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The Wusun () were an Indo-European semi-nomadic steppe people mentioned in Chinese records from the 2nd century BC and the 5th century AD. Scholars such as Peter B. Golden have speculated that the name Wusun may be etymologically related to, or synonymous with, the ''Issedones'' (also ''Issedoni'', ''Issedoi'' or ''Essedoni'') mentioned by Ancient Greek scholars.〔Golden, Peter (1992). ''An Introduction of the Turkic Peoples: Ethnogenesis and State Formation in Medieval and Early Modern Asia and the Middle East'', Wiesbaden, Otto Harrassowitz, p.51.〕 The Wusun originally lived between the Qilian Mountains and Dunhuang (Gansu) near the Yuezhi. Around 176 BC the Yuezhi were raided by the Xiongnu, subsequently attacking the Wusun, killing their king and seizing their land. The Wusun prince was subsequently adopted by the Xiongnu ruler and made a Xiongnu general and leader of the Wusun. After the Yuezhi around 162 BC were driven into the Ili Valley of Zhetysu, Dzungaria and Tian Shan formerly inhabited by the Sai (Scythians), the Wusun resettled Gansu as vassals of the Xiongnu. In 133-132 BC, the Wusun drove the Yuezhi from the Ili Valley and settled the area. They subsequently became close allies of the Han dynasty and a powerful force in the region for several centuries. Pressured by the Rouran, the Wusun are last mentioned by the Chinese as having settled the Pamir Mountains in the 5th century AD. They possibly became subsumed into the later Hephthalites. They had conflicts with the Nomadic Xiongnu and the Chinese empires. After having been defeated they migrated further west. ==Etymology== ''Wusun'' is a modern pronunciation of the Chinese Characters '烏孫'. The Chinese name '烏孫' ('Wusun') literally means ''Wu'' = 'crow' or 'raven' + ''Sun'' = 'grandson' or 'descendant'. There are several theories about the origin of the name.〔王明哲, 王炳華 (Mingzhe Wang & Binhua Wang): 從文獻與考古資料論烏孫歷史的幾個重大問題 (Important questions about the history of Wusun arising from the contemporary documents and archaeological investigations). In: 烏孫研究 (Wusun research), 1, 新疆人民出版社 (People's publisher Xinjiang), Ürümqi 1983, S. pp. 1–42.〕 Sinologist Victor H. Mair compared "Wusun" with Sanskrit "aśvin" and Lithuanian "ašva", both meaning 'mare'. The name would thus mean "the horse people." Hence he put forward the hypothesis that the Wusun used a Kentum-like language within the Indo-European languages. However, the latter hypothesis is not supported by Edwin G. Pulleyblank.〔Edwin G. Pulleyblank: ''XII.Why Tocharians?''. In: ''Central Asia and non-Chinese peoples of ancient China'' (English), 1, Ashgate Publishing, Aldershot, Hampshire; Burlington, VT 2002, ISBN 0-86078-859-8, S. 426-427.〕 Christopher I. Beckwith makes a similliar analysis to Mair, reconstructing Chinese term Wusun to the Old Chinese *âswin, which he compares to the Old Indic aśvin "the horsemen", the name of the Rigvedic twin equestrian gods. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wusun」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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