p。17—33。ThecomprehensiveviewofM。deGuigneshascomparedthesedistantevents。]
[Footnote31:ThefameofSovou,orSo—ou,hismerit,andhissingularadventurers,arestillcelebratedinChina。SeetheElogedeMoukden,p。20,andnotes,p。241—247;andMemoiressurlaChine,tom。iii。p。317—360。]
[Footnote32:SeeIsbrandIvesinHarris'sCollection,vol。ii。
p。931;Bell'sTravels,vol。i。p。247—254;andGmelin,intheHist。GeneraledesVoyages,tom。xviii。283—329。Theyallremarkthevulgaropinionthattheholyseagrowsangryandtempestuousifanyonepresumestocallitalake。Thisgrammaticalnicetyoftenexcitesadisputebetweentheabsurdsuperstitionofthemarinersandtheabsurdobstinacyoftravellers。]
[Footnote!:224yearsbeforeChrist。ItwasbuiltbyChi—hoang—tioftheDynastyThsin。Itisfromtwentytotwenty—fivefeethigh。Cemonument,aussigigantesquequ'impuissant,arreteraitbienlesincursionsdequelquesNomades;maisiln'ajamaisempechelesinvasionsdesTurcs,desMongols,etdesMandchous。AbeRemusatRech。Asiat。2dser。vol。
i。p。58—M。]
[Footnote33:TheconstructionofthewallofChinaismentionedbyDuhaldetom。ii。p。45andDeGuignes,tom。ii。p。59。]
[Footnote34:SeethelifeofLieoupang,orKaoti,intheHist,delaChine,publishedatParis,1777,&c。,tom。i。p。442—522。
ThisvoluminousworkisthetranslationbytheP。deMaillaoftheTong—Kien—Kang—Mou,thecelebratedabridgmentofthegreatHistoryofSemakouangA。D。1084andhiscontinuators。]
[Footnote35:Seeafreeandamplememorial,presentedbyaMandarintotheemperorVenti,beforeChrist180—157,inDuhalde,tom。ii。p。412—426,fromacollectionofStatepapersmarkedwiththeredpencilbyKamhihimself,p。354—
612。AnothermemorialfromtheministerofwarKang—Mou,tom。
ii。p555suppliessomecuriouscircumstancesofthemannersoftheHuns。]
[Footnote36:Asupplyofwomenismentionedasacustomaryarticleoftreatyandtribute,Hist。delaConquetedelaChine,parlesTartaresMantcheoux,tom。i。p。186,187,withthenoteoftheeditor。]
[Footnote37:DeGuignes,Hist。desHuns,tom。ii。p。62。]
TheconquestofChinahasbeentwiceachievedbythepastoraltribesoftheNorth:theforcesoftheHunswerenotinferiortothoseoftheMoguls,oroftheMantcheoux;andtheirambitionmightentertainthemostsanguinehopesofsuccess。Buttheirpridewashumbled,andtheirprogresswaschecked,bythearmsandpolicyofVouti,^38thefifthemperorofthepowerfuldynastyoftheHan。Inhislongreignoffifty—fouryears,theBarbariansofthesouthernprovincessubmittedtothelawsandmannersofChina;andtheancientlimitsofthemonarchywereenlarged,fromthegreatriverofKiang,totheportofCanton。
Insteadofconfininghimselftothetimidoperationsofadefensivewar,hislieutenantspenetratedmanyhundredmilesintothecountryoftheHuns。Inthoseboundlessdeserts,whereitisimpossibletoformmagazines,anddifficulttotransportasufficientsupplyofprovisions,thearmiesofVoutiwererepeatedlyexposedtointolerablehardships:and,ofonehundredandfortythousandsoldiers,whomarchedagainsttheBarbarians,thirtythousandonlyreturnedinsafetytothefeetoftheirmaster。Theselosses,however,werecompensatedbysplendidanddecisivesuccess。TheChinesegeneralsimprovedthesuperioritywhichtheyderivedfromthetemperoftheirarms,theirchariotsofwar,andtheserviceoftheirTartarauxiliaries。ThecampoftheTanjouwassurprisedinthemidstofsleepandintemperance;
and,thoughthemonarchoftheHunsbravelycuthiswaythroughtheranksoftheenemy,heleftabovefifteenthousandofhissubjectsonthefieldofbattle。Yetthissignalvictory,whichwasprecededandfollowedbymanybloodyengagements,contributedmuchlesstothedestructionofthepoweroftheHunsthantheeffectualpolicywhichwasemployedtodetachthetributarynationsfromtheirobedience。Intimidatedbythearms,oralluredbythepromises,ofVoutiandhissuccessors,themostconsiderabletribes,bothoftheEastandoftheWest,disclaimedtheauthorityoftheTanjou。Whilesomeacknowledgedthemselvesthealliesorvassalsoftheempire,theyallbecametheimplacableenemiesoftheHuns;andthenumbersofthathaughtypeople,assoonastheywerereducedtotheirnativestrength,might,perhaps,havebeencontainedwithinthewallsofoneofthegreatandpopulouscitiesofChina。^39Thedesertionofhissubjects,andtheperplexityofacivilwar,atlengthcompelledtheTanjouhimselftorenouncethedignityofanindependentsovereign,andthefreedomofawarlikeandhigh—spiritednation。
HewasreceivedatSigan,thecapitalofthemonarchy,bythetroops,themandarins,andtheemperorhimself,withallthehonorsthatcouldadornanddisguisethetriumphofChinesevanity。^40Amagnificentpalacewaspreparedforhisreception;
hisplacewasassignedabovealltheprincesoftheroyalfamily;
andthepatienceoftheBarbariankingwasexhaustedbytheceremoniesofabanquet,whichconsistedofeightcoursesofmeat,andofninesolemnpiecesofmusic。Butheperformed,onhisknees,thedutyofarespectfulhomagetotheemperorofChina;pronounced,inhisownname,andinthenameofhissuccessors,aperpetualoathoffidelity;andgratefullyacceptedaseal,whichwasbestowedastheemblemofhisregaldependence。
Afterthishumiliatingsubmission,theTanjoussometimesdepartedfromtheirallegianceandseizedthefavorablemomentsofwarandrapine;butthemonarchyoftheHunsgraduallydeclined,tillitwasbroken,bycivildissension,intotwohostileandseparatekingdoms。Oneoftheprincesofthenationwasurged,byfearandambition,toretiretowardstheSouthwitheighthords,whichcomposedbetweenfortyandfiftythousandfamilies。Heobtained,withthetitleofTanjou,aconvenientterritoryonthevergeoftheChineseprovinces;andhisconstantattachmenttotheserviceoftheempirewassecuredbyweakness,andthedesireofrevenge。
Fromthetimeofthisfatalschism,theHunsoftheNorthcontinuedtolanguishaboutfiftyyears;tilltheywereoppressedoneverysidebytheirforeignanddomesticenemies。Theproudinscription^41ofacolumn,erectedonaloftymountain,announcedtoposterity,thataChinesearmyhadmarchedsevenhundredmilesintotheheartoftheircountry。TheSienpi,^42atribeofOrientalTartars,retaliatedtheinjurieswhichtheyhadformerlysustained;andthepoweroftheTanjous,afterareignofthirteenhundredyears,wasutterlydestroyedbeforetheendofthefirstcenturyoftheChristianaera。^43
[Footnote38:SeethereignoftheemperorVouti,intheKang—Mou,tom。iii。p。1—98。Hisvariousandinconsistentcharacterseemstobeimpartiallydrawn。]
[Footnote39:ThisexpressionisusedinthememorialtotheemperorVenti,Duhalde,tom。ii。p。411。WithoutadoptingtheexaggerationsofMarcoPoloandIsaacVossius,wemayrationallyallowforPekintwomillionsofinhabitants。ThecitiesoftheSouth,whichcontainthemanufacturesofChina,arestillmorepopulous。]
[Footnote40:SeetheKang—Mou,tom。iii。p。150,andthesubsequenteventsundertheproperyears。ThismemorablefestivaliscelebratedintheElogedeMoukden,andexplainedinanotebytheP。Gaubil,p。89,90。]
[Footnote41:ThisinscriptionwascomposedonthespotbyParkou,PresidentoftheTribunalofHistoryKang—Mou,tom。iii。
p。392。SimilarmonumentshavebeendiscoveredinmanypartsofTartary,HistoiredesHuns,tom。ii。p。122。]
[Footnote42:M。deGuignestom。i。p。189hasinsertedashortaccountoftheSienpi。]
[Footnote43:TheaeraoftheHunsisplaced,bytheChinese,1210yearsbeforeChrist。Buttheseriesoftheirkingsdoesnotcommencetilltheyear230,Hist。desHuns,tom。ii。p。21,123。]
ThefateofthevanquishedHunswasdiversifiedbythevariousinfluenceofcharacterandsituation。^44Aboveonehundredthousandpersons,thepoorest,indeed,andthemostpusillanimousofthepeople,werecontentedtoremainintheirnativecountry,torenouncetheirpeculiarnameandorigin,andtominglewiththevictoriousnationoftheSienpi。Fifty—eighthords,abouttwohundredthousandmen,ambitiousofamorehonorableservitude,retiredtowardstheSouth;imploredtheprotectionoftheemperorsofChina;andwerepermittedtoinhabit,andtoguard,theextremefrontiersoftheprovinceofChansiandtheterritoryofOrtous。ButthemostwarlikeandpowerfultribesoftheHunsmaintained,intheiradversefortune,theundauntedspiritoftheirancestors。TheWesternworldwasopentotheirvalor;andtheyresolved,undertheconductoftheirhereditarychieftains,toconquerandsubduesomeremotecountry,whichwasstillinaccessibletothearmsoftheSienpi,andtothelawsofChina。^45ThecourseoftheiremigrationsooncarriedthembeyondthemountainsofImaus,andthelimitsoftheChinesegeography;butweareabletodistinguishthetwogreatdivisionsoftheseformidableexiles,whichdirectedtheirmarchtowardstheOxus,andtowardstheVolga。ThefirstofthesecoloniesestablishedtheirdominioninthefruitfulandextensiveplainsofSogdiana,ontheeasternsideoftheCaspian;wheretheypreservedthenameofHuns,withtheepithetofEuthalites,orNepthalites。Theirmannersweresoftened,andeventheirfeatureswereinsensiblyimproved,bythemildnessoftheclimate,andtheirlongresidenceinaflourishingprovince,^46
whichmightstillretainafaintimpressionoftheartsofGreece。^47ThewhiteHuns,anamewhichtheyderivedfromthechangeoftheircomplexions,soonabandonedthepastorallifeofScythia。Gorgo,which,undertheappellationofCarizme,hassinceenjoyedatemporarysplendor,wastheresidenceoftheking,whoexercisedalegalauthorityoveranobedientpeople。
TheirluxurywasmaintainedbythelaboroftheSogdians;andtheonlyvestigeoftheirancientbarbarism,wasthecustomwhichobligedallthecompanions,perhapstothenumberoftwenty,whohadsharedtheliberalityofawealthylord,tobeburiedaliveinthesamegrave。^48ThevicinityoftheHunstotheprovincesofPersia,involvedtheminfrequentandbloodycontestswiththepowerofthatmonarchy。Buttheyrespected,inpeace,thefaithoftreaties;inwar,shedictatesofhumanity;andtheirmemorablevictoryoverPeroses,orFiruz,displayedthemoderation,aswellasthevalor,oftheBarbarians。Theseconddivisionoftheircountrymen,theHuns,whograduallyadvancedtowardstheNorth—west,wereexercisedbythehardshipsofacolderclimate,andamorelaboriousmarch。NecessitycompelledthemtoexchangethesilksofChinaforthefursofSiberia;theimperfectrudimentsofcivilizedlifewereobliterated;andthenativefiercenessoftheHunswasexasperatedbytheirintercoursewiththesavagetribes,whowerecompared,withsomepropriety,tothewildbeastsofthedesert。TheirindependentspiritsoonrejectedthehereditarysuccessionoftheTanjous;
andwhileeachhordewasgovernedbyitspeculiarmursa,theirtumultuarycouncildirectedthepublicmeasuresofthewholenation。Aslateasthethirteenthcentury,theirtransientresidenceontheeasternbanksoftheVolgawasattestedbythenameofGreatHungary。^49Inthewinter,theydescendedwiththeirflocksandherdstowardsthemouthofthatmightyriver;
andtheirsummerexcursionsreachedashighasthelatitudeofSaratoff,orperhapstheconfluxoftheKama。SuchatleastweretherecentlimitsoftheblackCalmucks,^50whoremainedaboutacenturyundertheprotectionofRussia;andwhohavesincereturnedtotheirnativeseatsonthefrontiersoftheChineseempire。Themarch,andthereturn,ofthosewanderingTartars,whoseunitedcampconsistsoffiftythousandtentsorfamilies,illustratethedistantemigrationsoftheancientHuns。^51
[Footnote44:Thevariousaccidents,thedownfall,andtheflightoftheHuns,arerelatedintheKang—Mou,tom。iii。p。88,91,95,139,&c。Thesmallnumbersofeachhordemaybeduetotheirlossesanddivisions。]
[Footnote45:M。deGuigneshasskilfullytracedthefootstepsoftheHunsthroughthevastdesertsofTartary,tom。ii。p。123,277,&c。,325,&c。]
[Footnote*:TheArmenianauthorsoftenmentionthispeopleunderthenameofHepthal。St。MartinconsidersthatthenameofNepthalitesisanerrorofacopyist。St。Martin,iv。254。—M。]
[Footnote46:Mohammed,sultanofCarizme,reignedinSogdianawhenitwasinvadedA。D。1218byZingisandhismoguls。TheOrientalhistoriansseeD'Herbelot,PetitdelaCroix,&c。,
celebratethepopulouscitieswhichheruined,andthefruitfulcountrywhichhedesolated。Inthenextcentury,thesameprovincesofChorasmiaandNawaralnahrweredescribedbyAbulfeda,Hudson,Geograph。Minor。tom。iii。TheiractualmiserymaybeseenintheGenealogicalHistoryoftheTartars,p。
423—469。]
[Footnote47:Justinxli。6hasleftashortabridgmentoftheGreekkingsofBactriana。TotheirindustryIshouldascribethenewandextraordinarytrade,whichtransportedthemerchandisesofIndiaintoEurope,bytheOxus,theCaspian,theCyrus,thePhasis,andtheEuxine。Theotherways,bothofthelandandsea,werepossessedbytheSeleucidesandthePtolemies。Seel'EspritdesLoix,l。xxi。]
[Footnote48:ProcopiusdeBell。Persico,l。i。c。3,p。9。]
[Footnote49:Inthethirteenthcentury,themonkRubruquiswhotraversedtheimmenseplainofKipzak,inhisjourneytothecourtoftheGreatKhanobservedtheremarkablenameofHungary,withthetracesofacommonlanguageandorigin,Hist。desVoyages,tom。vii。p。269。]
[Footnote50:Bell,vol。i。p。29—34,andtheeditorsoftheGenealogicalHistory,p。539,havedescribedtheCalmucksoftheVolgainthebeginningofthepresentcentury。]
[Footnote51:Thisgreattransmigrationof300,000Calmucks,orTorgouts,happenedintheyear1771。TheoriginalnarrativeofKien—long,thereigningemperorofChina,whichwasintendedfortheinscriptionofacolumn,hasbeentranslatedbythemissionariesofPekin,MemoiressurlaChine,tom。i。p。401—
418。TheemperoraffectsthesmoothandspeciouslanguageoftheSonofHeaven,andtheFatherofhisPeople。]
Itisimpossibletofillthedarkintervaloftime,whichelapsed,aftertheHunsoftheVolgawerelostintheeyesoftheChinese,andbeforetheyshowedthemselvestothoseoftheRomans。Thereissomereason,however,toapprehend,thatthesameforcewhichhaddriventhemfromtheirnativeseats,stillcontinuedtoimpeltheirmarchtowardsthefrontiersofEurope。
ThepoweroftheSienpi,theirimplacableenemies,whichextendedabovethreethousandmilesfromEasttoWest,^52musthavegraduallyoppressedthembytheweightandterrorofaformidableneighborhood;andtheflightofthetribesofScythiawouldinevitablytendtoincreasethestrengthortocontracttheterritories,oftheHuns。Theharshandobscureappellationsofthosetribeswouldoffendtheear,withoutinformingtheunderstanding,ofthereader;butIcannotsuppresstheverynaturalsuspicion,thattheHunsoftheNorthderivedaconsiderablereenforcementfromtheruinofthedynastyoftheSouth,which,inthecourseofthethirdcentury,submittedtothedominionofChina;thatthebravestwarriorsmarchedawayinsearchoftheirfreeandadventurouscountrymen;andthat,astheyhadbeendividedbyprosperity,theywereeasilyreunitedbythecommonhardshipsoftheiradversefortune。^53TheHuns,withtheirflocksandherds,theirwivesandchildren,theirdependentsandallies,weretransportedtothewestoftheVolga,andtheyboldlyadvancedtoinvadethecountryoftheAlani,apastoralpeople,whooccupied,orwasted,anextensivetractofthedesertsofScythia。TheplainsbetweentheVolgaandtheTanaiswerecoveredwiththetentsoftheAlani,buttheirnameandmannerswerediffusedoverthewideextentoftheirconquests;andthepaintedtribesoftheAgathyrsiandGeloniwereconfoundedamongtheirvassals。TowardstheNorth,theypenetratedintothefrozenregionsofSiberia,amongthesavageswhowereaccustomed,intheirrageorhunger,tothetasteofhumanflesh;andtheirSoutherninroadswerepushedasfarastheconfinesofPersiaandIndia。ThemixtureofSamarticandGermanbloodhadcontributedtoimprovethefeaturesoftheAlani,towhitentheirswarthycomplexions,andtotingetheirhairwithayellowishcast,whichisseldomfoundintheTartarrace。Theywerelessdeformedintheirpersons,lessbrutishintheirmanners,thantheHuns;buttheydidnotyieldtothoseformidableBarbariansintheirmartialandindependentspirit;intheloveoffreedom,whichrejectedeventheuseofdomesticslaves;andintheloveofarms,whichconsideredwarandrapineasthepleasureandthegloryofmankind。Anakedcimeter,fixedintheground,wastheonlyobjectoftheirreligiousworship;
thescalpsoftheirenemiesformedthecostlytrappingsoftheirhorses;andtheyviewed,withpityandcontempt,thepusillanimouswarriors,whopatientlyexpectedtheinfirmitiesofage,andthetorturesoflingeringdisease。^54OnthebanksoftheTanais,themilitarypoweroftheHunsandtheAlaniencounteredeachotherwithequalvalor,butwithunequalsuccess。TheHunsprevailedinthebloodycontest;thekingoftheAlaniwasslain;andtheremainsofthevanquishednationweredispersedbytheordinaryalternativeofflightorsubmission。^55AcolonyofexilesfoundasecurerefugeinthemountainsofCaucasus,betweentheEuxineandtheCaspian,wheretheystillpreservetheirnameandtheirindependence。Anothercolonyadvanced,withmoreintrepidcourage,towardstheshoresoftheBaltic;associatedthemselveswiththeNortherntribesofGermany;andsharedthespoiloftheRomanprovincesofGaulandSpain。ButthegreatestpartofthenationoftheAlaniembracedtheoffersofanhonorableandadvantageousunion;andtheHuns,whoesteemedthevaloroftheirlessfortunateenemies,proceeded,withanincreaseofnumbersandconfidence,toinvadethelimitsoftheGothicempire。