Istämi was the ruler of the western part of the Göktürks

Göktürks

The Göktürks or Kök Türks, were a nomadic confederation of peoples in medieval Inner Asia. Known in Chinese sources as 突厥 , the Göktürks under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan The Göktürks or Kök Türks, (Old Turkic: Türük or Kök Türük or Türük; Celestial Turks) were a nomadic confederation of...

, the Western Turkic Khaganate

Western Turkic Khaganate

The Western Turkic Khaganate was formed as a result of the internecine wars in the beginning of the 7th century after the Göktürk Khaganate had splintered into two politiesEastern and Western.The Western Turks initially sought friendly relations with the Byzantine Empire in order to expand their...

 and dominated the Sogdian

Sogdiana

Sogdiana or Sogdia was the ancient civilization of an Iranian people and a province of the Achaemenid Empire, eighteenth in the list on the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great . Sogdiana is "listed" as the second of the "good lands and countries" that Ahura Mazda created...

s. He was the yabgu (vassal) of his brother Bumin Qaghan in 553

553

Year 553 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 553 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* The Ostrogoth Kingdom is conquered by the...

 AD. His son was Tardu

Tardu

Tardu was the second yabgu and the first khagan of the Western Turkic Khaganate.- Names :The regnal name in Turkic was Tarduš , Medieval Greek: Ταρδου, 達頭可汗/达头可汗, Pinyin: dátóu kěhàn, Wade-Giles: ta-t'ou k'o-han, personal name: 阿史那玷厥, āshǐnà diànjué, a-shih-na tien-chüeh)...

.

Activities

During his rule Istami established diplomatic relations with the Persian

Sassanid Empire

The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...

 and Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

s, defeated the Hepthalites, and acted as an elder statesman during the disintegration of the eastern half of the empire. We know a great deal about him from the diplomatic missions of the Byzantine Empire.

As the brother of Tuman he ruled the far-western region of their khanate. His son was Tardu. As a Yabghu, he was autonomous and had de-facto sovereignty while officially recognizing the authority of the qaghan. After Khushu’s death he arranged the division of the territory into three realms east, central, and west and distributed them between Jotan, Arslan, and Shetu, respectively.

İstemi

İstemi

İstemi is a common masculine Turkish given name. In Turkish, "İstemi" means "Conquerror of the Sky".-Real People:* İstemi, the Yabgu of the western part of the Göktürks, the Western Turkic Khaganate ....

 and İstemihan

İstemihan

İstemihan is a common masculine Turkish given name. It is composed of two words: "İstemi" and "Han". In Turkish, "İstemi" means "Conquerror of the Sky" and its a given name on its own whereas "Han" means "Ruler", and/or "King"...

 are Turkish given names

Turkish name

A Turkish name consists of an ad and a soyadı . Turkish names exist in a "full name" format. While there is only one soyadı in the full name, there may be more than one ad...

honouring him.