When are the Turks shown on the map?

The border data draws the Turks AD 666–717, 750–756, in 2 separate periods. The source samples borders at fixed dates, so a span can begin late or run on past the end.

How large were the Turks?

At their greatest extent drawn on this map, the Turks covered about 971,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives them across the years they are drawn, not necessarily their greatest extent in history.

Central Asia · Turkic khaganates and Islam

Turks

drawn on the map AD 666–717, 750–756

The Second Turkic Khaganate (Old Turkic: Türük el; Chinese: 後突厥, "Later Turks") was a khaganate in Central and Eastern Asia founded by Ilterish (Qutlugh) of the Ashina clan in 682 and destroyed in 744. Centered on Ötüken in the upper Orkhon River valley, it restored Göktürk independence after fifty years of Tang domination and was succeeded by the Uyghur Khaganate.

See it on the map → Wikipedia ↗

Shown on the map: AD 666–717, 750–756 (2 periods)
Peak area: 971k km²
Region: Central Asia

Overview and identity

Background and rise

After the Tang destroyed the Eastern Turkic Khaganate in 630, surrendered Turks were settled in the Ordos Loop under protectorates (Yanran/Chanyu, later Anbei). Rebellions in 679–681 (Ashina Nishufu, Ashide Wenfu, Ashina Funian) were crushed by Pei Xingjian; rebel leaders were executed at Chang'an. The Orkhon inscriptions frame this era bitterly: "The sons of the nobles became the bondsmen of the Chinese people, their unsullied daughters became its slaves." Qutlugh, a grandson of Illig Qaghan, withdrew to Ötüken with some 200 men, was proclaimed Ilterish Qaghan in 680/682, and in ten years mounted 47 campaigns and fought 20 battles to reunite the steppe.

Chronology and rulers

Ilterish (682–692) was succeeded by his brother Qapaghan Qaghan (692–716), who subjugated the Khitans (696–697), allied with the Kumo Xi, crushed the Bayirku (706–707), the Az and Chik, and the Yenisei Kyrgyz (709–710, killing Bars Beg), and campaigned west against the Türgesh — Tonyukuk's forces crossed the Syr Darya to the borders of Tokharistan but suffered against the Arabs near Samarkand; a siege of Beshbalik failed (713–714). Qapaghan also raided the Tang (693–706), extracting tribute, until restored Tang frontier defenses (Xue Na; the Shouxiang garrisons, 709) curtailed the raids. After Qapaghan's assassination (716), Kul Tigin eliminated his line and enthroned his elder brother Bilge Qaghan (716–734), with Tonyukuk as counselor; the pair re-subjugated seceding tribes and, per the inscriptions, extracted 100,000 bolts of silk annually in peace negotiations. Bilge was assassinated in 734; after Yollıg (734–735) and the child Tengri Qaghan (regency of Qutluğ Säbäg Qatun), dynastic strife let an alliance of Basmyls, Karluks and Uyghurs destroy the khaganate in 744 — Ozmish Qaghan was beheaded and his head sent to the Tang. The Uyghurs then defeated their allies and founded their own khaganate; the last claimant, Kulun Beg, was beheaded in 745.

Government, economy, religion

A hereditary monarchy with a kurultay; the state was a territorial union of hierarchically coordinated tribes headed by the twelve tribes of the Ashina, uniting tribal organization (bodun) and political structure (el) under legal norms (törü). The economy was classic nomadic pastoralism — horses central, supplemented by sheep, goats, camels and yaks — with organized hunts doubling as military training. Tengrism was the official religion, the Ashina claiming legitimacy "through its support from Tengri"; when Bilge Qaghan contemplated Buddhism and settled cities, Tonyukuk famously dissuaded him, arguing nomadic mobility was the source of Turkic military superiority.

Primary sources and legacy

The khaganate left the greatest native monuments of early Turkic civilization: the Orkhon inscriptions (Kul Tigin, Bilge Qaghan) and the Tonyukuk inscriptions, written in the Old Turkic runic script, plus royal gold and silver from Khoshoo Tsaidam (the Golden Crown and Silver Deer of Bilge Qaghan). It fixed the Türk name, script and imperial ideology that later steppe states inherited.

Common questions

What were the Turks?: The Second Turkic Khaganate (Old Turkic: Türük el; Chinese: 後突厥, "Later Turks") was a khaganate in Central and Eastern Asia founded by Ilterish (Qutlugh) of the Ashina clan in 682 and destroyed in 744. Centered on Ötüken in the upper Orkhon River valley, it restored Göktürk independence after fifty years of Tang domination and was succeeded by the Uyghur Khaganate.
When are the Turks shown on the map?: The border data draws the Turks AD 666–717, 750–756, in 2 separate periods. The source samples borders at fixed dates, so a span can begin late or run on past the end.
How large were the Turks?: At their greatest extent drawn on this map, the Turks covered about 971,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives them across the years they are drawn, not necessarily their greatest extent in history.
Who ruled the Turks?: Ilterish (682–692) was succeeded by his brother Qapaghan Qaghan (692–716), who subjugated the Khitans (696–697), allied with the Kumo Xi, crushed the Bayirku (706–707), the Az and Chik, and the Yenisei Kyrgyz (709–710, killing Bars Beg), and campaigned west against the Türgesh — Tonyukuk's forces crossed the Syr Darya to the borders of Tokharistan but suffered against the Arabs near Samarkand; a siege of Beshbalik failed (713–714).
How did the Turks end?: The khaganate left the greatest native monuments of early Turkic civilization: the Orkhon inscriptions (Kul Tigin, Bilge Qaghan) and the Tonyukuk inscriptions, written in the Old Turkic runic script, plus royal gold and silver from Khoshoo Tsaidam (the Golden Crown and Silver Deer of Bilge Qaghan). It fixed the Türk name, script and imperial ideology that later steppe states inherited.
How were the Turks governed?: A hereditary monarchy with a kurultay; the state was a territorial union of hierarchically coordinated tribes headed by the twelve tribes of the Ashina, uniting tribal organization (bodun) and political structure (el) under legal norms (törü).

Sources

Every source below was consulted while writing this entry.

Wikipedia: Second Turkic Khaganate en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Turkic_Khaganate
E. Denison Ross, "The Orkhon Inscriptions", Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies 5(4), 1930 www.jstor.org/stable/607024

This entry was written from the sources above and last updated 27 September 2026.

This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made

Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.

Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).

See the Turks in their world

Open the atlas at AD 692 and every neighbour, rival and successor is on screen with it — then drag the slider and watch what happens next.

Open the map at AD 692 →