Ashina She'er (阿史那社爾; 609 – 655) was a Turkic prince and general in Tang military. He also briefly claimed the

Western Turkic Khaganate The Western Turkic Khaganate () or Onoq Khaganate () was a Turkic khaganate in Eurasia, formed as a result of the wars in the beginning of the 7th century (593–603 CE) after the split of the First Turkic Khaganate (founded in the 6th century o ...

in 628–634 centered around Beshbaliq.

Early life

He was born in 609 as second the son of

Ashina Xichun Ashina Xichun, also known as Chuluo Khagan (Turkic: Çula Han, zh, t=處羅, s=处罗, p=Chùluo Kěhàn, Middle Chinese: (Guangyun) , died December 620), was the khagan of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, and second son of Yami Qaghan. He succeeded ...

. He was granted title ''To shad'' and appanage of Tiele and

Xueyantuo The Xueyantuo or Sir Tardush were an ancient Tiele people, 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 Turkic Khaganate, Eastern Göktürk ...

tribes in northern part of

Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert (, , ; ) is a large, cold desert and grassland region in North China and southern Mongolia. It is the sixth-largest desert in the world. The name of the desert comes from the Mongolian word ''gobi'', used to refer to all of th ...

when he was already 11. However he was deposed by local rebellious tribes when his uncle

Illig Qaghan Illig Qaghan (Old Turkic: ; ; died 13 February 634), 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 ...

went on campaign against Tang. As a result, he fled to Western Turks and took over Beshbaliq and

Karakhoja Gaochang (; Old Uyghur: ''Qocho''), also called Khocho, Karakhoja, Qara-hoja, Kara-Khoja or Karahoja (قاراغوجا in Uyghur), was an ancient oasis city on the northern rim of the inhospitable Taklamakan Desert in present-day Sanbu Towns ...

, claiming the title of Dubu Khagan. As he viewed

as the source of Illig's downfall, he vowed vengeance against Xueyantuo, and he attacked

Zhenzhu Khan Zhenzhu Khan (, the Chinese rendering of ) (died October 21, 645) was a khan of Xueyantuo, under whom Xueyantuo rose from being a vassal of Eastern Tujue to a mighty khanate ruling over northern and central Asia. His personal name was recorded as ...

in or around 634 with 50,000 strong army, with indecisive results. However, at that time a new Western Tujue khan,

Ishbara Tolis Ishbara Tolis was the ruler of Western Turkic Khaganate (empire) between 634–639. His full title was ''Shābōluō xìlìshī (~diélìshī) kèhán'' 沙钵罗咥利失可汗, personal name ''Ashina Tong'e'' 阿史那同俄). Reign He was B ...

, had just taken the throne, and a large portion of Ashina She'er's people were not willing to continue fighting, Ishbara, allowing Xueyantuo to counterattack and defeat Ashina She'er. Therefore, he abandoned his quest for being khagan and fled to

Gaochang Gaochang (; Old Uyghur: ''Qocho''), also called Khocho, Karakhoja, Qara-hoja, Kara-Khoja or Karahoja (قاراغوجا in Uyghur), was an ancient oasis city on the northern rim of the inhospitable Taklamakan Desert in present-day Sanbu Town ...

In the Tang army

He submitted to Tang with his followers in 635 and immediately appointed as a General of the Left Guard. He was married to Princess Hengyang (衡陽公主), a sister of Taizong in 636. He participated in conquest of Turfan as a commander in 640. He later joined Goguryeo-Tang War (wounded in action) and campaign against Xueyantuo as well. He personally led a

Tang campaign against Kucha The Tang campaign against Kucha was a military campaign led by the Tang dynasty general Ashina She'er against the Tarim Basin oasis state of Kucha in Xinjiang, which was aligned with the Western Turkic Khaganate. The campaign began in 648 and ...

in 648 with 100,000 strong Tiele cavalries. His deputy commanders were Qibi Heli (a Tiele chieftain who had also become a Tang general) and Guo Xiaoke. Campaign was a success but his deputy Guo was murdered by rebellious Kucheans. In retribution for the death of Guo Xiaoke, Ashina She'er ordered the execution of eleven thousand Kuchean inhabitants by decapitation. It was recorded that "he destroyed five great towns and with them many myriads of men and women... the lands of the west were seized with terror." After Kucha's defeat, Ashina dispatched a small force of light cavalry led by the lieutenant Xue Wanbei to Khotan, ruled by the king Yuchi Fushexin. The threat of an invasion persuaded the king to visit the Tang court in person. He was created Duke Bi (毕国公) by Taizong for his successes.

Later life

He requested to buried alongside Taizong upon his death or to be appointed as the guard of his tomb. However, he was dissuaded from that by the new emperor Gaozong, who created him General of the Right Guard. He died in 655 and buried alongside Taizong. He was posthumously renamed Yuan (元).

Family

He was married to Princess Hengyang (衡陽公主) and had two sons named

Ashina Buzhen Ashina Buzhen () was a member of the ruling caste of the Western Turks. He was appointed khagan by Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang dynasty after the conquest of the Western Turks. His fierce rivalry with his cousin, Ashina Mish ...

and Ashina Daozhen (阿史那道真) who was a general and participated as a deputy of

Xue Rengui Rengui (; 614 – 24 March 683), formal name Xue Li (薛礼) but went by the courtesy name of Rengui, was a Chinese military general during the early Tang dynasty. He is one of the most well-known military generals of his time due to his humble ...

in the war against

Tibetan Empire The Tibetan Empire (,) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. It expanded further under the 38th king, Trisong De ...

in 670.

In popular media

He was portrayed by Qumuqu Huoqiufeng in 2017 Chinese

costume drama Costume is the distinctive style of clothing, dress and/or cosmetics, makeup of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch—in short, culture. The term also was traditionally used ...

"''The World of Chang'an''" ( 天下长安). He was portrayed by Kudousi Jiang Ainiwaer in 2021 Chinese costume drama “The long ballad”(长歌行)

References

Sources

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

vol. 59
*

New Book of Tang The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...

vol. 35
{{Göktürks Ashina house of the Turkic Empire 600s births 655 deaths 7th-century monarchs in Asia