Overview
Chongde Qaghan ruled the Uyghur Khaganate from 821 to 824. His short reign was full of activity: a marriage alliance with the Tang imperial house, a victory over Tibet, a raid deep into Central Asia and a remarkable episode in which the Tang paid the Uyghurs to take home an army it had not asked for. Together these show both the khaganate's strength and how much it depended on its relationship with China.
Rise to Power
He succeeded his father, Baoyi Qaghan, in 821. In the same year he married Princess Taihe, a daughter of the Tang imperial family, renewing the marriage alliance between the two powers.
Rule and Achievements
- Married the Tang princess Taihe in 821, the most prestigious alliance a steppe ruler could hold
- Repulsed a Tibetan invasion in 821 and, after defeating a combined Tibetan and Karluk force, raided Ushrusana in Central Asia
- Improved trade with Sogdia, the merchant society on which the khaganate's commerce depended
- Offered troops to help the Tang against rebels in 822; the Tang declined and paid 70,000 bolts of silk for the army to go home
- Faced a renewed Tibetan war in 823; died in 824 and was succeeded by his brother Zhaoli
Legacy
Chongde Qaghan's reign shows the khaganate at its most confident, able to sell its military power even when it was not used. But the arrangement rested on Tang willingness to pay. When that willingness and the steppe economy both failed in the 830s, the khaganate had no fallback.