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Turkish Khanate
th
7 century CE
Instructor Pacas
The Gok Turks
• Bumin’s son, Mughan Qaghan defeated the
Hepthalites, Khitan, and Kyrgyz Turks/Mongolic
steppe federations.
• Bumin's brother Ishtemi was titled Yabghu of the
west (title of junior to qaghan) and collaborated
with the Sassanids Persians to defeat and
destroy the Hephthalite, who were allies of the
Rouran/Avars.
• This war tightened the Gok Turk's grip of the Silk
Road and drove the Avars into Europe, were
eventually the Turks pursued them, hoping to
exterminate their former overlords once and for
all.
Gok Turk Khanate
Gok Turks
The Split of the Khanate
• This first Turkic Khaganate split in two
after the death of their fourth Qaghan,
Taspar Qaghan in 584 CE.
• He had willed the title Qaghan to
Mughan's son Ahina, but the high council
appointed Ishbara Qaghan in his stead.
• Factions formed around both leaders.
• Eventually there were no less than four
rivals that claimed the title of Qaghan.
• They were successfully played off against
each other by the Sui and Tang dynasties
of China creating fissures in the khanate.
• Ishtemi’s son Tardu Qaghan possed the
most serious threat to Ishbara’s claim.
• Tardu declared himself independent from
the Qaghan after Ishtemi’s death.
• Tardu lead his armies east to claim overall
power of the Gok Turk Khanate.
Tardu vs. the Sui
• Ishbara Qaghan requested help from
Emperor Sui Yangdi of China against his
rival.
• Capitalizing on the Gok Turk civil war the
Sui assisted him, hoping to weaken the
Turks and eventually pacify their
limes/frontier with the steppes.
• Tardu besieged Chang’an, the Sui capital
in 601 CE.
The Sui and the Uighurs
• While Tardu was besieging Chang’an the
Chinese had sent embassies to vassals of
Tardu in the hopes of inciting them to
revolt against their Gok Turk overlords.
• These embassies met with success and
inspired other Turkic vassals of the
Western Gok Turk Khanate to rebel
against their overlords, particularly the
Uighurs in 603 CE.
The Eastern and Western
Khanates 600-681 CE
• The civil war among the Gok Turks left the
khanate divided between east and west.
• The Eastern Gok Turk Khanate decided to turn
against their former allies, the Chinese, during
the later Sui Dynasty circa 615 CE and early
Tang Dynasty circa 620’s CE.
• Shibi Qaghan 609-619 CE and Illig Qaghan 619630 CE mounted expeditions against China
which would eventually bring about the collapse
of the Eastern Gok Turk Khanate in 630 CE.
626-627 CE
• Illig Qaghan was extremely ambitious and
in 626 CE moved against Chang’an and
forced the Emperor Taizong to pay tribute.
• It seemed that the Tang Dynasty was
about to capitulate to the Eastern Gok
Turk Khanate.
• However, in 628 inclement weather in the
steppes particularly Mongolia zapped the
strength of the Eastern Gok Turk Khanate
as their herds died from starvation.
630 CE
• The Tang took advantage of this devastation to
inspire the Uighurs to revolt against the Eastern
Gok Turk Khanate.
• A combination force of Tang Chinese lead by Li
Jing with Uighur allies defeated Illig Qaghan in
630 CE at the Battle of Yinshan.
• Illig was captured and brought to Chang’an and
the Eastern Gok Turk Khanate collapsed.
• Much of the former Eastern Gok Turk Khanate
territory and corresponding Turkic tribes were
incorporated as vassals of the Tang Chinese.
Western Gok Turk Khanate
• The Western qaghan Shekeui and Tung Yabghu allied
themselves with the Byzantines against the Sassanid
Persians and succeeded in restoring the southern
borders along the Tarim and Oxus rivers.
• In 627 CE Tung Yabghu, assisted by the Khazars and
Emperor Heraclius, launched a massive invasion of
Transcaucasia which culminated in the taking of Tblisi in
modern Georgia.
• In 630 CE the Göktürk cavalry invaded Armenia and the
general Chorpan Tarkhan successfully routed a large
Persian force.
• However,Tung Yabghu's murder in 630 forced the Gök
Turks to evacuate Transcaucasia.
Onogur Turkic Empire
• The Western Gok Turk Empire was
revamped by Ishbara Qaghan 634-639 CE
and renamed the Onogur (meaning ten
arrows).
• The name refers to the "ten arrows" that
were granted by the khagan to five leaders
(shads) of its two constituent tribal
confederations, the Dulo and Nushibi.
The fracturing of the Onogurs
• This new administration of the Onogurs paved
the way for internal squabbling and eventually
many of the tribes sought to break away.
• One of the Bulgarian Turk vassals under the
leadership of Kubrat, broke away from the
Onogurs and proceeded to move further west,
his people eventually settling into former Roman
Moesia, present day Bulgaria.
Cont’d
• Tang Chinese military activity against the
Eastern Gok Turks spilled over into
military action against the Onogurs
weakening the Onogurs further until the
Onogur Khanate collapsed completely in
657-658 CE.
• In its place the Khazar Turkic Empire 650850 CE would emerge as overlords of the
former Onogur/Western Gok Turk
Khanate.
The Khazar Empire
• The Khazar Empire which lay in present
day Russia and Ukraine was strategically
situated to tap into the lucrative trade
routes of the Silk Road.
• They became a powerful empire
conducting business with the Caliphate
and Byzantium throughout the 8th and 9th
centuries CE.
Khazar Empire
Khazar Empire in 830’s CE
• Because of growing tensions between the
Caliphate and Byzantium in the 9th century CE,
the Khazars were constantly bombarded with
missionaries from both monotheistic religions.
• Plus business dealings were often heated
because Caliphate and Byzantium were often
putting pressure on Khazars to convert to their
respective religion and become military allies
against the other super power.
830’s Cont’d
• The Khazars were traditional steppe
nomads and worshipped Tengri.
• However being shrewd business men and
knowing that problems with Byzantium and
Caliphate were only going to increase and
not wishing to alienate either group from
their business enterprise chose instead to
convert to Judaism circa 830 CE.
The End of Khazar Empire
• Internal power struggles left the Khazar
Empire weakened and no longer able to
effectively extend their sovereignty in the
region.
• Subject tribes and people began to splinter
off and challenge Khazar dominance.
• Of particular importance were the Volga
Bulgars, the Magyars, and the Rus.
The Rus