Turum was a Göktürk prince and a kinsman of the khagan by birth. He rose against the khagan and fell in battle at Ikar.[1] He is known from the letter of a Göktürk khagan to the emperor Maurice. Theophylact Simocatta, the historian of Maurice’s reign, summarises the letter.[2]

Theophylact writes that the Göktürks fell into civil war while victory was smiling on the khagan.[1] Turum revolted and collected great forces.[1] His party gained the upper hand in battle.[1] The khagan then sent envoys to three other great khagans, Sparzeugun, Kunaxolan and Tuldich.[1] Their whole array assembled at the Ikar, a place enfolded in great plains. Turum’s men drew up against them there.[1] Turum fell.[1] His allies turned to flight. After much slaughter the khagan was master of his own territory again.[1] The revolt is one of the victories that the khagan reported to Maurice.[1]

Date and identity

Theophylact names neither the khagan nor the year.[1] There are three datings of the revolt. The first puts its end about 582, on the evidence of the Chinese histories of the Göktürks.[3] The second dates the civil war to 581 and 582.[4] The third places it about 598 and takes it for a revolt of the Ogurs, whose subjugation the letter reports just before.[4] The dating of the letter to 598 makes Tardush its writer.[5] On that dating Turum was a kinsman of Tardush.

His name stands in the Greek as Τουρούμ.[6] Modern accounts leave open who Turum was and where the Ikar lay. Only fragile hypotheses could answer those questions.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Theophylact Simocatta; Whitby 1986, p. 190
  2. ^ Theophylact Simocatta; Whitby 1986, p. 188–190
  3. ^ Whitby 1986, p. 190–191
  4. ^ a b Golden 1992, p. 133
  5. ^ Chavannes 1903, p. 249
  6. ^ Theophylact Simocatta; de Boor 1887, p. 259
  7. ^ Chavannes 1903, p. 251

Sources

Literature

  • Michael Whitby, Mary Whitby (trans.), The History of Theophylact Simocatta (1986)
  • Carl de Boor (ed.), Theophylacti Simocattae Historiae (1887)
  • Immanuel Bekker (ed.), Theophylacti Simocattae Historiarum libri octo (1834)
  • Peter B. Golden, An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples (1992)
  • Édouard Chavannes, Documents sur les Tou-Kiue (Turcs) occidentaux (1903)

Related

What links here8

Persons
Kunaxolan · Sparzeugun · Tuldich
Battles & Events
Flight of the Tarniach and Kotzager · Revolt of Turum · The khan's letter to Maurice
Places
Ikar
Sources
Theophylact Simocatta

Cite this article

Yavuz, Emre-E. “Turum.” Turkic Atlas, revised 8 November 2026. https://turkicatlas.org/persons/turum/

Last revised: 8 November 2026