The Rouran Qaghanate and the Western Regions During the Second Half of the Fifth Century Based on a Chinese Document Newly Found in Turfan

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Chapter 5 The Rouran Qaghanate and the Western Regions during the Second Half of the Fifth Century based on a Chinese Document Newly Found in Turfan

Rong Xinjiang

The latter half of the fifth century was one of the most chaotic periods in the history of Central Asia, and adjacent powers all tried to lay hands on this loosely ruled region. After eliminating the Northern Liang in the Hexi Corridor, the Northern Wei temporarily controlled Karashahr and Kucha in the Western Regions. Simultaneously, the Rouran (Juan-juan) Qaghanate re- duced Gaochang, then under the Kan family, into a puppet kingdom and then marched further westward beyond the Tianshan Mountains to Karashahr and Khotan.1 To the west of the Pamir Mountains, another great power, the Hephthalites, defeated the Sassanid Persian Empire and occupied Kidāra in Bactria. In the beginning of the fifth century the Hephthalites occupied Sogdiana and, by at- tacking Khotan and Karashahr, extended their influence to the Tarim Basin. Yet the Hephthalite expansion was not unresisted; Peros (r. 459–484) of Sassanid Persia and Skandha (r. 454–467) of the Gupta kingdom in India both battled the Hephthalites for dominance in Central Asia but were defeated.2 Faced with the Hephthalite threat, the minor kingdoms of Central Asia turned to the Rouran Qaghanate and the Northern Wei for help. Records of Central Asian envoys to the Northern Wei can be found in the annals of Weishu. In addition, the discovery of Chinese documents in Turfan, which is the subject of the present paper, allows us to ascertain that the envoys of many Central Asian kingdoms

* This article is based on two published Chinese papers: “Kanshi Gaochang wangguo yu Rouran, Xiyu de guanxi 闞氏高昌王國與柔然、西域的關係,” Lishi yanjiu, no. 2 (2007a): 4–14; and “Tulufan xinchu songshi wenshu yu Kanshi Gaochang wangguo de junxian cheng- zhen 吐魯番新出送使文書與闞氏高昌王國的郡縣城鎮,” Dunhuang Tulufan yanjiu 10 (2007b): 21–41. I would like to thank Wen Xin for translating this paper and Yoko Nishimura for drawing the map. 1 For a brief description of the Rouran entry into the Western Regions, see Sinor 1990: 291–294. 2 On the Hephthalites’ expansion in Central Asia, see Litvinsky 1996: 135–162; Callieri 1999: 277–291; Grenet 2002: 203–224.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi 10.1163/9789004362253_006 60 Rong went via Gaochang and “the Northern Mountain” (Tianshan) to the Rouran in order to plead for help. This highlights the role of the Rouran Qaghanate in Central Asian politics in the latter half of the fifth century.

1 The Date and Nature of the New Turfan Document

1.1 Transcription of the Document In 1997, a Chinese document was discovered in Tomb No. 1 of the Yanghai cem- etery in Turfan. This document (97TSYM1:13–5 + 97TSYM1:13–4), consisting of two joined sheets, has writing on both sheets. The recto side is an omen text, whereas the verso side constitutes the official document that is the subject of this paper. This document, twenty lines long, is a register of labor and horses provided for foreign envoys; it is dated to the 9th and 10th years of an unknown reign period (see below).3 What follows is a punctuated line-by-line transcription of the document coupled with an English translation.

1 九年十月八日送處羅幹无根，高寧九十人、摩訶演十人；[每人]出馬 2 一疋。

On the 8th day, 10th month of the 9th year, to escort Chuluogan Wugen, 90 people from Gaoning, 10 people from Moheyan; [each person] sent one horse.

3 九年十月廿日送鄭阿卯，高寧八十五人、白艻卅六人、万度廿六人、 4 其養十五人；[每人]出馬一疋。

On the 20th day, 10th month of the 9th year, to escort Zheng Amao, 85 people from Gaoning, 36 people from Baiji, 26 people from Wandu, 15 people from Qiyang; [each person] sent one horse.

5 九年十二月二日送烏萇使向鄢耆，百一十八人；[每人]出馬一疋。高寧 6 八十五人、万度廿六人、乾養七人。

3 For details of excavations, see Tulufan diqu wenwuju 2007: 1–9. For a study of the omen book, see Yu and Chen 2007: 57–84.