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Göktürks
The Göktürkler(s) or Köktürkler(s) were a Turkic people of ancient
Central Asia. Known in medieval Chinese sources as Tujue (突厥 Tūjué),
the Göktürks under the leadership of Bumin Khan (d. 552) and his sons
succeeded the Xiongnu (Turkish: Doğu Hun; Chinese: 匈奴; pinyin:
Xiōngnú; Wade-Giles: Hsiung-nu) as the main Turkic power in the region
and took hold of the lucrative Silk Road trade during the sixth century. The
Göktürk rulers originated from the Ashina tribe, an Altaic people who lived
in the northern corner of the area presently called Xinjiang. (:新疆|新疆).
Under their leadership, the Göktürks rapidly expanded to rule huge
territories in north-western China, North Asia and Eastern Europe (as far
west as the Crimea). They were the first Turkic tribe known to use the
name "Turk" as a political name. At their height, the Gokturks controlled a
vast area stretching from Eastern Europe all the way across northern
China. Their empire made contact with many cultures including Persia, and
facilitated the movement of cultural concepts from one area to another.
Their religion, Tengriism, a form of shamanism centered on a celestial
deity, Tengrii, includes elements which resemble concepts of Confucian
and Hindu thought.
The state's most famous personalities other than its founder Bumin were
princes Kül Tigin and Bilge and the general Tonyukuk, whose life stories
were recorded in the Orkhon inscriptions discovered in 1889 in the Orkhon
Valley in Mongolia. From 552 to 745, Göktürk leadership bound the
nomadic Turkic tribes together into an empire, which eventually collapsed
due to a series of dynastic conflicts. The Khanate received missionaries
from the Buddhists, Manicheans, and Nestorian Christians, but retained
their original shamanistic religion, Tengriism. From the eighth century, the
Göktürks used “Old Turkic script” (also “Göktürk script,” “Orkhon script,”
“Orkhon-Yenisey script;” Turkish: Orhun Yazıtları, 鄂爾渾文字) to record
the Old Turkic language.
Etymology
Göktürk petroglyphs from Mongolia.
The name Tujue (突厥), like the name “Ashina,” first appeared in Chinese
sources relatively late, with the connotation "strong" or "powerful" in a
record dated 542.[1] “Kök-Türks” is said to mean "Celestial Turks," but this
is contested. Alternate meanings are "Blue Turks," and "Numerous Turks;"
kök meant both "sky" and "blue" in the Köktürk language, and a similar
sounding word stands for "root." This is consistent with "the cult of
heavenly ordained rule," a pivotal concept of the Altaic political culture
before being imported to China.[2] Similarly, the name of the ruling Ashina
dynasty probably derives from the Khotanese Saka term for "deep blue,"
āšše(i)na.[3] The name might also derive from a Tungusic tribe related to
Aisin.[4]
According to the ancient East Asian cosmology outlined in the theory of the
Five Elements (五行 Wǔ-xíng), to which the Turks have also ascribed since
ancient times, the color blue symbolizes the eastern direction, and is
associated with good omens. The Guardian Deity of the Eastern Direction
is the Azure Dragon. It is possible that the Göktürks called themselves
"Blue Turks" in the primary sense of "East Turks," with all the associated
connotations of "first," "rising," "dawning," and "auspicious." Göktürk is
pronounced IPA: [ɡʲøkʲˈtʏɾk].
Origins
A copy of Göktürk (Orkhon) Epigraph in Ankara, Turkey
The Göktürk rulers originated from the Ashina tribe, an Altaic people who
lived in the northern corner of the area presently called Xinjiang ‫ ﺍﺝﻥﻯﺵ‬,
Shinjang; Chinese: 新疆; pinyin: Xīnjiāng; Wade-Giles: Hsin1-chiang1;
Postal map spelling: "Sinkiang"). The Gokturks were the first Turkic tribe to
use the name "Turk" as a political name.
Four hundred years after the collapse of northern Xiongnu power in Inner
Asia, leadership of the Turks was taken over by the Göktürks following a
rebellion against the Rouran' (Chinese: 柔然; pinyin: Róurán; literally "softlike"; Wade-Giles: Jou-jan), Ruanruan/Ruru (Chinese: 蠕蠕/茹茹; pinyin:
Ruǎnruǎn/Rúrú; literally "wriggling insects/fodder") also known as “Tan
Tan,” a confederation of nomadic tribes that existed on the northern
borders of China Proper from the late fourth century until the late sixth
century. Formerly part of the Xiongnu nomadic confederation, the Göktürks
inherited their traditions and administrative experience. From 552 to 745,
Göktürk leadership bound the nomadic Turkic tribes together into an
empire, which eventually collapsed due to a series of dynastic conflicts.
The great difference between the Göktürk Khanate and its Xiongnu
predecessor was that the Göktürks' temporary khans from the Ashina clan
were subordinate to a sovereign authority wielded by a council of tribal
chiefs. The Khanate received missionaries from the Buddhists,
Manicheans, and Nestorian Christians, but retained their original
shamanistic religion, Tengriism.
From the eighth century, the Göktürks used “Old Turkic script” (also
“Göktürk script,” “Orkhon script,” “Orkhon-Yenisey script;” Turkish: Orhun
Yazıtları, 鄂爾渾文字) to record the Old Turkic language.
First Unified Empire
Göktürk khaganates at their height, c. 600 C.E.:
██ Western Göktürk: Lighter area is direct rule, darker areas show sphere of influence.
██ Eastern Göktürk: Lighter area is direct rule, darker areas show sphere of influence.
The Turks' rise to power began in 546 when Bumin Khan (d. 552) made a
pre-emptive strike against the Uyghur and Tiele tribes who were planning a
revolt against their overlords, the Rouran. He expected to be rewarded with
marriage to a Rouran princess, and when his hopes were disappointed
Bumin allied with the Wei state against Rouran, their common enemy. In
552, Bumin defeated the last Rouran Khan, Yujiulü Anagui (Chinese:
郁久閭阿那瓌; pinyin: Yùjiǔlǘ Ānàgūi). He also subdued the Yenisei Kyrgyz
and the Khitans of Western Manchuria, was formally recognized by China,
and married the Wei princess Changle.
Having excelled both in battle and diplomacy, Bumin declared himself IlQaghan ("great king of kings") of the new Göktürk empire at Otukan, the
old Xiongnu capital, but he died a year later. His son Mukhan consolidated
his conquests into an empire of global reach. Bumin's brother Istämi (d.
576) was titled yabghu of the west and collaborated with the Persian
Sassanids to defeat and destroy the White Huns, who were allies of the
Rouran. This war tightened the Ashina's grip on the Silk Road and drove
the Avars into Europe.
Istämi's policy of western expansion brought the Turks into Eastern
Europe. In 576 the Göktürks crossed the Cimmerian Bosporus into the
Crimea. Five years later they laid siege to Tauric Chersonesus; their
cavalry kept roaming the steppes of Crimea until 590.[5] The southern
borders were drawn south of the Oxus River, bringing the Ashina into
conflict with their former allies, the Sassanids of Persia. Much of Bactria
(including Balkh) remained a dependency of the Ashina until the end of the
century.[6] In 588 the Ashina were under the walls of Herat, but Bahram
Chobin ably countered the invasion during the First Perso-Turkic War.
In the eastern part of their extensive dominions, the Göktürk Empire
maintained close political ties with the Goguryeo Empire of Korea which
controlled southern Manchuria and the northern part of the Korean
Peninsula. Exchanges of gifts, military alliances, and free trade
agreements took place between them. Both rival states in north China paid
large tributes to the Göktürks from 581.
Civil War
This first Göktürk Empire split in two after the death of the fourth Qaghan,
Taspar Khan (Tabo, Tuobo, Tapo Khan, 佗鉢) (ca. 584), the third son of
Bumin Khan and Wei Changle (長樂公主). Unlike his father and older
brothers he embraced Chinese culture, and was converted to Buddhism[7]
by the Qi monk Huilin, for whom he built a pagoda. Taspar's death created
a dynastic crisis in the Khaganate. Taspar had bequeathed the title
Qaghan to Talopien, the son of his elder brother Muhan Khan. His bequest
ran contrary to the traditional system of inheritance which demanded the
throne to be passed to the son of the eldest brother, Ishbara. The high
council rejected the legality of Taspar's will and appointed Ishbara as the
next khagan. Before long four rival khans claimed the title of Qaghan. They
were successfully played off against each other by the Sui and Tang
dynasties of China.
This crisis ultimately resulted in the civil war of 581-603, which marked the
beginning of a long decline and subjugation of the Göktürks by China. The
most serious contender was the Western Khan, Istämi's son Tardu, a
violent and ambitious man who had already declared himself independent
from the Qaghan after his father's death. He now titled himself Qaghan, led
an army to the east to claim the seat of imperial power, Otukan, and almost
succeeded in reuniting the Gokturk Empire.[8] To strengthen his position,
Ishbara of the Eastern Khanate applied to the Chinese Emperor Yang of
Sui (隋煬帝, 569 - March 11, 618), for protection. Tardu attacked Changan
( 長安), the Sui capital, around 600, demanding that Emperor Yang end his
interference in the civil war. In retaliation, Chinese diplomacy successfully
incited a revolt of Tardu's Tiele vassal tribes, which led to Tarduʼs death
and the end of his reign in 603. Among the dissident tribes were the
Uyghur and Syr-Tardush.
Dual Empires
Orkhon tablet, eighth century.
The civil war left the empire divided into eastern and western parts. The
eastern part, still ruled from Ötüken, remained in the orbit of the Sui Empire
and retained the name Göktürk. The khans Shipi (609-619) and Khieli
(620-630) of the East attacked China at its weakest moment during the
transition between the Sui and Tang dynasties. All in all, 67 incursions on
Chinese territories were recorded.[9] Khieli (Khan Hsien) was brought down
by a revolt of his Tiele vassal tribes (626-630), allied with Emperor Taizong
of Tang (唐太宗). This tribal alliance is referred to in Chinese historical
records as the Huihe (Uyghur). After the Khan was taken prisoner, the
Tang dynasty divided his empire into protectorates.
The Western khans Shekuei and Tung Yabğu (d. 628[10]) (also known as
“T'ung Yabghu,” “Ton Yabghu,” “Tong Yabghu Khagan,” “'Tun Yabghu,”
and “Tong Yabğu,” Traditional Chinese 統葉護可汗) constructed an
alliance with the Byzantine Empire against the Persian Sassanids and
succeeded in restoring the southern borders along the Tarim and Oxus
rivers. Their capital was Suyab in the Chui River valley, about 60 km east
of modern Tokmok. In 627 Tung Yabğu, assisted by the Khazars and
Emperor Heraclius, launched a massive invasion of Transcaucasia which
culminated in the taking of Derbent and Tbilisi (see the Third Perso-Turkic
War for details). In April, 630, Tung's deputy Buri-sad sent the Göktürk
cavalry to invade Armenia, where his general Chorpan Tarkhan succeeded
in routing a large Persian force. Tung Yabğu's murder in 630 forced the
Göktürks to evacuate Transcaucasia.
The Western Turkic Khaganate was modernized through an administrative
reform of Ishbara-Qağan (reigned 634-639) and came to be known as the
Onoq.[11] The name refers to "ten arrows" that were granted by the khagan
to five leaders (shads) of its two constituent tribal confederations, Tulu and
Nushipi, whose lands were divided by the Chui River.[12] The division
fostered the growth of separatist tendencies, and soon the Bulgarian tribes
under the Dulo chieftain Kubrat seceded from the khaganate. In 657, the
eastern part of the khaganate was overrun by the Tang general Su Ding
Fang, while the central part emerged as the independent khaganate of
Khazaria, led by a branch of the Ashina dynasty.
In 659 the Tang Emperor of China could claim to rule the entire Silk Road
as far as Po-sse (Persia). The Turks now carried Chinese titles and fought
side-by-side with the Chinese in their wars. The era spanning 659-681 was
characterized by numerous independent rulers, weak, divided, and
engaged in constant petty wars. In the east, the Uyghurs defeated their
one-time allies the Syr-Tardush, while in the west the Turgesh emerged as
successors to the Onoq.
econd Empire
Asia in 700 C.E., showing the Eastern or 2nd Göktürk Empire.
In 681 Ilteriş Şad (Idat) and his brother Bäkçor Qapağan Khan (Mo-ch'o)
revolted against Chinese domination and gradually re-established the
Khanate. Over the following decades, they steadily gained control of the
steppes beyond the Great Wall of China. By 705, they had expanded as far
south as Samarkand and threatened Arab control of Transoxiana. The
Göktürks clashed with the Umayyad Califate in a series of battles (712713) in which the Arabs again emerged as victors.
Following the Ashina tradition, the power of the Second Empire was
centered on Ötükän (the upper reaches of the Orkhon River). This polity
was described by historians as "the joint enterprise of the Ashina clan and
the Soghdians, with large numbers of Chinese bureaucrats being involved
as well".[13]The eighth century “Orkhon inscriptions” discovered in 1889 in
the Orkhon Valley in Mongolia, area historical record of the
accomplishments of several Gokturk leaders including Tonyukuk, Bilge
Khan, and Kül Tigin. Tonyukuk (暾欲谷, died c. 724 C.E.), was the yabgu
and commander-in-chief of four Göktürk khagans, the best known of whom
is Bilge Khan. The son of Ilteriş, Bilge, or Piqie Khan (also “Arslan Bilgä
Khağan.” Chinese: 毗伽可汗, personal name “Ashina Mojilian”
(阿史那默棘連); 683 or 684 - 734), was a strong leader like his father. Kül
Tigin 闕特勒 (685 - 731 or 732 C.E.) was a famous general.
After Bilgeʼs death in 734 the empire declined. The Göktürks ultimately fell
victim to a series of internal crises and renewed Chinese campaigns.
When Kutluk Khan of the Uyghurs allied himself with the Karluks and
Basmyls, the power of the Göktürks was waning. In 744 Kutluk seized
Ötükän and beheaded the last Göktürk khagan Özmish Khan, whose head
was sent to the Chinese court.[14] In a space of few years, the Uyghurs
gained mastery of Inner Asia and established the Uyghur Khaganate
(Chinese: 回纥 / 回鶻).
During the eleventh century, the Oguz migrated westward into Iran and
Afghanistan.
Rulers
First Göktürk Empire
• Ashina Tuwu
o Yili Qaghan / Ashina Tumen (552 - 553) elder son of Tuwu
 Yixiji Qaghan / Ashina Keluo (553 - 554) son of Tumen
• Shabolue Qaghan / Ashina Shetu (581 - 587) son
of Kelou
o Xiegashiduona Dulan / Ashina Chuluohou
(588 - 599) son of Shetu
 Tuli Qaghan or Qimin Qaghan /
Ashina Rangan (599 - 609) son of
Chuluohou
• Shibi Qaghan / Ashina Duoji
(609 - 619) son of Rangan
• Chuluo Qaghan / Ashina Qilifu
(619 - 621) younger brother of
Duoji
• Jiali Qaghan / Ashina Duobi
(621 - 630) third son of
Rangan
• Yehu Qaghan or Mohe Qaghan / Ashina
Yongyulu (587 - 588) brother of Shetu
 Mugan Qaghan / Ashina Qijin (554 - 572) younger
brother of Kelou
 Tuobo Qaghan / Unknown name (572 - 581) younger
brother of Qijin
• Unknown title / Ashina Anluo (581) son of Tuobo
Qaghan
Rival Qağans of Ishbara
• Rudan Buli Khan 580s
• Talopien Apa Khan 580s
• Tardu Datou Khan (also known as Bujia Khan) (599 - 603)
Western Qaghans
• Ashina Tuwu
o Istämi Yabghu (553 - 573) (defacto qağan in west) second son of
Tuwu
o Tardu Datou Khan (599 - 603)
o Nili Khan 603 and Chulo Khan (603 - 611)
o Shekuei (611 - 618)
o Tung Yabğu (618 - 630)
o Yiwu Khan (630)
Interim claimants of Eastern Tujue throne
• Qilibi Khan (639 - 644) (Tang vassal)
• Chebi Khan (~646 - 649)
• Ashina Nishoufu (679-680)
• Ashina Funian (681)
Second Göktürk Empire
• Ilteris Sad (Idat) (682-694)
• Qapagan Khaghan (Mo-ch'o) (694 - 716)
• Inäl Khan 716
• Bilgä Khan (716 - 734) (murdered)
• Kul Tigin Khan (716 - 731) (co-ruler with Bilge)
• Yollug Khan (735 - )
• Icen Khan - (744)
• Etimis Khan 9744-747) (in exile)
See also
Turkic peoples
Orkhon script
Khazars
Kangju
Notes
↑ Zongzheng Xue. A History of Turks. (Beijing: Chinese Social Sciences
Press, 1992. ISBN 7500404328), 39-85
↑ André Wink. Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World. (Brill
Academic Publishers, 2002. ISBN 0391041738), 64.
↑ Carter Vaughin Findley. The Turks in World History. (Oxford University
Press, 2005. ISBN 0195177266), 39.
↑ Xueyuan Zhu. The Origins of Northern China's Ethnicities. (Beijing:
Zhonghua Shuju, 2004. ISBN 7101033369), 68-91.
↑ René Grousset. The Empire of the Steppes. (Rutgers University Press,
1970. ISBN 0813513049), 81.
↑ Grousset
↑ Carter V. Findley. The Turks in World History. (Oxford University Press
US, 2005, ISBN 0195177266), 48 [1].books.google.
↑ Gokturk Indopedia.org. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
↑ Grousset, 81
↑ Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 193
↑ Lev Gumilev. The Gokturks. (Древние тюрки). (Moscow: AST, 2007.
ISBN 5170247931), 238.
↑ Gumilev
↑ Wink, 66.
↑ Grousset, 114.
References
Findley, Carter Vaughin. The Turks in World History. Oxford University
Press, 2005. ISBN 0195177266.
Great Soviet Encyclopaedia, 3rd ed. Article "Turkic Khaganate" (online
Retrieved September 11, 2008.).
Grousset, René. The Empire of the Steppes. Rutgers University Press,
1970. ISBN 0813513049.
Gumilev, Lev. The Gokturks (Древние тюрки). Moscow: AST, 2007.
ISBN 5170247931.
Wink, André. Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World. Brill
Academic Publishers, 2002. ISBN 0391041738.
Xue, Zongzheng. A History of Turks. Beijing: Chinese Social Sciences
Press, 1992. ISBN 7500404328.
Zhu, Xueyuan. The Origins of Northern China's Ethnicities. Beijing:
Zhonghua Shuju, 2004. ISBN 7101033369.
External links
All links retrieved September 11, 2008.
The Gok-Turks Khansozturkler.com. Interpretation of the importance of
Gokturks.
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