Wusun
The Wusun were an ancient Central Asian nomadic people who inhabited the area around the Ili River Valley and the modern-day Xinjiang region of China. They were known for their skilled horsemanship and were renowned as formidable warriors and skilled archers. The Wusun were first mentioned by Chinese sources as living together with the Yuezhi between the Qilian Mountains and Dunhuang (Gansu). In the second century BCE they were included into Xiongnu confederation and in many sources Wusun appear under the names of Huns.
The Chinese transcription of the name Wusun literally means "raven generation" but the term has not been deciphered yet and its real meaning remains a puzzle. But the presence of a raven as a clan totem among the ancient Wusun is undisputable. The Wusun legends name a raven and a wolf as ancestors of Wusun.
The origin of the Wusun is a matter of some debate, but they are believed to have been an Indo-European people who spoke an Iranian language.
