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Modu Shanyu
Xiongnu king
Domain and influence of Xiongnu under Motun at the start of his rule.
Reign	209 BCE - 174 BCE
Full name	Mao-Tun Baatur Tengrikhan
Born	234
Predecessor	Teoman (father)
Successor	Laoshang
Royal House	Turul clan
Dynasty	Dulo
Father	Touman

Mau-Tun Khan-yu, (Turkish: Mete Han, Tanrıkut Mete) (Baatur, Bator, Baghadur) (born 234 BC) was the founder of the huge Asian Hun Empire, in 209 BC. According the Chinese record, the name is Modu (simplified Chinese: 冒顿; traditional Chinese: 冒頓; pinyin: mòdú, Zhuyin: ㄇㄛˋ ㄉㄨˊ). The beginning of his rule also accepted as formation of first systematic nomad army. The exact years of his rule were 209 BCE to 174 BCE.

He was a military leader under his father Teoman and Shanyu and emperor of Khunnu Empire located in modern day Mongolia. He made much conquests in Central Asia, before Genghis Khan and the Mongol conquests. He ruled the Asian Hun Empire.

His Hunnic legend to the throne was recorded by Chinese scholars.^[1]

He was the eldest son of Toumen, the Khan of the Hun at the time. Since his childhood, Modu was well-known for his outstanding courage and valor. He was so full of valor that he was regarded as one of the most heroic men in the realm. However, the Khan preferred a beauty called E'shi and decided to raise her son to be his successor. Touman's new wife had wanted to kill Modu so he adopted a cruel plot to kill Modu by another person's hands: the Khan sent Modu to the Yuezhi, another tribe, as a hostage and then he waged wars against them, to make Modu the victim. Fortunately, Modu had sensed something suspicious so he pretended to be seriously sick when he was staying in the Yuezhi area. His watchers then slackened their guard. In the evening when the Khan was massing his troops to attack the Yuezhi tribe, Modu killed the watchers, stole the Yuezhi's precious horse and fled. To avoid the pursuit of the Yuezhi tribe and a surprise attack by the Khan, Modu disguised himself and could return. For this bravery his father gave him a Tumen of soldiers. He controlled strictly his 10,000 men, and trained them hard every day for war and to follow his every command. The legend said that he invented a whistling arrow, and commanded every man to shoot and charge at the direction of the sound. Instances told he sometimes commanded his soldiers to kill his favorite horse or concubine. Whoever questioned or hesitated to follow his orders were immediately executed. He became feared and respected within his men and none was dare to challenge his authority.

On a hunting trip, he killed his father with a fatal arrow to seek revenge for deceiving him. After this he gained the ascendancy of all tribes his father had controlled and crowned as the new Xiongnu ruler. He disciplined all the tribes for fight. After his army was ready for war, he began his conquest.

He marched on the Donghu, the Xiongnu’s eastern neighbours, and brought them under his rule in 208 BC. After his Donghu campaign (the Donghu split into Xianbei and Wuhuan; from the Xianbei descended the Mongols), he defeated the Turkic peoples living in Northern Mongolia like the Dingling and finally he defeated the Yuezhi in 203 BC. With these victories, he was able to gain the control of the important trade roads, which later supplied the Xiongnu with great incomes. He later fought a three-year lasting war with the Han Dynasty of China, and defeated (more accurately, trapped) the Han ruler Gaodi, forcing him to pay yearly tributes to the Xiongnu. When Emperor Gao of Han Dynasty launched a military offensive against him, Modu lured the Han army into an ambush and encircled them for seven days at Baideng. The siege was only relieved when the Han royal court sent spies to bride Modu's wife. The result of this campaign resulted in Han China resorting to the humiliating "marriage alliance" strategy with Xiongnu for the next seventy years.

Modu never tried to invade China completely, because he knew that a foreign dynasty couldn't have ruled such a vast country for a long time. After his Chinese Campaign, Modu forced the Yuezhi and the Wusun to enter Xiongnu vassalage.

During his reign, many peoples were brought under Xiongnu rule. And he united under one clan all the bow-stretching nomad tribes of the steppes. Apart from his nomadic subjects, Modu also vassalised the oasis city-states of the Tarim Basin. His organizations in both military and administration were later used by many other Central Asian peoples and states.

Under his rule, he made 28 major war campaigns to conquer 28 countries, and became greatly feared widely throughout peoples of Asia, even in the mighty Chinese Empire. He was a great warrior and a master tactician and was undefeated in his lot of battles against many empires including the Chinese.

It is believed by scholars that his life story created the historical base for legend of Oguz Kagan.

Baatur means brave, courageous, in old Hunnic language and in Turkic languages (Bator in modern day Hungarian (archaic pronunciation is the Batur)). Baghadur (Baghatur), hadur means warlord in Hungarian. So his name approximately could be translated to meaning Brave Warlord. See also Batur Tengriqut.

Modu appeared in the action RPG The Prince of Qin as a hero who can be part of the team. He belongs to the Muscleman character class. In the game, Modu first appeared in Yanmen Pass and meets the main character Prince Fusu. The player can choose to help him kill his evil father Toumen and seize the position of Khan of the Xiongnu. In return, Modu can join the team and promises not to wage war on the Central Plains for ten years.

• Mongolia history
• All-empires.com: The Xiongnu Empire

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