Page | 21imperial army conquered most of the northern Xiong-nu within a few decades after the
split. The southern Xiong-nu state declined more slowly but suffered a similar fate. By
the end of the Han Dynasty in 220 C.E., the Xiong-nu Empire had dwindled to no more
than a few settlements in the northern China hills.^98
From the fourth century through the eighth century C.E., a new series of tribal
confederations arose on the Mongolian steppes and adjoining areas of Central Asia. In
succession, the Rouran (mid-fourth century–555 C.E.), Gokturk (552–744), and Uighur
(745–840) empires spread across the lands of Inner Asia.
99, (^100) Historians generally
consider the Gokturk Empire to be the first Turkic political entity. Unlike earlier nomadic
confederations, the Gokturk rulers implemented a primitive state structure that led to the
development of some of the first cities in the steppes.^101 Trade relations with the
“sedentary world” became more prominent as Silk Road caravans passed through the
Empire on their way to or from China.102,^103 The Uighurs that overthrew the Gokturks
spoke a language similar to their predecessors. They ruled from Karabalghasun, a city on
the Orhon River whose foundations are still visible today.^104
(^98) Rafe de Crespigny, “The Division and Destruction of the Xiongnu Confederacy in the First and Second
Centuries, AD,” Faculty of Asian Studies at the Australian National University, 2004,
http://www.anu.edu.au/asianstudies/decrespigny/han_xiongnu.html
(^99) Ulrich Theobald, “Chinese History–Non-Chinese Peoples and Neighboring States: Rouran,”
ChinaKnowledge.org, 2000, http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Altera/rouran.html
(^100) Stanford J. Shaw, “1: The Turks in History,” in History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, vol.
1 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1976), 2–3.
(^101) Larry Moses and Stephen A. Halkovic, Jr., “Chapter 2: Mongolia Before the Mongols,” in Introduction
to Mongolian History and Culture (Bloomington, IN: Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, Indiana
University, 1985), 21.
(^102) Larry Moses and Stephen A. Halkovic, Jr., “Chapter 2: Mongolia Before the Mongols,” in Introduction
to Mongolian History and Culture (Bloomington, IN: Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, Indiana
University, 1985), 21.
(^103) Stanford J. Shaw, “1: The Turks in History,” in History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, vol.
1 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1976), 2–3.
(^104) Encyclopædia Britannica Online, “History of Central Asia: The Middle Ages: The Uighurs,” 2011,
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/102315/history-of-Central-Asia/73538/The-Uighur-empire#