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Years · 6th century

556

Year of the rat sıçgan yıl

4 entries in Eastern steppe, Western steppe and China.

Map of the campaign against the Tuyuhun in 556: Mukan's march from the steppe by Liangzhou to the Qinghai lake and on the northern road against Hezhen, Shi Ning's march against Shudun, the Göktürk Khaganate, the Western Wei, the Northern Qi with their wall and the Liang — 556: Mukan Khan comes to Liangzhou and marches with the Western Wei general Shi Ning to the Qinghai lake. Mukan takes Hezhen on the northern road, Shi Ning takes Shudun. The wall of the Qi, built in 555, guards the northern frontier of the Northern Qi. Modern map; the roads are drawn, and the year of the campaign, 555 or 556, is disputed.

Who ruled

First Göktürk Khaganate Mukan Khan 553–572
Sasanian Persia Khosrow I 531–579
Western Göktürk Khaganate Istemi 552–576

And beyond the steppe

China Northern Qi Emperor Wenxuan 550–559 · Western Wei Emperor Gong 554–556
Iran Sasanian Khosrow I 531–579
Korea Goguryeo Yangwon 545–559
Byzantium Justinian Justinian I 527–565

Eastern steppe

Environment · Late Antique Little Ice Age: the cold phase the Altai tree rings define from 536 to about 660 (536–660)

Climate and the steppe empires · First Göktürk Khaganate · Avars

The coldest decade in the Altai is the 540s

Western steppe

Culture · Sogdian colonists found the first towns of Semirech'e, Suyab and Navaket among them, as estates of nobles (450–600)

Suyab · Sogdians

China

Mukan Khan and the Western Wei general Shi Ning take Hezhen and Shudun from the Tuyuhun

Göktürk–Wei Campaign against Tuyuhun (556) · Western Wei · Mukan Khan · Tuyuhun

The Zhou Shu's Tuyuhun chapter dates the campaign to 555, its Göktürk chapter to a third year read as 556
tenth month · Yuwen Tai dies at Yunyang; his son takes his offices

Western Wei · Yuwen Tai · Northern Zhou