Tadun
| Tadun | |||
| Traditional Chinese | 蹋頓 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 蹋顿 | ||
| |||
Tadun (died 207) was a leader of the Wuhuan tribe during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history.
Biography
Tadun was the nephew of Qiuliju, and rose to power after his uncle's death, because his uncle's son was too young to rule. After gaining authority over Wuhuan chieftains Nanlou, Supuyan and Wuyan, Tadun aligned himself with the warlord Yuan Shao and had the Wuhuan help Yuan in the war against rival warlord Gongsun Zan. For this deed, the Wuhuan chieftains, including Tadun, received imperial seals and ribbons from Yuan. When Qiuliju's son came of age, the many chieftains of the Wuhuan decided to appoint him as another powerful chief and have Tadun become leader of the Wuhuan domains in Liaoxi, while the rest of the tribal chiefs kept their semi-autonomous authority in Beiping and other regions.
Following Tadun's ascension to become leader, relations between Yuan Shao and the Wuhuan became very close. Yuan would have the daughters of several of his vassals become the wives of Wuhuan chieftains, and the Wuhuan essentially worked as horsemen mercenaries for Yuan. The Wuhuan horsemen were called the "greatest cavalry under heaven" later on, and under Yuan's guidance they were frequently sent to raid and pillage other territories in the Han Dynasty. They kidnapped many people and were at the height of their power when Yuan Shao was still alive. When Yuan died, the Wuhuan continued their alliance with his son Yuan Shang.
Yuan Shang was defeated many times by rival warlord Cao Cao. When Yuan Shang fled to the territories of Tadun, Tadun attempted to win back territory for Yuan but to no avail. Cao Cao was advised by his strategist Guo Jia to wage war against the Wuhuan barbarians. Tadun and other chieftains such as Supuyan and Louban (son of Qiuliju) realized that Cao was going to attack them a little bit late, but the Wuhuan still managed to muster up thousands of cavalry to oppose Cao at the Battle of White Wolf Mountain. There, in pitched battle, Cao's general Zhang Liao led the vanguard army and defeated Tadun by exploiting a weak point in the Wuhuan formation. Tadun was slain in the battle along with many of his men.