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Modu Chanyu
Xiongnu chanyu who unified the steppe and trapped Gaozu at Baideng
Mural of the event “Siege of Baideng”, which this person took part in.
In the early Western Han, the state had emerged from late Qin warfare with the economy in tatters and the populace fragile. Meanwhile, the Xiongnu cavalry empire on the northern steppe surged in strength under Modu Chanyu and raided the frontier repeatedly.
Also known as Modu · Maodun Chanyu
Modu Chanyu, leader of the Xiongnu, killed his father Touman in 209 BCE and made himself chanyu. He defeated the Donghu and expanded west, north and south, building the Xiongnu empire. In 200 BCE his forces surrounded Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, at Baideng for seven days; the siege was lifted after his consort intervened, and a marriage-alliance agreement followed. He died in 174 BCE and was succeeded by his son Jizhu, Laoshang Chanyu.
Life and times
Dates c. 234 BCE–174 BCE
- 200 BCESiege of BaidengTook part
- 200 BCEGaozu Besieged at Baideng
- c. 200 BCELiu Jing Proposes Heqin with Xiongnu