WI/AHC: Huns Never Migrate West

As it says on the title, how can you keep the Huns from migrating west and or stay around china. What would be the effects on the east, as well as the west?

As for the west it would completely alter the political landscape on roles frontiers for starters.
 

katchen

Banned
You keep the Huns from migrating West by having them get their act together and conquer either China or India and rule one of those places and get absorbed by them. It would have to be China because India is too powerful under the Gupta. The Six Dynasties Period is aborted. China is reunified. early. The Juan-Juan (Avars) are either subjugated too or sent on THEIR way from Manchuria early, causing roughly the same situation as the Huns only 50-100 years later.
 
You keep the Huns from migrating West by having them get their act together and conquer either China or India and rule one of those places and get absorbed by them. It would have to be China because India is too powerful under the Gupta. The Six Dynasties Period is aborted. China is reunified. early. The Juan-Juan (Avars) are either subjugated too or sent on THEIR way from Manchuria early, causing roughly the same situation as the Huns only 50-100 years later.
Is there any way to keep the Huns from moving west in such force (i.e. disrupting the balance of power on Rome's frontiers) without conquering China?
 
They would probably migrate into Persia. That's where the Hephalite Huns were already causing troubles, perhaps the Western Huns would join their horde and invade Persia and India.
 
They would probably migrate into Persia. That's where the Hephalite Huns were already causing troubles, perhaps the Western Huns would join their horde and invade Persia and India.

Hmm. That could be interesting. Could they possibly just be absorbed into Persian culture in a way after conquering it? Maybe just doing a Normans esque scenario where they just take over the already in place governing system and fill the positions with Huns?
 
Wikipedia said:
During the later part of Bahram V's reign, Persia was invaded from the northeast by Hephthalite hordes who ravaged northern Iran under the command of their Great Khan. They crossed the Elburz into Khorasan and proceeded as far as the ancient town of Rey. Unprepared, Bahram initially made an offer of peace and submission which was well received by the Khan of the Hephthalites. But crossing Tabaristan, Hyrcania and Nishapur by night, he took the Huns unawares and massacred them along with their Khan, taking the Khan's wife hostage. The retreating Huns were pursued and slaughtered up to the Oxus. One of Bahram's generals followed the Huns deep into Hun territory and destroyed their power. His portrait which survived for centuries on the coinage of Bukhara (in contemporary Uzbekistan) is considered to be an evidence of his victory over the Huns.

This is what happened in OTL, it might turn quite the opposite if the Huns have greater numbers and locate the Persian army. What might follow is that the Huns get the submission of either Bahram or the next in line for the throne (if he's dead) along with heaps of tribute. The Huns would probably migrate into Northern Iran to take advantage of the good pasture land.

From there perhaps the beaten Sassanids might convince the Huns that the Byzantines would be a wealthy target, and Hunnic-Sassanid army would invade Byzantium.
 
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I was more referring to pre Western Roman collapse. Also, another thing: is it possible to have the Huns arrive in the west but not have any major impact (i.e. forcing various confederations like the Greuthungi and Tervingi Goths and various Vandals, Alans, and Suevi seek asylum in the empire?)
 
I get the feeling that give Rome another Century it might fracture along political lines. Though this might mean any further migrations will be stunted or the invaders might play the factions off each other like Genghis Khan did during his invasions.
 
I get the feeling that give Rome another Century it might fracture along political lines. Though this might mean any further migrations will be stunted or the invaders might play the factions off each other like Genghis Khan did during his invasions.

The Romans, even during the third century crisis, seemed to always find some time to push the tribes back across the borders until the Huns came and caused their (the tribes) choices to be between death at the Huns or possible death pushing into the empire.
 
Hmm. That could be interesting. Could they possibly just be absorbed into Persian culture in a way after conquering it? Maybe just doing a Normans esque scenario where they just take over the already in place governing system and fill the positions with Huns?

The Normans had far too much impact on English culture to be compared. Hunk. Persia is going to become Persian Persia fairly quickly with little linguistic impact.
 
That's kinda what I meant. What I was trying to say was an elite transfer like of thing.

Honestly even that seems unlikely, the native elite are probably going to remain around atleast among the bureaucratic, scholarly, and the priestly classes simply because the Huns lack their own replacements.
 
Honestly even that seems unlikely, the native elite are probably going to remain around atleast among the bureaucratic, scholarly, and the priestly classes simply because the Huns lack their own replacements.

Hmmm. Okay. Is there any plausible time during the Roman Empire that they can bear down on Persia?
 
Remark; the iranian 'subcontinent' is large, like India's. Maybe you could see them around Sogdiane or such, an hybrid persian or related culture.
 
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