Origin The
Book of Song and
Book of Liang, which are primary sources connected Rouran to the earlier
Xiongnu while the
Book of Wei traced the Rouran's origins back to the
Donghu, generally agreed to be
Proto-Mongols. and Chinese historians routinely ascribed Xiongnu origins to various nomadic groups, yet such ascriptions do not necessarily indicate the subjects' exact origins: for examples, Xiongnu ancestry was ascribed to Turkic-speaking
Göktürks and
Tiele as well as Para-Mongolic-speaking
Kumo Xi and
Khitans.
Kwok Kin Poon additionally proposes that the Rouran were descended specifically from Donghu's Xianbei lineage, i.e. from
Xianbei who remained in the eastern
Eurasian Steppe after most Xianbei had migrated south and settled in
Northern China.
Genetic testing on Rourans' remains suggested Donghu-Xianbei paternal genetic contribution to Rourans.
Khaganate The founder of the Rouran Khaganate,
Yujiulü Shelun, was descended from
Mugulü, a slave of the
Xianbei. Rouran women were commonly taken as wives or concubines by the Xianbei. After the Xianbei migrated south and settled in Chinese lands during the late 3rd century AD, the Rouran made a name for themselves as fierce warriors. However they remained politically fragmented until 402 AD when Shelun gained support of all the Rouran chieftains and united the Rouran under one banner. Immediately after uniting, the Rouran entered a perpetual conflict with
Northern Wei, beginning with a Wei offensive that drove the Rouran from the
Ordos region. The Rouran expanded westward and defeated the neighboring
Tiele people and expanded their territory over the
Silk Roads, even vassalizing the
Hephthalites which remained vassals until the beginning of the 5th century. The Hepthalites migrated southeast due to pressure from the Rouran and displaced the
Yuezhi in
Bactria, forcing them to migrate further south. Despite the conflict between the
Hephthalites and Rouran, the Hephthalites borrowed much from their eastern overlords, in particular the title of "
Khan" which was first used by the Rouran as a title for their rulers.
Heqin The Rouran were involved in many
royal intermarriage (also known as
heqin in China), with the
Northern Yan as well as the
Northern Wei dynasty and its successors
Eastern and
Western Wei, which were fighting each other, and each seeking the support of the Rouran to defeat the other. Both parties, in turn, took the initiative of proposing such marriages to forge important alliances or solidify relations. In the 1970s, the
Tomb of Princess Linhe was unearthed in Ci County, Hebei. It contained artistically invaluable murals, a mostly pillaged but still consistent treasure, Byzantine coins and about a thousand vessels and clay figurines. Among the latter was the figurine of a
shaman, standing in a dancing posture and holding a saw-like instrument. This figurine is thought to reflect the young princess' Rouran/nomadic roots. The first
khagan Shelun is said to have concluded a "treaty of peace based on kinship" () with the rulers of the
Jin. It is known that in 521 Khagan Anagui was given two bondmaids as a gift from the Chinese, while Khagan Shelun is said to have once declared that the soldiers who fought outstandingly would receive captives. However, "there is nothing in the sources about the enslavement of prisoners of war". Kim also compared the "rudimentary bureaucratic organisation" of the Rourans to that of the Huns, as well as their "hierarchical, stratified structure of government". Anagui's chief advisor was the Chinese Shunyu Tan, whose role is comparable to that of
Yelü Chucai with the Mongols and
Zhonghang Yue with the Xiongnu (or Huns). The wooden frame saddle and the iron stirrups found at these burials are one of the earliest examples found in Central and East Asia. Bumin entered a marriage alliance with
Western Wei, a successor state of Northern Wei, and attacked the Rouran in 552. The Rouran, now at the peak of their might, were defeated by the Turks. After a defeat at
Huaihuang (in present-day
Zhangjiakou,
Hebei) the last great khan
Anagui, realizing he had been defeated, took his own life. Bumin declared himself Illig Khagan of the
Turkic Khaganate after conquering
Otuken; Bumin died soon after and his son
Issik Qaghan succeeded him. Issik continued attacking the Rouran, their khaganate now fallen into decay, but died a year later in 553. In 555, Turks invaded and occupied the Rouran and
Yujiulü Dengshuzi led 3,000 soldiers in retreat to
Western Wei. He was later delivered to Turks by
Emperor Gong with his soldiers under pressure from
Muqan Qaghan. In the same year, Muqan annihilated the Rouran. All the Rouran handed over to the Turks, reportedly with the exception of children under sixteen, were brutally killed. On 29 November 586,
Yujiulü Furen (郁久闾伏仁), an official of
Sui and a descendant of the ruling clan, died in
Hebei, leaving an epitaph reporting his royal descent from the
Yujiulü clan.{{Cite periodical ==Possible descendants==