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Rouran Khaganate
330–555
Status	Khaganate
Capital	Mumo city, Orkhon River, Mongolia
Religion	Shamanism Buddhism
Khagan
• 330	Yùjiǔlǘ Mùgǔlǘ
• 555	Yujiulü Dengshuzi
Legislature	Kurultai
Historical era	1st millennium
• Established	330
• Disestablished	555
Area
405	4,000,000 km (1,500,000 sq mi)
Preceded by Succeeded by Xianbei state Göktürks Northern Qi Northern Zhou
Today part of	Mongolia  China  Kazakhstan  Russia

Template:Alternative names Template:Alternative names

History of Mongolia
Timeline States Rulers People History Nobility Culture Politics Geography Language Religion
Prehistoric period Afanasievo culture 3300–2500 BC Chemurchek culture 2750–1900 BC Munkhkhairkhan culture 1800–1600 BC Sagsai culture 1500–1000 BC Ulaanzuukh culture 1450–1150 BC Deer stones culture 1400–700 BC Slab-grave culture 1100–300 BC Chandman culture 700–300 BC Pazyryk culture 600–300 BC
Ancient period Xiongnu 209 BC–93 AD Xianbei state 93–234 Rouran Khaganate 330–555 Göktürks (First, Eastern, and Second Turkic Khaganates) 555–630 682–744 Xueyantuo 628–646 Tang protectorate 647–682 Uyghur Khaganate 744–840 Liao dynasty 907–1125
Medieval period Mongol khanates 9th–12th century Khamag Mongol 1130–1206 Mongol Empire 1206–1368 Yuan dynasty 1271–1368 Northern Yuan 1368–1635 Oirat Confederation 1399–1634 Dzungar Khanate 1634–1757 Qing dynasty 1691–1911
Modern period National Revolution 1911 Bogd Khaganate 1911–1919 Chinese occupation 1919–1921 People's Revolution (Soviet intervention in Bogd Khanate) 1921 1921–1924 People's Republic 1924–1992 Democratic Revolution 1990 Modern Mongolia 1990–present
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Rouran, Nirun Khaganate(Template:Lang-mn, Nirun; ~human's back, the name origin similar to Alan Gua's myth; Chinese: 柔然; pinyin: Róurán; lit. 'soft-like'), Ruru/Ruru (Chinese: 蠕蠕/茹茹; pinyin: Rúrú/Rúrú; Wade–Giles: Juan-juan/Ju-ju; lit. 'wriggling insects/fodder'), or Tan Tan (Chinese: 檀檀; pinyin: Tántán; Wade–Giles: T'an-t'an) was the name of a state of nomadic Proto-Mongols in Mongolia from the late 4th century until the middle 6th century. It has sometimes been hypothesized that the Rouran are identical to the Pannonian 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 (Tuoba), who waged war against the Rouran and intended to intimidate the confederacy.

The power of the Rouran was broken by an alliance of Göktürks, Tuoba's Northern Qi and Northern Zhou dynasties and tribes in Central Asia in 552.

Origin and expansion

The Rouran were a confederation led by Xianbei people who remained in the Mongolian steppes after most Xianbei migrated south to Northern China and set up various kingdoms. They considered that Tuoba and Rourans descended from common ancestors. Also historian of the Northern Wei noted that Rourans descended from Xianbei. They were first noted as having defeated the Tiele and establishing an empire extending all the way to the Hulun, in eastern Inner Mongolia.

Mùgǔlǘ or Mugulyui was ancestor of the Rouran kings and Emperor of Northern Wei gave him name "Joujan". Book of Wei links Rourans with Mongolic Donghu people: "Joujan is descendant of the Dongu, and his family is Yùjiǔlǘ".

During the reign of Yujiulü Shelun king (402-410) Rouran became powerful empire.

To the west of the Rouran was a horde known in the west as the Hephthalite Empire (408–670) who originally, until the beginning of the 5th century, were a vassal horde of the Rouran.

Between Hephthalites and Rourans were also close contacts, although they had different languages and cultures, and Hephthalites borrowed much of their political organization from Rourans. In particular, the title “Khan“, which according to McGovern was original to the Rourans, was borrowed by the Hephthalite rulers. The reason for the migration of the Hephthalites southeast was to avoid a pressure of the Rourans. Further, the Hephthalites defeated the Yuezhi in Bactria and their leader Kidara led the Yuezhi to the south.

According to "Book of Song" (section Joujan), "Joujan's (Rouran) another name was "Tatar" or "Tartar", and they were Xiongnu's tribe".

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 China Proper. Their ancestor Mugulu is said to have been originally a slave of the Tuoba tribes, situated at the north banks of Yellow River Bend. Mugulu's descendant Yujiulü 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 Tiele and Xianbei. Shelun was also the first of the steppe peoples to adopt the title of khagan (可汗) in 402, originally a title of Xianbei nobility.

The Rouran Khaganate arranged for one of their princesses, Khagan Yujiulü Anagui's daughter Princess Ruru to be married to the Han Chinese ruler Gao Huan of the Eastern Wei.

The Rouran and the Hephthalites had a falling out and problems within their confederation were encouraged by Chinese agents. In 508, the 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. Some scholars claim that the Rouran then fled west across the steppes and became the Avars, though many other scholars contest this claim. 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.

Khaghans of the Rouran

The Rourans were the first people who used the titles Khagan and Khan for their emperors (which are, therefore, assumed to be Mongolic in origin), replacing the Chanyu of the Xiongnu, whom Grousset and others assume to be Turkic.

Mongolian historian G.Sükhbaatar restored Mongol name of the Rouran kings.

References

1. Rein Taagepera "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.", Social Science History Vol. 3, 115-138 (1979)
2. Jonathan M. Adams, Thomas D. Hall and Peter Turchin (2006). East-West Orientation of Historical Empires.Journal of World-Systems Research (University of Connecticut). 12 (no. 2): 219–229.
3. History of Gobi Region
4. Zhang, Min. Lun Beiwei Changcheng Junzheng Fangwei Tixi De Jianli ("On the Defensive System of Great Wall Military Town of Northern Wei Dynasty") China’s Borderland History and Geography Studies, Jun. 2003 Vol. 13 No. 2. Page 15.
5. ^ West, Barbara A. (2008). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing. p. 687. ISBN 978-0-8160-7109-8. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
6. Findley (2005), p. 35.
7. Hyacinth (Bichurin), Collection of information on peoples lived in Central Asia in ancient times, 1950. p.209
9. Grousset (1970), p. 67.
10. ^ A.Kurbanov "THE HEPHTHALITES-ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL ANALYSIS" 2010
11. eds. Lee, Stefanowska, Wiles 2007, p. 316.
12. Gao Huan, as demanded by Yujiulü Anagui as one of the peace terms between Eastern Wei and Rouran, married the Princess Ruru in 545, and had her take the place of Princess Lou as his wife, but never formally divorced Princess Lou. After Gao Huan's death, pursuant to Rouran customs, the Princess Ruru became married to Gao Huan's son Gao Cheng, who also, however, did not formally divorce his wife.
13. Grousset (1970), pp. 61, 585, n. 91.
14. G.Sukhbaatar, Mongolian history sourcebooks, 1991

Sources

• Findley, Carter Vaughn. (2005). The Turks in World History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-516770-8 (cloth); ISBN 0-19-517726-6 (pbk).
• Grousset, René. (1970). The Empire of the Steppes: a History of Central Asia. Translated by Naomi Walford. Rutgers University Press. New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.A.Third Paperback printing, 1991. ISBN 0-8135-0627-1 (casebound); ISBN 0-8135-1304-9 (pbk).
• Map of their empire
• Definition
• information about the Rouran
• 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.

• Use dmy dates from August 2011
• History of Mongolia
• Mongolic peoples
• Nomadic groups in Eurasia
• Rouran
• Nomads of the Eurasian steppe
• Ancient peoples of China
• Ethnic groups in Asia
• States and territories established in the 4th century
• Khaganates
• 555 disestablishments