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Göktürks (Blue Turks)
The Göktürks (Gok means 'blue' but also 'sky' or in a more abstract sense
'heavens') were early Turks who lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle in Asia.
They appeared in the sixth century AD and managed to unite all Turkish speaking peoples
in a confederation. İstemi and Bumin were the two brothers who succeeded in
achieving this. The empire was immediately divided into two major provinces with one of the
brothers in power in each, and they continued their lines independently.
(Full details by Hayreddin Barbarossa (online pseudonym), drawn from Turkish editions
of Britannica and Grand Larousse.) |
552 |
The Göktürks divide into Eastern and
Western
branches. |
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Eastern (Great) Kaghans
AD 552 - 742
The eastern faction pressed China. Less than two centuries later, both
eastern and western factions collapsed, the eastern one falling under Chinese domination. |
552 - 553 |
Bumin
'İl Kağan' |
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553 - 554 |
Kara K'ola |
Son. |
554 - 572 |
Mukhan |
Brother. |
572 - 581 |
Tapo |
Brother. |
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Bagha İşbara |
Son of K'ola. Eastern kaghan. |
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Jotan |
Brother of Tapo.
Western kaghan. |
581 - 587 |
Bagha İşbara |
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581 - 583 |
Tardu of the
Western Kaghans
denounces the sovereignty of İşbara, despite his being elected
by the high council. Internally, İşbara
has to subdue the pretender, Apo, son of Mukhan. |
587 - 588 |
Çur Bagha |
Brother of İşbara. |
588 - 600 |
Tunga Turan (Tuhan) |
Son of İşbara. |
600 - 609 |
Kimin Türe |
Son. |
603 - 609 |
Türe becomes
great kaghan. |
609 - 619 |
Şipi |
Son of Kimin Türe. |
611 |
Culo of
the
Western Kaghans is
overthrown by Şipi and is executed in 619. |
619 - 621 |
Çuluk |
Relationship unknown. |
621 - 630 |
Kara Khieli |
Relationship unknown. |
630 |
Khieli
is defeated and imprisoned by Tai Zong. |
630 - 640 |
Interregnum.
A noble, Kür Şad, revolts and ambushes the
Chinese imperial
palace with no success (639). |
640 - 646 |
Sirba |
Vassal of the Tang emperors. |
640 - 681 |
The
Eastern Kaghans fall under
Chinese sovereignty. |
679 - 682 |
About half a century later, a
descendant of the crown dynasty manages to organise a successful revolt
against
Chinese rule in 679. He reunites the tribes with a mixture of diplomacy
and war and re-establishes the state. He is given the names İl Teriş (one who
'gathered' the country) and Kutlug (something along the lines of
'sacred, blessed'). Kutlug is aided by Tonyukuk
(vizier in 682-721). The Chinese are defeated in 681 and the kaghandom
restored. Kutlugh captures the capital town of Ötüken in 682. |
682 - 692 |
Kutlugh İl Teriş |
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682 |
The
Western Kaghans fall under the
domination of the restored Eastern Kaghandom. |
692 - 716 |
Kapaghan |
Equally successful brother of Kutlugh. |
716 |
Bögü |
Son of Kapaghan. |
716 - 734 |
Bilge Kaghan |
Son of Kutlugh. |
716 |
Bilge and his brother, Kül
Tigin, army commander in chief, overthrow the weak Bögü. The two are later
credited with starting the process of civilization amongst the Turks. Unfortunately, no
city survives intact to the modern day. However, Bilge orders for his brother,
himself and their wise chamberlain, Tonyukuk, monumental tombstones with
so-called Runic (so-called because of the resemblance - it's a phonetic
Turkic alphabet) scripture, carved in Turkish and Chinese. These tell not only
of Turkic history and warfare but also of the social structure, and maybe
an early state philosophy. Kül Tigin dies in 731. |
734 - 738 |
Türk Bilge Kaghan |
Son of Bilge. |
738 - 740 |
Tengri Khan I |
Brother. |
740 - 742 |
Tengri Khan II |
Son of Türk Bilge. |
742 |
The
Basmıl, Karluk and Uyghur khans revolt. |
742 |
Ozmış |
Relationship unknown. Killed in the revolt. |
742 |
Pomei |
Brother of Ozmış.
Killed in the revolt. |
742 |
Basmıl
khan is elected kaghan but overthrown. Yabgu Tufa, khan of the Uyghurs, is
elected as 'Kutlugh Bilge Kül' - a very Göktürk name. This effectively ends Göktürk power in
the region and signals the start of Uyghurs sovereignty. |
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