Jinyang

Rouran epoch Göktürk epoch Uyghur epoch Kirghiz epoch

Rouran First Göktürk Tang rule Second Göktürk Uyghur Kirghiz Huns Western Göktürk Türgesh Karluk Khazar

Rouran 400–554
First Göktürk 552–630
Tang rule 630–682
Second Göktürk 682–744
Uyghur 744–840
Kirghiz 840–924
Huns 370–469
Western Göktürk 552–659
Türgesh 699–766
Karluk 766–800
Khazar 650–969

Jinyang stood in the upper Fen valley in Shanxi. There the roads out of the northern grassland come down into the Chinese plain. The Northern Qi held it as a second capital and as the garrison facing the steppe. The court was as often there as at Ye.^[1]

That double character is why the city appears twice in Göktürk history. In the winter of 563 a Göktürk and Zhou army came before the city and could not take it. The campaign ended in the first month of 564 with a failed assault and a plundered countryside.^[2] Fourteen years later the last Qi emperor could not hold the same city against the Zhou. He said he would run north to the Göktürks. His ministers told him it could not be done.^[3]

The modern city on the site is Taiyuan. Taiyuan is also the commandery name under which the campaign is usually described.