The Hezhi Khan killed Suopi Shad, a shad of the Göktürks, at some time before 583.[1] A single sentence of the edict names him. The Sui Shu quotes the edict, with which the first Sui emperor ordered war on the Göktürks.[1]

The edict uses the killing to show the Göktürks surrounded by enemies. It names the risings against Tardush in the west and against Ishbara in his own realm. It names the defeat of Lijicha by Goguryeo and the Mohe. Then it names Suopi Shad, killed by the Hezhi Khan.[1] All who lived beside the Göktürks, the edict says, wished to destroy them.[1] The Bei Shi gives the sentence in the same form.[2]

The edict does not say who the Hezhi Khan was. It does not call him a Göktürk khan, and it gives him no people, no place and no year.[3] The same edict speaks of brothers in the Göktürk house fighting over precedence. It also speaks of hostile neighbours on every side.[1] The Hezhi Khan may belong to either. He appears nowhere else in the Chinese histories.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Sui Shu (Book of Sui), juan 84
  2. ^ Bei Shi (History of the Northern Dynasties), juan 99
  3. ^ Sui Shu (Book of Sui), juan 84; Bei Shi (History of the Northern Dynasties), juan 99

Sources

Related

What links here3

Persons
Lijicha · Suopi Shad
Battles & Events
Edict of Emperor Wen against the Göktürks (583)

Cite this article

Yavuz, Emre-E. “Hezhi Khan.” Turkic Atlas, revised 22 October 2026. https://turkicatlas.org/persons/hezhi-khan/

Last revised: 22 October 2026