Anyi was a woman of the Sui imperial clan. In 597 the emperor gave her in marriage to Yami, whom the Sui Shu calls Rangan. At that time Yami held the north of the Göktürk realm as Tuli Khan.[1] She was the first of his two Sui brides.[1] The Sui used the marriage to divide the Göktürks.[1]
The marriage of 597
Yami had asked the Sui for a bride. The court made the death of Princess Dayi, the wife of Tulan Khan, the price of the marriage.[1] A modern account has the Sui official Pei Ju offer Yami Princess Anyi in 597 in return for the removal of Qianjin.[2] In 597 Yami’s envoys came to fetch the bride.[1] The Zizhi tongjian dates their arrival to the seventh month.[3] The emperor lodged them with the ministry of rites and had them taught the six rites of marriage. He gave Yami a woman of his clan as Princess Anyi.[1] The biography of Zhangsun Sheng in the Sui Shu adds that Yami sent five hundred horsemen with Zhangsun Sheng to fetch her.[4][5]
The emperor wished to set the northern peoples against one another. He made the gifts especially rich.[1] He sent Niu Hong, Su Wei and Hulü Xiaoqing to the Göktürks one after another. The Göktürks sent three hundred and seventy embassies to his court.[1] Because of the marriage Yami moved south to the old garrison of Dujin and received rich gifts.[1] Tulan was furious. “I am the great khan,” he said, “and I count for less than Rangan.”[1] He broke off his tribute and raided the frontier.[1]
Death
In 599 Tulan and Tardush attacked Yami. Yami fled to the Sui.[1] When the emperor made him Qimin Khan, Princess Anyi had already died. The Sui gave him the princess Yicheng in her place.[6] The Zizhi tongjian sets the investiture in the tenth month of 599.[3] The Tongdian and the Bei Shi agree.[7] Where and how she died, none of them says.
In 607 Yami remembered her in a memorial to the emperor Yangdi.[8] He wrote that the late emperor had pitied him and given him Princess Anyi. He wrote that he had lacked nothing.[8] One translation renders her title as “peace and righteousness”.[9]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Sui Shu (Book of Sui), juan 84
- ^ Yavuz 2025, p. 333
- ^ a b Zizhi tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance), juan 178
- ^ Sui Shu (Book of Sui); Mau-tsai 1958, Turkish edition, p. 141
- ^ Cefu yuangui, juan 978
- ^ Sui Shu (Book of Sui), juan 84; Zizhi tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance), juan 178
- ^ Tongdian, juan 197; Bei Shi (History of the Northern Dynasties), juan 99
- ^ a b Sui Shu (Book of Sui), juan 84; Zizhi tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance), juan 180
- ^ Mau-tsai 1958, Turkish edition, p. 84
Sources
- Sui Shu (Book of Sui), juan 84
- Bei Shi (History of the Northern Dynasties), juan 99 (after Wei Shu, Zhou Shu and Sui Shu)
- Tongdian, juan 197 (after Sui Shu and Zhou Shu)
- Cefu yuangui, juan 978 (after Tongdian and Jiu Tangshu)
- Zizhi tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance), juan 178, 180 (after Wei Shu, Zhou Shu, Sui Shu and Bei Shi)
Literature
- Emre-E. Yavuz, The Gokturk Empire: 2nd Edition (2025)
- Liu Mau-tsai, Çin Kaynaklarına Göre Doğu Türkleri (1958, Turkish edition)
What links here11
- Persons
- Pei Ju · Princess Qianjin · Yami Khan
- States
- Sui
- Battles & Events
- Death of Princess Dayi · The Attack on Yami Khan (599) · The Sui Campaign of 599 · Yangdi's Visit to Yami Khan (607)
- Places
- Dujin Garrison
- Institutions and Titles
- Great Khan · Women among the Turkic Peoples
Cite this article
Yavuz, Emre-E. “Princess Anyi.” Turkic Atlas, revised 8 November 2026. https://turkicatlas.org/persons/anyi-princess/
Last revised: 8 November 2026
