Early history ). The first
Chinese reference to the Karluks (644) labels them with a
Manichaean attribute:
Lion Karluks (
"Shi-Geluolu",
"shi" stands for
Sogdian "lion"). The "lion" () Karluks persisted up to the time of the
Mongols. In the
Early Middle Ages, three member tribes of the
Göktürk Khaganate formed the Uch-Karluk (Three Karluks) union; initially, the union's leader bore the title
Elteber, later elevated to
Yabgu. After the split of the khaganate around 600 into the
Western and
Eastern khaganates, the Uch-Karluks (三姓葛邏祿), along with Chuyue (處月; later as
Shatuo 沙陀), Chumi (處蜜), Gusu (姑蘇), and Beishi (卑失) became subordinate to the
Western Turkic Khaganate. After the Göktürks' downfall, the Karluk confederation would later incorporate other
Turkic tribes like the
Chigils,
Tuhsi,
Azkishi,
Türgesh,
Khalajes,
Čaruk,
Barsqan, as well as
Iranian Sogdians and West Asian and Central Asian migrants. In 630,
Ashina Helu, the
Ishbara Qaghan of the
Eastern Turkic Khaganate, was captured by the
Chinese. His
heir apparent, the "lesser Khan" Hubo, escaped to
Altai with a major part of the people and 30,000 soldiers. He conquered the Karluks in the west, the
Kyrgyz in the north, and took the title
Yizhuchebi Khagan. The Karluks allied with the
Tiele and their leaders the
Uyghurs against the Turkic Khaganate, and participated in enthroning the victorious head of the Uyghurs (
Toquz Oghuz). After that, a smaller part of the Karluks joined the Uyghurs and settled in the
Bogdo-Ola mountains in
Mongolia, the larger part settled in the area between
Altai and the eastern
Tian Shan. In 650, at the time of their submission to the Chinese, the Karluks had three tribes:
Mouluo 謀落/
Moula 謀剌 (*
Bulaq),
Chisi 熾俟 or
Suofu 娑匐 (*
Sebeg), and
Tashili 踏實力 (*
Taşlïq). On paper, the Karluk divisions received Chinese names as Chinese provinces, and their leaders received Chinese state titles. Later, the Karluks spread from the valley of the river Kerlyk along the
Irtysh River in the western part of the
Altai to beyond the
Black Irtysh,
Tarbagatai, and towards the
Tian Shan. By the year 665 the Karluk union was led by a former Uch-Karluk
bey with the title Kül-Erkin, now titled "
Yabgu" (prince), who had a powerful army. The Karluk vanguard left the Altai region and at the beginning of the 8th century reached the banks of the
Amu Darya. They were considered a vassal state by the
Tang dynasty after the final conquest of the
Transoxania regions by the Chinese in 739. The Karluk rose in rebellion against the Göktürks, then the dominant tribal confederation in the region, in about 745, and established a new tribal confederation with the
Uygur and
Basmyl tribes. However, Karluks and Basmyls were defeated and forcibly incorporated into the
Toquz Oghuz tribal confederation, led by the Uyghur
Yaglakar clan. They remained in the Chinese sphere of influence and an active participant in fighting the
Muslim expansion into the area, up until their split from the
Tang in 751. Chinese intervention in the affairs of
Western Turkestan ceased after their defeat at the
Battle of Talas in 751 by the
Arab general Ziyad ibn Salih. The Arabs dislodged the Karluks from
Fergana. In 766, after they overran the
Türgesh in
Jetisu, the Karluk tribes formed a
Khanate under the rule of a
Yabghu, occupied
Suyab and transferred their capital there. By that time the bulk of the tribe had left the
Altai, and the supremacy in Jetisu passed to the Karluks. Their ruler with the title Yabghu is often mentioned in the
Orkhon inscriptions. The fall of the Western Turkic Kaganate left
Jetisu in the possession of Turkic peoples, independent of either Arabs or Chinese.
Culture '': a
Nestorian Christian plate with decoration of a besieged
Jericho, by Sogdian artists under Karluk dominion,
Semirechye. 9th-10th century, copied from an 8th century plate with designs and military equipment related to
Penjikent. , 9th–10th century CE, created under Karluk dominion. The Karluks were hunters, nomadic herdsmen, and agriculturists. They settled in the countryside and in the cities, which were centered on trading posts along the caravan roads. The Karluks inherited a vast multi-ethnic region, whose diverse population was not much different from its rulers.
Jetisu was populated by several tribes: the
Azes (mentioned in the
Orkhon inscriptions) and the
Tuhsi, remnants of the
Türgesh; as well as the
Shatuo Turks (沙陀突厥) (lit. "Sandy Slope Turks", i.e. "Desert Turks") of Western Turkic, specifically of
Chigil origins, and the interspersing
Sogdian colonies. The southern part of Jetisu was occupied by the
Yagma people, who also held
Kashgar. In the north and west lived the
Kangly. Chigils, who had joined and been a significant division of the Three-Karluks, then detached and resided around
Issyk Kul. Particularly, the
Chigils were
Christians of the
Nestorian denomination. The majority of the
Toquz Oghuz, with their khan, were
Manicheans, but there were also
Christians,
Buddhists, and
Muslims among them. The peaceful penetration of
Muslim culture through commercial relations played a far more important role in their conversion than Muslim arms. The merchants were followed by missionaries of various creeds, including
Nestorian Christians. Many
Turkestan towns had Christian churches. The Turks held sacred the Qastek pass mountains, believing to be an abode of the deity. Each creed carried its script, resulting in a variety of used scripts, including
Türkic runiform,
Sogdian,
Syriac, and later the
Uygur. During the next three centuries, the
Karluk Yabgu state (later
Kara-Khanid Khanate) occupied a key position on the international trade route, fighting off mostly
Turkic competitors to retain their prime position. Their biggest adversaries were
Kangly in the northwest and
Toquz Oghuz in the southeast, with a period of
Samanid raids to
Jetisu in 840–894. But even in the heyday of the Karluk Yabgu state, parts of its domains were in the hands of the Toquz Oghuz, and later under
Kyrgyz and
Khitan control, increasing the ethnical, religious, and political diversity.
Social organization The state of
Karluk Yabghu was an association of semi-independent districts and cities, each equipped with its own
militia. The biggest was the capital
Suyab, which could turn out 20,000 warriors, and among other districts, the town of Beglilig (known as "Samakna" before Karluk rule) had 10,000 warriors,
Panjikat could turn out 8,000 warriors,
Barskhan 6,000 warriors, and Yar 3,000 warriors. The titles of the petty rulers were Qutegin of the Karluk Laban clan in Karminkat, Taksin in Jil, Tabin-Barskhan in Barskhan, Turkic Yindl-Tegin and
Sogdian Badan-Sangu in Beglilig. The prince of
Suyab, situated north of the
Chu river in the
Türgesh land, was a brother of one of the Göktürk khans, but bore the Persian title Yalan-shah, i.e. "King of Heroes". Muslim authors describe in detail the trade route from Western Asia to China across
Jetisu, mentioning many cities. Some bore double names, both
Turkic and
Sogdian. They wrote about the capital cities of
Balasagun,
Suyab, and Kayalik, in which
William of Rubruck saw three
Buddhist temples in the
Muslim town for the first time. The geographers also mentioned
Taraz (Talas, Auliya-ata),
Navekat (now Karabulak), Atbash (now Koshoy-Kurgan ruins),
Issyk-kul,
Barskhan,
Panjikat,
Akhsikat, Beglilig,
Almalik, Jul, Yar, Ton, Panchul, and others.
Kyrgyz period Prior to the
Kyrgyz-
Uyghur war of 829–840, the
Kyrgyz lived in the upper basin of the
Yenisei River. Linguistically
their language, together with the
Altai language, belongs to a separate Kyrgyz group of the
Turkic language family. At that time they had an estimated population of 250,000 and an army of 50,000. Kyrgyz victory in the war brought them to the
Karluk door. They captured
Tuva,
Altai, a part of
Dzungaria, and reached
Kashgar. Allied with the Karluks against the Uyghurs, in the 840s the Kyrgyz started the occupation of that part of
Jetisu which is their present home. Karluk independence ended around 840. They fell from dominating the tribal association to a subordinate position. The Kyrgyz remained a power in Jetisu until their destruction by the
Kara-Khitans in 1124, when most of them evacuated from their center in
Tuva back to the
Minusinsk Depression, The fall of the last
khagan with its capital in
Ötüken, which dominated for three centuries, created a completely new geopolitical situation in all
Central Asia. For the first time in three hundred years, the powerful center of authority that created opportunities for expansion or even existence of any state in
Turkestan had finally disappeared. Henceforth, the
Turkic tribes recognized only the high status of the clan that inherited the Khagan title, but never again his unifying authority. Several
Muslim historians state that after the loss by the
Uyghurs of their power (840), the supreme authority among the Turkic tribes passed to the Karluk leaders. Connection with the
Ashina clan, the ruling clan of the
Turkic Khaganate, allowed the Karluk dynasty to dress their authority with legitimate attire, and, abandoning the old title
Yabghu, to take on the new title of
Khagan.
Karakhanid period ruler
Mahmud of Ghazni, who is riding an elephant, in 1017. They agreed to partition former
Samanid territory along the
Oxus river. ''
Jami' al-tawarikh'', circa 1306–14. Towards 940 the "
heathen"
Yagma from the southern border seized the
Chu river valley and the Karluk capital
Balasagun. The Yagma ruler bore the title
Bogra Khan (Camel Khan), very common among
Karakhanids. The Yagma quickly proceeded to take control of all Karluk lands. In the 10th and 12th centuries, the lands on both sides of the principal chain of the
Tian Shan were united under the rule of the Karakhanid Ilek-khans (Khans of the Land) or simply Karakhanids (Great Khans). The Karakhanid state was divided into fiefs which soon became independent. The Kara-Khanid Khanate was founded in the 9th century from a confederation of
Karluks,
Chigils,
Yagmas, and other tribes. Later in the 10th century a Karakhanid
Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan converted to Islam. His son Musa made Islam a state religion in 960. The empire occupied modern northern
Iran and parts of
Central Asia. This region remained under the Karakhanids, but for varying periods it was an autonomous vassal of
Seljuks and
Kara-Khitans. The Karakhanid Khanate ended when the last ruler of its western khanate was killed by the
Khwarezmids in 1212. Both the Kara-Khitans and the Khwarezmids were later destroyed by the
Mongol invasion. The name Khāqāniyya was given to the Karluks who inhabited
Kashgar and
Balasagun, whose inhabitants were not
Uyghur however their language has
been retroactively labelled as Uyghur by scholars.
Khitan period At the beginning of the 10th century, a tribe related to the
Mongols, the
Khitans, with an admixture of Mongols, founded a vast empire, stretching from the
Pacific to
Lake Baikal and the
Tian Shan, displacing the
Turkic population. The
Khitan language has been classified as
para-Mongolic: distantly related to the
Mongolic languages of the
Mongols. Reportedly, the first
Gurkhan was a
Manichaean. Owing to its long sway over China, the ruling dynasty, which the
Twenty-Four Histories call the
Liao dynasty (916–1125), was strongly influenced by
Chinese culture. In 1125, a
Tungusic people, the
Jurchen, allied with the
Southern Song, ending the domination of the
Khitans. The Khitan exiles, headed by
Yelü Dashi, a member of the Khitan royal family, migrated westwards. The Khitans settled in the
Tarbagatai Mountains east of
Jetisu, and their number grew to 40,000 tents. Around 1130 the local
Karakhanid ruler of
Balasagun asked for their aid against the hostile
Kankalis and Karluks. The Khitans occupied Balasagun, expelled the weak Karakhanid ruler, and founded their own state, which stretched from the
Yenisei to
Taraz. They then conquered the
Kankalis and subdued
Xinjiang. In 1137 near
Khujand they defeated the
Transoxanian Karakhanid ruler Mahmud Khan, who then appealed to their
suzerain the
Seljuks for help. The Kara-Khitans, who were also invited by the
Khwarazmians (then also a vassal of the Seljuks) to conquer the lands of the Seljuks as well as in response to an appeal to intervene by the Karluks who were involved in a conflict with the Karakhanids, then advanced to
Samarkand. In 1141, the Seljuks under
Ahmad Sanjar also arrived in
Samarkand with his army, but was defeated by the Kara-Khitans in the
Battle of Qatwan, after which the Kara-Khitans became dominant in
Transoxania. The western Khitan state became known under its Turkic name, the
Kara-Khitan Khanate and their ruler bore the Turkic title Gurkhan "Khan's son-in law". The original Uch-Karluk confederation became split between the Karakhanid state in the west and the Karakhitay state in the east, lasting until the Mongol invasion. Both in the west and east, Karluk principalities retained their autonomous status and indigenous rulers, though in Karakhitay the Karluk khan, like the ruler of Samarkand, was forced to accept the presence of a permanent representative of the Gurkhan. The Gurkhans administered limited territories, populated in 1170 by 84,500 families under direct rule. The Gurkhan's headquarters was called Khosun-ordu (lit. "Strong Ordu"), or Khoto ("House"). The Karluk capital was Kayalik. The Karakhanids continued to rule over Transoxania and western Xinjiang. The Kara-khitans did not interfere with the religion of the people, but Islam became less dominant as the other religions took advantage of the new freedom to increase the number of their adherents. The
Nestorian Patriarch Elias III (1176–1190) founded a religious metropole in
Kashgar. The Karakhitay metropolitan bore the title Metropolitan of Kashghar and Navakat, showing that the see of Kashghar also controlled the southern part of Zhetysu. The oldest Nestorian tombs in the Tokmak and Pishpek cemeteries go back to the epoch of Karakhitay domination.
Ata-Malik Juvayni however stressed the oppression of Muslims by
Kuchlug, a son of the last
Nayman khan who was ousted (towards 1204) by Mongolia by
Genghis Khan. The Nayman Nestorian Christian Küchlük usurped the throne of the Kara-Khitans. In 1211, a Mongol detachment under the command of
Khubilai Noyon, one of Genghis Khan's generals, appeared in the northern part of Zhetysu. Arslan-khan Karluk killed the Karakhitay governor of Kayalik and proclaimed his loyalty to Genghis Khan. The Zhetysu, together with Eastern Turkestan, voluntarily surrendered to the Mongols. Kuchlug was killed by the
invading Mongols in 1218.
Mongol era In 1211 a
Mongol detachment under the command of Qubilai Noyon appeared in the northern part of
Jetisu. Karluk Arslan Khan, probably the son of Arslan khan and brother of Mamdu khan, killed the
Khitan governor of Kayalik and proclaimed his loyalty to
Genghis Khan. The
Collection of Annals records that Genghis Khan removed his title from Karluk Arslan Khan: "Let your name be Sartaktai", i.e.
Sart, said the sovereign. The Chagatai Karluk culture survived even after the Kipchak
Shaybanid conquest of Transoxiana and establishment of the
Khanate of Bukhara, in which the Uzbek Shaybanids and later
Janids also got assimilated, turning the Khanate of Bukhara from its Kipchak origin to a Karluk-dominated one. ==Genetics==