A nomadic people of the steppes north of China who frequently invaded during the Han Dynasty. The Xiongnu are often identified with the Huns who invaded the Roman Empire in the fifth century AD.

The Xiongnu ; were a nomadic people from Central Asia, generally based in present day Mongolia. From the 3rd century BC they controlled a vast steppe empire extending west as far as the Caucasus. They were active in the areas of southern Siberia, western Manchuria and the modern Chinese provinces of Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang.