Overview
Külüg Bilge Qaghan, known in Chinese sources by his personal name Duoluosi and by the Tang title Zhongzhen Qaghan, ruled the Uyghur Khaganate for a single year after the death of his father, Tun Baga Tarqan. His short reign fell at a dangerous moment. Tibet, then at the height of its power, was pushing into the Tarim Basin and the Gansu corridor, and the Uyghurs' neighbours were quick to test a new and untried qaghan.
His year on the throne shows how exposed a steppe empire was at every succession: the transfer of power itself was the moment of greatest risk.
Rise to Power
He succeeded his father, Tun Baga Tarqan, in 789. Tun Baga had taken the throne by killing his predecessor, Bögü Qaghan, and had spent his reign fighting Tibet, leaving his son a khaganate at war on its southwestern frontier.
Rule and Achievements
- Inherited the war with the Tibetan Empire for control of the Tarim Basin and the routes west of China
- Lost the Futu valley to the Karluks, who took advantage of the succession to seize Uyghur territory
- Saw a combined Uyghur and Tang army defeated by Tibet at Beshbalik (Tingzhou) in 790, a serious blow to both allies' position in the northern Tarim
- Died in 790 after about a year on the throne
Legacy
Külüg Bilge Qaghan's reign is a lesson in the cost of a weak handover. Neighbours read the succession as an opening, and within a year the khaganate had lost territory and a major battle. His successor, Qutluq Bilge Qaghan, and especially the young commander who would later rule as Baoyi Qaghan, spent the next two years recovering the position.