The Turkic Khaganate was a powerful state that emerged in the north during the Middle Ages of China, with an area of north to Lake Baikal, south to the Great Wall, west to the Amu Darya River, and east to the Songhua River, making it the largest country in the world at that time. However, from the rise of the Turks to the peak, the Turks only took 20 years. Why did the Turks become world-class powers in just 20 years? This article takes you through this process.
First, the high car perished, and the Turks rose rapidly
According to Xue Zongzheng, the author of the "History of turks", the Turks were a nation formed by the fusion of the Cypriots and the Dingzhi people. They were initially conquered by the Huns and reduced to slavery by the Huns, which the history books call "the other species of the Huns". Later, Xianbei was strong and powerful, and then went south to the Hexi Corridor and went to the Wuliang regime. In 439, northern Wei destroyed Northern Liang, and they migrated to Gaochang (Turpan) and surrendered to Ruoran. After that, he migrated to the Altai Mountains to smelt iron and build weapons for Rouran.
At that time, in the northwest, Rouran and Gaoche (Tiele) competed for hegemony, and the Turks could only sway left and right. In 541, Rouran destroyed the Gaoche Khanate, so Rouran once again dominated the desert north. But it also provided an opportunity for the rise of the Turks. After the fall of the Gaoche Khanate, a large number of Tiele tribes joined the Turkic camp, causing the Turkic power to rise rapidly. According to research, the original turkic tribes with different surnames were basically transformed from the Tiele tribe. Tiele is also derived from Ding Zero, so the Turks and Tiele are relatively close.
550 years later, the Turkic head territory gate (Tumen means the length of ten thousand people) began to openly call Pan Rouran. He first proposed to Rouran, in an attempt to improve his political status, even on an equal footing with Rouran Khan. Rouran refused Tumen's unreasonable request, and Tumen immediately killed Rouran's emissaries and openly made enemies with them. At that time, the Turks were still unable to resist Rouran, so they had to cooperate with Rouran's sworn enemy, Western Wei Yuwentai. After severing their relationship with Rouran, the Turks immediately asked Yuwen for intermarriage. Yuwen Tai readily agreed, and in 551, Princess Changle of Western Wei married Tumen and became his wife.
With the support of the Western Wei side, Tumen was relieved. In 552, he led a Turkic army on a crusade against Ruoran. The following year, Rouran suffered a crushing defeat, the Khan Anahu committed suicide, and the Turks began to become the hegemons of the desert north. In the same year, Tumen was called Ily Khan and officially established the Turkic Khanate. From the demise of Gaoche in 541 to the turks in 553, in the past ten years, the Turks have become the hegemons of the desert north, which shows the rapid rise. The demise of Gaoche is creating an excellent space for the Turks; the cooperation of the Western Wei dynasty has provided strong support, which are important factors in the rapid rise of the Turks.
Second, destroy the Rouran Khanate and unify the desert
The Ily Khan was a short-lived khan who was in his prime when he founded the khanate, but he was severely damaged by the expedition and died that year. After that, it was his younger brother Ashnakoro (Little Khan of The Book of Otsa) who served as Khan and became the Great Khan of Ayyee. At that time, the Turks inherited the system of large and small khans of Gaoche, with the Great Khan as the monarch of the state and the Little Khan as the crown prince, the younger brother of the Great Khan. After succeeding to the throne, Ayi Khan continued to unite with Western Wei in war against Ruoran. However, he was also a short-lived khan and died that year.
Thereafter, his younger brother Ashinayandu served as khan, known as the "Wooden Pole Khan", who pushed the Turks to the top. At that time, although the Ruoran Khanate collapsed, the remnants of the forces at that time still had a certain strength, and they were attacked by the Turks and Western Wei, and they collapsed into an army, and some of them went south to northern Qi, and some of them entered the territory of the Khitan and even goguryeo. At that time, the Northern Qi side chose to support Rouran to resist the Turks and Northern Zhou, so they placed the Ruoran people in Mayichuan. However, the Old Evil of the Rouran people was committed again, and they plundered the territory of Northern Qi, so the Emperor of Northern Qi personally conquered Rouran many times, so Rouran was completely destroyed under the strangulation of the three major forces.
Que Special Service Monument
After that, Muzhan Khan continued his eastern expeditions, attacking the Khitan all the way and expanding his sphere of influence to the Liao River Valley. After that, Murong Wei and Jing Wei also submitted to the Turks. In the north, the Mugan Khan broke through the knot bone (Jiankun) in the upper reaches of the Yenisei River, threatening the northern wilderness, causing Xue Yantuo, Huilu, Shugu, Tongluo, Layegu, Hun, Sijie, Huo xue, Qixin, A, Dubo, Bone Ligan, Duolangge, Xijie and other Tiele tribes to submit, and history says that the Turks "served their strength to control the northern wilderness".
Third, destroy the Khanate and dominate the Western Regions
In 555, Muzhan Khan again moved his troops westward, conquered Gaochangguo, and controlled the throat of the Silk Road. After that, it continued to advance towards the Tarim Basin and entered the territory of the Tuguhun State. In 556, Muzhan Khan attacked Tuguhun from Western Wei through the Hexi Corridor, and Western Wei not only agreed, but also jointly sent troops, resulting in the decline of Tuguhun. After defeating Gaochang and Tuguhun, the gates of the Western Regions were opened to the Turks. From the founding of the country to the unification of the desert, the Turks took only 4 years.
However, at this time, it was The White Huns, also known as the "White Huns", that dominated the Western Regions, and was a hegemonic state established by the Cypriots. At the height of its power, its sphere of influence spread throughout the Western Regions and Central Asia, expanding to the area around the Amu Darya River, and clashing with the Persian Sassanid Dynasty. In 453, he defeated the Sassanid king Yaztiged II, and in 484 killed Baloch I at the Battle of Herat, occupying most of Khorasan and even subservient to Persia. History records that at this time, "persia, Panpan, Kuibin, Yanqi, Guizi, Shule, Gumo, Khotan, Jupan and other countries opened up for more than a thousand miles." "At this time, if the Turks wanted to dominate the western regions, they had to destroy them.
The Turkic and Tsubasa wars originated with the "Avars" (probably the Ruoran or Gaoche who fled west), who fled into the territory of the Turks, and the Turks came after them and clashed. However, in 554, the Turks had already married persia, indicating that the two countries had already formed an alliance. From 562 to 568, the Turks and Persia attacked Zhada on a large scale from east to west, and the troops of Zhada were dispersed, defeated and defeated, and the country was directly divided. Subsequently, Persia and turks were bounded by the Amu Darya River. According to Arab historical records, Persia acquired The Kingdoms of Barihe, Sheze, Llobul, Shihana, and Tochara, and the Turks gained the States of Shi, Bahanna, Kang, An, and Shi.
Fourth, it is traversed by major power diplomacy and affects the entire Asia and Europe
After the Mugan Khan destroyed the Khanate, the Turkic power reached its peak. Its territory "stretches from the west of the Liaohai Sea in the east, to the West Sea in the west, from the desert in the south to the north, and from the North Sea in the north for 5,000 to 6,000 miles." At this time, the Turks were able to communicate with China to the east, and to the west they could ally with Persia and Eastern Rome, and began to show their image as a great power on the world stage.
During the time of Mugan Khan, the relationship between the Turks and Northern Zhou and Northern Qi began to change subtly. First, there was the change in Northern Qi's attitude towards the Turks. After the fall of Ruoran, Northern Qi realized the rise of the Turks, so it began to build the Great Wall on a large scale, and in 555, the Northern Qi Emperor "sent 1.8 million people to build the Great Wall, from Youzhou To Northern Xiakou, west to Hengzhou, more than 900 miles", and then built for several consecutive years, "hundreds of thousands of dead soldiers". However, this did not prevent the Combined Attack of the Turks and Northern Zhou on Northern Qi. Of course, both attacks on Northern Qi failed, and the Turks realized that Northern Qi was difficult to deal with. As a result, Northern Qi and the Turks began to improve their relations and chose to intermarry. Northern Zhou also continued to maintain intermarriage with the Turks until the fall of Northern Qi.
Great Wall of Northern Qi
Relations with Persia have changed from allies to enemies. After the division of the squeal, there is no clear ownership of the land of Bahan, and the back of the two sides has buried hidden dangers. At the same time, Persia was already producing silk at that time, while Persia was protecting the trade of the industry, and the Turks repeatedly sent emissaries to negotiate without success. In 567, the western Turkic khanate sent emissaries to Persia to negotiate, but was poisoned by Persia, so the two countries went to war. Soon the Western Khanate of the Turks captured the western part of the original Qida, and Persia was completely defeated.
Map of the Sassanid Empire
In order to further weaken Persia, the Turks established alliances with the Eastern Roman Empire. The Turks were constantly pursuing the Avars to reach the Roman border. European history records that the Avars appeared in Europe in 558 and were appeased by the Eastern Romans. In 562, Murray sent emissaries to Byzantium; in 567, Murray sent emissaries to Byzantium again to meet the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian II. After this negotiation, both the Eastern Romans and the Turks were allies, and the Eastern Romans gave birth to direct turkic trade in the country and sent emissaries to visit the khan's residence in the west. In 571, the two countries began an attack on Persia, which did not end until 590. Later, relations between Eastern Rome and the Turks also froze, and by 576 they had severed contact.
epilogue
To sum up: an important reason why the Turks were able to rise rapidly was to be good at taking advantage of the relationships and changes in power between the great powers. In the beginning, the Turks, oscillating left and right between the two great khanates of Gaoche and Rouran, had already learned diplomatic skills. After the demise of Gaoche, the Turks recaptured the Tiele tribes and quickly became a powerful force. Subsequently, he united with the Western Wei to destroy the Ruoran Khanate and dominate the desert. Later, he united with Persia to destroy The Dada, and finally united with the Eastern Roman Empire against Persia. It can be seen that the diplomatic skills of the Turks are really high.
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