Abstract
The article considers the early period of formation and strengthening of Turkic Khanate in Central Asia based on the material of the Chinese written sources. The domestic and foreign policy of the fi rst Turkic Qaghan – Tumen, Kolo Muqan, as well as their relations with China is analyzed. The regional situation at the point of the creation of the Turkic Empire is shown. An evaluation of the climatic factors infl uence on the events during the study period is given.
The events of early history of the Turkic khanate of 534–542 developed in the conditions of the adverse climatic situation that caused an aggravation of internal political and foreign policy struggle between the Chinese dynasties. Therefore, the nomads in the steppe turned out to be in more vantage point. Eventually, this contributed to the decline of China and the rise of the Turkic Khanate in the strong competition with Tele and Juan-Juan.
During Muqan Qaghan’s reign, the Turks attained to the peak power of their union, their territory stretched from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Gulf of Liaodong in the east. The Chinese dynasty Northern Zhou and Northern Qi competed with each other to establish the allied relations with the Turks. The question of inter-state marriage between the Turks and Chinese was the Turks’ means of pressure. For a long time Muqan Qaghan postponed the solution, choosing between the Northern Zhou and Northern Qi, holding them both. Finally, the Turks opted for the Northern Zhou Dynasty as they shared trade interests and routes along the ridge of the Nan Shan, being under the threat of attack from other nomads.
Keywords
Ancient Turks (tujue), China, Western Wei Dynasty, Eastern Wei Dynasty, Turk Empire, Muqan Qaghan, climate, epidemics, Central Asia
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