The Göktürk civil war or Turkic
interregnum
An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...
was a number of political crises in the
Turkic Khaganate first between 583 and 603, which resulted in the split of the
khaganate
A khanate ( ) or khaganate refers to historic polity, polities ruled by a Khan (title), khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. Khanates were typically nomadic Mongol and Turkic peoples, Turkic or Tatars, Tatar societies located on the Eurasian Steppe, ...
into
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
and
Eastern.
Background

The Turkic Khaganate was an empire stretching between the
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...
and the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
. The name of the ruling clan was
Ashina. The khagans were appointed by the ''
kurultay'' (council of tribe leaders), normally from the sons, brothers of nephews of the last ruler.
Beginning of the interregnum
In 581, the fourth
khagan
Khagan or Qaghan (Middle Mongol:; or ''Khagan''; ) or zh, c=大汗, p=Dàhán; ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan, Khaqan, Xagahn, Qaghan, Chagan, Қан, or Kha'an is a title of empire, im ...
,
Taspar Qaghan, died. There were four claimants to the throne. The personal and
regnal name
A regnal name, regnant name, or reign name is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they accede ...
s are shown below:
Bumin founded the dynasty and was followed in succession by his three sons: Issik, Muqan and Taspar. Prince Anlo was Taspar Qaghan's son, Talopien (Apa Qaghan) and Shetu (Ishbara Qaghan) were Taspar's nephews, while Tien-chueh (Tardu) was Taspar's cousin. (''see''
Göktürk family tree
The Göktürk family tree refers to the ruling Ashina clan of the Turkic Khaganate, a vast medieval empire which stretched from northeast China to the Black Sea.Jean Paul Roux: ''Türklerin Tarihi (Historie des Turcs)'', tr:Prof Dr Aykut Kazancı ...
)
Before dying, Taspar Qaghan had announced his preference for Apa Qaghan (then called Talopien) to succeed him instead of his son Anlo, although he had no right to determine the succession. During the ''
kurultay'' after Taspar's death, Ishbara (then called Shetu), who was also a claimant, saw that he had no chance and supported the pacifist Anlo against Apa on the ground that Apa's mother was not of noble birth.
['']Book of Sui
The ''Book of Sui'' () is the official history of the Sui dynasty, which ruled China in the years AD 581–618. It ranks among the official Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written by Yan Shigu, Kong Yingda, and Zhangsun Wuji, ...
'', Vol. 84 He threatened the ''kurultay'' that in case of Apa's election he would revolt. Thus the ''kurultay'' appointed Anlo as the new khan. However Anlo's regency was short-lived because of the reaction of Apa's partisans. Anlo quickly renounced the title on behalf of his powerful ally Shetu (Ishbara) who became the khan with the regnal name Ishbara Qaghan.
Partition
Ishbara Qaghan held the center, residing in the holy forest
Ötüken
Ötüken or Otuken ( or , , 'land of Ötüken'; ; ) was the capital of the First Turkic Khaganate, the Second Turkic Khaganate and the Uyghur Khaganate. It has an important place in Turkic mythology and Tengrism.
Ötüken is located within th ...
in modern-day central
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
. Tardush held the far west in what was becoming 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 ...
. The third khagan was Anlo, who controlled the region around the
Tuul River near
Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...
. Apa Qaghan, was sovereign in the northern territories.
Civil war
In 584, Ishbara Qaghan raided Apa Qaghan's territory and killed the Apa Qaghan's mother. Apa Qaghan took refuge in the west and allied himself with its powerful ruler
Tardu. Both Tardu and his brother
Tamgan
Tumgan (also known as Turkshad, Turxanthos) 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 552 Bumin ...
(Turksanf), the ruler of the
Volga river
The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...
area, supplied him with troops. Ishbara Qaghan wasn't able to compete with this force, and accepted the suzerainty of the
Sui dynasty
The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...
to protect himself. With Sui support he was able to capture Apa Khagan's family members. Apa Qaghan once again escaped west and settled in the
Poykent near
Bukhara
Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region.
People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...
(in modern
Uzbekistan
, image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg
, image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg
, symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem
, national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
). However, in his new territory, the former alliance broke and he lost the support of Tardu because of the disagreement over the control of the
Silk Road
The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...
. In 587, both Ishbara Qaghan and Apa Qaghan died.
Aftermath
After Ishbara and Apa died the east was held by Ishbara's brother
Bagha Qaghan (587-89) and Ishbara's son
Tulan Qaghan (589-99), while the west remained under Tardush (587-603). After Tulan's death Tardush briefly reunified east and west, but after 603 the two halves were definitely separated.
End of the first khaganate
There was a power vacuum between 630 and 682 after the Eastern Khaganate was conquered in 630 and the Western Khaganate in 657 by the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
. Although Ashina princes such as
Ashina Jiesheshuai
Ashina Jiesheshuai ( zh, t=阿史那結社率, s=阿史那结社率, p=Ashǐnà Jiēshèshuai, w=Ashihna Chieh-she-shuai;:zh:s:新唐書/卷002, ''New Book of Tang'' Vol. 2''Zizhi Tongjian'', :zh:s:資治通鑑/卷195, vol. 195.:zh:s:舊唐書/� ...
did try to restore Turkic Khaganate in 639, and
Ashina Funian in 681 they both failed. In 645,
Chebi Khan restored Turkic Khaganate from 645 until 650. It was subsequently annexed by the Tang. In 682 the Göktürks regained their independence and established the
Second Turkic Khaganate
The Second Turkic Khaganate was a khaganate in Central and Eastern Asia founded by the Ashina clan of the Göktürks that lasted between 682–744. It was preceded by the Eastern Turkic Khaganate (552–630) and the early Tang dynasty period ( ...
. Ashina Qutlugh was enthroned with the title
Ilterish Qaghan.
[(Taşağıl, (2014), p. 334)]
See also
*
Göktürk Kaghans
*
Timeline of the 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 exclusively abou ...
*
Uyghur timeline
This timeline is a supplement of the main article Uyghur. Dealing with the centuries between 400 and 900 AD, it refers to a critical period in the cultural formation of the Uyghur nation, as they transitioned from a minor Turkic tribe
...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gokturk Civil War
Military history of the Göktürks
Civil wars involving the states and peoples of Asia
580s
Civil wars of the Middle Ages
Western Turkic Khaganate
Wars of succession involving the states and peoples of Asia