Modu Chanyu
c. 234 BC – 174 BC · 60 years · Mongolian steppe · Asia
United the nomads into the mighty Xiongnu empire, crushed the Yuezhi and Donghu and forced Han China to pay tribute.
Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · 3rd century BC
Contemporaries around the world
Europe
- Archimedes — mathematician, physicist and engineer, 53 years older
- Scipio Africanus — Roman general, 2 years older
- Cato the Elder — Roman statesman and writer, born the same year
Africa
- Hannibal — Carthaginian general, 13 years older
- Eratosthenes — scholar, head of the Library of Alexandria, 42 years older
Asia
- Qin Shi Huang — first emperor of China, 25 years older
- Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu of Han) — founder of the Han dynasty, 22 years older
- Empress Lü (Lü Zhi) — Han empress and regent, 7 years older
The world in their lifetime
- 221 BC Qin Shi Huang unifies China — aged 13, Asia
- 218 BC Hannibal crosses the Alps — aged 16, Europe
- 216 BC Battle of Cannae — aged 18, Europe
- c. 214 BC Great Wall of China — aged 20, Asia
- 210 BC Terracotta Army — aged 24, Asia
- 202 BC Founding of the Han dynasty — aged 32, Asia