Ilterish Qaghan
Ilterish Qaghan 頡跌利施可汗 | |
---|---|
Kul Tegin Bögü Qaghan Inel Qaghan | |
House | Ashina |
Father | Etmish Beg |
Religion | Tengrism |
Ilterish Qaghan
Early life
Little is known surrounding Ilterish Qaghan's early life. He was a distant relative of
History
Uprising
Following the suppression of Ashina Funian's failed rebellion in 681, the later Ilterish Qaghan rose up in arms against the Tang authorities. Managing to accumulate a military force of over 5,000 troops, partly composed of remnants of the Turk rebels who had served under Ashina Funian, the Turk leader began his military campaigns - initially focusing on attacks against the Tang forces and the Toquz Oghuz confederation to the north.[6]
The Tonyukuk inscription records that it was Tonyukuk himself and a certain Boyla Bagha Tarkan who enthroned Ilterish Qaghan. The Chinese sources then expand on this detailing that, following his enthronement, Ilterish Qaghan appointed his younger brothers Mochuo as a shad, and Duoxifu as a yabghu respectively.[7]
His attacks on the Tang border regions began on 12 July 682, with the Turks attacking the Lan Prefecture and even managing to capture and execute its prefect, Wang Demao. Half a year later, due to the poor climatic conditions in their headquarters, the Turks began plundering the northern borders of the Bing Prefecture. In response to these attacks, the military general Xue Rengui was assigned to defend the Yun Prefecture against Turk aggression. This culminated in an engagement between the two military forces, resulting in the defeat of the Turks who suffered thousands of losses. However, the Turk forces resumed their attacks, and in the march of 683 had plundered the Ding and Gui prefectures. The following month the Turks besieged Chanyu and managed to kill its adjutant, Zhang Xingshi. Similarly, the prefect of the Yu Prefecture - Li Sijian - was also killed following an attack in the region by the Turk rebels.[8]
The military governor of the Feng Prefecture, Cui Zhibian, led an expedition against the Turks. However, this would result in Cui Zhibian's capture by the Turks. As a result of these defeats and losses, the Tang court almost decided on abandoning the Feng Prefecture, although this did not come into fruition due to opposition from its adjutant - Tang Xiujing. Between the June and July of 683, the Turks began attacking the Lan Prefecture which would result in a defeat at the hands of the assistant general Yang Xuanji who routed Ilterish Qaghan's forces. However, due to the incessant attacks on the prefecture, Emperor Gaozong and the Tang court decided to degrade the region to a lesser military institution. On 8 December 683, the commander Cheng Wuting led an expedition against the Turk headquarters.[9]
Conquest of the Toquz Oghuz and Ötüken
In 684, Ilterish Qaghan turned his attention to the steppe and initiated his campaign against the Toquz Oghuz. Following the subjugation of the Eastern Turks by the Chinese in 630, the Toquz Oghuz confederation had come to occupy and dominate
Following the completion of the conquest of Ötüken in 685, the Turks instigated the Toquz Oghuz in turning against the Tang government - thus initiating what the Tang perceived to be yet another rebellion. In response to this, the Tang dispatched around 30,000 troops from the On Oq under general Tian Yangming to subdue the Toquz Oghuz. The Toquz Oghuz tribes, primarily Uyghurs, which had surrendered to the Tang during the expedition were resettled around the citadel of Tongcheng in the Anbei Protectorate. However, tribes such as the Tongra and Pugu remained in active rebellion and thus the Tang dispatched yet another general, Liu Jingtong, to suppress the rebels. Due to their sheer number of losses as a result of starvation the Toquz Oghuz eventually surrendered to the Tang state and were largely resettled in the Hexi Corridor, allowing for the Turks to fully dominate and resettle Ötüken.[11]
Campaign into Shandong
In 31 August 684, Ilterish Qaghan and Ashide Yuanzhen began an attack against the Shuo Prefecture, under the protection of general Cheng Wuting. While the Turks encountered difficulties during this campaign as a result of the Tang general's competency, the latter's involvement in a political scandal and execution allowed the Turks to gain the upper hand. Between 11 March and 16 May 685 the Turks began plundering both the Shuo and Dai prefectures, resulting in a clash with general Chunyu Chuping in the Xin Prefecture, the engagement culminating in the loss of around 5,000 Tang troops.[12]
In 686 the general
Tang, On Oq, and Kyrgyz coalition against the Turks
Following his victory over general Cuan Baobi, between the years 688-94, Ilterish Qaghan began concentrating on a western campaign. According to the Tonyukuk inscription, the Tang, On Oq (headed by the
Tonyukuk advised Ilterish Qaghan to campaign against the Kyrgyz first. After a 10-day trek across the
Later life and death
Little is known about the later years of Ilterish Qaghan's life and his death. The Tonyukuk inscription does not provide any information on the qaghan's passing, only detailing Mochuo's succession to the throne at the age of 27 following his brother's death, donning the title of Qapaghan Qaghan. When analysed together with the Kul Tigin and Bilge Qaghan inscriptions, both of which claim that the two eponymous figures were 7 and 8 years old respectively when their father died, this suggests that Ilterish Qaghan died in the year 691.[19]
Kultegin's memorial complex
Ilterish is mentioned also in 10 to 12 lines of the Kul Tigin inscription as follows:
...Then Turk Tengri above, Turkish holy Earth and Water said as follows: "In order to Turkish people would not go to ruin and in order to should be a nation again", They rose my father Ilterish Kagan and my mother Ilbilga Katun, to the top and sat them upwards on the throne. My father, the kagan gathered together seventeen brave Lords... Tengri gave them power. My father's army was like wolves, their enemies were like sheep..."[20]
Legacy
On 23 August 2022, his memorial complex and an inscription written in Turkic and Sogdian was found at Khangai Mountains, in Mongolia's Otuken region.[22]
References
- ISBN 978-0-87229-108-9, p. 25.
- ISBN 978-0-253-22140-7, p. 54.
- ^ Kultegin's Memorial Complex in the official website of TÜRIK BITIG
- ^ Elteris Елтеріс, Ethno Cultural Dictionary in the official website of TÜRIK BITIG
- ^ Chen, Hao (2021). A History of the Second Türk Empire (ca. 682-745 AD). Leiden: Brill. p. 19.
- ^ Chen 2021, p. 20.
- ^ Chen 2021, p. 21.
- ^ Chen 2021, pp. 28–9.
- ^ Chen 2021, p. 29.
- ^ Chen 2021, pp. 30–1.
- ^ Chen 2021, pp. 33–4.
- ^ Chen 2021, p. 34.
- ^ Chen 2021, p. 35.
- ^ Chen 2021, p. 36.
- ^ Chen 2021, p. 37.
- ^ Chen 2021, pp. 39–40.
- ^ Chen 2021, pp. 40–3.
- ^ Chen 2021, p. 44.
- ^ Chen 2021, pp. 45–6.
- ^ The Kultegin Inscription (1-40 lines) in the official website of TÜRIK BITIK.
- ^ Dobrovits,M.:“Textological Structure and Political Message of the Old Turkic Runic Inscriptions”, Talât Tekin Armağanı, Türk Dilleri Araştırmaları 18 (2008), 149-153.
- ^ "Turkic inscription of Ilterish Kagan found in Mongolia". TRT World.
Sources
- Christian, David (1998). A History of Russia, Central Asia, and Mongolia, Volume I. Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 0-631-20814-3.
External links
- Göktürks (Blue Turks) Kingdoms of Central Asia