Nomadic empire
The Xiongnu were a confederation of nomadic tribes from Central Asia with a ruling class of unknown origin and other subjugated tribes. They lived on the Mongolian Plateau between the 3rd century BC and the 460s AD, their territories including modern day Mongolia, southern Siberia, western Manchuria, and the modern Chinese provinces of Inner Mongolia, Gansu, and Xinjiang. The Xiongnu was the first unified empire of nomadic peoples. Relations between early Chinese dynasties and the Xiongnu were complicated and included military conflict, exchanges of tribute and trade, and marriage treaties. When Emperor Qin Shihuang drove them away from the south of the Yellow River, he built the famous Great Wall to prevent the Xiongnu from coming back.
Chanyu
Chanyu (; short form for Chengli Gutu Chanyu ()) was the title used by the nomadic supreme rulers of Inner Asia for eight centuries and was superseded by the title ""Khagan"" in 402 CE. The title was used by the ruling Luandi clan of the Xiongnu during the Qin dynasty (221-206 BCE) and Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE).
According to "Book of Han", Chēnglí 撐犁 means "heaven", gūtu 孤塗 "son" and chányú 單于 "immense appearance".