View source for Göktürks

{{Short description|Turkic people in Inner Asia}}
{{other uses| Göktürk (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Göktürks
| image            = [[File:Tyurki.jpg|200px]]
| caption          = Gökturk petroglyphs from Orkhon Valley, Mongolia (6th to 8th century)<ref name="Altınkılıç-2020">{{cite journal |last1=Altınkılıç |first1=Arzu Emel |title=Göktürk giyim kuşamının plastik sanatlarda değerlendirilmesi |journal=Journal of Social and Humanities Sciences Research |year=2020 |pages=1101–1110 |url=http://www.jshsr.org/Makaleler/1429516422_07-7-53.1853-1101-1110.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024185201/http://www.jshsr.org/Makaleler/1429516422_07-7-53.1853-1101-1110.pdf |archive-date=24 October 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| regions          = [[Central Asia|Central]] and [[Eastern Asia]]
| languages        = [[Orkhon Turkic]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lloyd |first1=Keith |title=The Routledge Handbook of Comparative World Rhetorics: Studies in the History, Application, and Teaching of Rhetoric Beyond Traditional Greco-Roman Contexts |date=10 June 2020 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-00-006627-2 |page=153 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MvDqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT153}}</ref>
| religions        = [[Tengrism]], [[Buddhism]]
| related          = [[Türgesh]], [[Toquz Oghuz]], [[Yenisei Kyrgyz]], [[Xueyantuo]], [[Shatuo]]<ref>Xiu Ouyang, (1073), ''Historical Records of the Five Dynasties'', p. 39</ref>
| native_name      = 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣<br />Türük Bodun
| native_name_lang = otk
}}
The '''Göktürks''' ({{langx|otk|𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣|Türük Bodun}}; {{lang-zh|c=突厥|p=Tūjué|w=T'u-chüeh}}), also known as '''Türks''', '''Celestial Turks''' or '''Blue Turks''', were a [[Turkic peoples|Turkic people]] in medieval [[Inner Asia]]. The Göktürks, under the leadership of [[Bumin Qaghan]] (d. 552) and his sons, succeeded the [[Rouran Khaganate]] as the main power in the region and established the [[First Turkic Khaganate]], one of several nomadic dynasties that would shape the future geolocation, culture, and dominant beliefs of [[Turkic peoples]].

== Etymology ==
=== Origin ===
[[File:Turkic horsemen with unidentifiable ambassadors on top.jpg|thumb|A funerary depiction of long haired Türks in the Kazakh steppe. [[Miho funerary couch]], circa 570.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mierse |first1=William E. |title=Artifacts from the Ancient Silk Road |date=1 December 2022 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-4408-5829-1 |page=126 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WQuXEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA126 |language=en}} "In the upper scene, long-haired Turkic servants attend an individual seated inside the yurt proper, and in the lower scene, hunters are seen riding down game. The setting must be the Kazakh steppes over which the Turks had taken control from the Hepthalites."</ref>]]
As an [[ethnonym]], the etymology of ''Turk'' is unknown.<ref>{{harvnb|Tasar|Frank|Eden|2021|pp=6–7}}</ref> It is generally believed that the name ''Türk'' may have come from the Old Turkic migration-term<ref>(Bŭlgarska akademii︠a︡ na naukite. Otdelenie za ezikoznanie/ izkustvoznanie/ literatura, Linguistique balkanique, Vol. 27–28, 1984, p. 17</ref>{{Clarification needed|reason=What is a "migration-term"? This is not a common English term and seems to be a technical term.|date=April 2025}} {{Langx|otk|𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜|Türük/Törük|label=none}}, which means 'created, born'.<ref>Faruk Sümer, Oghuzes (Turkmens): History, Tribal organization, Sagas, Turkish World Research Foundation, 1992, p. 16)</ref>

As a word in [[Turkic languages]], ''Turk'' may mean "strong, strength, ripe" or "flourishing, in full strength".<ref>{{harvnb|Tasar|Frank|Eden|2021|p=30}}</ref> It may also mean ripe as for a fruit or "in the prime of life, young, and vigorous" for a person.<ref>{{harvnb|Clauson|1972|pp=542–543}}</ref>

The name ''Gök-türk'' emerged from the [[modern Turkish]] reading of the word ''Kök'' as ''Gök'' with assumption of equivalence to "sky" in modern Turkish (''Gök''). The actual meaning of ''Kök'' in ''Kök-türk'' is debated due to single attestation, with differing opinions as "big, great"<ref>{{cite book |last=Tezcan |first=Semih |title=Gibt es einen Namen Kök-Türk wirklich? |year=1991 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz}}</ref> or "blue" as a reference to [[Ashina tribe|''Ashina'']], the endonym of the ruling clan of the historical ethnic group which was attested in [[Old Turkic]] as {{langx|otk|𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜|Türük|label=none}}<ref name="Kultegin">[http://irq.kaznpu.kz/?lang=e&mod=1&tid=1&oid=15&m=1 Kultegin's Memorial Complex, Türik Bitig] [[Orkhon inscriptions]]</ref><ref name="kaznpu.kz">{{Cite web |url=https://kaznpu.kz/kz/ |title=Абай атындағы Қазақ ұлттық педагогикалық университеті |website=kaznpu.kz}}</ref> {{langx|otk|𐰚𐰇𐰜:𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜|Kök Türük|label=none}},<ref name="Kultegin" /><ref name="kaznpu.kz" /> or {{langx|otk|𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰚|Türk|label=none}}.<ref>[http://irq.kaznpu.kz/?lang=e&mod=1&tid=1&oid=17&m=1 Tonyukuk's Memorial Complex, Türik Bitig] [[Bain Tsokto inscriptions]]</ref>

They were known in [[Middle Chinese]] historical sources as the ''Tūjué'' ({{lang-zh|t=[[wikt:突|突]] [[wikt:厥|厥]]}}; reconstructed in Middle Chinese as *''dwət-kuɑt'' > ''tɦut-kyat'').{{sfn|Golden|2011|p=20}} The ethnonym was also recorded in various other East Asian languages, [[Rouran language|Rouran]] ''To̤ro̤x''/''Türǖg'', [[Manchu language|Manchu]] ''Tule/Turuhe,'' [[Korean language|Korean]] ''[[:ko:돌궐|돌궐]]''/''Dolgwol'', and [[Old Tibetan]] ''Drugu''.{{sfn|Golden|2011|p=20}}{{sfn|Golden|2018|p=292}}

In Indo-Iranian languages Turks were recorded under various forms. In [[Sogdian language|Sogdian]] *''Türkit ~ Türküt'', ''tr'wkt'', ''trwkt'', ''turkt'' > ''trwkc'', ''trukč''; [[Saka language|Khotanese Saka]] ''Ttūrka''/''Ttrūka,'' [[Middle Persian]] 𐭲𐭥𐭫𐭪𐭠𐭭 Türkān''~Türk.''

=== Definition ===
According to Chinese sources, ''Tūjué'' meant "[[combat helmet]]" ({{lang-zh|c=[[wikt:兜|兜]] [[wikt:鍪|鍪]] | p=Dōumóu|w=Tou<sup>1</sup>-mou<sup>2</sup>}}), reportedly because the shape of the [[Altai Mountains]], where they lived, was similar to a combat helmet.<ref name="Linghu Defen et al">[[Linghu Defen]] et al., ''[[Book of Zhou]]'', [[:zh:s:周書/卷50|Vol. 50.]] {{in lang|zh}}</ref><ref name="Wei Zheng et al">[[Wei Zheng]] et al., ''[[Book of Sui]]'', [[:zh:t:隋書/卷84|Vol. 84.]] {{in lang|zh}}</ref><ref name="Li Yanshou">[[Li Yanshou]] (李延寿), ''[[History of the Northern Dynasties]]'', [[:zh:t:北史/卷099|Vol. 99.]] {{in lang|zh}}</ref> [[András Róna-Tas|Róna-Tas]] (1991) pointed to a [[Saka language|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>{{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>

Göktürk is sometimes interpreted as either "Celestial Turk" or "Blue Turk" (i.e., because [[sky blue]] is associated with [[Sky deity|celestial realms]]).{{sfn|West|2008|p=829}} This is consistent with "the cult of heavenly ordained rule" which was a recurrent element of Altaic political culture and as such may have been imbibed by the Göktürks from their predecessors in Mongolia.<ref>Wink 64.</ref> "Blue" is traditionally associated with the East as it used in the [[cardinal direction#Northern Eurasia|cardinal system]] of central Asia, thus meaning "Turks of the East".{{sfn|Golden|1992|pages=133-134,136}} The name of the ruling [[Ashina tribe|Ashina clan]] may derive from the [[Khotanese Saka]] term for "deep blue", ''āššɪna''.{{sfn|Findley|2004|p=39}}

According to the [[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language|American Heritage Dictionary]], the word Türk meant "strong" in Old Turkic;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/92/T0419200.html |title=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition – "Turk" |author=American Heritage Dictionary |author-link=American Heritage Dictionary |publisher=bartleby.com |access-date=7 December 2006 |year=2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070116043608/http://www.bartleby.com/61/92/T0419200.html |archive-date=16 January 2007}}</ref> though [[Gerhard Doerfer]] supports this theory, [[Gerard Clauson]] points out that "the word Türk is never used in the generalized sense of 'strong'" and that the noun Türk originally 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>{{cite book |last=Clauson |first=G. |title=An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-13th Century Turkish |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1972 |pages=542–543 |isbn=0-19-864112-5}}</ref> Hakan Aydemir (2022) also contends that Türk originally did not mean "strong, powerful" but "gathered; united, allied, confederated" and was derived from Pre-[[Proto-Turkic]] verb *''türü'' 'heap up, collect, gather, assemble'.<ref>{{cite book |first=Hakan |last=Aydemir |date=2–3 December 2022 |chapter=TÜRK Adının Kökeni Üzerine (On the origin of the ethnonym TÜRK 'Turkic, Turkish') + an English abstract |title=Türk Dunyası Sosyal Bilimler – Sempozyumu |publisher=Ege University |location=İzmir |editor-last1=Şahin |editor-first1=İbrahim |editor-last2=Akgün |editor-first2=Atıf |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/100924309 |language=tr}}</ref>

The name as used by the Göktürks only applied to themselves (i.e. the Göktürk khanates), their subjects, and splinter groups. The Göktürks did not consider other Turkic speaking groups such as the [[Uyghurs]], [[Tiele people|Tiele]], and [[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]] to be Türks. In the [[Orkhon inscriptions]], the [[Toquz Oghuz]] and the [[Yenisei Kyrgyz]] are not referred to as Türks. Similarly, the Uyghurs called themselves Uyghurs and used ''Türk'' exclusively for the Göktürks, whom they portrayed as enemy aliens in their royal inscriptions. Chinese historiographers transcribed the [[Khazars]]' name as {{transliteration|zh|Tūjué Kěsà bù}} {{lang|zh|突厥可薩部}} and {{transliteration|zh|Tūjué Hésà}} {{lang|zh|突厥曷薩}}, whose element {{transliteration|zh|Tūjué}} {{lang|zh|突厥}} suggests that the Khazars might have kept the Göktürk tradition alive. When tribal leaders built their khanates, ruling over assorted tribes and tribal unions, the collected people identified themselves politically with the leadership. Turk became the designation for all subjects of the Turk empires. Nonetheless, subordinate tribes and tribal unions retained their original names, identities, and social structures. Memory of the Göktürks and the Ashina had faded by the turn of the millennium. The [[Karakhanids]], [[Qocho]] Uyghurs, and [[Seljuks]] did not claim descent from the Göktürks.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Joo-Yup |title=Some remarks on the Turkicisation of the Mongols in post-Mongol Central Asia and the Qipchaq Steppe |journal=Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae |year=2018 |volume=71 |issue=2 |pages=128–129 |doi=10.1556/062.2018.71.2.1 |s2cid=133847698 |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=666361 |language=English |issn=0001-6446}}</ref><ref>Lee, Joo-Yup; Kuang, Shuntu (18 October 2017). "A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Historical Sources and Y-DNA Studies with Regard to the Early and Medieval Turkic Peoples". Inner Asia. Brill. 19 (2): p. 203 of 197–239.</ref><ref>Sui-Tang China and Its Turko-Mongol Neighbors, Page 34</ref>

== History ==

=== Origins ===
{{See also|Timeline of the Göktürks}}
[[File:Turkic hunting scene, Gokturk period Altai.png|thumb|Hunting scene from the Göktürk period, from Chaganka, [[Altai Mountains|Altai]] region, 5th-6th century CE<ref>{{cite web |last1=Konstantinov |first1=Nikita |last2=Soenov |first2=Vasilii |last3=Черемисин |first3=Дмитрий |title=BATTLE AND HUNTING SCENES IN TURKIC ROCK ART OF THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES IN ALTAI |url=https://www.academia.edu/29773396}}</ref>]]
[[File:Turkic horseman (Tomb of An Jia, 579 CE).jpg|thumb|upright|Turkic horseman ([[Tomb of An Jia]], 579 CE).<ref name="Baumer-2018">{{cite book |last1=Baumer |first1=Christoph |title=History of Central Asia, The: 4-volume set |date=18 April 2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-83860-868-2 |page=228 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DhiWDwAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA228 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Yatsenko-2009">{{cite journal |last1=Yatsenko |first1=Sergey A. |title=Early Turks: Male Costume in the Chinese Art |journal=Transoxiana |date=August 2009 |volume=14 |url=http://www.transoxiana.com.ar/14/yatsenko_turk_costume_chinese_art.html}}</ref>]]
The Göktürk rulers originated from the [[Ashina tribe|Ashina clan]], who were first attested to in 439. The ''[[Book of Sui]]'' reports that on 18 October 439, the [[Tuoba]] ruler [[Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei]] overthrew [[Juqu Mujian]] of the [[Northern Liang]] in eastern [[Gansu]],<ref>[[Wei Shou]], ''[[Book of Wei]]'', [[:zh:s:魏書/卷4上|Vol. 4-I.]] {{in lang|zh}}</ref><ref>[[Sima Guang]], ''[[Zizhi Tongjian]]'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷123|Vol. 123.]] {{in lang|zh}}</ref><ref>[[:zh:承和 (北凉)|永和]]七年 ([[:zh:太延|太延]]五年) 九月丙戌 [http://sinocal.sinica.edu.tw/ Academia Sinica] {{in lang|zh}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016003621/http://sinocal.sinica.edu.tw/ |date=16 October 2013 }}</ref> whence 500 Ashina families fled northwest to the [[Rouran Khaganate]] in the vicinity of [[Gaochang]].<ref name="Wei Zheng et al" />{{sfn|Christian|1998|p=249}}

According to the ''[[Book of Zhou]]'' and ''[[History of the Northern Dynasties]]'', the Ashina clan was a component of the [[Xiongnu]] confederation,<ref name="Linghu Defen et al" /><ref name="Li Yanshou" /> specifically, the northern Xiongnu tribes<ref>''[[New Book of Tang]]'', vol. 215 upper. "突厥阿史那氏, 蓋古匈奴北部也." "The Ashina family of the Turk probably were the northern tribes of the ancient Xiongnu." translated by Xu (2005)</ref><ref>Xu Elina-Qian, [https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/19205 ''Historical Development of the Pre-Dynastic Khitan''], [[University of Helsinki]], 2005</ref> or southern Xiongnu "who settled along the northern Chinese frontier", according to [[Edwin G. Pulleyblank]].{{sfn|Golden|2018|p=306}} However, this view is contested.{{sfn|Christian|1998|p=249}} Göktürks were also posited as having originated from an obscure Suo state (索國) ([[Middle Chinese|MC]]: *''sâk'') which was situated north of the [[Xiongnu]] and had been founded by the [[Sakas]]<ref>[[János Harmatta|Harmatta, János]], (1999), "A türkök eredetmondája", ''Magyar Nyelv'', vol. 95(4): p. 391 of 385–396. cited in Golden (2018), "The Ethnogonic Tales of the Türks", p. 300</ref> or [[Xianbei]].<ref>Vásáry, István (2007) ''Eski İç Asya Tarihi'' p. 99-100, cited Golden (2018), "The Ethnogonic Tales of the Türks", p. 300</ref><ref name="Linghu Defen et al" /><ref name="Li Yanshou" />{{sfn|Golden|2018|p=300}} According to the ''Book of Sui'' and the ''[[Tongdian]]'', they were "mixed [[Hu (people)|Hu]] (barbarians)" (雜胡) from [[Pingliang]] (平涼), now in [[Gansu]], [[Northwest China]].<ref name="Wei Zheng et al" /><ref>杜佑, 《通典》, 北京: 中華書局出版, ([[Du You]], ''[[Tongdian]]'', Vol.197), 辺防13 北狄4 突厥上, 1988, {{ISBN|7-101-00258-7}}, p. 5401. {{in lang|zh}}</ref> Pointing to the Ashina's association with the northern tribes of the [[Xiongnu]], some researchers (e.g. Duan, Lung, etc.) proposed that Göktürks belonged in particular to the [[Tiele people|Tiele confederation]], likewise Xiongnu-associated,<ref name="Wei Zheng et al" /> by ancestral lineage.<ref>{{cite book |first=Rachel |last=Lung |title=Interpreters in Early Imperial China |publisher=John Benjamins |year=2011 |page=48 |isbn=978-90-272-2444-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Duan |title=Dingling, Gaoju and Tiele |year=1988 |pages=39–41 |publisher=[[Shanghai People's Press]] |isbn=7-208-00110-3}}</ref> However, Lee and Kuang (2017) state that Chinese sources do not describe the Ashina-led Göktürks as descending from the [[Dingling]] or belonging to the Tiele confederation.<ref>Lee, Joo-Yup; Kuang, Shuntu (18 October 2017). "A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Historical Sources and Y-DNA Studies with Regard to the Early and Medieval Turkic Peoples". Inner Asia. Brill. 19 (2): p. 201 of 197–239.</ref>

Chinese sources linked the Hu on their northern borders to the Xiongnu just as Graeco-Roman historiographers called the [[Pannonian Avars]], [[Huns]] and [[Hungarians]], "[[Scythians]]". Such archaizing was a common literary topos, implying similar geographic origins and nomadic lifestyle but not direct filiation.{{sfn|Sinor|1990}}{{page needed|date=August 2015}}

As part of the heterogeneous [[Rouran Khaganate]], the Turks lived for generations north of the [[Altai Mountains]], where they 'engaged in metal working for the Rouran'.<ref name="Wei Zheng et al" /><ref>Sima Guang, ''Zizhi Tongjian'', [[:zh:t:資治通鑑/卷159|Vol. 159.]] {{in lang|zh}}</ref> According to [[Denis Sinor]], the rise to power of the Ashina clan represented an 'internal revolution' in the Rouran Khaganate rather than an external conquest.{{sfn|Sinor|1990|p=295}}

According to Charles Holcombe, the early Turk population was rather heterogeneous and many of the names of Turk rulers, including the two founding members, are not even Turkic.{{sfn|Holcombe|2001|p=114}} This is supported by evidence from the [[Orkhon inscriptions]], which include several non-Turkic lexemes, possibly representing [[Uralic languages|Uralic]] or [[Yeniseian languages|Yeniseian]] words.{{sfn|Sinor|1990|p=291}}<ref>Vovin, Alexander. "Did the Xiongnu speak a Yeniseian language?". Central Asiatic Journal 44/1 (2000), pp. 87–104.</ref> [[Peter Benjamin Golden]] points out that the khaghans of the Turkic Khaganate, the Ashina, who were of an undetermined ethnic origin, adopted [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] and Tokharian (or non-[[Altaic languages|Altaic]]) titles.{{sfn|Golden|1992|p=126}} German Turkologist W.-E. Scharlipp points out that many common terms in Turkic are [[Iranian languages|Iranian]] in origin.<ref>{{cite book |quote=(...) Über die Ethnogenese dieses Stammes ist viel gerätselt worden. Auffallend ist, dass viele zentrale Begriffe iranischen Ursprungs sind. Dies betrifft fast alle Titel (...). Einige Gelehrte wollen auch die Eigenbezeichnung türk auf einen iranischen Ursprung zurückführen und ihn mit dem Wort "Turan", der persischen Bezeichnung für das Land jeneseits des Oxus, in Verbindung bringen. |first=Wolfgang-Ekkehard |last=Scharlipp |title=Die frühen Türken in Zentralasien |location=Darmstadt |publisher=Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft |year=1992 |isbn=3-534-11689-5 |page=18}}</ref> Whatever language the Ashina may have spoken originally, they and those they ruled would all speak Turkic, in a variety of dialects, and create, in a broadly defined sense, a common culture.{{sfn|Golden|1992|p=126}}<ref>[[Lev Gumilyov]], (1967), ''Drevnie Turki'' (Ancient Turks), p. 22-25</ref>

=== Expansion ===
{{Main|First Turkic Khaganate}}
{{Asia 576 CE|right|The First Turkic Khaganate and contemporary polities, circa 576||Map of the First Turkic Khaganate.png}}
The Göktürks reached their peak in the late 6th century and began to invade the [[Sui dynasty]] of China. However, the war ended due to the division of Turkic nobles and their civil war for the title of khagan. With the support of [[Emperor Wen of Sui]], [[Yami Qaghan]] won the competition. However, the Göktürk empire was divided into eastern and western empires. Weakened by the civil war, Yami Qaghan declared allegiance to the Sui dynasty.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Book of Sui 隋書 Vol. 2 Vol. 51 & Vol.84 |last=Wei 魏 |first=Zheng 徵 |year=656}}</ref> When the Sui began to decline, [[Shibi Khan|Shibi Khagan]] began to assault its territory and even surrounded [[Emperor Yang of Sui]] at the Siege of Yanmen (615 AD) with 100,000 cavalry troops. After the collapse of the Sui dynasty, the Göktürks intervened in the ensuing Chinese civil wars, providing support to the northeastern rebel [[Liu Heita]] against the rising [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] in 622 and 623. Liu enjoyed a long string of success but was finally routed by [[Li Shimin]] and other Tang generals and executed. The Tang dynasty was then established.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

=== Conquest by the Tang ===
{{Main|Tang dynasty in Inner Asia}}

Although the Göktürk Khaganate had once provided support to the Tang dynasty in the early period of the civil war during the collapse of the [[Sui dynasty]], the conflicts between the Göktürks and the Tang broke out whilst the Tang were gradually reunifying [[China proper]]. The Göktürks began to attack and raid the northern border of the Tang Empire and once marched their main force of 100,000 soldiers to [[Chang'an]], the capital of the Tang. [[Emperor Taizong of Tang]], in spite of the limited resources at his disposal, managed to turn them back. Later, Taizong sent his troops to Mongolia and defeated the main force of Göktürk army in [[Battle of Yinshan]] four years later and captured [[Illig Qaghan]] in 630 AD.<ref name="Liu 劉-945">{{Cite book |title=Old book of Tang 舊唐書 Vol.2 & Vol. 67 |last=Liu 劉 |first=Xu 昫 |year=945}}</ref> With the submission of the Turkic tribes, the Tang conquered the [[Mongolian Plateau]]. From then on, the Eastern Turks were subjugated to China.<ref name="Liu 劉-945" />

After a vigorous court debate, Emperor Taizong decided to pardon the Göktürk nobles and offered them positions as imperial guards.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Old Book of Tang 舊唐書 Vol.2 & Vol.194 |last=Liu 劉 |first=Xu 昫 |year=945}}</ref> However, the proposition was ended by a plan to assassinate the Emperor. On 19 May 639<ref>[[:zh:貞觀 (唐朝)|貞觀]]十三年 四月戊寅 [http://db1x.sinica.edu.tw/sinocal/ Academia Sinica] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522200011/http://db1x.sinica.edu.tw/sinocal/ |date=22 May 2010 }} {{in lang|zh}}</ref> [[Ashina Jiesheshuai]] and his tribesmen directly assaulted Emperor Taizong at Jiucheng Palace ({{linktext|九|成|宮}}, in present-day [[Linyou County]], [[Baoji]], [[Shaanxi]]). However, they did not succeed and fled north, but were caught by pursuers near the [[Wei River]] and were killed.<ref>Sima Guang, ''Zizhi Tongjian'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷195|Vol. 195.]] {{in lang|zh}}</ref> On 13 August 639, following Jiesheshuai's unsuccessful raid,<ref>[[:zh:t:貞觀 (唐朝)|貞觀]]十三年 七月庚戌 [http://db1x.sinica.edu.tw/sinocal/ Academia Sinica] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522200011/http://db1x.sinica.edu.tw/sinocal/ |date=22 May 2010 }} {{in lang|zh}}</ref> Taizong installed [[Qilibi Khan]] and ordered the settled Turkic people to follow him north of the [[Yellow River]] to settle between the [[Great Wall of China]] and the [[Gobi Desert]].<ref>Ouyang Xiu et al., ''New Book of Tang'', [[:zh:s:新唐書/卷215上|Vol. 215-I.]]</ref> However, many Göktürk generals still remained loyal in service to the Tang Empire.

[[File:Turkic Head of Koltegin Statue (35324303410).jpg|thumb|Bust of [[Kul Tigin]] (684–731) found in [[Khashaat]], [[Arkhangai Province]], [[Orkhon River]] valley, modern-day [[Mongolia]].]]

=== Revival ===
{{Main|Second Turkic Khaganate}}
In 679, [[Ashide]] Wenfu and Ashide Fengzhi, who were Turkic leaders of the {{Interlanguage link|Chanyu Protectorate|lt=Chanyu Protectorate|zh|单于都护府}} (單于大都護府), declared [[Ashina Nishufu]] qaghan and revolted against the Tang dynasty.<ref name="Sima Guang">Sima Guang, ''Zizhi Tongjian'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷202|Vol. 202]] {{in lang|zh}}</ref> In 680, [[Pei Xingjian]] defeated Ashina Nishufu and his army. Ashina Nishufu was killed by his men.<ref name="Sima Guang" /> Ashide Wenfu made [[Ashina Funian]] a qaghan and again revolted against the Tang dynasty.<ref name="Sima Guang" /> Ashide Wenfu and Ashina Funian surrendered to Pei Xingjian. On 5 December 681,<ref>[[:zh:开耀|開耀]]元年 十月乙酉 [http://db1x.sinica.edu.tw/sinocal/ Academia Sinica] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522200011/http://db1x.sinica.edu.tw/sinocal/ |date=22 May 2010 }} {{in lang|zh}}</ref> 54 Göktürks, including Ashide Wenfu and Ashina Funian, were publicly executed in the eastern market of [[Chang'an]].<ref name="Sima Guang" /> In 682, [[Ilterish Qaghan]] and [[Tonyukuk]] revolted and occupied Heisha Castle (northwest of present-day [[Hohhot]], [[Inner Mongolia]]) with the remnants of Ashina Funian's men.<ref>Sima Guang, ''Zizhi Tongjian'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷203|Vol. 203]] {{in lang|zh}}</ref> The restored the Göktürk Khaganate and intervened in the war between the Tang and Khitan tribes.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Old Book of Tang 舊唐書 Vol. 6 & Vol.194 |last=Liu 劉 |first=Xu 昫 |year=945}}</ref> However, after the death of Bilge Qaghan, the Göktürks could no longer subjugate other Turkic tribes in the grasslands. In 744, allied with the Tang dynasty, the [[Uyghur Khaganate]] defeated the last Göktürk Khaganate and controlled the Mongolian Plateau.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Old Book of Tang 舊唐書 Vol.103，Vol.194 & Vol.195 |last=Liu 劉 |first=Xu 昫 |year=945}}</ref>

== Rulers ==
{{Main|List of Khagans of the Göktürks}}
The [[Ashina tribe]] of the Göktürks ruled the [[First Turkic Khaganate]], which then split into the [[Eastern Turkic Khaganate]] and the [[Western Turkic Khaganate]], and later the [[Second Turkic Khaganate]], controlling much of Central Asia and the Mongolian Plateau between 552 and 745. The rulers were called "[[Khagan|qaghans]]".

== Religion ==
[[File:Maya Cave 224, mourners of the Buddha.jpg|thumb|A Turk (center) mourning the [[Buddha]], surrounded by [[Tocharians]]. [[Kizil Caves]], Mingoi, Maya cave, 550–600 CE.<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 |year=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>]]Their religion was polytheistic. The great god was the sky, [[Tengri]], who dispensed the viaticum for the journey of life (qut) and fortune (ulug) and watched over the cosmic order and the political and social order. People prayed to him and sacrificed to him a white horse as the offering. The khagan, who came from him and derived his authority from him, was raised on a felt saddle to meet him. 

Tengri issued decrees, brought pressure to bear on human beings, and enforced capital punishment, often by striking the offender with lightning. The many secondary powers – sometimes named deities, sometimes spirits or simply said to be sacred, and almost always associated with Tengri were the Earth, the Mountain, Water, the Springs, and the Rivers; the possessors of all objects, particularly of the land and the waters of the nation; trees, cosmic axes, and sources of life; fire. The symbol of the family and alterego of the shaman; the stars, particularly the sun and the moon, the Pleiades, and Venus, whose image changes over time.

[[Umay]], the mother goddess who is none other than the placenta; the threshold and the doorjamb; personifications of Time, the Road, Desire, etc.; heroes and ancestors embodied in the banner, in tablets with inscriptions, and in idols; and spirits wandering or fixed in Penates or in all kinds of holy objects. These and other powers have an uneven force which increases as objects accumulate, as trees form a forest, stones form a cairn, arrows form a quiver, and drops of water form a lake.<ref>Asian Mythologies by Yves Bonnefoy, Page 315</ref>

== Legacy ==
Members of the Turk-lead Ashina dynasty also ruled the [[Basmyl]]s,<ref>[[Zizhi Tongjian]] Vol. 212, cited in Zuev Yu.A., ''Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms'' (translation of 8-10th century Chinese ''Tanghuyao''), Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, 1960, p. 104, 132 {{in lang|ru}}</ref><ref>Klyashtorny, S.G. "The Polovcian Problems (II)" in ''Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae'', Vol. 58, No. 3, Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Mediaeval History of the Eurasian Steppe: Szeged, Hungary May 11—16, 2004: Part III (2005). p. 245</ref><ref>Golden, Peter B. An Introduction to the History of Turkic Peoples, p. 142-143</ref> and the [[Karluk Yabghu]] State;<ref>{{Cite book |author=Kli︠a︡shtornyĭ, S. G. |title=Gosudarstva i narody Evraziĭskikh stepeĭ : drevnostʹ i srednevekovʹe |date=2004 |series=Peterburgskoe Vostokovedenie |others=Sultanov, T. I. (Tursun Ikramovich) |isbn=5858032559 |edition=2-e izd., isprav. i dop |location=Sankt-Peterburg |oclc=60357062}}</ref> and possibly also the [[Khazars]]<ref>Pritsak, Omeljan (September 1978). "The Khazar Kingdom's Conversion to Judaism" [https://diasporiana.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/books/14056/file.pdf (PDF)]. ''Harvard Ukrainian Studies''. II (3): 261–281.</ref><ref>Golden, Peter Benjamin (2007a). "Khazar Studies: Achievements and Perspectives". In Golden, Peter B.; Ben-Shammai, Haggai; Róna-Tas, András (eds.). The World of the Khazars: New Perspectives. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Vol. 17. BRILL. pp. 7–57. ISBN 978-90-04-16042-2.</ref> and [[Karakhanids]] (if the first Karakhanid ruler [[Bilge Kul Qadir Khan]] indeed descended from the Karluk Yabghus).<ref>[https://e-history.kz/en/history-of-kazakhstan/show/9505/ "Karluk Yabghu State (756-940)"] ''Qazaqstan Tarihy''. quote: "In 840, in the Central Asian steppes an important event occurred. The Yenisei Kyrgyz invasion destroyed the Uighur Khaganate, forcing the Uighurs to flee to Turfan oasis and to [[Gansu]] [original article mistakenly has ''[[Guangzhou]]'']. '''The Karluk Djabgu and the ruler of Isfijab, Bilge Kul Qadeer-Khan,''' took advantage of the situation and proclaimed himself as a sovereign ruler and assumed a new title of Khagan."</ref> According to some researchers, the [[Second Bulgarian Empire]]'s [[Asen dynasty]] might be descendants of [[Ashina tribe|Ashina]].<ref>Sychev N. V., (2008), ''Книга династий'', p. 161-162</ref> The [[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]] subgroup of Türkatalar claim to be direct descendants of the Göktürks and to have inherited their name.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=KALAFAT |first=Yaşar |title=Türkatalars and Their Comparative Folk Beliefs |url=https://turkoloji.cu.edu.tr/CAGDAS%20TURK%20LEHCELERI/arslan_turkata.pdf |journal=Avrasya Etüdler |page=171 |trans-quote=The study presented by Bilge Kağan Selçuk, who participated in the aforementioned symposium with a linguistic research on the Özgön Turks in Kyrgyzstan, had caught our attention. The Turkic-Ancestors in question who include the Özgön people are predominantly settled in the Fergana Valley, and identify themselves as descendants of the Göktürks have come to be referred to by the honorary designation Turkic-Ancestors}}</ref>

== Gallery ==
{{Gallery
| width = 160
| height = 100G
| File:Battle scene of a Turkic horseman with typical long hair (Gokturk period, Altai).png|Battle scene depicting Turkic horsemen, typical braided hair style, Chaganka, [[Altai Mountains|Altai]] region, 5th–6th century CE
| File:Shoroon Bumbagar tomb mural, 7th century CE, Mongolia.jpg| [[Shoroon Bumbagar tomb]] mural, [[Göktürk]], 7th century CE, Mongolia<ref name="Altınkılıç-2020" /><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 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026144159/http://www.inciss.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Narantsatsral-2.pdf |archive-date=26 October 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| File:Gokturk cav.jpg| [[Göktürk]] cavalry mural, [[Shoroon Bumbagar tomb]], 7th century CE.<ref name="Altınkılıç-2020" />
| File:An Jia with a Turkic Chieftain in Yurt. Xi’an, 579 CE. Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, Xi’an.jpg| The Sogdian merchant An Jia with a Turkic Chieftain in his [[yurt]].<ref name="Baumer-2018" /><ref name="Yatsenko-2009" />
| File:An Jia brokering an alliance with Turks. Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, Xi’an.jpg| An Jia (right) brokering an alliance with Turks (left).<ref name="Baumer-2018">{{cite book |last1=Baumer |first1=Christoph |title=History of Central Asia, The: 4-volume set |date=18 April 2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-83860-868-2 |page=228 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DhiWDwAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA228 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Yatsenko-2009">{{cite journal |last1=Yatsenko |first1=Sergey A. |title=Early Turks: Male Costume in the Chinese Art |journal=Transoxiana |date=August 2009 |volume=14 |url=http://www.transoxiana.com.ar/14/yatsenko_turk_costume_chinese_art.html}}</ref>
| File:An Jia welcoming a Turk. Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, Xi’an.jpg|Panel from the [[Tomb of Anjia]], a Sogdian trader (right), who is shown welcoming a Turkic leader (left, with long hair combed in the back). 579 CE, [[Xi'an]], [[China]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baumer |first1=Christoph |title=History of Central Asia, The: 4-volume set |date=18 April 2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-83860-868-2 |page=228 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DhiWDwAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA228 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Yatsenko-2009">{{cite journal |last1=Yatsenko |first1=Sergey A. |title=Early Turks: Male Costume in the Chinese Art |journal=Transoxiana |date=August 2009 |volume=14 |url=http://www.transoxiana.com.ar/14/yatsenko_turk_costume_chinese_art.html}}</ref>
}}

== See also ==
{{History of the Turkic peoples pre-14th century}}
{{Commons category|Gökturks}}
* [[Göktürk family tree]]
* [[Horses in East Asian warfare]]
* [[Khazars]]
* [[Timeline of the Turkic peoples (500–1300)]]
* [[Silver Deer of Bilge Qaghan]]

== In popular culture ==
* [[Kürşat (hero)|Kürşat]], fictional character based on Göktürk prince [[Ashina Jiesheshuai]]
* [[Göktürk-1]], [[Göktürk-2]], [[Göktürk-3]] satellites named after Göktürks
* [[WASP-52|Gokturk]] exoplanet named after Gökturks
<div style="clear:both;" class=></div>

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

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