Yuezhi

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The Yuezhi ( Chinese  月氏 or more rarely 月 支 , Pinyin Yuèzhī [y̆ɛ51 d̥ʐ̥ɻ5] ; sometimes Yueshi , Rouzhi etc .; Chinese also Guishang , Guci can be classified as Scythian ) were an Indo-European tribal group in the area of ​​today's Chinese province of Gansu bis to the Tarim basin . They lived there since the 5th century BC. It is a thesis that still needs to be substantiated that they were identical to the Iranian tribe of the massagers or that they were part of the massager confederation in another form. The linguist Jahanshah Derakhshani also connects them with the Guci and later Kuchi from Afghanistan.

history

The Yuèzhī were born in 176 BC. Subjugated by the Xiongnu under Mao Tun , rebelled, were defeated again by Mao Tun's son Ki-ok / Laosheng and moved in 160 BC. Westward from.

About 141–129 BC Chr. Occupied the Yuezhi under an unknown prince Bactria , where they founded a new kingdom. The state was soon divided into five clan rulers known by name and integrated various nomad groups as well as settled people. The junior partners of the Yuèzhī were the Kangju in Sogdia , as well as a certain part of the Scythian Saks . Wars against the Parthians , with z. B. their king Artabanos I in the campaign to Bactria 123 BC. Found death, came to it.

From about 90 BC The Kushan clan (Chinese Guishuang) prevailed in the Yuèzhī empire and took over rule under Kujula Kadphises (around 30–80) in the early first century. Kujula Kadphises expressed his power through many coinage; the Chronicle of the Younger Han Dynasty Hou Hanshu reports his success under the name Qiu Jiuque. The Kushan replaced a succession of Indo-Greek , Sakian and Indo-Parthian rulers in Gandhara by the middle of the 1st century . In the late 1st century gold coins were issued, a sign of wealth and extensive trade.

The most important ruler of the Kushan empire was Kanischka (around 100–125; dates vary due to different calendars). He is said to have fought with the Han China of the general Ban Chao or his successors for control of the Tarim Basin and was considered a great promoter of Buddhism (fourth Buddhist council).

Under Ardaschir I , the Sassanids took over the western part of the Kushan Empire around 240; at that time a cry for help reached China; the east remained independent. The last heyday of the Kushan Empire ended in the early 4th century. After the collapse of the empire, their remains were absorbed in the 4th and 5th centuries by the " Hunnic " groups of the Chionites and Hephthalites who pushed after them. The question is open whether or to what extent the king Kidara, founder of the Kidarite dynasty, led the remnants of the Yuèzhī. More recent research tends to assume that Kidara was the leader of "Hunnic" invaders.

additional

In the literature, the Yuèzhī are also referred to as (real) Tocharers .

In ancient Chinese scripts, the term Da-Yuèzhī also appears in connection with the Dayuan ( Ferghanatal ) and Daxia ( Bactria ) peoples living in Central Asia . The word may be found again in today's Tajik .

See also

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Penglin Wang: Explanations in the Contact Between Altaic and Tokharian . In: Mankind Quarterly 33.1 (Fall 1992), 79-96.