Architecture of Mongolia
The Xiongnu confederation ruled present-day Mongolia from the third century BCE through the first century CE, living in portable, round tents on carts and round yurts. The Xiongnu aristocracy lived in small palaces, and their villages were protected by huge walls. S. I. Rudenko also mentions capital construction built of logs. Archaeological excavations indicate that the Xiongnu had towns; their chief city was Luut Hot (Dragon City).
Five Barbarians
In 48 CE, after a dynastic conflict within the Xiongnu confederacy, an unnamed Shanyu (Shanyu or Chanyu meaning 'Son of Eternal Sky' and equating with the title of King) (48–56 CE) brought eight tribes of the Western Wing to China under a renewed heqin treaty, creating a polity of Southern Xiongnu in vassalage to China and a polity of Northern Xiongnu who maintained their independence.