Product Code Database
Ilterish QaghanPeter B. Golden, Nomads and sedentary societies in medieval Eurasia, American Historical Association, 1998, , p. 25.Scott Cameron Levi, Ron Sela, Islamic Central Asia: an anthology of historical sources, Indiana University Press, 2009, , p. 54. or Ashina Qutlug (, Kultegin's Memorial Complex in the official website of TÜRIK BITIG Elteris Елтеріс, Ethno Cultural Dictionary in the official website of TÜRIK BITIG 頡跌利施可汗/颉跌利施可汗 Xiédiēlìshīkěhàn; 阿史那骨篤祿/阿史那骨笃禄, āshǐnà gǔdǔlù, a-shih-na ku-tu-lu, d. 691) was the founder of the Second Turkic Khaganate (reigned 682–691).
The Tonyukuk inscriptions record that it was Tonyukuk himself and a certain Boyla Bagha Tarkan who enthroned Ilterish Qaghan. The Chinese sources expand on this, detailing that following his enthronement, Ilterish Qaghan appointed his younger brothers Qapaghan Qaghan as a shad, and Ashina Duoxifu as a yabghu.
His attacks on the Tang border regions began on 12 July 682, when they attacked the Lan Prefecture and captured and executed its prefect, Wang Demao. Half a year later, due to the poor climatic conditions in their headquarters, the Turks began plundering the northern borders of the Bing Prefecture. In response to these attacks, the military general Xue Rengui was assigned to defend the Yun Prefecture against Turkic aggression. This culminated in an engagement between the two military forces, resulting in the defeat of the Turks who suffered thousands of losses. However, the Turkic forces resumed their attacks, and in March 683 had plundered the Ding and Gui prefectures. The following month the Turks besieged Chanyu and killed its adjutant, Zhang Xingshi. Similarly, the prefect of the Yu Prefecture – Li Sijian – was also killed following an attack in the region by the Turks.
The military governor of the Feng Prefecture, Cui Zhibian, led an expedition against the Turks. However, this resulted in Cui Zhibian's capture by the Turks. As a result of these defeats and losses, the Tang court almost decided on abandoning the Feng Prefecture, although this did not come to fruition due to opposition from its adjutant, Tang Xiujing. Between June and July 683, the Turks began attacking the Lan Prefecture which resulted in a defeat at the hands of the assistant general Yang Xuanji who routed Ilterish Qaghan's forces. However, due to the incessant attacks on the prefecture, Emperor Gaozong and the Tang court decided to degrade the region to a lesser military institution. On 8 December 683, the commander Cheng Wuting led an expedition against the Turkic headquarters.
Following the completion of the conquest of Ötüken in 685, the Turks instigated the Toquz Oghuz in turning against the Tang government, thus initiating what the Tang perceived to be another rebellion. In response to this, the Tang dispatched around 30,000 troops from the On Oq under general Tian Yangming to subdue the Toquz Oghuz. The Toquz Oghuz tribes, primarily Uyghurs, which had surrendered to the Tang during the expedition were resettled around the citadel of Tongcheng in the Anbei Protectorate. However, tribes such as the Tongra and Pugu remained in active rebellion and thus the Tang dispatched another general, Liu Jingtong, to suppress the rebels. Due to their sheer number of losses as a result of starvation the Toquz Oghuz eventually surrendered to the Tang and were largely resettled in the Hexi Corridor, allowing for the Turks to fully dominate and resettle Ötüken.
In 686 the general Heukchi Sangji, originally from the state of Baekje, was dispatched by the Tang emperor to intercept the Turks in their raids on Tang territories. The Turk forces suffered a minor defeat at the Battle of Liangjing. While the Turks launched a surprise attack against the Tang camp at sunset, they were ultimately routed by the Tang. Neither Ilterish Qaghan or Ashide Yuanzhen are mentioned in the Chinese accounts of this battle, suggesting that the main body of the Turkic army was dispatched to the north of the Gobi Desert. According to the Tonyukuk inscriptions, the Turkic army under Ilterish Qaghan had managed to campaign deep into Tang territory, reaching the regions of Shandong and Taluy. The former referred to the territories east of the Taihang Mountains while the latter refers to the East China Sea. It is further detailed that the Turks besieged 23 Tang cities during this campaign, although the names of the cities are not mentioned in the inscription and the number may represent the sum of all the Tang cities plundered by the Turks under Ilterish Qaghan's leadership. Chinese sources detail that on 9 April 687 Ilterish Qaghan and Ashide Yuanzhen plundered the city of Changping in the You Prefecture. General Heukchi was sent to intercept the Turks, although the result of this potential engagement is not recorded. Between 12 September and 11 October 687 the Tang general managed to intercept and defeat the Turks during their attack on the Shuo Prefecture, completely routing Ilterish Qaghan's forces. A month after this defeat, the Tang general Cuan Baobi volunteered to capture the remnants of the defeated Turks that had fled north of the Gobi. While the Tang court had ordered the general to march alongside Heukchi, the former decided to independently lead his troops into Turkic territory. The battle between the Turks and general Cuan Baobi resulted in the annihilation of Cuan's army – as such, on 19 November 687, the Tang general was executed by Wu Zetian.
Tonyukuk advised Ilterish Qaghan to campaign against the Kyrgyz first. After a 10-day trek across the Sayan Mountains and Tannu-Ola mountains, the Turkic troops launched an ambush on the Kyrgyz while their troops were sleeping. This resulted in the annihilation of the Kyrgyz force and the execution of their qaghan, thus the Kyrgyz surrendered and pledged allegiance to Ilterish Qaghan. Following this victory, the Turks began their attack on the Türgesh. The inscriptions note that Ilterish Qaghan himself had to return to Ötüken as his khatun, Ilbilga Khatun, had died and a funerary feast was required. Consequently, his son Inel Qaghan and his brother Mochuo (under the title of Tardush Shad) were appointed as the nominal heads of the army, while actual command of the campaign was transferred to Tonyukuk. Tonyukuk led the Turkic army across the Irtysh and engaged the Türgesh, who were supported by a retinue of Tang soldiers, in battle at the Yarïsh Plain, defeating them completely. The Türgesh qaghan was captured while both the Türgesh shad and yabghu were executed. Possibly describing the result of this battle, Chinese sources note that between 7 November and 5 December 690, over 60,000 On Oq surrendered to the Tang court, settling within its borders. The Turks then expanded westwards, extracting tribute from peoples such as the Tocharians and .
...Then Turk Tengri above, Turkish holy Earth and Water said as follows: "In order to Turkish people would not go to ruin and in order to should be a nation again", They rose my father Ilterish Kagan and my mother Ilbilga Katun, to the top and sat them upwards on the throne. My father, the kagan gathered together seventeen brave Lords... Tengri gave them power. My father's army was like wolves, their enemies were like sheep..." The Kultegin Inscription (1-40 lines) in the official website of TÜRIK BITIK.
On 23 August 2022, his memorial complex and an inscription written in Turkic and Sogdian language was found at Khangai Mountains, in Mongolia's Otuken region.
|
|
