The Eastern Turkic Khaganate () was a
Turkic
Turkic may refer to:
* anything related to the country of Turkey
* Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages
** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation)
** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language
* ...
khaganate formed as a result of the internecine wars in the beginning of the 7th century (AD 581–603) after the
First Turkic Khaganate (founded in the 6th century in the
Mongolian Plateau
The Mongolian Plateau is the part of the Central Asian Plateau lying between 37°46′-53°08′N and 87°40′-122°15′E and having an area of approximately . It is bounded by the Greater Hinggan Mountains in the east, the Yin Mountains to ...
by the
Ashina clan Ashina may refer to:
*Ashina tribe, a ruling dynasty of the Turkic Khaganate
*Ashina clan (Japan)
is a Japanese clan that emerged during the Sengoku period. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie ...
) had splintered into two polities – one in the east and the other
in the west
''In the West'' is the second full-length album by indie rock band Silkworm, released in 1994. It was the band's first full-length album to be produced by their long-time friend Steve Albini; the first official recording that the band recorded wi ...
. Finally, the Eastern Turkic Khaganate was defeated and absorbed by the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
, and
Xueyantuo occupied the territory of the former Turkic Khaganate.
History
Outline
In 552-555 the
Göktürks
The Göktürks, Celestial Turks or Blue Turks ( otk, 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Türük Bodun; ; ) were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples in medieval Inner Asia. The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) a ...
replaced the
Rouran Khaganate as the dominant power on the
Mongolian Plateau
The Mongolian Plateau is the part of the Central Asian Plateau lying between 37°46′-53°08′N and 87°40′-122°15′E and having an area of approximately . It is bounded by the Greater Hinggan Mountains in the east, the Yin Mountains to ...
, forming the
First Turkic Khaganate (552-630). They quickly spread west to the Caspian Sea. Between 581 and 603 the
Western Turkic Khaganate in Central Asia separated from the Eastern Khaganate in the Mongolian Plateau. In the early period the
Central Plain Central Plain or Central Plains may refer to:
Regions
* Zhongyuan, a plain in Northern China in the lower reaches of the Yellow River which was the cradle of Chinese civilisation
** Central Plains Economic Zone
* Central Plain (Wisconsin), one ...
regimes were weak and paid tribute to the Turks at times. The
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
eventually overthrew the Eastern Turks in 630.
Before the Khaganate
The ethnonym ''Türk'' (pl. ''Türküt'', >
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the ''Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...
as 突厥: early *''dwət-kuɑt'' > late *''tɦut-kyat'' >
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
''Tūjué'' or ''Tújué'') is ultimately derived from the
Old-Turkic migration-term 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰 ''Türük''/''Törük'',
which means 'created, born', from the Old Turkic word root ''*türi-''/''töri-'' 'tribal root, (mythic) ancestry; take shape, to be born, be created, arise, spring up' and derived with the Old Turkic suffix 𐰰 (''-ik''), perhaps from
Proto-Turkic ''*türi-k'' 'lineage, ancestry',
[“Türk”](_blank)
in ''Turkish Etymological Dictionary'', Sevan Nişanyan.[“türe-”](_blank)
in ''Turkish Etymological Dictionary'', Sevan Nişanyan. (compare also the Proto-Turkic word root ''*töre-'' to be born, originate'). or 'strong', or originally a noun and meant "'the culminating point of maturity' (of a fruit, human being, etc.), but more often used as an
djectivemeaning (of a fruit) 'just fully ripe'; (of a human being) 'in the prime of life, young, and vigorous'".
The Chinese
Book of Zhou (7th century) presents an etymology of the name ''Turk'' as derived from 'helmet', explaining that this name comes from the shape of a mountain where they worked in the
Altai Mountains. Hungarian scholar
András Róna-Tas (1991) pointed to a Khotanese-Saka word, ''tturakä'' 'lid', semantically stretchable to 'helmet', as a possible source for this folk etymology, yet Golden thinks this connection requires more data.
In 439 a man surnamed Ashina led 500 families west from
Gansu to
Gaochang near Turfan. In about 460 the
Rouran moved them east to the
Altai
Altai or Altay may refer to:
Places
*Altai Mountains, in Central and East Asia, a region shared by China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Russia
In China
* Altay Prefecture (阿勒泰地区), Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China
* Altay City (阿 ...
, which was an important source of metalwork for Siberia and Mongolia. David Christian says that the first dated mention of ‘Turk’ appears in Chinese annals in 542 when they made annual raids across the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan ...
when it froze over. In 545 the future
Bumin Qaghan was negotiating directly with the
Western Wei
Wei (), known in historiography as the Western Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei. One of the Northern dynasties during the era of the Northern and Southern dynasties, it ruled the west ...
(535-57) without regard to his Rouran overlords. Later the Turks were sent east to suppress a rebellion by the Kao-ch’e, but the Turks absorbed them into their own army. Bumin demanded a royal bride from the Rouran and was denounced as a ‘blacksmith slave’. Bumin took a bride from the Western Wei, defeated the
Rouran ruler in
Jehol and took the royal title of Khagan (552).
Strictly speaking, the politonym ''Kök Tür(ü)k'' "Blue ~ Heavenly Turks", found on the Orkhon inscriptions, only denotes the Eastern Turks, as
Old Turkic
Old Turkic (also East Old Turkic, Orkhon Turkic language, Old Uyghur) is the earliest attested form of the Turkic languages, found in Göktürk and Uyghur Khaganate inscriptions dating from about the eighth to the 13th century. It is the ...
''kök'' means "heaven, blue" and
signifies the cardinal direction east. The
Uyghurs
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...
, another people contemporary to Eastern Turks'
Latter Göktürk successors, were also Turkic speakers yet used ''Türük'' to denote Latter Göktürks, not themselves. Chinese chroniclers used 突厥 ''Tūjué'' or ''Tújué'' to denote
First Turkic Khaganate, the Eastern Turks, as well as peoples politically associated with Eastern Turks such as: the "Wooden-Horse Tujue" (including the
Tuvans
The Tuvans ( tyv, Тывалар, Tıvalar) are a TurkicOtto Maenchen-Helfen, Journey to Tuva, p. 169 ethnic group indigenous to Siberia who live in Russia ( Tuva), Mongolia, and China. They speak Tuvan, a Siberian Turkic language. They are ...
, whom
Book of Sui
The ''Book of Sui'' (''Suí Shū'') is the official history of the Sui dynasty. It ranks among the official Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written by Yan Shigu, Kong Yingda, and Zhangsun Wuji, with Wei Zheng as the lead au ...
and
History of the Northern Dynasties
The ''History of the Northern Dynasties'' () is one of the official Chinese historical works in the '' Twenty-Four Histories'' canon. The text contains 100 volumes and covers the period from 386 to 618, the histories of Northern Wei, Western ...
listed as a
Tiele tribe), the ''Tujue Sijie'' 突厥思結 (a tribe who were also members of the
Tiele and later
Toquz Oghuz), as well as the
Shatuo
The Shatuo, or the Shatuo Turks (; also transcribed as Sha-t'o, Sanskrit SartZuev Yu.A., ''"Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuyao" of 8-10th centuries)"'', Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, ...
Tujue 沙陀突厥 and
Khazars (突厥曷薩 Tūjué Hésà or Tújué Hésà; 突厥可薩部 Tūjué Kěsà bù or Tújué Kěsà bù), as well as the Shatuo's and Khazars' predecessors, the
Western Turks 西突厥 ''Xī Tūjué'' or ''Xī Tújué'', who were not named as ''Türük'', but ''On-Ok'' "Ten Arrows, Ten Tribes" in the Orkhon inscriptions. Only later would Islamic chroniclers use Turks to denote Inner Asian nomadic peoples, and then modern historians would use Turks to refer to all peoples speaking
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic l ...
, differentiated from non-Turkic speakers.
[Lee & Kuang (2017) "A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Historical Sources and Y-DNA Studies with Regard to the Early and Medieval Turkic Peoples", Inner Asia 19. p. 197-239]
Nominal unity (552-581)
The west was given to Bumin's younger brother
Istämi (552-75) and his son
Tardush (575-603). Ishtami expanded the empire to the Caspian and the
Oxus
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
river. The Gokturks gained the
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hyd ...
and thus the Silk Road trade and the Sogdian merchants that managed it. Bumin died in the year of his rebellion (552) and was followed by three of his sons.
Issik Qaghan (552-53) reigned briefly.
Muqan Khagan (553-72) finished off the remaining Rouran, who resisted until 555, pushed the Kitans east and controlled the
Yenisei Kirghiz
The Yenisei Kyrgyz ( otk, 𐰶𐰃𐰺𐰴𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Qyrqyz bodun), were an ancient Turkic people who dwelled along the upper Yenisei River in the southern portion of the Minusinsk Depression from the 3rd century BCE to the 13t ...
. He was followed by
Taspar Qaghan (572-81). The three brothers extracted a large amount of booty and tribute from the
Western Wei
Wei (), known in historiography as the Western Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei. One of the Northern dynasties during the era of the Northern and Southern dynasties, it ruled the west ...
(535-57) and
Northern Zhou
Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty a ...
(557-581) dynasties, including 100,000 rolls of silk annually.
East-West split (581-603)
In 581 the
Sui dynasty was founded and began to reunify
China proper
China proper, Inner China, or the Eighteen Provinces is a term used by some Western writers in reference to the "core" regions of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China. This term is used to express a distinction between the "core" regions pop ...
. The Sui began pushing back, generally by supporting or bribing one faction against the other. Taspar died the same year the Sui dynasty was founded. The three claimants were the sons of the three previous rulers. Taspar chose Muqan's son
Apa Qaghan, but the elders rejected this and chose Taspar's son
Anlo (581). Anlo soon yielded to Issik's son
Ishbara Qaghan (581-87). Anlo became insignificant and Apa and Ishbara fought it out. In 584 Ishbara attacked Apa and drove him west to Bumin's brother
Tardush, who ruled what was becoming the Western Khaganate. Apa and Tardush then drove Ishbara east. He submitted to the Sui and with Sui support drove Apa west into Tardush's territory. In 587 both Apa and Ishbara died. (See
Gokturk civil war) Ishbara was followed in the east by his brother
Bagha Qaghan (587-88) who was followed by Ishbara's son
Tulan Qaghan (588-99). In 587 Tulan stopped paying tribute to the Sui and two years later was assassinated. Tardush moved from the west and briefly reunified the Turkic empire (599-603). The Sui supported his rivals, he attacked the Sui dynasty, the Sui poisoned the wells and he was forced to retreat.
Independence (603-630)
From 603 the east and west were definitely split. The east went to
Yami Qaghan (603-09) as a sort of Suu vassal. He admired
Han culture and had the Han people build him a civilized house in the Ordos country.
As the Sui dynastys power waned, some individuals agreed to become vassals of
Shibi Qaghan (609-19) and adopted Turkic-style titles, as well as the Khaganate's wolf's-head banners.
[Wang, Zhenping and Joshua A. Fogel (Ed.). 2017. 1. Dancing with the Horse Riders: The Tang, the Turks, and the Uighurs. In Tang China in Multi-Polar Asia, 11-54. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Retrieved 12 Feb. 2018] In 615, the Sui lured his Sogdian advisor into a trap and killed him. He stopped paying tribute and briefly besieged
Emperor Yang of Sui
Emperor Yang of Sui (隋煬帝, 569 – 11 April 618), personal name Yang Guang (), alternative name Ying (), Xianbei name Amo (), also known as Emperor Ming of Sui () during the brief reign of his grandson Yang Tong, was the second emperor o ...
in
Shanxi
Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
.
In 615 Emperor Yang assigned Li Yuan, who would later become the
first emperor of the Tang dynasty, the impossible task of protecting the Sui dynasty's northern border. In 617, when tens of thousands of Turks reached
Taiyuan
Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province ...
, they found the gates open and the city suspiciously quiet. Fearing an ambush, the Turk's retreated. Li Yuan's deception had been successful and he quickly pressed his advantage offering the Turks "prisoners of war, women,
jade
Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole gro ...
and
silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...
s" in return for their friendship. The Turks declined, demanding instead that Li Yuan become a "Son of Heaven" and accept a Turkic title and banner.
Shibi's younger brother
Chuluo (619-20) ruled for only 18 months. The next brother,
Illig Qaghan
Illig Qaghan ( Old Turkic: ; ), born Ashina Duobi (), posthumous name Prince Huang of Guiyi (歸義荒王), was the last qaghan of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate.
Background
He was a son of Yami Qaghan and his Tuyuhun wife Poshi (婆施). H ...
(620-30), was the last independent ruler. He led yearly raids against the new
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
(618-907). In 626 he reached the gates of Chang’an.
Emperor Taizong of Tang
Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty ...
, who had just overthrown his father, chose to pay an enormous ransom. Taizong waited and enlarged his cavalry. In 627-29 unusual cold led to mass livestock deaths and famine. Instead of lowering taxes, Illig raised them. The
Xueyantuo, Uyghurs, Bayegu and some of Illig's people rebelled and in 629 were joined by the Khitans and Taizong. Six Tang armies attacked in a 1200 kilometer front and Illig was captured (630). See
Tang campaign against the Eastern Turks.
After the First Khaganate (630-683)
After the fall of the Khaganate
Zhenzhu Khan (629-45) of the Xueyantuo ruled much of the north. Taizong made the Ashina live inside the
Ordos Loop. In 639, after
an Ashina assassination attempt, Taizong made them live between the Yellow River and Gobi under
Qilibi Khan (639-43) as a buffer state between China and the Xueyantuo. In 642 the Xueyantuo drove them south of the river. (See
Tang campaign against the Eastern Turks#Aftermath in Mongolia.) Zhenzhu's son
Duomi Khan (645-46) planned to attack China. Taizong allied with the Uyghurs and broke up the Xueyantuo clan. The Ashina
Chebi Khan (646-50) tried to revive the Khaganate but was captured by the Chinese and Uyghurs. Two more attempts by
Ashina Nishufu (679-80) and
Ashina Funian (680-681) failed. Turkic power was restored by the
Second Turkic Khaganate (682-744), followed by the
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 ...
(744-840).
See also
*
Göktürks
The Göktürks, Celestial Turks or Blue Turks ( otk, 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Türük Bodun; ; ) were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples in medieval Inner Asia. The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) a ...
*
Gokturk family tree
*
Gokturk civil war
*
Turks in the Tang military
*
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West Asia, West, Central Asia, Central, East Asia, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose memb ...
*
Timeline of Turks (500–1300) Timeline of the Turks may refer to:
*Timeline of the Turks (500–1300) a general chronology between 500 and 1300
*Uyghur timeline a detailed timeline up to 763 (excludes most of Uyghur Khaganate)
*Timeline of the Sultanate of Rûm
The timeline o ...
*
List of Turkic dynasties and countries
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
Christoph Baumer, History of Central Asia, volume 2, p174-206
*
Denis Sinor, Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, p285-297 (better for early period)
*
David Christian (historian), History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia, p248-257 (early period)
*
Lev Gumilyov, The Ancient Turks, 1967 (long account in Russian at
{{Empires
Ashina tribe
*2
581 establishments
Former countries in Chinese history
Historical Turkic states
Former empires