Rouran Khaganate

Rouran Khaganate
330 AD–555 AD
Core territories of the Rouran Khaganate
Status	Khaganate
Capital	Ting northwest of Gansu[1] Mumocheng[1]
Common languages	Mongolic (Rouran & Mongolian)[2] Old Turkic Middle Chinese (diplomacy)[3]
Religion	Tengrism Shamanism Buddhism
Khagan
• 330 AD	Mugulü
• 555 AD	Yujiulü Dengshuzi
Legislature	Kurultai
Historical era	Late antiquity
• Established	330 AD
• Disestablished	555 AD
Area
405[4][5]	2,800,000 km2 (1,100,000 sq mi)
Preceded by Succeeded by Xianbei First Turkic Khaganate Northern Qi Northern Zhou
Today part of	China Kazakhstan Mongolia Russia

History of Mongolia
Timeline States Rulers 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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The Rouran Khaganate (柔然; Róurán), also known as Ruanruan or Juan-juan (蠕蠕; Ruǎnruǎn) (or variously Jou-jan, Ruruan, Ju-juan, Ruru, Ruirui, Rouru, Rouruan or Tantan),^[6][7] was a tribal confederation and later state founded by a people of Proto-Mongolic Donghu origin.^[8][9] The Rouran supreme rulers used the title of khagan, a popular title borrowed from the Xianbei.^[10] The Rouran Khaganate lasted from the late 4th century until the middle 6th century with territories that covered all of modern day Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, as well as parts of Manchuria in Northeast China, Eastern Siberia, Xinjiang, and Kazakhstan. The Hephthalites were vassals of the Rouran Khaganate until the beginning of the 5th century, with the royal house of Rourans intermarrying with the royal houses of the Hephthalites.^[11][12] The Rouran Khaganate ended when they were defeated by a Göktürk rebellion at the peak of their power, which subsequently led to the rise of the Turks in world history.

Their Khaganate overthrown, some Rouran remnants possibly became Tatars^[13][14] while others possibly migrated west and became the Pannonian Avars (known by such names as Varchonites or Pseudo Avars), who settled in Pannonia (centred on modern Hungary) during the 6th century.^[15] These Avars were pursued into the Byzantine Empire by the Göktürks, who referred to the Avars as a slave or vassal people, and requested that the Byzantines expel them. While this Rouran-Avars link remains a controversial theory, a recent DNA study has confirmed the genetic origins of the Avar elite as originating from the Mongolian plains.^[16] Other theories instead link the origins of the Pannonian Avars to peoples such as the Uar.

An imperial confederation, the Rouran Khaganate was based on the "distant exploitation of agrarian societies", although according to Nikolay Kradin the Rouran had a feudal system, or "nomadic feudalism". The Rouran controlled trade routes, and raided and subjugated oases and outposts such as Gaochang. They are said to have shown the signs of "both an early state and a chiefdom". The Rouran have been credited as "a band of steppe robbers", because they adopted a strategy of raids and extortion of Northern China. The Khaganate was an aggressive militarized society, a "military-hierarchical polity established to solve the exclusively foreign-policy problems of requisitioning surplus products from neighbouring nations and states."^[1]