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The Göktürks

The Göktürks were the people of the Ashina khans, who overthrew the Rouran in 552 and ruled the steppe from the borders of China to the Black Sea. Two khaganates bear their name, separated by fifty years under Tang rule. This page gathers what the atlas holds on them: the realms, the reading paths, and the articles on their rulers, wars, places, titles, customs, sources and debates.

The realms in time

First Göktürk Khaganate Western Göktürk Khaganate The Göktürk interregnum, 630–682 Second Göktürk Khaganate

Reading paths

Four chapters of one history, 542 to 628, and two paths through their world

IThe Turkic War of Independence IIThe Ashina Dynasty IIIIstemi's Journey to the West IVPartition of the First Göktürk Empire

Chapter I · 542–552 · 7 articles

The Turkic War of Independence

From a raid on the Chinese frontier to the taking of Ötüken, 542 to 552

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Chapter II · 552–581 · 7 articles

The Ashina Dynasty

Five rulers and one assembly, 552 to 581

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Chapter III · 552–589 · 8 articles

Istemi's Journey to the West

From the Altai to the Oxus, the Caucasus and the Crimea, 552 to 589

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Funerary couch of An Jia, a Sogdian sabao at the Zhou court who died in 579, three of its back panels: a meeting of riders and talks at a low table, a feast in a yurt with a laden camel below, a banquet with dancers. Shaanxi History Museum, Xi’an. Photograph: Gary Todd, 2019, CC0.

Chapter IV · 581–628 · 10 articles

Partition of the First Göktürk Empire

How one khaganate became two, and what the western one became

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Themes

6 articles

Turkic Cosmology

Sky, fortune, law, assembly and the sacred forest

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4 articles

Names, titles and claims

What the words mean and who says so

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Runes on the east face of the Kül Tegin stone, photographed by the Finnish expedition of 1890. Inscriptions de l’Orkhon, Helsingfors 1892, Tab. 4; National Library of Finland, Public domain.

398 articles in 10 groups.

Realms and house6

Ashina 439–969
First Göktürk Khaganate 552–630
Western Göktürk Khaganate 552–657
The Göktürk interregnum, 630–682 630–682
Second Göktürk Khaganate 682–744
Göktürks

Rulers47

Further persons56

Wars and battles109

Rouran Domination of the Turkic Peoples 400–552
The Rouran–Wei wars, 402–449 402–449
The Flight of the Ashina (439) 439
Hegemony Wars in Northern China 534–630
Göktürk raid of 542 542
The Göktürk–Wei alliance 545–557
Defeat of the Tiele, 546 546
The Göktürk–Rouran Wars 546–598
The Rouran Marriage Refusal (546) 546
The Turkic War of Independence 546–552
Battle of Dzungaria, 552 552
Battle of Huaihuang, 552 552
Proclamation of Bumin Khan (552) 552
Battle of Mount Mulai (553) 553
Göktürk Expansion along the Silk Road 553–629
Mukan's Destruction of Dengshuzi (553–555) 553–555 minimal
Mukan's Eastern and Northern Wars 553–572
The Qi March to Shuozhou (553) 553 minimal
Flight of the Avars (557) 555–558
The Göktürk–Hephthalite war, 555–563 555–563
The Qingmen Executions (555) 555
Göktürk–Wei Campaign against Tuyuhun (556) 556
Göktürk Expansion into Europe 557–598
The Göktürk–Zhou alliance 557–581
The Zhou–Qi war, 557–577 557–577
Battle of Bukhara 560
The Göktürk–Sasanian Trade Conflict 560–570
The Bargain with Mukan (562–563) 562–563
Jinyang campaign, 563–564 563–564
The Woye and Luoyang Campaign (564) 564
Music of Empress Ashina (568) 568
The Göktürk–Byzantine alliance 568–628
Istemi's campaign against Persia, 569 569–570
Subjugation of the Alans and Onogurs (before 576) 572–576
Taspar's Appointment of the Lesser Khans (572) 572
Khosrow's gift of maidens (573) 573–574
Funeral of Istemi (576) 575–576
Embassy of Valentinos (576) 576
Siege of Bosporos, 576 576
The Göktürks before Cherson (579) 576–579
The Qi Court in Exile (577–580) 577–580
The Raid on Youzhou (578) 578
The Siege of Jiuquan (578) 578 minimal
The Marriage of Princess Qianjin (580) 579–580
Revolt of Turum 581–598
Battle of Zhoupan (582) 582
Flight of the Tarniach and Kotzager 582–598 minimal
The Göktürk–Sui wars, 582–603 582–603
The khan's letter to Maurice 582–598
Battle of Baidao (583) 583
Edict of Emperor Wen against the Göktürks (583) 583
Embassy of Yu Qingze (584) 584
The Göktürk Civil War 584–603
Submission of Ishbara (585) 585
Capture of Apa (587) 587
Ishbara's Hunt (587) 587
The Succession of 587 587
Göktürk–Persian war, 588–589 588–589
Murder of Bahram Chobin 591–592
Death of Princess Dayi 593–597
Smbat Bagratuni's war with the khan 597–615
Death of Tulan Khan 599–603
The Attack on Yami Khan (599) 599
The Sui Campaign of 599 599
Tiele Revolt (605) 605
Sui Variety Shows for Yami Khan (606–610) 606–610
Yangdi's Visit to Yami Khan (607) 607
Embassy of Cui Junsu (608) 608
Fall of Heshana Khan (611) 610–612
Murder of Shishu Huxi 614–615
The siege of Yanmen, 615 615
Göktürk Aid to Li Yuan (617) 617
Killing of Heshana Khan (619) 619
The Sui Court in Exile at Dingxiang (620) 620–630
Raid on Yanmen (621) 621–622
The Göktürk Campaign of 622 622
The Standoff at Binzhou (624) 624
The Göktürk Campaign of 625 625
Battle of Jingyang (626) 626
Meeting of Heraclius and Ziebel (627) 626–628
Tang conquest of the eastern Khaganate, 626–630 626–630
The Wei bridge, 626 626
Murder of Tong Yabgu (630) 627–630
Revolt of the Tiele (627) 627
Siege of Tiflis (627–629) 627–629
The Caucasus campaign, 627–629 627–629
The great snow of 627 627
Xuanzang's visit to Tong Yabgu 627–630
Defection of Töles (628) 628–629
Taizong's Speech on the Signs of Ruin (628) 628
Battle of Lake Sevan (629–630) 629–630
Battle of the Iron Mountain (630) 630
Capture of Ilig Khan (630) 630
Night Attack on Dingxiang (630) 630
Ransom of the Chinese from the Göktürks (631) 630–631 minimal
Submission of Yiwu (630) 630
The Court Debate of 630 630
The Tang conquest of the western Khaganate, 640–659 640–659
Göktürk war of restoration, 679–687 679–687
Kapgan's Request for Farm Tools and Iron (698) 698
Kapgan's wars with the Tang, 698–716 698–716
Kapgan's western war, 709–713 709–713
Battle of Bolchu 710–711
Göktürk campaign against the Kirghiz (710) 710–711
The revolt of the subject peoples, 714–716 714–716
The coup of 716 716
Bilge Khan's Tent Banquet (725) 725
Horse Market at the Western Shouxiang City (727) 727 minimal
Fall of the Second Khaganate, 741–744 741–744

Places62

Titles and offices63

Customs and pastimes4

Debates7