Landscape of Central Asia

Brief explanation of the political and cultural landscape of Central Asia during the 6th century.

Russians

While one khaganate had fallen and a new one was established in a short time, Russians were not yet actively fighting for power in Central Asia or Asia in general. Various prominent communities and cultures existed in Siberia, Dagestan, and Crimea which were centuries later Russian Empire’s property. However, during and around Ilterish Qagan’s reign, there was no sign of a powerful Russian or Slavic state in the Central Asian region. To keep in mind, modern-day Yakutia (Yakutsk) was composed of Turkic tribes during Ilterish Qagan’s era just as it is today. Yet since Siberia is a difficult region in terms of geography which leads to trouble in communication, transportation, and roughly life standards, Ilterish Qagan and other Turkic commanders had no attempt to conquer or rule the province.

Mongols

Mongolians are one of the earliest local ethnicities in Central Asia. Therefore a good number of tribes and families of Mongolian origin existed in the area. Yet, Kitan or Khitan -known as the descendants and founders of Qara Khitais, was the most prominent tribe of all Mongols in both 1st Kokturk Khaganate and 2nd Kokturk Khaganate. It is stated in historical resources that Dchingis Khan had his roots in Kitans, this gives us an easy overlook of the Kitan culture. Kitans lived with Turkic tribes such as Karluk (Qarluq), Uyghur, and Kyrgyz (Qirgiz) and it is safe to say their culture was affected by Turkic elements as a result of centuries of coexisting in the same region. Bravery, horsemanship, and cuisine were three of the most similar elements of local Turkic tribes and Kitans. This similarity did not only stay in cultures, there was a Turko-Mongolian tribe called Qucho-Uyghurs, or Yugurs. To this day, this tribe still exists in Central Asia and is divided into two parts Eastern Yugurs and Western Yugurs Easterners speak a Mongolic language and Westerners speak a Turkic language.

From a historical point of view, the Kitans were an important tribe in terms of power and geopolitics. Thus both Chinese and Turks had to get on well with Kitan families in the area if they wanted to rule over the land.

The Chinese

As for the Chinese, there were two current families claiming the throne: Tang and Sui. For almost decades, the Sui family had ruled the Chinese lands. However, in the last decade, they have been under a massive power-losing condition. Although some conquests had happened, it was obvious that they were no longer in their old power and they did not possess as much authority. Yang Guang, the last Sui ruler, had made great efforts to gain full authority back and dominate the land as the Sui family just as in the old times before they gradually lost the throne. Thanks to Yang Guang’s efforts, the nation lived in economic stability and prosperity during the political fights between families for a longer while.

During the Sui rule, much effort was devoted to reconstructing the nation. Many imperial institutions were modernized and reformed. The Sui authority was formed after The Northern and Southern Dynasties period which was politically an era of division and chaos in Chinese history. The era lasted from 420 to 589, until the unification of all of China by the first emperor of the Sui (Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty).

If a family ruled the Chinese state, the state would take the name of the ruler family just as it happened in the Sui Dynasty. As the Tang proclaimed their accession to the throne, the state was named as Tang Dynasty after the Sui failed in their efforts to prevail. After the architectural and cultural reform steps taken by the Sui, Tongs took it from there and started another Chinese Golden Era which lasted for 241 years.

Prior to all the information regarding the Chinese throne above, what is going to happen will be determined according to the actions of our delegates in the committee.

Turks

In the 6th century, Ilterish Qagan was the founder and the ruler of the current Turkic state: the 2nd Kokturk Khaganate. The state consisted of many Turkic tribes, and some Mongolian tribes as well. Karluk, Kyrgyz, Oguz, Onogur, and Kuman tribes were some of the strongest tribes under the Kokturk rule, and the head of these tribes/clans had a say in the decision-making process of the ruler who is called the khagan/qagan. The 2nd Kokturk Khaganate, under Ilterish, had a type of decision council named toy/kurultay where heads of the strongest tribes/clans and current governors were invited. The Qagan would lead the sessions throughout the kurultay, and he would listen to each tribe/clan head address their opinion on the subject. Yet, an important point is that Mongolian representatives could attend kurultays as well. Since the Kitan clan was the strongest and most active clan in power balances among Mongols, they would represent Mongols as a whole in a kurultay.