Early Hunic Invaders of Central Asia That Influenced the History of India, China, and Eurasia, the Erection of Great Wall and Dark Period of Indian History

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Early Hunic Invaders of Central Asia that influenced the history of India, China, And Eurasia, the Erection of Great Wall and Dark Period of Indian History:

By: Bipin Shah

Dark Period of Indian history:

During my world travel and visit to the Great Wall of China, I could not help wonder the real reasons for building such a massive wall at great cost of life and sacrifices? We always admire such monumental structure and cataloged them as “Great wonder of the world “. This and the pyramids are similar topics of the history that are often unknown to the public and never questioned or taught in the school. This type of subject not only intrigues me but compels me to investigate further. I decided to investigate further and found out how neatly this world event indirectly fits in to the puzzle of Indian subcontinent’s history, when Purana writers and the history keepers lost control of the Indian history and their genealogy of the Indian rulers. The Indian historian considers this to be the dark period of Indian history that began with the fall of Mauryan Empire and lasted until the rise of Gupta Empire. This is a total period of 500 to 550 years.

During this period of uncertainty, India witnessed a massive influx of the foreign tribes from its borderland that was displaced as a result of chain reaction that started in the Northern China. India unwittingly became a melting pot of various ancient ethnicities during this “dark period” of the Indian history for which much remains unknown. Purana dismisses this event with one simple sentence: “Mlechha will rule India.”

A similar melting process is now taking place in countries like America, Australia, Canada and South America but in a peaceful and orderly ways and the key driver for modern migration is the same that is just “economics”. However, during pre historical period, it was not orderly and civilized. The attacking invaders were savage and brutal soldiers of army who plundered everything and took the women. This resulted in the formation of mixed ethnicities and gene pools between various ancient races and ethnicities with the different anthropological and physical characteristics. This should serve as a reminder that the humanity is so mixed that there is no clear gene pool of the old world that exists today.

The Great Walls of China:

The Great Wall of China stretches from Shanhaiguan the east, to Lop Lake in the west that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. According to Chinese archaeological survey, using satellite imageries have concluded that the China emperor Ming’s walls measure roughly 5,475 miles. This is made up 3,885 miles sections of actual wall, 225 miles of trenches and 1,390 miles of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers. Once everything is taken into account, the entire defensive structure will measure out to be

1 approximately 13,170 miles. The oldest section of the wall is dated to 5th century BC to prevent fellow Chinese ruling states to attack each others. The Han emperor Huangdi (220- 206 BC) built the western section to prevent the Mongolian Xiongnu tribe from North attacking the farmlands of Han kingdom. The successive emperors over several centuries used the slaves, soldier, criminals serving sentences and ordinary people to build this massive wall. The great wall is now designated as UNESCO world heritage site and one of the wonder of the ancient world. It serves as a reminder of the human spirit and effort that equates to no lesser value than sending a man to the moon during 20th century AD.

Obviously many sacrificed their life in building this and other monuments of the world like pyramids ,Taj Mahal, Grand Mosque, coliseum, and countless other ancient monuments. The individual personal stories of the builders are unknown is now buried with them.

Warring States Of Ancient china:

In a Comparative chronology of India and china, when India emerged as a united country under Mauryan rule, the china was factionalized into warring states. Much of Northern part of China was inhabited by wild tribes of Mongol, Hun and Turkic ethnicities that constantly menaced their southern agriculturalist states of the south. This period of instability continued in China during 476 BC - 221 BC. During this initial stage, the ruling powers of individual southern warring states had began to build the defensive walls to protect themselves against each others. The state of Chu was the first to build a wall, followed by the Yan, Wei, Zhao and Qin Shi Huang (Huangdi).

During warring state days, Qin Shi Huang (259 BC – 210 BC), personal name Zhao Zheng or Chao Cheng was the king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC. He ruled until his death in 210 BC at the young age of 49. He called himself as the First Han emperor “Shǐ Huangdi” or Huangdi. Huangdi, (Qin Shi Huang) became a pivotal figure in Chinese history. After unifying China, he and his chief advisor Li Si passed a series of major economic and political reforms. He undertook gigantic projects, including building and unifying various sections of the Great Wall of China, the now famous city-sized mausoleum guarded by the life-sized Terracotta Army, and a massive national road system, all at the expense of numerous lives. To ensure stability, Qin Shi Huang outlawed and burned many books and buried some scholars alive, he ordered General Meng Tian to connect the existing walls and to extend them further as a front line defense against possible invasion of the Hunic barbarians. This Hunic confederacy of Xiongnu tribes of Inner Mongolia of the north steppe was mostly made up of amalgam of Sino-Tibetan origin of Altaic (Turkic) and Mongoloid Hunic tribes.

Great Wall of China- at “Mutianyu” section near Beijing, China- Picture from the author’s visit in 2009

Today, the best known and most visited sections of the wall are at Badaling, Mutianyu, Simatai and Jinshanling and these were built during the later Ming Dynasty. They were all built to protect the people and territories situated south of the wall from a perpetual threat of raids and invasion by the enemies such as Mongols and later Huns.

Initially, these walls among warring states were made mostly by stamping earth and gravel between board frames. Up on consolidation of warring states into a single Chinese empire by the first Han emperor, the walls were reinforced with stones from nearby mountains and subsequent Ming emperors continue to improve the fortification and construction techniques.

Chinese worker Building wall Chinese soldier Guarding the wall Barbarian –Xiongnu Hunic Tribe of North

Stretch of Wall covering Massive Terrain

Panoramic view of the walls

Xiongnu-Early Hunic Tribe referred as “Barbarian of the North Mangolia”

Strabo, a Greek historian applied a generic label to all western central Asian tribes of Steppe beyond Anatolia as “Scythians”, based on similarity of customs and practices that he found on horse riding, bow shooting and other behaviors found consistent with the nomadic warrior group. However, Strabo did not travel beyond Persian borders to Eastern nomadic steppes. All horse riding pastoral nomads employed similar military tactics although their worshipping and cultural habits vary. Greeks, had very shallow and limited knowledge beyond east of Pamir mountain, therefore, Alexander, the great, who received the map form Archimedes, showed the end of the world near the valleys of the Afghanistan.

The early Historians of middle ages relied heavily on similar characterization while ignoring the more precise identification made by neighboring regional countries like Persia, India and China. The access, availability and data from earlier historical texts of China and India have redefined some early observation. It is also should be noted that early Sanskrit Purana scholars were guilty of same crime by applying generic labels such as “Mlecchas” to all foreign tribes. The Romans and Persians employed the same labeling to equate all alien tribes that were not like them.

The Xiongnu (Mongolian-Hsiung-nu); Chinese, Хүн or Хүннү, Khün or Khünnü; 匈奴匈奴匈奴 ; pinyin: Xiōngnú; Guangyun (Middle Chinese): Xiongnu (English), Xwn for Sogdinians, probably Old Turkic Qun were ancient pastoral nomadic-tribe that formed a state and confederacy located north of China in Inner Mongolia. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources. Very little are known of their titles and names and whatever the information that are presented from Chinese translation of ancient records and other observers of the past that are the subject to reinterpretation. An outside observer renders the verdict on other people they never encountered before based on their own personal experience and unseen alien behavior of others rather than understanding their culture in its totality.

These nomadic tribes of North china depended on grazing lands for their animals with limited vegetation and agricultural resources. Their survival dependent on the access of grazing lands for their domesticated animals. The meat and dairy products from the animal provided the

5 food while skin hide provided clothing and tents for nomads. Primarily of Bronze Age culture, they were fierce and warlike nomads and excelled in horse riding and “hit and run” military strategy. Later they developed the access to the Iron Age weapons that produces devastating effect on other neighbors.

Hans Kingdom was one of the most effected kingdoms of the warring states to suffer from Hunic raids. In order to counter the barbarians from the north, they sought military alliance with Yueh-Chinh. Yueh-Chinh for its own reasons declined the offer. They either did not want to be a target of the barbarians or risk alienating the warring states that were fighting Han emperor. They also had a bad experience of Xiongnu few hundred years earlier; that forced them to their present location at oasis in Tarim basin.

Ultimately their strategy of “non-alignment” did not help Yueh-Chinh. Xiongnu Hun still attacked them under pressure from Chinese army. Xiongnu must have realized that daily hunt for food stealing is not the final solution to their problem but to find alternate sites for grazing lands that Yueh-Chinh had control over. They struck their first blow and chased Yueh- Chinh all across central Asia. The stratagem that followed and its interpretation by this author is summarized is documented here from various sources:

Xionhnu warrior leading attack

Xiongnu people did not have any extensive writing so where ever they went they had to adapt to other people’s writing system. The ethnic identity of these people is a subject of great controversy because they have not defined them for themselves in any writing. Other people who observed them have defined them at different times. The people only have minimum knowledge of them such as their titles and personal names that were preserved in the Chinese annals. Some historians have applied various labels to them such as Proto-Turkic, Proto-Mongolic, Proto-Yeniseian (Siberian-Altaic) and Proto-Uralic descent with a touch of Tocharian (Turanian-Kushan of India), Iranian or Indian tribe of Saka Khabar living on

Northern side of Kaibar pass, or near Khorasan. This hypothesis can be checked out by recent genetic and forensic research on ancient mummies. It is believed that they also possibly practiced Tengriism (religion of Mongols). The name Xiongnu may be cognate to the name Huns, but that claim is still being debated. The difficulties lies with the facts that as time passed, the name Xiongnu was applied to the Xiongnu subjects too that included the people who they conquered or intermarried with and they soon became mixed origins tribe of Turkic, Mongolic, Tocharians and Iranics people. Therefore, the ancient observers observing them at the different time in the history found differences in their physical characteristics and accordingly they defined them differently. We hope to add some additional information that may clarify this amalgam of allied group of Huns.

The literary sources that are used are from various sources that include the Han dynastic historians that includes the “Shnji” chronicle of the late 2nd to early 1st centuries BC (Translated by Sima Qian 1959), the “Hanshu” compiled in the late 1st to early 2nd centuries AD (Translated by Ban Gu 1962), and the “Hou Hanshu” compiled in the 5 th century AD (Translated by Fan Ye 1965). The former two sources are contemporary observations while later are collection of various written sources and observations made after the events took place. Last write-up by the “Hou Hanshu” loses some of its relevance since it is written very late when the events and peoples of the Xiongnu Empire have gone through significant Genetic mixing and ethnographic changes and did not reflect the original nomads of Xiongnu empire. However, it gives further important details on lives, culture and movements of nomads and reconstructing the social, economic, and political dynamics of the Xiongnu Empire.

The modern archeologies also have become very useful. Presently, there exist four fully excavated sites that have published results of their findings:

1. Ivolga region (Davydova 1996). 2. Dyrestui (Miniaev 1998). 3. Burkhan Tolgoi (Törbat et al. 2003) 4. Dao-Dunzi (Ningxia et al. 1988).

This archeology covers the entire eastern steppe of Eurasia. Aside from the unique features of these sites, thousands of tombs have been discovered and catalogued in Transbaikalia (Konovalov 1976) and all others mentioned above are in present state of Mongolia. The recent information and images from older excavations conducted in Mongolia have recently been compiled in handbooks called (Xiongnu tombs of 2008) and catalogues of Xiongnu archaeology.

Transbaikalia especially contains the characteristics of Royal Tomb of Xiongnu due to its “large burial chambers.” This empire stretched beyond the borders of modern-day Mongolia. The Xiongnu conquest started at the end of third century B.C. and caused the movement of large populations as well as vigorous interaction among various cultural groups in the eastern steppe zone.

Reigns of Chief -Touman and Modu Xiongnu:

The earliest known Xiongnu ruler was Touman, who reigned approximately between 225 BC and 210 BC. He spent much of his rule over uniting the various nomadic components living in Mongolia such as Mongols and Turkic elements of nomads and he invaded Northern China to acquire more pastoral land important for them. These domesticated animals provided them all essential foods for survival. With those newly-acquired pastures, the Xiongnu economy prospered, partly due to the fact that the nomadic economy was greatly dependent on grassy plains and grazing lands. He also had an eye on lucrative trades of Silk Road between China and the west. He raided the caravans at his leisure. The General Meng of previous Qin dynasty ruler had forced Chanyu Touman out of the Ordos Desert in 215 BC. The Chanyu means “the magnificent” like an imperial title of the clan.

Tarim Basin-incl. Kushan

th Xiongnu Empire 4 century BC under Chief Modu

Next Xin Gaozu Emperor thus enacted a trade embargo against the Xiongnu. To compensate the Chinese border merchants of the northern kingdoms of Dai and Yan for lost trade, he made them government officials with handsome salaries. Outraged by this embargo, Modu Chanyu planned to attack Han. The Xiongnu invaded Taiyuan in 200 BCE and were aided by the defected fiduciary allies; Xin Emperor Gaozu (Shin Huangdi) personally led his forces through the snow to Pingcheng (near modern Datong, Shanxi). In the ensuing Battle of Baideng, Gaozu's forces were heavily surrounded for seven days; running short of supplies, he was forced to flee. After this defeat, the court adviser Liu Jing convinced the emperor to create a peace treaty and marriage alliance with the Xiongnu Chanyu called the “Heqin agreement”. By this arrangement established in 198 BCE, the Han hoped to modify the Xiongnu’s violent cultural values with luxury goods given as tribute (silks, wine, and foodstuffs, ivory) and to make Modu's future children born of Huangdi daughter, a Chinese successor and a subordinate to grandfather Huangdi. The exact amounts of annual tribute as promised by Emperor Gaozu- Huangdi given to the Xiongnu in the 2nd century BC after the defeat are unknown. The emperor was known with many names such as Gaozu, Huangdi, shuangadi etc. Emperor Gaozu was initially set to give his only daughter to Modu, but under the opposition of Empress Lü, Gaozu (Sinn Huangdi) made a female relative, a princess and married her to Modu. The offering of princess brides and tributary items scarcely satisfied the Touman who often raided Han's northern frontiers and violated the 162 BC treaty that established the Great Wall as the border between Han and Xiongnu.

The Emperor that united china was called with various names such as Wudi, Huangdi, Gaozu and Sin Huangdi

Touman’s son and successor Modu Chanyu built the Xiongnu into a powerful empire by subjugating many other tribes. By the time of Modu's death in 174 BC, the Xiongnu domains stretched from what is now Manchuria of Mongolia to the Altai and Tian Shan mountain ranges of Central Asia. The Chinese feared incursions by the Xiongnu under the guise of trade and were concerned that Han-manufactured iron weapons would fall into Xiongnu hands.

Modu, son of Touman was sent to exile at the urging of Touman’s new wife. We do not know for sure it this was a way for Touman to learn of Yuezhi oasis for search of better pastoral grounds or court intrigue supported by his Han’s wife. Modu went to the Yuezhi, and even married Yuezhi woman. The nomadic, Yuezhi Tocharians were Indo-European people settled in Gansu region (now Uighur province). Several hundred years earlier, Yuezhi were driven away to Gansu region by Xiongnu group from Northern steppe. We do not know for sure Touman’s motive or strategy. After exiling Modu for few years to Yuezhi camp, Touman decided to march to Yuezhi kingdom and asked them to return Modu. Up on receipt of Modu, Touman gave him a unit of 10,000 cavalries under his command. One can then safely conclude that he was sent either as a spy to learn of Yuezhi military capacity or his relationship with Huangdi deteriorated that he decided not to follow his new wife’s advise.

Modu trained his men like a “special force”, expert in “hit and run” guerrilla warfare. Modu was very ambitious and he started coveting his father’s throne. In one of the hunting expedition with his father Touman, he staged and later claimed that he "accidently" shot his father with an arrow in 209 BC. After crowning himself as the new Xiongnu ruler, he earned the title of Chanyu himself. Modu consolidated his kingdom by eliminated nearby tribes of the Donghu, the Xiongnu eastern neighbor, and brought them under his rule in 208 BC. After his Donghu campaign, the Donghu confederacy split into two branches: Xianbei and Wuhuan. It is believed that the Mongols descended from Xianbei. Modu also defeated the Turkic peoples living in Northern Mongolia known by Chinese as the tribe of “Dingling”.

Orlat Battle Plaque of Yueh-Chinh defenders

Now, he was ready to take on the Yuezhi tribe of Tarim Basin (Kushan of India). He attacked them in 203 BC. These unexpected but bold victories allowed Modu to gain the control of the important Silk trade roads between east and west at strategic junction of Wusun territories. This control and power supplied the Xiongnu with great incomes and threatened the Han emperor. This prompted Han emperor to expedite the construction of the wall that still stands today as UNESCO heritage. The folklore says that Touman’s son Modu not only killed the king of Yuezhi but used “his skull as a drinking cup.”

The loss of trade and continuous raid on Chinese farm land created a scarcity of goods for Hans’s kingdom and the Han ruler Gaodi felt trapped. After giving his relative in marriage alliance and signing the peace treaty and paying annual tributes to the Xiongnu, Gaodi saw no end to Chanyu’s demands. Modu never tried to physically invade China completely as he knew that he will never be able to hold it permanently over a hostile territory. His repeated incursions and raids created chaos in the empire. After Modu’s death, he was succeeded by his son Jiyu who ruled around 175 BC and 160 BC. During his reign, the Xiongnu kept their power and control; Jiyu managed to penetrate deep into Central China near ancient Chang'an, capital city of Han emperor but finally entered into a peace treaty by marrying another Han princess as a part of old treaty devised by Han emperor. Under new arrangement, the Han Chinese citizens were allowed to enter into the Xiongnu territories.

The Han emperor sent spies disguised as officers and diplomats. In 89 BC, however, Hulugu Chanyu requested a renewal of the “Heqin agreement” with the increased amount of annual tribute at 400,000 Liter of wine, 100,000 Liter (2,840 U.S. bushels) of grain, and 10,000 bales of silk; much higher amount than what was previously agreed upon. Although the treaty acknowledged both Huangdi and chanyu are equals as chiefs, Han emperor in fact was treated as the inferior partner since it was forced to pay tribute to appease the militarily powerful Xiongnu.

These spies provoked the non-Xiongnu subjects to revolt against their masters, which later resulted in the breakup of the vast Xiongnu Empire. Zhang Qian, the General of the Han emperor was famous from his expedition to tract the Yuezhi. After 10 years of his following and learning of these people gave the Chinese wealth of information to expand their presence in these new territories of the west and expand further. Xiongnu’s empire reached its zenith during Jiyu’s rule, the territory of Xiongnu extended from Korea to the East, Lake Balkash to the West, Lake Baikal to the North and Tibet to the South.

Xiongnu controlled the oasis city-states of the Tarim Basin as they forced Yuezhi more west towards the kingdom of Bactria. Xiongnu’s military tactics and organizations skills were so successful that it served as a blue print for other successive nomadic warriors. Attila, Chengiz, Tamer Lane, Mogul and Turkic invaders followed the same blue prints.

Han’s emperor strategy finally came to fruitation when Xiongnu empire broke up within itself with internal strife and rebellion. Xiongnu lost Tarim Basin and silk road cities like Tian Shan, Jungaria and Turfan to Han’s armies thereby Xiongnu lost complete control of Silk Road to Chinese. The attack and threat and raid from the North were getting dissipated with completion of the Great wall by 85 BC. The tributaries Wuhuan and the Dingling rebelled and became independent. The victorious “Dingling Turk” split into two groups, western and eastern branch. The west branch became the forerunner of Turks and Tartars. In 54 BC, the Eastern Xiongnu withdrew to Ordos while the Western Xiongnu migrated to Sogdiana in Transoxiana, where they set up a new empire near the River Talas with Yuezhi on the run again.

During 51 BC, under another tribe of Xiongnu, the Western Xiongnu conquered Wusun by dislodging another tribe of Yehzhi (Indo-European), Western Dingling (Turkic), Jiankun (Kirgiz) and the Kingdom of Kangguo (Samarkand) and made them tributaries. In 41 BC, Zhizhi Chanyu built a fortified capital in the valley of Talas. However, the Han attacked Zhizhi Chanyu in 36 BC, destroyed his capital and killed him. Thus, the Western Xiongnu Empire came to an end. It's been claimed that they also captured Roman legionnaires who were working for Zhizhi Chanyu's army. Please watch the U-Tube movie describing part of the events: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J3EsF4T_ms http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQaGjXvdTGo

An essential transformation of the anthropological and cultural aspects of Xiongnu peoples in the Asian steppe began long time ago. This process continued for several hundred years and ended not earlier than the fifth century A.D.

Break up and disintegration of Xiongnu (first Hunic) Empire after the death of Jiyu

The archeologists now find that typical Xiongnu cultural complexes were distributed over their formerly held territory of eastern steppe of Asia. This territory, however, did not include the initial homeland of the Xiongnu. They had already lost that area by the end of the second century B.C. after a long war with the Han Empire. Dr. Ryan Schmidt, a site anthropologist observer who participated in excavation of archeological burial site of Xiongnu at Baaga Gazariin- Chullu valley of Gobi desert of Mongolia summarizes his finding:

“Xiongnu burial examination of bones and skeleton suggested that this people were not entirely biologically homogeneously related to either Chinese or Siberian population. The artifacts found at the grave included silk, jade items, bronze mirrors, Grave items and Chinese lacquer indicated a tributary status of Hans’s emperor to the royals Xiongnu. Their material culture was typical of pastoral nomads and included potteries, ceramics and paleobotanical remains. Their chronometric measurement of skull showed close proximity to the current population of Mangolia.”

After defeating the previously dominant Indo-European Yuezhi tribe in Tarim basin in the 2nd century BC, Xiongnu became a dominant power on the steppes of central and eastern Asia. They were active in regions of what are now southern Siberia, Mongolia, Southern Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang. Relations between early Chinese dynasties and the Xiongnu were complex, with repeated periods of military conflict and intrigue alternating with exchanges of tribute, trade, and marriage treaties, common in ancient cultures to preserve peace among tribes.

Wiger’s translation of Chinese description of Xiongnu is described below:

“ Xiongnu are short, with a stocky body and a very large round head, broad face, prominent cheekbones, wide nostrils, a fairly bushy mustache and no beard except for a tuft of stiff hair on the chin; their long ears are pierced and adorned with a ring. The head is usually shaved, except for a tuft on top. The eyebrows are thick, the eyes almond-shaped with a very fiery pupil. They wear a loose robe to the calf, split at the sides and gathered in by a girdle whose ends hang down in front. Because of the cold the sleeves are gathered in tightly at the wrists. A short fur cape covers their shoulders, and they have wide trousers strapped in at the ankle. The sheet of the bow hangs from the belt in front of the left thigh. The quiver, also suspended from the belt, hangs across the small of the back, the barbs of the arrows to the right.”

Plots from Dr. Ryan Schmidt on skull measurement of mummies

The traditional beliefs among ancient historians were that this ancient Hunic tribe had no agriculture and writing system. The recent archeological discovery of Xiongnu tribes in Mangolia and Russia shows their culture in different light. Over the past ten years,

14 excavations of several first-century B.C. sites in the Buryatia region of central Asia have revealed certain amount of the habits, customs and lifestyle of the Xiongnu. The discovery of their fortresses and settlements reveals a complex economic structure. The Ivolga fortress, the Dureny settlement and the other fortresses and settlements of the Xiongnu constitute incipient forms of town, or "proto-towns", whose inhabitants did, engaged in the early form of agriculture and metallurgy. Chinese written sources also refer to these Xiongnu towns. Sima Qian refers to them in passing as, "Xiongnu constructed a town for storing the grain ". But Ban Gu describes this in more detail. In the Han shu chronicle, there is the description of the capital of the Zizi Chanyu. This description matches the construction of the lvolga fortress. This archeological discovery contradicts some of the early written sources particularly when Xiongnu lived under nomadic state and their observation of them as: "the Xiongnu had no towns.”

As such, the period when the Xiongnu Empire matured in Central Asia represented the first step of the urbanization of areas previously characterized by nomadism. The process of urbanization of the Xiongnu tribes was not unique; as it is possible that the model of urbanization created by the Xiongnu was repeated by other nomadic societies such as the Uyghur and Mongols who went on the same route learning from agricultural community.

. Recreation and Mummy of Xiongnu people with original discovery of A. stein

Archaeogenetics and Anthropology Of Xiongnu People:

Dr. Ryan Schmidt while summarizing his works of various biologist and Archaeogenetic experts summarizes the evolution of Xiongnu as follows:

1. Keyser TracquiKim et al. (2010) extracted ancient DNA from three Xiongnu skeletons from the elite cemetery of Duurlig Nars. They found for one male skeleton the presence of a distinct paternal Indo-European lineage known to be associated with the Kurgan expansion model, which explains the origin and eastward migration of Indo-European speaking peoples from the Volga region in modern-day central Russia. These findings tentatively support the 15 archaeological evidence of material and mate exchanges between the Xiongnu and other Central Asian groups. Interestingly, researchers working in southern Siberia have also found evidence for the Indo-European lineage in a sample of ancient remains from the Krasnoyarsk area of Russia dated from between the middle of the second millennium BC to the fourth century CE (Keyser et al., 2009).

Great Wall Of Chi na

Xiongnu Attacking Chinese settlements and their westward march toward middle central Asia

2. Ricaut et al. (2011) compared dental traits with genetic data for the Egiin Gol necropolis. Interestingly, their results show that this population was highly homogenous, similar to the previous studies (Keyser-Tracqui et al.2003), indicting the necropolis was occupied by the same people over five centuries of continuous use (300 BC – 200 CE). The Egiin Gol necropolis (known as Borkhan Tolgoi) has been extensively investigated. The necropolis contains the skeletal remains of 99 individuals, considered a pretty good sample size. The necropolis was organized into three main sections (A, B, C) that have been carbon dated. The oldest part of the cemetery is sector A, followed by B and then C. The sector A & B proves closer proximity to Mongoloid people. The development of sector C corresponds to the end of the necropolis’s use and appears to reflect a Turkish influence on the Xiongnu. This finding is based on genetic evidence found in present-day Turkish individuals. The Ricaut et al. (2011) study also found a similar distinction in sector C, indicating a possible demographic transition toward the end of the Xiongnu Empire. As seen from the Touman marrying the daughter of

Han emperor serves testimonials of large degree of intermingling between various races and ethnicities of Asia.

Great wall during the time of Han dynasty and subsequent expansion

3. The molecular biologists have confirmed through their study of ancient DNA left behind by ancient Xiongnu people of a large settlement of Elgin Gol (Keyser-Torque ,20003 et al) that earlier remains more in conformity of the genetic similarities of current population of Mongolia. One can safely conclude that the generic term applied by Chinese sources to describe Xiongnu was similar to Strabo’s definition of Scythians. Xiongnu started out as Mongolian confederacy during early Touman life but as the empire expanded across Asia it included Turkic , Indo-Iranian , Yueh-chih elements along with Chinese and Eastern Eurasian elements. The present DNA analysis of Mag-har people of Hungary shows similar complex genetics.

Several indicators suggest that the cemetery of Borkhan Tolgoi represented only a subset of the Xiongnu community, who appear to have been high-status individuals. Other items that were found with funerary artifacts, elaborate rituals were the use of carved coffins and chests, and the depth of the graves (two to five meters). The genetic analysis performed by Keyser-Tracqui et al. found that the majority of the Xiongnu MtDNA (mitochondrial DNA, inherited along the maternal line) sequences belong to predominately Asian genetic lineages, however a few belong to predominately European lineages. This would suggest that European and Asian contacts were being made prior to the development of the Xiongnu culture, as seen in other studies (Clisson et al., 2002; Bennett and Kaestle, 2010).

The Egiin Gol valley also contains sites composed of kurgan-style graves and range in the time from the Bronze Age until the period of Genghis Khan. Crubezy et al. (1996) discuss

17 an interesting finding in the Egiin Gol valley related to the practice of kurgan graves. Further details can be found at: http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/07_03/ancient.shtml

Kurgans (a Russian word for tumuli) are barrows characteristic of a culture arising on the steppes of southern Russia around 5000 BC and later spread into eastern, central, and northern Europe between 4400 and 2800 BCE (Keyser et al., 2009, Proto-Goths, Gauls, Celtic). Most of the kurgan style graves found in the Egiin Gol valley date to the Bronze Age, however Crubezy et al. (1996) describe an isolated kurgan dated to around the 9th century AD, probably suggesting a Uighur- Tocharian origin (Last Indo-European west of Subcontinent who stayed behind in Tarim basin).

Yüeh-chih (Yuezhi) and Kushans of India:

While Scythian designation for western central Asian nomads comes from Greek and Roman records (Herodotus and Pliny), the Yueh-chih and Ye-tai designations comes from Chinese records for eastern central nomads. Gua-Di-Ahi, a Chinese envoy of Han dynasty observed them and reported to Hans Emperor of Yueh-chin of theirs migratory movements.

The Yüeh-chih or Yuezhi people were in fact driven away from Western China (Turfan and Tarim basin) by the Xiongnu branch of tribe. Yueh-chih people (Tocharian or Turanian to Indians and Greeks) were Indo-European people and spoke Tocharian language. Tocharian is a language closer to Mitanni than “Satum” group of Indo-Iranians languages. This Tocharian language was similar to Mitanni language of Anatolia. Mitanni worshipped Vedic Gods but Tocharians did not and thereby some experts are suggesting that Yueh-chih must have lived in the same area of Western china by second millennium BC. These people were believed to be linked to those Caucasian mummies that were dug up in Loulan areas very recently.

The Yuezhi people, who earlier resided near the border of the agricultural part of China and later migrated on the Eurasian steppe all the way to north India, forming a migratory path resembling a semi circle arch. They eventually became the rulers of the vast agricultural based trading empire of India and Central Asia. The Kushan Empire of India had a very large geographical stretch. They did not dislodge Hindu and Saka rulers of South and West but made them fiduciary. They used their new allies Saka Satraps as a fiduciary to control Western India and Madhya Pradesh. The present population of Saurashtra, Gujarat, Kuchha and Rajasthan, contains many genetic and cultural elements of these new immigrants and other group of people that migrated with them. Thus the migration and settlement of the

Early Silk Road Trade

Tocharian (Turanians) were Indo European with red hairs and Tall stature-Lulian, Tarim basin http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/chinamum/taklamakan.html

Yuezhi-Kushan people in India may be productive in understanding the contributions of nomadic people to Indian civilizations in general. It is interesting to note that they followed the same military strategy of the Xingnu people who drove them out of their original homes in the area that is now part of Uyghur province of People’s Republic of China.

As modeled in Genetic map, shown below, one can stipulate that Sino-Tibetan group left via India along the coast Lines towards china perhaps 20,000 to 30,000 years ago. According to Chinese scholar, Prof Wei Chu-Hsien's interpretation of ancient classics " Shi-zi "

“Sino-Tibetan-speaking Qiangic “San- Miao” people first reached the He-xi (west of the Yellow River) Corridor of today's Gansu Province 4000 years ago and onward to the Khotan area of southern Chinese Turkistan (as well as crossed the Kumtag Desert to arrive at the Tianshan Mountain Range via today's Loulan). The Yueh-Chinh (Tokharai) possibly related to the Indo-European-Scythic group, reached the areas of the Lake Koko not later than Khams proto-Tibetan Qiangs about 2000 BC (and might had never reached the Tunhuang Grotto at all). It is quite possible that descriptions of Non-Mongolian Physiques among the various groups of nomadic peoples who had co-existed and commingled with mongoloid Chinese may have existed long time ago before acknowledged by scholars after the discoveries of Lulian mummies. ”

The terracotta soldiers dug out of Qin Emperor Shihuangdi's tomb provides evidence of the Mixing of the gene pools and milder features .

Doctorate Li Hui from Fudan University of China had analyzed the DNA of Asians to derive a conclusion that the ancestors of the Mongoloid Asians possessed a distinctive Mark M89 by the time they arrived in Southeast Asia. About 30,000 years ago, from the launching pad of South Asia, the early Mongoloids went through a genetic mutation to Marker M122. A branch continued to travel non-stop to reach the area of Manchuria where they developed into what the national Geographic map below labeled them as the Altaic-speaking people, i.e. ancestors of the Turks and the Mongols. The west group became Han Chinese and later on to Japanese with additional gene mutation.

3rd through 1 st Century BC-Effect On Subcontinent:

The approximate timeline of Yueh-Chinh works out like this as per Ah Ziang who has studied various Chinese chronicles to arrive at his own conclusion as summarized below:

This multiple attacks on Yueh-Zhi triggered the chain reaction against the Wusun and other Indo-Iranian tribes who Indians may have known as “Khotanese”, “Khumani, “Kamboj” and other names. The Yueh-chih killed the Wusun king, and the Huns possibly took control of the Western Corridor. Modu Chanyu took custody of the Wusun prince and allocated the land in western territories to the Wusun; however, the new Wusun king, after growing up, distanced himself from the Huns. The Xiongnu also attacked from west against the Yuezhi around 176 B.C., hence defeating Loulan, Wusun and Hujie etc, in a battle near today's “Yiwu” per “Yu Taishan”, and taking control of 26 helmets in Chinese Turkistan. This war was relayed to the Chinese emperor in Modu's letter, stating that he had to execute his vassal kings as punishment for disturbing peace with China and insulting the Hun Empire. This was an invented lie.

This did not stop Xiongnu even after this event but during 174 B.C., the newly-enthroned Chanyu Laoshang sent scouts in search of the Yuezhi and mounted another campaign against the Yuezhi. The Yuezhi queen acted as a regent and led her people in a further move to the west. The Yuezhi, in turn, attacked the Scythians in today's Ili River area and the Chu-he River (otherwise known as the Syr and Amu-darya). The country of Bacteria that was Indo-Greek fell to Yueh Chinh. In 172 BC, Jia-Yi, a counselor for Hans Emperor Huangdi, in light of the fact that the Huns had become too powerful after defeating the Yuezhi, suggested that he finds a way to pacify the Xiongnu by allowing them to stay along the Great Wall for better management and control under watchful eyes. During the rule of Junchen Chanyu, the Yuezhi

22 again were subjected to the attack under the Wusun-Xiongnu alliance that forced them to relocate south towards the Indian subcontinent including Afghanistan. Yueh-Chinh again evicted various Indo-Iranian tribes of Gete, Massagate, Gurjara and saka. The displaced tribes moved southward into the subcontinent displacing other inhabitants. The exact date and timings of these dislocations are not precise but described in various genealogy folklores of various castes. Indian historians often assign Indian names to foreigners thus making it impossible to trace their origin. The examples are Greek-Milinda and Huna-Mihirkula or Kaniska as Kanaksen.

The cat and mouse game between Xiongnu and Yueh-Chinh that lasted over several generation and killed number of people and resulted into massive displacement of the tribes from their original homeland and subsequent influx into subcontinent that was clearly unprecedented and partly explains How Indian Purana failed to track the Genealogy and migration of various rulers of tribes and clans into India after the fall of Mauryan empire. These are fast moving events. The lack of unity and apathy among the Indian nations made this possible until the rise of Gupta Empire. This is often called the beginning of dark period of the history that started with the collapse of Mauryan and that ended sometimes after Gupta Empire, when the age of the Rajput began.

The Kushans were one the royal tribe of Yueh-Chih. Interestingly Kushan derives its name from the Chinese term “Guishang”. The Various Saka and other tribes of Bactria, Siestan and Afghanistan crossed the various eastern Khyber passes to enter India and in turn dislodged habitants of Kashmir, Sindh, Punjab and North West frontiers of Pakistan and dislocating some of them to move south to Indian heartlands of Rajasthan, Malwa and Saurashtra.

The maps below illustrates the movements of the people lasting over 200 years in central Asia and Western Europe lasting over 300 years and playing a role in defining the complicated DNA profiles of Sub-continent, Eurasia and Eastern Europe.

The Da- Yuezhi 大月氏 (Ta Yüeh-chih) means “moon People” the way Mahabharata defined Yadavas and Yudisthra clans. There is a pending claim that a branch of Yadavas who were Indo-Aryans left India after Mahabharata’s war and settled somewhere in central Asia! There are also claims that Yiddish (Jewish) clan originated from Yadav clans. Although, this is a part of the folk lore or tradition, it gives you a pose that how Yuezhi people calling themselves moon people?

rd st Yueh-Chih Migration (3 Century BC-3 Century AD)

Attack and displacement of Yuezhi (Kushan) and subsequent displacement of Parthians, Yavanas, Kambojas and saka and Gete tribes into Indian sub continents.

Early Yuezhi Portraits-Reconstruct Wall painting Fresco Silk Road Trading caravans

Indo-Iranian Borderland areas and Siestan- capture of cities bu Kushans

Vima Kaphdise-Mathura Lion capital Portrait of Huviska Coins-Kaphdise

Head of a Kushan prince (Khalchayan-palace-Uzbekistan), a Buddhist devotee in Kushan dress, Mathura, 2nd century BC . (Kushan was the royal tribe of Yueh-chih)

Kushan (Guishang (貴霜貴霜貴霜 ) were very different and adoptive people. They made a tremendous transition from their ancestor’s nomadic status to the rulers of urbanized and civilized empire. Up on arrival in the subcontinent of Asia, the art and culture of Gandhara grew and they build many Buddhist monasteries and stupas. They also showed their acumen for trades but increased to three folds with Roman empire via maritime routes from western coast of India. Roman historian Elder Pliny vouched for that in his commented concern for adverse trade balance with India. This Roman claim received considerable support when the hordes of Roman coins were unearthed at southern ports of south India. This also weakens the hold of Xiongnu as maritime trade links were simultaneously developed through western coast of India and Indonesia.

They embraced the Buddhism and became the staunch followers of Buddhism. Buddhism entered Han China via the Silk Road, beginning in the 1st or 2nd century CE. The first

26 documented translation efforts by Buddhist monks in China were in the 2nd century CE possibly as a consequence of the embassy of Asoka to the east. Buddhism entered Han China via the Silk Road through Tarim Basin.

Blue- eyed Central Asian monk teaching Mongoloid East-Asian monk. A fresco from the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves dated to the 9th or 10th century (Kara-Khoja Kingdom).Kumarajiva of Kashmir Followed during Kushan rule. Rabatak Inscription of Kushan

Kumarajiva (Sanskrit: कु मारजीव ; simplified Chinese: (chiu-Moto-loto-shito) 鸠鸠鸠摩鸠摩摩摩罗罗罗罗什什什什; was an n Buddhist monk, scholar, and translator born in Indian Kashmir. He became a Mahayana Buddhist following the doctrine of Nagarjuna. Kumarajiva settled in Chang'an, which was the imperial capital of China. He spent his adult life in translating Sanskrit Pali Buddhist texts in Chinese.

We do not know if Yueh-Chinh or Kushan had any direct control of jade mines but they did not have any trouble travelling through Silk Road into the territory controlled by Hans Empire. The wondering movement of Yueh-chih was unintended consequences of Chinese effort to free themselves of predator Xiongnu Huns who were raiding and stealing from Chinese peasantry. Chinese emperor was concerned enough for the welfare of Yueh-Chinh that he dispatched its envoy to Yueh-chih confederacy and the records preserved during Han dynasty becomes an important source of the knowledge for many central nomads and providing evidence of early Indo-European’s presence in Uighur province.

This chain reaction of this magnitude of major human migration and its related complication can be best explained in the following ways:

1. The stationary Sedentary civilization of India, Persia, Egypt and China with urban culture and developed agriculture near river delta were prospering while Northern nomads were experiencing scarcity of agriculture and pastoral land either driven by long drawn draught or climatic change. The southern agriculturalists were widely spread out and broken in to smaller units forming smaller to larger population centers like farms, villages or cities.

2. The nomadic warrior tribes in large number on horseback cavalry with Iron Age weapons first overrun small border settlements and then gather momentum after consolidation to plans further inroads towards the major urban areas and capital cities for plunder and riches.

3. They also captured slaves, cuts off food supplies and disrupts trades to the capital of kingdom. They start controlling important resources to capital cities such as food, water and other necessary items for survival so the urbanized settlement capitulate and surrender their wealth and food.

4. The kingdom often plagued with internal intrigues, dissention and lack of preparedness for defense became victims of this aggression that was executed as a surprise attacks.

5. The women and children were taken captive and the people were getting intermixed. When men were getting killed, the women had no choice but to survive to keep their children alive. This phenomenon gets repeated time after time throughout the middle ages.

Source: Joe Crib web page - Kushan Kushan Gold Coins

Kujula Kaphdise united the five Yüeh-chih tribes to establish the Kushan rule in Bactria in 50 AD. Kanishka after Vima Kaphdise became the emperor around 126- 164 AD after conquest of India with empire stretching from Persia to Transoxiana to the Upper Indus. This Kushan Empire had its base in modern Afghanistan and Pakistan extending to central Asian cities of Sogdiana (Samarkand) and it had continued for hundreds of years until the Hephthalites (White Huns) or the Ye-tais came along. By all indication, Hephthalites (Red and White) who came along were the mixed origin of Xiongnu and many other Eurasian primitive tribes that 28 exist in DNA form in various nationalities of today in its primitive form but remain hard to decipher as various ancient tribes of humans went through genetic mutation that altered their physical characteristics.

Kanishka-1, first Kushan ruler of India and descendant of Kujula Kaphdise who ruled Bactria, established his empire stretching from India to most of Central Asia covering wide areas of Central Asia. Kushan kings ruled from Purushapura (Peshawar) and Lehkot (Lahore) with fiduciary ruling from Mathura and Ujjain after establishing their control. Ay Khanum an old Hellenistic city (130 BC) at the junction of Kokcha and Oxus River is believed to be the ancient Balkh, the Central Asian capital of Greek rulers that was overrun by Yueh-chih confederacy that included Kushan. The earlier Yueh-Chinh queen establishes the rule in Bactria (Balkh) after overrunning the Greek empire. The first official ruler as per numismatic was Kujula Kaphdise probably the son of queen, followed by Vima Taktu per coins and also inscriptions. The Kushans rulers themselves left large number of archeological and numismatic evidence.

Influx Of Immigrants in India:

We have no clear ideas as to how many ancient tribes living on north side of India-Iran borderlands were affected and migrated to India. We have caste based indicators that suggests their central Asian origin. Indian DNA studies show the same results. The family genealogy charts also supports that hypothesis based on ancestor’s naming convention.

We have Huna, Kasan, Kamboj, Khuman, Gurjara, Rajputs, Jat and other castes that show their wide geographical dispersal stretching from Afghanistan to India suggesting their central Asian roots. There is still lack of understanding and conviction among historians on interrelationship of various tribes who penetrated India? Were they allies of Yueh-chih? Did they join them after Yueh-chin’s conquest of Bactria? Are there archeological evidence that suggests the presence of other tribes and nomads prior to Yueh-chin’s arrival ?. Obviously, Yueh-chin proved weaker than Chinese and Xiongnu after suffering successive routes!

This also brings out the lack of precision and surety to the relationship of various groups and caste of India to those people from the north that entered India prior to Kushan Era. This is where Indian Purana is silent. They can give extensive details on tribes of Janpada and Mahabharata period but not about what happened after collapse of Mauryan empire.

Archaeogenetics of Yuezhi:

The Yuezhi mummies had Haplogroup R1a (Y-DNA) characteristic of western Eurasia in the area of East-Central Europe, Central Asia and Indus Valley. This also shows up in North western population of India as one of the gene marker. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_R1a_%28Y-DNA%29

A team of Chinese and American researchers working in Sweden tested DNA from 52 separate mummies, including the mummy identified as from “Tarim basin” related to Yueh- Chinh referred as “Loulan Mummies." The features of the Loulan relics have been described as Nordic or East Eurasian in appearance. The female 45 years old mummies fitted this category. Victor Mair, a University of Pennsylvania professor commented on this study:

“Extremely important because they link up eastern and western Eurasia at a formative stage of civilization (Bronze Age and early Iron Age) in a much closer way than has ever been done before .”

Earlier study by Jilin University also had found an MtDNA haplotype characteristic of Western Eurasian populations with Europoid genes.

“In 2007 the Chinese government allowed a National Geographic Society team headed by Spencer Wells to examine the mummies' DNA. Wells was able to extract non-degraded DNA from the internal tissues. The scientists extracted enough material to suggest that the Tarim Basin was continually inhabited from 2000 BC to 300 BC and preliminary results indicate the people, rather than having a single origin, originated from Europe, Mesopotamia, Indus Valley and other regions yet to be determined.”

It has been asserted that the textiles found with the mummies are of an early European textile type based on close similarities to fragmentary textiles found in salt mines in Austria, dating from the second millennium BCE. Anthropologist Irene Good, a specialist in early Eurasian textiles, noted the woven diagonal twill pattern indicated the use of a rather sophisticated loom and, she says, the textile is "the easternmost known example of this kind of weaving technique."

Mair claims that "the earliest mummies in the Tarim Basin were exclusively Caucasoid or Europoid" with East Asian migrants arriving in the eastern portions of the Tarim Basin around 3,000 years ago while the Uyghur peoples arrived around the year 842 AD. In trying to trace the origins of these populations, Victor Mair's team suggested that they may have arrived in the region by way of the Pamir Mountains about 5,000 years ago. Mair also added that “ The new finds are also forcing a reexamination of old Chinese books that describe historical or legendary figures of great height, with deep-set blue or green eyes, long noses, full beards, and red or blond hair. Scholars have traditionally scoffed at these accounts, but it now seems that they may be accurate .”

The Buddhist painting shown above with Caucasoid monk above confirms his observation. Indian Texts and other sub-continent’s records including the Mathura archeological finds lends more support to Mair’s claims that Yuezhi looked more Caucasoid in origin and negates whatever other claims may be out there . Kushan Statue in Mathura museum clearly shows Caucasoid feature wearing long snow boot and possessing more than average height of Indians. However, successive generations allowed the intermixing. Many Sassanian kings were of mixed origin and were called Kushan Shah or Shah-en-Shah comprising of Persian and

Yueh-Chinh origin. Similarly, the mixing took place in India as well. Khusure-1, Ardeshir (the just ) had a Hephthalites wife. The Tarim basin was the part of the silk road network and intermingling would have taken place long before Loulan mommies discovered. So, the conflicting findings should be of no surprise as Modu had no trouble marrying a Yueh-Chinh bride.

Presently, China is engaged into number of boundary disputes with many neighborhood countries, so it may be politically difficult for Chinese to admit the presence of Indo-European and Indus valley people in Tarim basin area. However, it is clear from the records that the mixture of genes between Caucasoid, Indus valley, Siberian and Mongolian people did take place in early ancient histories as long as 20,000 years ago. The Xiongnu wave expedited the process of intermingling. Attila, Chengiz, Tamerlane and Moguls further added to this genetic imprints that everyone to a degree are mixed origin group of ethnicities . The differentiation of western Chinese and eastern Chinese is depicted in two statues.

The DNA and Genetic profiles support this observation. The various matrimonial alliances between Xiongnu, Yuezhi, Chinese, Wusun(Scythian) and other Turkic tribes provides a testimonials to mixing of genes with intermarriages and brides trading. The large reach of Xiongnu Empire followed by many Mongolian originated waves like “Attila”, “Chengiz Khan”, “Tamer Lane” and “Toramana-white Hun”, it is hard to imagine that the admixture did not result as exhibited by various faces of Asia (See pictures below).

Archeology Of Kushans In Afghanistan and India:

The excavations at illya-tepe of modern Afghanistan dated around 1 st century BC has revealed the rich tombs of Kushan royalty. The six excavated tombs were burial sites of Kushan princes and princesses. The more than 20,000 pieces include gold vessels, plates, buckles and decorative pieces of clothing and illustrate that some of the nomadic customs were kept. The Kushan rulers established their summer capital at Kapisa near Begram in Afghanistan. Kushan’s conquest of Persia and India gave them a control of strategic portion of Silk Road trades between east and west. One Chinese scholar who summarized Sima Qian’s history describes the Yuezhi Kushan as:

“The great Yuezhi-Kushan is located 7000 li north of India, in remote region, their land is at high altitude and climate is dry (probably in reference to Balkh). The king calls himself “Son of heaven” or “Dev Putra”. There are many riding horses exceeding several thousand horses. The city layout of street and houses are similar to Roman Empire (Hellenistic influence). The skin of the people is reddish white. People are skillful at horse archery. Local products, rarities, treasures, clothing and upholstery are very good.”

It is difficult to verify this source since the ancient text is now lost. However, the excavation at Al-Kanoun provides a comprehensive picture of Greek life with a theater, Gymnasium, temple, palace and well marked streets, very typical of ancient Greek and Roman plans as described in Chinese text. The beautiful city Goddess Charsada excavated at Purushapura (Modern Peshawar) demonstrates Hellenistic influence during Kushan period. The Greek and Roman cities in ancient time always had similar patron deity of cities. Similar cultural elements in Fergana, Bactria and Gandhara indicate that the invasion of Kushan nomads was not sudden or brutal but a gradual process and was very mild on people. This is the main reasons why we see long lasting Kushan legacy in Indian history as if Kushans were local people and so Purana given them Indian names. They quickly adapted to urbanized culture and language of India, Persia and Bactria.

The allied tribes that entered India during this period adopted Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism and were quickly assimilated in their adopted country. India became the world’s melting pot during this period. Kushan coins depict variety of cults and Gods. Kushan rulers were very secular minded people in spite of what they had endured from the hands of Xiongnu barbarians. During Kushan rules, all religions enjoyed the patronage of rulers. The people practiced Shaivism, Buddhism, and Jainism and Zoroastrianism. Jain religious monuments along with Buddhist monuments were erected in India.

During the Kushan rule (1st-3rd century AD) some of the largest and finest Jain and Buddhist caitya and stupas and were built at Mathura and other places. Mathura and Ujjain became the great commercial and artistic centre of northern India. Several Buddhist monasteries were named after Kushan rulers. A number of surviving architectural segments and sculptural

32 images, most carved from Mathura's distinctive mottled red sandstone, once adorned the region's temples and stupas.

Kushan-Yuezhi believed in the divine origin of kinship (very similar belief of Vedic Aryan.) They also worshipped their dead ancestors. The dead ancestor became “deva” as they were always “Deva putra”. The Number of “Dev Kula” is discovered of Kushan’s Royal family. Most noteworthy are Surkh Kotal in Southern Bactria (Afghanistan) and Mathura in India. The Devkula contained the sculpture of former Kushan rulers. The statues of Kanishka from Mathura and Surkh kotal are similar. The Dev Kula at Surkh kotal was built by Kanishka as evidence from inscription found there and mentions earlier ancestor kings such as Vima Takuta Kaphdise and Huvishka. Rabatak inscription that was found not far from Surkh kotal was in a temple that houses deities and “Devkula” kings. The deities in this case were Zoroastrian God Sroshard and Narasa and the kings were ancestors of Kanishka. The tradition of “Dev Kula” and worship of dead ancestors is still widespread in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Kuchha and other parts of India.

Kushan Dynasty –AD Rabatak Inscription-Kushan Buddhist Stupa Afghanistan Kanishka-Kushan ruler

Yueh-chih Kushans traded for Chinese silk with many other commodities like precious stones. There was a long standing trading relationship with east and west. Up on conquest of Bactria and Fergana they attained the major control of silk trade and Central Asian war horse trades. The Bactria, Sogdiana and Fergana were the major breeding and training grounds of the best of the best war horses and were exported to Persia, India, and China and far reach of West all the way to Roman Empire for the use of military. Yueh-chih thus expanded the Silk trade and developed the Silk Road connecting east to west.

Western Hunic Tribe associated with Attila-The Hun :

As seen from the Chinese sources, early Xiongnu was confederacy of various tribes and as they marched west, they started evolving into various branches with Multi-ethnicities. Although, the original Xiongnu empire had dissolved by 376 AD but new Hunic Empire of west and south was born with multi ethnic composition involving initial ferocity of Xiongnu combined with Turkic, scythic , Carpathian basin and mongoloid elements. Their leader Attila the Hun attacked and destroyed Alanis- sarmatians at Danube River. Attila threatened the mighty empire of Rome. Jordanes, 6 th century Roman historian and Bureaucrat describes

Attila as follows:

“Short of stature, with a broad chest and a large head; his eyes were small, his beard thin and sprinkled with grey; and he had a flat nose and tanned skin, showing evidence of his origin. This implies his Asiatic origin.”

Portrait of Attila Hun Soldier Hun cavalry

Western Hunic tribe that evolved from Xiongnu-Tocharian-Alanis-Sarmatians-Ionian- Greeks- Scythic people pushed Ostro-Gothic (Gaul) people out more to the west. They first camped in eastern Anatolia and then moved in to Western Europe. This ultimately brought about the collapse of Roman Empire. Attila, the Hun was the famous lord of this amalgamation of so called “Hunic tribe” (a generic label) that went through like a wave of the locust.

Since Attila became very famous in history and he commanded various nomadic people of Eurasia who hated Romans, he became their idol and various groups of people lay their claim to his ethnicity. No one knows his exact ethnicity. The mixed ethnicity is the only answer considering the history of Hun people who first arose from inner Magnolia. Most likely, he had mongoloid as well as Indo-European genes. Linguistically, his name is ascribed to “Turkic” origin but that does not rule out his multiple ethnicities. Ostrogoth, German, Hungarian, Turkic, Uyghur and other historians can claim him but there is no historical evidence to support one claim against another except the folklores. He was the only one who humbled the Roman Empire and therefore he became the lord of all the oppressed tribes of Eurasia.

Byzantine sources mention that the Magyars were also known as the “Sabirs”. Indian sources also confirm the existence of “Sivi” tribe as mentioned in Indian Purana texts. The origin of such a tribe is attributed to the present state of Turkmenistan. This land of “Shivastan”

(Indian) or “Sabir-ki” (Sumerians) may have existed in central Asia. Numerous Greek sources consider the “Sivi” tribe to be of scythic group or Indo-Iranian group. Later period historians of Middle Ages define them as part of Huns, Avars, Khazar and Magyars tribes of the Central Asia. This defines them as people of complex genetics identity of nomadic group of people. The Khazar-Avar themselves were followers of Judaism. Is there any pre-historic connection of Yadu clan of India or “Yiddish” clan of Israel? We do not know yet but Magyar genetics shows the gene marker also common to Indus valley region.

At the height of their power, the Western Attila-Huns absorbed a number of different racial strains in their armies and assimilated the characteristics of the populations of their environment, so while in Europe they gradually lost their distinct Asian character; but even in their pre-European period they were highly variable in their physical characteristics, and cannot be easily assigned any specific ethnic or linguistic identity. All accounts, however, agree in describing them as an aggressive nomadic people of great energy with low material, language and cultural values. They had developed considerable skill in the techniques of warfare, particularly in military horsemanship like earlier Xiongnu people.

Some scythic tribes have left number of archeological evidence, however such is not the case to trace the Magyar or Hun identity far back in to the history. So you have to rely on DNA map and then try to match it with the known history. The recent discovery of Jewish presence in Afghanistan and Uyghur province is also very perplexing and revealing as regards to the connection that is mentioned above. Yadu clans of India after Great War had migrated back to central Asia after devastating Tsunami that submerged Krishna’s city .

Later Hunas-White-Hephthalites of Greek or Ye-tai of Chinese:

Approximately a century later after Kushan’s rule in India, the Sassanians overthrew the Parthians in Persia in 226AD. The scarcity of records of Hephthalites (Epthalites) provides us fragmentary picture of their civilization and empire. Their background and origin still remain uncertain. A different group probably emerged from Tarim basin area that was originally occupied by Yueh-chih. Mongoloid Xiongnu, Turks and another group of Indo-European and Tibetan origin banded together. There was a striking resemblance in the deformed heads of the early Yueh-chih and Hephthalites kings on their coinage.

According to Procopius's (Byzantium historian) of the 6th century AD describes this group of Hephthalites or “white Huns” as follows:

“The Hephthalites are of the stock of the Huns in fact as well as in name; however they do not mingle with any of the Huns known to us. They are the only ones among the Huns who have white bodies." This makes the stark difference between Red Hun and White Hun.

The “Epthalites” was the name given to them by Byzantine historians as “Hayathelaites”. Persian historian Mirkhond called them “Hua”. Indians called them “Huna” and Chinese historians called them “Ye-tai”. They are also known as the “White Huns” different from the Red Huns Attila who invaded the Roman Empire. They are described as a kindred steppe people originally occupied the pasture-lands in the Altai Mountain of southwestern Mongolia and later on Tarim basins. This particular group had higher contents of Indo-European genes than Attila Group. This defined their physical characteristics.

Origin of the White Epthalites:

Their origin can be attributed to a tribe called Rouran (Mongolian- Нирун, Ruanruan – Chinese. Rouran was a nomadic Mongolian empire on the northern borders of Inner China from the late 4th century until the middle 6th century AD. They arose from the disintegration of Xiongnu’s empire. According to the Chinese sources, the Rouran were a confederation led by Xianbei people who were split during Xiongnu period and were descendants of Donghu. After the Donghu were defeated by Modu Chanyu around 208 BC the Xianbei and Wuhuan survived as the main remnants of the confederation. The Hou Hanshu says that “the language and culture of the Xianbei are the same as the Wuhuan “but remained in the Mongolian steppes after most Xianbei migrated south to Northern China and set up various kingdoms.” They were first noted as having defeated the Tiele and establishing an empire extending all the way to the Hulun, in eastern Inner Mongolia. To the west of the Rouran was a horde known in the west as the Xionite (Hephthalites) who originally, until the beginning of the 5th century, were a vassal horde of the main Rouran branch. Xianbei of Chinese may be the same as Xionite of Persian or Greek as different people named them differently. They approached

36 to the Indian border and captured part of Northern India. This Huna group of India was a branch of White Epthalites that evolved from Xianbei of Mongolia and steppe people of Indo- Iranian-scythic tribes. The Alchon group may be part of this larger group of Xianbei that definitely a mixed origin people of various tribes banded together. During 460 AD, Khingila I united the Avar with the Xionite of the west (Tarim basin, Khorasan).

Further inroad of Hunas into India was halted by Skanda Gupta and as Hindu coalition of fiduciary kings of Gupta marched their armies against Hunas. The Indians defeated Tegin, the commander of Huna, and drove them away from India around 470-480 AD. But the Hunas were relentless bunch and they continued their attacks over several years. Puru Gupta who succeeded Skanda Gupta could not stop the new overlord of Huna called Toramana and Gupta were defeated and the collapse of Gupta Empire was complete around 480-500 AD.

During their invasion of Persia, the Hunas managed to capture the Sassanian king Feroz I, and exchanged him for a ransom. They used the coins of the ransom monies to counter mark and copy them, thereby initiating a coinage inspired from Sassanian designs. The complete collapse of the Persian opposition to Huna invaders must have greatly facilitated the crossing of Hunas to the Indian frontier. Hunas presence in India is a process that covered at least about 50 to 80 years from 425 to 500 A.D., with a short break for about ten years due to their first defeat at the hands of Skanda Gupta.

Huna Empire-India, Iran, Afghanistan Mihirkula Coin (Huna) Map of Gupta Empire 465-480 AD

Hunas established an extensive empire that stretched from Gandhara to Malwa and also covering the part of Ganga valley by 500 A.D. The discovery and spread of coins of the Huna Chief Toraman indicate his rule over parts of Uttar-Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Kashmir. He assumed the title of "Maharajadhiraj". He adopted Hinduism and was a Shiva worshipper and allowed the administration of the Guptas to continue under his sway as before. The

37 duration of Huna-Empire in India seems to be too short; at the most no more than thirty years.

The Alchon Chief Toraman was succeeded by his son Mihirkula in 520 AD and he ruled from Sakata or modern day city of Sialkot of the Pakistani Punjab. The Guptas continued to resist the Hunas by establishing allies with the rulers of the neighboring Indian states and other former fiduciary. It was Yashovarman of Malwa who with Baladitya Gupta and other allies defeated Mihirkula in 528 AD. Mihirkula retreated and took refuge in Kashmir and by 542 AD Mihirakula’s remnanents had been driven off from the plains of northern India. After a brief tyrannical rule In Kashmir, he was defeated again by Baladitya Gupta, Mukhari and others Indian fiduciaries of main Gupta clan. Huna rule thereafter disappeared from India by 542 AD and he is thought to have died soon after. Mihirkula is remembered in contemporary Indian and Chinese histories for his cruelty and his destruction of temples and monasteries, with particular hostility towards Buddhism. The Huna rule thereafter disappeared from India. The power of the Alchon in central Asia was shattered in the 560 AD's by a combination of Sassanid and proto-Turkic forces, the last Hephthal king “Narana” managed to maintain some kind of rule between 570 and 600 AD. The remainder survival tribe of the 'Napki' became known as the Avars. The remainder of Alchon disappeared in subcontinent, Persia and Anatolia and blended with local. India has the caste named Huna. Some Royals married Huna bride and offer the protection to invading Huna by intermarrying with them.

Together with the Huns many experts believe a number of central Asian tribes and peoples may have came, some of whom remained in northern India and others moved further to the south and the west. Among them were the Gurjaras, who rose to eminence a few centuries later. Some of the tribes who lived in Rajasthan fled from their homeland when they were displaced by the new tribes who became the ancestors of some of the Rajput families, and again were to dominate the history of the north in later centuries.

In Late 6th century, the branch of Hephthalites were said to have moved west to the Russian steppe to form the Avars Khanate. The identities of Hunas, Avars, and Yueh-Chinh were group of tribes with multiple ethnicities. Russian experts Arutinov and Alekseev on Steppe nomads believe that “very often similar names are applied to slightly or totally different people.” The term Huna applied to at least four groups of people by different historians of the past that can be classified by some historians as follows:

1. “Red Hun” the fame of Attila who sacked the Roman Empire ( Chionites ).

2. The Hungarian Magyars.- Another Xionite Group based in Carpathian basins. The Hungarian historians mention the tribe of “Kabar” and “Magyar” as being the tribe that formed the Hungarian nation. Kabar can mean the Indo-Iranian people leaving north of Khyber Pass that was occupied by mixed origin people of Mongoloid and Indo-European origin

3. White Epthalites who fought Persian Indians and Sassanians. Hunas mixed with Turks, Turanians, Saka, Indian and nomads are often called Indian Huna. The 'Indian' Huns, or Hunas as they are called by Indian writers, were not entirely independent, since they ruled as viceroys for a Huna overlord in Central Asia. The Hun (Xionite of west) dominion extended from Persia to Khotan, the main capital being Bamiyan in Afghanistan.

Another tribe called Kidarites who accompanied Kushans to India and took over the power from them are also referred to as the “little Chionites”, (from the Middle Persian word xiyon, 'Hun'). They were a mixed origin Yueh-Chinh people who intermarried with Xiongnu Mongols and stayed in Tarim basin area. They were the first Hunic tribe that crashed into the eastern frontiers of Iran and the northern ones of the Kushans around 320 A.D. A people different from the Hephthalites, the Chionites were also called 'Red' Huns and the Hephthalites 'White' Huns. An enigmatic leader Kidaras pushed the Kushans out of northern Pakistan around 340 AD and gave his name to this short-lived dynasty. The Chinese historians identified and named the central Asian Hunic tribes differently than others due to its close proximity.

It is uncertain as what language various Hunic tribes spoke. Some say it was Mongolian while some say it was either Turkic or Iranian. This is indicative of the mixed origin group . According to the Buddhist pilgrims Sung Yun and Hui Sheng, who visited them in 520 AD, Hunas had no script, and the Liang shu specifically states “that they have no letters but use tally sticks”. At the same time there is numismatic and epigraphic evidence to show that a debased form of the Greek alphabet was used by the Hephthalites. Since the Kushans were conquered by Hephthalites, it is possible they retained many aspects of Kushan culture, including the adoption of the Greek alphabet or defaced the ransom coins by defacing them.

The Hunas who invaded India spoke Tocharian, the language of Yueh-chih Kushans (Yueh- Chih) and some Hunas were familiar with Khotanese (the language of Sakas from the region

39 of Khotan). This is indicative of their mixed ethnicity and their genetic components. These Hunas initially conquered the dominion stretching from Persia to Khotan with Bamiyan as capital where we find today Hazara of modern Afghanistan. According to Chinese account these “Hunas were uncouth in manner and an iconoclast, especially hostile to Buddhism expressed in a way of mass killings of monks and monasteries in North India.” However, some Indian records describe Mihirkula as Shiva worshipper not an iconoclast. It is interesting to note that Buddhist and Brahmin Texts agrees with the above and portrays last Huna ruler Mihirkula as arrogant, tyrannical and mass murderer.

Sung Yun and Hui Sheng, two Buddhist monks reported that the Hephthalites did not believe in Buddhism, though there is ample archaeological evidence that this religion was allowed to be practiced in territories under Hephthalites control. According to Liang shu the Hephthalites worshiped Heaven and also a fire - a clear reference to Zoroastrianism. While Jaina text treats him as the one who respected Jainism and avoids mentioning his tyrannical rule. This is a bit contradiction and makes you wonder which tribe of Huna they are referring to?.

Colonel Tod in his Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan makes the following observation of Hunas (1829 AD).

“White Huns who occupied India must have in all likelihood set up colonies into Saurashtra and Mewar (Part of Western Rajasthan). It is on the eastern bank of the Chambal, ancient Barolli, the tradition assigns a residence to the Hun and one of the celebrated temple at that place called the Singar Chaori is the marriage hall of the Hun Prince, who is also declared to have been possessed of lordship on the opposite bank, occupying the site of the present town of Bhainsror.”

All above discussions has some relevance to present make up various caste of India as they contain many Huna elements. It is now believed by some experts that “Agni Kula” legend was organized to authenticate these mixed and foreign origin warrior tribes to the Kshatriya status. This undoubtedly will include all of the foreign tribes discussed above and who settled themselves in India and often intermarried with locals. Romila Thapar an eminent historian has suggested that many Rajput clans descended from Hunas.

As far as the culture and living style of the Hephthalites, the eyewitness of report of the Buddhist monks:

“The Hephthalites have no cities, but roam freely and live in tents. They do not live in towns; their seat of government is a moving camp. They move in search of water and pasture, journeying in summer to cool places and in winter to warmer ones....They have no belief in the Buddhist law and they serve a great number of divinities ." Here they are referring to Huna of Inner Mangolia. This further serves as testimonial that Huna were fast evolving group of multi ethnicities so different observers who saw them can describe them differently and at variance with other observers.

The other interesting feature of the Hephthalites was that they practiced Polyandry. The record of brother marrying his brother’s wife or sharing together was common. This has been reported also from Chinese source.

Magyar, Hungarian and Khazar

At the height of Hunic Empire, that was stretched all the way from Turkey to eastern part of Mongolia, Hungary was most likely founded by Magyar and Khazaric elements of central Asia. Khazaric themselves may be from ancient Yiddish-Iranian group practicing Judaism. The word “Magyar” or “Magvar” are the composite word itself. The word “Yar” may have originated from the word “Avar” that has many connotation and meanings. Avar people (Caucasus) are a modern North Caucasian-speaking people in the Republic of Dagestan of Russia and Avar language is the North Caucasian language of the Caucasian Avars. The Avar Khanate is a country of the Caucasian Avars. On the other hand, the Eurasian Avars is a medieval nomadic people who conquered parts of Southeast and Central Europe in the middle Ages. Avar Khaganate was the empire of the region occupied by Eurasian Avars The word “Mag” may have come from the Hunic tribe of Mugel or “Moguls “of India who descended from Chengiz Khan and Tamar lane with composite profile of Turkic and Mongoloid elements. This makes Hungarian identify complex makes them part Asiatic and part European.

The complex genetics will give variable answers to the individual DNA profile based on their immediate ancestry. When stacked as reverse pyramids of gene analysis the most recent DNA forms the upper layers.

The Hunic people believed in Polyandry and polygamy. Since their rule covered large territories, they had no reluctance to cross breed with others tribes and ethnicities. While on their military conquest they never took their women with them and stayed away from their families for a long time. The traces left behind by Yueh-Chinh and Hunic tribes are still seen in the faces of subcontinents and Central Asia.

The Uralic language has a close affinity with the ancient Sanskrit language of India or the people living around Khyber Pass. After all, we know that Panini, Sanskrit grammarian was born near Kabul in an ancient Afghanistan, once part of ancient India. The Finnish and Estonian language is closely related to Sanskrit of India and many Sanskrit words are absorbed in Hungarian language. Some examples are given below:

Bird: Hungarian 'madar' = Sanskrit 'madura' Dung: Hungarian 'szar' = Sanskrit 'sAra' Fist: Hungarian 'kéz' = Sanskrit 'kAzi'

Indo-European presence in Uighur Province and subcontinent Of Asia-Huns & Yueh-Chinh

Uighur- Kazaks- Kashmir (India)-Mangolia-Afghanistan-Tajikistan-some with Blue eyes and Blond hairs

Uighur -China Kasmir-India Huna caste member-India

th Huna- Ephthalite-MagYars of 5 century AD and their relative location.

Yueh-chinh trait of Afghanistan Russians of Mangolia Hazara of Afghanistan

REFERENCES:

1. Strabo’s Geography1997,11.8.2 The invasion of Bactria 1997,11.8.6 Customs of the Massagate 1997,II,6 The Nomads of Kabul 1997,II,12 Elephants in Indian Warfare 1997,II,20 The town of Taxila 1997,II,24 Phroates of Taxila 1997,Periplus Mari Erythraean 1997,Section 38: The Indo-Parthians 1997,Section 39: The port of Barbarikon 1997,Section 47: The kingdoms of Northern India1997,The Shih Chih and the Hou Han Shu 1997,SC 123.5b Description of Bactria 1997

2. HHS 118.9a The Country of the Yu-chi 1997,HHS 118.9b Description of northern India1997,HHS 118.10b Yu-chi occupation of Northern India 1997,HHS 77.7a Kushan conflicts with China 1997

3. Avari, Burjor (2007). India: The Ancient Past. London: Rutledge.

4. Falk, Harry. 1995-1996. Silk Road Art and Archaeology IV.

5. Goyal, S. R. "Ancient Indian Inscriptions" Kusumanjali Book World, Jodhpur (India), 2005.

6. Hill, John E. 2004, “The Western Regions according to the Hou Honshu”. Draft annotated English translation.

7. Rosen field, John M. (1993), The Dynastic Art of the Kushans. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal.

8. Kosnow, Sten. Editor. 1929, Kharoshthi Inscriptions with Exception of those of Asoka Corpus Inscription Indicarum, Vol. II, Part I. Reprint: Indology Book House, Varanasi, 1969.

9. Sarianidi, Viktor. 1985. The Golden Hoard of Bactria: From the Illya-tepe Excavations in Northern Afghanistan. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. New York.

10. Sims-Williams, Nicholas. 1998. “Further notes on the Bactrian inscription of Rabatak, with an Appendix on the names of Kujula Kaphdise and Vima Taktu in Chinese.” Proceedings of the Third European Conference of Iranian Studies Part 1: Old and Middle Iranian Studies, Edited by Nicholas Sims-Williams. Wiesbaden. 1998, pp. 79-93.

11. Zürcher, E. (1968), "The Yueh-chih and Kaniska in the Chinese sources", Papers on the Date of Kaniska. Basham, A. L., ed., 1968. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 346-393.

12. B Russell, R. V, R.B.H. Lai (1995), Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India. Asian Educational Services, 166-174.

13. Jamnadas, K. "Rajput Period Was Dark Age Of India", Decline And Fall Of Buddhism: A tragedy in Ancient India. New Delhi: Blue moon Books.

14. India under Kushan, by R.D. Banerji

15. The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia (Paperback) by Rene Grousset by Amazone.com

16. Migration and Settlement of the Yuezhi Kushan: Interaction and interdependence of sedentary and pastoralist society by Liu Xinru, Journal of World History October 2001

17. The History of Civilization in Central Asia Vol II, The deployment of Sedentary and Nomadic Civilization 700BC-250AD edited by Janos Hermatta, Unesco 1994

18. Kushan Empire- Tarim Mummies -Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia.

19. Nomad migration in Central Asia, Kassim Abdullaev-Yahoo.archeology group post.

20. Scythian, Yueh-chih and other central Asian nomads and their description by ancient historians: Strabo, Xenophon etc.

21. Huns and Xiongnu by Christopher P. Atwood. The following links were compiled earlier and may not been active or relocated, use your search engine is recommended .

http://www.livius.org/sao-sd/scythians/scythians.html http://www.losttrails.com/pages/Tales/Inquiries/Herodotus.html http://www.vroma.org/~hwalker/Pliny/PlinyNumbers.html http://www.LanguageIsAVirus.com/Sakas http://www.ukans.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_rome/E/Gazetteer/Periods/Roman/.T exts/Ptolemy/home.html http://www.roman-britain.org/ptolemy.htm http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0243 http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/vor?full=1&collection=Perseus:collection:Greco- Roman&lang=en&doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0198 http://classics.mit.edu/Browse/index.html http://www.friesian.com/sangoku.htm http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/faxian.html http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/centralasia/centralasia.html http://www.hostkingdom.net/siberia.html#Scythians http://www.gengo.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~hkum/bactrian.html http://www.transoxiana.org/ http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_primary_texts.htm

45 http://www.sikhnet.com/sikhnet/discussion.nsf/78f5a2ff8906d1788725657c00732d6c/D5CA C79F1DFDD16D87256A57004CFD5D?OpenDocument http://www.ensignmessage.com/archives/scythian.html http://www.geocities.com/pak_history/saka.html http://www.archaeology.org/magazine.php?page=0205/abstracts/scythian http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hopwood/kat/scythian.html http://www.ancienttouch.com/scythian_bronze_bone.htm http://www2.4dcomm.com/millenia/scytha.html http://www.lostlanguages.com/saka.htm http://www.csen.org/

Silk Road History: http://www.silk-road.com/artl/scythian.shtml http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/faxian.html http://www.silk-road.com/artl/chrono.shtml

Kushans in India: http://allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=13788&PN=23 http://www.afghan-network.net/Rulers/kushans.html http://www.friesian.com/sangoku.htm#kushan http://www.kushan.org/essays/chronology/kanishka.htm http://www.mssc.edu/projectsouthasia/history/primarydocs/ http://www.LanguageIsAVirus.com/Kushans http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/xuanzang.html http://persian.packhum.org/persian/

Ancient Coins Of India: http://www215.pair.com/sacoins/ http://prabhu.50g.com/ http://www.ancientcoins.ca/india7.html http://www.charm.ru/coins/misc/turgeshcashwithrunas.shtml

Inscription and Archeology: http://www.indepigr.narod.ru/index_1.htm http://www.mparchaeology.org/listpubliction.html http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/glossary1.html http://www.picatype.com/dig/dig.htm http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=India http://www.bergerfoundation.ch/wat4/museum1?museum=Hira&babel=en&cd=7219-3282- 0151:7219-3282-0150&country=Inde&col=pays

46 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndiaArchaeology/ http://www.csen.org/eaa%20guidelines/%20%20JDK.Statuses.%20mss.edit.html http://indepigr.narod.ru/index_1.htm Scythian_Hunnic cultural relics in South Asia - sci.archaeology _ Google Groups

Buddhism In Central Asia: http://www.uq.net.au/slsoc/bsq/bud_arc.htm http://www.serindian.com/ http://www.berzinarchives.com/e- books/historic_interaction_buddhist_islamic/history_cultures_c.html

Huns and Hephthalites :

http://www.imninalu.net/Huns_maps.htm http://www.uglychinese.org/hun.htm http://www.imninalu.net/Huns.htm http://spotlightongames.com/variant/maharaja/eph.html http://www.republicanchina.org/Hun.html http://www.LanguageIsAVirus.com/Hunas History of the Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume III: The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750 (chapter 6: "The Hephthalites", pp. 135-162 by B.A. Litvinsky, Director of Oriental Studies in Moscow ,Frye, Dr. Richard N., the Heritage of Central Asia (Hephthalites, pp. 174-9) The White Huns - Hephthalites (Silk Road Foundation) http://magyarorigins.com/

Ancient Chinese History of Hans Dynasty and Chinese Records : http://www.republicanchina.org/XiXia.html http://www.republicanchina.org/Hun.html http://www.uglychinese.org/hun.htm http://www.imninalu.net/Huns.htm http://spotlightongames.com/background/emw.html http://www.friesian.com/choustat.htm http://www.friesian.com/sangoku.htm#han http://www.republicanchina.org/Prehistory.html The Hephthalites of Central Asia - by Richard Heli

Kambojas: http://kambojsociety.com/ http://wikipedia.com http://www.zharov.com/dupree/prefaces.html http://www.LanguageIsAVirus.com/Kamboj