Xiongnu and Han, the steppe · 209 BC - 48 AD

The Xiongnu: an empire on horseback

North of China, nomad herders on the steppe built the first great empire of horsemen. Their ruler Modu even trapped the founder of the Han dynasty. Students compare two ways of life and ask how our sources, written by Han enemies, shape the story.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, 200 BC to 100 BC
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

North of China, nomad herders on the steppe built the first great empire of horsemen. Their ruler Modu even trapped the founder of the Han dynasty. Students compare two ways of life and ask how our sources, written by Han enemies, shape the story.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate the Xiongnu lands and the Han frontier on the map around 200 BC.
  • Describe the way of life of steppe nomads and how it shaped their way of fighting.
  • Compare the Han policies of peace payments and war, and judge the point of view of the sources.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

200 BC

Two worlds

Open the map in 200 BC. Find the Xiongnu north of the Han Empire. Which of the two covers more land? Which do you think had more people, and why?

Open this view on the map
b

200 BC

Farmland meets steppe

Zoom in on the great northern bend of the Yellow River. Look at the land between the river and the Gobi. Why did farmers stop around here and herders begin?

Open this view on the map
c

100 BC

The road around them

Jump to 100 BC and turn on Trade Routes. The Han now hold the corridor to the west. Why does the Silk Road run south of the Xiongnu lands?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Almost everything written about the Xiongnu comes from their Han enemies. How might this change the story?
  2. The Han sent the Xiongnu silk, grain and princesses in return for peace. Was this smart or a humiliation?
  3. Why were mounted archers so hard for farming armies to defeat?
  4. The Xiongnu needed grain and silk from China; the Han needed horses. Why did they fight instead of only trading?
  5. Archaeologists dig up Xiongnu graves to hear "their side". What can objects tell us that books cannot?
4

Game round

9 min

Play Attila the Hun in Rule History: another steppe ruler who made a great farming empire pay him gold, about 600 years after Modu. Historians disagree whether the Huns descended from the Xiongnu. Discuss: did Attila face the same choices as Modu?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.