Wusun

Lore & Background

The Wusun first appear in Chinese sources living alongside the Yuezhi in Gansu. Around 176 BC, the Xiongnu raided the Yuezhi, who then attacked the Wusun, killing their king Nandoumi and seizing their land. The Xiongnu adopted the surviving Wusun prince Liejiaomi, making him a general and leader of the Wusun. Around 162 BC, the Yuezhi were driven into the Ili Valley, and the Wusun resettled in Gansu as Xiongnu vassals. In 130–129 BC, Liejiaomi led the Wusun to drive the Yuezhi out of the Ili Valley, settling the area themselves.

After settling in the Ili Valley, the Wusun became powerful enough that the Han dynasty sought their alliance. Around 115 BC, the Han envoy Zhang Qian estimated the Wusun at 630,000 people. The Wusun agreed to a joint attack on the Xiongnu, sealed by the marriage of a Han princess to their king. The Wusun realm included both Yuezhi and Saka populations, and their customs were similar to those of the Xiongnu. They were major suppliers of horses to the Han.

Reader's Guide

The Wusun are significant as a key intermediary between the Han dynasty and the steppe world, playing a crucial role in Han-Xiongnu conflicts and the Silk Road trade. Their migration from Gansu to the Ili Valley reshaped Central Asian geopolitics, displacing the Yuezhi and Saka and contributing to the rise of the Kushan Empire. The Wusun's alliance with the Han helped secure Chinese influence in the Tarim Basin and facilitated the exchange of goods, especially horses. Their eventual disappearance from Chinese records in the 5th century AD, possibly subsumed into the Hephthalites, marks the end of a distinct political entity that had lasted over six centuries. The etymology of their name remains debated, with theories linking them to Indo-European horse terms, the Issedones, or an Iranian word for 'tent people,' reflecting their complex cultural and linguistic heritage.

Did You Know?

• The Wusun ancestor myth involves an infant prince suckled by a she-wolf and fed meat by ravens, similar to myths of the Hittites, Zhou Chinese, Scythians, Romans, Turks, and Mongols.
• The Wusun capital, Chigu, was a walled city located in a side valley leading to Issyk Kul, but its exact location has not been established.
• Some scholars, including Victor H. Mair, link the name Wusun to Sanskrit áśva 'horse', suggesting they may have spoken a satem-like Indo-European language.