Suluk, Sul-lu or Sulu (?-738) was a

Türgesh The Türgesh or Türgish (; ; Old Tibetan: ''Du-rgyas'') were a Turkic tribal confederation. Once belonging to the Duolu wing of the Western Turkic ''On Oq'' elites, Türgeshes emerged as an independent power after the demise of the Western T ...

tribal leader and a Qaghan who defended

Transoxiana Transoxiana or Transoxania (, now called the Amu Darya) is the Latin name for the region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...

against

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

conquest in the early 8th century.

Background

Türgesh was a park of confederation known as On-Oq Turks, (a group of tribes) around

. Initially, their territory was a part of 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 Bu ...

, then part of Western Turkic Qaghanate. After defeat of 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 ...

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 ...

in 658 resulted in the creation of puppet khaganates 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 be confused with the Chinese tributary system. The term "Jimi" was first s ...

. The Türgesh chieftains Wuzhile and his son Suoge were able to declare independence after the rebellion of Ashina Tuizi. However, after Ilterish Khagan re-established the

Turkic Khaganate The Göktürks founded two major khanates known as the Turkic Khaganate: * First Turkic Khaganate, which then fractured into ** Western Turkic Khaganate ** Eastern Turkic Khaganate * Second Turkic Khaganate The Second Turkic Khaganate was a kha ...

in 681, competition to control 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 ...

caused tension between the Khaganate and Türgesh khaghans. At the beginning of the 8th century, the Türgesh were subjugated by the Turkic Khaganate, but this was not long lasting.

Early Reign

Suluk was a Chor serving under Suoge before the Battle of Bolchu. After Suoge's defeat, the Türgesh migrated to south of Zhetysu valley. During

Qapaghan Qaghan Qapaghan or Qapghan Qaghan (, meaning "the conqueror", , Xiao'erjing: ٿِيًا شًا, Dungan: Чяншан, , also called Bögü Qaghan () in Bain Tsokto inscriptions) was the second khagan of the Second Turkic Khaganate during Wu Zetian's ...

's death and

Kul Tegin Kul Tigin ( zh, 闕特勤, Pinyin: Quètèqín, Wade–Giles: chüeh-t'e-ch'in, AD 684–731) was a general and a prince of the Second Turkic Khaganate. Etymology Necip Asım (1921) initially gave his name as ''köl'', based on the et ...

's coup, they used the opportunity to reassert independence and chose Suluk, a ''Black Türgesh'' chieftain to be their supreme leader in 715 or 716. However as in Suoge's case, he was not acknowledged as a Khagan by Tang. Ashina Xian was appointed "''Shixing Qaghan''" and Suluk was assigned as his subordinate general with titles "Great General of the Left Wing of the Forestial Army" (左羽林軍大將軍) and "Grand Military Commissioner of Jinfang" (經略大使金方) by Xuanzong. However, this ended up causing a rift between the two, as Suluk defeated Xian on June or July of 717, besieging Aksu and Uch Turfan along the way. He declared himself as khagan during August or September. Xuanzong had to accept Suluk's independence and titled him as the Duke of Shunguo (順国公) in 718 and Zhongshun Khagan () in 719.

Struggle against Umayyads

With his eastern flank secured, beginning by 721, Suluk fought against the Arab armies for ten years. Backed by other local powers (including the

Sogdia Sogdia () or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemen ...

ns) against the invading Umayyads, his operations were generally

hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the criminal act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there ma ...

operations and his maneuvers were aimed at the depriving the invading army of water. Although his army was much smaller than that of the Arabs, Suluk found success through his familiarity with the local area. Throughout the conflicts, the Arab army had to withdraw to find fresh water, such as in the Day of Thirst in 724 and the

Battle of the Defile The Battle of the Defile or Battle of the Pass () was fought in the Takhtakaracha Pass (in modern Uzbekistan) between a large army of the Umayyad Caliphate and the Turkic Türgesh khaganate over three days in July 731 CE. The Türgesh had bee ...

in 731. He was known by Arabs as ''Abū Muzāhim'' ("Father of the Competition").

Later reign

Suluk had a conflict with Du Xian in 726. When Princess Jiaohe, one of Suluk's wives, sent messengers and 1,000 horses to Du's headquarters to sell horses, the messengers read of an order from her, which Du responded by angrily stating, "How dare an Ashina woman issue me an order?". Du had the messengers caned and the horses detained. In late 726, after Du left his office, Suluk attacked

Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Xinjiang, Northwestern 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, Ch ...

, causing much damage. Suluk only withdrew from the attack when he heard that Du had been made chancellor. On 27 October 735, Suluk attacked Beshbaliq, however his forces was crushed by Tang's armies. He was then forced to send his envoy Ulu Tarkhan (胡禄达干) to make peace. Another defeat at Battle of Kharistan in 737 sealed Suluk's fate. He was killed in 737 or 738 by

Baga Tarkhan Baga may refer to: People * Baga (king) (3rd century BC), a king of ancient Mauretania * Ena Baga (1906–2004), English pianist * Kiri Baga (born 1995), American figure skater * Rita Baga, Canadian drag queen * Baga Chipz, stage name of Leo Lore ...

, one of his relatives.Melek Tekin: ''Türk Tarihi'', Milliyet yayınları, 1991, İstanbul

Aftermath

The death of Suluk caused a civil war, which divided the Türgesh into two rival factions: the ''Yellow Türgesh'', who supported

and the ''Black Türgesh'', who supported Kut Chor.

Bilge Khagan Bilge Qaghan (; ; 683 – 25 November 734) was the fourth khagan, Qaghan of the Second Turkic Khaganate. His accomplishments were described in the Orkhon inscriptions. Names As was the custom, his personal name and the name after assuming the t ...

, the last of the able Turkic khagans, was already dead and with the death of Suluk, Transoxiana was opened to Arabic conquest. Around this time there was a power shift in the

Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

, as the

dynasty was supplanted by the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

dynasty. The policy of the Abbasid Caliphs was more peaceful than that of the Umayyads and Arab control of Transoxiana was limited to the occupation of a few forts.

Family

He had three wives:L.M.Gumiliev:Eski Türkler (Translation:D.Ahsen Batur), Selenge Yayınları, İstanbul, 2003, pp.429-431 * Princess Jiaohe (交河公主) - m. 722,

Ashina Huaidao Ashina Huaidao (704–708) was a puppet Turkic khagan under the Tang dynasty. Life Huaidao was a son of Ashina Huseluo. He was sent to Turgesh leader Sakal by Tang to negotiate submission in 706. After achieving this, he was appointed as Shi ...

's daughter *

Bilge Qaghan Bilge Qaghan (; ; 683 – 25 November 734) was the fourth Qaghan of the Second Turkic Khaganate. His accomplishments were described in the Orkhon inscriptions. Names As was the custom, his personal name and the name after assuming the title ...

's daughter - m. 733 * Drönmalon - m. 734,

Tridu Songtsen Tridu Songtsen (), Tridu Songtsen or Dusong Mangban, (b.668 – 704d.; r. 676–704 CE) was the 36th king of Tibet and reigned during the Tibetan Empire period. Ascent to throne 'Dus-rong ascended the Tibetan throne after the death of his father, ...

's daughter Issues: * Kut Chor (738-739) * Ton Apa Yabghu

References

External links

Sapèques des Türgish
{{in lang, fr Türgesh khagans 8th-century monarchs in Asia 738 deaths Year of birth unknown Muslim conquest of Transoxiana