Suluk

Biography

Family Background and Early Years

Suluk came from the Chebishi division of the Türgesh. The source states that “Suluk” was originally an official title meaning a commander of troops and was an honorific he received before becoming qaghan. The Türgesh were a branch of the former Western Turkic confederation and had originally belonged to the alliance of the Ten Tribes. At the beginning of the eighth century, the Türgesh rose under Suoge, also called Shouzhong, and became an important power in the Western Regions. In 711, the second year of the Jingyun era, Qapaghan Qaghan of the Second Turkic Khaganate attacked the Türgesh and Suoge was defeated and killed. After Qapaghan's army withdrew, the Türgesh Khaganate fell into disorder without a ruler. In this crisis Suluk, formerly a subordinate commander of Suoge, gathered the remnants and again brought the Türgesh tribes under command. The source describes him as skilled at conciliating his followers and generous toward them. As a result, the Ten Tribes of the former Western Turkic confederation gradually submitted to him. His following rapidly grew to two hundred thousand and he occupied extensive territory in the Western Regions.

Peace and War with the Tang

Soon after his rise, Suluk sent envoys to the Tang court to pay respects to Emperor Xuanzong. In 715, the third year of Kaiyuan, Emperor Xuanzong appointed him General-in-Chief of the Left Yulin Guard and Grand Military Commissioner of the Jinfang Circuit. In 716, after Qapaghan Qaghan was killed, tribes including the Xi, Khitan, and Bayegu submitted to the Tang. With support from Sogdians, Suluk proclaimed himself Bilge Qaghan but continued tributary relations with Tang. In 717, Ashina Xian, qaghan of the Western Turkic Ten Tribes, requested that the court mobilize Qarluq forces against Suluk, but Emperor Xuanzong refused. On May 18, 718, Emperor Xuanzong formally appointed Suluk General-in-Chief of the Left Yulin Guard, enfeoffed him as Duke of Shun, and made him Grand Military Commissioner of the Jinfang Circuit. On October 28, 719, Emperor Xuanzong invested him as Zhongshun Qaghan, formally recognizing his qaghanate status in the Western Regions. On December 3, 722, Emperor Xuanzong granted a daughter of Ashina Huaidao, qaghan of the Ten Tribes, the title Princess Jiaohe and married her to Suluk, bringing relations into a period of close alliance.

The favorable relationship did not last. In 726, the fourteenth year of Kaiyuan, Du Xian became Protector-General of Anxi. Princess Jiaohe sent an officer with more than a thousand horses to Anxi for sale and sent an envoy to announce her order to Du Xian. Du Xian was furious and said, “What right does the daughter of Ashina Huaidao have to issue orders to me?” He had the envoy beaten and detained. Heavy snow then fell and all the horses froze to death. On learning this, Suluk became enraged and sent troops against the Four Garrisons of Anxi. Du Xian happened to be in Chang'an for an imperial audience, and Zhao Yizhen was acting as Protector-General of Anxi. Zhao held the city while Suluk's troops, according to the source, plundered the people, livestock, and stores of the four garrisons, leaving only Anxi city intact. Suluk gradually withdrew only after learning that Du Xian had become a grand councilor, and later again sent tribute to Tang. On the second day of the intercalary ninth month of 727, the ruler of the Tibetan Empire and Suluk led allied forces in a siege of Anxi, but were defeated by Deputy Protector-General Zhao Yizhen. In 730, Türgesh envoys brought tribute to Tang. Because Suluk had repeatedly defeated Arab forces, the Tang court held celebrations for him. At Danfeng Tower, Türgesh and Turkic envoys disputed ceremonial precedence. Emperor Xuanzong ordered the Turkic envoys to sit on the eastern side and the Türgesh envoys on the western side.

After 734, relations between Suluk and Tang again deteriorated. On October 26, 735, the twenty-third year of Kaiyuan, the Türgesh attacked Beiting and Bohuan City in Anxi, citing the execution of a Türgesh envoy by Beiting Protector Liu Huan. The following year they were defeated by Beiting Protector Gai Jiayun. On the seventh day of the eighth month, Suluk sent his minister Ulu Tarkhan to request submission to Tang. The fighting continued for three years, leaving the Türgesh attacked from more than one direction and weakening the khaganate.

Wars with the Umayyad Caliphate

During Suluk's reign, he fought repeatedly against the Umayyad Caliphate and successfully blocked further Arab expansion into Central Asia for a time. In 724, the twelfth year of Kaiyuan, Suluk inflicted a major defeat on an invading Umayyad army in the Day of Thirst. In 731, the nineteenth year of Kaiyuan, he surrounded an Umayyad force in the Battle of the Defile. Although the source says he did not achieve complete victory, the Umayyad army suffered heavy losses; the source further states that this engagement received exceptionally detailed treatment in Umayyad-period historical accounts in regard to combat and casualties. In 737, the twenty-fifth year of Kaiyuan, Suluk again defeated Arab forces at the Battle of the Baggage. Between 723 and 724, he twice led troops to relieve Ferghana when it was attacked by Muslim forces and inflicted major defeats on them. As a result he acquired the epithet “Abu Muzahim,” which the source glosses as “charging bull.”

Later Years and Death

Early in his reign Suluk lived frugally and distributed all captured wealth among the tribes, thereby winning strong support. After marrying princesses associated with Tang, the Turks, and the Tibetan Empire, however, the source states that his lifestyle became extravagant. In his later years he also suffered paralysis and lost support. The tribe of the former qaghan Suoge was known as the Yellow faction and would not submit to Suluk's Black faction. In 738, Baga Tarkhan of the Yellow faction killed Suluk Qaghan. Tumodu then supported Suluk's son Kut Chor as Tuhuoxian Qaghan. From this point the Türgesh Khaganate moved into decline.

Major Activities

Uniting the Türgesh and the Former Western Turkic Tribes

Suluk rose amid the disorder following Suoge's death. He gathered the surviving forces and became known for conciliating his followers, leading the Ten Tribes of the former Western Turkic confederation to submit gradually. The source states that his following reached two hundred thousand and that he occupied extensive territory in the Western Regions, restoring the Türgesh Khaganate to a position of strength.

Relations and Conflict with Tang

Suluk's relationship with Tang was complex and changeable. He accepted Tang investiture as Zhongshun Qaghan, entered a marriage alliance with Tang through Princess Jiaohe, and repeatedly sent tributary missions. Yet after Du Xian, Protector-General of Anxi, humiliated Princess Jiaohe's envoy, Suluk attacked the Four Garrisons of Anxi. He also joined the Tibetan Empire in besieging Anxi. After 735, renewed fighting followed the killing of a Türgesh envoy by Beiting Protector Liu Huan, and the Türgesh ultimately suffered defeat and sought submission.

Resistance to the Umayyad Caliphate

During his reign Suluk repeatedly defeated invading forces of the Umayyad Caliphate and, according to the source, successfully checked Arab expansion into Central Asia. The Day of Thirst, the Battle of the Defile, and the Battle of the Baggage were important engagements in these campaigns. He twice led forces to aid Ferghana and was called “Abu Muzahim” by Arab writers, a phrase glossed by the Chinese source as “charging bull.”

Alliance with the Tibetan Empire

Suluk once joined the ruler of the Tibetan Empire in besieging Anxi, showing that he adopted an alliance with Tibet when confronting Tang.

Personal Relations

• Kut Chor, Tuhuoxian Qaghan: son of Suluk, supported by Tumodu as qaghan
• Princess Jiaohe: daughter of Ashina Huaidao, qaghan of the Tang-recognized Ten Tribes; married Suluk in 722
• Suoge, also called Shouzhong: preceding Türgesh qaghan, under whom Suluk had served as a commander
• Baga Tarkhan: powerful leader of the Yellow faction who later killed Suluk Qaghan
• Tumodu, also rendered in the source as Tumozhi: Yellow-faction minister who participated in the killing of Suluk and later supported Kut Chor
• Ulu Tarkhan: minister of Suluk sent in 736 to request submission to Tang
• Emperor Xuanzong of Tang: nominal sovereign in the investiture relationship; invested Suluk as Zhongshun Qaghan
• Du Xian: Protector-General of Anxi whose conflict with Suluk led to the Türgesh attack on the Four Garrisons of Anxi
• Zhao Yizhen: Deputy Protector-General of Anxi who defeated the allied forces of Suluk and the Tibetan Empire
• Gai Jiayun: Protector of Beiting who defeated a Türgesh attack
• Ashina Xian: qaghan of the Western Turkic Ten Tribes who asked Tang to attack Suluk but was refused
• Qapaghan Qaghan: qaghan of the Second Turkic Khaganate who killed the Türgesh ruler Suoge, indirectly creating the circumstances for Suluk's rise
• Umayyad Caliphate: Arab dynasty that fought Suluk repeatedly
• Ruler of the Tibetan Empire: political ally of Suluk in an attack on Tang, although Tang and Tibet were themselves adversaries

Historical Assessment

Tang / Contemporary

• Emperor Xuanzong invested Suluk as Zhongshun Qaghan and recognized his position as qaghan, showing that the Tang regarded him as an important power in the Western Regions. The Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance records Tang investiture and the marriage alliance, illustrating his importance in Tang western strategy.
• Protector-General Du Xian's rebuke of Princess Jiaohe's envoy—“What right does the daughter of Ashina Huaidao have to issue orders to me?”—reflects, according to the source, the dismissive attitude of some Tang officials toward the Türgesh ruling house, which was not of the Ashina clan.
• Arab historians called Suluk “Abu Muzahim.” The Chinese source glosses the phrase as “charging bull,” treating it as a vivid description of his aggressive style in battle. H. A. R. Gibb's The Arab Conquests in Central Asia records details of Suluk's wars with Arab forces and presents him as one of the strongest opponents faced during the Arab conquest of Central Asia.

Song and Yuan Periods

• Sima Guang's Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance records in detail the full sequence of peace and war between Suluk and the Tang and treats it as an important frontier issue of the Xuanzong reign, reflecting the attention Song historians gave to the successes and failures of Tang policy in the Western Regions.
• Song historical evaluations of Suluk were generally embedded in discussions of Tang western policy and linked the rise and fall of the Türgesh closely to Tang policy in Central Asia.

Ming and Qing Periods

• Ming and Qing scholars compiling sources on Tang Central Asian history recorded Suluk's activities extensively. Works such as the Continuation of the Comprehensive Institutions and Continuation of the Comprehensive Examination of Literature classified the Türgesh among branches of the Western Turks and treated Suluk's career as an important continuation of the former Western Turkic political order.
• Qing scholars of northwestern historical geography, including Qi Yunshi, noted the role of Suluk in resisting Arab expansion and regarded that resistance as having objectively preserved the political diversity of the Western Regions.

Modern Period

• Modern research on Suluk focuses heavily on his resistance to the Arab conquest of Central Asia. Gibb's The Arab Conquests in Central Asia (1923) gives detailed accounts of several of his campaigns and presents him as one of the most persistent opponents of Arab expansion in the region.
• Chinese scholarship on Tang Central Asian history generally regards Suluk as the ruler who restored the Türgesh Khaganate to its height, while attributing its later decline to extravagance and internal division during his final years.
• Some scholars argue that Suluk's complex relationship with Tang illustrates the limitations of Tang indirect-rule policy in the Western Regions and the room available to regional powers to maneuver among Tang, the Tibetan Empire, and the Arab Caliphate.