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The Gök Türk Empire
 Category: Steppes and Central Asia: 500-1200 AD
Author: Ihsan Origins of the Türük People Establishment of the Gök Türk Empire
The Türüks were living under Rouran (aka Ruanruan) rule during the early-6th century. They were employed as blacksmiths for the Rouran ruler, because Turkic peoples were well known from their iron working. Under the leadership of their leader Bumïn (Tumen), they overthrew the Rouran yoke in 552, with the help of their allies, the Western Tuoba Wei Dynasty. Bumïn declared his independence in Ötüken (the sacred forest-mountain which later became the center of the Eastern Gök Türük Qaghanate), and earned the title Il-Qaghan. He appointed Istemi (Shedianmi), his brother, as the Yabghu of the Western territories of the newly-founded Gök Türk Qaghanate, but died within a year. Golden Age of the Eastern Qaghanate Bumïn Il-Qaghan was succeded by Qara Qaghan, but he also died soon and was replaced with Buqan (Mugan) Qaghan. During his reign, the Gök Türk Empire lived it's Golden Age, when the Rouran were finally defeated and with the help of Western Tuoba, totally massacred in 555. He then marched on the Khitans and the Qïrghïz and eventually brought them under Gök Türk rule. He also forced the Chinese Zhou and Qi Dynasties to pay tribute to him, while expanded the empire in a short time. With his brother Istemi Yabghu, he organized a campaign against the Hephtalites (White Huns) and destroyed them with the help of the Sâssânid Empire of Irân. He was also the first Turkic ruler to enter Transoxiana (after Zhizhi Chanyu of Western Xiongnu), and soon, Turkic rulers settled on the Soghdian-inhabited towns of Transoxiana, like Samarkand and Bukhara. When he died in 572, the Gök Türk borders had reached Manchuria to the East and Irân to the West. Decline of the Gök Türk Empire In 572, Buqan Qaghan died and Taspar Qaghan became the next ruler of the vast Gök Türk Empire. Even tough the Gök Türk Empire was still strong enough to compete with the rival Zhou and Qi Dynasties of China, the empire began to decline during his reign. One of the main reasons of this decline was Taspar's close ties with the Chinese Imperial Families and Buddhist monks. Taspar was inspired from the riches of China, and soon he began living in Chinese lifestyle. Chinese spies, disguised as Buddhist monks and envoys, soon began spreading propaganda between the other tribes that were ruled by the Gök Türks. This later resulted in the partition of the Gök Türk Empire (the Western half was already semi-independent). After Istemi's death, his son Tardu tried to overthrow Taspar but he was not succesful. He tried it again, during Ïshbara Qaghan's, Taspar's son, reign, and eventually declared his independence in 582. While these events were happening, the Sui Dynasty had already taken control of China. The Sui eventually provoked the two Gök Türk qaghanates to fight each other. Meanwhile, the Western Gök Türks invaded Khorâsân (ruled by Sâssânids) but they were defeated at Herat in 583.
Shibi Qaghan sat on the Gök Türk throne in 609, and recovered the past strenght of the Gök Türks. He advanced as far as Tibet (conquering the Tarim Basin and Turfan), cut the yearly tributes the Gök Türks were paying to the Sui, defeated the Imperial forces of the Sui Emperor, and eventually forced him to pay tribute. He died in 619, one year after the Tang Dynasty took control of China, and was succeded by Tuli Qaghan. Tuli Qaghan continued to raid China, but was poisoned by his Chinese wife in 621. Illig Qaghan was the last Eastern Gök Türk ruler; he also continued the raids into China, but he was taken prisoner in his last raiding campaign in 630. In the same year, Tang Taizong invaded Mongolia and destroyed the Eastern Gök Türk Qaghanate, whose territories were divided into Tang military provinces. Almost all the peoples under Gök Türk rule, like the Qïrghïz, Qarluqs, Toquz Oghuz (established by the Tiele against the Gök Türks) and many other Tiele tribes became independent. In the year 582, the Gök Türk Empire had splited into two qaghanates, as we mentioned before. The first Western Gök Türk ruler, Tardu, expanded his empire as far as Crimea and organized a campaign into China. The Sui raiding groups poisened all the water wells, and Tardu's army was defeated. After this defeat, many tribes revolted against the Gök Türk rule, and eventually, the Turkic group of peoples, known as Tiele (inaccurately called as Tölis by some people), killed Tardu in 603. There are a few Western Gök Türk rulers, but I'll just write about Tong Yabgu, who ruled between 618 and 630. During Tong Yabghu's rule, the Western Gök Türks re-gained their strenght, formed a new army, put down the revolts of the Tiele and defeated the Sâssânids. But, a new revolt broke up, this time by the Qarluqs and the On Oq (Ten Tribes of Western Gök Türks, including the Türgish), and this weakened the Western Gök Türk Qaghanate. Tong Yabgu was murdered by his uncle Sibi, and the Gök Türk princes began struggling with each other for the Gök Türk throne. The Tang intervened and ended the Gök Türk rule. Yet, it was not until 659 that the Gök Türks were totally brought under Tang rule. However, the Tang emperors continued to appoint puppet qaghans for the terriotories of the Western Gök Türk Qaghanate. In the late 7th century, the Türgish Qaghanate replaced the Western Gök Türk Qaghanate. Establishment of the Second Eastern Qaghanate The Gök Türk Empire was split into two parts in 582 and both qaghanates were subjugated into the Tang Dynasty in 630. The Gök Türks revolted many times but all the revolts were put down by Tang armies. The last of these revolts, started by Qutlugh and Tonyuquq in 680, finally overthrew the Tang yoke and declared a new Gök Türk Empire at Ötüken in 682 after defeating the Toquz Oghuz Qaghanate. He was declared as Iltirish Qaghan, meaning the ruler who re-created the empire, and appointed his brothers Bögü Chor (Mochuo) and Tuoxifu as the governors of Eastern and Western territories. Tonyuquq was appointed as "Ayghuchï", which was a title equivalent of Prime Minister. Iltirish Qaghan subjugated nearly all the tribes in Central Asia, except the On Oq and Qïrghïz. During his lifetime, he organized 46 campaigns and raiding mission into China and captured many resources. Iltirish Qaghan re-strengthened his empire and died in 692; at his death, the qaghanate's borders reached Tannu-Ola in the north, Altais in the west and the valleys of Onon-Kerülen in the east. He was succeded by Bögü Chor as Qapghan Qaghan, who ruled between 692 and 716 Rise of the Eastern Gök Türk Khaghanate Since Qutlugh's two sons, Mojilian Tigin and Köl Tigin, were only 8 and 7 years old when he died, Qutlugh's brother Bögü Chor accended to the Gök Türk throne. He re-organized the army, appointed Mojilian as the Shad (meaning Western governor), and declared his son Inel as his succesor. After re-organizing those things, he sent Tonyuquq to defeat an Anti-Gök Türk alliance of the Qïrghïz and On Oq. He crushed the alliance forces at two battles and advanced as far as the River Syr-Daryâ. In the same year, several raiding campaigns were organized against China and the Basmïls were brought under Gök Türk rule. In the year 710, the Qïrghïz revolted again but this revolt was put down quickly. In the following year, the Gök Türk army marched westwards, crushed the forces of Türgish, conquered Semirechie and Soghdiana and returned back in 712. Even tough Qapghan Qaghan expanded the empire in a very short time, he was a harsh ruler, and treated his subjects bitterly. This later caused many tribes to revolt against his rule, and the Türgish and Qarluq revolts were put down after a long struggle between 712 and 714. Qapghan Qaghan's last campaigns were against the rebel Toquz Oghuz tribes, but he was ambushed by a Bayïrqu warrior and he was killed in 716. The Toquz Oghuz rebellion was put down by Mojilian Tigin and Köl Tigin. However, the areas west of the Altais were lost, never to be recovered again. The Golden Age of the Eastern Qaghanate After Qapghan Qaghan's death, his son Inel became the next Gök Türk ruler, but he was not a capable ruler and he was overthrown by the brothers Mojilian and Köl Tigin in the same year. In a council, Mojilian was selected as the new ruler with the title Bilge Qaghan, his brother became the commander of all the Gök Türk armies, and Tonyuquq became the Ayghuchï again. Since Tonyuquq was born and raised in China, he had broad knowledge about this empire, and advised the Gök Türk rulers not to become too close with the Chinese. The rebellions in Mongolia were finally put down and Bilge Qaghan launched a campaign against the Tang China in 720 (the Tang had refused a peace proposal before and had declared war to the Gök Türks). The Tang were defeated and signed a final peace treaty with Bilge Qaghan. In 725, Tonyuquq died, and two monuments was erected to his honor. After Köl Tigin's death in 731, another monument was erected for Köl Tigin, and these later formed the basis of the Orkhon Inscriptions. These inscriptions were written by Bilge Qaghan's nephew Yollïg (or Yollugh) Tigin, and were the most important written records concerning the Gök Türk history (apart from the detailed Chinese sources). After Tonyuquq's and Köl Tigin's deaths, Bilge Qaghan didn't launch any other major campaigns, except his campaign against the rebellious Khitans and Tatabïs in 734. He was victorious, but he was poisoned by his minister-envoy Buyruq Chor in the same year. However, before his death, Bilge Qaghan was able to kill Buyruq Chor and his followers. Another monument was erected for him near Köl Tigin's monument Fall of the Qaghanate After Bilge Qaghan's death, the empire began to decline. He was succeded by seven qaghans, but these were not very capable rulers. During Teñri Qaghan's reign, the empire was actually ruled by his mother (Pofu Qatun, daughter of Tonyuquq), but the Qatun couldn't keep the empire as a single piece. Soon, the Gök Türk princes began struggling with each other, and the Rebellious Alliance, composed of Basmïls, Qarluqs and Uyghurs, captured Ötüken and deposed Özmish/Ozmïsh Qaghan, one of the last Gök Türk rulers, in 743. The last qaghan Baimei was killed in 744. Thus the Eastern Gök Türk Qaghanate ended. The Alliance soon broke up, the Uyghurs overthrew the Basmïl qaghan and expelled the Qarluqs in 745. With this event, the Uyghur Empire (also known as On Uyghur-Toquz Oghuz Qaghanate) was founded.. Legacy of the Gök Türks The most famous and important legacy of the Gök Türks were their inscriptions, which covered a general history of the Gök Türk Empire, starting from the time of Bumïn Qaghan in the mid-6th century. These inscriptions also contained quotes from the famous Gök Türk rulers and statesmen like Tonyuquq, Bilge Qaghan and Köl Tigin. The Gök Türks had their own alphabet, known as Turkic Runic, which was made to be carved on stone. Yet, the Gök Türks had earlierly used the Soghdian script. The other important thing the Gök Türks did was the conquest and Turkificiation of Transoxiana, which was inhabited by the Soghdians and Khwarazmians before the Turkic conquest. The name of the Gök Türks, Türük or Türk , was later given to all the Turkish-speaking tribes of Euroasia. The Türük themselves disappeared from history after the 920s, and unlike the common thought, they didn't form the basis of the Seljûqid and Ottoman Empires, which were founded by the Oghuz. Rulers Eastern Rulers: Bumïn Il-Qaghan: 551-552 Qara Qaghan: 552-553 Buqan Qaghan: 553-572 Tapar/Taspar Qaghan: 572-581 Anluo: 581 (Civil War, Qaghanate divided between several rulers, Shetu unifies the state) Ïshbara Qaghan: 582-587 Bagha/Yabghu Qaghan: 587-588 Dulan/Doulan Qaghan: 588-600 Qimin Qaghan: 600-609 Shibi Qaghan: 609-619 Tuli Qaghan: 619-621 Il/Illig Qaghan: 621-630 (in 630, Tang Dynasty destroys the Eastern Qaghanate) Dabu Qaghan (rebellious): 630-638 Yugu Shad: 638-639 Chebi Qaghan (rebellious): 639-648/650 Ashïna Nishufu Qaghan (rebellious): 679-680 Ashïna Funian Qaghan (rebellious): 681 Iltirish Qaghan: 682-691 Qapghan Qaghan: 691-716 Inel Qaghan: 716 Bilge Qaghan: 716-734 Yiran Kehan: 734-740 Te ñ ri Qaghan: 740-741 (name/title unknown; one of Bilge Qaghan's sons) (name/title unknown; one of Bilge Qaghan's sons) Qutlugh Yabghu: 741-742 Özmish/Ozmïsh Qaghan: 742-744 Baimei Qaghan: 744-745 Western Rulers: Istemi Yabghu (not independent): 552-576 Tardu Yabghu/Qaghan (mostly accepted as independent, some say it's his succesor who made the Western Qaghanate independent): 576-603 Chuluo Qaghan: 603-611 Shegui Qaghan: 611-618 Tong Yabghu Qaghan: 618-630 (Rulers after these are vassals of Tang) Moheduo Siqulisipi Dulu Yipi Boluosi Yabghu Duolu Qaghan Shaboluo Dielishi Yipi Duoluo Baghatur Yipi Yabghu Yipi Ïshbara Yabghu Yipi Shegui Ïshbara Qaghan Xingxiwang Qaghan and Jiwangjue Qaghan Ashina Yuanqing and Jiezhong Shizhu Qaghan Onoq Qaghan Ashina Huaidao Ashina Xian Ashina Xin ( For details, check here: http://steppes.proboards23.com/....1100782779 ) Events 552: Bumïn and Istemi overthrew the Rouran yoke 555: Final defeat of the Rouran 571: Istemi's campaigns in Transoxiana and Azerbaijan 582: Division of the Gök Türük Empire into Eastern and Western Qaghanates 585: Eastern Qaghanate accept Tang protectorate 600: Tardu's Chinese Campaign 603: Tiele tribes kill Tardu 610: Rise of the Eastern Qaghanate 618: Rise of the Western Qaghanate 630: Illig Qaghan captured by the Tang in his last raiding campaign, Tong Yabgu killed by his uncle, both Gök Türk qaghanates collapse 659: Last remnants of the Western Gök Türks subjugated by the Tang 682: Qutlugh founded the II. Eastern Gök Türk Qaghanate after defeating the Toquz Oghuz 693: Qapgan Qaghan's campaign against the On Oq and Qïrghïz 701: The Transoxanian Campaign 710-712: Campaigns on Qïrghïz, On Oq and Soghdiana 716: Qapgan Qaghan murdered by the Bayïrqu, his son is overthrown 720: Bilge Qaghan's Chinese Campaign 734: Bilge Kaghan's campaign against the rebellious Khitan and Tatabï, Bilge Qaghan poisoned 742-744: The Rebel Alliance capture Ötüken and depose the last Gök Türk ruler Article Written by: Ihsan Updated: September 2005 |