Hephthalites, Chionites, And The Forgotten Huna Kingdoms Of Central Asia

In the past few months, we have covered the essential history of the Hunnic people: from the rise of the Xiongnu Empire under Modu Chanyu, also known as Bagatur, to the arrival of the Huns in Europe and the apex of Attila’s reign as the most fearsome ruler of the West. We discovered how the Huns migrated from the Altai Mountains to the Volga river, and how their invasions accelerated the so-called Barbarian Invasions of the Germanic peoples across all of the European continent. But we further established that the “Barbarian” narrative was one of political bias, precisely used by those who actually claimed Germanic ancestry, and that both the new Germanic Kingdoms in West and South Europe as well as the Turkic successors to the Hunnic Empire in Eastern Europe initiated the transition between the ancient and the new feudal medieval period.

However, there is one major group of equestrian nomads that also bears the “Hunnic” label: the Huns of Central Asia. Because in-between the fall of the Shiongnu in the second century and the rise of the Huns in Europe during the 5th century, a variety of steppe warriors invaded and annexed large parts of Central Asia. This period encompasses the Kidarites, who were so powerful that they forced the mighty Sassanian Empire in Persia to pay tribute, the Alchons who contributed to the fall of the Gupta Empire in India, and finally the Hepthalites which created the largest of these Hunnic states, in the process merging several traditions and religions to a new melting pot of cultures.

In this documentary, we are going to explore all of these “lost Huns”, and explain their mysterious origins, their motifs for war and conquest, as well as the socioeconomic dynamics which contributed to their integration into the rich backlog of Central Asian history.

WEBSITE: https://bit.ly/KhansDen
GÖKTÜRK MOVIE 01: https://bit.ly/GokturkMovie1
GÖKTÜRK MOVIE 02: https://bit.ly/GokturkMovie2
GÖKTÜRK MOVIE 03: https://bit.ly/GokturkMovie3
PATREON: http://bit.ly/3BR6M3T
PODCAST: https://bit.ly/KhansDenPodcast
BOOK 1: https://amzn.to/3fwqmKR
BOOK 2: [Coming Soon]

Chapters:
00:00-02:05 Introduction: Hunnic Legacy
02:06:-07:29 Recap: The Xiongnu Aftermath
07:30-12:07 The Chionites
12:08-16:57 The Kidarite Kingdom
16:58-23:05 The Alchon Rulers
23:06-31:12 The Hepthalite Empire
31:13-32:54 Preview: Dawn of the Celestial Turks