Battle of Ikh Bayan
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Ikh Bayan ' onMouseout='HidePop("16654")' href="/topics/Mongolian_language">Mongolian
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...

: Battle of Great Rich), was a major expedition launched against the Xiongnu
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources...

 by the Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

 in June, 89. The battle was a success for the Han under Dou Xian
Dou Xian
Dou Xian was a prominent Chinese general and statesman of the Eastern Han Dynasty. A native of modern-day Xianyang, Shaanxi Province, he was part of the powerful Dou clan which dominated court politics during his tenure. However, his father Dou Xun fell into disgrace and died in 70, leaving Dou...

 (d. 92).

In June 89 the Han dispatched a force which promptly advanced from Jilu, Manyi
Baotou
Baotou is a mid-sized industrial city in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, its urban areas are home to a population of approximately 1.78 million, with a total population of over 2.65 million accounting for counties under...

 and Guyang
Baotou
Baotou is a mid-sized industrial city in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, its urban areas are home to a population of approximately 1.78 million, with a total population of over 2.65 million accounting for counties under...

 in three great columns that included their allies, specifically the main army of the Southern Xiongnu.

With minimal resistance they advanced towards Gobi Altai in present-day Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

. A large detachment then moved to the northwest, and in the major battle of the campaign they defeated the Northern Shanyu at Ikh Bayan and pursued him westwards into the Altain Nuruu ranges.

Dou Xian brought the main body of his troops in triumphal progress north to the Khangai Mountains, west of present day Kharkhorin
Kharkhorin
Kharkhorin is a city and sum center in the Övörkhangai Province in Mongolia. Sum population was 13,828 , 13,964 , 13,496. Kharkhorin city population is 8,977 , city area is 20.5 km2....

. There he erected the Stele of Yanran , composed by his client, the historian Ban Gu
Ban Gu
Ban Gu , courtesy name Mengjian , was a 1st century Chinese historian and poet best known for his part in compiling the Book of Han. He also wrote in the main poetic genre of the Han era, a kind of poetry interspersed with prose called fu. Some are anthologized by Xiao Tong in his Selections of...

, which celebrated the achievement of the battle.

Aftermath

After the battle, Dou Xian
Dou Xian
Dou Xian was a prominent Chinese general and statesman of the Eastern Han Dynasty. A native of modern-day Xianyang, Shaanxi Province, he was part of the powerful Dou clan which dominated court politics during his tenure. However, his father Dou Xun fell into disgrace and died in 70, leaving Dou...

 led his forces back, and the Northern Shanyu sought to negotiate peace. The Southern Shanyu Tuntuhe, however, was anxious to destroy his rival completely, and early in 90, as embassies were still being exchanged, he launched an attack, captured his rival's seal and treasure and his wives and daughters.

Dou Xian then reported that the Northern Shanyu was so weak there was no point in treating with him further. In February 91, he mounted a final invasion, with two of his generals Geng Kui
Geng Kui
Geng Kui , born in Xianyang, Shaanxi, was a general sent by Dou Xian to defeat the unnamed Northern Chanyu, leader of the Xiongnu nomads. He achieved this in 91 AD, shortly after the Battle of Ikh Bayan. The Northern Chanyu was defeated once more and fled away, abandoning his kingdom...

 and Ren Shang
Ren Shang
Ren Shang was the Protector General of the Western Regions under Eastern Han between 102-106 CE.In February, 91, he and Geng Kui defeated the unnamed Northern Shanyu shortly after the Battle of Ikh Bayan, on commission by Dou Xian. In 93, he killed the last northern chanyu, Yuchujian Chanyu during...

 in charge. They advanced from Juyan and defeated the shanyu, captured his mother and killed 5,000 of his armies, drove him in flight again to the west from Altayn Nuruu. He was not heard of again.

By 93 those of his 100,000 families of followers in Mongolian steppe
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

 who resisted to surrender, had assumed the name of Xianbei
Xianbei
The Xianbei were a significant Mongolic nomadic people residing in Manchuria, Inner Mongolia and eastern Mongolia. The title “Khan” was first used among the Xianbei.-Origins:...

 instead of Xiongnu. They eventually emerged as the main body of Toba
Tuoba
Tuoba, or Tabgach, were a clan of Xianbei people of ancient China.-Xianbei Tuoba:Tuoba was a clan of the Xianbei people in the early centuries of the 1st millennium AD. They established the State of Dai from 310 to 376 AD, and the Northern Wei Dynasty from 386 to 536 AD...

 and Rouran
Rouran
Rouran , Mongolia name Jujan or Nirun Ruanruan/Ruru , Tan Tan , Juan-Juan or Zhu-Zhuwas the name of a confederation of nomadic tribes on the northern borders of Inner China from the late 4th century until the middle 6th century...

 later in between 3rd and 4th-century, its former territory was steadily taken over by the tribes of Xianbei from the northeast.

The rest of the Xiongnu left in Dzungaria
Dzungaria
Dzungaria, also called Zungaria, is a geographical region in northwest China corresponding to the northern half of Xinjiang. It covers approximately , lying mostly within Xinjiang, and extending into western Mongolia and eastern Kazakhstan...

, specifically near Lake Barkol, had not been directly affected, and some part of the shattered polity was reconstructed under a new shanyu. The new shanyu, however, was killed in 93, and after him no shanyu of the Northern Xiongnu was ever heard of again . On the frontier of China which faced present day Mongolia, the hostile Xiongnu state was ended.
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