The Battle of Tian Shan was a battle fought in Tian Shan (in modern-day Xinjiang

Xinjiang

Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...

) in 99 BC during the Sino-Xiongnu War

Sino-Xiongnu War

The Sino-Xiongnu War is a name given to a series of battles between the Han Dynasty and the tribes of Xiongnu between 133 BC and 89 AD. The nature of these battles varied through time between Han conquest and the possession of city-states in central Asia. The war culminated in Geng Kui driving the...

. The battle ended with the defeat of the Han Dynasty, whose forces were led by Li Guangli.

Prelude

Both 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...

 and Han

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...

 forces suffered considerable losses in the Battle of Mobei

Battle of Mobei

The Battle of Mobei was a military campaign fought in the northern part of the Gobi Desert. It was part of a major strategic offensive launched by the Han Dynasty in January, 119 BC, into the heartland of the nomadic Xiongnu...

, after which the fighting ceased temporarily. After a period of recovery, Xiongnu began to invade the borders of the Han Dynasty again. Finally, Emperor Liu Che ordered Li Guangli to lead an attack on Xiongnu.

The battle

In 99 BC, Li Guangli led 30 thousand cavalrymen in an attack on the Xiongnu forces in Tian Shan. The attack was successful, with enemy losses totaling over 10 thousand. However, as the Han army withdrew, it became surrounded by enemy forces, and many soldiers died of starvation. Eventually, Li escaped with the help of Zhao Chong, but almost 60 percent of the soldiers had lost their lives by this time. Li Ling, leading 5 thousand cavalrymen, was also attacked by Xiongnu. He eventually surrendered.