Wusun
Wusun --- information about this historic people can be found in \nChinese historical annals.
Geography
Originally, the Wusun people lived near the Yue-zhi people, probably \nin the region of the eastern Tien Shan Mts. Later they moved to the \nIli valley and the Issyk Kol basin.
Anthropology and archeology
According to Chinese archeologists: excavated skeletal remains of \npresumed Wusun people are short-headed Europoid of the Central Asian, \nTransoxanian type. \nThe Wusun were described as having "green eyes and red beards", i.e., \nof Caucasoid appearance.
History
At the beginning of what is known about the history of the Wusun, \nthey lived near the Yue-zhi people. The Yue-zhi were defeated by the \nrising Xiongnu empire and fled westward. En route they overran the \nWusun. The future Wusun king, Kun-Mo (< MC mak = Kun Beg?), lost his \nfather and was left in the wild, then miraculously was saved from \nhunger by sucking from a she-wolf. The Xiongnu Shan-yu (ruler) was \nimpressed and adopted the child. When the child grew up the Shan-yu \ngave him command of his tribe (reconstituted?) and ordered the Wusun \nto attack the Yue-zhi, who had taken refuge in the Ili Valley, said \nto be originally peopled by the Se (< MC s@k = Saka) people. The Yue-\nzhi was crushed completely and fled further to Ferghana, and finally settled in Bactria, and became known as the Tocharoi. The Wusun took over the Ili Valley and then expanded to occupy a large area. They were said to number 630,000 and became a respected force in Central Asia.
When the Han empire began the counter-offensive against the Xiongnu, the Wusun was won over to her side through political marriages, and the Wusun became a bitter enemy of the Xiongnu. After Han retreat from Central Asia, no much was recorded about the Wusun. They were said to be pressed by the Jou-Juan (Avar) and migrated to the Cong-ling Mts. (Pamir Mountains). After this event the Wusun disappeared from history, and later we found the western Turks in the former habitat of the Wusun.
Language
There were Se (Saka) and Yue-zhi (Tocharian ?) peoples among the Wusun, so maybe they spoke Iranian or Tocharian? The Wusun shared a similar ancestor myth with the Kok Turks, so they may well be a Turkic people. There was a Wusun king called Fu-li, and Chinese \nscholar Han Rulin suggested a likeness to Turkic "bori = wolf".
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