Origin The origins of the Turkic Khaganate trace back to 546, when
Bumin Qaghan made a preemptive strike against the
Uyghur and
Tiele groups planning a revolt against their overlords, the
Rouran Khaganate. For this service he expected to be rewarded with a Rouran princess, thus marrying into the royal family. However, the Rouran
khagan,
Yujiulü Anagui, sent an emissary to Bumin to rebuke him, saying, "You are my blacksmith slave. How dare you utter these words?" As Anagui's "blacksmith slave" () comment was recorded in Chinese chronicles, some claim that the
Göktürks were indeed blacksmith servants for the Rouran elite, and that "blacksmith slavery" may have indicated a form of
vassalage within Rouran society. According to
Denis Sinor, this reference indicates that the Türks specialized in metallurgy, although it is unclear if they were miners or, indeed, blacksmiths. Whatever the case, that the Turks were "slaves" need not be taken literally, but probably represented a form of vassalage, or unequal alliance. , a Sogdian trader (right), who is shown welcoming a Turkic leader (left, with long hair combed in the back). 579 CE,
Xi'an,
China. A disappointed Bumin allied with the
Western Wei against the Rouran, their common enemy, by marrying
Princess Changle. In 552, Bumin defeated Anagui and his forces north of
Huaihuang (modern
Zhangjiakou,
Hebei). This effectively ended the Rouran, which had for the previous century and a half been the dominant power on the eastern steppe.
Western expansion Having excelled both in battle and diplomacy, Bumin declared himself Illig Khagan of the new Khaganate at
Ötüken, but died only months later. He was succeeded by his son Qara who also died shortly. The newly established empire was then divided among Bumin's other son,
Muqan Qaghan and his brother
Istämi. ,
Kyzyl, Mingoi,
Maya cave 224, 550-600 CE. Muqan ruled over the eastern part of the empire centered on
Mongolia and defeated the
Hephthalite Empire. while Denis Sinor argues that Rouran-Avar identification is "repeated from article to article, from book to book with no shred of evidence to support it". Istämi's policy of western expansion brought the Göktürks into Europe. In 576 the Göktürks crossed the
Kerch Strait into the
Crimea. Five years later they laid siege to
Chersonesus; their cavalry kept roaming the steppes of Crimea until 590. As for the southern borders, they were drawn south of the
Amu Darya, bringing the Ashina into conflict with their former allies, the Sasanian Empire. In 589, the Sasanian Empire attacked and
defeated the Türks. Much of
Bactria (including
Balkh) remained a dependency of the
Ashina until the end of the century. First contact with the Byzantines is believed to have happened in 563 and relates to an incident in 558 where the slaves of the Turks (the
Pannonian Avars) ran away during their war with the
Hephthalites. The second contact occurred when Maniah, a
Sogdian diplomat, convinced
Istämi (also known as Silziboulos in Greek writings) of the Göktürks to send an embassy directly to the Byzantine Empire's capital
Constantinople, which arrived in 568 and offered silk as a gift to emperor
Justin II and where they discussed an alliance. Justin II seems to have been more interested in securing an ally to the rear of the Sasanians with whom they had been in almost permanent conflict rather than the importation of silk. In 569 an embassy led by
Zemarchus occurred which was well received and likely solidified their alliance for war. Another set of embassies occurred in 575–576 led by Valentine which were received with hostility by
Turxanthos due to alleged treachery. The subsequent hostility shown by the new ruler
Tardu would be matched in Byzantine writings. With the insults reflecting a breakdown of the alliance, the likely cause is that the anger was due to the Turks not having their expectations met from their agreements and realising they were being used when they no longer aligned with the current goals of the Byzantine Empire (who correspondingly did not trust the Turks as partners). File:Turkic horsemen with unidentifiable ambassadors on top.jpg|Turkic horsemen with long hair on the tomb of a Sogdian trader, the
Miho funerary couch. Circa 570 CE.
Northern Dynasties,
China.
Civil war When the fourth ruler of the khaganate,
Taspar Qaghan, died in 581, the realm split in two over his succession. He had willed the title of khagan to Muqan's son
Apa Qaghan, but the high council appointed
Ishbara Qaghan instead. Factions formed around both leaders. Before long, four rivals claimed the title. They were successfully played off against each other by the
Sui and
Tang dynasties. Istämi's son,
Tardu the leader of the western Turks, made a bid for total independence. He seized the title and led an army east to claim the seat of imperial power, Ötüken. In order to support his position, Ishbara of the Eastern Khaganate, acknowledged the suzerainty of
Emperor Yang of Sui in order to seek their protection. Tardu attacked
Chang'an, the Sui capital, around 600, demanding Emperor Yangdi end his interference in the
civil war. In retaliation, Sui
diplomacy successfully incited a revolt of Tardu's
Tiele vassals, which led to the end of Tardu's reign in 603. Among the dissident tribes were the Uyghurs and
Xueyantuo.
Eastern Turkic Khaganate mural,
Göktürk, 7th century CE, Mongolia. 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 and retained the name Göktürk.
Shibi Khan (609–619) and
Illig Qaghan (620–630) attacked the
Central Plain at its weakest moment during the
transition between the Sui and Tang. Shibi Khan's surprise attack against
Yanmen Commandery during an imperial tour of the northern frontier almost captured
Emperor Yang, but his
ethnic Han wife Princess Yicheng—who had been well treated by
Empress Xiao during an earlier visit—sent a warning ahead, allowing the emperor and empress time to flee to the commandery seat at present-day
Daixian in
Shanxi. This was besieged by the Turkic army on September 11, 615, but Sui reinforcements and a false report from Princess Yicheng to her husband about a northern attack on the khaganate caused him to lift the siege before its completion. Illig Qaghan and his iron cavalry reached the bank of the
Wei River north of Bian Bridge (in present-day
Xianyang,
Shaanxi). On September 25, 626, On the third day after the meeting, the Illig Qaghan sent 3,000 horses and 10,000 sheep to the border as compensation to the Tang dynasty, which Emperor Taizong did not accept, believing that this was too little. All in all, 67 incursions into
China proper were recorded. According to the
New Book of Tang, in 628, Taizong mentioned that "There has been a frost in midsummer. The sun had risen from same place for five days. The moon had had the same light level for three days. The field was filled with red atmosphere (dust storm)." Illig Qaghan was brought down by a revolt of his Tiele vassal tribes (626–630), allied with Emperor Taizong of Tang. This tribal alliance figures in Chinese records as the Huihe (Uyghur). On March 27, 630, Illig Qaghan fled to Ishbara Shad, but on May 2, 630
Zhang Baoxiang's army advanced to Ishbara Shad's headquarters. Illig Qaghan was taken prisoner and sent to Chang'an. The Western khagan
Shikui Khagan and
Tong Yabghu Qaghan made an alliance with the
Byzantine Empire against the
Sasanian Empire and defeated the Sasanians in 628, successfully restoring the southern borders along the
Tarim and
Amu Darya rivers. Their capital was
Suyab in the
Chu River valley, about south east of modern
Tokmok. In 627 Tung Yabghu, assisted by the
Khazars and
Emperor Heraclius, launched a massive invasion of
Transcaucasia which culminated in the taking of
Derbent and
Tbilisi. In April 630 Tung's deputy
Böri Shad sent the Göktürk cavalry to invade
Armenia, where his general
Chorpan Tarkhan succeeded in routing a large Persian force. Tung Yabghu's murder in 630 forced the Göktürks to evacuate Transcaucasia. The Western Turkic Khaganate was modernized through an administrative reform of the
Ashina clan (reigned 634–639) and came to be known as the
Onoq. The name refers to the "ten arrows" that were granted by the Khagan to ten leaders (
shads) of its two constituent tribal confederations, the
Duolu (five
churs) and
Nushibi (five
irkins), whose lands were divided by the Chui River. The
Tang retained a member of the Ashina clan as a puppet khagan of the Türks. In 639,
Ashina Jiesheshuai attempted to kill
Emperor Taizong of Tang but failed, causing him to relocate the Türks. These khagans were not well respected among their peers and a new group of leaders known as the
Turgesh were established by 699. In 657, the Tang emperor could impose indirect rule along the Silk Road as far as modern-day
Iran. He installed two khagans to rule the ten arrows (tribes) of Göktürks. The Five arrows of Tulu (咄陆) were ruled by khagans bearing the title of Xingxiwang (興昔亡可汗) while the Five Arrows of Nushipi (弩失畢可汗) were ruled by Jiwangjue (繼往絕可汗). The Five Tulu corresponded to the area east of Lake Balkash while the Five Arrows of Nushipi corresponded to the land east of the Aral Sea. The Göktürks now carried Chinese titles and fought by their side in their wars. The era spanning from 657 to 699 in the steppes was characterized by numerous rulers – weak, divided, and engaged in constant petty wars under the Anxi Protectorate until the rise of Turgesh. The
Second Turkic Khaganate was founded by
Ilterish Qaghan after rebelling against the Tang in 681. ==Genetics==