Uigur Kaganate

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Map of the Uigur Kaganate and areas under its dominion at its height, c. AD 820.

Uigur Kaganate is a traditional name for the descendent state that revived the core portion of the Great Türkic Kaganate (552-743) after its disintegration in the 740es AD. The revived Kaganate received its name because the Uigur tribal confederation seized a dominant position in the restored Kaganate. The Uigur Kaganate lasted for a hundred years, until its antagonism with its northern neighbor, Yenisei Kyrgyz Kaganate, brought a crushing military defeat on the Uigur Kaganate in the 840 AD^[1].

In the literature, the name Uigur has a number of differing spellings, mostly connected with variations in the language of research. Uigur is variously spelled Uygur, Uighur, and Uyghur. The word means "Confederation of Nine Tribes", and is synonymous with the name Tokuz-Oguz. In the Türkic inscriptions the name Tokuz-Oguz is used for the subdued Uigurs, and the resisting are called Uigurs, pointing to semantical nuances between the two names^[2]. Etymologically, Türkic "tokuz" = nine, and "gur" = tribe. In Chinese, the ancient Uigurs were called Chi-Di, meaning "Red Di" (i.e. "red haired Di"), they were one of the Tele tribes that migrated in the 4th c. from Hexi northward. Chinese also used names Hoy-Hu and Üan-Ga to designate Uigurs or their components^[3], Chinese also called Uigurs Chiu Hsing "Nine Clans".

[edit] List of Uigur Kagans

Complex and inconsistent Uigur and Chinese titulatures typically include references to the rulers with their sequence number, complicated by unnamed transitory son of 4 between 5 and 6 in 790, and inclusion of a speculative reign between 7 and 9.^[4] For a complete listing of Uigur leaders and supporting literature, see also Regnal Chronologies [[1]]

1. 744–747 Qutlugh bilge köl (K'u-li p'ei-lo)
2. 747–759 El-etmish bilge (Bayan Chur, Mo yen ch'o), son of 1
3. 759–779 Qutlugh tarqan sengün (Tengri Bögü, Teng-li Mou-yü), son of 2
4. 779–789 Alp qutlugh bilge (Tun bagha tarkhan), son of 1
5. 789–790 Ai tengride bulmïsh külüg bilge (To-lo-ssu), son of 4
6. 790–795 Qutlugh bilge (A-ch'o), son of 5
7. 795–808 Ai tengride ülüg bulmïsh alp qutlugh ulugh bilge (Qutlugh, Ku-tu-lu)
8. 805–808 Ai tengride qut bulmïsh külüg bilge (spurious reign: tenure belongs to 7, name to 9)
9. 808–821 Ai tengride qut bulmïsh külüg bilge (Pao-i), son of 7
10. 821–824 Kün tengride ülüg bulmïsh alp küchlüg bilge (Ch'ung-te), son of 9
11. 824–832 Ai tengride qut bulmïsh alp bilge (Qasar, Ko-sa), son of 9
12. 832–839 Ai tengride qut bulmïsh alp külüg bilge (Hu), son of 10
13. 839–840 Kürebir (Ho-sa), usurper
14. 841–847 Öge, son of 9

[edit] References

1. ^ Gumilev L.N., "Ancient Turks", Moscow, 'Science', 1967
2. ^ Gumilev L.N., "Ancient Turks", Moscow, 'Science', 1967, Ch.27 http://gumilevica.kulichki.net/OT/ot27.htm
3. ^ Gumilev L.N., "Hunnu in China", Moscow, 'Science', 1974, http://gumilevica.kulichki.net/HPH/hph16.htm
4. ^ Dennis Sinor, "The Uighur Empire of Mongolia," Studies in Medieval Inner Asia, Variorum, 1997, V: 1-25