Turkic Khaganates
The first Turkic empire to use the Qaghan title on a pan-Eurasian scale, the Göktürks spread the institution from the Chinese frontier to the Byzantine Empire. Their Orkhon Inscriptions are the oldest surviving texts in a Turkic language and the richest primary source for any pre-Mongol khaganate.
Featured Cases
Case
Bumin built up the Türks' strength while still serving the Rouran, then struck when they were vulnerable and founded the first Turkic empire. Build capacity before you need it, and move when the incumbent is weakest.
Read the caseCase
Blocked from selling silk through Sasanian Persia, Istämi opened direct talks with Byzantium. When one route closes, a new partner can open another.
Read the caseCase
He rejected settling in Chinese-style cities and had the case for keeping the steppe way of life inscribed for his successors. Trade with a larger partner, but do not let it absorb what makes you distinct.
Read the case12 Rulers
Founded by Bumin Qaghan in 552 AD after his revolt against the Rouran, the First Khaganate rapidly split into Eastern and Western branches. The Eastern Qaghans maintained the supreme title and repeatedly threatened Tang China before their final defeat by Emperor Taizong in 630 AD.
Founder of the Göktürk Khaganate; revolted against the Rouran Khagan Anagui and destroyed the Rouran state; died within months of proclaiming the khaganate, passing the empire to his sons
Read the profileElder son of Bumin; ruled briefly before dying in campaign; his short reign nonetheless secured the eastern steppe during the khaganate's vulnerable founding period
Read the profileGreatest Qaghan of the First Khaganate; expanded the empire from Manchuria to the Black Sea, conquered the Epthalites in alliance with Sassanid Persia, subjugated the Kitans and Xi peoples, and forced Northern Qi and Northern Zhou to pay tribute
Read the profileMaintained the vast empire consolidated by Muqan; showed interest in Buddhism and corresponded with Northern Zhou and Northern Qi emperors; his death without a clear successor triggered the succession crisis that split the khaganate
Read the profileBriefly held the supreme title in the disputed succession after Taspar; his weak claim accelerated the formal division between Eastern and Western branches
Read the profileFirst designated Eastern Qaghan after the formal split; faced Sui dynasty China's deliberate policy of fomenting Göktürk civil war; his reign marked the beginning of Chinese political manipulation of steppe succession
Read the profileEastern Qaghan during a period of intense internal conflict; his brief reign reflected the breakdown of Göktürk unity under Sui pressure
Read the profileLongest-ruling Eastern Qaghan of the late First Khaganate period; initially allied with Sui against the Western branch but later turned hostile; eventually killed by his own subordinates with Sui involvement
Read the profileA Sui-backed Qaghan who submitted to Chinese suzerainty in exchange for military support against his rivals; his submission made the Eastern Khaganate effectively a Sui client state
Read the profileReversed his father Qimin's pro-Sui policy; launched devastating raids into Sui territory and famously besieged Emperor Yang of Sui at Yanmen in 615 AD with an army reportedly numbering in the hundreds of thousands
Read the profileRuled during the collapse of the Sui dynasty and the rise of Tang; attempted to play competing Tang and Sui successor warlords against each other with mixed success
Read the profileLast Qaghan of the First Eastern Khaganate; inflicted a decisive defeat on Tang founder Gaozu at the Wei River in 626, extracting tribute; captured and humiliated by Emperor Taizong at the Battle of Yinshan in 630, ending the First Khaganate's independence
Read the profile11 Rulers
Founded by Istami, brother of Bumin, the Western branch extended Göktürk power toward Transoxiana, Persia, and the Byzantine frontier. Western Qaghans engaged in direct diplomacy with Constantinople and Sassanid Persia, spreading the Qaghan title to the edge of Europe.
Co-founder of the Göktürk Khaganate alongside his brother Bumin; led western expansion; allied with Sassanid Persia to destroy the Epthalites around 557 AD; sent the first Turkic ambassadors to the Byzantine Empire in 568 AD, opening the silk road diplomatic corridor
Read the profileMost powerful Western Qaghan; briefly held supreme authority over both eastern and western branches; his overreach and conflict with the Sui-backed Eastern Qaghans eventually led to the formal permanent split of the khaganate
Read the profileRuled the western branch during Tardu's contested later period; his death contributed to a period of western Göktürk fragmentation under Tang-era Chinese pressure
Read the profileWestern Qaghan during a period of Tang consolidation; struggled to maintain unity among the western tribal confederates as Chinese influence grew
Read the profileRestored western Göktürk power; allied with Tang against Sui and secured western steppe territory; his alliance with the rising Tang court proved strategically sound
Read the profileGreatest Western Qaghan; controlled the entire silk road from China to Persia; corresponded with Byzantine Emperor Heraclius and allied with him against Sassanid Persia; his domains stretched from Transoxiana to the Caspian, and Tang accounts describe his court as receiving envoys from over forty peoples
Read the profileAssumed power after Tong Yabghu's assassination; struggled to hold together the fractious western tribal confederacy amid Tang interference
Read the profileRuled during the period of western Göktürk fragmentation following Tang's defeat of the eastern branch; his reign saw the western khaganate increasingly contested between rival factions
Read the profileAttempted to consolidate the western branch under Tang suzerainty; his reign marked the beginning of the western Göktürks' role as a Tang client state
Read the profileWestern Qaghan during continued factional conflicts between the Nushibi and Dulu tribal wings; his reign accelerated the permanent weakening of western Göktürk central authority
Read the profileLast effectively independent Western Qaghan; his defeat by the Tang general Su Dingfang in 657 AD ended formal Western Göktürk sovereignty and brought Central Asia under Tang dominance
Read the profile8 Rulers
After fifty years of Tang subjugation, Ilterish Qaghan led a revolt in 682 AD and restored independent Göktürk rule on the Mongolian steppe. The Second Khaganate produced the Orkhon Inscriptions — the oldest extant Turkic texts — before being destroyed by the Uyghur revolt of 744 AD.
Founder of the Second Khaganate; led the Göktürk revolt against Tang rule in 682; rebuilt steppe power from a band of refugees into a reconstituted khaganate through seventeen major campaigns documented in the Orkhon Inscriptions
Read the profileMost powerful ruler of the Second Khaganate; extended Göktürk control from Manchuria to Transoxiana; repeatedly defeated Tang armies and extracted tribute and concessions; killed in a surprise attack by the Bayyrqu tribe in 716
Read the profileBriefly held power after Qapaghan's death before being overthrown by Ilterish's sons; his displacement restored the founding lineage to the throne
Read the profileSon of Ilterish and one of the great figures of Turkic history; his reign is documented in the famous Orkhon Inscriptions, bilingual stone monuments in Old Turkic runic and Chinese; ruled alongside his brother Kultegin, whose military genius secured the khaganate's borders
Read the profileBrother and supreme general of Bilge Qaghan; never held the Qaghan title but was the khaganate's greatest military commander; his death stele is one of the most important surviving documents of early Turkic civilization
Read the profileSon of Bilge; ruled after his father's probable poisoning; his reign saw the beginning of the internal conflicts that would destroy the Second Khaganate
Read the profileLast substantive Qaghan of the Second Khaganate; his rule coincided with the Uyghur and Basmyl uprising that fragmented Göktürk authority beyond recovery
Read the profileAttempted to resist the Uyghur-led coalition that had shattered the Second Khaganate; defeated and killed by the Uyghurs in 744, ending two centuries of Göktürk supremacy over the Mongolian steppe
Read the profileExplore More
