#aph xiongnu

Xiongnu watching from hell: Who the hell is this person

China: ....

A few hundred years later

Manchuria: Anyways Mongolia told me HIMSELF that I am his son and the direct heir to the yuan <3

Mongolia: I never fucking said that

>Descendants of the Donghu, the Xianbei, come back years later to dominate the Xiongnu in return

>The Xianbei become sinicized

>The Mongols dominate and subjugate the Jurchens

>Descendants of the Jurchen, the Manchurians, come back years later to dominate the Mongols in return

>The Manchurians become sinicized

Ok so I personally headcanon Mongolia to be an old as f*** man LMAO. Not as old as as China or India or Persia but but old that other nations look at him and put him in the same kind of category.

It's not as if Mongolian people sprang up out of nowhere when Genghis Khan came along. Mongolian people and their predecessors have been there for a while. Albeit they were fragmented before Genghis came along and united the Mongol tribes.

I think that Mongolia existing before this, even way before this makes sense (in my personal headcanon). I will touch upon the predestination hetalia theory later on in this God-forsaken essay. For now, this is a more simple example. Aph Prussia is still a character/"alive" despite Prussia as a state/nation no longer existing. So, in hetalia, a nation rep can exist without the nation/state itself actually existing. Perhaps more of a representation of that ethnic group?

Coming back to what I said about how its not like Mongolian people sprung up out of nowhere in the 13th century. I also think the same could be said for Mongolia himself. Many different nomadic groups lived in/ruled over Mongolia since Ancient times, and I like to think Mongolia lived through a lot of this (but he cannot remember a lot of his very early life, will get onto why later).

According to the introduction of the secret history of the Mongols, the Mongols were a small nomadic tribe that lived in Mongolia along with the Unggirads, Kereyids, Naimans, Tayichiuds and the Merkids. The Mongols were among one of the many nomadic groups traveling around this area in the 10th century. Indeed, I do recall reading that there were Chinese records calling the Mongols by their name from the 9/10th century?

So, in this instance, you could argue that Russia and Mongolia are around the same age. I’ve seen some people accept this as their personal headcanon, and it makes quite an interesting dynamic!

However, I personally like to go back even further.

Now I understand that the argument of X didn't spring up out of nowhere it's always existed can only hold up for so long. So I do hope my argument justifying why Mongolia is an old man doesn't come across this way.

Way before Mongols, there was the Xiongnu. I’ll give a simplified run down of what happened with them. The Xiongnu empire emerged in 209 BC however fell apart in the 4th century AD.

As I have stated before, many different ethnic groups ruled over and lived in Mongolia since Ancient times. However the establishment of the Xiongnu empire is what marked the beginning of statehood on Mongolian territory.

Side note: I am aware that the ethnicity of the Xiongnu has been widely contested and hypothesised among scholars and historians. There are quite a few scholars who insist on the Xiongnu being of Mongolic origin. For hetalias sake, I’ll accept them as Mongolic. Remember, I am not a historian, this is for hetalia purposes.

By 48 AD, the Xiongnu were weakened and were divided into Northern and Southern parts. The Northern Xiongnu migrating to the West and creating what was known as the Hunnic empire.

The Xiongnu, now weakened, meant that the Xianbei could come back to bite them in their asses. The Xianbei were the Northern branch of the Donghu, a people who were conquered/subjugated by the Xiongnu, one of the first in fact. The Donghu were a proto-Mongolic group that Chinese historians recorded as existing as early as the 4th century BC.

From then on, different factions/branches of the Xianbei would go on to consolidate their power in Mongolia as well as Central/Northern Asia. For example, the Tuoba established the Tuoba Wei empire and ruled over Northern China from 386 AD-535 AD. Another branch off of the Xianbei, the Rourans, established a nomadic empire in this area too.

I’ve already talked about how scholars/historians have contested the ethnic background of the Xiongnu. It is the same with the Xianbei, but less so. Many historians agree on the fact that they were Mongolic/spoke a Mongolic language with Turkic influences. For hetalias sake and for simplicitys sake, I will accept them as Mongolic.

I like to think that both the Xiongnu and the Xianbei were Mongolic (not without Turkic influence) and were major predecessors to the Mongolia we all know and love today. However let me just say, that nation family trees are very complicated, and nations are not born in the traditional sense of two parents, so me saying that these two were major predecessors isn’t me trying to pin them as like. His dad’s or something. A new nation or representative of a nation can be “born” for a plethora of reasons.

I would like to get onto the subject of pre-destination in hetalia as I feel like it is relevant to this part of my essay where I will slowly begin to justify why I believe Mongolia is old.

If a (potential) successor/successors emerge from a nation, or combination of nations, does this mean that the previous nations fate is already set in stone? That their demise was destined to happen?

It’s not a secret that a successor can exist at the same time as their predecessor, even long before the predecessor is weakening. For example, Hima released official art of Ancient Egypt holding a much younger “modern” Egypt. In addition, there’s lots of fanart of mama Britannia with little England, so successors co-existing with their predecessors seems to be something that it widely accepted in the hetalia fandom.

My own view on the predestination hetalia theory is mixed but largely positive. I believe that not all new potential successors who emerge will be the true successor in the end. They could just be smaller, failed states who won’t last very long. And considering the history of the world I’m sure there were a lot of these.

But. When it comes to the true successors, the ones who come out on top, and who emerge the most stable/prevalent/powerful? I personally believe that they can crop up long before they get to that powerful state, and again, can co-exist with their predecessors, even if the predecessors are not weakened yet. And considering how powerful the Mongol Empire was, how it overshadows all previous steppe Empires, and the fact that Mongolia is still around today? You can guess where this is going.

Some scholars speculate that the intermarriage between Xiongnu and Xianbei may have been the genesis of modern (?) Mongolians. Indeed, the Xianbei, after kicking the Xiongnu’s asses, encouraged intermarriage between themselves and the Xiongnu, even with the Chinese. However Xianbei nobility was restricted to only Xiongnu in terms of intermarriage.

Furthermore, it is the consensus of most historians that the Mongols of Genghis Khan were descendants of a peripheral Xianbei branch, the Shiwei.

So, the Xianbei/Donghu, or in hetalia terms, aph Xianbei/Donghu, was more of a major predecessor to aph Mongolia than aph Xiongnu was. Once the Xianbei defeated the Xiongnu (wasn’t just the Xianbei, the Chinese had enough of them and conducted an ethnic genocide against them) what was left of them was absorbed into the Xianbei state/identity, thus being a part of Mongolias identity.

Indeed, there are many cultural similarities between the Xiongnu and the Mongols. Such as the composite bow, gers, and the long song. The Long Song and its origin is mentioned in the book of Wei, and is believed to date back at least 2000 years.

Because of everything I’ve just said, I personally headcanon Mongolia as first emerging as, seemingly, one of these small/destined to fail Donghu/Xianbei states, who was pretty much ignored by his predecessors for the most part during this period as they probably looked at him and thought “oh look another rando kid who won’t be around in half a century lol ignore him”. So he was passed around from family to family who didn’t know what to do with him as he just wouldn’t age. However, facial wise, as a child, he did kind of look a bit like the Xiongnu/Xianbei (others too but this was a little more noticeable). Xianbei, being ruled over by the Xiongnu at this time, probably noticed this and felt a bit uneasy around him. So Xianbei ignoring him was a mixture of “random failed wannabe state who won’t be here for long lol” and “omg this kid is foreshadowing total Xiongnu dominance over my people”.

Xiongnu, on the other hand, was probably greatly amused by Mongolias existance as they ruled over the Xianbei at the time, and seeing this kid translated to them as “lol the Xianbei are fucked”.

Soon it became apparent that it was actually the Xiongnu who were fucked when the Xianbei rebelled in 93 AD. This wasn’t the complete end of the Xiongnu but it was the beginning of the end (they did their very best to hold on). Again, I’m not saying that these two were the only predecessors to Mongolia and this certainly isn’t supposed to be a completely accurate historical text, this is me trying to justify a hetalia headcanon LMAO.

As time went on, I think subsequent rulers of the steppe began to realise that “oh wait, why is he [Mongolia] still here oh that’s weird” so at that point they began to view him with more significance despite the fact he was aging slowly, even by nation standards, and so allowed him to stay with the family of nobility rather than random families.

He did get stronger over time but there was still that consistent illness that was about him. A lot happened between his “birth” and the unification of the Mongol tribes under Genghis Khan, but the unification of the Mongol tribes is what made that sickness go away altogether and gave him a major growth spurt (why I headcanon him as tall). He truly felt in control of himself as his identity was truly consolidated at this point.

So yeah he emerged sometime during the late-ish BC period (I’m sorry I know that sounds vague) and was seen as just some random small state and so his identity was definitely not all there yet and yes it obviously developed throughout the years. The growing pains must have sucked lol.

Also random but another reason why I like the Xiongnu/Mongolia cultural influence link is from influence from other hetalia creators. @absolvtely-barbaric on tumblr has influenced me. I liked the fact that Xiongnu gave his “sons” cheek scars to teach them a lesson about endurance, and @pearlescentplums draws him with a cheek scar (and a lip scar) and the way they draw him is Canon in my head sorry <33 I’m not sure how I headcanon how Mongolia got his scars yet but. I like it being there as a nod to previous rulers of the steppe, so now I’m headcanoning that aph Xianbei (?) also had a lip scar LMAO.

Aph Mongolia by @pearlescentplums and yes he looks like this to me in my head

I highly doubt Mongolia can remember much of his very early life which probably frustrates him to no end. The fact that it was so long ago and the fact that he did not have a strong identity/sense of identity also didn’t help with memory retention. He remembers some voices and distinct silhouettes but other than that, not a lot.

For more background information on the Xiongnu, head to my previous post about him and China. It’ll be necessary going forward! (Please note that this topic is highly debated within academic circles, and while a definitive link isn’t proven between the Huns and Xiongnu, I’ve read convincing arguments for both sides, and have chosen to make Huns’ origins lie with the Xiongnu for character purposes. Given that a lot of old steppe/barbarian history is obscure, I have to take some liberties with details here.)

As I mentioned in my previous post, it was split into four parts: north, south, east, west. These were represented by colors: black, green, red, and white, respectively. The Chanyu and his clan ruled over the entire realm. Much like my Scythians character, Xiongnu represents this ruling clan and the Xiongnu government (as well as aspects of Xiongnu culture, but these were mostly ubiquitous throughout the empire). Huns is the northern Huns, the Black Huns. 

In Hunnic culture, male succession is extremely important. The land of the Chanyu was divided amongst his sons (or nearest male relatives) upon his death. For Xiongnu, having sons would be a mark of prestige and power, and also ensure that his lineage would go on past his death. (And it did!) So in that way, he intentionally created his sons for the sole purpose of being wings of the Xiongnu state and continue on the legacy of Xiongnu culture. They weren’t born into the world as infants, rather, as young teenagers, given that the Xiongnu culture and state was already well-developed. (Of course, Xiongnu probably did have other descendants, but these would have been smaller and less-influential groups within the greater empire). 

And now, the relationship between (Black) Huns and his good ‘ole pops. It was almost entirely political. Papa Xiongnu wanted to create successors, not loving sons (ultimately, this would bite him in the ass). Although egotistical and humorous, he’s a very severe person. He tolerated absolutely nothing from them in the way of foolishness. He taught them what they needed to be great kings, including horsemanship, archery, swordsmanship, and above all, tactics. He was also responsible for giving them cheek scars, to show them how important endurance is.

The east was the most important direction (which may be because it was oriented towards China, their greatest source of revenue), and so Papa Xiongnu was a hover dad in the east and south as he busied himself marauding China, actually lending those two even less power individually. Black Huns and White Huns were consequently extremely ambitious. Black Huns in particular. (White Huns is a little more… level-headed.) Nothing gets in the way of what Black Huns wants, not even dear-old dad. (Especially not dear-old dad.) 

He seized his chance in the mid 1st century BCE when Xiongnu had lost control during vassal rebellions. I explained this situation in the Xiongnu/China post. Xiongnu reined him in again, but Huns had tasted blood for the first time, and you know what they say, a tiger never forgets the taste of human blood. It’s difficult to tell which side the individual sub-kings/generals from each quadrant would have taken, so I can only speculate, but I’d imagine that the eastern and southern kings were united in the “southern” half while the western kings may have been aligned with the north. 

In the end of the 1st century CE, the two brothers White and Black Huns were defeated by the alliance of their dad and China. They split apart and went their separate ways. Both brothers headed westwards with their armies and peoples, but the White Huns soon split off and headed south towards India and the Middle East. 

I assume you meant the Xiongnu? (The OG Huns 😉) But don’t worry, the Hun we all know plays an important role! I’ll give a quick overview of Xiongnu for anyone that’s not familiar with him. The Xiongnu were probably around as early as the 5th c BCE, but it was in the 2nd c BCE under the great Modu Chanyu that they took over rival steppe groups and created an empire covering what is now Mongolia, Manchuria, and most of Siberia! The Chinese struggled to oppose them. (The Xiongnu are why construction on the Great Wall began!) China largely appeased him with gifts, wives, and of course... a lot of money. 

China finally got a backbone when Emperor Wu took the Han throne and decided enough was enough. He launched a war against the Xiongnu in 129 BCE, killing the Chanyu. Political turbulence within the Xiongnu resulted, with a usurpation of the legitimate Chanyu and ending with the division of Xiongnu nobility. The heir Chanyu Yui Bi surrendered to China after the usurper Ichise won. Xiongnu vassals rebelled, and it was a big mess for him. Xiongnu officially lost this long conflict in 60 BCE, but he still maintained independence.

The Xiongnu inevitably split into Northern and Southern halves (a disagreement between Xiongnu and his preeminent son, the “Black” Northern Huns, the eventual European Huns), because of the instability of the empire caused by the usurpation of Yui Bi. In 36 BCE, the Southern Xiongnu Chanyu went to the Chinese emperor and bowed to him, and in return the Chinese provided the Southern Xiongnu with the money and military aid to defeat the Northern pretender Chanyu. Briefly the Xiongnu regained power over their vassals and former territory, taking advantage of civil war in China, but the rift between North and South was never fully healed. 

For a brief time, the Xiongnu regained their power, as China descended into civil war. But the strife between the North and South reemerged, and the two halves split for good. The Southern Xiongnu again appealed for Chinese aid, but this time, as official subservient vassals; Xiongnu yielded to China and became a part of his empire. The Northern half was eventually defeated in 91 CE, by the combination of Chinese, Southern Xiongnu, and Xianbei (proto-Mongols who temporarily allied with China) attacks. The “Black” Huns and the “White” Huns (white for west) and a few other of Xiongnu’s sons split apart and went westwards.

Xiongnu stayed like this for two centuries, until the 3rd c CE. But Xiongnu hadn’t forgotten his former glory! When China went into civil war (again) he rose to the occasion and declared that he owned China now. Making good on his claim he conquered most of China, then made the Chinese emperor the butler to his Chanyu like China had humiliated him years before. This was his highest point, but also the beginning of his end. 

About 5 years later, the good times ended, thanks to internal Xiongnu rivalry. The Jie tribe usurped the Xiongnu elite and according to the Chinese, were extremely neglectful and cruel as rulers. The Chinese rose up against them under a strong new leader named Ran Min, defeated them, then orchestrated the ethnic genocide of approximately 200,000 remaining Xiongnu in 349 CE. The Xianbei came in and cleaned up the rest of former Xiongnu territory, leaving only a small splinter state in the north. Headed by Liu (Helian) Bobo, Xiongnu refused to give up without one last hurrah. As his dying act, he re-captured the Chinese capital and became rulers of northern China again. ~60 years later, Xiongnu was defeated once-and-for-all by the emerging Rouran Khaganate, and the Xiongnu forever lost their independence, his identity being absorbed into the next series of steppe states.