Map of Dou Xian’s campaign in 89: the Northern Xiongnu in the Mongolian steppe, the Southern Xiongnu subject to the Eastern Han, the march from the Jilu pass to the battle at Mount Jiluo in the Altai and the Yanran inscription, with the Xianbei in the east and the Wusun, the oases of the Tarim and the Kushans in the west
89: Dou Xian marches out from the Jilu pass with the Southern Xiongnu and defeats the northern chanyu at Mount Jiluo in the Altai; an inscription on Mount Yanran records the victory. The Southern Xiongnu are subject to the Han, and the Xianbei hold the east. Modern map; the road is drawn, and the borders in the steppe are approximate.
Plate VI in the Atlas → © Emre-E Yavuz 2026

And beyond the steppe

  • China Eastern Han Emperor He 88–105

Eastern steppe

  • The Han and their Xianbei and Wuhuan allies defeat the Northern Xiongnu; the campaigns run from 87 to 93 and the northern Xiongnu go west

    Xiongnu · Xianbei · Huns · Han campaigns against the Northern Xiongnu · Southern Xiongnu · Wuhuan

    Hou Han Shu 89 records the campaign of 89 in one sentence: Dou Xian and Geng Bing with eight thousand horsemen, the Duliao troops and thirty thousand riders of the southern Chanyu out of Shuofang, the northern Chanyu in flight, more than two hundred thousand killed or taken; one reading places the decisive battle in the Altai