Sykes' History of Persia - Heritage Institute

xxxviii STRUGGLE WITH WHITE HUNS 469
possessed the Sakae from their habitat in the Tarim basin.
In 120 B.C. the Yue-Chi drove the Sakae out of Bactria,
which they occupied and which remained their centre for
many generations. In 30 b.c. one of their tribes, the
Kwei-Shang, subdued the others, and the nation became
known to the Romans as the Kushan. Antony sent
ambassadors to this people and Kushan chiefs appeared
in Rome during the reign of Augustus. Their power
gradually waned, and they were finally supplanted by a
race known to the Chinese as the Yetha, to the classical
writers as the Ephthalites or White Huns, and to the
Persians as the Haytal : the new-comers, though
of a
similar stock, were entirely distinct from the Yue-Chi
whom they drove out. This powerful tribe crossed
the Oxus about a.d. 425, and according to the Persian
chroniclers the news of their invasion caused a widespread
panic.
The Campaigns of Bahram Gur against the White Huns,
—Bahram appeared to lose his senses upon hearing of
the invasion ; for, instead of collecting all the forces of
the empire, he started off on a hunting expedition to
Azerbaijan, turning a deaf ear to the prayers and remonstrances
of his councillors. But as soon as he was lost
to
sight in the Elburz range he travelled with the utmost
rapidity, collecting forces as he made for the eastern
frontier and concealing his movements with complete
success. He decided upon a night surprise, and, adopting
tactics somewhat similar to those of Gideon, who dis-
mayed the Midianites by breaking pitchers,
attached skins
filled with pebbles to his horses' necks. He completely
surprised his enemy, whose horses stampeded ; he slew
the Khan and many of his men, and captured the Khan's
chief wife together with immense booty. To complete
his victory he followed up the enemy across the Oxus,
defeated them again, and compelled them to sue for
peace. There is no doubt as to the substantial accuracy
of the account of this campaign, for peace prevailed so
far as his eastern provinces are concerned during the
remainder of Bahram's long reign. At the same time
the menace of invasion by these nomads overshadowed