Structure of power

The Shan-уй has been at the head of the Hsiung-nu society. In the official documents of the prosperity period of the Hsiung-nu empire, the Shan-yii has been named as "born by the heaven and earth, raised by the sun and moon, great Shan-yii of Hsiung-nu [Лидай 1958: 30]. His power of the rulers of other steppe empires of Eurasia has been based on external rather than internal sources. Shan-yii has used the raids to obtain political support on the side of tribes – members on the 'imperial confederation'. Furthermore, using the threats of raids, he has extorted from the Han empire the 'gifts' (for distribution among relatives, chiefs of tribes, and armed force) and the right for trade with the Chinese in the legions adjacent to a border (for all citizens). As to internal affairs Shan-yii had much lesser authorities. The majority of political decisions at a local level have been made by the tribal chiefs.

The American anthropologist Thomas Barfield assumes that it is possibly the Han politicians have relied on a simple human avidity and hoped that Shan-yii will make dizzy from the quantity and diversity of rare wonders and will store Up them in his depository for envy of subjects or squander them for extravagant behavior. However, the Chinese intellectuals – scribes did not understand the principles of the power of the steppe ruler. A psychology of a nomad is distinguished from that of a farmer and town-dwellers. The status of the ruler Of nomadic empire depended on the one hand, on the opportunity to provide his subjects with gifts and material wealth and on military might of the power,

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on the other hand, to make raids and extort 'gifts'. Therefore, a necessity to support a stability of the military-political structure rather than a personal avidity (as the Chinese believed erroneously) was a reason of permanent demands of the Shan-уй to increase presents. The largest insult which could be deserved by the steppe ruler was accusation of stinginess. Thus, spoils of war, gifts of the Han emperors and international trade were main sources of the political power in the steppe. Consequently, the 'gifts' flowing through their hands not only did not weaken and, on the contrary, strengthened the power and influence of the ruler in the 'imperial confederation' [Barfield 1992: 36–60].

In the eyes of Chinese historians, the Hsiung-nu empire has presented the expansionistic state with the autocratic power. However, in fact, the Hsiung-nu society has been a quite fragile mechanism. Even during periods of the highest prosperity of the Hsiung-nu polity (under Мао-tun and his nearest successor), the military-hierarchical system has only co-existed and supplement the complicated genealogical hierarchy of tribes but never changed it finally. In theory, Shan-уй could demand from subjects implicit obedience and issue any orders but, in fact, his political might was limited. First, the supertribal power has remained in the Hsiung-nu empire because of that (a) membership in the confederation provided for tribes political independence from neighbours and a number of other significant advantages, (b) Shan-уй and his encirclement guaranteed for tribes a particular inner autonomy within the empire. Secondly, an actual power of the tribal chiefs and elders was autonomous from the policy of the centre. Before the tribes dissatisfied by the policy of the 'metropolis' of empire, the undesirable for the centre alternative of the decampment to the west or flight to the south under the patronage of Chine has always occurred.