The Bagha Shad was a Göktürk prince of the western khaganate in the reign of Tong Yabgu. He was the father of Nishu, who reigned as Duolu Khan from 632 to 634.[1] The Tang histories name him as the sworn brother of the emperor Taizong.[2]

He had served under Tong Yabgu.[2] The Xin Tang Shu says that he came to the Tang court in the Wude years, from 618 to 626. It says that Taizong swore with him to be brothers.[3] The Jiu Tang Shu and the Tongdian add that Taizong was then still a prince and took pains to win him over.[4] When he died, his son Nishu took his place.[3] The year of his death is not recorded. A second son, the Tong’e Shad, reigned after Nishu as Ishbara Tolis Khan.[5]

The Bagha Shad has been made a younger brother of Tong Yabgu, a son of Duliu and a great-grandson of Istemi.[6] The reason given is that the rank of shad was held by the sons and younger brothers of khans. His sons, it is added, belonged to the generation after Tong Yabgu.[6]

Mikhail Artamonov took him for a younger brother of Tong Yabgu who had gone to China as an envoy between 618 and 626.[7] He identified him with Ziebel, the Göktürk lord who met the emperor Heraclius before Tiflis in the chronicle of Theophanes.[7] Artamonov also connected the young son whom the yabgu presented to Heraclius with the Bagha Shad’s younger son, Buli Shad.[7] The usual view identifies Ziebel with Tong Yabgu himself. The question is argued.

Name

The histories give him only his title, 莫賀設, Mohe Shad.[2] The first two characters are understood as the title baga and the last as shad.[8] His personal name is not recorded.

References

  1. ^ Xin Tangshu (New Book of Tang), juan 215; Jiu Tangshu (Old Book of Tang), juan 194; Zizhi tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance), juan 194
  2. ^ a b c Xin Tangshu (New Book of Tang), juan 215; Jiu Tangshu (Old Book of Tang), juan 194
  3. ^ a b Xin Tangshu (New Book of Tang), juan 215
  4. ^ Jiu Tangshu (Old Book of Tang), juan 194; Tongdian, juan 199
  5. ^ Jiu Tangshu (Old Book of Tang), juan 194
  6. ^ a b Chavannes 1903, p. 3
  7. ^ a b c Aslan 2025, p. 687
  8. ^ Chavannes 1903, p. 55

Sources

Literature

  • Édouard Chavannes, Documents sur les Tou-Kiue (Turcs) occidentaux (1903)
  • İlhan Aslan, Herakleios Dönemi Bizans-Sasani Savaşında Müttefik Bir Güç: Batı Türk Kağanlığı (2025)

Related

What links here4

Persons
Duliu · Ishbara Tolis Khan · Nishu Bagha Shad
Sources
Theophanes the Confessor

Cite this article

Yavuz, Emre-E. “Bagha Shad.” Turkic Atlas, revised 8 November 2026. https://turkicatlas.org/persons/bagha-shad/

Last revised: 8 November 2026