Origin of the Alans

[Alanus]

Back to you, Michael

Originally, when the Yuezhi were attacked by the Xiongnu they plowed through Wusun territory and went "west." The records don't say exactly where but it would have been somewhere west of the Gansu Corridor and north of the Takla Makan. Then the Xiongnu uprooted the Wusun. The Wusun also went west and passed around the Yuezhi, and reached the Ili River Valley.

These are long distances, and we haven't placed either tribe into perspective. For Martin, Childeric, Athena, and other RATers following this thread, it might be worthwhile to show the size and scope of both tribes. They were HUGE! Of major tribes listed by Herodotus, they appear to be the "Arim-Aspi"-- the powerful dwellers of the Altai. Power equates with wealth, and wealth arrives through (not just horse-breeding, ie Arim-aspi-- "the horse-lovers" or "horse-people") but through control of natural resources in great demand throughout the trade network. Here's a map of Asia's most valuable commodities, somewhat dated but handy:

   
Here we see the Altai as the "richest" territory on the Asian Continent. We find copper, gold, and tin, each escalating to a higher value until we reach tin, the most precious metal for Bronze Age China. This is what the Arimaspi/Yuezhi/Wusun controlled. We locate them this far north according to Zhou era Chinese sources. Also referring to their eventual migration, Abdullaev states, "[The local tribes] were forced out by the Yuezhi arrival from Siberia and the Altai." (Kazim Abdullaev, Nomad Migration in Central Asia, online PDF) The Yuezhi eventually moved to the BMC, rich in tin, and the Wusun reached the Ili River where the map shows a "G." Arrr! Gold!!!

Power also equates with military prowess, the ability to take lands from weaker tribes. Here it gets incredibly interesting, because previous to 200 BC we find the Saka as Top Dogs on the Eastern Steppe. Look what happens.

After being attacked by the Xiongnu, the Wusun traveled 2,000 kilometers west and literally "drove" the Saka from the Ili Valley. This is amazing at first glance. The Wusun are recorded in the Shiji as a tribe of "20,000 bows." Does this mean they were a small tribe who (somehow, perhaps magically) defeated Kings of the Steppes? Not necessarily if we look at the Wusun as heavy cavalry combined with a lesser force of 20,000 archers. They defeated the Sakarauli by shock-force. This also coincides with tactics used by their descendents the Alans, in particular the Rhoxalani. Even archery warfare was changing. Fewer arrows are found in "Late Sarmatian" graves. They were switching to a "one on one" technique, purposely aiming at individual opponents rather than creating a "shower of arrows." And they were using large bows with siyahs, consequently larger arrows with larger heads.

     
These are so-called "Late Sarmatian" arrowheads and remains of the bows. The bone plates are in two different lengths, the lower plates are shorter, indicating the bows were asymmetrical and very powerful (as seen on the Orlat battle plaque).

After reaching the Ili Valley, the Wusun extended their grazing grounds westward, finally building their "capital" on the north shore of Issyk Kul. Strange as it might be, the famous kurgan of the Golden Woman was constructed only 100 years before the Wusun occupation. Here again, they displaced the Sakarauli. At this point, the Wusun controlled 250,000 square kilometers of territory extending from the Ili Valley north to Lake Balkash, the entire 7 Rivers area, and then westward 500 kilometers to Lake Issyk. Oh no, the Wusun were not a small tribe. Here is a map of their holdings:

   
I hope everyone can visualize the size and sheer power, of the Wusun territory. To put it in perspective, this territory was twice the size of the state of Rhode Island (USA). Unfortunately, I've run out of illustration space, plus I prefer the shortest posts possible. Stay tuned for a post on the Yuezhi, a steppe entity larger than the Wusun.