Overview
Zhangxin Qaghan, the prince Hu Tegin, ruled the Uyghur Khaganate from 832 to 839. A son of Chongde Qaghan, he came to power after the murder of his uncle Zhaoli and lost it to a minister's coup, being forced to take his own life. His fall came in the same year that natural disaster struck the steppe, and the combination proved fatal to the khaganate.
Rise to Power
He took the throne in 832 after Zhaoli Qaghan was murdered by his followers, restoring the succession to Chongde's line.
Rule and Achievements
- Ruled through seven years of growing rivalry among the khaganate's ministers
- Faced the catastrophe of 839, when famine and epidemic struck and a severe winter killed much of the livestock on which the economy depended
- Was forced to commit suicide in 839 when the minister Qasar seized the throne with the help of 20,000 Shatuo horsemen from the Ordos
Legacy
Zhangxin Qaghan's reign shows how internal division turns a shock into a collapse. A pastoral empire could survive a bad winter; it could not survive one while its leaders were fighting each other. Within a year of his death the Uyghur capital had been destroyed.