Overview
Wujie Qaghan, known in Turkic as Ügä, led the largest group of Uyghur survivors after the fall of Ordu-Baliq in 840. With about 100,000 people he moved south to the Tang frontier and tried to bargain with the emperor for land and protection. The Tang, no longer needing its former ally, refused, and his five years as qaghan were a struggle for survival that ended in his death.
Rise to Power
After the Kyrgyz destroyed the Uyghur capital in 840, the Uyghurs fled in two groups. One, under the prince Ormïzt, entered Tang territory. The other, far larger, followed Wujie, who was proclaimed qaghan in 841.
Rule and Achievements
- Led about 100,000 Uyghurs to the Tang frontier and demanded a city, food, and protection for Manichaean believers; Emperor Wuzong refused
- Invaded present-day Shaanxi in 841
- Was defeated and wounded on 13 February 843, when a Tang army under Shi Xiong killed about 10,000 Uyghurs at Shahu
- Saw the Tang turn on the Uyghurs' religion in 843, destroying Manichaean temples and executing their clergy
- Was killed in 846 after a six-year struggle
Legacy
Wujie Qaghan's fate shows how quickly an alliance built on strength ends when the strength is gone. For a century the Tang had paid the Uyghurs and honoured their faith. Once the khaganate had fallen, the same court refused them a city and persecuted their priests.