Thread by @xujnx

Mongolian archaeologists' discovery of "Dragon City" is last piece of the puzzle of a road (s) connecting the seat of Xiongnu empire on Mongolian steppe & the capital of Han dyn in Central China, a route no less significant than the Silk Road. Here're some recent finds along it:

"Dragon City" is located on the north side of the Khangai Mountains, a place celebrated as the cradle of nomadic civilizations in Mongolia. Over the past 2 decades, cemeteries of Xiongnu nobles (at Gol Mod) were uncovered near the city, yielding a wealth of spectacular objects.

From "Dragon City" going southeast for about 500 km, on the north edge of Gobi desert, archaeologists found a lengthy Chinese inscription on a cliff in 2017; it was carved in 89 AD by a Han-dyn general who led an expedition of Chinese-Xiongnu alliance against Xiongnu in the North

From the inscription site, going further southeast for about 600 km, crossing the Gobi desert, we enter a vast area in North China, where a large population of Xiongnu people, many of whom defected to Han dyn, lived with other nomadic tribes &Chinese before 5 c AD

In this region, Chinese archaeologists excavated many Xiongnu settlements & cemeteries, characterized by typical nomadic objects such as animal-style bronze plaques, gold ornaments & roof tiles similar to those found in "Dragon City" showing the title of Xiongnu ruler - "Chanyu."

Here in 413 AD, a Xiongnu leader called Helian Bobo founded a state & built a truly magnificent capital with white rammed earth, the only known Xiongnu city before the discovery of "Dragon City." The territories of the state even included Chang'an, the former capital of Han dyn.

Given the prominent presence of Xiongnu people in North China, there's no surprise Xiongnu rulers in "Dragon City" & Chinese emperors in Chang'an would quickly learn & borrow each other's courtly fashions, e.g. Chinese jade in Mongolia; Xiongnu-style silver in a Han imperial tomb

For a great introduction of the discovery of "Dragon City," see @csen_nomads

https://twitter.com/csen_nomads/status/1284216880194965504

Images of the Yanran inscription: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inscripti…

Maps made by me and other images from online sources.