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{{Short description|Ancient semi-nomadic people in Central Asia}}
{{hatnote|This article is about the ancient nomadic people. For the mountain range, see [[Wusun Mountains]].}}
{{Continental Asia in 200 BCE|right|The Wusun and neighbouring polities circa 200 BC, before their westward migration|{{location map~ |Continental Asia |lat=45|N |long=100|E |label=|position=|label_size=|mark=Orange dot (semi-transparent).png|marksize=20}}}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2025}}
[[Image:30. Rider burial mound Tenlik (III.-II. B.C.) Kazakhstan.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.35|Rider burial mound Tenlik (III.-II. B.C.) The Tenlik kurgan is associated with the Wusun.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/>]]

The '''Wusun''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|uː|s|ʌ|n}} {{respell|WOO-sun}}){{efn|{{IPA|zh|wúswə́n}}; {{lang-zh|t=烏孫|p=Wūsūn|s=乌孙}}; [[Eastern Han Chinese]] *''ʔɑ-suən'' < [[Old Chinese]] (140 BC{{snd}}436 AD): *''Ɂâ-sûn''){{sfn|Schuessler|2014|p=264}}}} were an ancient semi-[[Eurasian nomads|nomadic]] [[Eurasian Steppe|steppe]] people mentioned in [[Chinese people|Chinese]] records from the 2nd&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC to the 5th&nbsp;century&nbsp;AD.

The Wusun originally lived between the [[Qilian Mountains]] and [[Dunhuang]] ([[Gansu]]) near the [[Yuezhi]].<ref>《汉书·西域传》：乌孙国，大昆弥治赤谷城，去长安八千九百里。户十二万，口六十三万，胜兵十八万八千八百人。……故服匈奴，后盛大，取羁属，不肯往朝会。东与匈奴、西北与康居、西与大宛、南与城郭诸国相接。本塞地也，大月氏西破走塞王，塞王南越县度，大月氏居其地。后乌孙昆莫击破大月氏，大月氏徙、西臣大夏，而乌孙昆莫居之，故乌孙民有塞种、大月氏种云。</ref> Around 176&nbsp;BC the [[Xiongnu]] raided the lands of the [[Yuezhi]], who subsequently attacked the Wusun, killing their king and seizing their land. The Xiongnu adopted the surviving Wusun prince and made him one of their generals and leader of the Wusun. Around 162&nbsp;BC the Yuezhi were driven into the [[Ili River]] Valley in [[Zhetysu]], [[Dzungaria]] and [[Tian Shan]], which had formerly been inhabited by the [[Saka]]. The Wusun then resettled in [[Gansu]] as vassals of the Xiongnu. In 133–132&nbsp;BC, the Wusun drove the Yuezhi out of the Ili Valley and settled the area.

The Wusun then became close allies of the [[Han dynasty]] and remained a powerful force in the region for several centuries. The Wusun are last mentioned by the Chinese as having settled in the [[Pamir Mountains]] in the 5th&nbsp;century&nbsp;AD due to pressure from the [[Rouran]]. They possibly became subsumed into the later [[Hephthalites]].

==Etymology==
''Wusun'' is a modern pronunciation of the [[Chinese Character]]s '烏孫'. The Chinese name '烏孫' (Wūsūn) literally means ''wū'' 'crow, raven' + ''sūn'' 'grandson, descendant'.<ref name="Mayor">{{cite book |last=Mayor |first=Adrienne |author-link=Adrienne Mayor |date=22 September 2014 |title=The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j8kmAQAAMAAJ |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |page=421 |isbn=978-1400865130 |access-date=13 February 2015}}</ref>

There are several theories about the origin of the name:<ref name="Mingzhe">王明哲, 王炳華 (Mingzhe Wang & Binhua Wang): 從文獻與考古資料論烏孫歷史的幾個重大問題 (Important questions about the history of Wusun arising from the contemporary documents and archaeological investigations). In: 烏孫研究 (Wusun research), 1, 新疆人民出版社 (People's publisher Xinjiang), Ürümqi 1983, S. pp. 1–42.</ref>
* Canadian Sinologist [[Edwin Pulleyblank]] reconstructs the pronunciation of '烏孫' Wūsūn as in [[Middle Chinese]] as ''ou-suən'', from [[Old Chinese]] ''aĥ-smən'' and linked the Wusun to the Άσμίραιοι ''Asmiraioi'', who inhabited modern [[Issyk-Kul]] and [[Jetisu|Semirechiye]] and were mentioned in [[Ptolemy]]'s [[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geography]] (VI.16.3).{{sfn|Pulleyblank|1963a|p=136}}<ref>Lieu, Samuel N.C. (2014) [https://www.mq.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/22152/70929.pdf ''Places and Peoples in Central Asia and in the Graeco-Roman Near East: A Multilingual Gazetteer Compiled for the Serica Project from Selected Pre-Islamic Sources''], p. 23</ref>
* Several scholars (e.g. Hudson, Bernshtam, Hambly, Lindegger) link them to the [[Issedones]].{{sfn|Gardiner-Garden|1986|pp=28-40}}{{sfn|Golden|1992|p=51}}
* Sinologist Victor H. Mair compared ''Wusun'' with [[Sanskrit]] ''áśva'' 'horse', ''aśvin'' 'mare' and [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] ''ašvà'' 'mare'. The name would thus mean 'the horse people'. Hence he put forward the hypothesis that the Wusun used a [[satem]]-like language within the [[Indo-European languages]]. However, the latter hypothesis is not supported by [[Edwin G. Pulleyblank]].{{sfn|Pulleyblank|2002|pp=426–427}} [[Christopher I. Beckwith]]'s analysis is similar to Mair's, reconstructing the Chinese term Wusun as [[Old Chinese]] *''âswin'', which he compares to [[Old Indic]] ''aśvin'' 'the horsemen', the name of the [[Rigvedic deities|Rigvedic]] [[Ashvins|twin equestrian gods]].<ref name="Beckwith376">{{harvnb|Beckwith|2009|pp=376–377}}</ref>
* Étienne de la Vaissière identifies the Wusun with the ''wδ'nn'p'', mentioned on Kultobe inscriptions as enemies of the Sogdian-speaking [[Kangju]] confederation. ''Wδ'nn'p'' contains two morphemes ''n'p'' "people" and *''wδ'n'' [wiðan], which is cognate with [[Parthian language|Manichaean Parthian]] ''wd'n'' and means "tent". Vaissière hypothesizes that the Wusun likely spoke an Iranian language closely related to [[Sogdian language|Sogdian]], permitting Sogdians to translate their endonym as *''wδ'n'' [wiðan] and Chinese to transcribe their endonym with a native Chinese /s/ standing for a foreign [[dental fricative]]. Therefore, Vaissière reconstructs Wusun's endonym as *''Wəθan'' "[People of the] Tent(s)".<ref name="Vaissiere2013">{{cite journal|last= de la Vaissière|first= Étienne|title= Iranian in Wusun? A tentative reinterpretation of the Kultobe Inscription|journal= Commentationes Iranicae. Vladimiro F. Aaron Livschits Nonagenario Donum Natalicium|pages= 320–325|year= 2013|url= https://www.academia.edu/t/pKKeR/5731941}}</ref>

==History==

===Early history===
[[File:Migration route of Wusun in Western Han Dynasty.png|right|upright=1.5|thumb|Migration of the Wusun]]

The Wusun were first mentioned by [[China|Chinese]] sources as living together with the [[Yuezhi]] between the [[Qilian Mountains]] and [[Dunhuang]] ([[Gansu]]).<ref>[http://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=66451 Hanshu 《漢書·張騫李廣利傳》] '''Original text'''  臣居匈奴中，聞烏孫王號昆莫。昆莫父難兜靡本與大月氏俱在祁連、焞煌間，小國也。tr. "[I, your majesty's] minister, while living among the Xiongnu, heard that the Wusun king was called Kunmo; Kunmo's father Nandoumi had originally been dwelling together with the Great Yuezhi in a small state between Qilian and Dunhuang."</ref><ref name="Beckwith84">{{harvnb|Beckwith|2009|pp=84–85}}</ref><ref name="ChineseHistory"/><ref name="Benjamin_Marshak">{{cite journal |last=Benjamin |first=Craig |author-link=Craig Benjamin |date=October 2003 |title=The Yuezhi Migration and Sogdia |url=http://www.transoxiana.org/Eran/Articles/benjamin.html |journal=Transoxiana Webfestschrift |publisher=Transoxiana |volume=1 |issue=Ēran ud Anērān |access-date=29 May 2015}}</ref> although different locations have been suggested for these toponyms.<ref>[[Xinru Liu|Liu, Xinru]], [http://www.learner.org/courses/worldhistory/support/reading_11_2.pdf ''Migration and Settlement of the Yuezhi-Kushan: Interaction and Interdependence of Nomadic and Sedentary Societies''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042106/http://www.learner.org/courses/worldhistory/support/reading_11_2.pdf |date=4 March 2016 }} (2001)</ref>

Around 210–200&nbsp;BC, prince [[Modu Chanyu]], a former hostage of the Yuezhi and prince of the [[Xiongnu]], who were also vassals of the Yuezhi,<ref name="Beckwith380">{{harvnb|Beckwith|2009|pp=380–383}}</ref> became leader of the Xiongnu and conquered the [[Asian Steppe|Mongolian Plain]], subjugating several peoples.<ref name="EKH">{{harvnb|Enoki|Koshelenko|Haidary|1994|pp=171–191}}</ref> Around 176&nbsp;BC Modu Chanyu launched a fierce raid against the Yuezhi.<ref name="Benjamin_Marshak"/> Around 173&nbsp;BC, the Yuezhi subsequently attacked the Wusun,<ref name="Benjamin_Marshak"/> at that time a small nation,<ref name="Beckwith6">{{harvnb|Beckwith|2009|pp=6–7}}</ref> killing their king Nandoumi.<ref name="Beckwith6"/>

According to legend Nandoumi's infant son Liejiaomi was left in the wild. He was miraculously saved from hunger being suckled by a she-wolf, and fed meat by ravens.<ref name="FH215">{{harvnb|François|Hulsewé|1979|p=215}}</ref><ref>[http://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=9036 Shiji 《史記·大宛列傳》] '''Original text''': 匈奴攻殺其父，而昆莫生棄於野。烏嗛肉蜚其上，狼往乳之。</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Beckwith|2009|p=6}}</ref><ref name="Watson237">{{harvnb|Watson|1993|pp=237–238}}</ref> The Wusun ancestor myth shares striking similarities with those of the [[Hittites]], the [[Zhou dynasty|Zhou Chinese]], the [[Scythians]], the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], the [[Goguryeo]], [[Turkish people|Turks]], [[Mongols]] and [[Dzungars]].<ref>{{harvnb|Beckwith|2009|p=2}}</ref> Based on the similarities between the ancestor myth of the Wusun and later [[Turkic peoples]], [[Denis Sinor]] has suggested that the Wusun, [[Sogdians]], or both could represent an [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] influence, or even the origin of the royal [[Ashina tribe|Ashina]] [[Göktürks|Türks]].<ref name="Sinor328">{{harvnb|Sinor|Klyashtorny|1996|pp=328–329}}</ref>

In 162&nbsp;BC, the Yuezhi were finally defeated by the Xiongnu, after which they fled [[Gansu]].<ref name="Benjamin_Marshak" /> According to [[Zhang Qian]], the Yuezhi were defeated by the rising Xiongnu empire and fled westward, driving away the [[Saka|Sai]] (Scythians) from the [[Ili Valley]] in the [[Zhetysu]] and [[Dzungaria]] area.<ref>[http://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=66451 Hanshu 《漢書·張騫李廣利傳》] '''Original text''' 時，月氏已為匈奴所破，西擊塞王。</ref> The Sai would subsequently migrate into [[South Asia]], where they founded various [[Indo-Scythian]] kingdoms.<ref name="Benjamin_Marshak" /> After the Yuezhi retreat the Wusun subsequently settled the modern province of Gansu, in the valley of the ''Wushui-he'' ({{lit|Raven-Water River}}), as vassals of the Xiongnu.<ref name="Beckwith6" /> It is not clear whether the river was named after the tribe or vice versa.

===Migration to the Ili Valley===
The Xiongnu ruler was impressed with Liejiaomi, considering him a supernatural being, and adopted the child.<ref name="Beckwith6"/> When the child grew up the ''Chanyu'' made him leader of the Wusun and a Xiongnu general.<ref name="Beckwith6"/> He won many victories for the Xiongnu and the Wusun became powerful.<ref name="Beckwith6"/> Liejiaomi constantly requested the Xiongnu ruler for permission to avenge his father, and around 133–132&nbsp;BC, he successfully attacked the Yuezhi in the Ili Valley.<ref name="Beckwith84"/><ref name="Benjamin_Marshak"/><ref name="Beckwith6"/> The Yuezhi then migrated to [[Sogdia]] and then [[Bactria]], where they became unified under [[Kujula Kadphises]] and expanded into South Asia, founding the [[Kushan Empire]], which at its peak under [[Kanishka]] stretched from [[Turpan]] in the [[Tarim Basin]] to [[Pataliputra]] on the [[Gangetic plain]] and played an important role in the development of the [[Silk Road]] and the [[Silk Road transmission of Buddhism|transmission of Buddhism]] to China.<ref name="Beckwith84"/>

The Wusun subsequently took over the Ili Valley, expanding over a large area and trying to keep away from the Xiongnu. According to the ''[[Shiji]]'', Wusun was a state located west of the Xiongnu.<ref>[http://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=9036 Shiji 《史記·大宛列傳》] '''Original text''': 匈奴西邊小國也</ref> When the Xiongnu ruler died, Liejiaomi refused to serve the Xiongnu.<ref name="Beckwith6"/> The Xiongnu then sent a force against the Wusun but were defeated, after which the Xiongnu considered Liejiaomi a supernatural being even more than before and avoided conflict with him.<ref name="Beckwith6"/>

===Establishing relations with the Han===
[[File:Asia 200ad.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|right|Wusun and their neighbours around 200&nbsp;AD.]]
After settling in the Ili Valley the Wusun became so strong that the Han were compelled to win their friendship in alliance.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy">{{harvnb|Zadneprovskiy|1994|pp=458–462}}</ref> Chinese sources name the Scythian ''Sai'' (Saka), and the ''Yuezhi'' who are often identified as [[Tocharians]], among the people of the Wusun state in the Zhetysu and Dzungaria area.<ref name="FH145">{{harvnb|François|Hulsewé|1979|p=145}}</ref> The Wusun realm probably included both Yuezhi and Saka.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> It is clear that the majority of the population consisted of linguistically Iranian Saka tribes.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/>

In 125&nbsp;BC, under the Han emperor [[Wu of Han]] (156–87&nbsp;BC), the Chinese traveller and diplomat [[Zhang Qian]] was sent to establish an alliance with the Wusun against the Xiongnu.{{sfn|Yap|2019|p=164}}<ref name="ChineseHistory">{{cite web |title=Chinese History – Wusun 烏孫 |url=http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Altera/wusun.html |website=[[Chinaknowledge]] |access-date=1 January 2015}}</ref><ref name="EB_Zhang_Qian">{{cite web |title=Zhang Qian |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/105520/Zhang-Qian |access-date=29 May 2015 }}</ref> Qian estimated the Wusun to number 630,000, with 120,000 families and 188,000 men capable of bearing arms.<ref>Hanshu, ch.61 & 96.{{full citation needed|date=April 2022}}</ref> The ''[[Book of Han]]'' described them as occupying land that previously belonged to the Saka (Sai).<ref>[http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%BC%A2%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7096%E4%B8%8B Hanshu  《漢書·卷九十六下》 ] 西域傳  '''Original text:''' 本塞地也，大月氏西破走塞王，塞王南越縣度。大月氏居其地。後烏孫昆莫擊破大月氏，大月氏徙西臣大夏，而烏孫昆莫居之，故烏孫民有塞種、大月氏種雲。</ref><ref>{{harvnb|So|2009|p=133}}</ref> To their north-west the Wusun bordered [[Kangju]], in modern Kazakhstan. To the west was [[Dayuan]] ([[Ferghana]]), and to the south were various city states.<ref>《漢書·卷九十六下》  '''Original text:''' 東與匈奴、西北與康居、西與大宛、南與城郭諸國相接。</ref> The Royal Court of the Wusun, the walled city of Chigu, was located in a side valley leading to Issyk Kul.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/><ref>Hill (2009), "Appendix I: Chigu 赤谷 (Royal Court of the Wusun Kunmo)," pp. 527–531.{{full citation needed|date=April 2022}}</ref> Lying on one of the branches of the [[Silk Road]] Chigu was an important trading centre, but its exact location has not been established.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/>

According to [[Sima Qian]] in the ''[[Shiji]]'':

{{Blockquote|Wusun as a nation, has its great Kunmi [monarch] presiding at Chigu City which is 8900 ''[[Li (unit)|li]]'' [3700km] away from [[Chang'an]] (...) It land is bare and flat, rainy and chilly. Its hills are covered with pines. Its people do not plow of plant but follow their flocks to where water and grass are found. Its customs are similar to those of the Xiongnu. The nation has plenty of horses... and its people violent, greedy and not trustworthy. There are abundant bandits and thieves. Its territories originally belonged to the [[Sakas]], the latter king went south to Bolor ([[Baltistan]]) whereby the [[Yuezhi]] took over and settled on the land. (...) Later, when the Yuezhi moved west to subjugate [[Bactria]], the Wusun Kunmo replaced them and lived there. For that reason, the Wusun population is admixed with Sakas and Yuezhi peoples.|Sima Qian, ''Shiji''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Findeisen |first1=Raoul David |title=At Home in Many Worlds: Reading, Writing and Translating from Chinese and Jewish Cultures : Essays in Honour of Irene Eber |date=2009 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=978-3-447-06135-3 |page=133 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Esz2vwNkzNMC&pg=PA133 |language=en}}</ref>}}

The Wusun approved of a possible alliance, and Zhang Qian was sent as ambassador in 115&nbsp;BC.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> According to the agreement the Wusun would jointly attack the Xiongnu with the Han, while they were offered a Han princess in marriage and the return of their original Gansu homeland (''[[heqin]]'').<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> However, due to fear of the Xiongnu, the Wusun had second thoughts and suggested sending a delegation to the Han rather than moving their capital further west.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/><ref name="ChineseHistory"/>

===As Han allies===
Some time after the Han-Wusun negotiations ended, the Han inflicted several blows to the Xiongnu.<ref name="ChineseHistory"/> The Han then threatened war upon the Wusun, after which Liejiaomi finally agreed to an alliance, sending tributary horses and accepting [[Princess Xijun]] as his wife.<ref name="ChineseHistory"/> Along with the Yuezhi and the Kangju of the [[Ferghana Valley]], the Wusun became the main suppliers of horses for the Han.<ref name="Wood53">{{harvnb|Wood|2004|pp=53–54}}</ref> The Xiongnu had however also sent a princess to marry Liejiaomi, and the Xiongnu princess was declared his senior consort, with Xijun becoming his junior wife.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> Since Liejiaomi was already an old man, Xijun was married to his successor Cenzou, which Wu agreed with.<ref name="ChineseHistory"/> Xijun wrote a famous poem, the ''Beichouge'', in which she complains about her exile in the land of the "[[barbarian]]s":

{{Blockquote|My family sent me off to be married on the other side of heaven. They sent me a long way to a strange land, to the king of Wusun. A domed lodging is my dwelling place with walls of felt. Meat is my food, with fermented milk as the sauce. I live with constant thoughts of my home, my heart is full of sorrow. I wish I were a golden swan, returning to my home country.<ref name="ChineseHistory"/><ref name="Wood57">{{harvnb|Wood|2004|p=57}}</ref>}}

Xijun bore the Wusun a daughter but died soon afterward, at which point the Han court sent [[Princess Jieyou]] to succeed her.<ref name="ChineseHistory"/> After the death of Cenzou, Jieyou married Wengguimi, Cenzou's cousin and successor. Jieyou lived for fifty years among the Wusun and bore five children, including the oldest Yuanguimi, whose half-brother Wujiutu was born to a Xiongnu mother.<ref name="ChineseHistory"/> She sent numerous letters to the Han requesting assistance against the Xiongnu.<ref name="ChineseHistory"/>

Around 80&nbsp;BC, the Wusun were attacked by the Xiongnu, who inflicted a devastating defeat upon them.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/><ref name="ChineseHistory"/> In 72&nbsp;BC, Kunmi, chief of the Wusun requested assistance from the Han against the Xiongnu.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/><ref name="ChineseHistory"/> The Han sent an army of 160,000&nbsp;men, inflicting a crushing defeat upon the Xiongnu, capturing much booty and many slaves.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> In the campaign the Han captured the [[Tarim Basin]] and the [[city-state]] of [[Cheshi]] ([[Turpan]] region), a previous ally of the Xiongnu, giving them direct contact with the Wusun.<ref name="ChineseHistory"/> Afterwards the Wusun allied with the [[Dingling]] and [[Wuhuan]] to counter Xiongnu attacks.<ref name="ChineseHistory"/> After their crushing victory against the Xiongnu the Wusun increased in strength, achieving significant influence over the city-states of the Tarim Basin.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> The son of the Kunmi became the ruler of [[Yarkand]], while his daughter became the wife of the lord of [[Kucha]].<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> They came to play a role as a third force between the Han and the Xiongnu.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/>

Around 64&nbsp;BC, according to the ''Book of Han'', Chinese agents were involved in a plot with a Wusun kunmi known as Wengguimi ("Fat King") and to kill a Wusun kunmi known to the Chinese as Nimi ("Mad King"). A Chinese deputy envoy called Chi Tu who brought a doctor to attend to Nimi was punished with castration by the Han dynasty when he returned to China for treating the mad king's illness instead of killing him which the Han court ordered them to do.<ref name="Wood59">{{harvnb|Wood|2004|p=59}}</ref><ref name="FH155">{{harvnb|François|Hulsewé|1979|p=155}}</ref>

In 64&nbsp;BC another Han princess was sent to Kunmi Wengguimi, but he died before her arrival. Han emperor [[Emperor Xuan of Han|Xuan]] then permitted the princess to return, since Jieyou had married the new Kunmi, Nimi, the son of Cenzou. Jieyou bore Nimi the son Chimi. Prince Wujiutu later killed Nimi, his half-brother. Fearing the wrath of the Han, Wujiutu adopted the title of Lesser Kunmi, while Yuanguimi was given the title Greater Kunmi. The Han accepted this system and bestowed both of them with the [[Heirloom Seal of the Realm|imperial seal]]. After both Yuanguimi and Chimi were dead, Jieyou asked Emperor Xuan for permission to return to China. She died in 49&nbsp;BC. Over the next decades the institution of the Greater and Lesser Kunmi continued, with the Lesser Kunmi being married to a Xiongnu princess and the Greater Kunmi married to a Han princess.<ref name="ChineseHistory"/>

In 5&nbsp;BC, during the reign of [[Wuzhuliu Chanyu]] (8&nbsp;BC{{snd}}AD&nbsp;13), the Wusun attempted to raid [[Yueban]] pastures, but Wuzhuliu repulsed them, and the Wusun commander had to send his son to the Yueban court as a hostage. The forceful intervention of the Chinese usurper [[Wang Mang]] and internal strife brought disorder, and in 2&nbsp;BC one of the Wusun chieftains brought 80,000&nbsp;Wusun to Kangju, asking for help against the Chinese. In a vain attempt to reconcile with China, he was duped and killed in 3&nbsp;AD.<ref name="kulichki1">{{cite book |author=Gumilev L.N. |title=History of Hun People |location=Moscow |series=Science |chapter=12 |chapter-url=http://gumilevica.kulichki.net/HPH/hph12.htm |language=ru}}</ref><ref name="Taishan45">{{harvnb|Taishan|2004|p=45}}</ref>

In 2&nbsp;AD, [[Wang Mang]] issued a list of four regulations to the allied Xiongnu that the taking of any hostages from Chinese vassals, i.e. Wusun, [[Wuhuan]] and the statelets of the [[Western Regions]], would not be tolerated.<ref name="FH192">{{harvnb|François|Hulsewé|1979|p=192}}</ref>

In 74&nbsp;AD the Wusun are recorded as having sent tribute to the Han military commanders in Cheshi.<ref name="ChineseHistory"/> In 80&nbsp;AD [[Ban Chao]] requested assistance from the Wusun against the city-state Quchi (Kucha) in the Tarim Basin.<ref name="ChineseHistory"/> The Wusun were subsequently rewarded with silks, while diplomatic exchanges were resumed.<ref name="ChineseHistory"/> During the 2nd&nbsp;century&nbsp;AD the Wusun continued their decline in political importance.<ref name="ChineseHistory"/>

===Later history===
{{Self-contradictory|section|date=November 2024}}
In the 5th&nbsp;century&nbsp;AD the Wusun were pressured by the [[Rouran]] and may have migrated to the [[Pamir Mountains]].<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/><ref name="ChineseHistory"/><ref>[[Book of Wei]], ch.&nbsp;102</ref> They are last mentioned in Chinese historical sources in 436&nbsp;AD, when a Chinese envoy was sent to their country and the Wusun reciprocated.<ref name="ChineseHistory"/> It is possible that they became subsumed into the later [[Hephthalites]].<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> After this event the Wusun seem to disappear from Chinese records: the Wusun were last mentioned in 938 AD alongsides [[Tuyuhun]] and Mohe, as [[tributary state]]s to the [[Khitan Liao]].<ref>[[Liaoshi]], vol. 4 "庚子，吐谷渾、烏孫、靺鞨皆來貢。"</ref>

==Physical appearance==
[[File:Imperial Encyclopaedia - Borders - pic038 - 烏孫國.svg|thumb|A Chinese depiction of the Wusun, from ''[[Gujin Tushu Jicheng]]'', 18th century.]]
The ''Book of Han'' and ''Shiji'' do not make any special note of the physical appearance of the Wusun. The first description of the Wusun's physical appearance is found in a [[Western Han dynasty]] book of [[divination]], the ''Forest of Changes'' by ''[[Jiaoshi Yilin]]'', which describes the women of the Wusun as "with deep eyesockets, dark, ugly: their preferences are different, past their prime [still] without spouse."<ref>[http://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=86673 《焦氏易林 – Jiaoshi Yilin》] '''Original text''':烏孫氏女，深目黑醜；嗜欲不同，過時無偶。</ref><ref name=Wang>{{cite book |author1=Wang Mingzhe |author2=Wang Binghua |year=1983 |title=Research on Wusun (乌孙研究)|place= Ürümqi |publisher= Xinjiang People's Press |page=43}}</ref> A later 7th&nbsp;century commentary to the ''Book of Han'' by [[Yan Shigu]]<ref name="Maenchen-Helfen">{{harvnb|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|pp=369–375}}</ref> says:

{{Blockquote|Among the barbarians (戎; [[Xirong|Róng]]) in the Western Regions, the look of the Wusun is the most unusual. The present barbarians (胡人; ''[[Hu (people)|húrén]]'') who have green eyes and red hair, and look like macaque monkeys, are the offspring of this people.<ref name="Maenchen-Helfen"/><ref name="yanshigu">''[[Book of Han]]'', [http://www.guoxue123.com/shibu/0101/01hsyz/111.htm with commentary by Yan Shigu] '''Original text''':　烏孫於西域諸戎其形最異。今之胡人青眼、赤須，狀類彌猴者，本其種也。</ref><ref name="So134">{{harvnb|So|2009|p=134}}</ref>}}

Initially, when only a few number of skulls from Wusun territory were known, the Wusun were recognized as a [[Caucasoid]] people with slight [[Mongoloid]] admixture.<ref name="Maenchen-Helfen"/> Later, in a more thorough study by [[Soviet]] archaeologists of eighty-seven skulls of [[Zhetysu]], the six skulls of the Wusun period were determined to be purely Caucasoid or close to it.<ref name="Maenchen-Helfen"/><ref name="MalloryMair93">{{harvnb|Mallory|Mair|2000|pp=93–94}}</ref>

==Language==
The Wusun are generally believed to be an [[Indo-European]] people<ref>{{cite journal|last= Yu|first= Taishan|title= A Study of Saka History|journal= Sino-Platonic Papers|issue= 80|date= July 1998|url= http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp080_saka_sai.pdf|quote= The four tribes of the Asii and others, including the Da Yuezhi and the Wusun, were all Europoid and spoke Indo-European languages.}}</ref> and speak a language belonging to the [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian branch]].<ref name="Sinor153">{{harvnb|Sinor|1990|p=153}}</ref><ref name="Mair2013">{{harvnb|Mair|2013|p=}}</ref><ref name="Baumer212">{{harvnb|Baumer|2012|p=212}}</ref><ref name="So131">{{harvnb|So|2009|p=131}}</ref> They are thought to be [[Iranian languages|Iranian]]-speaking by the archaeologist [[Elena Efimovna Kuzmina|Elena Kuzmina]],<ref name="Kusmina">{{harvnb|Kusmina|2007|pp=78, 83}}</ref> [[linguist]] [[János Harmatta]],<ref name="Harmatta">{{harvnb|Harmatta|1994|pp=488–489}}</ref> [[Joseph Kitagawa]],<ref name="Kitagawa">{{harvnb|Kitagawa|2013|p=228}}</ref> David Durand-Guédy,<ref name="Durand-Guédy">{{harvnb|Durand-Guédy|2013|pp=24–25}}</ref> [[Turkologist]] [[Peter B. Golden]]<ref name="Golden2011">{{harvnb|Golden|2011|p=29}}</ref><ref name="Golden2010">{{harvnb|Golden|2010|p=}}</ref> and [[Central Asian studies|Central Asian]] scholar Denis Sinor.<ref name="Sinor328"/><ref name="Sinor236">{{harvnb|Sinor|1997|p=236}}</ref> [[Yan Shigu]] (581–645) described the Wusun's descendants with the exonym {{lang-zh|c=胡人|labels=no}} ''Húrén'' "foreigners, barbarians",<ref name="yanshigu"/> which had been used since the 6th century to denote [[Iranian peoples]], especially [[Sogdians]], in [[Central Asia]], besides other non-Chinese peoples.{{sfn|Atwood|2015|p=62 }} Archaeological evidence also supports the idea that Wusuns were Iranian speakers.{{sfn|Damgaard et al.|2018}}

[[Edwin G. Pulleyblank]] has suggested that the Wusun, along with the Yuezhi, the Dayuan, the Kangju and the people of [[Karasahr|Yanqi]], could have been [[Tocharian languages|Tocharian]]-speaking.{{sfn|Pulleyblank|1963b|p=227}}{{sfn|Pulleyblank|1966|pp=9–39}}<ref name="CHAC">{{harvnb|Loewe|Shaughnessy|1999|pp=87–88}}</ref><ref name="Benjamin52">{{harvnb|Benjamin|2007|p=52}}</ref> [[Colin Masica]] and [[David Keightley]] also suggest that the Wusun were Tocharian-speaking.<ref name="Masica">{{harvnb|Masica|1993|p=48}}</ref><ref name="Kneightley">{{harvnb|Kneightley|1983|pp=457–460}}</ref> Sinor found it difficult to include the Wusun within the Tocharian category of Indo-European until further research was done.<ref name="Sinor153"/> [[J. P. Mallory]] has suggested that the Wusun contained both Tocharian and Iranian elements.<ref name="Golden2010"/><ref name="Mallory1989">{{harvnb|Mallory|1989|pp=59–60}}</ref> Central Asian scholar [[Christopher I. Beckwith]] suggests that the Wusun were [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]-speaking.<ref name="Beckwith376"/> The first syllable of the Wusun royal title Kunmi was probably the royal title while the second syllable referred to the royal family name.<ref name="Beckwith376"/><ref name="Jixu">{{cite journal |last=Jixu |first=Zhou |date=July 2003 |editor-last1=Mair |editor-first1=Victor H. |editor-link1=Victor H. Mair |title=Correspondences of Cultural Words Between Old Chinese and Proto-Indo-European |url=http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp125_chinese_proto_indo_european.pdf |journal=[[Sino-Platonic Papers]] |publisher=Department of [[EALC|East Asian Languages and Civilizations]], [[University of Pennsylvania]] |volume=125 |access-date=26 May 2015}}</ref> Beckwith specifically suggests an Indo-Aryan etymology of the title Kunmi.<ref name="Beckwith376"/>

In the past, some scholars suggested that the Wusun spoke a [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] language. Chinese scholar Han Rulin, as well as [[Ármin Vámbéry]], A. Scherbak, P. Budberg, L. Bazin and V.P. Yudin, noted that the Wusun king's name ''Fu-li'' 拊離 ([[Old Chinese|OC]] (20 BC) {{lang|och|*phoʔ-rai}} > [[Eastern Han Chinese|LHC]] {{lang|mis|*pʰuoᴮ-liai ~ *pʰuoᴮ-lie}}{{sfn|Schuessler|2014|p=283}}), as reported in Chinese sources and translated as 'wolf', resembles Proto-Turkic *''bȫrü'' 'wolf'. This suggestion however is rejected by Classical Chinese Literature expert Francis K. H. So, Professor at [[National Sun Yat-sen University]].<ref name="So133">{{harvnb|So|2009|pp=133–134}}</ref> Other words listed by these scholars include the title ''bag'', ''beg'' 'lord'.<ref>Zuev, Yu.A. (2002) Early Türks: Essays on history and ideology, p. 35</ref> This theory has been criticized by modern Turkologists, including Peter B. Golden and [[Carter V. Findley]], who explain that none of the mentioned words are actually Turkic in origin.<ref name="Golden1992">{{harvnb|Golden|1992|pp=121–122}}</ref><ref name="Findley39" /><ref name="Findley45" /> Findley notes that the term ''böri'' is probably derived from one of the Iranian languages of Central Asia (cf. [[Khotanese language|Khotanese]] ''birgga-'').<ref name="Findley39">{{harvnb|Findley|2005|p=39}} "The term ''fu-li'' [附離], used to identify the ruler's retinue as 'wolves,' probably also derived from one of the Iranian languages."</ref> Meanwhile, Findley considers the title ''[[Bey|beg]]'' as certainly derived from the [[Sogdian language|Sogdian]] ''baga'' 'lord',<ref name="Findley45">{{harvnb|Findley|2005|p=45}} "Many elements of non-Turkic origin also became part of Türk statecraft. Important terms, for example, often came from non-Turkic languages, as in the cases of ''khatun'' for the ruler's wife and ''beg'' for 'aristocrat', both terms of Sogdian origin and ever since in common use in Turkish."</ref> a cognate of [[Middle Persian]] ''baγ'' (as used by the rulers of the [[Sassanid Empire]]), as well as [[Sanskrit]] ''[[bhaga]]'' and [[Russian language|Russian]] ''bog''. According to [[Encyclopædia Iranica]]: "The origin of beg is still disputed, though it is mostly agreed that it is a loan-word. Two principal etymologies have been proposed. The first etymology is from a Middle Iranian form of Old Iranian ''[[Bhaga|baga]]''; though the meaning would fit since the Middle Persian forms of the word often mean 'lord,' used of the king or others. The second etymology is from Chinese 伯 ([[Middle Chinese|MC]] ''pˠæk̚'' > ''bó'') 'eldest (brother), (feudal) lord'. [[Gerhard Doerfer]] on the other hand seriously considers the possibility that the word is genuinely Turkish. Whatever the truth may be, there is no connection with Turkish ''berk'', Mongolian ''berke'' 'strong' or Turkish ''bögü'', Mongolian ''böge'' 'wizard, shaman.'"<ref>http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/beg-pers Beg at Encyclopædia Iranica</ref><ref>http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/baga-an-old-iranian-term-for-god-sometimes-designating-a-specific-god Baga at Encyclopædia Iranica</ref>

==Economy==
According to the ''Shiji'' (c.&nbsp;123) and the ''Book of Han'' (c.&nbsp;96), [[Princess Xijun|Liu Xijun]], a daughter of the Han prince Liu Jian, was sent to the ruler (kunmi or kunmo) of the Wusun between 110&nbsp;BC and 105&nbsp;BC. She describes them as nomads who lived in [[Yurt|felt tents]], ate [[raw meat]] and drank [[Kumis|fermented mare's milk]].<ref>[http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%BC%A2%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7096%E4%B8%8B Hanshu  《漢書·卷九十六下》 ]  西域傳 '''Original text:''' 昆莫年老，言語不通，公主悲愁，自為作歌曰：「吾家嫁我兮天一方，遠托異國兮烏孫王。穹廬為室兮旃為牆，以肉為食兮酪為漿。居常土思兮心內傷，願為黃鵠兮歸故鄉。」</ref> Some early Chinese descriptions of the people were pejorative, describing them as "bad, greedy and unreliable, and much given to robbery", but their state was also described as very strong.<ref>Hanshu, '''Original text:''' 民剛惡，貪狼無信，多寇盜，最為強國。</ref> However, the Wusun were also noted for their harmony towards their neighbours, even though they were constantly raided by the Xiongnu and Kangju.

The principal activity of the Wusun was cattle-raising, but they also practiced [[agriculture]]. Since the climate of Zhetysu and Dzungaria did not allow constant wandering, they probably wandered with each change of season in the search of pasture and water. Numerous archaeological finds have found querns and agricultural implements and bones of domesticated animals, suggesting a semi-nomadic [[pastoral]] economy.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/>

==Social structure==
The social structure of the Wusun resembled that of the Xiongnu. They were governed by the Great Kunmi, whose power was [[Hereditary monarchy|hereditary]]. The Great Kunmi and his two sons, who commanded the east and left flanks of the Wusun realm, each commanded a force of 10,000 men.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> The Wusun also fielded a regular army, with each freeman being considered a warrior. Their administrative apparatus was fairly sophisticated, consisting of sixteen officials.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> The Great Kunmi was assisted by a council of elders, which limited his power to some degree.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> The Wusun elite maintained itself through tribute from conquered tribes, war booty and trading profits. The booty acquired by the Wusun in their frequent conflicts enabled the administrative elite and members of the Kunmi's guard to amass enormous riches.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/>

Wusun society seems to have been highly [[Social stratification|stratified]]. The main source of this stratification seems to have been [[property]] [[ownership]].<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> The wealthiest Wusuns are believed to have owned as many as 4,000 to 5,000 horses, and there is evidence pointing to privileged use of certain [[pasture]]s.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> Typical of early [[patriarchal]] stratified societies, Wusun [[widow]]s were obliged to remain within the family of their late husband by marrying one of his relatives, a concept known as [[levirate marriage]].<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> Y. A. Zadneprovskiy writes that the [[social inequality]] among the Wusun created social unrest among the lower strata.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> Wusun society also included many [[slave]]s, mostly prisoners of war. The Wusun are reported as having captured 10,000 slaves in a raid against the Xiongnu.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> Wusun slaves mainly laboured as servants and craftsmen, although the freemen formed the core of the Wusun economy.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/>

==Archaeology==
Numerous sites belonging to the Wusun period in Zhetysu and the [[Tian Shan]] have been excavated. Most of the cemeteries are burial grounds with the dead interred in pit-graves, referred to as the Chil-pek group, which probably belong the local Saka population.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> A second group of [[kurgan]]s with burials in lined "catacomb" chamber graves, of the so-called Aygîrdzhal group, are found together with the Chil-pek tombs from the 2nd&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC to the 5th&nbsp;century&nbsp;AD, and have been attributed to the Yuezhi.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> Graves of the Wusun period typically contain personal belongings, with the burials of the Aygîrdzhal group often containing weapons.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/>

A famous find is the Kargali burial of a female [[Shaman]] discovered at an altitude of {{Convert|2,300|m|ft|abbr=on}}, near [[Almaty]], containing jewellery, clothing, head-dress and nearly 300&nbsp;gold objects.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/> Another find at Tenlik in eastern Zhetysu contained the grave of a high-ranking warrior, whose clothing had been decorated with around 100&nbsp;golden bosses.<ref name="Zadneprovskiy"/>

==Connection to Western histography==
Some scholars such as Peter B. Golden have proposed that the Wusun may have been identical with the people described by [[Herodotus]] (IV.&nbsp;16–25) and in [[Ptolemy]]'s ''Geography'' as [[Issedones]] (also ''Issedoni'', ''Issedoi'' or ''Essedoni'').{{sfn|Golden|1992|p=51}}{{sfn|Yong|Bingua|1994|p=225}}{{sfn|Gardiner-Garden|1986}} Their exact location of their country in Central Asia is unknown. The Issedones are "placed by some in Western Siberia and by others in Chinese Turkestan," according to E. D. Phillips.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Phillips |first=E. D. |title=The Legend of Aristeas: Fact and Fancy in Early Greek Notions of East Russia, Siberia, and Inner Asia |journal=Artibus Asiae |volume=18 |issue=2 |year=1955 |pages=161–177 [p.&nbsp;166] |doi=10.2307/3248792 |jstor=3248792 }}</ref>

[[France|French]] historian [[Iaroslav Lebedynsky]] suggests that the Wusun may have been the [[Asii]] of [[Geographica (Strabo)|''Geographica'']].<ref>{{cite book |title=Les Saces |author=Iaroslav Lebedinsky |year=2006 |pages=60–63 |publisher=Errance |isbn=2-87772-337-2}}</ref>

==Genetics==
{{See also|Sintashta culture#Genetics|Andronovo culture#Genetics}}
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 231
| image1            = Genetic proximity of Eastern Indo-Europeans.png
| caption1          = Genetic proximity of Eastern Indo-Europeans: the Wusun had great genetic proximity with the [[Kangju]], the [[Andronovo]], the [[Sarmatians]], the [[Sakas]] or the [[Tagar]] populations.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Fan|title=The genomic origins of the Bronze Age Tarim Basin mummies |journal=Nature |date=November 2021 |volume=599 |issue=7884 |pages=256–261 |doi=10.1038/s41586-021-04052-7 |pmid=34707286 |language=en |issn=1476-4687|pmc=8580821 |bibcode=2021Natur.599..256Z }}</ref>
| image2            = Scythian genetic makeup.png
| caption2          = Genetic makeup of Iron Age Central Asian Scythians. The three main ancestry components are shown in green, red and violet representing the ancestries maximized in [[Anatolian Neolithic Farmers|Anatolian farmers]], [[Ganj Dareh|Iranian farmers]], and [[West Siberian hunter-gatherer|Hunter Gatherers from West Siberia]], respectively.
}}
A genetic study published in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' in May 2018 examined the remains of four Wusun buried between {{Circa}} 300 BC and 100 BC. The only [[Y-DNA]] of the Wusun culture belongs to the [[Haplogroup R1a#R1a1a1b2 (R-Z93) (Asia)|haplogroup R1a1a-Z93]]. The samples of [[mtDNA]] extracted belonged to [[Haplogroup C (mtDNA)|C4a1]], [[Haplogroup HV (mtDNA)|HV6]], [[J1c5a]] and [[Haplogroup U (mtDNA)#Haplogroup U5|U5b2c]]. The authors of the study found that the Wusun and [[Kangju]] had less [[East Asian people|East Asian]] mixture than the [[Xiongnu]] and the [[Saka]]. Both the Wusun and Kangju were suggested to be descended from [[Western Steppe Herders]] of the Late Bronze Age who admixed with Siberian hunter-gatherers and peoples related to the [[Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex]].{{sfn|Damgaard et al.|2018}} An admixture analysis suggested that Tian Shan Wusun derived the major ancestry from [[Western Steppe Herders]] at a proportion of 47%, the remainder from [[Ancient Northeast Asian#Altai MLBA and Khövsgöl LBA|Khövsgöl LBA herders]] (21%) and [[Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex|BMAC]] (32%).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gnecchi-Ruscone |first1=Guido Alberto |last2=Khussainova |first2=Elmira |last3=Kahbatkyzy |first3=Nurzhibek |last4=Musralina |first4=Lyazzat |date=26 March 2021 |title=Ancient genomic time transect from the Central Asian Steppe unravels the history of the Scythians |journal=Science Advances |language=en |volume=7 |issue=13 |bibcode=2021SciA....7.4414G |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abe4414 |issn=2375-2548 |pmc=7997506 |pmid=33771866 |article-number=eabe4414}} See Fig. 3A.</ref>

One theory has suggested that the Uissun tribe of Kazakhstan is descended from the Wusun, based on the superficial similarity of the ethnonym 'Uissun' to Wusun.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tynyshpaev |first1=M |title=Materials on the history of Kyrgyz-kazakh people. Tashkent: Eastern branch of the Kyrgyz State |date=1925 |publisher=Kyrgyz State Publishing |location=Tashkent |page=77}}</ref> A 2020 study could not find support for this theory, as the Uissun have a very low frequency of Haplogroup R1a (6%), most of it belonging to the Z94 clade rather than the Iranian Z93 clade.{{sfn|Zhabagin et al.|2020}} Most of the Uissun lineages were typical of Mongols, supporting their historically attested Mongolian origin.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Al-Din |first1=Rashid |title=Collection of histories. Volume 1, Book 1. |date=1952 |publisher=Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR |location=Moscow-Leningrad |page=151}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Indo-European topics}}
* [[Hyksos]]
* [[Iranians in China]]
* [[Kassites]]
* [[Maryannu]]
* [[Mitanni]]
* [[Qiang (historical people)|Qiang]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{Notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
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{{Refend}}

{{Historical polities in Xinjiang}}
{{Historical Non-Chinese peoples in China}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ancient peoples of China]]
[[Category:History of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:History of Kyrgyzstan]]
[[Category:Indo-European peoples]]
[[Category:Nomadic groups in Eurasia]]
[[Category:History of Imperial China]]