern China and set up various kingdoms. They were first noted as having defeated the Gaoche and establishing an empire extending all the way to the Hulun, at the eastern Inner Mongolia. To the west of the Rouran was a horde known in the west as the Hephthalites who originally, until the 5th century, were a vassal horde of the Rouran. The Rouran controlled the area of Mongolia from the Manchurian border to Turpan and, perhaps, the east coast of Lake Balkhash, and from the Orkhon River to the China Proper. Their ancestor Mugulu is said to have been originally a slave of the Toba tribes, situated at the north banks of Yellow River Bend. Mugulu's descendant Shelun is said to be the first chieftain who was able to unify the Rouran tribes and to found the power of the Rouran by defeating the Gaoche and Xianbei. Shelun was also the first of the steppe peoples to adopt the title of khagan in 402, originally a title of Xianbei nobility.
The Rouran and the Hephthalites had a falling out and problems within their confederation were encouraged by Chinese agents. In 508, the Gaoche, then operating under the name Tiele, defeated the Rouran in battle. In 516, the Rouran defeated the Tiele. Within the Rouran confederation was a Turkic tribe noted in Chinese annals as the Tujue. After a marriage proposal to the Rouran was rebuffed, the Tujue joined with the Western Wei, successor state to the Northern Wei, and revolted against the Rouran. In 555, they beheaded 3,000 Rouran. European history books commonly claim that the Rouran then fled west across the steppes and became the Avars, though this is probably a mistake. The remainder of the Rouran fled into China, were absorbed into the border guards, and disappeared forever as an entity. The last Rouran khagan fled to the court of Western Wei, but at the demand of Tujue, Western Wei executed him and the nobles that accompanied him.
Little is known of the Rouran ruling elite, which the Book of Wei cited as an offshoot of the Xianbei. The Rouran subdued modern regions of Xinjiang, Mongolia, Central Asia and parts of Siberia and Manchuria from the late 4th century. Their frequent interventions and invasions profoundly affected neighboring countries. Though they admitted the Ashina of Göktürks into their federation, the power of the Rouran was broken by an alliance of Göktürks, the Chinese Northern Qi and Northern Zhou dynasties and tribes in Central Asia in 552. The Northern Wei, for instance, established the Six Garrisons bordering the Rouran, which later became the foci of several major mutinies in the early 6th century.
The Rourans were the first Mongolic-people who created the title Khagan for their emperors.
| Temple names | Regal names | Family names and given name | Durations of reigns | Era names and their according durations |
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| Chinese convention: for those who have regal names, use regal names; otherwise, use family name and given name, or use given name + "Khan" | | Did not exist | Did not exist | ?????? Yùjiulu Mùgulu | 4th century | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Did not exist | ?????? Yùjiulu Chelùhuì | 4th century | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Did not exist | ?????? Yùjiulu Tunúgui | 4th century | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Did not exist | ????? Yùjiulu Bátí | 4th century | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Did not exist | ?????? Yùjiulu Dìsùyuán | 4th century | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Did not exist | ?????? Yùjiulu Pihóubá | 4th century | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Did not exist | ?????? Yùjiulu Màngetí | 4th century | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Did not exist | ?????? Yùjiulu Héduohàn | 4th century | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Qiudoufa Khan | ????? Yùjiulu Shèlún | 402–410 | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Aikugai Khan | ????? Yùjiulu Húlu | 410–414 | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Mouhanheshenggai Khan (???????) | ????? Yùjiulu Dàtán | 414–429 | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Chilian Khan | ????? Yùjiulu Wútí | 429–444 | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Chu Khan | ?????? Yùjiulu Tuhèzhen | 444–450 | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Shouluobuzhen Khan | ????? Yùjiulu Yúchéng | 450–485 | Yongkang (?? Yongkang) 464–484 | | Did not exist | Fumingdun Khan | ????? Yùjiulu Dòulún | 485–492 | Taiping (?? Tàipíng) 485–491 | | Did not exist | Houqifudaikezhe Khan ( ????????) | ????? Yùjiulu Nàgài | 492–506 | Taian (?? Tàian) 492–505 | | Did not exist | Tuohan Khan | ????? Yùjiulu Fútú | 506–508 | Shiping (?? Shipíng) 506–507 | | Did not exist | Douluofubadoufa Khan (????????) | ????? Yùjiulu Chounú | 508–520 | Jianchang (?? Jiànchang) 508–520 | | Did not eixst | Chiliantoubingdoufa Khan (????????) | ?????? Yùjiulu Anàgui | 520–552 | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Mi'oukeshegou Khan (???????) | ?????? Yùjiulu Póluómén | 521–524 | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Did not exist | ????? Yùjiulu Tiefá | 552–553 | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Did not exist | ????? Yùjiulu Dengzhù | 553 | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Did not exist | ????? Yùjiulu Kangtí | 553 | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Did not exist | ?????? Yùjiulu Anluóchén | 553–554 | Did not exist | | Did not exist | Did not exist | ?????? Yùjiulu Dèng Shuzi | 555 | Did not exist | |
Sources
- Kradin, Nikolay. "From Tribal Confederation to Empire: the Evolution of the Rouran Society". Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, Vol. 58, No 2 (2005): 149-169.
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