The Protectorate General to Pacify the North or Grand Protectorate General to Pacify the North (647–784) was a Chinese military government established by the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

in 647 to pacify the former territory of

Xueyantuo The Xueyantuo were an ancient Tiele tribe and khaganate in Northeast Asia who were at one point vassals of the Göktürks, later aligning with the Tang dynasty against the Eastern Göktürks. Names Xue ''Xue'' 薛 appeared earlier as ''Xi ...

, which extended from

Lake Baikal Lake Baikal (, russian: Oзеро Байкал, Ozero Baykal ); mn, Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur) is a rift lake in Russia. It is situated in southern Siberia, between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...

to the north, the

Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert (Chinese: 戈壁 (沙漠), Mongolian: Говь (ᠭᠣᠪᠢ)) () is a large desert or brushland region in East Asia, and is the sixth largest desert in the world. Geography The Gobi measures from southwest to northeast an ...

to the south, the

Khingan Mountains The Greater Khingan Range or Da Hinggan Range (; IPA: ), is a -long volcanic mountain range in the Inner Mongolia region of Northeast China. It was originally called the Xianbei Mountains, which later became the name of the northern branch of t ...

to the east, and the

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

to the west. It controlled 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 th ...

from 647 to 682. It was first established as Yanran at

Shanyu Tai Chanyu () or Shanyu (), short for Chengli Gutu Chanyu (), was the title used by the supreme rulers of Inner Asian nomads for eight centuries until superseded by the title "''Khagan''" in 402 CE. The title was most famously used by the ruling L ...

, southwest of present-day

Urat Middle Banner Urad Middle Banner ( Mongolian: Урад-ун Думдаду Қосиу ''Urad-un Dumdadu Qosiɣu''; ) is a banner of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. It is located in the west of the region, and administrativel ...

, the northern slope of Lang Shan. This was later shifted to Hanhai, around the bank of the Orkhon River, and named from its namesakes for a short period before it was changed to Anbei. The seat of governance remained there until the year 687.

History

In 646 the Tang dynasty conquered the Xuyantuo and on 9 January 647, thirteen Tiele and Uyghur tribes surrendered to the Tang. Tang Taizong organized them into six commanderies and seven tributary prefectures under the

Jimi system The Jimi system () or Jimifuzhou () was an autonomous administrative and political organization system used in China between the 7th century and 10th century. It should not to be confused with the tributary system. The term "Jimi" was first seen ...

. The six commanderies were Hanhai (翰海府), Jinwei (金微府), Yanran (燕然府), Youling (幽陵府), Guilin (龜林府), and Lushan (盧山府). The seven prefectures were Gaolan (皐蘭州), Gaoque (高闕州), Jilu (雞鹿州), Jitian (雞田州), Yuxi (榆溪州), Dailin (蹛林州), and Douyan (竇顏州). Collectively these were known as the "Cantian Khan Circuit." On 10 April the Yanran Protectorate was created at the foothills of the Shanyu Plateau, southwest of present-day

Urad Middle Banner Urad Middle Banner ( Mongolian: Урад-ун Думдаду Қосиу ''Urad-un Dumdadu Qosiɣu''; ) is a banner of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. It is located in the west of the region, and administrativel ...

, and governorship of the 13 tribes was handed over to the protector general, Li Suli (李素立), who served from 647 to 649. On 5 February 663 the Yanran Protectorate was renamed Hanhai Protectorate. In August 669 the Hanhai Protectorate was renamed the Protectorate General to Pacify the North, otherwise known as the Anbei Duhufu. Its seat was relocated to the city of Datong in present-day

Ejin Banner Ejin or Ejina ( Mongolian: Эжэн-э қосиу ''Ejen-e qosiɣu''; ) is a banner in the far west of Inner Mongolia, China. It is under the administration of Alxa League and is the westernmost county-level division of Inner Mongolia, borderin ...

. In 687 the seat of Anbei was moved to the city of

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...

near modern

Minle County Minle County () is a county in Gansu province of the People's Republic of China, bordering Qinghai province to the south. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhangye. Its postal code is 734500, and in 1999 its populatio ...

due to incursions by the

Second Turkic Khaganate The Second Turkic Khaganate ( otk, 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰃𐰠, Türük el, State of the Turks, , known as ''Turk Bilge Qaghan country'' ( otk, 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰝:𐰋𐰃𐰠𐰏𐰀:𐰴𐰍𐰣:𐰃𐰠𐰭𐰀, Türük Bilgä Qaγan eli) in Bai ...

. In 698 the seat was moved to Yunzhong near modern

Horinger Horinger ( Mongolian: Қорин Гэр сиыан ''Qorin Ger siyan''; ) is a county of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, North China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia, bord ...

. In 708 the seat of Anbei was moved to the western Shouxiang city near modern

Wuyuan County, Inner Mongolia Wuyuan County ( mn, ; ), is a county with 224,809 inhabitants (2020) under the administration of Baynnur, Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of C ...

. In 714 the Anbei and Chanyu protectorates were separated. Chanyu was re-located to Yunzhong while Anbei was re-located to the middle Shouxiang city, near modern

Baotou Baotou (; mn, Buɣutu qota, Бугат хот) is the largest city by urban population in Inner Mongolia, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, as of the 2020 census, its built-up (''or metro'') area made up of its 5 urban districts is h ...

. In 749 the seat was moved to the military settlement of Hengsai, near modern-day Urad Middle Banner. Due to unfavorable farming conditions near the Hengsai settlement,

Guo Ziyi Guo Ziyi (Kuo Tzu-i; Traditional Chinese: 郭子儀, Simplified Chinese: 郭子仪, Hanyu Pinyin: Guō Zǐyí, Wade-Giles: Kuo1 Tzu3-i2) (697 – July 9, 781), posthumously Prince Zhōngwǔ of Fényáng (), was a Chinese military general and po ...

resettled the army near modern

Urad Front Banner Urad Qianqi ( mn, Урадын Өмнөд Хошуу ; ) is a banner of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. It is located in the west of the region, situated on the northern (left) bank of the Yellow River, on the ...

in 755. Following the

An Lushan Rebellion The An Lushan Rebellion was an uprising against the Tang dynasty of China towards the mid-point of the dynasty (from 755 to 763), with an attempt to replace it with the Yan dynasty. The rebellion was originally led by An Lushan, a general office ...

, the Chanyu and Anbei protectorates lost any real authority and survived in name only. Due to the

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

of An Lushan's name, the Anbei Protectorate was renamed the

Zhenbei Protectorate The Protectorate General to Pacify the North or Grand Protectorate General to Pacify the North (647–784) was a Chinese military government established by the Tang dynasty in 647 to pacify the former territory of Xueyantuo, which extended from ...

in 757, which meant "Protectorate General to Suppress the North." In 758 the Hengsai Army changed its name to

Tiande Army Tiande (天德) may refer to: * Tiande, Liaoning, town in Xifeng County, Liaoning, China Historical eras *Tiande (943–945), era name used by Wang Yanzheng, emperor of Min *Tiande (1149–1153), era name used by Wanyan Liang Digunai (24 Februa ...

and came under control of the

Zhenwu Jiedushi Xuanwu () or Xuandi (), also known as Zhenwu (, ) or Zhenwudadi (, ), is a powerful deity in Chinese religion, one of the higher-ranking deities in Taoism. He is revered as a powerful god, able to control the elements and capable of great magi ...

. In 840 a group of

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 ...

attacked the Tiande Army. In 843 the Chanyu Protectorate was renamed back to Anbei Protectorate Tang Protectorates

List of protector generals

* Li Suli (李素立) 647-649 * Jiang Jian (姜簡) * Ren Yaxiang (任雅相) * Liu Shenli (劉審禮) 661 * Jiang Xie (姜協) * Zang Shan'an (臧善安) * Pang Tongfu (龐同福) * Li Dazhi (李大志) after 672 * Sun Jun (孫俊) 694 * Li Dan (李旦), otherwise known as Emperor Ruizong of Tang, 699-702 * Zang Huailiang (臧懷亮) * Wang Jun (王晙) before 714 * Li Sizhi (李嗣直) * Zhang Zhiyun (張知運) around 716 * Zang Huaike (臧懷恪) * Zang Xizhuang (臧希莊) 729 * Tian Wan (田琬) * Li Guangbi (李光弼) 745-746 * Li Wan (李琬) 749 * Guo Ziyi (郭子儀) 749-754 * Li Linfu (李林甫) * Zang Fangzhi (臧方直) * Pugu Huai'en (僕固懷恩) 762

Jiedushi

* Li Zhongshun (李忠順) 843-845 * Qi Bitong (契苾通) 852-854 * Gao Chenggong (高承恭) 861-863 * Shi Shanyou (石善友) 893-903 * Li Cunjin (李存進) 923

References

Citations

Sources

* . * * * (alk. paper) * * * * (paperback). * * * * . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *