First Turkic Khaganate

The First Turkic Khaganate was also called the First Turkic Empire, the Turkic Khaganate, or the Göktürk Khaganate. The Ashina clan of the Göktürks founded it in medieval Inner Asia. Its leaders were Bumin Qaghan, who died in 552, and his brother Istämi.

The khaganate took the place of the Rouran Khaganate as the most powerful state on the Mongolian Plateau. It grew quickly across Central Asia. It became the first Central Asian empire to stretch across the continent, from Manchuria to the Black Sea.

The Göktürks spoke a Siberian Turkic language. It was the earlier form of Orkhon Turkic, the language of the Second Turkic Khaganate. However, the khaganate's early official writings and coins used Sogdian. It was the first Turkic state to use the name Türk in politics. The Old Turkic script was invented in the first half of the sixth century.

The khaganate fell apart in 603 after a series of conflicts and civil wars. These split it into the Eastern Turkic Khaganate and the Western Turkic Khaganate. Tang China conquered the Eastern Turkic Khaganate in 630 and the Western Turkic Khaganate in 657, through a series of military campaigns. The Second Turkic Khaganate appeared in 682 and lasted until 744, when the Uyghur Khaganate overthrew it.

History

See also: Timeline of the Göktürks

The Turkic Khaganate began in 546. Bumin Qaghan acted first against the Uyghur and Tiele groups. They were planning to rise up against their rulers, the Rouran Khaganate. Bumin hoped to receive a Rouran princess as a reward. Instead, the Rouran khagan, Yujiulü Anagui, insulted him. Bumin then made an alliance with the Western Wei and married Princess Changle. In 552 he defeated Anagui. This ended the Rouran, who had been the strongest power on the eastern steppe for about 150 years. Bumin named himself Illig Khagan at Ötüken. He died only a few months later. His son Muqan Qaghan and his brother Istämi then shared the empire. Istämi expanded to the west. He worked with the Sassanid Empire of Iran to defeat the Hephthalite Empire. He also helped the Ashina clan take control of the Silk Road. In 576 the Göktürks crossed the Kerch Strait into the Crimea. They also made contact with the Byzantine Empire. They sent a group to Constantinople and talked about forming an alliance.

After Taspar Qaghan died in 581, the empire split in two. Leaders disagreed about who should rule, and they fought over the title in the Göktürk civil war. The eastern part became the Eastern Turkic Khaganate. In 630 the Tang dynasty defeated it at the Battle of Yinshan, and its leader, Illig Qaghan, was taken prisoner. The western part, the Western Turkic Khaganate, grew weaker because of revolts and groups that wanted independence. The Tang took control of it in 657. In 658, Emperor Taizong of Tang was declared Khagan of the Göktürks. The Tang then ruled through Ashina khagans who answered to them. By 699 the Turgesh had risen to power. The Second Turkic Khaganate was founded by Ilterish Qaghan after he rebelled against the Tang in 681.

Genetics

Main article: Göktürks § Genetics

A study published in Nature in May 2018 looked at the remains of four elite Türk soldiers. They were buried between about 300 and 700 AD. Half of the male-line samples (Y-DNA) belonged to the West Eurasian haplogroup R1. The other half belonged to East Eurasian groups Q and O. Most of the female-line samples (mtDNA) came from East Eurasian groups such as C4b1, A14 and A15c. One came from the West Eurasian H2a. The authors suggested that nomadic peoples in Central Asia may have become Turkic through a small East Asian ruling group. They also found that Türk people were very different from one another genetically. Some had West Eurasian ancestry. The authors thought that West Eurasian people may also have moved east across the steppe during this time.

A 2020 study looked at seven early medieval Türk remains from Eastern Turkic Khaganate burial sites in Mongolia. On average, these people had about 40% West Eurasian and 60% East Eurasian ancestry. The West Eurasian ancestry came mostly from male ancestors. It combined BMAC and Sarmatian-related sources. The East Eurasian ancestry was related to Ancient Northeast Asians. The mixing of these groups seems to have happened around 500 CE. A sample from Princess Ashina, of the Ashina tribe that ruled the Göktürks, was almost entirely Ancient Northeast Asian. It also showed links to the Slab-grave culture. The authors said this supports the idea that Turkic languages spread through contact between cultures, rather than through large movements of people.

A 2024 study looked at two Türk remains from eastern Mongolia. They had little or no West Eurasian ancestry. One had a mixed background. About half of it was Ancient Northeast Asian, and about 47% came from a source linked to Han Chinese people. A small share, 3–5%, came from a West Eurasian source linked to the Sarmatians.