History
The Yuezhi people supplied jade and horses to various Chinese states, and were at times a major power in the region, having more than one hundred thousand soldiers according to the Book of Han.They did not often fight the Chinese, but conflicts are recorded with other nomadic groups such as the Wusun and Xiongnu. After fighting at least four wars against the Xiongnu, the Yuezhi were finally defeated and slaughtered, the survivors splitting into two groups, the Lesser and Greater Yuezhi.
The Lesser Yuezhi migrated to the edge of the Tibetan plateau, while the Greater Yuezhi went to the Ili Valley, conquering the local Scythian tribes. The Greater Yuezhi would later be defeated again by a Wusun-Xiongnu coalition, and were forced into Bactria. The Lesser Yuezhi, on the other hand would stay as tribal vassals of the Xiongnu, who eventually absorbed their population.
The Greater Yuezhi seem to have thrived in Bactria, as a Chinese explorer Zhang Qian reported that their population was more than 1,000,000 strong, with a capital in Lanshi, and a thriving market where all sorts of goods were sold.
Several Greater Yuezhi tribes are named in Chinese sources, these tribes lived in Bactria, and are the Xiūmì, Guìshuāng, Shuāngmí, Xīdùn and Dūmì. One of these tribes, the Guìshuāng, later became a major power in the Indian subcontinent as the Kushan Empire, after apparently conquering the others.
The later history of the Greater Yuezhi is that of the Kushans, although some groups of Lesser Yuezhi remained in China, settling among the Qiang and Jie peoples or assimilating into other Aryan groups like the Tocharians. Another group survived as the Gar clan in Tibet, living as blacksmiths until they were massacred in the 7th century. Some remnants may also have survived long enough to be absorbed into the Uyghur population.
Location
First recorded as living in what is now western Gansu Province, China, the nomadic Yuezhi tribes would later migrate to the Ili Valley, Sogdia, Bactria and the Indian subcontinent, as well as Tibet, Qinghai and parts of the Tarim Basin.
Name
The name Yuèzhi comes from Chinese works, and is a combination of the characters yuè and shì,meaning "Moon Clan". According to Zhang Guang-da, this was probably a transliteration of their original name, which may be akin to modern Pashto Visha ("the tribes") or Vesh ("divisions").
H. W. Bailey associates the Great Yuezhi with the Tu Gara ("Great Gara") of Khotan Saka texts, this people may also be connected to the Ancient Greek Tokharoi, the Kushan faction that conquered Bactria. Gara as an endonym of the Yuezhi is possibly also shown in the Gar clan that survived in the Tibetan Empire.
Language
This is disputed, many scholars suggest an Iranian origin, though some link the Yuezhi to groups such as the Goths. There is also a debate about the relation of the Yuezhi to the Tocharians, with some scholars claiming that the Yuezhi spoke the Tocharian language.
Appearance
Zhang Qian reported that the Yuezhi had deep-set eyes, and profuse beards. Wan Zhen said that the skin of the people was reddish white. Surviving Kushan coins show the kings with clear European features, and a bust of a man has been found in Bactria with blue eyes and pale skin.
Customs
They were nomadic, traded in jade and horses, and would attack neighbouring tribes in order to take slaves and land. According to Zhang Qian, their warriors were archers, they had similar customs and language to the peoples in neighbouring Bactria, they were skillful merchants fond of haggling, and women were held in great respect.
According to The Book of the Later Han, Yuezhi envoys visiting China were already giving Buddhist teachings in the 1st Century BC. The Yuezhi/Kushan peoples in Bactria and India were later Hellenised to some extent, and this was seen in their art and coins, as well as the layout of their cities and palaces, which was similar to those of the Romans, according to Wan Zhen.
Gallery
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| Bust found at Khalchayan, note the blue eyes & European features. |
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| 1st century stone palette, possibly showing a Yuezhi king and his attendants, note the moustaches, and attire similar to what Tocharians/Kushans were depicted as wearing. |
