Extra History of Gokturk State || The Turkish States

 Gokturk State

• Date of Foundation: 552

• Date of Fall: 743

• Founder: Bumin Kağan

• Capital: Ötüken

• Language: Göktürk

• Head of State: Kagan

Its Importance in Turkish History: It was the Göktürks who accepted the word Turkish as an official state name for the first time. Thus, the word Turk, which has a political meaning in terms of expressing the state, has thus become the name of a whole nation.

First Gokturk Khaganate :

Central Asia was under the rule of Juan-Juan when the Göktürks appeared on the stage of history. The Gokturks were also living in the Altai mountains, depending on them as an important political power. Meanwhile, the Göktürks, who were engaged in their traditional arts of blacksmithing, were manufacturing the weapons of Juan Juans.

The Göktürks had reached the power to establish diplomatic relations with China in 534 years. At this time Bumin was their leader. Bumin wanted to marry the daughter of Juan Juan Kagan in return for suppressing the rebellion of the Toles, a Turkish tribe. However, when this request was roughly rejected, Bumin captured all their lands with repeated blows and killed their khan. With this event that took place in 552, the Göktürk Empire was established. Bumin, who took the title of İl-Kağan, chose Ötüken (just west of the Orkhon river), where the center of the Great Hun Empire was located, as the center of his state.

According to the Turkish state tradition, the state was organized in two wings, east and west. The western wing of the state had to recognize the high dominance of the east.

When Bumin became the khan in the east, his younger brother Istemi also became the head of the western wing of the state with the title of Yabgu. (552-576). Upon the death of Bumin Khan in the year he founded the state, his son Kol-lo (Kara) became the khan instead. However, after his early death and his short reign, we see Bumin's other son, Mukan Khan (553-572), at the head of the eastern wing of the state. In his time, Istemi Yabgu continued to rule the western flank. Mukan Khan further strengthened the state, expanded his dominance and put pressure on China.

Istemi Yabgu, who ruled the western wing of the state, soon dominated the west of the Altays up to Işık Lake and Tanrı Mountains. As a result of his activities in the west, relations were established with the two largest states of the Middle Ages, the Sassanid and Byzantine empires. The Akhun (Aphtalit) state, which held the Silk Road in their hands, was abolished by cooperating with the Sassanids. Its lands were shared between the two states, with the Ceyhun river (Amuderya) as the border (557). Thus, the Gokturks will extend their sovereignty to the Kashmir region in North India.

The relationship between the Göktürks and the Sassanids broke down due to the Silk Road issue. Istemi, who turned to cooperation with Byzantium against the Sassanids, sent an embassy delegation to Istanbul.

This delegation, which was accepted by Emperor Justin II, was also the first official delegation from Central Asia to Eastern Rome (568). Byzantium was not satisfied with the mediation of the Sassanids in the silk trade. For this reason, an alliance was made between the two states by sending an embassy delegation against the Göktürks (571). As a result of this alliance, the Sassanid-Byzantine wars began in 571, which would last for 19 years. These wars shook both states and played a major role in the spread and settlement of Islam in Iran. Istemi's western policy contributed greatly to this situation, which led to very important developments in world history.

After the death of Mukan Kagan in 572, his brother Tapo took the throne of Gokturk. Tapo, who inherited a solid state order from his brother, mostly dealt with cultural issues. In his time, Chinese literary and intellectual works were translated into Turkish. Tapo era is the heyday of the Göktürk khanate, but it is also the era when the collapse started. He divided the eastern wing of the khanate into two, and appointed his brother Kolo's son Isbara to the eastern part, and his younger brother Jotan to the western part. In addition, it is considered a mistake to have adopted Buddhism, which contradicts Turkish tradition. Because there was no way that the basic beliefs of the horsemen and warrior Turks, who had large herds, and the Buddhists, who did not eat meat and did not even kill animals, matched.

At a time when these signs of weakening were seen in the eastern wing of the Göktürk Khaganate, Istemi Yabgu, who was at the head of the western wing, died. (576)

His son Tardu succeeded Istemi as the head of the western wing of the khanate (576-603). In the eastern wing of the khanate, after Tapo Khan's death in 581, his brother's son Isbara became the khan.

During the khanate of Isbara, Tardu, who served in the western wing, did not recognize the superiority of the east due to his ambition, and the state was officially divided into two in 582.

Eastern Göktürk Khaganate :

During the khanate of Isbara, we see that China increased its pressure on the Eastern Göktürk State. After his death in 587, this pressure and Chinese intrigues continued increasingly during the reign of the khans. Although the state seemed to recover during the reign of Shi-pi Khan (609-619), the Chinese threat showed itself again with his death. Finally, Kie-li was defeated in a war in 630 during his khanate and was captured and sent to China. This date is also considered the end of the independence of the Eastern Göktürks.

Chinese domination, which began in 630, lasted for half a century. Although there were many uprisings against China during this time, all of them were bloodily suppressed by the Chinese. The most notable among these is the uprising of a Turkish prince named Kürşad with 39 of his friends. This uprising resulted in the heroic deaths of all of them. However, such movements kept the Turks' desire for freedom and independence alive.

Western Göktürk Khaganate :

These two Gokturk wings, which split into two in 582, became enemies of each other because of the struggle for dominance. Tardu, the son of Istemi Yabgu, who was at the head of the Western Gokturks, was trying to impose his dominance in the east, and on the other hand, he embarked on new conquests in the west. As a result of these activities, he expanded his dominance to Otuken, Northwest Mongolia and Kashgar, as well as Transoxiana and Khwarezm region. However, Tardu was acting very violently to ensure Gokturk unity. The inability to get results from the war fought near the Chinese capital in 601 caused many Turkish and foreign tribes to revolt. Tardu could not cope with these rebels and withdrew from the stage of history in 603. After Tardu, internal turmoil continued for many years among the Western Gokturks. Although the state order was established in the time of Tong-Yabgu (619-630), who was the grandson of Tardu for a while, his death in a struggle in 630 prepared the end of the Western Göktürks. The year 630 was a dark year for Gokturk history, and both Gokturk states were attached to China in the same year.

Second Göktürk Khaganate :

During the 50-year captivity period that started in 630, China constantly moved, dismembered and divided Turkish tribes. The uprisings were suppressed bloodily. However, this period of oppression and violence cannot destroy the national identity of the Turks. On the contrary, it clinches the national consciousness of the Turks even more. It is possible to see the sad and exemplary expressions of the sadness and grief that the Turks fell into in this period in the Orkhon Inscriptions.

The Göktürk Khanate II was founded in 681 by Kutlug, who came from the Göktürk dynasty lineage, Aşina, after periods of oppression and persecution. Kutlug, with his mentor Tonyukuk, reorganized the khanate with Ötüken as the capital in a short time. For this reason, Kutlug Kağan was given the title İlteriş, which means the one who compiles and gathers the state. İlteriş Kağan, who left the army and diplomacy affairs to Bilge Tonyukuk, appointed his brother Kapagan to be the shad. After the state was established, numerous raids were made against China to relieve the pain of fifty years of captivity and to mend the broken pride of the Turks. It is even mentioned that 23 Chinese cities were destroyed in one of these raids and they reached the Ocean. In the Orhun Inscriptions, it is stated that one of Ilteriş Kağan's greatest supporters and assistants was his wife, İlbilge Hatun.

When İlteriş Kağan died in 692, the Göktürk Empire had reached its former majesty and power. In his place, his brother Kapagan became khan (692 – 716) due to the young age of his sons, one of whom was Bilge at the age of 8, and the other of 7 years old, Kültigin.

The Kapağan Khan period was a period in which the conquests continued and the Turkish unity was established. Kapağan acted very violently when necessary to realize this union. For this reason, the Kyrgyz, Turgish and Basmils were subordinated, and the Karluks and Oghuzes were punished. In addition, movements such as agrarian reform and seed improvement were also undertaken during his time. For this purpose, China was fought to apply the techniques of advanced Chinese agriculture.

When Kapağan Kagan died in 716, great turmoil arose within the state as a result of his policy of violence. Since his son İnal, who succeeded him, was not capable of dealing with these issues, Bilge and Kültigin, sons of İlteriş, had to take over the administration.

Both had held important government positions during the khanate of their uncle Kapagan and were successful. Bilge had been at the head of the Western (Left) wing of the state with the title of şat. When Bilge became Kagan in 716, his younger brother Kültigin took over the western wing of the state instead of his older brother. Kultigin also took on the task of arranging the army. Bilge Tonyukuk, the chief vizier of their father, continued his duty as an experienced statesman.

According to the old Turkish understanding of the state, a good kagan should have two main features: Wisdom and Alpine. Wise Kagan from these two brothers, with wisdom; Kultigin, on the other hand, has gained fame with its alpine and courage.

During the time of Bilge Kagan, the state regained its former power and prestige. The threat posed by the powerful Mongol tribes and Basmils allied with China was removed. Thus, the borders of the khanate in the east and west reached their natural borders. The era of Bilge Kagan (716-734) was the brightest period of the Second Gokturk Empire. These achievements, the three Göktürk elders; Tonyukuk was achieved with the perseverance and effort of Bilge and Kültigin and, above all, their harmonious work.

After Tonyukuk's death in 725 and then Kültigin's death in 731, Bilge Kagan, who lost his two great assistants, also died in 734. The inscriptions erected separately in the name of these three Turkish elders are the eternal memories of this age.

As it is said in the Göktürk Inscriptions, since the little ones were not created like the big ones, the Turkish statesmen who came after Bilge Kagan were also ignorant and bad. In addition, Turkish tribes such as the Dokuz Oghuz, the Uyghurs, the Karluks and the Basmıls, were also strengthened. In 743, when these three Turkish tribes gathered under the presidency of Basmıl Turks and destroyed the Göktürk Empire, the Göktürk period came to an end.

The Göktürk Khanate, which initially seemed to have been established only for raids and wars, is now in the VIII. In the 19th century, it was on its way to becoming a cultural state. He also brought together all the peoples of Central Asia who spoke Turkish and felt close to each other.

The understanding of the high state established and developed by the Göktürks did not easily leave the memories of the Central Asian Turkish tribes. In this respect, the Uyghur state founded in 744 is like a continuation of the Göktürks.