Bochan

Bochan was a commander of the western Göktürks in 576.^[1] After burying his father Istemi, Turxanthos threatened to besiege and take Bosporos. At once he sent Bochan with a very large Göktürk force to destroy the city.^[2] Anagai, the ruler of the Utigurs, was already encamped in that country with another Göktürk force.^[2] The words that gave the reason for the threat are lost in a gap in the text.^[3]

According to some scholars, Turxanthos incited Anagai and Bochan, a Göktürk general, to invade Roman land. Their united forces then besieged Bosporos in a surprise attack in the same year.^[1] Others have Bochan reinforce the Göktürk forces under Anagai that were already conducting the siege. They date the fall of the city to about 579.^[4] Menander says that Bosporos was taken while the Roman envoy Valentinos was still among the Göktürks.^[2] The Greek form of his name has been interpreted as a Turkic Boqan, with a query.^[5]

With the siege of Bosporos, the Göktürk realm reached the Crimea. This was the western limit of its expansion.^[1]

References

^ a b c Yavuz 2025, p. 321
^ a b c Menander Protector
^ Menander Protector; Dindorf 1871, p. 89
^ Golden 1992, p. 130-131
^ Golden 1992, p. 131

Sources

Menander Protector

Literature

Peter B. Golden, An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples (1992)
Emre-E. Yavuz, The Gokturk Empire: 2nd Edition (2025)
Édouard Chavannes, Documents sur les Tou-Kiue (Turcs) occidentaux (1903)
Ludwig Dindorf (ed.), Historici Graeci minores, Bd. II: Menander Protector et Agathias (1871)