Türgesh

Rouran epoch Göktürk epoch Uyghur epoch Kirghiz epoch

Rouran First Göktürk Tang rule Second Göktürk Uyghur Kirghiz Huns Western Göktürk Türgesh Karluk Khazar

Rouran 400–554
First Göktürk 552–630
Tang rule 630–682
Second Göktürk 682–744
Uyghur 744–840
Kirghiz 840–924
Huns 370–469
Western Göktürk 552–659
Türgesh 699–766
Karluk 766–800
Khazar 650–969

The Türgesh were one of the five tribes of the Üç Tuğlu, the eastern union of the Ten Arrows. Their territory lay in the Ili basin, and after 690 Suyab was their urban centre. In the contest between China, Tibet and the factions of the Ten Arrows, the tribes chose the Türgesh Baga Tarqan Wuzhile as their leader. He led them until 699. Another account has him rule from 699 to 706.^[1]

His position passed to his son Saqal. Saqal defeated the Tang in 708 and 709 and declared himself khan. He perished together with his rival brother Zhenu, whom the eastern Göktürks had aided.^[1] After the eastern Göktürks withdrew in 715, one of Saqal’s generals, Sulu, ruled from 717 to 738.^[1] Sulu proclaimed himself khan. He defeated the Muslim forces in 720 and 724. In 722 he made peace with the Tang and received an Ashina bride. He was a brilliant politician and an able general who manoeuvred between the great powers.^[1]

His wars against the Arabs were fought together with the Sogdian nobles. After Qutayba ibn Muslim had taken Sogdiana, the Sogdian nobles allied with the Türgesh drove the Arabs out of the whole country. They carried the war across the Oxus into Bactria. It took the Arab governors thirty years to consolidate the conquest.^[2]

The Old Book of Tang says that every time Sulu campaigned he distributed among his generals, officers and hordes all the booty he had taken. It says too that his subjects loved him and were entirely at his service.^[3] His popularity declined when he began to keep more for himself. In failing health he was slain by the Baga Tarqan Kül Čur and Tumodu. They were leaders of the yellow tribes that claimed descent from Saqal, rivals of Sulu’s black tribes.^[3]

The Arab victory at Kharistan in 737 ended the Türgesh danger to Arab rule in Transoxiana. Kül Čur recognised Tang overlordship in 740 and perished in 744. The Karluks came about 745. The Türgesh joined the revolt of Čabïš of Tashkent in 750 and were quickly defeated. After the Tang defeat on the Talas in 751 they were largely under Chinese control until the Karluks took Suyab in 766.

The Kül Tegin inscription gives the view from the other side. It calls the Türgesh khan one of the Göktürks’ own stock who erred and died for it.^[4] It tells of the campaign across the Altai and the Irtysh. On that campaign the eastern Göktürks fell on the Türgesh in their sleep, killed their khan at Bolchu and took his realm. After that the Black Türgesh all submitted.^[4]

The name stands on rock in Mongolia as well. Two painted runiform texts at Hoyto Tamir have türgeš in a damaged third line, once as türgeš el. The lines are too broken to say whether the word is a tribal name or part of a personal name.^[5]

References

^ a b c d Golden 1992
^ de la Vaissière 2005a, p. 266
^ a b Jiu Tangshu (Old Book of Tang); Golden 1992
^ a b Kül Tegin inscription
^ Sertkaya 2000, p. 330, 335–336

Sources

Literature

Peter B. Golden, An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples (1992)
Étienne de la Vaissière, Sogdian Traders: A History (2005)
Osman Fikri Sertkaya; Sartkocaulı Harcavbay, Hoyto Tamir (Moğolistan)’dan yeni yazıtlar (ön neşir) (2000)