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Kara-Churin-Turk9th Khagan of the Gokturk - Turkic Khaganate
Date of Birth: .
Country:  Operator |
Content:
- Kara-Churin-Turk: The 9th Khagan of the Gokturk Khanate
- Rise to Power
- Conflicts and Alliances
- Victory and Expansion
- Clash with Persia
- Final Campaign and Ascendance to the Throne
- Reign and Struggles
- Decline and Demise
Kara-Churin-Turk: The 9th Khagan of the Gokturk Khanate
Early Life and Military CampaignsKara-Churin-Turk was the son of Istemi Khagan, the 8th Khagan of the Gokturk Khanate. His early life is not well-documented, as he resided in the western part of the empire with his father. Nonetheless, Greek and Persian sources provide fragmentary details of his youthful military exploits. In 555, he participated in his father's campaign against the Hephthalites. In 556, he defeated the Avars in Jungaria and, with Istemi's consent, assumed rule over the conquered region. In 558, he accompanied the Turkic expedition to the Volga River.
Rise to Power
Upon Istemi's death in 576, Kara-Churin-Turk became the ruler of the Western Khanate with the title of Tardush Khan ("Heroic and Mighty"). His subjects affectionately addressed him as "Boke Khan." In 581, he ascended to the rank of secondary khan, under the primary Khagan, Baga-Yshbara Khan, with his headquarters at Mount Aktagh.
Conflicts and Alliances
From 576 to 583, the Turks engaged in numerous conflicts with the Byzantine Empire. Kara-Churin-Turk's role in these battles remains unclear. However, it is known that he campaigned against China in the east. In 584, Kara-Churin-Turk accepted Toremen Apa-Khan's submission but subsequently clashed with Baga-Yshbara Khan. To avoid a war against both the Khaganate forces and the Sui Dynasty, Kara-Churin-Turk diplomatically became a vassal of the Sui. This move angered Toremen, who was soon eliminated either by the eastern Turks (according to Chinese sources) or by the forces of Kara-Churin-Turk and his son (according to Persian and Greek sources).
Victory and Expansion
Warfare resumed against the eastern Khanate in 587/588. The Khagan, Chollig-Djagbu-Baga, fell in battle, and in 593, Yun-Ulugh brokered a peace treaty with Kara-Churin-Turk. As the Khagan became increasingly dependent on the Sui, Kara-Churin-Turk emerged as the most powerful khan in the Khanate. He seized control of Bukhara, left vulnerable after Apa-Khan's defeat, and bestowed its rule upon his son, Yang-Souh-tegin (known to the Persians as Shiri-Kishwara, meaning "Lion of the Country"). Persian accounts credit Yang-Souh-tegin with Apa-Khan's demise.
Clash with Persia
In 588/589, according to Persian sources, Bahram Chubin defeated the Turkic "Sawa-shakh" (identified as Khagan Chollig-Djagbu-Baga by historians) at the Battle of Herat. However, Lev Gumilev proposed that Sawa-shakh may have been Yang-Souh-tegin, who clashed with Persia in defense of his Bukharan merchants' interests along the Silk Road.
Final Campaign and Ascendance to the Throne
In 597, Yun-Ulugh sought Kara-Churin-Turk's aid against the Sui, who planned to install Jangar as Khagan and had already enticed many Turks to their side. In response, Kara-Churin-Turk defeated the Ugric peoples of the Volga region and shifted his forces eastward. However, in 599, the Chinese generals Gao Fan and Yang Su inflicted a crushing defeat on Kara-Churin-Turk's army.
With Yun-Ulugh's death removing the final obstacle to his ambition, Kara-Churin-Turk proclaimed himself Khagan in late 599 without convening an assembly of Turkic nobility. From China's perspective, Jangar remained the legitimate Khagan (from 599 to 609) as Qiminkekhan, residing in China.
Reign and Struggles
As the elderly Kara-Churin-Turk ascended to the throne in 599, he inherited a disintegrating Khanate. The Chinese immediately launched an offensive, dispatching Shi Wansui to attack the Khagan. Kara-Churin-Turk skillfully evaded direct confrontation and sent his son to attack Tuli Khan, but reinforcements from China forced the Turks to retreat.
In 601, Kara-Churin-Turk seized the initiative and defeated the Chinese general Han Hun at Hunani. Jangar and Yang Su confronted Kara-Churin-Turk, establishing their camp north of the Yellow River, beyond Ordos. A Turkic detachment under Sygin crossed the river and deftly captured Jangar's livestock and followers. Yang Su and Liang Mo pursued the Turks and recovered the booty, while other Chinese units took different routes to intercept them. Despite this setback, another Turkic force launched a second attack on Jangar's camp.
Decline and Demise
In 603, a rebellion erupted among the Tiele, defeating Kara-Churin-Turk's grandson, Nili-Khan, and Shehu. The eastern Turks witnessed Kara-Churin-Turk's vulnerability and gravitated towards Jangar, as did the Tatabs. Little is known of Kara-Churin-Turk's subsequent fate. According to Chinese accounts, he fled with a dwindling number of followers to the Togon region, where he died or was killed.
