The Tarim Basin was first referred to as `` Xiyu '' ( ) under the Han dynasty , which drove Motion the Xiongnu out of the Tarim Basin in 60 BCE ( Han–Xiongnu War ) in an effort to build Building and secure the profitable Silk Road , maintaining a variable military presence until the early 3rd century .

The Han–Xiongnu War , also known as the Sino-Xiongnu War , was a series of military battles fought Hostile_encounter between the Chinese Han Empire and the Xiongnu confederation from 133 BC to 89 AD .