Uyghur Manichaean Elect depicted on a temple banner from Qocho.
744–840
Tamga of the Yaglakar clan
Status
Capital
Common languages
Government
Khagan
• 744–747
Qutlugh Bilge Köl (first)
• 841–847
Enian Qaghan (last)
History
• Established
744
• Disestablished
840
Area
3,100,000 km2 (1,200,000 sq mi)
Succeeded by
The Uyghur Khaganate (also Uyghur EmpireorUighur Khaganate, self defined as Toquz-Oghuz country;[5][6][7] Old Turkic: 𐱃𐰆𐰴𐰕:𐰆𐰍𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, romanized: Toquz Oγuz budun, lit. 'Nine clan people', Tang-era names, with modern Hanyu Pinyin: Chinese: 回鶻; pinyin: HuíhúorChinese: 回紇; pinyin: Huíhé) was a Turkic empire[8] that existed for about a century between the mid 8th and 9th centuries. It was a tribal confederation under the Orkhon Uyghur (回鶻) nobility, referred to by the Chinese as the Jiu Xing ("Nine Clans"), a calque of the name Toquz OghuzorToquz Tughluq.[9]
In the mid-5th century, Uyghurs constituted a tribe of the Tiele, which was also under the Turkic Khaganate.[10]
In 657, the Western Turkic Khaganate was defeated by the Tang dynasty, after which the Uyghurs defected to the Tang. Prior to this the Uyghurs had already shown an inclination towards alliances with the Tang when they fought with them against the Tibetan Empire and Turks in 627.[11][12]
In 742, the Uyghurs, Karluks, and Basmyls rebelled against the Second Turkic Khaganate.[13]
In 744, the Basmyls captured the Turk capital of Ötüken and killed the reigning Özmiş Khagan. Later that year, a Uyghur-Karluk alliance formed against the Basmyls and defeated them. Their khagan was killed, and the Basmyls ceased to exist as a people. Hostilities between the Uyghurs and Karluks then forced the Karluks to migrate west into Zhetysu and conflict with the Türgesh, whom they defeated and conquered in 766.[14]
The Uyghur khagan's personal name was Qullığ Boyla (Chinese: 骨力裴羅). He took the title Kutlug Bilge Kol Khagan (Glorious, wise, mighty khagan), claiming to be the supreme ruler of all the tribes. He built his capital at Ordu-Baliq. According to Chinese sources, the territory of the Uyghur Empire then reached "on its eastern extremity, the territory of Shiwei, on the west the Altai Mountains, on the south it controlled the Gobi Desert, so it covered the entire territory of the ancient Xiongnu".[15]
In 745, the Uyghurs killed the last khagan of the Göktürks, Báiméikèhán Gǔlǒngfú (白眉可汗 鶻隴匐), and sent his head to the Tang.[16]
Tang Huiyao, vol. 98, listed nine Toquz Oghuz surname tribes (姓部 xìngbù); another list of tribes (部落 bùluò) was recorded in the Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang. According to Japanese scholars Hashimoto, Katayama, and Senga, each name in the lists in the Books of Tang recorded each subtribal surname of each chief, while the other list in Tang Huiyao recorded the names of the Toquz Oghuz tribes proper.[18][19] Walter Bruno Henning (1938)[20] linked nine names recorded in the Saka language "Staël-Holstein Scroll" with those recorded by Han Chinese authors.
Tribal name in Chinese
Tribal name in Saka
Tribal name in Old Turkic
Surname in Old Turkic
Surname in Saka
Surname in Chinese
Huihe 迴紇
Uyğur 𐰺𐰍𐰖𐰆
𐰖𐰍𐰞𐰴𐰺 Yağlaqar
Yahīdakari
藥羅葛 Yaoluoge
Pugu 僕固
Bākū
*Buqu[t]
*(H)Uturqar
胡咄葛 Huduoge
Hun 渾
*Qun
*Kürebir
Kurabīri
咄羅勿 Guluowu
Bayegu 拔曳固
Bayarkāta
Bayırku
*Boqsıqıt
Bāsikātti
貊歌息訖 Mogexiqi
Tongluo 同羅
Ttaugara
Tongra
*Avučağ
阿勿嘀 A-Wudi
Sijie 思結
Sīkari
*Sıqar
*Qasar
葛薩 Gesa
Qibi 契苾
Kāribari
斛嗢素 Huwasu
A-Busi 阿布思
*Yabutqar
Yabūttikari
藥勿葛 Yaowuge
Gulunwugu(si) 骨倫屋骨(思)[a]
*(Q)Ayabir
Ayabīri
奚耶勿 Xiyawu
In 747, Qutlugh Bilge Köl Kaghan died, leaving his youngest son, Bayanchur Khan to reign as Khagan El etmish bilge "State settled, wise". After building a number of trading outposts with the Tang, Bayanchur Khan used the profits to construct the capital, Ordu-Baliq, and another city further up the Selenga River, Bai Baliq. The new khagan then embarked on a series of campaigns to bring all the steppe peoples under his banner. During this time the Empire expanded rapidly and brought the Sekiz Oghuz, Kyrgyz, Karluks, Turgesh, Toquz Tatars, Chiks and the remnants of the Basmyls under Uyghur rule.
In 751, the Tang Empire suffered a strategic defeat against the Arabs at the Battle of Talas. After that, the Tang retreated from Central Asia, allowing the Uyghur to emerge as the new dominant power.[23]
In 755 An Lushan instigated a rebellion against the Tang dynasty and Emperor Suzong of Tang turned to Bayanchur Khan for assistance in 756. The khagan agreed and ordered his eldest son to provide military service to the Tang emperor. Approximately 4,000 Uyghur horsemen assisted Tang armies in retaking Chang'an and Luoyang in 757. After the battle at Luoyang the Uyghurs looted the city for three days and only stopped after large quantities of silk were extracted. For their aid, the Tang sent 20,000 rolls of silk and bestowed them with honorary titles. In addition the horse trade was fixed at 40 rolls of silk for every horse and Uyghurs were given "guest" status while staying in Tang China.[13][24] The Tang and Uyghurs conducted an exchange marriage. Bayanchur Khan married Princess Ninguo while a Uyghur princess was married to a Tang prince.[16] The Uyghur Khaganate exchanged princesses in marriage with Tang dynasty China in 756 to seal the alliance against An Lushan. The Uyghur Khagan Bayanchur Khan had his daughter Uyghur Princess Pijia (毗伽公主) married to Tang dynasty Chinese Prince Li Chengcai (李承采), Prince of Dunhuang (敦煌王李承采), son of Li Shouli, Prince of Bin. while the Tang dynasty Chinese princess Ningguo 寧國公主, daughter of Emperor Suzong, married Uyghur Khagan Bayanchur.
In 758, the Uyghurs turned their attention to the northern Yenisei Kyrgyz. Bayanchur Khan destroyed several of their trading outposts before slaughtering a Kyrgyz army and executing their Khan.[24]
On the ren-shen day of the fifth month of the first year of the Qianyuan reign [on March 29, 758 CE], The envoys from Hui-he [Uyghur Khaganate], Duo-yi-hai-a-bo and others, totaling eighty people, and an emir from the Black-robed Dashi [Abbasid Caliphate], Nao-wen and others, totaling eight people, come at the same time to pay a visit [to the Tang court]; when they walk to the side entrance of the palace, [both delegations] argue who should be the first [to see the Emperor]. The interpreters and palace secretaries arrange them as left team and right team, and enter through the Eastern Gate and the Western Gate all at once. [After this,] Wen-she-shi and the Black-robed Dashi envoy pay their visit [to the Chinese Emperor].[25]
In 759 the Uyghurs attempted to assist the Tang in stamping out the rebels but failed. Bayanchur Khan died and his son Tengri Bögü succeeded him as Khagan Qutlugh Tarkhan sengün.[24]
In 762 Tengri Bögü planned to invade the Tang with 4,000 soldiers but after negotiations switched sides and assisted them in defeating the rebels at Luoyang. After the battle the Uyghurs looted the city. When the people fled to Buddhist temples for protection, the Uyghurs burnt them down, killing over 10,000. For their aid, the Tang was forced to pay 100,000 pieces of silk to get them to leave.[26] During the campaign the khagan encountered Manichaean priests who converted him to Manichaeism. From then on the official religion of the Uyghur Khaganate became Manichaeism.[27]
In 779, Tengri Bögü planned to invade the Tang dynasty based on the advice of his Sogdian courtiers. However, Tengri Bögü's uncle, Tun Baga Tarkhan, opposed this plan and killed him and "nearly two thousand people from among the kaghan's family, his clique and the Sogdians."[28] Tun Bagha Tarkhan ascended the throne, with the title Alp Qutlugh Bilge "Victorious, glorious, wise", and enforced a new set of laws, which he designed to secure the unity of the khaganate. During his reign, Manichaeism was suppressed, but his successors restored it as the official religion.[29]
In 780, a group of Uyghurs and Sogdians was killed while leaving Chang'an with tribute. Tun demanded 1,800,000 strings of cash in compensation and the Tang agreed to pay this amount in gold and silk.[30] In 789, Tun Bagha Tarkhan died and his son succeeded him as Külüg Qaghan. The Karluks took this opportunity to encroach on Uyghur territory and annexed Futu Valley.[31] In 790, the Uyghurs and Tang forces were defeated by Tibetan Empire at Tingzhou (Beshbalik).[12] Külüg Qaghan died, and his son, A-ch'o, succeeded him as Qutluq Bilge Qaghan.
In 791, the Tibetans attacked Lingzhou but were driven off by the Uyghurs, who presented captured prisoners and cattle to Emperor Dezong of Tang. The Tibetans and Karluks suffered another defeat against the Uyghurs at Beiting. The captured Tibetan general Zan Rgyal sum was sent to Dezong.[32] In 792, the Uyghurs, led by Baoyi Qaghan, defeated the Tibetans and Karluks, taking Gaochang. Not long after the Tibetans attacked Yushu, a fortified town 560 li east of Kucha. They were besieged by Baoyi there and destroyed.[33] In 795, Qutluq Bilge Qaghan died and the Yaghlakar dynasty came to an end. A general, Qutluq II, declared himself the new qaghan under the title Ay Tängridä ülüg bulmïsh alp qutlugh ulugh bilgä qaghan "Greatly born in moon heaven, victorious, glorious, great and wise qaghan",[13] founding a new dynasty, the Ädiz (Chinese: 阿跌氏).
In 803, the Uyghurs captured Qocho.[34] In 808, Qutluq II died and his son, Baoyi, succeeded him. In the same year, the Uyghurs seized Liang Province from the Tibetans.[35] In 816, a Tibetan raid reached within two days' journey of the Uyghur capital, Ordu-Baliq.[36] In 821, Baoyi Qaghan died, and his son, Chongde, succeeded him. Chongde was considered the last great khagan of the Uyghur Khaganate and bore the title Kün tengride ülüg bulmïsh alp küchlüg bilge "Greatly born in sun heaven, victorious, strong and wise". His achievements included improved trade up with the region of Sogdia, and on the battlefield he repulsed a force of invading Tibetans in 821. After defeating the Tibetan and Karluk force, the Uyghurs entered the Principality of Ushrusana and plundered the region.[37] In 822, the Uyghurs sent troops to help the Tang in quelling rebels. The Tang refused the offer but had to pay them 70,000 pieces of silk to go home.[30] In 823, the Tibetan Empire waged war on the Uyghurs.[38] In 824, Chongde died and was succeeded by a brother, Qasar. In 832, Qasar was murdered. He was succeeded by the son of Chongde, Hu. In the same year, the Tibetan Empire failed to make war on the Uyghurs.[38]
In 839, Hu was forced to commit suicide and a minister named Kürebir seized the throne with the help of 20,000 Shatuo horsemen from Ordos. In the same year, there was a famine and an epidemic, with a particularly severe winter that killed much of the livestock the Uyghur economy was based on.[40]
In 840, 1 of 9 Uyghur ministers, Kulug Bagha, rival of Kurebir, fled to the Yenisei Kyrgyz and invited them to invade from the north. With a force of around 80,000 horsemen, they sacked the Uyghur capital at Ordu-Baliq, razing it to the ground.[41] The Kyrgyz captured the Uyghur Khagan, Kürebir (Hesa/Qasar), and promptly beheaded him. They went on to destroy other cities throughout the Uyghur empire, burning them to the ground. The Uyghurs fled in two groups. A 30,000-strong group led by the aristocrat Ormïzt sought refuge in Tang territory but Emperor Wuzong of Tang ordered the borders to be closed. The other group, 100,000 strong, led by Öge, son of Baoyi and the new khagan of the defeated Uyghur Khaganate, also fled to Tang territory. However Öge demanded a Tang city for residence as well as the protection of Manichaeans and food. Wuzong found the demands unacceptable and refused. He granted Ormïzt asylum in return for the use of his troops against Öge. Two years later, Wuzong extended the order to Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and especially Buddhism.[42]
The Yenisei Kyrgyz and Tang dynasty launched a successful war between 840 and 848 against the Uyghur Khaganate using their claimed familial ties as justification for an alliance.[43]
In 841, Öge led the Uyghurs in an invasion of today's Shaanxi.
In 843, a Tang army led by Shi Xiong attacked the Uyghurs led by Öge and slaughtered 10,000 Uyghurs on February 13, 843 at "Kill the Barbarians" Mountain (Shahu).[44] Öge was wounded.[45][44][46][47] After the defeat of Öge, Wuzong ordered Ormïzt's troops to be broken up and dispersed among different units. Ormïzt refused to obey. His troops were massacred by general Liu Mian. With the defeat of the two major Uyghur groups, Wuzong saw his chance to get rid of the Manichaeans. He ordered Manichaean temples in several cities to be destroyed, the confiscation of their estates, and the execution of the clergy.[48]
In the fourth moon of 843 an Imperial edict was issued [ordering] the Manichaean priests of the empire to be killed. [. . .] The Manichaean priests are highly respected by the Uighurs.[42]
— Ennin
In 846, the penultimate Uyghur khagan, Öge, was killed after having spent his 6-year reign fighting the Kyrgyz, the supporters of his rival Ormïzt, a brother of Kürebir, and Tang dynasty troops in Ordos and today Shaanxi.[27] His brother, Enian Qaghan, was decisively defeated by Tang forces in 847.[48]
The Yenisei Kyrgyz who replaced the Uyghur Khaganate were unsophisticated and had little interest in running the empire which they had destroyed. They held the territory from Lake Baikal in the east to the Irtysh River in the west and left Kulug Bagha, the Uyghur who defected to them, in charge of the Orkhon Valley. During the reign of Emperor Yizong of Tang (860–873), there were three recorded contacts between the Tang and Kyrgyz, but the nature of their relationship remains unclear. Tang policy makers argued that there was no point in building any relations with the Kyrgyz since the Uyghurs no longer threatened them. The Khitans seized the Orkhon Valley from the Kyrgyz in 890 and no further opposition from the Kyrgyz is recorded.[49][50]
The Khitan ruler Abaoji did extend his influence onto the Mongolian Plateau in 924, but there is no indication whatsoever of any conflict with the Kyrgyz. The only information we have from Khitan (Liao) sources regarding the Kyrgyz indicates that the two powers maintained diplomatic relations. Scholars who write of a Kyrgyz "empire" from about 840 to about 924 are describing a fantasy. All available evidence suggests that despite some brief extensions of their power onto the Mongolian Plateau, the Kyrgyz did not maintain a significant political or military presence there after their victories in the 840s.[51]
— Michael Drompp
After the fall of the Uyghur Khaganate, the Uyghurs migrated south and established the Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom in modern Gansu[52] and the Kingdom of Qocho near modern Turpan. The Uyghurs in Qocho converted to Buddhism, and, according to Mahmud al-Kashgari, were "the strongest of the infidels", while the Ganzhou Uyghurs were conquered by the Tangut people in the 1030s.[53] Even so, Kashgari praised contemporary Uyghurs as bilingual Turkophones whose Turkic dialect remained "pure" and "most correct" (just like dialects spoken by monolingual Yagmas, and Tuhsis); meanwhile, Kashgari derided other bilingual Turkophones (Qay, Tatars, Basmyls, Chömüls, Yabakus, etc.), for incorporating foreign loanwords and "slurring" in their speech.[54] In 1134, Qocho became a vassal of Yelü Dashi's nascent Qara Khitai empire. In 1209, the Qocho ruler Idiqut (" Lord of happiness") Barchuk Art Tegin declared his allegiance to Genghis Khan, and the Uyghurs became important civil servants in the later Mongol Empire, which adapted the Old Uyghur alphabet as its official script. According to the New Book of Tang, a third group went to seek refuge among the Karluks.[55]
The Karluks, together with other tribes such as the Chigils and Yagmas, later founded the Kara-Khanid Khanate (940–1212). Some historians associate the Karakhanids with the Uyghurs as the Yaghmas were linked to the Toquz Oghuz. Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan, believed to be a Yagma from Artux, converted to Islam in 932 and seized control of Kashgar in 940, giving rise to the new dynasty, known as Karakhanids.[56]
In order to control trade along the Silk Road, the Uyghurs established a trading relationship with the Sogdian merchants who controlled some oases of Central Asia. As described above, the Uyghur adoption of Manichaeism was one aspect of this relationship—choosing Manichaeism over Buddhism may have been motivated by a desire to show independence from Tang influence.[57] Not all Uyghurs supported conversion - an inscription at Ordu-Baliq states that Manichaens tried to divert people from their ancient shamanistic beliefs.[58] A rather partisan account from a Uyghur-Manichean text of that period demonstrates the unbridled enthusiasm of the khaghan for Manichaeism:
"At that time when the divine Bogu Khan had thus spoken, we the Elects of all the people living within the land rejoiced. It is impossible to describe this ourjoy. The people told the story to one another and rejoiced. At that time, groups of thousands and tens of thousands assembled and with pastimes of all sorts they entertained themselves even unto dawn. And at the break of the day they made a short fast. The divine ruler Bogu Khan and all the elects of his retinue mounted on horses, and all the princes and the princesses led by those of high repute, the big and the small, the whole people, amidst great rejoicing proceeded to the gate of the city. And when the divine ruler had entered the city, he put the crown on his head... and sat upon the golden throne."
— Uyghur-Manichean text.[58]
As conversion was based on political and economic concerns regarding trade with the Sogdians, it was driven by the rulers and often encountered resistance in lower societal strata. Furthermore, as the khaghan's political power depended on his ability to provide economically for his subjects, "alliance with the Sogdians through adopting their religion was an important way of securing this objective."[57] Both the Sogdians and the Uyghurs benefited enormously from this alliance. The Sogdians enabled the Uyghurs to trade in the Western Regions and exchange silk from China for other goods. For the Sogdians it provided their Chinese trading communities with Uyghur protection. The 5th and 6th centuries saw a large emigration of Sogdians to China. The Sogdians were main traders along the Silk Roads, and China was always their biggest market. Among the paper clothing found in the Astana cemetery near Turfan is a list of taxes paid on caravan trade in the Gaochang kingdom in the 620s. The text is incomplete, but out of the 35 commercial operations it lists, 29 involve a Sogdian trader.[59] Ultimately both rulers of nomadic origin and sedentary states recognized the importance of merchants like the Sogdians and made alliances to further their own agendas in controlling the Silk Roads.
The Uyghurs created an empire with clear Persian influences, particularly in areas of government.[60] Soon after the empire was founded, they emulated sedentary states by establishing a permanent, settled capital, Karabalghasun (Ordu-Baliq), built on the site of the former Göktürk imperial capital, northeast of the later Mongol capital, Karakorum. The city was a fully fortified commercial center, typical along the Silk Road, with concentric walls and lookout towers, stables, military and commercial stores, and administrative buildings. Certain areas of the town were allotted for trade and handcrafts, while in the center of the town were palaces and temples, including a monastery. The palace had fortified walls and two main gates, as well as moats filled with water and watchtowers.
The khaghan maintained his court there and decided the policies of the empire. With no fixed settlement, the Xiongnu had been limited in their acquisition of Chinese goods to what they could carry. As stated by Thomas Barfield, "the more goods a nomadic society acquired the less mobility it had, hence, at some point, one was more vulnerable trying to protect a rich treasure house by moving it than by fortifying it."[61][page needed] By building a fixed city, the Uyghurs created a protected storage space for trade goods from China. They could hold a stable, fixed court, receive traders, and effectively cement their central role in Silk Road exchange.[61][page needed] However, the vulnerability that came with having a fixed city was to be the downfall of the Uyghurs.[57]
The following list is based on Yihong Pan's "Sui-Tang Foreign Policy: Four case studies".[62]
Personal Name
Turkic title
Chinese title
Reign
Kutlug Bilge Qaghan Yaoluoge Yibiaobi
Huairen Khagan (懷仁可汗)
744-747
Bayanchur Qaghan Yaoluoge Moyanchuo
Tengrida Bolmish El Etmish Bilge Qaghan
Yingwu Weiyuan Pijia Qaghan (英武威遠毗伽闕可汗)
747–759
Bogu Qaghan Yaoluoge Yidijian
Tengrida Qut Bolmish El Tutmish Alp Külüg Bilge Qaghan
Yingyi Qaghan (英義可汗)
759–780
Tun Baga Tarkhan Yaoluoge Dunmohe
Wuyi Chenggong Qaghan (武義成功可汗)
Changshou Tianqin Qaghan (長壽天親可汗)
780–789
Kulug Bilge Qaghan Yaoluoge Duoluosi
Zhongzhen Qaghan (忠貞可汗)
789–790
Qutluq Bilge Qaghan Yaoluoge Achuo
Fengcheng Qaghan (奉誠可汗)
790–795
Qutluq II Bilge Qaghan Adie Guduolu, later
Yaoluoge Guduolu
Ay Tengride Ulugh Bolmish Alp Qutluq Külüg Bilge Qaghan
Huaixin Qaghan (懷信可汗)
795–808
Ay Tengride Qut Bolmish Alp Bilge Qaghan
Baoyi Qaghan (保義可汗)
808–821
Kün Tengride Ulugh Bolmish Küçlüg Bilge Qaghan
Chonde Qaghan (崇德可汗)
821–824
Ay Tengride Qut Bolmish Alp Bilge Qaghan
Zhaoli Qaghan (昭禮可汗)
824–833
Zhangxin Qaghan Yaoluoge Hu
Ay Tengride Qut Bolmish Alp Külüg Bilge Qaghan
Zhangxin Qaghan (彰信可汗)
833–839
Qasar Qaghan (Usurper) Jueluowu or
Yaoluoge Hesa
Qasar Qaghan (㕎馺特勒)
839–840
Uge Qaghan Yaoluoge Wuxi
Wujie Qaghan (烏介可汗)
841–846
Enian Qaghan Yaoluoge E'nian
Enian Qaghan (遏捻可汗)
846–848
Menglig Qaghan (r. 848-?), (personal name, Mang/Pang Te-qin 厖特勤), sovereign title: Ay Tengride Qut Bolmiş Alp Kutlugh Bilge Qaghan 溫祿登里邏汩沒密施合俱錄毗伽, Chinese title: Huaijian Qaghan 懷建可汗. He moved his political centre to the west.
A 2020 study analyzed the genetic ancestry of 12 Uyghur Khaganate individuals c. 9th Century C.E. from Mongolia. The sample exhibited high (~60%) but variable West Eurasian ancestry, modeled as a mixture of Indo-Iranian Alans and Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex ancestry. The sample also carried substantial (~40%) ancestry from an East Asian source, closely related to the Slab Grave culture. The admixture between West and East Eurasian sources was estimated to have occurred around the year 500 CE.[64]
Of the 5 Uyghur males analyzed, 4 (or 80%) carried the West Eurasian paternal haplogroup Haplogroup R1b, while 1 (or 20%) carried the East Eurasian haplogroup Q1a. Of the 12 maternal haplogroups detected, 58% were of East Eurasian origin (A, B, D, G) while 41% were of West Eurasian origin (J T, H).[65]
Below is a set of images of Buddhist and Manichean Uyghurs, found from the Bezeklik caves and Mogao grottoes.
History of the Turkic peoples pre–14th century
Yenisei Kyrgyz People 202 BCE–13th CE
Dingling 71 BC–?? AD
(Tokhara Yabghus, Turk Shahis)
Khazar Khaganate 618–1048
Xueyantuo 628–646
Kangar Union 659–750
Turk Shahi 665-850
Türgesh Khaganate 699–766
Kimek–Kipchak Confederation 743–1035
Uyghur Khaganate 744–840
Oghuz Yabgu State 750–1055
Karluk Yabgu State 756–940
Kara-Khanid Khanate 840–1212
Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom 848–1036
Qocho 856–1335
Pecheneg Khanates 860–1091
Ghaznavid Empire 963–1186
Seljuk Empire 1037–1194
Cuman–Kipchak Confederation 1067–1239
Khwarazmian Empire 1077–1231
Kerait Khanate 11th century–13th century
Atabegs of Azerbaijan 1136–1225
Delhi Sultanate 1206–1526
Qarlughid Kingdom 1224–1266
Golden Horde 1242–1502
Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo) 1250–1517
Ottoman State 1299–1922
1800–1600 BC
1500–1000 BC
1450–1150 BC
1400–700 BC
1100–300 BC
700–300 BC
600–300 BC
330–555
Göktürks (First, Eastern, and Second Turkic Khaganates)
555–630
682–744
628–646
647–682
744–840
907–1125
1206–1368
1271–1368
1368–1635
1399–1634
1634–1757
1691–1911
1919–1921
1921
1921–1924
1924–1992
1990
1990–present
665–744
743–1220
750–1055
840–1212
1124–1218
1206–1368
1240s–1446
1428-1465
1465–1847
1918–1920
1920–1925
1925–1936
1936–1991
1991–present
東極室韋，西金山，南控大漠，盡得古匈奴地。
After the disastrous defeat of the T'ang armies to the rising power of the Arabs at the Battle of the Talas River in 751, T'ang pulled out of Central Asia and the area around Turfan came under the control of the Uighurs, who emerged as the dominant power of Eastern Central Asia.
葛祿乘勝取回紇之浮圖川，回紇震恐，悉遷西北部落羊馬於牙帳之南以避之。 [translation: "The Karluks took the opportunity to win control of Uyghur's Fu-tu valley; the Uyghurs, shaken with fear, moved their north-western tribes, with sheep and horses, to the south of the capital to escape."] (In Xin Tangshu, Fu-tu valley (浮圖川) was referred to as Shen-tu Valley 深圖川)
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方歲饑，遂疫，又大雪，羊、馬多死
俄而渠長句錄莫賀與黠戛斯合騎十萬攻回鶻城，殺可汗，誅掘羅勿，焚其牙，諸部潰其相馺職與厖特勒十五部奔葛邏祿，殘眾入吐蕃、安西。 [Translation: Soon the great chief Julumohe and the Kirghiz gathered a hundred thousand riders to attack the Uyghur city; they killed the Kaghan, executed Jueluowu, and burnt the royal camp. All the tribes were scattered—its ministers Sazhi and Pang Tele with fifteen clans fled to the Karluks, the remaining multitude went to the Tibetan Empire and Anxi.]
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Notes: † mainly a Tengrist text but recorded in a Manichaean monastery
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