Göktürk Khaganate

Empire    Göktürk Khaganate
Origin    Asia
Year of Peak Size    557
Duration    195 years
Start Date    552
End Date    747
Reason for End   
Civil War
Description    The Kök Türks, Göktürks were a nomadic confederation of medieval Inner Asia. Known in Chinese sources as 突厥 (Modern Chinese: Pinyin: Tūjué, Wade-Giles: T'u-chüeh, Middle Chinese (Guangyun): dʰuət-kĭwɐt), the Göktürks under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) and his sons succeeded the Rouran as the main power in the region and took hold of the lucrative Silk Road trade.

The Göktürk rulers originated from the Ashina clan, a tribe of obscure origins who lived in the northern corner of Inner Asia. Under their leadership, the Göktürk Empire rapidly expanded to rule huge territories in Central Asia. Prominent personalities of the state other than its founder Bumin were the princes Kul Tigin and Bilge Qaghan, as well as the chancellor Tonyukuk, whose life stories were recorded in the Orkhon inscriptions.
Capital    ítüken

Continents Spanned   
Asia
Size (Square Kilometers)    6,000,000
Size (Square Miles)    2,316,612
Founder    Bumin Qaghan
Government Type   
Authoritarian
Leaders of Empire    Bumin Qaghan (552), Issik Qaghan(552--553), Muqan Qaghan(553--572), Taspar Qaghan(572--581), Unknown title(581), Ishbara Qaghan(581--587), Bagha Qaghan(587--588), Tulan Qaghan(588--599), Yabghu Qaghan(552--575), Tardush Qaghan(575--602), Apa Qaghan(581 - 587), Niri Qaghan(587 - 601), Yami Qaghan(599--609), Shibi Qaghan(609--619), Chula Qaghan(619--620), Illig Qaghan (620--630), Qilibi Khan(639 - 644), Chebi Khan(646 - 649), Heshana Khan(604--611), Shekuei Qaghan(610--617), Tuluq Yabghu Qaghan(617--630), Baghatur Qaghan(630), Si Yabghu Qaghan(630--632), Tughluq Qaghan(632--634), Ishbara Terish Qaghan(634--639), Illig Beg Tughluq Qaghan(638--653), Illig Qutlugh Illig Beg Qaghan(639--640), Illig Beg Ishbara Yabghu Qaghan(639--641), Illig Beg Shekuei Qaghan(642--653), Ishbara Qaghan(650--658), Ilterish Qaghan(682--694), Qapaghan Qaghan(694--716), Inel Qaghan(716), Bilge Qaghan(716--734), Yiran Qaghan(734), Tengri Qaghan(734--741), Qutlug Yabghu Qaghan(741--742), Ilterish Qaghan(742--744), Ozmysh Qaghan(742--744)
Peak Leader    Muqan Qaghan



About 550 AD, Bumin Qaghan and his sons, with the help of the Chinese Wei kingdom, conquered the Rouran and took over as the main rulers of Central Asia. Today, historians call Bumin Qaghan's people the Göktürks. As their name suggests, the Göktürks were Turkish people, and they spoke a Turkic language, not Indo-European, though their empire included both Turkic people like the Uighurs and people, and even rulers, of other ethnicities. The Göktürks used their empire and their friendly alliance with China to get control of the Silk Road and the trade between the Sassanians and Wei China, which made them rich.