Turks

Necessary personal information that could be handy for delegates in their directives, plans and their possible alliances.

Ilterish Kaan:

Little is known regarding Ilterish Qagan's early life. It is known that he was named ‘Qutluq (Kutluk)’ and later on was given the both title and name ‘Ilterish (The Unifier)’ after his successful attempts to unify Central Asian Turkic tribes. He was a distant relative of Illig Qagan who was the final qagan of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate. According to the Tang resources surrounding the era, his father served as a chief under the leadership of the military governor of Yunzhong.

As mentioned previously, Ilterish Qagan is the one who united all the separated Turkic tribes in Central Asia and founded the 2nd Kokturk Khaganate. It is obvious that he possessed the characteristics of a brave person, given the fact that he attempted to gain the state’s independence back with only 17 friends of his own against the massively populated state of China. Later on, his courage and determination were mentioned and honored in the inscription that was named after Ilterish Qagan’s son Kültigin. The part regarding Ilterish Qagan is as follows:

‘…To avoid Turkic tribes from disappearing, and for them to continue to exist, (God) has lifted my father Ilterish Qagan, and my mother Ilbilge Khatun up to his (God’s) hill, fastly. My father, Ilterish Qagan, has begun the way with his 17 soldiers. Those who lived in cities left their houses to join, and those who lived in the mountains walked downhill to join, once they all heard that Ilterish had begun walking. Getting revived, getting unified, they became 70 soldiers. Because God gave him power, my father was like a wolf, as if the strongest of the rulers, and his enemy was (as weak) as a sheep. He collected and unified East and West, with his army.’

Ilbilge Hatun

According to the Orkun inscriptions, she was the biggest supporter of Ilterish Kutluk Qagan in his reign and in his personal life in general. Ilbilge Hatun and Ilterish Qagan were known for their great unity. Once when a shaman was given a goose to eat by her, the shaman said that she and her husband were taken to heaven and brought back to earth. It is also emphasized in Chinese resources that Ilterish Qagan and Ilbilge Hatun worked together in the governing of the 2nd Kokturk Khaganate.

Apart from her support and loyalty to the Qagan, she possessed the great characteristics of a Kokturk woman. She knew how to yield a sword, how to ride a horse, and how to fight on a horse. She also was skilled at archery and political strategies which could give us a clue why she intervened greatly in governing and conquering plans of the state. Combining all these together, Ilbilge Hatun was a bold, intelligent woman overall and did not have a passive role at all.

Vezir Tonyukuk

Tonyukuk was a loyal chief minister and a friend to Ilterish Qagan. He was witty and careful when making decisions, and these attributes resulted in him being the main military commander and Ilterish Qagan’s right-hand man. He wielded great power and was crucial in shaping the Khaganate's policies. Tonyukuk is best known for his role in the creation of the Orhun Inscriptions, a collection of inscriptions that provide us with historical information regarding the ancient Turks, culture, geography, and politics. As mentioned in the paragraphs above, Tonyukuk himself declared that the throne belonged to Ilterish Kutluk Qagan and had been loyal to his both childhood friend and Qagan Ilterish no matter the conditions.

Another reason that he was worthy of being the Qagan’s right-hand man and the chief minister is that he investigated his enemies’ weaknesses and characteristics carefully and took them into consideration while making secret political plans.

Kapgan Khan

Kapgan Khan was Ilterish Qagan’s older brother, and the next qagan of the 2nd Kokturk Khaganate after Ilterish Qagan’s death. As described in Chinese Sui and Tang resources, he was a young, fierce, and passionate man when he took part in uprisings against the Chinese and establishement of the 2nd Kokturk Khaganate. He had three simple and everlasting strategies throughout his Qagan times and commander times while Ilterish Qagan was still alive and in power.

1. To pressure China, which it sees as the most dangerous enemy and from which it can collect agricultural product tribute.

2. To draw the Turks living under Chinese rule back to their homeland

3. To gather all the Turks in the Asian continent under the political roof of the Kokturk Khaganate.

Taking action for these purposes, in his reign of Kokturk Khaganate, Kapgan Khan made many raids on China to keep China under pressure, as his brother did. In 695, he sent an ambassador to China and offered peace. Then he supported China in the struggle between China and the Khitans of Mongolian origin. Kapgan Khan, who inflicted a great defeat on the Khitans in 696, asked China for a large amount of agricultural tools, seeds, iron, and the return of the Turks who had taken refuge in China during their 50-year captivity.

In this case, the Tang Dynasty sought to establish an alliance with the Turgish and the Kyrgyz which are both of Turkic origin. Kapgan Khan, who realized this alliance in time, defeated the Kyrgyz with a sudden raid on the banks of the Yenisei River, their homeland, in the winter of 696-697, in the campaign in which his chief advisor Tonyukuk participated. The Kyrgyz, whose Khan was killed, were taken under Kokturk's rule. As it is seen here, Kapgan Khan was a quite strategically skilled man, yet he was harsh as much as he was strategic. Turkish tribes such as Chik, Az, Toquz Oguz (Uyghurs), and Basmil were dominated and ruled over by Kapgan Khan’s harsh means. As a result of his extreme harshness and Chinese policies, many tribal uprisings were observed. The most important of them is the rebellion initiated by the Uyghurs. Kapgan Khan, who suppressed this uprising as well, was killed in the forest on his way back to Ötüken with a small number of people, in the sudden ambush of Bayirkular, one of the Oguz families, including a Chinese spy, in 716. The throne was given to his son Inel after his passing.

Inel Khan

Inel Khan or Ashina Duoxifu as he is called in Chinese resources was Kapgan Khan’s son and the next qagan after his father’s death. His uncle Ilterish Qagan’s sons, Kültigin and Inel fought against the enemies together in uprisings, battles, and negotiation arrangements and they sat together in kurultay in the 2nd Kokturk Khaganate as both cousins, kut yielders and sons of previous qagans. Although they were getting along well until Kapgan Khan’s death, things changed after the kurultay that was held after Kapgan’s passing decided that the kut was now passed onto Inel Khan and not Kültigin. During the first few months of his reign, he did not meet the expectations of the kurultay members and the nation. Given the fact that he was young and lacked experience, he could not gather up the new state and meet its needs. This resulted in comments that implied that Kut was taken back from Inel Khan. Soon after, despite the opposition by Tonyukuk, Inel Khan was executed along with his family, supporters, and relatives in a very bloody assassination planned and implemented by Kül Tigin.

Bilge Khan

After the assassination of Inel Khan, Bilge was declared the new qagan by his brother Kül Tigin whom he shared the same father and mother: Ilterish Qagan and Ilbilge Hatun. Kül Tigin gave his brother the nickname that goes as ‘Who Was in Heaven Like a God’. When Bilge Khan became the qagan, there was no state authority left due to the recent failed reign of Inel Khan and late protests in his uncle Kapgan Khan’s reign where Kapgan Khan was assassinated by enemies. He talks about this situation in his own inscription in Orhun inscriptions as follows:

When I became the qagan, the people who went to fight came back on foot, naked, dead.

Bilge Khan was an open-minded, cultured young man who paid great attention to the tread roads, and relations with neighboring and geographically close countries such as Byzantines. He was naturally gifted with a deep understanding of politics and mind games of ruling an empire. While his brother Kül Tigin was more like their uncle Kapgan Khan, Bilge Khan was a calmer and more collected military man and a ruler overall. Although our committee will be focusing on Ilterish Qagan’s era, Bilge Khan’s specific characteristics were important and useful in every period of his life including his father’s reign.

Kültigin

Kültigin was one of Ilterish Qagan’s sons and he was one of the greatest rulers ever in Kokturk history including both 1st and 2nd Kokturk Khaganate. An interesting point here about Kültigin is mentioned in Inel Khan and Bilge Khan’s introductions, which is his assassination attempt. Although he planned the death of his cousin Inel Khan because he did not find him worthy of ruling the great Kokturk Khaganate, Kültigin did not take the lead of the state and instead declared his brother Bilge Khan as the qagan and supported him until the end of his life. Given this information, we can say that Kültigin was a short-tempered man who had little to no patience for unworthy and unskilled ones in authority, he was not a rebel against the khaganate or against those who were in power who were skilled enough to take the responsibility they held.

Both in military expeditions in his father Ilterish’s reign, in power balances, suppressing rebellions, and destroying those who betray the Khaganate through secret alliances against the Khaganate, Kültigin was known as a bold and perfectionist man. Thus, it was not the greatest idea to go against him if you were not ready for his wrath.

Karluk (Qarluq) Head- Ilbey Khan

Ilbey Khan is rather a balanced man, he is not extremely loyal to the qagan yet he would not work with the Chinese and build alliances against the Khaganate for the sake of independence. Karluks believe they are a clan worthy of ruling empires and khaganates, yet they are also a clan of logic and opportunism.

Oguz Head - Kirach Ata

The Oguz have always been a crucial clan due to their bravery and their free spirit characteristics, even if they were not the dominant clan on the throne, they were always present in the governing body of the state. Kirach Ata carries the characteristics of his clan, he is not the type of person to go into rebellion or convince his people to do so. As long as the Turkic khaganate is on the correct path and they are present in the governing body enough, Kirach Ata is loyal to Ilterish Qagan and he keeps calm since he knows Ilterish Qagan is capable of doing so.

Kyrgyz Head - Nogay Khan

The Kyrgyz are known for their tendency to not be satisfied easily. They are possibly the hardest tribe to convince to rule over themselves which could even lead to shedding blood if the negotiations are done by wrong means and triggering topics. One must be quite careful and steady in a kurultay because they naturally possess the ability for great speech skills and oratory. So they could convince their own Kyrgyz families to revolt against the current rule if their expectations were not met smoothly or if the promises that were made to them were not met later on.

Nogay Khan is the perfect head for such an interesting tribe, possessing all the unique characteristics of the tribe as the head himself. He has a daughter named Aybüke who had rumors about her and Yang Yun of the Sui Family in the past, it is not to come to the conclusion that Nogay Khan was absolutely unsatisfied and frustrated about.

Uyghur Head - Subutay Khan

Uyghurs as mentioned in the historical sources have always been a tribe that is hard to rule for long periods, and it is known that Uyghurs had their own federation after the 1st Kokturk Khaganate fell. Although they are of Turkic origin and are represented in the kurultay, they gave Kokturks a hard time before Kokturks reclaimed the lands where Uyghurs used to rule while Kokturks were under Chinese subjugation and after Kokturks gained the authority over Uyghurs. They are an opportunistic tribe, just as Subutay Khan is. Subutay Khan pays great attention to detail and is not a clan head who considers his personal benefit more than the tribe, yet he is extremely picky if he senses the slightest danger regarding his clan.

Kuman Head - Batu Khan

The Kuman Clan is renowned for their exceptional horsemanship and warrior skills. They have honed their equestrian abilities over generations, mastering techniques such as mounted archery, cavalry charges, and strategic maneuvers on horseback. Their cavalry units are a formidable force on the battlefield, known for their speed, precision, and relentless determination. The Kuman Clan's unwavering support for Ilterish Qagan has earned them respect and influence among the nobility of Kokturks. Their reputation as skilled horsemen and fierce warriors has led to alliances with other noble families who recognize their military prowess and value their loyalty. They stand as a powerful force, ready to defend the interests of their Khan and their clan.

Being head of this clan, Batu Khan was a loyal and skilled horseman and a free spirit who loved to go on journeys of exploring the lands in surrounding countries. The Kuman had a better geographical comprehension of Western Asia and the Crimean Peninsula, thus they were mostly responsible for public security and enforcement of laws in the western part of the Khaganates throughout history just as they were in the 2nd Turkic Khaganate. If research or investigation needs to go on regarding Byzantine, Sassanids, Siberian, and proto-Russian lands, there was no other clan and head as Batu Khan and his clan, the Kumans overall. Yet, due to Batu Khan’s free spirit and tendency to move around, he is not the best fit to settle in Inner Central Asia and attend Chinese negotiations.