How the Göktürks Partnered With Byzantium to Bypass Persia

The Challenge

By the 560s the Göktürks under Istämi controlled the Silk Road across Central Asia, with Sogdian merchants carrying their silk west. But the route to the Mediterranean ran through Sasanian Persia, which had no wish to let a rising steppe power profit from the trade.

When the Göktürks sent envoys to the Persian king Khosrow I to open the silk trade, he refused, and a later embassy ended with the envoys' deaths.

The Approach

• Istämi turned to Persia's great rival, the Byzantine Empire, to open a route around Persia
• A Göktürk embassy led by the Sogdian merchant Maniakh reached Constantinople in 568
• Emperor Justin II sent his envoy Zemarchus back to Istämi's court, beginning direct relations between the two powers

The Impact

The Göktürks and Byzantium entered an alliance aimed at Persia, and the khaganate became a recognized power in the diplomacy of the Mediterranean world.

The partnership helped draw Persia into wars on two fronts in the following years, and it established the Göktürks as the first steppe power to deal directly with both China and Byzantium.

The Lesson for Leaders

When an incumbent blocks your route to market, look for the partner who shares your interest in getting around it. Istämi did not fight Persia for access; he found Persia's rival and made the trade route a shared strategic goal.