Ancient princesses helped build vast warrior empire that prompted China to erect the Great Wall

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2 years ago

April 21, 2023

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Elite women, perhaps princesses, played a crucial role in holding the Xiongnu, one of the first nomadic empires of the eastern Eurasian Steppe, together, a new study suggests.

The Xiongnu, who may have been among the ancient ancestors of the Mongols, formed a confederation of nomadic peoples who controlled much of Central Asia, from present-day Kazakhstan to Mongolia, from about the second century B.C. until the first century A.D.

But little is known about them, except for some Chinese records and recent genetic studies based on ancient DNA from their buried remains, said Bryan Miller (opens in new tab) , an archaeologist at the University of Michigan.

“This was an empire with extreme genetic diversity,” he told Live Science. “To call oneself Xiongnu at that time was to call oneself a participant in this massive empire.”

Miller is one of the lead authors of a new study exploring the genetics of remains found in Xiongnu graves in the foothills of the southern Altai Mountains, near what would have been the imperial frontier. The research was published in the journal Science Advances (opens in new tab) on April 14.

Related: Mysterious East Asians vanished during the ice age. This group replaced them.

An elite female’s coffin, decorated with gold sun and moon symbols of the Xiongnu, was found at the Takhiltiin Khotgor site, Mongolian Altai. (Image credit: J. Bayarsaikhan) Nomad princesses

DNA testing at two Xiongnu cemeteries showed that the people buried in the largest tombs were women who were closely related to people from the heartlands of the Xiongnu Empire — roughly in the middle of modern Mongolia — whose genetics were already known (opens in new tab) .

The women were buried with rich grave goods, including ornamental gold disks, pieces of bronze chariots and horse gear. But the ancient DNA from the remains in the smaller tombs showed a much wider genetic diversity, suggesting those people often came from far-flung regions of the empire — from the Black Sea region to Eastern Mongolia, Miller said.

The tomb of a high-status aristocratic woman was excavated at Takhiltiin Khotgor, Mongolian Altai. (Image credit: Michel Neyroud)

This finding suggests that the elite families who controlled the Xiongnu Empire probably sent their women to the frontiers in order to cement political alliances with local elites. Miller noted that the most special burials were given only to these elite women, who seem to have been involved in the politics of relatively remote regions.

“They are representatives of the imperial clan that ruled the empire,” he said. “You’ve got these marriage alliances spanning the whole empire, even in these local communities.”

Miller said these elite women maintained their high status throughout their lives, which was reflected in their special burials. That suggested they were active participants in the plan, and not just the tools of their male relatives. “They really played an active role,” he said. “They were part of it.”Ancient empire

The main source of information about the Xiongnu comes from Chinese records, who saw them as foreign enemies along China’s northern and western borders.

Indeed, the name Xiongnu is thought to be a pejorative term, because its Chinese characters also spell “fierce slave.”

A Xiongnu child’s bow and arrow kit from a burial the Shombuuziin Belchir cemetery. (Image credit: Bryan K. Miller)

Miller said that some of the earliest fortifications of what later became the Great Wall of China were built in an attempt to stop Xiongnu raids into Chinese lands. “It was a way to control that very vibrant frontier,” he said.

Eventually, the Xiongnu were divided by civil wars. Some groups became tributaries of Chinese states, while some were conquered by other steppe peoples.related stories—Medieval Swahilis and Persians paired up 1,000 years ago in East Africa, ancient DNA reveals

—World’s oldest human DNA found in 800,000-year-old tooth of a cannibal

—Enslaved people were kidnapped from all across Africa, rare look at DNA from colonial cemetery reveals

Archaeologist Ursula Brosseder (opens in new tab) of the University of Bonn in Germany, who wasn’t involved in the research, said the new study showed how the investigation of ancient DNA was moving away from the large-scale genetics of populations and toward the genetics of particular localities.

“The field of ancient genetics is now shifting,” she told Live Science. “So far, most of the studies we have seen concerned the genetics of population structures, such as when large migrations happened. But with this study, we’ve just zoomed into one society and used genetics as a tool to get a better understanding of how that society worked,” she said.

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Mariann Edgar Budde: Who is the bishop Donald Trump called ‘nasty’?

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2 hours ago

January 22, 2025

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Mariann Edgar Budde: Who is the bishop Donald Trump called 'nasty'?

Donald Trump has hit out at the bishop of Washington after she lectured him on respecting immigrants and LGBT+ citizens during a televised church service.

The president remained straight-faced alongside his vice president JD Vance as bishop Mariann Edgar Budde addressed him at Tuesday’s interfaith prayer service at Washington National Cathedral, telling him to “have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now”.

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The direct appeal to Mr Trump, which went on for around two minutes, has gone viral on social media and drawn criticism from Republicans, including a congressman who urged the president to deport the bishop.

But what exactly did Bishop Budde say and what has the president’s response been?

What did Bishop Budde say?

She began: “Let me make one final plea, Mr President. Millions have put their trust in you.

“In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.

“There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in democratic, republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives.”

The bishop then highlighted the contributions of asylum seekers – a group Mr Trump has wasted no time in cracking down on.

She listed groups including “the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings” and those “who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals”.

“They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals,” she said. Mr Trump then looked down at the floor.

She continued: “I ask you to have mercy, Mr President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away.

“And that you help those who are fleeing war and persecution in their own lands, to find compassion and welcome here.

“Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land.”

Her comments came after Mr Trump promised to carry out the biggest deportation in US history and his executive order stating the government will recognise only two sexes.

How did Donald Trump and other Republicans react?

The president remained stony-faced during the remarks, during which he sat alongside wife Melania in the front row, and next to Mr Vance and his wife Usha Vance.

He did at one point turn away and look over his shoulder before examining the booklet he was holding.

At another point in the sermon, Mr Trump turned towards his VP and the pair shared a wordless exchange of looks.

Mr Vance raised his eyebrows at one stage and turned to share a look with his wife, whose gaze remained firmly forward.

He repeated the move after the bishop spoke about immigrants, and followed it up by whispering to Mrs Vance.

When Bishop Budde finished her sermon, Mr Trump leaned over to say something to Mr Vance, who shook his head in response.

Asked what he thought of the sermon as he returned to the Oval Office, the president told reporters: “They could have done better.”

In a late-night post on his social media platform Truth Social, he called Bishop Budde a “radical left hardline Trump hater” and said she was “nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart”.

“She brought her church into the world of politics in a very ungracious way,” he said.

“Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one. She is not very good at her job. She and her church owe the public an apology.”

Republican congressman Mike Collins shared a video of the sermon on X and wrote: “The person giving this sermon should be added to the deportation list.”

Who is Mariann Edgar Budde?

She was elected as the ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington (EDW) in 2011, having served as rector of St John’s Episcopal Church in Minneapolis for 18 years.

She has had her sermons published in several books and journals, and has authored three of her own books about faith – most recently in 2023.

She has also been openly critical of Mr Trump before, having written an opinion piece for The New York Times in 2020, in which she condemned him for clearing Lafayette Square, near the White House, amid the George Floyd protests and then posing for photos on the grounds of nearby St John’s Church while holding a Bible.

She said she was “outraged” by the move and claimed he was using the Bible and the backdrop of the church, which belongs to her diocese, “for his political purposes”.

The EDW’s website describes her as “an advocate and organiser in support of justice concerns, including racial equity, gun violence prevention, immigration reform, the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons, and the care of creation”.

The bishop is married and has two children and grandchildren, the website adds.

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Hotel fire at ski resort in Turkey kills at least 76 people – four arrested

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2 hours ago

January 22, 2025

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Hotel fire at ski resort in Turkey kills at least 76 people - four arrested

A fire at a hotel in a popular ski resort in Turkey has killed at least 76 people, the country’s interior minister has said.

Ali Yerlikaya added that at least 51 other people were injured in the fire at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya in Bolu province’s Koroglu mountains in northwest Turkey, about 185 miles (300km) east of Istanbul.

Four people, including the business owner, have been arrested by Turkish authorities, the justice secretary said.

The fire broke out at about 3.30am in the hotel’s restaurant, with pictures showing several fire engines surrounding the charred building, and white bed sheets tied together could be seen hanging from one upper-floor window.

At least two of the victims died after jumping from the building in panic, the governor of Bolu told the state-run Anadolu media agency, adding that 234 guests were staying at the 12-storey, 161-room hotel.

Other reports said some people tried to climb down from their rooms using sheets and blankets. The health minister said at least one of the injured was in serious condition and 17 others had been discharged from hospital after being treated.

Third-floor guest Atakan Yelkovan told the IHA news agency his wife smelled burning but “the alarm did not go off”.

“We tried to go upstairs but couldn’t, there were flames. We went downstairs and came here [outside],” he said.

Mr Yelkovan said it took about an hour for the firefighting teams to arrive.

“People on the upper floors were screaming. They hung down sheets… some tried to jump,” he said.

Ski instructor Necmi Kepcetutan said he was asleep when the fire began and, after rushing outside, he helped some 20 guests escape.

He said the hotel was engulfed in smoke and admitted he couldn’t get to some of his students.

“I hope they are OK,” he said.

Mr Aydin’s office said 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances were sent to the site. Other hotels at the resort were evacuated as a precaution and guests were placed in hotels around Bolu.

A team of six government-appointed prosecutors is investigating how the fire started.

German TV station NTV suggested the wooden cladding on the outside of the hotel may have accelerated the spread of the fire and that efforts to put it out were hampered by the fact it is built on the side of a cliff.

The Grand Kartal hotel passed a fire inspection last year, tourism minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy told reporters.

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to take “all necessary steps” to find out what happened and “hold those responsible accountable”.

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Boy, two, and man, 41, killed as two others injured in Germany knife attack

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2 hours ago

January 22, 2025

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Boy, two, and man, 41, killed as two others injured in Germany knife attack

A two-year-old boy and 41-year-old man have been killed while two others were injured in a stabbing incident in the southern German state of Bavaria.

A man, described by police as a 28-year-old Afghan national, has been arrested following the knife attack in a park in Aschaffenburg on Wednesday.

Police said the two seriously injured people were receiving hospital treatment and that a cordon remained in place in the area around the scene.

Officers have said the motive for the attack is currently unclear.

The suspect, who had followed a day care group of five small children, was detained at the scene in Schoental park, an English-style garden in the Bavarian city, where the attack occurred at around 11.45am local time.

Train services in the town were temporarily interrupted as the suspect tried to flee along the tracks, German news agency dpa reported.

However, he was quickly detained, police said.

A witness is being questioned, police added. They said there was no indication of further suspects and no danger to the public.

Police said they did not know the nationality of the two people who were killed and they did not release any details about those injured.

Germany has been hit by a string of violent attacks, including a car ramming into a crowd at a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg in December, killing six people and injuring about 200.