柔然经略西域的若干史事探讨

Abstract

After expansion of Shelun and later generations of Khan, while occupying part of the northern grassland of Tianshan Mountains, Rouran Khanate further extended its antennae to the oasis areas of Hami and Turpan, thus realizing the effective control of Yiwu and Gaochang. As a result, while gaining access to the rich material resources of these regions, Rouran had increased wealth by manipulating the Silk Road trade. The Northern Wei Dynasty Emperor Taiwu’s strategy for the Western Regions once forced the Rouran forces to withdraw from most of the southern parts of the Tianshan Mountains. After the middle of the 5th century, the Northern Wei Dynasty relaxed its management and jurisdiction over the Western Regions due to civil strife, and Rouran forces came back, restoring and to some extent strengthening the control of parts of the Western Regions. In the late 480s, the establishment of the Gaoche State made Rouran’s influence on the Western Regions weakened again. During the Rouran Khanate rejuvenation period, the policies of the Western Regions were restored and developed at one time. Rouran’s administration of the Western Regions had an important impact on the history of ethnic relations and the history of exchanges between the East and the West in the middle of the 5~6th century.