Origin of the Alans

[Alanus]

The Yuezhi and The Clan of the White Ram: Military & Trade Partners with China. Part I

To learn more about the Aorsi, we take a step back to the borders of China during the Warring States Period from 300 to 200BC. What we find is most unusual-- a tribal coalition dedicated not to raiding but the advancement of trade and military cooperation. Nowhere in a Chinese document do we find any state or dynasty fighting the Yuezhi. How inextricably odd! This contradicts everything written by western historians, all of it colored by episodes of raiding and plundering presumably to a steppe barbarian's self-satisfaction. And this is why the Aorsi were known as excellent traders.

We see another dimension, one of peaceful co-existence. The Yuezhi profited by teaching horse archery and cavalry tactics, by accepting Chinese military positions, and through mutual trade. In so doing, they became the largest steppe culture east of Iran. We already know the Yuezhi population numbered at a half million; and to this we can add chieftains and nobles, each owning herds upward to 5,000 horses (as recorded in the Shiji).

In the reign of Lord Wuling (340-295BC), we know the Yuezhi or a sub-tribe became instructors and military advisors to the Zhao Kingdom. This is the only recorded instance from the Northern Zone, but the other two kingdoms adjacent to the Yuezhi Ordos-- Qin and Yan-- evidently did likewise, hiring cavalry specialists and receiving new military technology. This is exactly how the "Type I Sarmatian sword" came into existence.

At precisely this time, a high ranking commander of the Yan State died. His tomb at the Yan capital of Ji is known as "Elite burial Xinzhuangtou M30." Here are some of the artifacts from his burial site:

   
   
We see the hilt of a dagger, somewhat close to "Pazyrk" style but not Chinese. The lower design of the hilt combines two ram's heads, an actual link to the commander's tribe. Then we have a harness buckle with a Europoid individual embossed upon it; and even a casual glance determines this character is a carbon-copy of the later portraits found in the Kushan state in Bactria, yet a "historical inversion" in time continuum. Smaller pieces of horse-gear are in the shape of individual sheep heads, all of them rams. What tribe did this Yan general come from? Here's a facsimile of his belt ornament:

   
   
   
The buckle (upper photo) is decorated by a central "horse-gryphon," its hind quarters inverted 180-degrees in the classic Pazyryk style but made by an Ordos craftsman. The second photo (middle) is a graphic rendition of a tattoo worn by a Pazyryk chieftain (Kurgan 2)-- same horse-gryphon, same inversion. For skeptics, the third (bottom) photo shows the actual skin and tatoos of the Chieftan. So, what culture did this commander came from? He apparently arrived from the Loufan or Bayan people, two tribes within the Yuezhi confederation. Here are a few specifics from Alexey Kovalev:

"Basing on examination of these artifacts, and of similar gold, silver and bronze objects from Ordos... and on Chinese written sources... a conclusion is made that the discussed tomb belonged to a member of part of the Laufan tribe which had been in Yan Kingdom's service as frontier guards... nomads which had resettled to Ordos and northern frontiers of China from the Altai mountains at the end of the 4th century BC."

Kovalev almost hit it correctly, but we can find the exact tribe of this leader's origin. Voynikov points us in the right direction (still North), "In the Shiji, Loufans are reported together with the Bayan tribe as inhabitants of Ordos." So, we find another Yuezhi subtribe, the Bayan. Their ethnonym translates to bai (white) + lan (ram). Our commander was from the Clan of the White Ram, as testified by the many ram-shaped ornaments on his horse gear.

   
This Warring States Era map shows the three kingdoms dependent on the Yuezhi, Raban, and Bayan for military aid-- the states of Qin, Zhao, and Yan.

Of the two sub-tribes, Zhivko Voynikov gives the pronunciation of Loufan as Rob-han, sounding like "Ruban." Ptolemy mentions people of the "Rubon, together with the Garinei, lived east of the Annibas and north of the Asmirea region." Ammianus Marcellinus places the "Rabans" among the people of Serica. Voynikov adds this, "Ptolemy placed them in the middle-Asian cross-rivers area (between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya), which indicates they migrated with the Yuezhi to Central Asia... In their society, women had a high social standing, including being able to rule." (Voynikov, p. 55). The other sub-tribe, Clan of the White Ram, are not mentioned by Western historians.

   
Bridle fittings from Commander's horse, Tomb Xinzhuangtou M30.

We see a Chinese military leader connected to the Yuezhi, and I believe he was one of several. His occupation forecasts later associations we find between Romans and Alans, the latter as federates and commanders.

Evidently someone is reading this thread; it's getting a lot of silent "hits." In Part II, we'll continue the story, including info on Crafty King Luo, the Yuezhi monarch who became the richest "barbarian" west of China.