East Asia · The Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern dynasties
Rouran Khaganate
330–555
The Rouran (330–555) were a nomadic confederation dominating the Mongolian steppe, the chief rivals of the Northern Wei. Their ruler was the first to use the title "khagan" (Shelun, c. 402).
- Existed
- 330–555
- Shown on the map
- AD 402–554
- Peak area
- 3.9M km²
- Region
- East Asia
Overview
The Rouran (330–555) were a nomadic confederation dominating the Mongolian steppe, the chief rivals of the Northern Wei. Their ruler was the first to use the title "khagan" (Shelun, c. 402). They exacted tribute and raided the Wei frontier, prompting the Six Garrisons. The Rouran were destroyed in 552–555 by their former vassal blacksmiths, the Göktürks (Turks), under Bumin—an event that launched the Turkic khaganates. Some scholars link fleeing Rouran to the European Avars.
Common questions
- What was Rouran Khaganate?
- The Rouran (330–555) were a nomadic confederation dominating the Mongolian steppe, the chief rivals of the Northern Wei. Their ruler was the first to use the title "khagan" (Shelun, c. 402).
- When did Rouran Khaganate exist?
- Rouran Khaganate existed 330–555. On this map it is drawn AD 402–554.
- How large was Rouran Khaganate?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Rouran Khaganate covered about 3.9 million km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
Sources
This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia article for each polity as the basis of these profiles, supplemented by Encyclopaedia Britannica, chinaknowledge.de, the World History Encyclopedia, museum and university sources, and the academic works it lists. The article this entry is anchored on:
- Wikipedia — Rouran Khaganate en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouran_Khaganate
This entry was last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
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