The earliest records of Kyrgyz Khaganate were written during the
Tang dynasty. The Kyrgyz did not keep reliable written records during this period. Before 201 BC, the
Xiongnu ruler
Modu Chanyu conquered the
Yenisei Kyrgyz, then known to Chinese as Gekun (鬲昆), along with the Hunyu (渾庾), Qushe (屈射),
Dingling (丁零), and
Xinli (薪犁). In 50 BC, Xiongnu chanyu
Zhizhi defeated the
Wusun, Wujie (
Oguzes?),
Dinglings and Jiankun (Kyrgyz). During those times, Kyrgyz people lived in the
Borohoro Mountains and the
Manasi River valley on east
Tengir-Too, about 7,000 li () west of
Ordos – the center of the Xiongnu's territory. In
Chinese historiography, the Kyrgyz' endonym was first transcribed as Gekun (or
Ko-kun; ) or Jiankun (or
Chien-kun; ) in
Records of the Grand Historian and
Book of Han, respectively. other transcriptions are
Jiegu (結骨),
Hegu (紇骨),
Hegusi (紇扢斯),
Hejiasi (紇戛斯),
Hugu (護骨),
Qigu (契骨),
Juwu (居勿), and
Xiajiasi (黠戛斯),
Peter Golden reconstructs underlying *
Qïrğïz < *
Qïrqïz< *
Qïrqïŕ and suggests a derivation from
Old Turkic qïr 'gray' (horse color) plus suffix
-q(X)ŕ/ğ(X)ŕ ~
k(X)z/g(X)z. They were largely subordinate to the
Göktürks from 560s to 700s. Kyrgyz khan
Bars Bek was a brother-in-law of
Bilge Qaghan. His son ruled the Kyrgyzs after Bars Bek's defeat at the hands of
Qapaghan in 710. After the downfall of the Göktürks, they submitted to the
Uyghurs. Their leader
Bayanchur killed the Kyrgyz leader and appointed a new Kyrgyz
khan named (毗伽頓頡斤).
Bars Bek After an unsuccessful campaign against the Kyrgyz in 693, the leader of the Göktürk
Second Turkic Khaganate,
Qapaghan, was forced to recognize the title of
khagan for the
Kyrgyz ruler
Bars Bek and even tried to create a dynastic alliance with him by marrying his "younger sister-princess" to him. However, this only temporarily dulled the most acute contradictions between the Göktürks and the Kyrgyz, who fought for dominance over
Central Asia. In 707 and 709 Kyrgyz envoys visited the
Tang Empire twice. At this time, the Göktürks were at war with the Tang Empire and the Kyrgyz found themselves in a new coalition with the
Türgesh, Chik,
Az and Tang Empire. The greatest danger to the Göktürks during this period was represented by the Kyrgyz who gained strength. In 709, the Göktürk army defeated the Chiks and Azs, capturing
Tuva and a bridgehead for the invasion of the Kyrgyz lands. Bars Bek did not dare to intervene, hoping for the impregnability of their lands beyond the
Sayan Mountains. However, in the winter of 710–711. the Göktürk army, having made a roundabout maneuver, crossed the Sayan Range and suddenly fell upon the Kyrgyz. As a result of the defeat in
Battle of Sayan Mountains, the Kyrgyz army was defeated, and Bars Bek died. The Kyrgyz state was conquered, Göktürk troops were stationed in the
Minusinsk Hollow. However, management was handed over to the Kyrgyz ruler. A Kyrgyz embassy arrived in China in 711. Perhaps it was sent by Bars Bek before his death in the hope of help. In 722 and 723 two Kyrgyz embassies arrived in Tang China, headed by
tegin Isibo Sheyuzhe Bishi Sygin and Tegin Juili Pinhezhong Sigin.
Relations with Tang dynasty The first embassy to Yenisei Kyrgyz was sent during reign of the
Emperor Taizong of Tang, in 632. He received a Kyrgyz ambassador named Shiboqu Azhan (失鉢屈阿棧) who was later appointed to the Yanran (燕然) Commandery. The Kyrgyz rulers claimed descent from the
Han general
Li Ling, grandson of the general
Li Guang. Li Ling was captured by the
Xiongnu and defected in the first century BCE. And since the Tang imperial
Li family also claimed descent from Li Guang, the Kyrgyz
khan was therefore recognized as a member of the Tang imperial family. This relationship soothed the relationship when Kyrgyz khagan (阿熱) invaded the
Uyghur Khaganate and put
Qasar Khagan to death. The news brought to
Chang'an by Kyrgyz ambassador Zhuwu Hesu (註吾合素). and
altar The Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate of the family bolstered his ties and alliance to the Tang imperial family against the Uyghur Khaganate by claiming descent from the Han dynasty general Li Ling who had defected to the Xiongnu and married a Xiongnu princess, daughter of Qiedihou Chanyu and was sent to govern the Jiankun (Ch'ien-K'un) region which later became Yenisei. Li Ling was a grandson of Li Guang (Li Kuang) of the Longxi Li family descended from Laozi which the Tang dynasty Li imperial family claimed descent from. The Yenisei Kyrgyz and Tang dynasty launched a successful war between 840 and 848 to destroy the Uyghur Khaganate and its centre at the Orkhon valley using their claimed familial ties as justification for an alliance. Tang forces under General Shi Xiong wounded the Uyghur khagan Ögä, seized livestock, took 5,000–20,000 Uyghur Khaganate soldiers captive, killed 10,000 Uyghur Khaganate soldiers on 13 February 843 at the Battle of Shahu (kill the barbarians) mountain. In 845, was made Zong Yingxiong Wu Chengming Khagan () by
Emperor Wuzong. But Wuzong died before his ambassadors departed Chang'an. The new emperor
Xuanzong did not rush to make him khagan. At a general council of senior officials, they decided that the titles were given to the Uyghurs when they were strong, and if the Yenisei Kyrgyz were awarded as well, they would become proud and become dangerous. The emperor revoked the letter. A sacrifice is made to the spirits in the field. There is no fixed time for sacrifice. Shamans are called gan [kam]. At funerals, they wrap the body of the deceased in three rows and cry, and then burn it, and the collected bones are buried a year later. After that, crying is produced at certain times. The Persian historian
Gardizi in the 11th century wrote the following about the Yenisei Kyrgyz: and Manichaean monasteries.
Nestorian missionaries also actively served on the territory of the Khaganate.
Nestorianism became widespread among the Kyrgyz aristocracy during the Kyrgyz expansion. Objects similar to the doors of the Christian panagia were found at the Kyrgyz burial ground of the 13th—14th centuries "Koibaly-I" from the Minusinsk Hollow. In turn, some Yenisei Kyrgyz who lived in
East Turkestan, under the influence of
Islam, switched from cremation rituals to traditional funerals. The Kyrgyz Khaganate pursued a tolerant policy towards all religions of the state. The statesmen of the Kyrgyz Khaganate took into account the interests of adherents of all religions who lived in their territory. The religious elite of the state included the khagan, who had a sacred status, his dynasty and entourage, missionaries and traditional religious servants — shamans who participated in the most important religious events. ==Rulers==