Uyghur Empire
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The Uyghur Empire existed for about a century between the mid 8th and 9th centuries. They were a tribal confederation under the Uyghur nobility, referred to by the Chinese as the Nine Clans (Chiu Hsing).
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[edit] The Rise of Uyghurs in Mongolia
A rebellion in 742 against the ruling Göktürk Qaghanate by the Uyghur, Qarluq and Basmil tribes left an immense power vacuum in Mongolia and Central Asia. The Basmils captured the Gokturk capital Ötügen and their king Özmish Khan in 744, effectively taking charge of the region. However a Uyghur-Qarluq alliance against the Basmils was formed later the same year. The coalition marched on and severely defeated the Basmils, beheading its king. The Basmil tribes were effectively destroyed, with their people being sold to the Chinese or distributed amongst the victors. The Uyghurs took control of Mongolia, with the Qarluq tribes given lands further West. The Uyghur chief Kutluk bilge köl had himself crowned as the supreme ruler (Qaghan) of all Altaic tribes and built his capital at Ordu Baliq.
In 747, Kutluk bilge köl died, leaving his youngest son, Bayanchur Khan to reign as Qaghan El etmish bilge. After building a number of trading outposts with the Chinese, Bayanchur Khan used the rise in income to build the capital Ordu Baliq and another city, further upstream of the Selenga River. The new Qaghan then embarked on a series of campaigns to bring all the steppe peoples under his banner. During this time the Empire vastly expanded, with Sekiz Oghuz, Qïrghïz, Qarluqs, Türgish, Toquz Tatars, Chiks and the remnants of the Basmïls coming under Uyghur rule. It was also during this time that Tang China started a process of withdrawal from Central Asia. Bayanchur Khan acted quickly and took over the fertile Tarim Basin.
The Chinese defeat at the Battle of Talas combined with a series of rebellions, the largest being of An Lushan, forced the Chinese emperor to turn to Bayanchur Khan for assistance. Seeing this as an ideal opportunity to meddle in Chinese affairs, the Qaghan agreed, quelling several rebellions and defeating an invading Tibetan army from the south. As a result, the Uyghurs received tribute from the Chinese and Bayanchur Khan was given the daughter of the Chinese Emperor to marry.
In 756, the Uyghurs turned their attentions to a rival steppe tribe, the Kyrgyz to the north. With a massive army, Bayanchur Khan destroyed several of their trading outposts before slaughtering a Kyrgyz army and executing their Khan.
Finally, in 759, after heavily drinking at a celebration, Bayanchur Khan died. His son Tengri Bögü succeeded him as Qaghan Kutluk tarkhan sengün.
[edit] Golden Age
In 762, in alliance with the Tang, Tengri Bögü (Chinese transcription Idigan ) launched a campaign against the Tibetans. He recaptured for the Tang Emperor the western capital Luoyang. Qaghan Tengri Bögü met with Manichaean priests from Iran while on campaign, and was converted to Manicheism, adopting it as the official religion of the Uyghur Empire.
The uncle of the Qaghan, brother of Bayanchur Khan, Tun Bagha Tarkhan led a rebellion against his ruler, beheading him and his closest followers (about 2,000 nobles) in 779. Main reason of rebellion was in disagreement of Tun Bagha Tarkhan and his followers to qaghan decision to invade China, where new Emperor ascended the throne and he was one who refused to make salutations to uyghur wolf's banner during An Lushan rebellion (755-762) and joint uyghur-Chinese operations against rebels in 762 . Tun Bagha Tarkhan considered as possible opportunity to successfully conquere China, but was aware that it might be resulted in full assimilation of uyghur people by numerous chinese population ( according official census of Tang in 754 AD population of China was as large as 52, 880 488 people) and death of uyghur culture in future generations. Tun Bagha Tarkhan ascended the throne as Alp kutluk bilge ( Victorious, glorious, wise ) and enforced a new set of laws, which he designed to secure the unity of the qaghanate. He also moved against the Kyrgyz once more, finally bringing them under Uyghur Empire control.
[edit] Decline
In 795 the Qaghan, bearing title Kutluk bilge, died and the Yaghlakar (Chinese transcription Yao-lo-ko) dynasty came to an end. The Uyghur empire started to fragment before a new ruler, a general named Kutluk, declared himself as the new Qaghan under the title Ai tengride ülüg bulmïsh alp kutluk ulugh bilge ( Greatly born in moon heaven, victorious, glorious, great and wise ), founding a new dynasty, the Ediz (Chinese transcription A-tieh). With solid leadership once more, the Qaghanate averted collapse. Kutluk became renowed for his leadership and management of the Empire. Although, he consolidated the empire, he failed to restore it to its previous power. On his death in 808, the empire began to fragment once again. He was succeeded by his son, who went on to improve trade in inner Asia. The last great Qaghan of the Empire was qaghan with unknown name, bearing the title Kün tengride ülüg bulmïsh alp küchlüg bilge ( Greatly born in sun heaven, victorious, strong and wise), whose achievements included improved trade, uptill the region of Sogdiana, and on the battlefield he repulsed a force of invading Tibetans. This qaghan died in 824 and was succeeded by a brother, Qasar, who was murdered in 832, inaugurating a period of anarchy. In 839 the legitimate qaghan was forced to commit suicide, and a usurping minister named Kürebir seized the throne. In the same year there was a famine that killed much of the livestock the Uyghur economy was based on.
[edit] Collapse
The following spring, in 840, the Kyrgyz tribe invaded from the north with a force of around 80,000 horsemen. They sacked the Uyghur capital at Ordu Baliq, razing it to the ground. The Kyrgyz captured the Uyghur Qaghan, Kürebir (Hesa) and promptly beheaded him. The Kyrgyz went on to destroy other Uyghur cities throughout their empire, burning them to the ground. The last legitimate Qaghan, Öge, was assassinated in 847, having spent his 6-year reign in fighting the Kyrgyz and the supporters of his rival Ormïzt, a brother of Kürebir. The Kyrgyz invasion destroyed the Uyghur Empire, causing a diaspora of Uyghur people across Central Asia.
[edit] After the Empire
The three kingdoms of Gansu (870-1036), Turfan (856-1335) and Karakhanids (940-1212) were formed by the Uyghurs who fled (southwest, west and further west respectively) from the Yenisei Kyrgyz, several years after the fall of the empire. None of these states became as powerful as the Uyghur Empire but did hold artistic, scientific and commercial achievements to their name. The Uyghurs became important civil servants in the later Mongol Empire, which adopted the Uyghur script as its official script.
[edit] List of Uyghur Qaghans
The following list is based on Dennis Sinor, "The Uighur Empire of Mongolia," Studies in Medieval Inner Asia, Variorum, 1997, V: 1-25. Because of the complex and inconsistent Uyghur and Chinese titulatures, references to the rulers now typically include their number in the sequence, something further complicated by the non-inclusion of an unnamed ephemeral son of 4 between 5 and 6 in 790, and the inclusion of a spurious reign between 7 and 9.
- 744–747 Qutlugh bilge köl (K'u-li p'ei-lo)
- 747–759 El-etmish bilge (Bayan Chur, Mo yen ch'o), son of 1
- 759–779 Qutlugh tarqan sengün (Tengri Bögü, Teng-li Mou-yü), son of 2
- 779–789 Alp qutlugh bilge (Tun bagha tarkhan), son of 1
- 789–790 Ai tengride bulmïsh külüg bilge (To-lo-ssu), son of 4
- 790–795 Qutlugh bilge (A-ch'o), son of 5
- 795–808 Ai tengride ülüg bulmïsh alp qutlugh ulugh bilge (Qutlugh, Ku-tu-lu)
- 805–808 Ai tengride qut bulmïsh külüg bilge (spurious reign: tenure belongs to 7, name to 9)
- 808–821 Ai tengride qut bulmïsh külüg bilge (Pao-i), son of 7
- 821–824 Kün tengride ülüg bulmïsh alp küchlüg bilge (Ch'ung-te), son of 9
- 824–832 Ai tengride qut bulmïsh alp bilge (Qasar, Ko-sa), son of 9
- 832–839 Ai tengride qut bulmïsh alp külüg bilge (Hu), son of 10
- 839–840 Kürebir (Ho-sa), usurper
- 841–847 Öge, son of 9
