Rise of the Turks & Society and Buddhism at Khotan

4^th-6^th Centuries

Big Powers of Early Medieval Eurasia

China-based Empire

*Sui Dynasty (581-618)

West Asian Empire

Sasanian Iran (224-651)

Mongolia-Based Empire

*Türk (552-630)

Fall of Northern Wei (386-534)

N. Wei “Six Garrisons”

Multiethnic armies

Revolts of 523

Drought 523

Wuchuan garrison

Produced Northern Zhou, Sui, and Tang leadership

Rise of the First Türk Empire

Illig Qaghan (Bumïn), r. 552

Muqan Qaghan, r. 532-572

Taspar Qaghan, r. 572-80

West-East Split after death

Sui Dynasty (581-618)

Yang Jian

Mixed ethnic background

Typical of N. Wei “Six Garrisons” Elite

Northern Zhou (557-581) general

Founds Sui in 581 after coup

Conquers South China, 588-9

Changing Balance of Power, 560-590

Ca. 560

Mongolia and western steppe

First Türk Empire (552-630)

Divided China

Northern Qi (550-577)

Northern Zhou (557-581)

Chen (557-589)

Ca. 590:

Dived Türks

Mongolia: E. Türks (552-630)

Western steppe: W. Türks (582-659)

United China

Sui (581-618)

Sui-Türk Ideological Competition, 584

 Türk Ishbara Qaghan (r. 581-87)

From: “Illig Kül Shad Bagha Ishbara Qaghan, Heaven-born, Wise Sage Son of Heaven of the Great Türks of All Under Heaven” (yili julu she mohe shiboluo kehan, cong tiansheng, da Tujue tianxia xiansheng tianzi 伊利俱盧設莫何始波羅可汗，從天生，大突厥天下賢聖天子)

To: “Great Sui August Emperor” (da Sui huangdi 大隋皇帝)

Sui Wendi’s reply (r. 581-604)

From: “Great Sui Son of Heaven” (da Sui huangdi 大隋天子)

To: “Illig Kül Shad Bagha Ishbara Qaghan of the Great Türks”

What elements of their ideologies do Sui and Türk rulers share? How do the two rulers differ ideologically about whom is most powerful?

Tang Dynasty (618-907)

Li Yuan

Sui Dynasty general

Reunified China after civil war

Founds Tang

Reigns as Gaozu (r. 618-26)

Yang Jian (Sui) and Li Yuan (Tang)

Yang Jian (Sui)

N. Zhou official

Married daughter of Dugu Xin

Li Yuan (Tang)

Sui frontier General

Father married daughter of Dugu Xin

Typical of northern aristocrats

Practice Chinese textual and Inner Asian martial traditions

Tang Taizong (r. 626-649)

Military Expansion

E. Turks defeated, 630

Heavy snows

Internal dissent (due to taxes and lack of booty?), 627-30

W. Turk campaigns

Turfan, 640

Kucha, 648

Khotan

Gives allegiance to Tang in 648

*Khotan

Khotanese

Iranian language written in Brahmi script

Overlords

W. Turks, ca. 600

Tang, 648-670

Tibet, 670-692

Tang, 672-770s

Tibet, ca. 770-792

Uighur Empire, ca. 792

Dandan Uliq, Building VII

Khotanese plaque

Whitfield, Chap. 6, plate 5

Chinese-language Buddhist document

Whitfield, p. 151

Khotanese documents in Brahmi script in form of box

Hansen, pp. 354-55

“A Few of Our Favourite Things: #16,” Dr. Oktor Skjærvø

Discussion: Khotanese Society

1. How do Whitfield and Hansen differ in their approaches to analyzing Khotanese society?

2. What different types of evidence do they use?

3. Which scholar is more effective in explaining the nature of Khotanese society?