Baghatur Khan was a Göktürk prince. He murdered his nephew Tong Yabgu and made himself khan of the western Göktürks as Quli Sibi Khan.[1] The Chinese histories name him as the murderer. They also name him as one of the two rival khans whose war cost the west its subject peoples.[1]

Before the murder

Before the murder Baghatur governed part of the Göktürk tribes as a lesser khan.[2] The Cefu yuangui records an embassy from a Moheduo Khan of the western Göktürks in the sixth month of 624.[3] No passage says whether that khan was the same man.

The Jiu Tang Shu, the Tongdian and the Zizhi tongjian call him the elder brother of Tong Yabgu’s father.[4] The Xin Tang Shu calls him one of Tong Yabgu’s paternal uncles.[5] Some scholars make him a son of Tardush.[6]

The murder

Tong Yabgu relied on his strength and showed his people no kindness. They resented him, and many of the Karluks rose against him.[7] Then his uncle killed him and took his place.[1] The murder is dated in three ways.[8] The Zizhi tongjian enters it at the end of 628.[9] The Cefu yuangui sets Taizong’s mourning for Tong Yabgu under 627.[10] One modern account dates the murderer’s short reign to 630.[11]

The war of the two khans

When Baghatur called himself great khan, the people would not follow him.[1] The Nushibi tribes put forward Nishu Bagha Shad as khan. Nishu declined.[12] Instead he raised Tong Yabgu’s son, who had fled to Kangju, as Si Yabgu Khan.[12] The Xin Tang Shu says that the two khans divided the realm between them.[5] They fought each other without pause. Both sent envoys to the Tang court to ask for a princess.[12]

The Xin Tang Shu puts Baghatur’s request for a bride in 630.[5] Taizong refused it. His reasons: the Göktürks were in disorder, lord and subjects were not yet settled, and it was no time for a marriage.[13] The states of the Western Regions fell away, and the country was drained. Even his own tribes went over to Si Yabgu little by little.[5] Si Yabgu attacked Baghatur and beat him badly.[14] Baghatur fled to the Golden Mountain, the Altai. Nishu killed him there.[15] The Zizhi tongjian enters his death at the end of 630.[9]

One modern account names the murderer as an uncle from the Nushibi tribes.[16] It also reports a second view, that Tong Yabgu was killed by his own son.[16]

Name

The Jiu Tang Shu, the Tongdian and the Zizhi tongjian give his title as 莫賀咄侯屈利俟毗可汗, Moheduo Hou Quli Sibi Khan.[4] The Xin Tang Shu shortens it to 屈利俟毗可汗, Quli Sibi Khan, and calls him Moheduo before his accession.[5] The Jiu Tang Shu and the Zizhi tongjian also speak of him as Moheduo Khan.[12] Moheduo, 莫賀咄, is understood as the title baghatur.[17] One modern account calls him Bukadur.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Jiu Tangshu (Old Book of Tang), juan 194; Xin Tangshu (New Book of Tang), juan 215
  2. ^ Jiu Tangshu (Old Book of Tang), juan 194; Tongdian, juan 199; Xin Tangshu (New Book of Tang), juan 215
  3. ^ Cefu yuangui, juan 970
  4. ^ a b Jiu Tangshu (Old Book of Tang), juan 194; Tongdian, juan 199; Zizhi tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance), juan 193
  5. ^ a b c d e Xin Tangshu (New Book of Tang), juan 215
  6. ^ Chavannes 1903, p. 3
  7. ^ Jiu Tangshu (Old Book of Tang), juan 194; Tongdian, juan 199
  8. ^ Zizhi tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance), juan 193; Cefu yuangui, juan 974
  9. ^ a b Zizhi tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance), juan 193
  10. ^ Cefu yuangui, juan 974
  11. ^ Golden 1992, p. 135
  12. ^ a b c d Jiu Tangshu (Old Book of Tang), juan 194; Zizhi tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance), juan 193
  13. ^ Xin Tangshu (New Book of Tang), juan 215; Jiu Tangshu (Old Book of Tang), juan 194
  14. ^ Jiu Tangshu (Old Book of Tang), juan 194
  15. ^ Jiu Tangshu (Old Book of Tang), juan 194; Xin Tangshu (New Book of Tang), juan 215; Zizhi tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance), juan 193
  16. ^ a b Yavuz 2025, p. 371
  17. ^ Chavannes 1903, p. 53
  18. ^ Kaiyrken 2026, p. 4

Sources

Literature

  • Édouard Chavannes, Documents sur les Tou-Kiue (Turcs) occidentaux (1903)
  • Peter B. Golden, An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples (1992)
  • Emre-E. Yavuz, The Gokturk Empire: 2nd Edition (2025)
  • Tursynkhan Zakonuly Kaiyrken; Abdulvahap Kara, Xuan Zang'ın Seyahat Notlarında Batı Göktürk Kağanı Tong Yabgu'nun Devlet Adamı Portresi (2026)

Related

What links here5

Persons
Ishbara Tolis Khan · Nishu Bagha Shad · Si Yabgu Khan
Battles & Events
Murder of Tong Yabgu (630)
Institutions and Titles
Baghatur

Cite this article

Yavuz, Emre-E. “Baghatur Khan.” Turkic Atlas, revised 8 November 2026. https://turkicatlas.org/persons/baghatur-khan/

Last revised: 8 November 2026