Göktürks

The Göktürks were a Turkic people whose rulers founded steppe empires in Central Asia and Mongolia from the sixth to eighth centuries. Their First Turkic Khaganate was the first polity known to use “Turk” as a political name.

Turkic Khaganate: A steppe empire ruled by Turkic khagans, especially the Göktürk-led states of the sixth to eighth centuries. The Göktürks built the first major polity identified by this name and later restored its eastern and western branches.
Rouran Khaganate: A nomadic empire that dominated Mongolia and neighboring regions before its defeat by the Göktürks. The Göktürks served the Rouran before overthrowing their rulers and establishing their own khaganate.
Bilge Qaghan: A ruler of the Second Turkic Khaganate from 716 to 734, remembered in the Orkhon inscriptions. His reign represents the khaganate's political recovery and surviving written legacy.
Silk Road: A network of overland trade routes linking East Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Göktürk control of Central Asian routes brought wealth and leverage over long-distance commerce.
Old Turkic script: An alphabetic script used for the earliest substantial surviving texts in a Turkic language. Göktürk-era monuments preserve the earliest major written record of Turkic political language.
Ashina tribe: A ruling clan that led the Göktürk khaganates and claimed descent from a mythic wolf ancestor. Ashina leadership gave the Göktürk confederation its ruling dynasty.
Bumin Qaghan: The Göktürk leader who defeated the Rouran and founded the First Turkic Khaganate in 552. His revolt marks the transition from Rouran supremacy to Göktürk rule.
Kül Tigin: A Göktürk prince and general whose campaigns helped restore the Second Turkic Khaganate. The Orkhon monuments celebrate his military service and his bond with Bilge Qaghan.
Sogdians: An Iranian-speaking people of Central Asia known for trade and for communities along the Silk Road. Sogdian merchants and administrators helped connect Göktürk rulers with distant markets and states.
Uyghur Khaganate: A steppe empire founded in 744 after the fall of the Second Turkic Khaganate. The Uyghurs displaced Göktürk rule in Mongolia and inherited much of its political landscape.

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