View source for Göktürks

{{for|empires established by the Göktürks|Turkic Khaganate}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
|group      = Göktürks
|image      = [[File:Tyurki.jpg|200px]]
|caption     = Göktürk petroglyphs from Mongolia (6th to 8th century)
|pop        = Ancestral to Uyghurs, Yugurs, and other Turkic population
|regions    = [[Central Asia]]
|ref3       = 
|languages  = [[Old Turkic language|Old Turkic]]
|religions  = [[Tengrism]], [[Buddhism]]
|related    =
}}

The '''Göktürks''', '''Celestial Turks''', '''Blue Turks''' or '''Kok Turks''' ([[Old Turkic language|Old Turkic]]: ''𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰜𐰇𐰛 Kök Türük'' {{zh|c=突厥/تُكِئ|p=Tūjué}}, [[Saka language|Khotanese Saka]] ''Ttūrka'', ''Ttrūka'',{{sfn|Golden|2011|p=20}} [[Old Tibetan]] ''Drugu''{{sfn|Golden|2011|p=20}}), were a nomadic confederation of [[Turkic peoples]] in medieval [[Inner Asia]]. The Göktürks, under the leadership of [[Bumin Qaghan]] (d. 552) and his sons, succeeded the [[Rouran Khaganate]] as the main power in the region and established the [[Turkic Khaganate]], one of several nomadic dynasties which would shape the future geolocation, culture, and dominant beliefs of [[Turkic peoples]].

==Etymology==
Strictly speaking, the common name ''Göktürk'' is the [[Turkish language|Anatolian Turkish]] form of the [[ethnonym]]. The [[Old Turkic]] name for the Göktürks was 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰  ''Türük'',<ref name="KulteginMC">[http://irq.kaznpu.kz/?lang=e&mod=1&tid=1&oid=15&m=1 Kultegin's Memorial Complex, Türik Bitig] [[Orkhon inscriptions]]</ref><ref name="BilgeKaganMC">[http://irq.kaznpu.kz/?lang=e&mod=1&tid=1&oid=16&m=1 Bilge Kagan's Memorial Complex, Türik Bitig]</ref> 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰜𐰇𐰛 Kök Türük,<ref name="KulteginMC"/><ref name="BilgeKaganMC"/> or [[File:Old Turkic letter K.svg|10px]][[File:Old Turkic letter R2.svg|10px]][[File:Old Turkic letter U.svg|10px]][[File:Old Turkic letter T2.svg|10px]] Türk.<ref name="TonyukukMC">[http://irq.kaznpu.kz/?lang=e&mod=1&tid=1&oid=17&m=1 Tonyukuk's Memorial Complex, Türik Bitig] [[Bain Tsokto inscriptions]]</ref> They were known in [[Middle Chinese]] historical sources as the ''tɦutkyat''{{sfn|Golden|2011|p=20}} ({{zh|c=[[wikt:突|突]][[wikt:厥|厥]]|p=Tūjué}}). According to Chinese sources, the meaning of the word ''Tujue'' was "[[combat helmet]]" ({{zh|c=[[wikt:兜|兜]][[wikt:鍪|鍪]]|p=Dōumóu|w=Tou<sup>1</sup>-mou<sup>2</sup>}}), reportedly because the shape of the [[Altai Mountains]] where they lived, was similar to a combat helmet.<ref name="Zhou50">[[Linghu Defen]] et al., ''[[Book of Zhou]]'', [[:zh:s:周書/卷50|Vol. 50.]] {{Zh icon}}</ref><ref name="Sui84">[[Wei Zheng]] et al., ''[[Book of Sui]]'', [[:zh:s:隋書/卷84|Vol. 84.]] {{Zh icon}}</ref><ref name="Northern99">[[Li Yanshou]] (李延寿), ''[[History of the Northern Dynasties]]'', [[:zh:s:北史/卷099|Vol. 99.]] {{Zh icon}}</ref>

Göktürk means "Celestial Turks",{{sfn|Marshall Cavendish Corporation|2006|p=545}} or sometimes "Blue Turks" (i.e. because [[sky blue]] is associated with [[Sky deity|celestial realms]]).  This is consistent with "the cult of heavenly ordained rule" which was a recurrent element of Altaic political culture and as such may have been imbibed by the Göktürks from their predecessors in Mongolia.<ref>Wink 64.</ref> The name of the ruling [[Ashina (clan)|Ashina clan]] may derive from the [[Khotanese Saka]] term for "deep blue", ''āššɪna''.{{sfn|Findley|2004|p=39}}

The word Türk meant "strong" in Old Turkic.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.bartleby.com/61/92/T0419200.html |title=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition - "Turk"|author=American Heritage Dictionary|authorlink=American Heritage Dictionary|publisher=bartleby.com|accessdate=2006-12-07|year=2000}}</ref>

==Origins==
[[File:Kul Tigin.jpg|thumb|[[Kül Tigin]]]]

The Göktürk rulers originated from the Ashina clan, who were first attested to 439. The ''[[Book of Sui]]'' reports that in that year, on October 18, the [[Tuoba]] ruler [[Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei]] overthrew [[Juqu Mujian]] of the [[Northern Liang]] in eastern [[Gansu]],<ref>[[Wei Shou]], ''[[Book of Wei]]'', [[:zh:s:魏書/卷4上|Vol. 4-I.]] {{Zh icon}}</ref><ref>[[Sima Guang]], ''[[Zizhi Tongjian]]'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷123|Vol. 123.]] {{Zh icon}}</ref><ref>[[:zh:承和 (北凉)|永和]]七年 ([[:zh:太延|太延]]五年) 九月丙戌 [http://sinocal.sinica.edu.tw/ Academia Sinica] {{Zh icon}}</ref> whence 500 Ashina families fled northwest to the Rouran Khaganate in the vicinity of [[Gaochang]].<ref name="Sui84"/><ref>Christian, p. 249.</ref> [[Peter Benjamin Golden]] points out the possibility that the khaghans of the Turkic Khaganate, the Ashina, were themselves originally [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-Europeans]] (possibly [[Iranian peoples]]) who later adopted the Turkic language but continued to use titles from their earlier [[Indo-European languages]].<ref>Peter B. Golden, ''An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples'', O. Harrassowitz, 1992, p. 121–122</ref> German Turkologist W.-E. Scharlipp points out that many common terms in Turkic are [[Iranian languages|Iranian]] in origin.<ref>„(...) Über die Ethnogenese dieses Stammes ist viel gerätselt worden. Auffallend ist, dass viele zentrale Begriffe iranischen Ursprungs sind. Dies betrifft fast alle Titel (...). Einige Gelehrte wollen auch die Eigenbezeichnung türk auf einen iranischen Ursprung zurückführen und ihn mit dem Wort „Turan“, der persischen Bezeichnung für das Land jeneseits des Oxus, in Verbindung bringen.“ Wolfgang-Ekkehard Scharlipp in ''Die frühen Türken in Zentralasien'', p. 18</ref>

According to the ''[[Book of Zhou]]'' and the ''[[History of the Northern Dynasties]]'', the Ashina clan was a component of the [[Xiongnu]] confederation,<ref name="Zhou50"/><ref name="Northern99"/> but this connection is disputed,<ref name="Christian2">Christian, p. 249</ref> and according to the ''Book of Sui'' and the ''[[Tongdian]]'', they were "mixed Hu (barbarians)" ({{linktext|雜胡}}) from [[Pingliang]].<ref name="Sui84"/><ref name="Tong197">杜佑, 《通典》, 北京: 中華書局出版, ([[Du You]], ''[[Tongdian]]'', Vol.197), 辺防13 北狄4 突厥上, 1988, ISBN 7-101-00258-7, p. 5401. {{Zh icon}}</ref> Indeed, Chinese sources linked the [[Donghu people|Hu]] on their northern borders to the Xiongnu just as Graeco-Roman historiographers called the [[Pannonian Avars]], [[Huns]] and [[Hungarians]] "Scythians". Such archaizing was a common literary topos, and implied similar geographic origins and nomadic lifestyle but not direct filiation.{{sfn|Sinor|1990}}{{page needed|date=August 2015}}

As part of the heterogeneous Rouran Khaganate, the Türks lived for generations north of the [[Altai Mountains]], where they 'engaged in metal working for the Rouran'.<ref name="Sui84"/><ref name="Zizhi159">Sima Guang, ''Zizhi Tongjian'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷159|Vol. 159.]] {{Zh icon}}</ref> According to [[Denis Sinor]], the rise to power of the Ashina clan represented an 'internal revolution' in the Rouran Khaganate rather than an external conquest.{{sfn|Sinor|1990|p=295}} According to Charles Holcombe, the early Tujue population was rather heterogeneous and many of the names of Türk rulers, including the two founding members, are not even Turkic.{{sfn|Holcombe|2001|p=114}} This is supported by evidence from the [[Orkhon inscriptions]], which include several non-Turkic lexemes, possibly representing [[Finno-Ugric languages|Finno-Ugric]] or [[Samoyedic languages|Samoyedic]] words.{{sfn|Sinor|1990|p=291}}

==Eastern Turks under the Jimi system==

On May 19, 639<ref>[[:zh:貞觀 (唐朝)|貞觀]]十三年 四月戊寅 [http://db1x.sinica.edu.tw/sinocal/ Academia Sinica] {{Zh icon}}</ref> [[Ashina Jiesheshuai]] and his tribesmen assaulted [[Emperor Taizong of Tang]] at Jiucheng Palace ({{linktext|九|成|宮}}, in present-day [[Linyou County]], [[Baoji]], [[Shaanxi]]). However, they did not succeed and fled to the north, but were caught by pursuers near the Wei River and were killed. [[Ashina Hexiangu]] was exiled to Lingbiao.<ref name="Zizhi195">Sima Guang, ''Zizhi Tongjian'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷195|Vol. 195.]] {{Zh icon}}</ref> After the unsuccessful raid of Ashina Jiesheshuai, on August 13, 639<ref>[[:zh:貞觀 (唐朝)|貞觀]]十三年 七月庚戌 [http://db1x.sinica.edu.tw/sinocal/ Academia Sinica] {{Zh icon}}</ref> Taizong installed [[Qilibi Khan]] and ordered the settled Turkic people to follow him north of the [[Yellow River]] to settle between the [[Great Wall of China]] and the [[Gobi Desert]].<ref>Ouyang Xiu et al., ''New Book of Tang'', [[:zh:s:新唐書/卷215上|Vol. 215-I.]]</ref>

In 679, [[Ashide]] Wenfu and [[Ashide Fengzhi]], who were Turkic leaders of the Chanyu Protectorate ([[:zh:单于大都护府|單于大都護府]]), declared [[Ashina Nishufu]] as qaghan and revolted against the Tang dynasty.<ref name="Zizhi202">Sima Guang, ''Zizhi Tongjian'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷202|Vol. 202]] {{Zh icon}}</ref> In 680, [[Pei Xingjian]] defeated Ashina Nishufu and his army. Ashina Nishufu was killed by his men.<ref name="Zizhi202"/> Ashide Wenfu made [[Ashina Funian]] a qaghan and again revolted against the Tang dynasty.<ref name="Zizhi202"/> [[Ashide Wenfu]] and Ashina Funian surrendered to Pei Xingjian. On December 5, 681<ref>[[:zh:开耀|開耀]]元年 十月乙酉 [http://db1x.sinica.edu.tw/sinocal/ Academia Sinica] {{Zh icon}}</ref> 54 Göktürks including Ashide Wenfu and Ashina Funian were publicly executed in the Eastern Market of [[Chang'an]].<ref name="Zizhi202"/> In 682, [[Ilterish Qaghan]] and [[Tonyukuk]] revolted and occupied Heisha Castle (northwest of present-day [[Hohhot]], [[Inner Mongolia]]) with the remnants of Ashina Funian's men.<ref>Sima Guang, ''Zizhi Tongjian'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷203|Vol. 203]] {{Zh icon}}</ref>

==Rulers==
{{Main|Qaghans of the Turkic khaganates}}

==See also==
{{commons category|Göktürks}}
*[[Ethnic groups in Chinese history]]
*[[Göktürk family tree]]
*[[Turkmens]] (on the Y-DNA of Turkmens)
*[[Horses in East Asian warfare]]
*[[Kankalis]]
*[[Khazars]]
*[[Kürşat (hero)]]
*[[Timeline of the Turkic peoples (500–1300)]]
*[[Turkic peoples]]
*[[Temir Kapig]]
*[[Xiongnu]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
*Christian, David. ''A history of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia, Vol. 1: Inner Eurasia from prehistory to the Mongol Empire''. Blackwell, 1998.
* {{cite book|ref=harv|last=Findley|first=Carter Vaughn|title=The Turks in World History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7eyoacDdcIMC|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-988425-4}}
* {{cite book|last1=Golden|first1=Peter Benjamin|authorlink1=Peter Benjamin Golden|title=Studies on the peoples and cultures of the Eurasian steppes|date=2011|publisher=Ed. Acad. Române|location=Bucureşti|isbn=978-973-1871-96-7|chapter=Ethnogenesis in the tribal zone: The Shaping of the Turks|ref=harv|url=https://www.academia.edu/9609971/Studies_on_the_Peoples_and_Cultures_of_the_Eurasian_Steppes}}
*[[Great Soviet Encyclopaedia]], 3rd ed. Article "Turkic Khaganate" ([http://www.cultinfo.ru/fulltext/1/001/008/113/276.htm online]).
*[[René Grousset|Grousset, René]]. ''The Empire of the Steppes''. [[Rutgers University Press]], 1970. ISBN 0-8135-1304-9.
*[[Gumilev, Lev]] (2007) {{Ru icon}} ''The Göktürks'' (Древние тюрки ;Drevnie ti︠u︡rki). Moscow: AST, 2007. ISBN 5-17-024793-1.
*{{cite book|first=Jonathan Karem|last=Skaff|editor=Nicola Di Cosmo|title=Military Culture in Imperial China|year=2009|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-03109-8|ref=harv}}
*Yu. Zuev (I︠U︡. A. Zuev) (2002) {{Ru icon}}, ''"Early Türks: Essays on history and ideology"'' ([http://openlibrary.org/b/OL13632412M/Rannie-ti%EF%B8%A0u%EF%B8%A1rki Rannie ti︠u︡rki: ocherki istorii i ideologii]), [[Almaty]], Daik-Press, p.&nbsp;233, {{Listed Invalid ISBN|9985-4-4152-9}}
*{{cite book|first=Howard J.|last=Wechsler|chapter=T'ai-Tsung (Reign 626-49): The Consolidator|editor=Denis Twitchett|editor2=John Fairbank|title=The Cambridge History of China, Volume 3: Sui and T'ang China Part I|year=1979|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-21446-9|ref=harv}}
*Wink, André. ''Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World''. [[Brill Academic Publishers]], 2002. ISBN 0-391-04173-8.
*Zhu, Xueyuan (朱学渊) (2004) {{zh icon}} ''The Origins of the Ethnic Groups of Northern China'' (中国北方诸族的源流). Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju (中华书局) ISBN 7-101-03336-9
*Xue, Zongzheng (薛宗正) (1992) {{zh icon}} ''A History of the Turks'' (突厥史). Beijing: Chinese Social Sciences Press (中国社会科学出版社) ISBN 7-5004-0432-8
*{{cite book|title= Romans, Barbarians, and the Transformation of the Roman World: Cultural Interaction and the Creation of Identity in Late Antiquity|first=Ekaterina|publisher=Ashgate|year=2011|isbn=9780754668145|location=|pages=175–181|chapter= The "Runaway" Avars and Late Antique Diplomacy|editor=Ralph W. Mathisen, Danuta Shanzer|author= Nechaeva}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|last=Sinor|first=Denis|authorlink=Denis Sinor|title=The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ST6TRNuWmHsC&pg=PA295|year=1990|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-24304-9}}

<!--==External links==--->

{{Göktürks}}
{{Turkic topics}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gokturks}}
[[Category:Göktürks| ]]
[[Category:Historical Turkic states]]
[[Category:Turkic dynasties]]
[[Category:History of the Turkic peoples]]
[[Category:Turkic peoples]]
[[Category:Turkic tribes]]
[[Category:Former countries in Chinese history]]
[[Category:Khaganates]]
[[Category:Nomads of the Eurasian steppe]]
[[Category:Nomadic groups in Eurasia]]
[[Category:Uyghurs]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Asia]]
[[Category:History of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:History of Kyrgyzstan]]
[[Category:History of Uzbekistan]]
[[Category:History of Tajikistan]]
[[Category:History of Mongolia]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 552]]
[[Category:747 disestablishments]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 8th century]]
[[Category:6th century in Asia]]
[[Category:7th century in Asia]]
[[Category:8th century in Asia]]

[[bg:Гьоктюрки]]