An Educational Site about the Huns

The Huns

The Huns

The Huns emerged from the pastoral peoples living on the Northern steppes of Europe and Asia. The Hun people consisted of tribes and clans. (The term Hsiung-nu was used by the Huns when referring to themselves.) 

The Huns were divided into Eastern Huns, Southern Huns, Northern Huns, and Western Huns. The Eastern, Southern, Northern, and Western Huns evolved separately. (Also, see the section on the Central Asian Huns.)

The Huns and the Xiongnu

The Xiongnu was a federation of mercenaries. The royal Hun line ruled the Xiongnu. 

Note that it is not so simple to just equate the Xiongnu with the Huns, because the Xiongnu was a federation of mercenaries that was made up of different groups. Some of these groups the Huns conquered and subjugated, and then they made them a part of the Xiongnu. However, the key points to note are that the Huns created it, and it was ruled by the Luandi royal paternal Hun line. The Huns were also members of the Xiongnu, with the Hun khan (king) being the supreme ruler of it under the title of Shanyu (Chanyu). That is why one finds Q, C, R, and N haplogroups in the Xiongnu, but only the Q haplogroup in the Huns. 

The Eastern Huns

The Eastern Huns attained their greatest power under King Modu Shanyu (Baktur Luandi), the Hunnu Shanyu. Modu solidified the Xiongnu. After taking land south of the great wall, the Xiongnu extended their influence into the steps in the West.

After Modu's death in 174 BC, the Xiongnu Empire was ruled by Lasohang Jiyu. During his reign, the empire remained powerful and kept their strength. However, when Jiyu married a Han princess, he opened the Xiongnu territories to Han spies disguised as officers and diplomats. These spies provoked subject peoples within the Xiongnu Empire to revolt against their masters, which later resulted in the break up of the vast and powerful Xiongnu Empire. 

During the 50's BC, the Xiongnu federation fell apart, with a number of tribes split between a number of Shanyu. (Within a few years only two Shanyu were left. One ruling in the North and West, and one ruling in the South.)

Eventually, the Xiongnu split into two separate empires (Eastern and Western), each one ruled by a member of the Xiongnu Imperial family. The Western Xiongnu Empire eventually fell to the Han. After the Western Xiongnu Empire came to an end, the Eastern Xiongnu re-gained their power and eventually overthrew the Han protectorate in 18 BC, under the rule of Yu Chanyu. Yu Chanyu managed to conquer a vast area, but was soon attacked from two sides: Xianbei from the North, and Han Chinese from the South. This split the Eastern Xiongnu Empire into two parts, that formed the Southern Xiongnu and the Northern Xiongnu. 

Therefore, the Eastern Xiongnu broke up into two groups: The Northern Xiongnu and the Southern Xiongnu. 

The Southern Huns

In central Asia, nineteen tribes (known as the Southern Huns) consolidated their power during the first and second centuries AD. The new Southern Xiongnu lived in North China, and were under the rule of their own Shanyu until the early third century. Those in the South bowed to the Chinese emperor's authority, and their land became a part of China. The Southern Huns, who submitted to China, later took an active part in 16 states and five barbarian tribes: Huns (Xiongnu), Syanbi (Xianbei), Tele (Di), Kiyan Huns (Qiang), and Kiyan Huns (Jie).

A small group of Huns submitted to the Xianbei (Syanbi), and were absorbed into the Xianbei. The Xianbei became the ruling minority.

The Northern Huns

The remaining Xiongnu continued to be at war with China. During the end of the first century AD, the Chinese drove the Northern Xiongnu from their power base in Mongolia. Some of the Xiongnu surrendered to China. However, the Shanyu and several thousand followers went West to settle in what is now Kazakhstan. (After 153 AD, the Chinese do not mention the Xiongnu's presence in Eastern Central Asia.)

The European Huns went to the West. From that point on, the histories of the European Huns branch and the Central Asian Huns branch are independent from the Eastern/Southern Huns, but are linked. (The Northern Huns were believed to have become the Western Huns (European Huns), or a part of it. They migrated westward, and conquered the Germanic Goths, and later attacked the Roman Empire.)

The Central Asian Huns

The Yueban were remnants of the Xiongnu in Zhetysu, which is now a part of Kazakhstan. (Yueban was the name used by Chinese historians for remnants of the Xiongnu in Zhetysu.) The Yueban emerged after the disintegration of the Eastern Xiongnu confederation. Unlike the Northern Xiongnu, who escaped from the Chinese sphere of knowledge, the Yueban tribes remained closer to China.

In literature, the Yueban of the Late Antique period are also called by the generic appellation Central Asian Huns.

In the 5th century the Yueban were conquered by the Gaoche and split into four tribes: Chuyue, Chumi, Chumuhun, and Chuban. (These tribes became major players in the later Turkic Khaganate.)

The Chuyue branch formed the Shato tribe. (The Yueban later intermixed with Turkic peoples, and formed the Shato tribe of the Western Gokturk Khaganate.)

By the 6th century AD the Yueban, Uar Hephthalites, and Mukrin tribes merged to form the Turgesh people.

(Note: Additionally, a group of Huns also headed for the Afghanistan/Pakistan/India area.)

The Xiongnu

In the Xiongnu there were 5 royal tribes. The Luandi clan/tribe consisted of the royal paternal Hun tribe. The Shanyu (Chanyu) belonged to the Luandi clan. Luandi was the House of the Shanyu, and the Tuqi Princes (Kings) of the East and the West. The Shanyu was the head of the Xiongnu. He was the supreme ruler of the Xiongnu. The East (Left) Wing was ruled by a Tuqi Prince (the Left Wise King), and the West (Right) Wing was ruled by the other Tuqi Prince (the Right Wise King). The Tuqi Prince of the West Wing was not eligible for the Shanyu position, because that position was reserved for the Tuqi Prince of the East Wing. (The position of the Left Tuqi Prince was higher than the position of the Right Tuqi Prince.) The Tuqi Prince of the Left Wing was, typically, the Shanyu's oldest son. The Tuqi Prince of the Right Wing was also a relative of the Shanyu. The Right Tuqi Prince was, typically, a son or a brother of the Shanyu. (Fathers, sons, and grandsons belonged to the Luandi clan.) Therefore, the Left Tuqi Prince ruled the Eastern region, and the Right Tuqi Prince ruled the Western region. The Shanyu ruled from the center of the region. The Luandi line traces its descent directly from Modu Shanyu (Baktur Luandi), the Hunnu Shanyu. 

The other 4 tribes were maternal tribes/clans for the Luandi. Mothers, daughters, and granddaughters belonged to the Huyan, Suibu, Lan (Alan), or Qiulin clans/tribes. The Suibu (Sui tribe) were Turkic/Uryger. They belonged to the Right Wing. In a latter period of the Xiongnu, the Suibu was the maternal dynastic line for the Luandi Hun Shanyu.

The Lan (Alan) tribe also belonged to the Right Wing. In contrast, the Huyan (Tukhsi-Tokharians, and Red dog tribes) belonged to the Left Wing. It is also believed that the Qiulin tribe was a sub-branch of one of the other three tribes.

The male members of a maternal dynastic line were not eligible for the Shanyu throne. Only the male members of the Luandi line were, whose father was a Luandi Shanyu, and whose mother was a Suibu Khatun (Queen). A Suibu male could only become a Shanyu after a palace coup.

Note that shifts in the maternal dynastic line occurred during different periods. The Huyan was the maternal dynastic clan before the Suibu was. The Suibu replaced the Huyan as the maternal dynastic clan. Later, other shifts also occurred between the maternal dynastic clans.

Polygamy was also practiced. Additionally, when a leader died, his successor married his father’s or his grandfather’s wives (except for his mother). Likewise, a surviving brother took over his deceased brother’s widows. The Xiongnu government was a family affair, with authority in the hands of the royal house and a limited number of clans who were related by marriage. 

Clans and tribes of the steppe were held in submission by the threat of force and/or by the largesse from their rulers, which was frequently acquired by either trade or warfare with the people of China. A major objective of the Xiongnu rulers was to gain access to the wealth of China in order to maintain their authority over other people in the steppe. This policy was pursued through trade, or through the exchange of gifts, or through threatened or actual warfare. 

As was stated, the Eastern Xiongnu had split into the Northern and the Southern Xiongnu. After the decline of the Northern Xiongnu, some of its members were forced to move west, and those who remained became intermingled with other nomadic groups. Later, many groups defected from the Southern Xiongnu. They headed West and merged with groups from the Northern Xiongnu, who had previously left it, and headed West. After the decline of the Southern Xiongnu, brief regional dynasties were formed in Northwestern China by some of the remnants of the Southern Xiongnu. However, by the sixth century, these latter groups had been absorbed into Chinese culture. 

[Among the Western Huns, it appears that the Dulo clan replaced the Luandi paternal dynastic clan of the Eastern Huns after the demise of Shanyu Jiji.]

The Decline of the Southern Xiongnu

In the Qiang war the Xiongnu served as auxiliaries to the imperial army. By the early 120s AD, as the Xianbi war-leader Qizhijian pressed against the borders, some Xiongnu began to resent the constant demands for allied support, and there was a mutiny in 124 AD. In 140 AD, there was a rebellion amongst the Southern Xiongnu. At first, only a few thousand men were involved, but the rebels plundered the countryside. Emissary Chen Gui rebuked Shanyu Xiuli for failing to control his people. Pressed between the demands of the Chinese and his own lack of authority, the Shanyu killed himself. (That sounds suspicious.) As the disturbance spread wider, the rebel leader Wusi proclaimed Cheniu as Shanyu, and the dissidents sought alliance with the Wuhuan to the East and the Qiang to the southwest. The prestige of the Southern Xiongnu court had been compromised, and the new leaders, who had no connection to the royal house, proved to be popular. 

Touluchu, a prince of the royal house, was named Shanyu by the government of Han. He and his successor Jucheer held their position under Chinese tutelage for over thirty years, no rival disputed their claim, and Chinese authority was largely unchallenged. 

At a later period, a rebellion broke out among the Wuhuan, and the Chinese government called upon the Xiongnu. In the following year, however, the Xiuchuge led a mutiny and a rebellion, killed the Shanyu Qiangqu, and ended the succession. Qiangqu's son Yufuluo fled to the Chinese court to seek support, but Han itself fell into a chaos of civil war. Left to his own devices, and refused re-entry to his traditional homeland, Yufuluo led a precarious existence as a bandit and mercenary until his death, when his claim passed to his brother Huchuquan. For their part, the Xiuchuge group were gradually driven to the West, and they surrendered to the growing power of the Chinese warlord Cao Cao.

By this time, the Xiongnu state had largely disintegrated. In 216 AD, Cao Cao re-established a formal structure of power, with the chieftain Qubi in nominal authority over five divisions. The territory, however, was little more than a narrow fringe along the South of the Ordos, while the northern loop of the Yellow River and much of the rest of the old Han frontier was abandoned to the Xianbei. Huchuquan, last of the Southern Shanyu, was kept at Cao Cao's court until his death. No successor was appointed.

Almost a century later, at the beginning of the fourth century AD, the Xiongnu chieftain Liu Yuan, son of Bao who was a son of Yufuluo, founded a short-lived state which he named the Han, and in 311 AD, he captured Luoyang from the Chinese Jin dynasty. His success marked the beginning of the division of China, and the age of the barbarian dynasties in the North. When the Han dynasty came to its formal end in 220 AD, the Xiongnu empire, which had once ranged across the whole Northern steppe, was reduced to a few settlements and people in the hills of Northern China.

The End of the Xiongnu

It is stated that a part of the Huns, who lived near the northern border of the Han Empire (around the beginning of the Christian era) left their homeland in two directions:

1) The Xiongnu Shanyu moved westward to Europe.

2) Other nations, who had the blood of Xiongnu in their veins, moved to the South-West to the Indian subcontinent.

This was expanded upon in an earlier section.

The remnants of the Northern Xiongnu migrated towards the Aral Sea. The Southern Xiongnu were finally subjugated by the Han. Later, the majority of the Xiongnu went to Western Turkestan. The remnants of both Xiongnu empires scattered throughout Western Turkestan, until they began migrating westwards around 350 AD. They entered the territories of the Ostrogothic Kingdom in the Ukraine in 375 AD, and they founded the European Hunnic Empire. However, some of the Xiongnu stayed in Northern China where they set up small kingdoms after the fall of the Han Dynasty. (Second Zhao, Xia, Northern Liang, and Loulan were the Xiongnu kingdoms in Northern China.)

Incidentally, Helian Ding (Zhifen) was the last native ruler of Huns in China. He was the ruler of the the Xiongnu state of Xia. After his brother (Helian Chang) was captured by Northern Wei's army, in 428 AD, Helian Ding took the throne, and he tried to resist Northern Wei's attacks for several years, but by 430 AD, he had lost nearly his entire territory. In 431 AD, he attempted to head west to try to attack Northern Liang and seize its territory, but on the way he was captured by Tuyuhun's khan Murong Mugui, ending the Xia. In 432 AD, Murong Mugui turned him over to Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei, who had him executed.

The Hun Military

The Hun military was based on tribes. Each tribe numbered somewhere around 50,000-60,000 individuals, and about 10,000 were warriors. The warriors became a 10,000-man unit of mounted archers. It was called a tumen.

The Huns preferred to use their bows from a distance. Close combat was used only for finishing off the enemy during the final assault. They preferred to avoid hand-to-hand combat, because their armor offered almost no protection against cut-and-thrust weapons. Also, their horses were vulnerable to spears and lances at close range. Additionally, the need to protect the tribes made the heavy losses sustained in close combat unacceptable.

If a tumen incurred heavy casualties, the tribes were endangered, because they could no longer protect themselves and their livestock from marauders. Therefore, the tribal tumen was usually split. Half the warriors would remain behind to protect the tribes, while half would go on military expeditions and raids. 

The Huns utilized long-range reconnaissance, deception, and concealment. Their full force was never within view of their enemy. Part of their main body might be hidden in forests, ravines, or riverbeds.

Skirmishes were often aimed at thinning out the enemy ranks, and would always precede an attack. Groups would dash out from the line, fire a few arrows, turn towards the right, and fire several more arrows, and then return to their position in the line. This maneuver was repeated until the enemy ranks had been thinned out enough to permit the primary tactical maneuvers to be initiated.

Units of 1,000 would then approach the target within bow range (230-328 feet). The front ranks would then fire directly at the target, while the rear ranks would fire arrow showers overhead. These arrow showers would force the enemy troops to lift their shields to protect their heads and shoulders, thereby exposing their bodies to the direct fire from the Hun front ranks.

The tumens would move forward quickly, then turn back, and move forward again. Some warriors would attack the enemy's rear and engage their cavalry and rear guard. Through these strategies the Huns would attempt to lure the enemy's main body into pursuing them. If the target pursued them, the target was led into a trap. Units were kept out of sight, which then attacked the target from all sides. Another ruse was the simulation, on signal, of the flight of the entire Hun force, which was also a trap. If the target did not fall for the ruse, and kept their formation, then a frontal assault was executed in wedge formation by units of 1,000, or by massed tumens.

The Western Huns

The Western Huns moved west to the Volga River, and in 355 AD, the Huns appear in Eastern Europe. 

In the late 420s AD, Atilla's uncle Rua seized power and eliminated other kings. Then, he signed a peace treaty with the Eastern Roman Empire, and was given a tribute of 350 pounds of gold. The Western Roman Empire gave Pannonia (Western Hungary) to the Huns as payment for military aid. When Rua (Rugila and Ruga) died, Atilla (Attila) and his brother Bleda took the Hunnic throne. Then, in 425 AD, the Roman general Aetius hired the Huns as mercenaries, and in 435 AD, Aetius hired the Huns to fight against the Vandals and the Franks. The Eastern Roman empire's tribute increased to 700 pounds of gold, and in 439 AD, the Huns joined the Western Roman army in a siege of the Goths.

In 440 AD, the Huns sacked a fortified Eastern Roman market town. In 441 AD, the Huns captured the Eastern Roman cities of Viminacium and Naissus, and the Eastern Roman empire's tributes was increased to 1400 pounds of gold. However, in 444 AD, the Eastern Roman Empire stopped paying tributes to the Huns. Then, in 445 AD, Bleda died, and Atilla became the sole king. In 446 AD, the Huns demanded a tribute. Then, the Huns captured the Roman forts at Ratiaria and Marcianople, and defeated the Eastern Roman army at Chersonesus, Greece. By 447 AD, Atilla controlled all of the Balkans, from the Black Sea to the Dardanelles. Then, the Eastern Roman empire gave the Huns 6,000 pounds of gold in back-tribute, and the yearly cost increased to 2,100 pounds of gold. Also, they handed over fugitive Huns to Atilla for impaling.

In 450 AD, Marcian became the Emperor of the Eastern Romans, and he ended making payments to the Huns.  Then, in 451 AD, the Huns overran Germany and France, and in 452 AD, Atilla led an army into Italy, and sacked Padua, Milan, etc.

In 453 AD, Atilla suddenly died on his wedding night. 

Note that the Western Huns (European Huns) were outnumbered by the people they ruled. The majority were Germanic. The Western Huns put in place a ruling class for the subjugated groups. The ruling class (Logades) had nothing in common with the Huns. (They were supposed to have been the ruling class of Persian or Turkic society.) Under Atilla, the logades ruled specific portions of the empire. 

The Akatzirs 

The people who who became the Khazars (the Akatzirs) first had contact with the Western Huns, before they had contact with the Ashina (from the Southern Xiongnu). 

The Akatzirs lived near the Black Sea. Priscus stated that the Akatzirs were of Scythian ethnicity. The Akatzirs were the Huns subjects under Hunnish Khan Ruga. Attila killed off their Cheiftains, except one, who was named Karidach (Kuridach). It is stated that he made Karidach their Khan. After Kardiach, Atilla made his oldest son their ruler, and when he died, another son of Atilla's became their ruler. In the historical records, there are no rulers listed for that group of people (who became the Khazars) from the time that Atilla made his sons their rulers until the time that the Ashina became their rulers, which was less than 200 years later. 

In relation to Hun rulers, the Khazars are an intersecting point between these Hun cousin lines. Therefore, both Atilla's line and the Ashina line may be found within the remnants of the Khazarian population.

The End of the Hunnic Empire

After Atilla's death, three of his sons divided the empire, and in 454 AD the Huns were driven from Pannonia by the Goths. In 469 AD, after Hunnic king Dengizik (Attila's second son) died, the Huns disappeared from history.

After the death of Atilla, the Huns were known to have moved Eastward, and were absorbed (assimilated) into other groups.

The Huns were always in the minority among the peoples they ruled. After Attila's sudden death, the Hun tribal confederation disintegrated, and their Germanic allies revolted and killed his eldest son, Ellac. In the aftermath, most of the Huns were driven from Pannonia, Eastward, to the North Pontic region where they merged with other pastoral peoples. 

Atilla's son, Dengizik, was the successor of Ellak. It is stated that when Dengizik died, it ushered in the end of the Hunnic Empire. It is further stated that surviving Huns then settled in Scythia, and that they merged with the Bulgars.

Great Bulgaria incorporated a large mix of peoples. This mix probably included the various survivors of the Huns, the Altyn Ola Horde, and the Kutrigur and Utigur Bulgars. 

There has been a tendency since the 19th century to identify "Hun" with "Hungarian." This is a misconception. Modern Hungarian is identifiably a Finno-Ugrian language, and was first spoken in the region by the Magyars who arrived in 899 AD, four and a half centuries after Attila. 

Magyars (Hungarians) and Bulgars were assimilated into the native peoples in which they migrated and settled. The Avars came to settle, finally, in Southern Russia, where their descendants, the Ossetians, live today.

Hungary contained some Huns, and Avars. In relation to this, one of Atilla's sons is stated to have been associated with the ancient Svekley group, whom it is claimed were a group of Huns that he led to that location. (This is not meant to imply that the whole population is of Hun descent. It is meant to imply that those of Hun descent may possibly be found within the population.)

Modu Shanyu

Genetics

In relation to the Hun's ruling class, what counted with the Huns was elite paternal line descent. The line of descent was from Modu Shanyu (Baktur Luandi).

The following information is taken from an article that does not make finer distinctions between the Huns and the Xiongnu; however, the information in the article is very informative. 

Y- DNA: Haplogroup Q

Y chromosomes of ancient Hunnu people and its implication on the phylogeny of East Asian linguistic families. 

LL. Kang et al.

The Hunnu (Xiongnu) people, also called Huns in Europe, were the largest ethnic group to the North of the Han Chinese until the 5th century. The ethno-linguistic affiliation of the Hunnu is controversial among Yeniseian, Altaic, Uralic, and Indo-European. Ancient DNA analyses on the remains of the Hunnu people had shown some clues to this problem. Y chromosome haplogroups of Hunnu remains included Q-M242, N-Tat, C-M130, and R1a1. 

Recently we analyzed three samples of Hunnu from Barkol, Xinjiang, China and determined the presence of the Q-M3 haplogroup. Most of the Y chromosomes of the Hunnu samples, examined by multiple studies, belonged to the Q haplogroup. 

Q-M3 is mostly found in Yeniseian and American Indian peoples, suggesting that the Hunnu should be in the Yeniseian family. This Y chromosome diversity is well associated with linguistic families in East Asia.

Thirteen ancient DNA samples of Hunnu from the Barkol site have been typed for Y chromosome SNPs and STRs. All these samples fell into the Y chromosome haplogroup Q group. One of the samples showed STR data as follows:

DYS19 = 12

DYS389I = 13

DYS391 = 10

DYS393 = 13       

DYS437 = 14     

DYS439 = 13

DYS456 = 16   

DYS458  = 17 

DYS635 =  22             

DYS385a = 14

We inferred this sample to be Q-M3, however, the SNP typing of this sample was not read demonstrably. Haplogroups of the other samples included Q, Q1a, and Q1b, which indicated high genetic diversity and a long history of the Hunnu people. Previous studies of the Hunnu samples from Pengyang and Egyin Gol sites also found high frequencies of haplogroup Q. Only samples from the northern border of the Hunnu Kingdom were haplogroups C, N, or R. This diversity pattern indicated that chromosome haplogroup might be predominant in the Hunnu people.

On the map, Q was marked for the following sites:

Egyin Gol:  

N1c, C3, Q

Barkol:     

Q, Q

Pengyang:  

Q

These sites were in the Hunnu territory.

Q1b: Q-M378

Over the past decade, Chinese archaeologists have published several reviews regarding the results of excavations in Xinjiang. They imply the Xiongnu's supreme ruling class. Particularly interesting are in the cemetery Heigouliang, Xinjiang (Black Gouliang cemetery, also known as the summer palace of the Xiongnu king), east of Barkol basin, near the city of Hami. By typing results of DNA samples during the excavation of one of the tombs it was determined that of the 12 men there were: Q1a*(xQ-M120, xQ-M25, xQ-M3) - 6, Q1b (M378) - 4 (two separate tombs), Q*(xQ1a, xQ1b)-2 (unable to determine subclade).

All Y-haplogroup Q1b-M378 represented hosts of the tombs, while half of Y-DNA Q1a* represented hosts and half sacrificial victims. They date from the time of the early (Western) Han (2nd-1st Century BC). In another study, 3 in this place were identified as Q-M3. Summarizing the data from available evidences, it is concluded that the tombs belong to the representatives of the Xiongnu/Hunnu nobility/conquerors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiongnu

Note that the Xiongnu was a federation of mercenaries, which consisted of several different groups. Some of these groups were people the Huns conquered and subjugated. The Hun Khan (king) was the ruler of the Xiongnu. In the latter, he used the title, "Shanyu." Further note that M378 is totally exclusive. The implication being that it represents those of the Luandi line. 

Huns

The following Q haplogroup subclades have been associated with the Huns by various sources:

Q; Q1a; Q1a1a1 [M120]; Q1a1b1 [L712, M25]; Q1a2 [L56, M346]; Q1a2a1a1 [L341.2, M3]; Q1a2a1a2 (L804); and Q-M378.

Xiongnu 

The following haplogroups and subclades have been associated with the Xiongnu by various sources:

Q-M242 and its various subclades; C-M130; R1a1; and N-Tat and N1c.

What Race were/are the Huns?

This is a facial reconstruction of a 9,000 year old Native American Woman. It gives one an idea of the racial features that were present in an ancient Native American, who belonged to the Q Y-DNA haplogroup, through his female counterpart:

Cranio-facially the Huns were actually most similar to Native Americans and to ancient Europeans also, but not so similar to modern Euros, except a bit. They were also quite far from East Asians and modern Mongolians.

As was stated, most Y chromosomes of the Hunnu samples examined by multiple studies belonged to the Q haplogroup. Q-M3, for example, is mostly found in Yeniseian and American Indian peoples, suggesting that the Hunnu (Huns) should be in the Yeniseian family. 

Note that the Barkol Huns Q1b-M378 haplotypes are from the second century BC. 

Also, note that one genetic generation is cca 20 years. 

The following genetic markers are slow mutating genetic markers: 393, 19, 392, 389-2, 437, 448, and YCA. The average mutating genetic markers are: 390, 391, 447, and H4. The deviation patterns, for the markers that have mutated, are listed in the section above.

The actual Hunnu (Hun) race belongs to haplogroup Q subclades. Therefore, they are a Mongoloid, Yeniseian race. The race that is the closest to the Huns are Native Americans. However, as was stated, it should be noted that the Huns are their own race. Therefore, they also have distinct features.

In the case of the royal line (the Luandi line), the paternal line was always a Mongoloid, Yeniseian Hun line of descent. However, the maternal line consisted of lines from other races. The Shanyu was expected to have a Suibu (Turkic/Urygur) mother and a Luandi (Yeniseian Hun) father, who was also a Shanyu. Other Luandi line males also had female dynastic partners from other groups, and some of their partners were of Caucasian descent.

One often reads discussions (arguments) on message boards by individuals who claim that the Huns were Turkic, or Caucasian, or Mongoloid. The facts are (in the case of the royal paternal line) that the royal paternal line was always a Yeniseian (Mongoloid) line of descent. However, the royal line was also a Turkic or a Caucasian line, etc., based upon a Luandi male's mother's line. Therefore, things are not so simple. However, the royal paternal Luandi Hun line of descent was always a Mongoloid, Yeniseian paternal line of descent, no matter what the maternal line was.

Additionally, one reads arguments on message boards by individuals who claim that the Huns were pure Caucasians. When the Huns conquered and subjugated a group, and then made them a part of their warriors, that does not make them Huns. However, they can be referred to as being Huns, in that sense, but they are not racially Huns. The original Huns were a tribe of nomadic horsemen from Central Asia. The Huns, for example, may have been the barbarian’s barbarians, but they certainly were not Germanic. After the invasion of the Huns in 375 AD, and with the decline of Rome from 395 AD, Germanic tribes moved further south-west. Simultaneously several large tribes formed into what is now Germany and displaced the smaller Germanic tribes that were there. Large areas were occupied by the Franks, and Northern Germany was ruled by the Saxons and Slavs.

The most amusing arguments, in relation to what race the Huns were, are by other Huns who do not want to be Huns. Therefore, they try to hijack the Hun race, and claim that the Hun haplogroup and subclades are not really those of the Hun race, despite scientific evidence to the contrary. In doing this, they attempt to claim that they are members of another race. Typically, the race that they claim that their Q haplogroup subclade belongs to is characterized by individuals who belong to other haplogroups. (DNA does not lie.)

"It is a bad omen if a wild fox barks at his lair." 

--Geshu Han

As noted the reality behind this is more complex than some would have one believe; therefore it can not be discussed through uninformed Simple Simon arguments.

Notes

Based upon archeological evidence, it is clear that members of the Xiongnu federation began to intermix at a greater frequency. However, as discussed previously, the Xiongnu was a federation of mercenaries that consisted of different groups that the Huns conquered and subjugated. The Huns were members of the Xiongnu, and the Xiongnu was ruled by the royal paternal Hun line (the Luandi line). Additionally, the maternal dynastic lines of the Luandi were composed of groups from other races. However, as was stated, the royal paternal Hun line of descent was always a Mongoloid, Yeniseian Hun line of descent.

Some debates about the racial characteristics of the Huns remind me of an ancient account that I read about, wherein, two individuals were arguing at a pub about how many teeth a horse had. A youth overhearing their conversation stated to them, "Why don't you just count the teeth in a horse's mouth?" The two individuals, who were engaged in the discussion, took the youth outside of the pub and beat him up for daring to suggest such an unorthodox solution to their argument. However, in these modern times (or should I say postmodern times), scientific methodology is the very foundation for acquiring sound knowledge about a phenomenon through.

With that stated, if someone wants to know what an actual Hun looks like he/she should first acquaint himself/herself with the features and characteristics that are possessed by Native Americans who belong to the Q haplogroup. (I state the Q haplogroup, because some Native Americans belong to the C haplogroup, and some belong to the R haplogroup.) Ethnic Huns belonged to the Q haplogroup. Once acquainted with such characteristics, he/she should look at contemporary descendants of the Huns. (By that, I mean male individuals from lines that have had their Y-DNA tested.) However, it should be noted that many contemporary descendants of the Huns do not possess pronounced Hunnic features. What counts is how dominant their Hun Y-DNA is in relation to their maternal line DNA. With that stated, some contemporary descendants of the Huns do possess Hunnic features. Based upon this, one should be able to distinguish what the Hunnic features are, that are possessed by someone of Hun descent, if he has dominant Hunnic characteristics. However, as was stated, it should also be noted that even though Native Americans are the closest race to the Huns, the Huns were/are their own race. Therefore, they should also possess distinct characteristics (distinct Hunnic characteristics).

Shamanism

The Huns had a religious tradition that blended Shamanism with Tengrism. A Shaman (Kam) was a mediator between this world and the world of the spirits. (The Shamans seem to have belonged to the upper stratum of Hun society.) The Huns would turn to a Shaman when spirits needed to be consulted. 

Eidola (idols) were found in ancient graves. These eidola were made from felt, wood, bone, and metal. The eidola served as houses for spirit- helpers. A Shaman would call upon spirit helpers to help him/her in his/her spiritual work. 

Chroniclers of the time stated that the Huns would never go to battle without consulting a Shaman first. According to Jordanus, Attila followed no religion, but he believed in magic and spirits. Attila was also described as being a man who sought the counsel of omens in all warfare. Priscus wrote that Ernak was Attila’s favorite son because the Shamans favored him (journal of Priscus of Panium- P.fr.8 ctd).

[See the section on Shamanism. It covers the basic principles underlying shamanic practices.]

This is set against a section from, "Suite Madame Blue," by Styx.

References

Crespigny, Rafe de. (2004). The Division and Destruction of the Xiongnu Confederacy in the first and second centuries AD.," Internet edition. Australian National University.

ForumBiodiversity.com. (2012). http://www.forumbiodiversity.com/showthread.php/37882-Xiongnu-cemetery-haplogroups-frequencies-of-mtDNA-and-Y-DNA.

Huang Yungzhi and Li Hui.  The Genetic and Linguistic Evidence for the Xiongnu-Yenisseian Hypothesis. Sage Publications.

Kovalev, Roman. (2004). Encyclopedia of Russian History. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404100571.html.

LL. Kang et al. (2013). Y chromosomes of ancient Hunnu people and its implication on the phylogeny of East Asian linguistic families.

Religion of the Huns. http://www.ernak-horde.com/Hun_religion.html.

Word With a Past: How Did Germany Become the Hun? (2011). http://www.historyinthemargins.com/2011/12/27/word-with-a-past-how-did-germany-become-the-hun/.

Xiongnu. (2015). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiongnu.

J.L.