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Rouran Wikipedia

Juan Juan (wg), Ru??nru??n (?????? lit. meaning "Wriggling insects"), R?? R?? (?????? lit. meaning "Fodder") or R??ur??n (??????) was the name of a confederation of nomadic tribes on the northern borders of China proper from late 4th century until late 6th century. Because one of their member tribes, the Hua (who they placed, at the head of the Uighurs in 460), later appeared in Europe as the Eurasian Avars, the gross oversimplification that they were synonymous with the Avars has become widespread. . The term Rouran (??????) is a Chinese language transciption of the pronunciation of the name the confederacy used to refer to itself. Some scholars claim that the Korean pronunciation Yuyon is a more archaic form and hence closer to the original pronunciation. Ruan Ruan and Ru Ru remained in modern usage despite once being derogatory. They derived from orders given by the non-Han Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei who waged war against the Rouran and intended to intimidate the confederacy.

Little is known of their ruling elite, which the Weishu 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 Asena into their federation, the power of the Rouran was broken by an alliance of Gokturks, the Chinese Northern Qi and Northern Zhou dynasties and tribes in Central Asia in 560s. The Chinese Northern Wei Dynasty, for instance, had established Six Garrisons|six major garrisons bordering the Rouran, which later became the foci of native peoples uprising against sinicization|sinicized peoples in early 6th century.

Last Modified:   2005-11-04