Register
Competing dates
A steppe chronology is built from Chinese reign years, from inscriptions that count in animals, and from Greek and Persian authors who counted differently again. Where those reckonings give different years for the same event, one is chosen and the other recorded beside it. Both stand here, with whoever holds the second and the ground he holds it on.
Events dated two ways
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53 BC Huhanye moves his people south to the Han frontier and sends his son to court as a hostage: the submission of the southern Xiongnu China
- 54 BC — one reading, which puts the submission after 54: Reckoned from the reign, not from the chapter's own era date
- 58 BC — one reckoning, which gives Huhanye's reign as 58 to 31 BC: That is the accession, not the submission
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429 Taiwu crosses the Gobi and scatters the Rouran at the Li river; more than three hundred thousand surrender and Datan dies China
- 429 — Wei Shu 103: 神䴥二年: Taiwu crosses the desert, scatters Datan's people at the Li river and takes the surrender of more than three hundred thousand; 始光元年 (424) is Datan's raid on Yunzhong in which the emperor was surrounded and escaped, 425 the five-road campaign
Rouran Khaganate · Taiwu's campaign against the Rouran (429) · Datan Khan
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434 Rua, king of the Huns, dies; his nephews Bleda and Attila succeed him together Western steppe
- 436 — a second reckoning, after the church historian Theodoret: Theodoret implies a date after the end of 435
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435 Treaty of Margus: the eastern Romans double the yearly tribute to the Huns from 350 to 700 pounds of gold Byzantium
- 438 — a second reckoning, which places the treaty after 15 November 438: Epigenes still held a lower office on that day, and Priscus calls him quaestor
- 433 — the dating of the edition: Priscus gives no year
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439 capitulation on 11 September: The Northern Liang capitulate to the Northern Wei; the Ashina flee with five hundred families to the Rouran and work iron for them on the Golden Mountain Tarim and Sogdiana
- 450 — Bei Shi 99, as read in the Bumin article: Settlement date in the middle decades of the fifth century
The Flight of the Ashina (439) · Ashina · Pingliang · Rouran Khaganate · Gaochang · Altai
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442 The Huns take Naissus, the birthplace of Constantine, with siege engines; the city lies desolate until Justinian Byzantium
- 443 — a second reckoning: The Huns rode up the Morava to Naissus after taking Ratiaria, once a one-year truce had broken down
- 447 — a third reckoning, which leaves the choice between 442 and 447 open: The account of Priscus gives no year
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443 Peace of Anatolius: the eastern Romans hand back the fugitives, pay 6,000 pounds of gold in arrears and raise the tribute to 2,100 pounds a year Byzantium
- 447 — a second reckoning: Priscus dates the peace only after the battle in the Chersonese
Peace of Anatolius · Attila's Balkan wars · Attila · Theodosius II
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449 Embassy of Maximinus to Attila's court, with Priscus; the plot of Chrysaphius and Edeco against Attila comes to light Western steppe
- 448 — the dating of the edition: Priscus gives no year, only the days of the journey
Embassy of Maximinus to Attila · Priscus · Attila · Edeco · Chrysaphius · Onegesius · Maximinus · Bigilas · Orestes · Scottas · Zercon
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453 Attila dies in the night after his marriage to Ildico; the Huns mourn him with their own blood and bury him by night Western steppe
- 454 — Marcellinus Comes: Prosper, Victor of Tunnuna and the chronicle of 511 agree on 453
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454 At the Nedao in Pannonia the subject peoples under the Gepid king Ardaric defeat Attila's sons; his eldest son Ellac falls Western steppe
- 455 — a second reckoning: Jordanes gives no year
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487 Afuzhiluo leads more than a hundred thousand tents of Gaoche out of the Rouran khaganate and founds a kingdom north-west of Gaochang Eastern steppe
- 492 — Wei Shu, Rouran chapter: tells the secession under the Wei campaign of 492
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520 Anagui takes the Rouran throne out of the civil war of the Yujiulü Eastern steppe
- 516 — one narrative account: The index of the same account gives 520, the usual reckoning
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520 Anagui marches west and breaks the Tiele in Dzungaria after their decade of independence Western steppe
- 516 — Wei Shu 103: 熙平元年: the western campaign that crushed the Gaoche and captured and killed their king Mietu is Chounu's; of Anagui the chapter records only an undated later victory over the Gaoche king Yifu
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540 A tropical eruption, larger than Tambora in its aerosol; summers cold again from 541 to almost 550 Eastern steppe
- 539 — the Antarctic ice cores: The second episode falls in 539 or 540
Climate and the steppe empires · The Turkic War of Independence
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552 first month of the Chinese year, 11 February to 10 March: The main Rouran army is destroyed north of Huaihuang China
- 552 — one modern reckoning: Puts the march east, and with it the battle, in March
Battle of Huaihuang, 552 · Bumin Khan · Anagui · Huaihuang · Hegemony Wars in Northern China
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552 Bumin dies within the year of his victory, on the usual reading; his son Issik succeeds him Eastern steppe
- 553 — the Zizhi tongjian, which enters the death at the beginning of 553: One reading takes that entry for the place where the annalist put an undated event
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552 second half of the year: The Northern Qi attack Göktürk territory on behalf of the Rouran exiles China
- 552 — one reconstruction: Late summer or autumn, because no one campaigned on that frontier in winter
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553 spring: Istemi leads an army west from the Altai Western steppe
- 553 — the older literature, with a hundred thousand men; a newer estimate gives thirty to fifty thousand: Size of the army, not the date
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554 third and fourth months: Anlouchen rises against the Qi; the emperor beats him in the third month and takes his wife and children and thirty thousand people in the fourth China
- 553 — an earlier reckoning, before the Qi annals were read: September 553, with fifty thousand men; the Bei Qi Shu dates the rising to the third month of 554 and gives no figure for his army
Anluochen · Rouran Khaganate · Anagui · Northern Qi · Hegemony Wars in Northern China
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560 Istemi takes Bukhara; the Hephthalite realm is destroyed in concert with Khosrow I Tarim and Sogdiana
- 557 — one modern reckoning: A second reckoning sets the end between 563 and 567; the fall is dated about 560 here
Battle of Bukhara · Istemi · Hephthalites · Bukhara · Khosrow I · Sogdiana
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569 August: Zemarchos leaves Constantinople for the Göktürks Byzantium
- 568: the older reckoning, which counts the fourth year of Justin II from his accession year rather than from November 565
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582 The Tarniach and the Kotzager flee from the Göktürks into Europe and join the Avar khan; the Avars gain ten thousand men Western steppe
- 598 — A second reading: The flight belongs to the last years of the century
Flight of the Tarniach and Kotzager · Avars · Kutrigurs · Revolt of Turum
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588 Bagha crosses the Oxus, takes Balkh and Herat, is beaten by Bahram Chobin at the Hyrcanian rock in April and, reportedly, killed on the Oxus Persia
- 589 — one modern reckoning: The defeat at Herat in 589, of an army led by Tardush's son Šāba, after Tabari and Theophylact
Bagha Khan · Šāba · Sasanian Persia · First Göktürk Khaganate · Göktürk–Persian war, 588–589 · Bahram Chobin · Herat · Western Göktürk Khaganate
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595 A Göktürk embassy brings the emperor Maurice the khan's letter of victory, in which he calls himself lord of seven races; Theophylact tells it under the summer of 595 Byzantium
- 582 — One reading: Soon after Maurice's accession
- 598 — A second reading: The embassy belongs to the last years of the century
The khan's letter to Maurice · Revolt of Turum · Theophylact Simocatta
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600 Tardush meets the Sui general Shi Wansui at Mount Dajin and flees without a fight China
- 599 — The annals of the Sui Shu, in one translation: Shi Wansui's victory stands under 599, before Tulan's death
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606 The great khan's host crosses the Oxus against the Persian general Smbat Bagratuni and raids as far as Rey and Isfahan Persia
- 597 — A second reading: The campaign falls in 597 and 598
- 614 — A third reading: Counted back from Smbat's death in the twenty-eighth year of Khosrow II
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611 Shegui Khan rules the western Göktürks Western steppe
- 618 — two modern reckonings: One gives 618 or 619; the other has Tong Yabgu on the throne no later than 618
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627 Börü Shad appears before Derbent with forty thousand men; Tong Yabgu meets Heraclius before Tiflis, which the allies take and sack after Nineveh Caucasus and Crimea
- 626 — one modern reckoning: The meeting before Tiflis in 626, from Theophanes, whose years here run one too early
- 628 — Movses Dasxuranci: The khan arrives in the thirty-eighth year of Khosrow, the year of his murder
Tong Yabgu · Börü Shad · Derbent · Tiflis · Shad · Byzantium · Sasanian Persia · Khazar Khaganate · Western Göktürk Khaganate · The Caucasus campaign, 627–629 · Heraclius · Meeting of Heraclius and Ziebel (627) · Siege of Tiflis (627–629)
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627 The Xueyantuo, the Uyghurs and the Bayirku rise against Ilig and drive off his Yugu Shad; Töles, sent against them, loses his army Eastern steppe
- 626 — Cefu yuangui: The rising stands under the ninth year of Wude
Revolt of the Tiele (627) · Ilig Khan · Töles Khan · Xueyantuo Khaganate (Syr Tardush)
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628 Töles submits to the Tang on 21 April; the Xueyantuo secede from Ilig as a khaganate of their own Eastern steppe
- 629 — Jiu Tang Shu 194上: 三年，薛延陀自稱可汗於漠北: the khan's self-proclamation in the third year of Zhenguan; the risings north of the Yinshan are in the first year, 627
Ilig Khan · Xueyantuo Khaganate (Syr Tardush) · Tiele · Defection of Töles (628)
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628 The Xueyantuo hold the khanship north of the desert, from Ötüken and then from the Tula Eastern steppe
- 629: the Jiu Tang Shu dates the proclamation north of the desert to 629; 628 is the year of the Tang patent that made it possible
Xueyantuo Khaganate (Syr Tardush) · Yinan Khan · Second Göktürk Khaganate
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629 The pilgrim Xuanzang visits Tong Yabgu's court at Suyab Western steppe
- 628 — one modern reckoning: Xuanzang set out in the autumn of 627 and met the khan a year before the murder of 628
Suyab · Tong Yabgu · Life of Xuanzang · Record of the Western Regions · Xuanzang's visit to Tong Yabgu
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630 Tong Yabgu is murdered by his uncle, who briefly rules as Mohedu; civil war, and the west dissolves into the Ten Arrows Western steppe
- 627 — Cefu yuangui 974: The death and Taizong's mourning stand under the first year of Zhenguan
- 628 — Zizhi tongjian 193: The murder at the end of the second year of Zhenguan; the Tiele chapter of the Jiu Tang Shu has the same year
Tong Yabgu · On Oq · Western Göktürk Khaganate · Murder of Tong Yabgu (630)
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648 second month: Shiboqu Azhan, the chief of the Kirghiz, comes in person to Taizong's court and is made governor of the Jiankun command under the Yanran protectorate China
- 647 — the Tongdian: the Tongdian puts the coming of the chief in the twenty-first year of Zhenguan
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651 Ashina Helu, self-proclaimed Shaboluo Khan, dominates the Ten Arrows Western steppe
- 653 — one modern reckoning: It gives Helu's khanate as 653 to 659; the Tang annals have the Tingzhou raid and the first campaign in 651
- 659 — one modern reckoning: The end of the khanate; the Tang annals have the capture in 658 and the death in 659
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651 Ashina Helu goes west, takes the Duolu lands, proclaims himself Shaboluo Khan at the Thousand Springs over the Ten Arrows, and raids Tingzhou Western steppe
- 653 — one modern reckoning: The beginning of Helu's khanate over the Ten Arrows
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657 The Tang capture Ashina Helu, the last independent khan of the western Göktürks; the west is divided into ten prefectures Western steppe
- 658 — the Tang annals: The campaign in the second year of Xianqing, 657, the capture in the third, 658, and Helu's death in the fourth, 659
- 659 — one modern reckoning: Ashina Helu captured by the Tang in 659; the end is set at 657, and the after-effects run to the 740s
Western Göktürk Khaganate · First Göktürk Khaganate · Ashina Helu · On Oq · Tang
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682 Kutluk of the Ashina gathers the fugitives of Funian's rising in the Zongcai mountains, makes himself khan as Ilterish and restores the Göktürk state Eastern steppe
- 683 — Jiu Tang Shu 194: The Jiu Tang Shu dates the rising to the second year of Yongchun; the Xin Tang Shu and the literature give the first, 682
Ilterish Khan · Second Göktürk Khaganate · Tonyukuk · Ashina · Ashide Yuanzhen
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710 Tonyukuk crosses the Kögmen in winter by a single-horse track and kills the Kirghiz khan in his sleep, breaking the northern arm of the coalition of the Tang, the Ten Arrows and the Kirghiz Eastern steppe
- 711 — one modern reckoning: Kül Tegin's age of twenty-six gives 710 if he was born in 684; the same reckoning dates the western campaigns about 711
Tonyukuk · Kül Tegin · Yenisei Kirghiz · Second Göktürk Khaganate · Göktürk campaign against the Kirghiz (710)
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711 Battle of Bolchu: Tonyukuk, against Kapgan's order, crosses the Altai and the Irtysh by night and destroys the Türgesh army; their khan taken, the Ten Arrows submit Western steppe
- 710 — Kül Tegin inscription, by the prince's age: The Tang history gives the Jingyun period, 710 to 711; the literature writes 711
Battle of Bolchu · Tonyukuk · Kapgan Khan · Inel Khan · Bilge Khan · Kül Tegin · Türgesh · On Oq
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720 The Tonyukuk inscription is raised at Bain Tsokto on the upper Tola, by its author in his own lifetime Eastern steppe
- 716 — Wilhelm Radloff: Read from the stone's silence about Bilge Khan's reign; Thomsen's later dating of about 720 is preferred
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734 Bilge Khan is poisoned by his minister Meilu Chuo, has the minister and his faction destroyed before he dies, and dies in the Year of the Dog; his son Yiran is set up Eastern steppe
- 732 — Jiu Tang Shu 194: The Tang history puts the poisoning under the twentieth year of Kaiyuan, the same heading as Kül Tegin's death; the inscription's Dog year is 734
Bilge Khan · Yiran Khan · Buyruk · Second Göktürk Khaganate · Bilge Khan inscription
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735 The Bilge Khan inscription is erected Eastern steppe
- 732 — one modern chronology: The inscription itself dates the funeral to the fifth month of the Pig year, 735 by Thomsen's equation, and most scholarship gives 735
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747 Bayanchur Khan: the Basmıl and the Karluks held down, the capital on the Orkhon built Eastern steppe
- 748 — the Tariat inscription, by its own animal year: The stone puts the enthronement at the ancestors' burial ground in the mouse year; the Chinese histories give 747
Bayanchur Khan · Uyghur Khaganate · Šine-Usu inscription · Tariat inscription · Orkhon valley
Articles whose dates are unsettled
- Alchon Huns Peoples The dates of the subject itself (390–600)
- Altın Köl Inscriptions Sources The dates of the subject itself
- Ashide Yuanzhen Persons The year of death
- Ashina Lineages The dates of the subject itself (439–969)
- Ashina Helu Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Attila's Balkan wars Conflicts The date of the event
- Bagha Khan Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Bagha Khan Persons The year of death (588)
- Basich Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Battle of Bolchu Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (710–711)
- Battle of Bolchu Battles & Events The date of the event
- Battle of Dzungaria, 552 Battles & Events The date of the event
- Battle of Huaihuang, 552 Battles & Events The date of the event
- Battle of Mount Dajin (600) Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (600–600)
- Battle of Mount Dajin (600) Battles & Events The date of the event
- Battle of the Nedao Battles & Events The date of the event
- Begre inscription (E 11) Sources The dates of the subject itself (650–950)
- Bilge Khan's Golden Crown Sources The dates of the subject itself
- Boyla Kutlug Yargan Persons The dates of the subject itself (790–900)
- Bulan Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Chepetukh Institutions and Titles The dates of the subject itself
- Conversion of the Khazars to Judaism Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (740–864)
- Conversion of the Khazars to Judaism Battles & Events The date of the event
- Death of Princess Dayi Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (593–597)
- Death of Princess Dayi Battles & Events The date of the event
- Death of Tulan Khan Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (599–603)
- Death of Tulan Khan Battles & Events The date of the event
- Defection of Töles (628) Battles & Events The date of the event
- Embassy of Cui Junsu (608) Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (608–608)
- Embassy of Cui Junsu (608) Battles & Events The date of the event
- Embassy of Maximinus to Attila Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (449–449)
- Embassy of Maximinus to Attila Battles & Events The date of the event
- Epitaph of Qarï Čor Tegin (Xi'an) Sources The dates of the subject itself
- Faghfura Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Fall of Tardush (603) Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (603–603)
- Fall of Tardush (603) Battles & Events The date of the event
- Fall of the Khazar Khaganate (about 965–969) Battles & Events The date of the event
- Fall of the Second Khaganate, 741–744 Conflicts The date of the event
- Flight of the Avars (557) Battles & Events The date of the event
- Flight of the Tarniach and Kotzager Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (582–598)
- Flight of the Tarniach and Kotzager Battles & Events The date of the event
- Gaoche secession (487) Conflicts The date of the event
- Göktürk campaign against the Kirghiz (710) Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (710–711)
- Göktürk campaign against the Kirghiz (710) Battles & Events The date of the event
- Göktürk Expansion along the Silk Road Conflicts The date of the event
- Göktürk Expansion into Europe Conflicts The date of the event
- Göktürk war of restoration, 679–687 Conflicts The date of the event
- Göktürk–Persian war, 588–589 Conflicts The date of the event
- Göktürk–Wei Campaign against Tuyuhun (556) Battles & Events The date of the event
- Hegemony Wars in Northern China Conflicts The date of the event
- Hermanaric Persons The year of death
- Hoyto Tamir inscriptions Sources The dates of the subject itself (753–756)
- Huaixin's campaign against the Kirghiz Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself
- Huaixin's campaign against the Kirghiz Battles & Events The date of the event
- Hunnic conquest of the Goths Conflicts The date of the event
- Ilig Khan's Dance at the Weiyang Palace (633) Battles & Events The date of the event
- Issyk inscription Sources The dates of the subject itself (500 BC–200 BC)
- Istemi's campaign against Persia, 569 Battles & Events The date of the event
- Jabogan inscription Sources The dates of the subject itself
- Kabar Revolt Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (780–881)
- Kabar Revolt Battles & Events The date of the event
- Kapgan's western war, 709–713 Conflicts The date of the event
- Kara-Khanid Khanate States The dates of the subject itself (840–1212)
- Kirghiz embassy of 648 Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (647–648)
- Kirghiz embassy of 648 Battles & Events The date of the event
- Kotzager Peoples The dates of the subject itself (582–598)
- Küli Čor inscription Sources The dates of the subject itself (719–725)
- Kunaxolan Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Kursich Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Maniakh's embassy to Constantinople, 568 Battles & Events The date of the event
- Meeting of Heraclius and Ziebel (627) Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (626–628)
- Meeting of Heraclius and Ziebel (627) Battles & Events The date of the event
- Mukan's Eastern and Northern Wars Conflicts The date of the event
- Murder of Tong Yabgu (630) Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (627–630)
- Murder of Tong Yabgu (630) Battles & Events The date of the event
- Nezak Shahs Peoples The dates of the subject itself (460–720)
- Niri Khan Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Niri Khan Persons The year of death (603)
- Obadiah of Khazaria Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Ongi inscription Sources The dates of the subject itself (716–740)
- Peace of Anatolius Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (443–447)
- Peace of Anatolius Battles & Events The date of the event
- Poliuhan Baling Persons The dates of the subject itself (523–525)
- Princess Qianjin Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Revolt of the Six Garrisons Conflicts The date of the event
- Revolt of the Tiele (627) Battles & Events The date of the event
- Revolt of Turum Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (581–598)
- Revolt of Turum Battles & Events The date of the event
- Rise of Anagui Khan Battles & Events The date of the event
- Rock inscriptions found in Mongolia, 2018 to 2021 Sources The dates of the subject itself
- Rouran Domination of the Turkic Peoples Conflicts The date of the event
- Rua Persons The year of death (434)
- Runiform finds in Mongolia, 1990 to 1999 Sources The dates of the subject itself (600–900)
- Šāba Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Shegui Khan Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Shegui Khan Persons The year of death (619)
- Si Yabgu Khan Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Siege of Bosporos, 576 Battles & Events The date of the event
- Siege of Naissus Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (442–442)
- Siege of Naissus Battles & Events The date of the event
- Siege of Tiflis (627–629) Battles & Events The date of the event
- Smbat Bagratuni's war with the khan Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (597–615)
- Smbat Bagratuni's war with the khan Battles & Events The date of the event
- Sogdian Ancient Letters Sources The dates of the subject itself (313–313)
- Sparzeugun Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Subjugation of the Alans and Onogurs (before 576) Battles & Events The date of the event
- Sui Variety Shows for Yami Khan (606–610) Battles & Events The date of the event
- Suji inscription Sources The dates of the subject itself (745–900)
- Taiwu's campaign against the Rouran (429) Conflicts The date of the event
- Tardush Persons The year of death (603)
- Tariat inscription Sources The dates of the subject itself (750–756)
- Tarniach Peoples The dates of the subject itself (582–598)
- Tes inscription Sources The dates of the subject itself (750–762)
- The Caucasus campaign, 627–629 Conflicts The date of the event
- The embassy of Zemarchos, 569 Battles & Events The date of the event
- The Göktürk Civil War Conflicts The date of the event
- The Göktürk–Hephthalite war, 555–563 Conflicts The date of the event
- The Göktürk–Sasanian Trade Conflict Conflicts The date of the event
- The Göktürks before Cherson (579) Battles & Events The date of the event
- The khan's letter to Maurice Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (582–598)
- The khan's letter to Maurice Battles & Events The date of the event
- The Rouran Marriage Refusal (546) Battles & Events The date of the event
- Tong Yabgu Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Tong Yabgu Persons The year of death (630)
- Tör Apa Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Tör Apa Persons The year of death
- Treaty of Margus Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (435–435)
- Treaty of Margus Battles & Events The date of the event
- Tuhezhen Khan Persons The year of death (464)
- Tuldich Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Turk Shahi of Kabul and Kapisa States The dates of the subject itself (625–843)
- Turum Persons The dates of the subject itself
- Ulaangom inscription Sources The dates of the subject itself (700–750)
- Uyghur–Kirghiz War Conflicts The date of the event
- Western Göktürk Khaganate States The dates of the subject itself (552–657)
- Xuanzang's visit to Tong Yabgu Battles & Events The dates of the subject itself (627–630)
- Xuanzang's visit to Tong Yabgu Battles & Events The date of the event
- Yang Su's Northern Campaign (601–602) Battles & Events The date of the event
- Yenisei inscriptions Sources The dates of the subject itself (650–1000)
- Yukuk Shad Persons The year of death
- Zabender Peoples The dates of the subject itself (582–598)
