The Ülüş system was the administrative system of the historical Turkic and Mongolic states. The noun ''Üleş'' in Turkish means "share" and the verb "üleş-mek" means to share.

The system

According to historian

Halil İnalcık Halil İnalcık (7 September 1916 – 25 July 2016) was a Turkish historian. His highly influential research centered on social and economic approaches to the Ottoman Empire. His academic career started at Ankara University, where he completed h ...

, the sovereignty didn't belong solely to the

khagan Khagan or Qaghan (Mongolian:; or ''Khagan''; otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣 ), or , tr, Kağan or ; ug, قاغان, Qaghan, Mongolian Script: ; or ; fa, خاقان ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan ...

(emperor), but to the members of the khagan's family. Thus the khagan allocated each member of the family a share of the country. This share was called ülüş. According to Kürşat Kocak however, the ülüş practice included also high level state officials. Academia periodical
/ref> This resembles the

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

system in

Medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. It is stressed by

Lev Gumilyov Lev Nikolayevich Gumilyov (russian: Лев Никола́евич Гумилёв; 1 October 1912 – 15 June 1992) was a Soviet historian, ethnologist, anthropologist and translator. He had a reputation for his highly unorthodox theories of et ...

that it was not a European type

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

. According to Lev Gümiloy the system was developed by the

Southern Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomads, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, ...

during the second century AD.L.N.Gümilev, ''Eski Türkler'', translation by Ahsen Batur, p.80-81 It was used by the

First Turkic Khaganate The First Turkic Khaganate, also referred to as the First Turkic Empire, the Turkic Khaganate or the Göktürk Khaganate, was a Turkic khaganate established by the Ashina clan of the Göktürks in medieval Inner Asia under the leadership of Bumin ...

Uyghur Khaganate The Uyghur Khaganate (also Uyghur Empire or Uighur Khaganate, self defined as Toquz-Oghuz country; otk, 𐱃𐰆𐰴𐰕:𐰆𐰍𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Toquz Oγuz budun, Tang-era names, with modern Hanyu Pinyin: or ) was a Turkic empire that e ...

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

and other political powers of Central Asia.

Example

In the

(551-581) during the reign of

Taspar Qaghan Taspar Qaghan ( Sogdian: ''t’asp’r γ’γ’n'') or Tatpar Qaghan (Sogdian: ''t’tp’r x’γ’n'', Rouran: ''Tadpar qaɣan''; Old Turkic: 𐱃𐱃𐰯𐰺𐰴𐰍𐰣 Tatpar qaγan, 佗缽可汗/佗钵可汗, Pinyin: tuóbō kěhàn, Wade ...

in 576, there were 8 üleşes (see

Göktürk family tree The Göktürk family tree refers to the ruling Ashina tribe, Ashina clan of the First Turkic Khaganate, Turkic Khaganate, a vast medieval empire which stretched from northeast China to the Black Sea.Jean Paul Roux: ''Türklerin Tarihi (Historie des ...

). :1.

Taspar Taspar Qaghan ( Sogdian: ''t’asp’r γ’γ’n'') or Tatpar Qaghan (Sogdian: ''t’tp’r x’γ’n'', Rouran: ''Tadpar qaɣan''; Old Turkic: 𐱃𐱃𐰯𐰺𐰴𐰍𐰣 Tatpar qaγan, 佗缽可汗/佗钵可汗, Pinyin: tuóbō kěhàn, Wad ...

: in the

Altai Mountain The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their headwaters. The massif merges with the S ...

area :2. She tu (Taspar’s nephew; later renemed Ishbara as the khagan): east part of the khaganette :3. Böri (Taspar's nephew): west part of the Eastern territory :4. Töremen (Taspar's nephew, later renemed Apa as the khagan): north territories :5. Kara Çürün (Taspar's cousin later renamed Tardu as the khagan of the Western Territory): in Yedisu area :6.

Tamgan Tumgan (also known as Turkshad, Turxanthos or Turksanf) was a shad (governor prince) of the Turkic Empire (also called Göktürk) in the late 6th century. According to Edward Gibbon his name may be a title rather than a proper name. Background In ...

(Taspar's cousin): in

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

area :7.

Amrak Ashina Anluo ( Sogdian: ''wmn’ x’γ’n'', trad. 阿史那庵邏 ;simp. 阿史那庵逻) was the fifth ruler of the Turkic Khaganate. in the sixth century. His regnal title is not recorded in Chinese sources. Reign Although he was enthroned ...

(Taspar's son): (unidentified) :8. Tegin shad (Taspar’s son): unidentified

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ules system Sovereignty Medieval Asia Medieval law