Overview
Qutluq Bilge Qaghan, known in Chinese sources as Achuo and by the Tang title Fengcheng Qaghan, was the last ruler of the Yaghlakar clan that had founded the Uyghur Khaganate in 744. His five-year reign reversed the defeats of his predecessor's year on the throne. Uyghur armies drove back Tibet and its Karluk allies across the northern Tarim, restoring the khaganate's control of the trade routes that paid for its power.
Rise to Power
He came to the throne in 790 after the death of Külüg Bilge Qaghan, in the wake of the defeat at Beshbalik. Much of the fighting in his reign was led by his son, the future Baoyi Qaghan, who emerged as the khaganate's leading general.
Rule and Achievements
- Drove off a Tibetan attack on Lingzhou in 791
- Defeated the Tibetans and Karluks at Beiting in 791; the captured Tibetan general was sent to the Tang emperor Dezong, sealing the Uyghur–Tang alliance
- Saw his son's army defeat Tibet and the Karluks again and take Gaochang in 792, then besiege and destroy a Tibetan force at Yushu later that year
- Died in 795, ending the Yaghlakar line after half a century
Legacy
Qutluq Bilge Qaghan restored the khaganate's military position, but he could not secure its dynasty. When he died in 795 the founding clan's line ended, and a general of the Ädiz clan took the throne. The lesson of his reign is that military recovery and succession are separate problems: he solved the first and left the second open.