General Li Jing'in Askerî Düşüncesi ve Doğu Göktürk Kağanlığı'nın Çöküşü

Abstract

Following its foundation in 552, the Gokturk (Tu-jue 突厥) Qaghanate was divided into two rival qaghanates in the year 583. One of these, the Eastern Gokturk Qaghanate, was destroyed by the Tang 唐 Dynasty of China in 630 after the qaghanate suffered from a series of disasters starting from 627. Economy was disrupted because of harsh winters and military spending, while vassal nomadic tribes rebelled because of heavy taxation. Illig Qaghan (Xie-li Ke-han 頡利可汗), ruler of the qaghanate, favored foreigners like Soghdians and Chinese in state affairs, which made him unpopular among Gokturk noblemen who were the representatives of the founding element of the qaghanate. When members of the Gokturk dynasty failed in suppressing the rebellions, they were punished by Illig Qaghan, which led these noblemen to abandon him as they were already dissatisfied from his rule.