Eastern Turkic Khaganate: A Visual History

The Eastern Turkic Khaganate was the eastern half of the divided Gokturk empire, ruling Mongolia and the frontier of China from around 603 to 630. It exploited the collapse of the Sui dynasty, backing rival Chinese warlords and even the future Tang emperors, and in 626 Illig Khagan rode to the gates of Chang'an. Four years later, weakened by famine, snow and revolt among subject tribes, it was destroyed by the Tang general Li Jing; Illig was captured and Taizong was acclaimed 'Heavenly Khagan'. A second Turkic khaganate rose in 682.

When it existed: the era ribbon

The bold bar is Eastern Turkic Khaganate. The lighter bars are empires and wars from the same era and the same part of the world. Click any bar to jump to its page.

Eastern Turkic territory

Timeline of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate

1. 603
   Khaganate dividedThe eastern half under Qimin.
2. 615
   Siege of YanmenThe Sui emperor trapped.
3. 617
   Li Yuan submitsThe Turks back the Tang founder.
4. 626
   Illig at the Wei RiverBought off by Taizong.
5. 627
   Snow disaster and revolts
6. 630
   Battle of Yin MountainIllig captured; the khaganate destroyed.
7. 682
   Second khaganate foundedBy Ilterish; lasts to 744.

Playing China's factions

After the Gokturk split, the eastern khagans were briefly clients of the Sui, but Shibi Khagan turned on his overlords, nearly capturing Emperor Yang at Yanmen in 615. As the Sui disintegrated, the Turks armed and titled the rebels; Li Yuan, founder of the Tang, formally submitted to them in 617 to secure his rear.

Illig at the gates

Illig (Xieli) Khagan raided north China almost yearly. In 626, days after Taizong seized power in the Xuanwu Gate coup, Illig appeared with a huge army at the Wei River bridge outside Chang'an. Taizong rode out with a handful of men, shamed him, and bought him off with treasure in the 'Alliance of the Wei River'.

Destruction

Heavy snows in 627 killed livestock; the Xueyantuo, Uyghurs and other Tiele tribes revolted; Illig's own nephew defected. In the winter of 629-630 Li Jing led six armies onto the steppe, surprised Illig's camp in a snowstorm at Yin Mountain and captured him. The Turks were resettled inside the Ordos loop and Taizong took the title Heavenly Khagan. Illig died in Chang'an in 634 as a captive dancer at court entertainments.

Related empires and wars

Chosen automatically by overlap in time and geography, plus a few hand picked connections.

Empires of the same era and region

• First Turkic Khaganate (552 to 603)
• Western Turkic Khaganate (603 to 742)
• Sui dynasty (581 to 618)
• Tang dynasty (618 to 907)
• Uyghur Khaganate (744 to 840)
• Avar Khaganate (567 to 822)

Wars of the same era and region

• Goguryeo-Sui War (598 to 614)

8 surprising things about the Eastern Turkic Khaganate

1. The Tang founder Li Yuan formally submitted to the Turks in 617, a humiliation later Tang historians tried to gloss over.
2. Taizong once said he lay awake at night thinking about the shame of the Wei River treaty until he could avenge it.
3. The captured Illig Khagan was made to dance at a palace banquet, alongside a captured southern ruler who recited poems.
4. Taizong's title Heavenly Khagan meant that a Chinese emperor was formally the overlord of the steppe for the first time.
5. The Second Turkic Khaganate left the Orkhon inscriptions, the oldest known texts in a Turkic language, which warn against Chinese soft power.
6. The Turks' collapse in 630 came only three years after a natural disaster killed most of their herds.
7. Tang armies incorporated defeated Turks wholesale; several of the dynasty's best generals were Turkic.
8. The Xueyantuo who helped destroy the Turks were themselves destroyed by the Tang in 646.

Sources

• Eastern Turkic Khaganate Wikipedia
• Taizong Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Gokturks World History Encyclopedia
• Jonathan Skaff, Sui-Tang China and Its Turko-Mongol Neighbors (2012) Oxford University Press

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