View source for Eastern Turkic Khaganate

{{Short description|Former empire in the 6th and 7th centuries}}
{{For|the Second Eastern Turkic Khaganate (682–744)|Second Turkic Khaganate}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = February 2019}}
{{Use British English|date = October 2020}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Eastern Turkic Khaganate
| common_name            = Eastern Turkic Khaganate
| era                    = Early Middle Ages
| life_span              = 581–645
| status                 = {{plainlist|
* 581–603: administrative region of the [[First Turkic Khaganate]]
* 603–630: independent khaganate
* 630–639: under [[Tang dynasty]] suzerainty
* 639–645: buffer state under the Tang dynasty
}}
| stat_year1             = 624<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Taagepera|first1=Rein|title=Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.|journal=Social Science History|date=1979|volume=3|issue=3/4|page=129|doi=10.2307/1170959|jstor=1170959}}</ref>
| stat_area1             = 4000000
| established_event1     = [[Göktürk civil war]], Eastern Khaganate founded
| established_date1      = 581
| established_event2     = East-West split
| established_date2      = 603
| established_event3     = Conquest by [[Tang dynasty]]
| established_date3      = 630
| established_event4     = Empire reestablished
| established_date4      = 639
| established_event5     = Reconquest by [[Tang dynasty]]
| established_date5      = 645
| established_event6     = [[Second Turkic Khaganate]] founded
| established_event7     = [[Second Turkic Khaganate]] established
| established_date7      = 682
| p1                     = First Turkic Khaganate
| s1                     = Xueyantuo
| s2                     = Protectorate General to Pacify the North
| s3                     = Second Turkic Khaganate
| flag_s3                = 
| image_map              = 
{{Location map+
|Continental Asia
|overlay_image= Map_of_the_Eastern_Turkic_Khaganate.png
| width=300  <!--  DO NOT CHANGE MAP SIZE (300) AS THIS WILL DISPLACE THE LABELS  -->
| float = center
| border  =none
| nodiv   = 1
| mini    = 1
| relief  = yes
| places  = 
{{Annotation|195|50|[[Eastern Turkic Khaganate|<span class="mw-no-invert" style="color:#4F311CFF">EASTERN TURKIC<br>KHAGANATE</span>]]|text-align=center|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=7|color=#000000}}
| caption=
}}
| image_map_caption      = Greatest extent of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate
| capital                = [[Ötüken]]
| common_languages       = {{hlist|[[Old Turkic]]
|[[Rouran language|Rouran]]
|[[Middle Chinese]]<ref>Lirong MA: Sino-Turkish Cultural Ties under the Framework of Silk Road Strategy. In: Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (in Asia). Band 8, Nr. 2, Juni 2014</ref>
}}
| religion               = [[Tengrism]],
[[Buddhism]]<ref>Гумилёв Л. Н. Древние тюрки. — СПб.: СЗКЭО, Издательский Дом «Кристалл», 2002. — С. 576. — ISBN 5-9503-0031-9.</ref>
| currency               = 
| year_leader1           = 603–609
| leader1                = [[Yami Qaghan]]
| year_leader2           = 620–630
| leader2                = [[Illig Qaghan]]
| year_leader3           = 645–650
| leader3                = [[Chebi Khan]]
| title_leader           = [[Khagan]]
| demonym                = 
| area_km2               = 
| area_rank              = 
| today                  = [[China]]<br>[[Kazakhstan]]<br>[[Mongolia]]<br>[[Russia]]
}}
[[File:Shoroon Bumbagar tomb mural, 7th century CE, Mongolia.jpg|thumb|260px|[[Shoroon Bumbagar tomb]] mural, [[Göktürk]], 7th century CE, in modern-day Mongolia.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=ALTINKILIÇ |first1=Dr. Arzu Emel |title=Göktürk giyim kuşamının plastik sanatlarda değerlendirilmesi |journal=Journal of Social and Humanities Sciences Research |date=2020 |pages=1101–1110 |url=http://www.jshsr.org/Makaleler/1429516422_07-7-53.1853-1101-1110.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Narantsatsral |first1=D |title=THE SILK ROAD CULTURE AND ANCIENT TURKISH WALL PAINTED TOMB |journal=The Journal of International Civilization Studies |url=http://www.inciss.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Narantsatsral-2.pdf}}</ref><ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book |last1=Cosmo |first1=Nicola Di |last2=Maas |first2=Michael |title=Empires and Exchanges in Eurasian Late Antiquity: Rome, China, Iran, and the Steppe, ca. 250–750 |date=April 26, 2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-54810-6 |pages=350–354 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y01UDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA350 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Bloomsbury Publishing">{{cite book |last1=Baumer |first1=Christoph |title=History of Central Asia, The: 4-volume set |date=April 18, 2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-83860-868-2 |pages=185–186 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DhiWDwAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA185 |language=en}}</ref>]]
[[File:Gokturk cav.jpg|thumb|260px|[[Shoroon Bumbagar tomb]] mural, [[Göktürk]], 7th century CE, Mongolia.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=ALTINKILIÇ |first1=Dr. Arzu Emel |title=Göktürk giyim kuşamının plastik sanatlarda değerlendirilmesi |journal=Journal of Social and Humanities Sciences Research |date=2020 |pages=1101–1110 |url=http://www.jshsr.org/Makaleler/1429516422_07-7-53.1853-1101-1110.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Narantsatsral |first1=D |title=THE SILK ROAD CULTURE AND ANCIENT TURKISH WALL PAINTED TOMB |journal=The Journal of International Civilization Studies |url=http://www.inciss.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Narantsatsral-2.pdf}}</ref><ref name="Cambridge University Press"/><ref name="Bloomsbury Publishing"/>]]
[[File:Maya Cave 224, mourners of the Buddha.jpg|thumb|260px|A Turk mourning the [[Buddha]], [[Kizil Caves|Kyzyl]], Mingoi, Maya cave.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yatsenko |first1=Sergey A. |title=Early Turks: Male Costume in the Chinese Art Second half of the 6th – first half of the 8th cc. (Images of 'Others') |journal=Transoxiana |date=2009 |volume=14 |page=Fig.16 |url=http://www.transoxiana.com.ar/14/yatsenko_turk_costume_chinese_art.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Grünwedel |first1=Albert |title=Altbuddhistische Kultstätten Chinesisch Turkistan |date=1912 |page=180 |url=https://archive.org/details/AltbuddhistischeKultstattenChinesischTurkistan1912/page/n92/mode/1up}}</ref>]]

The '''Eastern Turkic Khaganate''' ({{lang-zh|t=東突厥|p=Dōng Tūjué or Dōng Tújué}}) was a [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] [[khaganate]] formed as a result of the internecine wars in the beginning of the 7th century (AD 581–603) after the [[First Turkic Khaganate]] (founded in the 6th century in the [[Mongolian Plateau]] by the [[Ashina tribe|Ashina clan]]) had splintered into two polities – one in the east and the other [[Western Turkic Khaganate|in the west]]. Finally, the Eastern Turkic Khaganate was defeated and absorbed by the [[Tang dynasty]], and [[Xueyantuo]] occupied the territory of the former Turkic Khaganate.

==History==
{{see also|Timeline of the Göktürks}}

===Outline===
In 552–555 the [[Göktürks]] replaced the [[Rouran Khaganate]] as the dominant power on the [[Mongolian Plateau]], forming the [[First Turkic Khaganate]] (552–630). They quickly spread west to the Caspian Sea. Between 581 and 603 the [[Western Turkic Khaganate]] in Central Asia separated from the Eastern Khaganate in the Mongolian Plateau. In the early period the [[Zhongyuan|Central Plain]] regimes were weak and paid tribute to the Turks at times. The [[Tang dynasty]] eventually overthrew the Eastern Turks in 630.

===Before the Khaganate===
The ethnonym ''Türk'' (pl. ''Türküt'', > [[Middle Chinese]] as 突厥: early *''dwət-kuɑt'' > late *''tɦut-kyat'' > [[standard Chinese|Mandarin]] ''Tūjué'' or ''Tújué'') is ultimately derived from the [[Old Turkic language|Old-Turkic]] migration-term<ref>Golden, Peter B. (1992), ''An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples'', p. 93-95</ref><ref>Golden, Peter B. "Some Thoughts on the Origins of the Turks and the Shaping of the Turkic Peoples". (2006) In: [https://books.google.com/books?id=8-OilJCX1moC Contact and Exchange in the Ancient World]. Ed. Victor H. Mair. University of Hawai'i Press. p. 143: "Subsequently, "Türk" would find a suitable Turkic etymology, being conflated with the word türk, which means one in the prime of youth, powerful, mighty (Rona-Tas 1991,10–13)."</ref><ref>(Bŭlgarska akademii︠a︡ na naukite. Otdelenie za ezikoznanie/ izkustvoznanie/ literatura, Linguistique balkanique, Vol. 27–28, 1984, p. 17</ref> 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰 ''Türük''/''Törük'',<ref name="Nisanyan" /> which means 'created, born',<ref>Faruk Suümer, Oghuzes (Turkmens): History, Tribal organization, Sagas, Turkish World Research Foundation, 1992, p. 16)</ref> from the Old Turkic word root ''*türi-''/''töri-'' 'tribal root, (mythic) ancestry; take shape, to be born, be created, arise, spring up' and derived with the Old Turkic suffix 𐰰 (''-ik''), perhaps from [[Proto-Turkic]] ''*türi-k'' 'lineage, ancestry',<ref name="Nisanyan">[http://www.nisanyansozluk.com/?k=Türk “Türk”] in ''Turkish Etymological Dictionary'', Sevan Nişanyan.</ref><ref name="Nisanyan2">[http://www.nisanyansozluk.com/?k=türe-&lnk=1 “türe-”] in ''Turkish Etymological Dictionary'', Sevan Nişanyan.</ref> (compare also the Proto-Turkic word root ''*töre-'' to be born, originate').<ref>[http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?single=1&basename=/data/alt/turcet&text_number=+854&root=config “*töre-”] in [[Sergei Starostin]], [[Vladimir Dybo]], Oleg Mudrak (2003), Etymological Dictionary of the Altaic Languages, Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers.</ref> or 'strong',<ref>[[American Heritage Dictionary]] (2000). [http://www.bartleby.com/ "The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition – "Turk""]. bartleby.com. Retrieved 2006-12-07.</ref><ref>T. Allsen, P. B. Golden, R. K. Kovalev, and A. P. Martinez (2012), ''ARCHIVUM EURASIAEMEDII AEV'', p. 85</ref> or originally a noun and meant "'the culminating point of maturity' (of a fruit, human being, etc.), but more often used as an [adjective] meaning (of a fruit) 'just fully ripe'; (of a human being) 'in the prime of life, young, and vigorous'".<ref>Clauson, G. ''An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-13th Century Turkish'' (1972). p. 542-543</ref>

The Chinese [[Book of Zhou]] (7th century) presents an etymology of the name ''Turk'' as derived from 'helmet', explaining that this name comes from the shape of a mountain where they worked in the [[Altai Mountains]].<ref>Sinor, Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, Page 295</ref> Hungarian scholar [[András Róna-Tas]] (1991) pointed to a Khotanese-Saka word, ''tturakä'' 'lid', semantically stretchable to 'helmet', as a possible source for this folk etymology, yet Golden thinks this connection requires more data.<ref name="Golden2006">{{cite journal|last = Golden|first= Peter B.|title= Türks and Iranians: Aspects of Türk and Khazaro-Iranian Interaction|journal= Turcologica|issue= 105|page= 25}}</ref>

In 439 a man surnamed Ashina led 500 families west from [[Gansu]] to [[Gaochang]] near Turfan.<ref>Christian, page 251, citing 'Sui annals'</ref> In about 460 the [[Rouran Khaganate|Rouran]] moved them east to the [[Altai Mountains|Altai]], which was an important source of metalwork for Siberia and Mongolia. David Christian says that the first dated mention of 'Turk' appears in Chinese annals in 542 when they made annual raids across the [[Yellow River]] when it froze over. In 545 the future [[Bumin Qaghan]] was negotiating directly with the [[Western Wei]] (535–57) without regard to his Rouran overlords. Later the Turks were sent east to suppress a rebellion by the Kao-ch'e, but the Turks absorbed them into their own army. Bumin demanded a royal bride from the Rouran and was denounced as a 'blacksmith slave'. Bumin took a bride from the Western Wei, defeated the [[Yujiulü Anagui|Rouran ruler]] in [[Rehe Province|Jehol]] and took the royal title of Khagan (552).

Strictly speaking, the politonym ''Kök Tür(ü)k'' "Blue ~ Heavenly Turks", found on the Orkhon inscriptions, only denotes the Eastern Turks,<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi|title=The Research on the Identification Between Tiele (鐵勒) and the Oghuric Tribes |author=Cheng Fangyi|page= 86|url=https://www.academia.edu/4314856}}</ref> as [[Old Turkic]] ''kök'' means "heaven, blue" and [[Color in Chinese culture|signifies the cardinal direction east]].<ref>Golden, P.B. (1992) ''Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples'' Series: Turcologia, Volume 9. Otto-Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden p. 117</ref> The [[Uyghur Khaganate|Uyghurs]], another people contemporary to Eastern Turks' [[Second Turkic Khaganate|Latter Göktürk successors]], were also Turkic speakers yet used ''Türük'' to denote Latter Göktürks, not themselves.<ref>Bayanchur Inscription, [https://bitig.kz/?lang=e&mod=1&tid=1&oid=23&m=1 text] at Türik Bitig</ref> Chinese chroniclers used 突厥 ''Tūjué'' or ''Tújué'' to denote [[First Turkic Khaganate]], the Eastern Turks, as well as peoples politically associated with Eastern Turks such as: the "Wooden-Horse Tujue" (including the [[Tuvans]],<ref>[[Xin Tangshu]] [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%96%B0%E5%94%90%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7217%E4%B8%8B vol. 217b] txt: "木馬突厥三部落，曰'''都播'''、彌列、哥餓支，" tr. "The three Wooden Horse Tujue tribes, called '''Dou-bo''', Mi-lie, [and] Ge-e-zhi"</ref> whom [[Book of Sui]] and [[History of the Northern Dynasties]] listed as a [[Tiele people|Tiele]] tribe),<ref>[[Suishu]] [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E9%9A%8B%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B784#%E9%90%B5%E5%8B%92 vol. 84 Tiele]</ref><ref>[[History of the Northern Dynasties|Beishi]] [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%8C%97%E5%8F%B2/%E5%8D%B7099#%E9%90%B5%E5%8B%92 Vol. 99]</ref> the ''Tujue Sijie'' 突厥思結<ref>[[Sima Guang]] et al. Zizhi Tongjian, [https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=579709 vol. 196]</ref><ref>Zuev, Yu. "Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms" (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuiyao" of 8–10th centuries), Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, 1960, p. 114 (in Russian)</ref> (a tribe who were also members of the [[Tiele people|Tiele]] and later [[Toquz Oghuz]]), as well as the [[Shatuo]] Tujue 沙陀突厥 and [[Khazars]] (突厥曷薩 Tūjué Hésà or Tújué Hésà; 突厥可薩部 Tūjué Kěsà bù or Tújué Kěsà bù), as well as the Shatuo's and Khazars' predecessors, the [[Western Turkic Khaganate|Western Turks]] 西突厥 ''Xī Tūjué'' or ''Xī Tújué'', who were not named as ''Türük'', but ''On-Ok'' "Ten Arrows, Ten Tribes" in the Orkhon inscriptions.<ref>[[Tonyukuk inscriptions]], [https://bitig.kz/?lang=e&mod=1&tid=1&oid=17&m=1 text] at [https://bitig.kz/?lang=e&mod=0 Türik Bitig]</ref><ref>Bilge Khagan inscriptions [https://bitig.kz/?lang=e&mod=1&tid=1&oid=16&m=1 text] at Türik Bitig</ref> Only later would Islamic chroniclers use Turks to denote Inner Asian nomadic peoples, and then modern historians would use Turks to refer to all peoples speaking [[Turkic languages]], differentiated from non-Turkic speakers.<ref>Lee, Joo-Yup (2016). "The Historical Meaning of the Term Turk and the Nature of the Turkic Identity of the Chinggisid and Timurid Elites in Post-Mongol Central Asia". Central Asiatic Journal. 59 (1–2): 101–32</ref><ref>Lee & Kuang (2017) "A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Historical Sources and Y-DNA Studies with Regard to the Early and Medieval Turkic Peoples", Inner Asia 19. p. 197-239</ref>

===Nominal unity (552–581)===
The west was given to Bumin's younger brother [[Istämi]] (552–75) and his son [[Tardu]]sh (575–603). Ishtami expanded the empire to the Caspian and the [[Amu Darya|Oxus]] river. The Gokturks gained the [[Tarim Basin]] and thus the Silk Road trade and the Sogdian merchants that managed it. Bumin died in the year of his rebellion (552) and was followed by three of his sons. [[Issik Qaghan]] (552–53) reigned briefly. [[Muqan Khagan]] (553–72) finished off the remaining Rouran, who resisted until 555, pushed the Kitans east and controlled the [[Yenisei Kirghiz]]. He was followed by [[Taspar Qaghan]] (572–81). The Eastern Turks extracted a large amount of booty and tribute from the [[Western Wei]] (535–57) and [[Northern Zhou]] (557–581) dynasties, including 100,000 rolls of silk annually, which they tried to sell in [[Central Asia]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Haug |first1=Robert |title=The Eastern Frontier: Limits of Empire in Late Antique and Early Medieval Central Asia |date=27 June 2019 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-78831-722-1|page=66 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K_2ZDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT100 |language=en}}</ref>

===East-West split (581-603)===
In 581 the [[Sui dynasty]] was founded and began to reunify [[China proper]]. The Sui began pushing back, generally by supporting or bribing one faction against the other. Taspar died the same year the Sui dynasty was founded. The three claimants were the sons of the three previous rulers. Taspar chose Muqan's son [[Apa Qaghan]], but the elders rejected this and chose Taspar's son [[Amrak|Anlo]] (581). Anlo soon yielded to Issik's son [[Ishbara Qaghan]] (581–87). Anlo became insignificant and Apa and Ishbara fought it out. In 584 Ishbara attacked Apa and drove him west to Bumin's brother [[Tardu]]sh, who ruled what was becoming the Western Khaganate. Apa and Tardush then drove Ishbara east. He submitted to the Sui and with Sui support drove Apa west into Tardush's territory. In 587 both Apa and Ishbara died. (See [[Gokturk civil war]]) Ishbara was followed in the east by his brother [[Bagha Qaghan]] (587–88) who was followed by Ishbara's son [[Tulan Qaghan]] (588–99). In 587 Tulan stopped paying tribute to the Sui and two years later was assassinated. Tardush moved from the west and briefly reunified the Turkic empire (599–603). The Sui supported his rivals, he attacked the Sui dynasty, the Sui poisoned the wells and he was forced to retreat.

===Independence (603–630)===
{{Continental Asia in 625 CE|right|Eastern Turkic Khaganate, and main contemporary Asian polities {{circa|625}}||Map_of_the_Eastern_Turkic_Khaganate.png||{{Annotation|0|0|[[File:Map_of_the_Eastern_Turkic_Khaganate.png|300px]]}}}}
From 603 the east and west were definitely split. The east went to [[Yami Qaghan]] (603-09) as a sort of Sui vassal. He admired [[Han Chinese|Han]] culture and had the Han people build him a civilized house in the Ordos country.

As the Sui dynasty{{'}}s power waned, some individuals agreed to become vassals of [[Shibi Khan|Shibi Qaghan]] (609–19) and adopted Turkic-style titles, as well as the Khaganate's wolf's-head banners.<ref name=wang2017>Wang, Zhenping and Joshua A. Fogel (Ed.). 2017. 1. Dancing with the Horse Riders: The Tang, the Turks, and the Uighurs. In Tang China in Multi-Polar Asia, 11–54. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Retrieved 12 Feb. 2018</ref> In 615, the Sui lured his Sogdian advisor into a trap and killed him. He stopped paying tribute and briefly besieged [[Emperor Yang of Sui]] in [[Shanxi]].

In 615 Emperor Yang assigned Li Yuan, who would later become the [[Emperor Gaozu of Tang|first emperor]] of the Tang dynasty, the impossible task of protecting the Sui dynasty's northern border. In 617, when tens of thousands of Turks reached [[Taiyuan]], they found the gates open and the city suspiciously quiet. Fearing an ambush, the Turk's retreated. Li Yuan's deception had been successful and he quickly pressed his advantage offering the Turks "prisoners of war, women, [[jade]] and [[silk]]s" in return for their friendship. The Turks declined, demanding instead that Li Yuan become a "Son of Heaven" and accept a Turkic title and banner.<ref name=wang2017 />

{{Early Turkic Khaganates}}
Shibi's younger brother [[Ashina Xichun|Chuluo]] (619–20) ruled for only 18 months. The next brother, [[Illig Qaghan]] (620–30), was the last independent ruler. He led yearly raids against the new [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907). In 626 he reached the gates of Chang'an.  [[Emperor Taizong of Tang]], who had just overthrown his father, chose to pay an enormous ransom. Taizong waited and enlarged his cavalry.  In 627-29 unusual cold led to mass livestock deaths and famine. Instead of lowering taxes, Illig raised them. The [[Xueyantuo]], Uyghurs, Bayegu and some of Illig's people rebelled and in 629 were joined by the Khitans and Taizong. Six Tang armies attacked in a 1200 kilometre front and Illig was captured (630). See [[Tang campaign against the Eastern Turks]].

===After the First Khaganate (630–683)===
After the fall of the Khaganate [[Zhenzhu Khan]] (629–45) of the Xueyantuo ruled much of the north. Taizong made the Ashina live inside the [[Ordos Loop]]. In 639, after [[Ashina Jiesheshuai|an Ashina assassination attempt]], Taizong made them live between the Yellow River and Gobi under [[Qilibi Khan]] (639–43) as a buffer state between China and the Xueyantuo.  In 642 the Xueyantuo drove them south of the river. (See [[Tang campaign against the Eastern Turks#Aftermath in Mongolia]].) Zhenzhu's son [[Duomi Khan]] (645–46) planned to attack China. Taizong allied with the Uyghurs and broke up the Xueyantuo clan. The Ashina [[Chebi Khan]] (646–50) tried to revive the Khaganate but was captured by the Chinese and Uyghurs. Two more attempts by [[Ashina Nishufu]] (679–80) and [[Ashina Funian]] (680–681) failed.  Turkic power was restored by the [[Second Turkic Khaganate]] (682–744), followed by the [[Uyghur Khaganate]] (744–840).

==See also==
{{History of the Turks pre-14th century}}
{{History of Mongolia}}
*[[Göktürks]]
*[[Gokturk family tree]]
*[[Gokturk civil war]]
*[[Turks in the Tang military]]
*[[Turkic peoples]]
*[[Timeline of Turks (500–1300)]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
*[[Christoph Baumer]], History of Central Asia, volume 2, p174-206 
*[[Denis Sinor]], Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, p285-297 (better for early period)
*[[David Christian (historian)]], History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia, p248-257 (early period)
*[[Lev Gumilyov]], The Ancient Turks, 1967 (long account in Russian at: [http://gumilevica.kulichki.net/OT/index.html])

{{Göktürks}}
{{Empires}}

[[Category:Ashina tribe]]
[[Category:Göktürks|*2]]
[[Category:581 establishments]]
[[Category:Former countries in Chinese history]]
[[Category:Former empires]]
[[Category:Khanates]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 7th century]]