Tong Yabghu
Encyclopedia
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
Tǒngyèhù Kěhán, Wade-Giles
Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...
: t'ung-yeh-hu k'o-han) was khagan
Khagan
Khagan or qagan , alternatively spelled kagan, khaghan, qaghan, or chagan, is a title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate...
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...
from 618 to 628 AD. His name is usually translated as "Tiger Yabgu
Yabgu
Yabgu was a state office in the early Turkic states, roughly equivalent to viceroy...
" in Old Turkic. Another interpretation of his name is "sufficiency" or "completeness".
He was the brother of Shekuei (r. 611-618), the previous khagan of the western 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...
, and was a member of the Ashina
Ashina
Ashina was a tribe and the ruling dynasty of the ancient Turks who rose to prominence in the mid-6th century when their leader, Bumin Khan, revolted against the Rouran...
clan. Tong Yabghu's reign is generally regarded as the zenith of the Western Göktürk Khaganate.
Reign
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and may have married into the Imperial family.
The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim
Pilgrim
A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journeying to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system...
Xuanzang
Xuanzang
Xuanzang was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period...
visited the western Göktürk capital Suyab
Suyab
Suyab was an ancient Silk Road city located some 50 km east from Bishkek, and 8 km west southwest from Tokmok, in the Chui River valley, present-day Kyrgyzstan.- History :...
in modern Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
and left a description of the khagan. Scholars believe the khagan described by Xuanzang was Tong Yabghu. Gao argues that the khagan Xuanzang met was his son Si Yabghu, rather than Tong Yabghu. Xuanzang described the khagan as follows:
The khanKhan (title)Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
wore a green satinSatinSatin is a weave that typically has a glossy surface and a dull back. It is a warp-dominated weaving technique that forms a minimum number of interlacings in a fabric. If a fabric is formed with a satin weave using filament fibres such as silk, nylon, or polyester, the corresponding fabric is...
robe; his hair, which was ten feet long, was free. A band of white silkSilkSilk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
wound round his forehead and hung down behind. The ministers of the presence, numbering two hundred in number, all wearing embroidered robes, stood on his right and left. The rest of his military retinue [was] clothed in fur, sergeSergeSerge is a type of twill fabric that has diagonal lines or ridges on both sides, made with a two-up, two-down weave. The worsted variety is used in making military uniforms, suits, great coats and trench coats. Its counterpart, silk serge, is used for linings. French serge is a softer, finer variety...
and fine wool, the spears and standardsAsenaAsena is the name of one of the ten sons, whom mythical female wolf gave birth to, in old Turkic mythology. It is associated with a Göktürk ethnogenic myth "full of shamanic symbolism"...
and bows in order, and the riders of camels and horses stretched far out of [sight].
According to the Book of Tang
Book of Tang
The Book of Tang , Jiu Tangshu or the Old Book of Tang is the first classic work about the Tang Dynasty. The book began when Gaozu of Later Jin ordered its commencement in 941...
, Tong Yabghu's reign was once considered as the golden age of Western Göktürk Khaganate:
Tong Yehu Kaghan is a man of bravery and astuteness. He is good at art of war. Thus he controlled TieleTiele peopleThe Tiele or Tele , were a confederation of nine Turkic peoples living to the north of China and in Central Asia, emerging after the disintegration of the Xiongnu confederacy...
tribes to the north, confronted Persia to the west, connected with Kasmira (nowadays KashmirKashmirKashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
) to the south. All countries are subjected to him. He controlled ten thousands of men with arrow and bow, establishing his power over the western region. He occupied the land of Wusun and moved his tent to Qianquan north of Tashkent. All of the princes of western region assumed the Turk office of Jielifa. Tong Yehu Kaghan also sent a TutunTudunA tudun was a governor resident in a town or other settlement in Ancient Bulgar/Avar/Gokturk empires, particularly those of the Bulgars and the Khazars. In Gothic THIUDNASSAM means 'kingdom'. The tudun was the personal representative of the imperial government and could function both as an...
to monitor them for imposition. The power of Western Turks had never reached such a state before".
Campaigns against Persia
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. In the early 620's the khagan's nephew Böri Shad led a series of raids across the Caucasus Mountains
Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains is a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region .The Caucasus Mountains includes:* the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and* the Lesser Caucasus Mountains....
into Persian territory. Many scholars have identified Tong Yabghu as the Ziebel mentioned in Byzantine
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...
sources as having (as khagan of the Khazars
Khazars
The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
) campaigned with the Emperor Heraclius
Heraclius
Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...
in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
against the Sassanid Persian Empire in 627-628. A few scholars, including Chavannes, Uchida, Gao and Xue Zhongzeng assert that Tong Yabghu cannot be positively identified with Ziebel (or any Khazar ruler) and may actually have died as early as 626. These scholars point to discrepancies in the dates between Byzantine and Chinese sources and argue that definitively conflating Ziebel with Tong Yabghu is an exaggeration of the extant evidence.
In 627, the Turks penetrated the Gates of Alexander
Gates of Alexander
The Gates of Alexander was a legendary barrier supposedly built by Alexander the Great in the Caucasus to keep the uncivilized barbarians of the north from invading the land to the south. The gates were a popular subject in medieval travel literature, starting with the Alexander Romance in a...
and sacked the city of Derbent
Derbent
Derbent |Lak]]: Чурул, Churul; Persian: دربند; Judæo-Tat: דארבּאנד/Дэрбэнд/Dərbənd) is a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, close to the Azerbaijani border. It is the southernmost city in Russia, and it is the second most important city of Dagestan...
. Movses Kagankatvatsi describes the attack thus:
Like waves in the sea, the Turks fell on the town of Chora (DerbentDerbentDerbent |Lak]]: Чурул, Churul; Persian: دربند; Judæo-Tat: דארבּאנד/Дэрбэнд/Dərbənd) is a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, close to the Azerbaijani border. It is the southernmost city in Russia, and it is the second most important city of Dagestan...
) and destroyed it completely. Seeing the terrible threat posed by this vile, ugly, horde of attackers, with their slanting and lidless eyes, and their flowing hair like that of women, the inhabitants were seized by terror. Especially terrifying were the archerArcheryArchery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
s, who were skillful and powerful, and rained arrows down like hail then, like savage wolves, shamelessly threw themselves on the people and mercilessly cut them down in the streets and squares of the town. They did not even take pity on the children who hugged their slaughtered mothers, but sucked the children's blood like milk.
The Derbent raid
Raid (military)
Raid, also known as depredation, is a military tactic or operational warfare mission which has a specific purpose and is not normally intended to capture and hold terrain, but instead finish with the raiding force quickly retreating to a previous defended position prior to the enemy forces being...
sparked panic all over the country. Aghvania forces withdrew to their capital, Partav, then headed into the Caucasus Mountains. The Göktürks and Khazars overtook them near the village of Kalankatuyk, where they were either slain or taken prisoner. The conquerors imposed upon Azerbaijan a heavy system of taxation, as reported by Movses:
The Lord of the North [one of the titles of the Göktürk Khagan) wreaked havoc all over the country. He sent his wardens to deal with artisans of all kind, especially those skilled in washing out gold, extractionMiningMining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
of silver and iron, as well as making copper items. He imposed duties on fishers and goods from the great KuraKura RiverKura is a river, also known from the Greek as the Cyrus in the Caucasus Mountains. Starting in north-eastern Turkey, it flows through Turkey to Georgia, then to Azerbaijan, where it receives the Aras River as a right tributary, and enters the Caspian Sea...
and Aras rivers, in addition to the didrachma traditionally levied by the Persian authorities.
Later that year, Tong Yabghu's army joined Heraclius in the siege of Tfilis. Heraclius and Tong Yabghu met under the walls of Narikala
Narikala
Narikala is an ancient fortress overlooking Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, and the Kura River. The fortress consists of two walled sections on a steep hill between the sulphur baths and the botanical gardens of Tbilisi. On the lower court there is the recently restored St Nicholas church.The...
. The yabghu rode up to the emperor, kissed his shoulder and made a bow. In return, Heraclius hugged his ally, called him his son, and crowned him with his own diadem
Diadem (personal wear)
A diadem is a type of crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by Eastern monarchs and others as a badge of royalty. The word derives from the Greek "διάδημα" , "band" or "fillet", from "διαδέω" , "I bind round", or "I fasten"....
. During the ensuing feast the Khazar leaders received ample gifts in the shape of earrings and clothes, while the yabghu was promised the hand of the emperor's daughter, Eudoxia Epiphania
Eudoxia Epiphania
Eudoxia Epiphania was the only daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius and his first wife Eudokia. She was born at Constantinople on the July 7, 611 CE, baptized on August 15, and crowned Eudoxia Epiphania (also known as Epiphania, Eudocia or Eudokia) was the only daughter of the Byzantine...
. Tong Yabghu placed an army of 40,000 Khazar horsemen at Heraclius' disposal.
The initial siege of Tfilis was unsuccessful; both leaders were ridiculed by the Georgian
Georgian people
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
defenders of the city. In 628 Heraclius struck southwards into Persia while Tong Yabghu's army again besieged Tfilis, this time successfully. Many of the defenders were executed, blinded, or mutilated.
Governance
Tong Yabghu appointed governors or tudunTudun
A tudun was a governor resident in a town or other settlement in Ancient Bulgar/Avar/Gokturk empires, particularly those of the Bulgars and the Khazars. In Gothic THIUDNASSAM means 'kingdom'. The tudun was the personal representative of the imperial government and could function both as an...
s to manage the various tribes and people under his overlordship. In all likelihood Tong Yabghu's nephew Böri Shad was the commander of the Khazars
Khazars
The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
, the westernmost of the tribes owing allegiance to the Western Göktürks; this branch of the family may have provided the Khazars with their first khagans in the mid seventh century.
Following the death of Tong Yabghu in 628, the might of the Western Göktürks largely collapsed. Although the khaganate lingered for a few decades before falling to the Chinese Empire, many of the client tribes became independent and a number of successor states, including the Khazar Khaganate and Great Bulgaria, became independent.