This path reads the sixth century from the side of the overlord: the khaganate that first used the title khagan, the Tiele who rose against it again and again, the khan who held it for thirty years, and the two battles that ended it in a season.

  1. Rouran Khaganate A century and a half of rule, and what the Göktürk took over from it.
  2. Tiele The federation that rose in 508, was beaten in 520, and rose again in 546.
  3. Anagui The last khan, from his civil war to his death.
  4. Battle of Dzungaria, 552 The first of the two engagements.
  5. Battle of Huaihuang, 552 The second, and the end.
  6. Issik Khan The aftermath: the exiles in China, the Ordos, and the last victory in January 554.

Begin with Rouran Khaganate →