Baga

Baga was a title of the Göktürk court.^[1] The Chinese histories write it 莫何 or 莫賀, mohe. It appears inside the long titles of khans.^[2] The word is borrowed from Iranian baga, “god, divine”.^[3] A second account sets the Old Turkic word baγa, “small, lower in rank”, beside this derivation.^[4]

In the titles of the khans

When Ishbara was raised to the throne, the Sui Shu records his title as 伊利俱盧設莫何始波羅可汗, Yili Julu She Mohe Shiboluo Khan.^[1] Some scholars divide the string, element by element, as ilig külü šad baga išbara qagan, with 莫何 as baga.^[5] On this division, the first element is the Illig of Bumin’s title. The third is the shad.^[5] The fifth element, 始波羅, is the word that the Tongdian explains as “the brave”, the Ishbara.^[6]

Ishbara used the full title in his letters. In a letter to the Sui emperor, dated in a year of the dragon, he called himself the son of Heaven born of Heaven. He gave his title with 莫何 before 始波羅.^[1] In the memorial in which he later accepted the Sui as overlord, the order is reversed: 伊利俱盧設始波羅莫何可汗.^[1] The Tongdian gives the memorial in the same form.^[6]

Ishbara’s brother Bagha, whom the Chinese call Chuluohou, took the throne in 587. At that point the Zizhi Tongjian calls him 莫何可汗, Mohe Khan.^[7] The Sui Shu calls him 葉護可汗, Yabgu Khan, instead.^[1] He is known in the literature as Bagha Khan after the first of these titles.^[8]

Beyond the house of Ashina

The title was not reserved to the Ashina.^[1] In 605 the Tiele rose against the western khan. They raised Qibi Geleng, of the Qibi, as Yiwuzhen Mohe Khan.^[1] The Sui Shu then calls him simply Mohe, matchless in courage, who won the hearts of his people.^[1]

The Tang histories write the word with 莫賀.^[9] After the murder of Tong Yabgu, the Nushibi tribes chose Nishu Mohe Shad as khan. He refused.^[9] Some scholars render the name Nishu Baga Shad.^[10] The same characters begin the title Baghatur, 莫賀咄.^[9]

In the Second Khaganate the word is attested in Turkic.^[11] Tonyukuk names himself on his monument Bilge Tonyukuk Boyla Baga Tarkan. The stone spells the word 𐰉𐰍𐰀.^[12] The Türgesh leader whom the western tribes chose about 699 bore the title Baga Tarkan as well.^[3] In both cases the word stands before tarkan. The two together formed a title of its own.^[13]

One edition of the Ongin inscription reads baga teŋriken in the line about the speaker’s father. It takes baga with his name or title.^[14] The editor does not give his reasons for this choice.^[14]