View source for Uyghur Khaganate

{{Short description|744–848 Turkic empire in East Asia}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Uyghur Khaganate
| common_name            = Uighur Empire
| native_name            = 𐱃𐰆𐰴𐰕:𐰆𐰍𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣<br />''Toquz Oγuz budun''
| status                 = [[Khaganate]] ([[Nomadic empire]])
| government_type        = [[Monarchy]]
| capital                = {{plainlist|
*[[Ötüken]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tekedergisi.com/Makaleler/1928440944_1kar%c4%b1%20%c3%a7or%20aly%c4%b1lmaz.pdf |title=Data |publisher=www.tekedergisi.com |access-date=2020-01-19}}</ref>
*[[Ordu-Baliq]] {{small|(later)}}}}
| religion               = {{plainlist|
*[[Manichaeism]] (official)
*[[Tengrism]]
*[[Buddhism]]
*[[Nestorian Christianity]]}}
| common_languages       = {{plainlist|
*[[Old Uyghur language|Old Uyghur]]
*[[Middle Chinese]]}}
| year_start             = 744
| year_end               = 840
| image_coat             = Yaglakar_clan_tamga.png
| symbol_type            = Tamga of the [[Yaglakar clan]]
| p1                     = Second Turkic Khaganate
| s1                     = Kara-Khanid Khanate
| s2                     = Gansu Uyghur Kingdom
| s3                     = Kingdom of Qocho
| s4                     = Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate
| image_flag             = 
| image_map              = {{Continental Asia in 800 CE|center|||Map of the Uyghur Khaganate.png|none}}
| image_map_caption      = Territory of the Uyghur Khaganate (745–850), and main contemporary polities in continental Asia<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bosworth |first1=C.E. |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume 4|date=1 January 1998 |publisher=UNESCO |isbn=978-92-3-103467-1 |page=428 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18eABeokpjEC&pg=PA428 |language=en}}</ref>
| title_leader           = Khagan
| leader1                = [[Kutlug I Bilge Kagan|Qutlugh Bilge Köl]] (first)
| year_leader1           = 744–747
| leader2                = [[Enian Qaghan]] (last)
| year_leader2           = 841–847
| stat_year1             = 800
| ref_area1              = <ref name="Turchin222">{{cite journal|last2=Adams|first2=Jonathan M.|last3=Hall|first3=Thomas D|date=December 2006|title=East-West Orientation of Historical Empires|url=http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/369/381|journal=Journal of World-Systems Research|volume=12|issue=2|page=222|issn=1076-156X|last1=Turchin|first1=Peter|access-date=16 September 2016}}</ref><ref name="Taagepera493">{{cite journal|date=September 1997|title=Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia|journal=[[International Studies Quarterly]]|volume=41|issue=3|pages=475–504|doi=10.1111/0020-8833.00053|first=Rein|last=Taagepera|author-link=Rein Taagepera|jstor=2600793|url=http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/3cn68807}}</ref>
| stat_area1             = 3100000
}}
{{Early Turkic Khaganates}}
The '''Uyghur Khaganate''' (also '''Uyghur Empire''' or '''Uighur Khaganate''', self defined as '''Toquz-Oghuz country''';<ref>{{cite book|author=E.J. Brill|year=1962|title=Four studies on the history of Central Asia|page=88}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Scott C.|last=Levi|year=2009|title=Islamic Central Asia: An Anthology of Historical Sources|page=29}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=V. V. Barthold|year=1956|title=Four Studies on Central Asia|page=88}}</ref> {{langx|otk|𐱃𐰆𐰴𐰕:𐰆𐰍𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣|Toquz Oγuz budun|Nine clan people}}, [[Tang dynasty|Tang]]-era names, with modern [[Hanyu Pinyin]]: {{CJKV|t=|s=<!--[[wikt:回鹘|回鹘]]-->|p=Huíhú|c=[[wikt:回鶻|回鶻]]}} or {{CJKV|t=|s=<!--[[wikt:回纥|回纥]]-->|p=Huíhé|c=[[wikt:回紇|回紇]]}}) was a [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] empire{{sfn|Benson|1998|p=16–19}} that existed for about a century between the mid 8th and 9th centuries. It was a tribal confederation under the Orkhon [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] ({{lang|zh-hant|回鶻}}) nobility, referred to by the [[China|Chinese]] as the ''Jiu Xing'' ("Nine Clans"), a [[calque]] of the name ''[[Toquz Oghuz]]'' or ''Toquz Tughluq''.{{sfn|Bughra|1983|p=50–51}}

==History==
===Rise===
In the mid-5th century, Uyghurs constituted a tribe of the [[Tiele people|Tiele]], which was also under the Turkic Khaganate.<ref name="Old Book of Tang">Chapter 195, Huihe. See [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E8%88%8A%E5%94%90%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7195 wikisource]</ref>

In 657, the [[Western Turkic Khaganate]] was defeated by the [[Tang dynasty]], after which the Uyghurs defected to the Tang. Prior to this the Uyghurs had already shown an inclination towards alliances with the Tang when they fought with them against the [[Tibetan Empire]] and [[Turkic peoples|Turks]] in 627.{{sfn|Latourette|1964|p=144}}{{sfn|Haywood|1998|p=3.2}}

In 742, the Uyghurs, [[Karluks]], and [[Basmyl]]s rebelled against the [[Second Turkic Khaganate]].{{sfn|Sinor|1990|p=317–342}}

In 744, the Basmyls captured the Turk capital of [[Otuken|Ötüken]] and killed the reigning [[Özmiş Khagan]]. Later that year, a Uyghur-Karluk alliance formed against the Basmyls and defeated them. Their khagan was killed, and the Basmyls ceased to exist as a people. Hostilities between the Uyghurs and Karluks then forced the Karluks to migrate west into [[Jetisu|Zhetysu]] and conflict with the [[Türgesh]], whom they defeated and conquered in 766.{{sfn|Sinor|1990|p=349}}

The Uyghur khagan's personal name was ''Qullığ Boyla'' ({{zh|t=骨力裴羅}}). He took the title ''[[Kutlug I Bilge Kagan|Kutlug Bilge Kol Khagan]]'' (''Glorious, wise, mighty khagan''), claiming to be the supreme ruler of all the tribes. He built his capital at [[Ordu-Baliq]]. According to Chinese sources, the territory of the Uyghur Empire then reached "on its eastern extremity, the territory of [[Shiwei people|Shiwei]], on the west the [[Altai Mountains]], on the south it controlled the [[Gobi Desert]], so it covered the entire territory of the ancient [[Xiongnu]]".<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%96%B0%E5%94%90%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7217%E4%B8%8A |script-title=zh:新唐書 |trans-title=[[New Book of Tang]] |chapter=Chapter 217 part 1 |quote="{{lang|zh-hant|東極室韋，西金山，南控大漠，盡得古匈奴地。}}"}}</ref>

In 745, the Uyghurs killed the last khagan of the Göktürks, [[Kulun Beg]] ({{lang|zh|白眉可汗 鶻隴匐}}), and sent his head to the Tang.{{sfn|Barfield|1989|p=151}}

===Tribal composition===
[[File:Conversion of Bögü Qaghan (759-780 CE) to Manicheism in 762 (detailed of Bögü Qaghan in a suit of armour, kneeling to a Manichean high priest).jpg|thumb|[[Bögü Qaghan]], third Khagan of the Uyghurs, in a suit of armour, converting to [[Manicheism]] in 762. 8th century manuscript ([[Leaf from a Manichaean book MIK III 4979|MIK III 4979]]).<ref name="RX577-578">{{cite book |last1=Rong |first1=Xinjian |title=The Silk Road and Cultural Exchanges between East and West |date=24 October 2022 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-51259-7 |pages=577–578 |url=https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004512597_006 |language=en |chapter=Gaochang in the Second Half of the 5th Century and Its Relations with the Rouran Qaghanate and the Kingdoms of the Western Regions|doi=10.1163/9789004512597_006 }}</ref>]]
[[Tang Huiyao]], vol. 98, listed nine Toquz Oghuz surname tribes (姓部 ''xìngbù''); another list of tribes (部落 ''bùluò'') was recorded in the ''[[Old Book of Tang]]'' and the ''[[New Book of Tang]]''. According to Japanese scholars Hashimoto, Katayama, and Senga, each name in the lists in the Books of Tang recorded each subtribal surname of each chief, while the other list in Tang Huiyao recorded the names of the Toquz Oghuz tribes proper.{{sfn|Golden|1992|p=156–157}}<ref>{{cite journal|last= Senga|first= T.|title= The Toquz Oghuz Problem and the Origins of the Khazars|journal= Journal of Asian History |volume=24 |issue=1|year= 1990|pages= 57–69|jstor= 419253799}}</ref> [[Walter Bruno Henning]] (1938){{sfn|Henning|1938|p=554–558}} linked nine names recorded in the [[Saka language]] "[[Alexander von Staël-Holstein|Staël-Holstein]] Scroll" with those recorded by Han Chinese authors.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Tribal name in Chinese !! Tribal name in Saka !! Tribal name in Old Turkic !! Surname in Old Turkic !! Surname in Saka || Surname in Chinese
|-
| ''Huihe'' 迴紇 ||  || ''Uyğur'' 𐰺𐰍𐰖𐰆 || 𐰖𐰍𐰞𐰴𐰺 ''Yağlaqar'' || ''Yahīdakari'' ||藥羅葛 ''Yaoluoge''
|-
| ''Pugu'' 僕固 || ''Bākū'' || *''Buqu[t]'' || *''(H)Uturqar'' ||  || 胡咄葛 ''Huduoge''
|-
| ''Hun'' 渾 ||  || *''Qun'' || *''Kürebir'' || ''Kurabīri'' || 咄羅勿 ''Guluowu''
|-
| ''Bayegu'' 拔曳固 || ''Bayarkāta'' || ''Bayırku'' || *''Boqsıqıt'' || ''Bāsikātti'' || 貊歌息訖 ''Mogexiqi''
|-
| ''Tongluo'' 同羅 || ''Ttaugara'' || ''Tongra'' || *''Avučağ''  ||  || 阿勿嘀 ''A-Wudi''
|-
| ''Sijie'' 思結 || ''Sīkari'' || *''Sıqar'' || *''Qasar'' ||  || 葛薩 ''Gesa''
|-
| ''Qibi'' 契苾 || ''Kāribari'' ||  || || || 斛嗢素 ''Huwasu''
|-
| ''A-Busi'' 阿布思 ||  ||  || *''Yabutqar'' || ''Yabūttikari'' || 藥勿葛 ''Yaowuge''
|-
| ''Gulunwugu(si)'' 骨倫屋骨(思){{efn|[[Tang Huiyao]] manuscript<ref>Tang Huiyao, [https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=956267 Vol. 98]</ref> has 骨崙屋骨恐; Ulrich Theobald (2012) amended 恐 (''kong'') to 思 (''si'') & proposed that 屋骨思 transcribed [[Turkic tribal confederations|Oğuz]]<ref>Theobald, U. [http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Altera/uighurs.html "Huihe 回紇, Huihu 回鶻, Weiwur 維吾爾, Uyghurs"] in ''ChinaKnowledge.de – An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History, Literature and Art''</ref>}} ||  ||  || *''(Q)Ayabir'' || ''Ayabīri'' ||  奚耶勿 ''Xiyawu''
|}

; Notes
{{Notelist}}

===Golden Age===
[[File:Museum für Indische Kunst Dahlem Berlin Mai 2006 064.jpg|thumb|left|Uyghur princesses from the Bezeklik murals]]
In 747, Qutlugh Bilge Köl Kaghan died, leaving his youngest son, [[Bayanchur Khan]] to reign as Khagan ''El etmish bilge'' "State settled, wise". After building a number of trading outposts with the Tang, Bayanchur Khan used the profits to construct the capital, Ordu-Baliq, and another city further up the [[Selenga River]], [[Bai Baliq]]. The new khagan then embarked on a series of campaigns to bring all the steppe peoples under his banner. During this time the Empire expanded rapidly and brought the Sekiz Oghuz, Kyrgyz, Karluks, Turgesh, Toquz Tatars, Chiks and the remnants of the Basmyls under Uyghur rule.

In 751, the Tang Empire suffered a strategic defeat against the Arabs at the [[Battle of Talas]]. After that, the Tang retreated from [[Central Asia]], allowing the Uyghur to emerge as the new dominant power.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rhie |first1=Marylin Martin |title=Early Buddhist Art of China and Central Asia, Volume 2 The Eastern Chin and Sixteen Kingdoms Period in China and Tumshuk, Kucha and Karashahr in Central Asia (2 vols) |date=15 July 2019 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-39186-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ogD1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA724 |language=en|quote=After the disastrous defeat of the T'ang armies to the rising power of the Arabs at the Battle of the Talas River in 751, T'ang pulled out of Central Asia and the area around Turfan came under the control of the Uighurs, who emerged as the dominant power of Eastern Central Asia.}}</ref>

In 755 [[An Lushan]] instigated a [[An Lushan Rebellion|rebellion]] against the [[Tang dynasty]] and [[Emperor Suzong of Tang]] turned to Bayanchur Khan for assistance in 756. The khagan of the Uyghur Khaganate agreed and ordered his eldest son to provide military service to the Tang emperor. Approximately 4,000 Uyghur horsemen assisted Tang armies in retaking [[Chang'an]] and [[Luoyang]] in 757. After the battle at Luoyang the Uyghurs looted the city for three days and only stopped after large quantities of silk were extracted. For their aid, the Tang sent 20,000 rolls of silk and bestowed them with honorary titles. In addition the horse trade was fixed at 40 rolls of silk for every horse and Uyghurs were given "guest" status while staying in Tang China.{{sfn|Sinor|1990|p=317–342}}{{sfn|Barfield|1989|p=152}} The Tang and Uyghurs conducted an exchange marriage. Bayanchur Khan married Princess Ninguo while a Uyghur princess was married to a Tang prince.{{sfn|Barfield|1989|p=151}} The Uyghur Khaganate exchanged princesses in marriage with Tang dynasty China in 756 to seal the alliance against An Lushan. The Uyghur Khagan [[Bayanchur Khan]] had his daughter Uyghur Princess Pijia (毗伽公主) married to Tang dynasty Chinese Prince Li Chengcai ([[w:zh:李承采|李承采]]), Prince of Dunhuang (敦煌王李承采), son of [[Li Shouli|Li Shouli, Prince of Bin]]. while the Tang dynasty Chinese princess Ningguo 寧國公主, daughter of [[Emperor Suzong of Tang|Emperor Suzong]], married Uyghur Khagan Bayanchur.

[[File:Uyghur princes wearing Chinese-styled robes and headgear. Bezeklik, Cave 9, 9-12th century CE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Uyghur princes wearing Chinese-styled robes and headgear. [[Bezeklik]], Cave 9, 9–12th century CE.]]
In 758, the Uyghurs turned their attention to the northern [[Yenisei Kyrgyz]]. Bayanchur Khan destroyed several of their trading outposts before slaughtering a Kyrgyz army and executing their Khan.{{sfn|Barfield|1989|p=152}}

{{blockquote|On the ''ren-shen'' day of the fifth month of the first year of the Qianyuan reign [on March 29, 758 CE], The envoys from ''Hui-he'' [Uyghur Khaganate], ''Duo-yi-hai-a-bo'' and others, totaling eighty people, and an emir from the
Black-robed ''Dashi'' [Abbasid Caliphate], ''Nao-wen'' and others, totaling eight people, come at the same time to pay a visit [to the Tang court]; when they walk to the side entrance of the palace, [both delegations] argue who should be the first [to see the Emperor]. The interpreters and palace secretaries arrange them as left team and right team, and enter through the Eastern Gate and the Western Gate all at once. [After this,] ''Wen-she-shi'' and the Black-robed ''Dashi'' envoy pay their visit [to the Chinese Emperor].{{sfn|Wan|2017|p=42}}|''[[Cefu Yuangui]]''}}

In 759 the Uyghurs attempted to assist the Tang in stamping out the rebels but failed. Bayanchur Khan died and his son [[Bögü Qaghan|Tengri Bögü]] succeeded him as Khagan ''Qutlugh Tarkhan sengün''.{{sfn|Barfield|1989|p=152}}

In 762 Tengri Bögü planned to invade the Tang with 4,000 soldiers but after negotiations switched sides and assisted them in defeating the rebels at Luoyang. After the battle the Uyghurs looted the city. When the people fled to Buddhist temples for protection, the Uyghurs burnt them down, killing over 10,000. For their aid, the Tang was forced to pay 100,000 pieces of silk to get them to leave.{{sfn|Barfield|1989|p=152–153}} During the campaign the khagan encountered Manichaean priests who converted him to [[Manichaeism]]. From then on the official religion of the Uyghur Khaganate became Manichaeism.{{sfn|Bosworth|2000|p=70}}

===Decline===
[[File:Campaigns of the Tibetan Empire.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Campaigns of the [[Tibetan Empire]], 7–9th centuries]]
[[File:Archaeological Sites Named Durvuljin (35324221790).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Uyghur Khaganate "Durvuljin" tombs, near the Uyghur capital of [[Khara Balgas]], 7th–9th century CE. [[Orkhon Valley]]. [[National Museum of Mongolia]]]]
In 779, Tengri Bögü planned to invade the Tang dynasty based on the advice of his Sogdian courtiers. However, Tengri Bögü's uncle, [[Tun Baga Tarkhan]], opposed this plan and killed him and "nearly two thousand people from among the kaghan's family, his clique and the Sogdians."{{sfn|Asimov|1998|p=194}} Tun Bagha Tarkhan ascended the throne, with the title ''Alp Qutlugh Bilge'' "Victorious, glorious, wise", and enforced a new set of laws, which he designed to secure the unity of the khaganate. During his reign, Manichaeism was suppressed, but his successors restored it as the official religion.{{sfn|Barfield|1989|p=153}}

In 780, a group of Uyghurs and Sogdians was killed while leaving [[Chang'an]] with tribute. Tun demanded 1,800,000 strings of cash in compensation and the Tang agreed to pay this amount in gold and silk.{{sfn|Barfield|1989|p=154}} In 789, Tun Bagha Tarkhan died and his son succeeded him as [[Külüg Qaghan]]. The Karluks took this opportunity to encroach on Uyghur territory and annexed Futu Valley.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E8%88%8A%E5%94%90%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7195 |script-title=zh:舊唐書 |trans-title=[[Old Book of Tang]] |chapter=Chapter 195 |quote={{lang|zh-hant|葛祿乘勝取回紇之浮圖川，回紇震恐，悉遷西北部落羊馬於牙帳之南以避之。}} [translation: "The Karluks took the opportunity to win control of Uyghur's Fu-tu valley; the Uyghurs, shaken with fear, moved their north-western tribes, with sheep and horses, to the south of the capital to escape."] (In Xin Tangshu, Fu-tu valley ({{lang|zh-hant|浮圖川}}) was referred to as Shen-tu Valley {{lang|zh-hant|深圖川}})}}</ref> In 790, the Uyghurs and Tang forces were defeated by [[Tibetan Empire]] at Tingzhou ([[Beshbalik]]).{{sfn|Haywood|1998|p=3.2}} Külüg Qaghan died, and his son, A-ch'o, succeeded him as [[Qutluq Bilge Qaghan]].

In 791, the Tibetans attacked Lingzhou but were driven off by the Uyghurs, who presented captured prisoners and cattle to [[Emperor Dezong of Tang]]. The Tibetans and Karluks suffered another defeat against the Uyghurs at [[Beiting]]. The captured Tibetan general Zan Rgyal sum was sent to Dezong.{{sfn|Beckwith|1987|p=155-156}} In 792, the Uyghurs, led by [[Baoyi Qaghan]], defeated the Tibetans and Karluks, taking [[Gaochang]]. Not long after the Tibetans attacked Yushu, a fortified town 560 ''li'' east of [[Kucha]]. They were besieged by Baoyi there and destroyed.{{sfn|Beckwith|1987|p=156}} In 795, Qutluq Bilge Qaghan died and the [[Yaglakar clan|Yaghlakar dynasty]] came to an end.  A general, [[Qutluq II]], declared himself the new qaghan under the title ''Ay Tängridä ülüg bulmïsh alp qutlugh ulugh bilgä qaghan'' "Greatly born in moon heaven, victorious, glorious, great and wise qaghan",{{sfn|Sinor|1990|p=317–342}} founding a new dynasty, the [[Ädiz clan|Ädiz]] ({{zh|阿跌氏}}).

In 803, the Uyghurs captured [[Gaochang|Qocho]].{{sfn|Bregel|2003|p=20}} In 808, Qutluq II died and his son, [[Baoyi Qaghan|Baoyi]], succeeded him. In the same year, the Uyghurs seized [[Liang Province]] from the Tibetans.{{sfn|Wang|2013|p=184}} In 816, a Tibetan raid reached within two days' journey of the Uyghur capital, [[Ordu-Baliq]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/227056/JTS_SL_01.pdf?sequence=2 | title=The Tibetans in the Ordos and North China: Considerations on the Role of the Tibetan Empire in World History}}</ref> In 821, Baoyi Qaghan died, and his son, [[Chongde Qaghan|Chongde]], succeeded him. Chongde was considered the last great khagan of the Uyghur Khaganate and bore the title ''Kün tengride ülüg bulmïsh alp küchlüg bilge'' "Greatly born in sun heaven, victorious, strong and wise". His achievements included improved trade up with the region of [[Sogdia]], and on the battlefield he repulsed a force of invading Tibetans in 821. After defeating the Tibetan and Karluk force, the Uyghurs entered the [[Principality of Ushrusana]] and plundered the region.{{sfn|Beckwith|1987|p=165}}
In 822, the Uyghurs sent troops to help the Tang in quelling rebels. The Tang refused the offer but had to pay them 70,000 pieces of silk to go home.{{sfn|Barfield|1989|p=154}} In 823, the Tibetan Empire waged war on the Uyghurs.{{sfn|Wang|2013|p=187}} In 824, Chongde died and was succeeded by a brother, [[Zhaoli Qaghan|Qasar]]. In 832, Qasar was murdered. He was succeeded by the son of Chongde, [[Zhangxin Qaghan|Hu]]. In the same year, the Tibetan Empire failed to make war on the Uyghurs.{{sfn|Wang|2013|p=187}}

===Fall===
{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=400|caption_align=center
| align    = right
| direction =horizontal
| header=
| image1   = Painted silk fragment from a Manichaean Temple near Koço, Turkish, Sinkiang 8th century or 9th century. Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Berlin (detail).jpg
| image2   = Painted silk fragment from a Manichaean Temple near Koço, Turkish, Sinkiang 8th century or 9th century. Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Berlin (man in full armour, detail).jpg
| footer=Painted silk fragments of men in armour, from a [[Manichaean]] Temple near [[Gaochang|Qocho]]. Turkic, 8th century or 9th century CE. Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Berlin.<ref>{{cite book |last1=SKUPNIEWICZ |first1=Patryk (Siedlce University, Poland) |title=Crowns, hats, turbans and helmets.The headgear in Iranian history volume I: Pre-Islamic Period|date=2017 |publisher=K. Maksymiuk & G. Karamian |location=Siedlce-Tehran |page=253 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323545452}}</ref> 
}}
In 839, Hu was forced to commit suicide and a minister named [[Qasar qaghan|Kürebir]] seized the throne with the help of 20,000 [[Shatuo]] horsemen from [[Ordos Desert|Ordos]].  In the same year, there was a famine and an epidemic, with a particularly severe winter that killed much of the livestock the Uyghur economy was based on.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%96%B0%E5%94%90%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7217%E4%B8%8B |script-title=zh:新唐書 |trans-title=[[New Book of Tang]] |chapter=chapter 217 part 2 |quote="{{lang|zh-hant|方歲饑，遂疫，又大雪，羊、馬多死}}"}}</ref>

In 840, one of nine Uyghur ministers, Kulug Bagha, rival of Kurebir, fled to the [[Yenisei Kyrgyz]] and invited them to invade from the north. With a force of around 80,000 horsemen, they sacked the Uyghur capital at [[Ordu-Baliq]], razing it to the ground.{{sfn|Drompp|2005|p=37}} The Kyrgyz captured the Uyghur Khagan, Kürebir (''Hesa/Qasar''), and promptly beheaded him. They went on to destroy other cities throughout the Uyghur empire, burning them to the ground. The Uyghurs fled in two groups. A 30,000-strong group led by the aristocrat [[Li Sizhong|Ormïzt]] sought refuge in Tang territory but [[Emperor Wuzong of Tang]] ordered the borders to be closed. The other group, 100,000 strong, led by [[Wujie Qaghan|Öge]], son of Baoyi and the new khagan of the defeated Uyghur Khaganate, also fled to Tang territory. However Öge demanded a Tang city for residence as well as the protection of [[Manichaeans]] and food. Wuzong found the demands unacceptable and refused. He granted Ormïzt asylum in return for the use of his troops against Öge. Two years later, Wuzong extended [[Huichang persecution of Buddhism|the order to ban]] [[Church of the East in China|Christianity]], [[Zoroastrianism]], and especially [[Buddhism]].{{sfn|Baumer|2012|p=310-311}}

[[File:Soldiers from Karasahr, 8th century.jpg|thumb|left|Soldiers from [[Karasahr]], 8th century CE]]
The Yenisei Kyrgyz and Tang dynasty launched a successful war between 840 and 848 against the Uyghur Khaganate using their claimed familial ties as justification for an alliance.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Drompp|first1=Michael R. |date=1999 |title=Breaking the Orkhon Tradition: Kirghiz Adherence to the Yenisei Region after A. D. 840 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/605932 |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=119 |issue=3 |pages=390–403 |doi= 10.2307/605932|jstor=605932 |access-date=4 September 2021}}</ref>

In 841, Öge led the Uyghurs in an invasion of today's [[Shaanxi]].

In 843, a Tang army led by [[Shi Xiong]] attacked the Uyghurs led by Öge and slaughtered 10,000 Uyghurs on February 13, 843, at "Kill the Barbarians" Mountain (Shahu).{{sfn|Drompp|2005|p=114}} Öge was wounded.<ref name="Dardess2010">{{cite book|first=John W.|last=Dardess|title=Governing China: 150–1850|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zzEUAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA32|date=10 September 2010|publisher=Hackett Publishing|isbn=978-1-60384-447-5|pages=32–}}</ref>{{sfn|Drompp|2005|p=114}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Drompp  |first=Michael R. |editor-last=Cosmo  |editor-first=Nicola Di |author-link= |date=2018 |title=Warfare in Inner Asian History (500-1800)|series=Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 8 Uralic & Central Asian Studies |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UaWODwAAQBAJ&dq=shahu+843&pg=PA92 |location= |publisher=BRILL |page=92 |chapter=THE UIGHUR-CHINESE CONFLICT OF 840–848  |isbn=978-9004391789}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Drompp  |first=Michael R. |editor-last=Cosmo  |editor-first=Nicola Di |author-link= |date=2018 |title=Warfare in Inner Asian History (500-1800)|series=Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 8 Uralic & Central Asian Studies |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UaWODwAAQBAJ&dq=shahu+uyghur&pg=PA99 |location= |publisher=BRILL |page=99 |chapter=THE UIGHUR-CHINESE CONFLICT OF 840–848  |isbn=978-9004391789}}</ref> After the defeat of Öge, Wuzong ordered Ormïzt's troops to be broken up and dispersed among different units. Ormïzt refused to obey. His troops were massacred by general Liu Mian. With the defeat of the two major Uyghur groups, Wuzong saw his chance to get rid of the Manichaeans. He ordered Manichaean temples in several cities to be destroyed, the confiscation of their estates, and the execution of the clergy.{{sfn|Baumer|2012|p=310}}

{{blockquote|In the fourth moon of 843 an Imperial edict was issued [ordering] the Manichaean priests of the empire to be killed. [...] The Manichaean priests are highly respected by the Uighurs.{{sfn|Baumer|2012|p=310-311}}|[[Ennin]]}}

In 846, the penultimate Uyghur khagan, Öge, was killed after having spent his 6-year reign fighting the Kyrgyz, the supporters of his rival [[Li Sizhong|Ormïzt]], a brother of Kürebir, and [[Tang dynasty]] troops in Ordos and today [[Shaanxi]].{{sfn|Bosworth|2000|p=70}} His brother, [[Enian Qaghan]], was decisively defeated by Tang forces in 847.{{sfn|Baumer|2012|p=310}}

===Successors===
[[File:Dunhuang Uighur king.jpg|thumb|Uyghur king from Turfan region attended by servants. Mogao cave 409, 11th–13th century.]]
The [[Yenisei Kyrgyz]] who replaced the Uyghur Khaganate were unsophisticated and had little interest in running the empire which they had destroyed. They held the territory from [[Lake Baikal]] in the east to the [[Irtysh River]] in the west and left Kulug Bagha, the Uyghur who defected to them, in charge of the [[Orkhon Valley]]. During the reign of [[Emperor Yizong of Tang]] (860–873), there were three recorded contacts between the Tang and Kyrgyz, but the nature of their relationship remains unclear. Tang policy makers argued that there was no point in building any relations with the Kyrgyz since the Uyghurs no longer threatened them. The [[Khitan people|Khitans]] seized the Orkhon Valley from the Kyrgyz in 890 and no further opposition from the Kyrgyz is recorded.{{sfn|Barfield|1989|p=165}}{{sfn|Golden|1992|p=181}}

{{blockquote| The Khitan ruler Abaoji did extend his influence onto the Mongolian Plateau in 924, but there is no indication whatsoever of any conflict with the Kyrgyz. The only information we have from Khitan (Liao) sources regarding the Kyrgyz indicates that the two powers maintained diplomatic relations. Scholars who write of a Kyrgyz "empire" from about 840 to about 924 are describing a fantasy. All available evidence suggests that despite some brief extensions of their power onto the Mongolian Plateau, the Kyrgyz did not maintain a significant political or military presence there after their victories in the 840s.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.academia.edu/10197431|title = The Yenisei Kyrgyz from Early Times to the Mongol Conquest|last1 = Drompp|first1 = Michael|date = January 2002|journal=The Turks|volume=1|pages=480–488|publisher=Yeni Türkiye |location=Ankara}}</ref>|Michael Drompp}}

After the fall of the Uyghur Khaganate, the Uyghurs migrated south and established the [[Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom]] in modern [[Gansu]]{{sfn|Golden|2011|p=47}} and the [[Kingdom of Qocho]] near modern [[Turpan]]. The Uyghurs in Qocho converted to Buddhism, and, according to [[Mahmud al-Kashgari]], were "the strongest of the infidels", while the Ganzhou Uyghurs were conquered by the [[Tangut people]] in the 1030s.{{sfn|Millward|2007|p=50}} Even so, Kashgari praised contemporary Uyghurs as bilingual Turkophones whose Turkic dialect remained "pure" and "most correct" (just like dialects spoken by monolingual [[Yagma]]s, and [[Tuhsi]]s); meanwhile, Kashgari derided other bilingual Turkophones ([[Kumo Xi|Qay]], [[Tatars]], [[Basmyl]]s, [[Yueban|Chömül]]s, [[Yabaku]]s, etc.), for incorporating foreign loanwords and "slurring" in their speech.<ref>Maħmūd al-Kašğari. "Dīwān Luğāt al-Turk". Edited & translated by [[Robert Dankoff]] in collaboration with James Kelly. In ''Sources of Oriental Languages and Literature''. (1982). Part I. p. 82-84</ref> In 1134, Qocho became a vassal of [[Yelü Dashi]]'s nascent [[Qara Khitai]] empire. In 1209, the Qocho ruler Idiqut (" Lord of happiness") [[Baurchuk Art Tekin|Barchuk Art Tegin]] declared his allegiance to [[Genghis Khan]], and the Uyghurs became important civil servants in the later [[Mongol Empire]], which adapted the [[Old Uyghur alphabet]] as its official script. According to the ''[[New Book of Tang]]'', a third group went to seek refuge among the Karluks.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%96%B0%E5%94%90%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7217%E4%B8%8B |script-title=zh:新唐書 |trans-title=[[New Book of Tang]] |quote={{lang|zh-hant|俄而渠長句錄莫賀與黠戛斯合騎十萬攻回鶻城，殺可汗，誅掘羅勿，焚其牙，諸部潰其相馺職與厖特勒十五部奔葛邏祿，殘眾入吐蕃、安西。}} [Translation: Soon the great chief Julumohe and the Kirghiz gathered a hundred thousand riders to attack the Uyghur city; they killed the Kaghan, executed Jueluowu, and burnt the royal camp. All the tribes were scattered—its ministers Sazhi and Pang Tele with fifteen clans fled to the Karluks, the remaining multitude went to the Tibetan Empire and [[Guazhou County|Anxi]].]}}</ref>

The Karluks, together with other tribes such as the [[Chigils]] and [[Yagma]]s, later founded the [[Kara-Khanid Khanate]] (940–1212). Some historians associate the Karakhanids with the Uyghurs as the Yaghmas were linked to the [[Toquz Oghuz]]. [[Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan]], believed to be a Yagma from [[Artux]], converted to Islam in 932 and seized control of [[Kashgar]] in 940, giving rise to the new dynasty, known as ''[[Kara-Khanid Khanate|Karakhanids]]''.{{sfn|Sinor|1990|p=355–357}}

==Relationship with the Sogdians==
[[File:Manicheans.jpg|thumb|Manichean scribes from Qocho, 8th–9th century]]
In order to control trade along the [[Silk Road]], the Uyghurs established a trading relationship with the Sogdian merchants who controlled some oases of [[Central Asia]]. As described above, the Uyghur adoption of [[Manichaeism]] was one aspect of this relationship—choosing Manichaeism over [[Buddhism]] may have been motivated by a desire to show independence from Tang influence.{{sfn|Sinor|1990}} Not all Uyghurs supported conversion - an inscription at [[Ordu-Baliq]] states that Manichaens tried to divert people from their ancient shamanistic beliefs.<ref name="Roemer editor 1984">{{cite book |editor=Prof. R. Roemer |chapter=The Uighur Empire of Mongolia (chapter 5) |title=Guo ji zhongguo bian jiang xue shu hui yi lun wen chu gao|year=1984|publisher=Taipei}}</ref> A rather partisan account from a Uyghur-Manichean text of that period demonstrates the unbridled enthusiasm of the khaghan for Manichaeism:

{{blockquote|"At that time when the divine Bogu Khan had thus spoken, we the Elects of all the people living within the land rejoiced. It is impossible to describe this ourjoy. The people told the story to one another and rejoiced. At that time, groups of thousands and tens of thousands assembled and with pastimes of all sorts they entertained themselves even unto dawn. And at the break of the day they made a short fast. The divine ruler Bogu Khan and all the elects of his retinue mounted on horses, and all the princes and the princesses led by those of high repute, the big and the small, the whole people, amidst great rejoicing proceeded to the gate of the city. And when the divine ruler had entered the city, he put the crown on his head... and sat upon the golden throne."|Uyghur-Manichean text.<ref name="Roemer editor 1984"/>|source=}}

As conversion was based on political and economic concerns regarding trade with the Sogdians, it was driven by the rulers and often encountered resistance in lower societal strata. Furthermore, as the khaghan's political power depended on his ability to provide economically for his subjects, "alliance with the Sogdians through adopting their religion was an important way of securing this objective."{{sfn|Sinor|1990}} Both the Sogdians and the Uyghurs benefited enormously from this alliance. The Sogdians enabled the Uyghurs to trade in the Western Regions and exchange silk from China for other goods. For the Sogdians it provided their Chinese trading communities with Uyghur protection. The 5th and 6th centuries saw a large emigration of Sogdians to China. The Sogdians were main traders along the Silk Roads, and China was always their biggest market. Among the paper clothing found in the [[Astana]] cemetery near [[Turfan]] is a list of taxes paid on caravan trade in the [[Gaochang]] kingdom in the 620s. The text is incomplete, but out of the 35 commercial operations it lists, 29 involve a Sogdian trader.<ref>{{cite web|last=de la Vaissière|first=Étienne|title=Sogdians in China: a short history and some new discoveries|url=http://silkroadfoundation.org/newsletter/december/new_discoveries.htm}}</ref> Ultimately both rulers of nomadic origin and sedentary states recognized the importance of merchants like the Sogdians and made alliances to further their own agendas in controlling the Silk Roads.

{{gallery
|width=200
|File:Manichaean Temple Banner (MIK III 6283).jpg|Uyghur [[Manichaeism|Manichaean]] Elect depicted on a temple banner from [[Qocho]]
|File:ManichaeanElectaeKocho10thCentury.jpg|Uyghur Manichaean Electae (female Chosen ones) from Qocho
|File:Museum für Indische Kunst Dahlem Berlin Mai 2006 066.jpg|Uyghur Manichaean clergymen from Qocho
|File:Museum für Indische Kunst Dahlem Berlin Mai 2006 061.jpg|[[Murals from the Christian temple at Qocho|Fresco of Palm Sunday from Qocho]]
}}

==Karabalghasun==
[[File:Ordu-baliq.jpg|thumb|[[Ordu-Baliq]], capital of the Uyghur Khaganate (745–840) in [[Mongolia]]]]

The Uyghurs created an empire with clear Persian influences, particularly in areas of government.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Azad |first1=Shirzad |title=Iran and China: A New Approach to Their Bilateral Relations |date=9 February 2017 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4985-4458-0 |page=34 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Mf_DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA34}}</ref> Soon after the empire was founded, they emulated sedentary states by establishing a permanent, settled capital, Karabalghasun ([[Ordu-Baliq]]), built on the site of the former [[Göktürks|Göktürk]] imperial capital, northwest of the later Mongol capital, [[Karakorum]]. The city was a fully fortified commercial center, typical along the Silk Road, with concentric walls and lookout towers, stables, military and commercial stores, and administrative buildings.  Certain areas of the town were allotted for trade and handcrafts, while in the center of the town were palaces and temples, including a monastery. The palace had fortified walls and two main gates, as well as moats filled with water and watchtowers.

The khaghan maintained his court there and decided the policies of the empire. With no fixed settlement, the [[Xiongnu]] had been limited in their acquisition of Chinese goods to what they could carry. As stated by Thomas Barfield, "the more goods a nomadic society acquired the less mobility it had, hence, at some point, one was more vulnerable trying to protect a rich treasure house by moving it than by fortifying it."{{sfn|Barfield|1989}}{{page needed|date=July 2022}} By building a fixed city, the Uyghurs created a protected storage space for trade goods from China.  They could hold a stable, fixed court, receive traders, and effectively cement their central role in Silk Road exchange.{{sfn|Barfield|1989}}{{page needed|date=July 2022}} However, the vulnerability that came with having a fixed city was to be the downfall of the Uyghurs.{{sfn|Sinor|1990}}

==List of Uyghur Khagans==
The following list is based on Yihong Pan's "Sui-Tang Foreign Policy: Four case studies".<ref>{{Cite thesis|last=Pan|first=Yihong|date=1990|title=Sui-Tang foreign policy: four case studies|publisher=University of British Columbia|language=en|doi=10.14288/1.0098752}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Personal Name
!Turkic title
!Chinese title
!Reign
|-
|[[Kutlug I Bilge Kagan|Kutlug Bilge Qaghan]] Yaoluoge Yibiaobi 
|[[Kutlug I Bilge Kagan|Qutlugh Bilge Köl Qaghan]]
|Huairen Khagan (懷仁可汗)
|744–747
|-
|[[Bayanchur Khan|Bayanchur Qaghan]] Yaoluoge Moyanchuo
|[[Bayanchur Khan|Tengrida Bolmish El Etmish Bilge Qaghan]]
|Yingwu Weiyuan Pijia Qaghan (英武威遠毗伽闕可汗)
|747–759
|-
|[[Bögü Qaghan|Bogu Qaghan]] Yaoluoge Yidijian
|[[Bögü Qaghan|Tengrida Qut Bolmish El Tutmish Alp Külüg Bilge Qaghan]]
|Yingyi Qaghan (英義可汗)
|759–780
|-
|[[Tun Baga Tarkhan]] Yaoluoge Dunmohe
|[[Tun Baga Tarkhan|Alp Qutlugh Bilge Qaghan]]
|Wuyi Chenggong Qaghan (武義成功可汗)
Changshou Tianqin Qaghan (長壽天親可汗)
|780–789
|-
|[[Külüg Qaghan|Kulug Bilge Qaghan]] Yaoluoge Duoluosi
|[[Külüg Qaghan|Külüg Bilge Qaghan]]
|Zhongzhen Qaghan (忠貞可汗)
|789–790
|-
|[[Qutluq Bilge Qaghan]] Yaoluoge Achuo
|[[Qutluq Bilge Qaghan]]
|Fengcheng Qaghan (奉誠可汗)
|790–795
|-
|[[Qutluq II|Qutluq II Bilge Qaghan]] Adie Guduolu, later
Yaoluoge Guduolu
|[[Qutluq II|Ay Tengride Ulugh Bolmish Alp Qutluq Külüg Bilge Qaghan]]
|Huaixin Qaghan (懷信可汗)
|795–808
|-
|[[Baoyi Qaghan]]
|[[Baoyi Qaghan|Ay Tengride Qut Bolmish Alp Bilge Qaghan]]
|Baoyi Qaghan (保義可汗)
|808–821
|-
|[[Chongde Qaghan]]
|[[Chongde Qaghan|Kün Tengride Ulugh Bolmish Küçlüg Bilge Qaghan]]
|Chonde Qaghan (崇德可汗)
|821–824
|-
|[[Zhaoli Qaghan]] 
|[[Zhaoli Qaghan|Ay Tengride Qut Bolmish Alp Bilge Qaghan]]
|Zhaoli Qaghan (昭禮可汗)
|824–833
|-
|[[Zhangxin Qaghan]] Yaoluoge Hu
|[[Zhangxin Qaghan|Ay Tengride Qut Bolmish Alp Külüg Bilge Qaghan]]
|Zhangxin Qaghan (彰信可汗)
|833–839
|-
|[[Qasar Qaghan]] (Usurper) Jueluowu or
Yaoluoge Hesa
|
|[[Qasar Qaghan]] (㕎馺特勒)
|839–840
|-
|[[Wujie Qaghan|Uge Qaghan]] Yaoluoge Wuxi
|
|Wujie Qaghan (烏介可汗)
|841–846
|-
|[[Enian Qaghan]] Yaoluoge E'nian
|
|[[Enian Qaghan]] (遏捻可汗)
|846–848
|}
[[Menglig Qaghan]] (r. 848–?), (personal name, Mang/Pang Te-qin 厖特勤), sovereign title: Ay Tengride Qut Bolmiş Alp Kutlugh Bilge Qaghan 溫祿登里邏汩沒密施合俱錄毗伽, Chinese title: Huaijian Qaghan 懷建可汗. He moved his political centre to the west.

==Genetics==
[[File:Balbal, 6th-10th cents., Burana, Kyrgyzstan (5).jpg|thumb|upright|Uyghur ''[[Kurgan stelae|Balbal]]'' stele. [[Burana, Kyrgyzstan|Burana]], [[Kyrgyzstan]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Swendseid |first1=Katrina |title=Turkic Stelae - Figures |journal=Turkic Stelae of Central and Inner Asia: 6th - 13th Centuries C.E. |date=1 January 2018 |page=Figure 34 |url=https://www.academia.edu/100926675}}</ref>]]
A 2020 study analyzed the genetic ancestry of 12 Uyghur Khaganate individuals c. 9th Century C.E. from [[Mongolia]]. The sample exhibited high (~60%) but variable [[West Eurasia]]n ancestry, modeled as a mixture of Indo-Iranian [[Alans]] and [[Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex]] ancestry. The sample also carried substantial (~40%) ancestry from an [[East Asia]]n source, closely related to the [[Slab Grave culture]]. The admixture between West and East Eurasian sources was estimated to have occurred around the year [[500 CE]].{{sfn|Jeong|2020|ps=: "The high genetic heterogeneity of the Early Medieval period is vividly exemplified by 12 individuals from the Uyghur period cemetery of Olon Dov (OLN; Figure 2) in the vicinity of the Uyghur capital of Ordu-Baliq. Six of these individuals came from a single tomb (grave 19), of whom only two are related (OLN002 and OLN003, second-degree; Table S2D); the absence of closer kinship ties raises questions about the function of such tombs and the social relationships of those buried within them. Most Uyghur-period individuals exhibit a high but variable degree of west Eurasian ancestry—best modeled as a mixture of Alans, a historic nomadic pastoral group likely descended from the Sarmatians and contemporaries of the Huns (Bachrach, 1973), and an Iranian-related (BMAC-related) ancestry—together with Ulaanzuukh_SlabGrave (ANA-related) ancestry (Figure 3E). The admixture dates estimated for the ancient Türkic and Uyghur individuals in this study correspond to ca. 500 CE: 8 ± 2 generations before the Türkic individuals and 12 ± 2 generations before the Uyghur individuals (represented by ZAA001 and Olon Dov individuals)."}}

Of the 5 Uyghur males analyzed, 4 (or 80%) carried the [[West Eurasian]] [[Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup|paternal haplogroup]] [[Haplogroup R1b]], while 1 (or 20%) carried the [[East Eurasia]]n haplogroup [[Haplogroup Q-M242|Q1a]]. Of the 12 [[Human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup|maternal haplogroups]] detected, 58% were of East Eurasian origin ([[haplogroup A (mtDNA)|A]], [[haplogroup B (mtDNA)|B]], [[haplogroup D (mtDNA)|D]], [[haplogroup G (mtDNA)|G]])  while 41% were of West Eurasian origin ([[haplogroup J (mtDNA)|J]] [[haplogroup T (mtDNA)|T]], [[haplogroup H (mtDNA)|H]]).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jeong |first1=Choongwon |title=A Dynamic 6,000-Year Genetic History of Eurasia's Eastern Steppe |journal=Cell |date=12 November 2020 |volume=183 |issue=4 |pages=890–904.e29 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2020.10.015 |pmid=33157037 |pmc=7664836 |issn=0092-8674}} Haplogroup information found in [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7664836/bin/mmc2.xlsx Table S2], S2C_SexHaplogroups, Supplementary Materials GUID: E914F9CE-9ED4-4E0F-9172-5A54A08E9F6B
</ref>

An Uyghur remain (GD1-3) analysed in a 2024 study was found to have carried primarily ancestry derived from [[Ancient Northeast Asian|Ancient Northeast Asians]] (c. 83% ±2–3%) with the remainder ancestry being derived from [[Western Steppe Herders]] ([[Sarmatians]]; c. 17% ±2–3%). The authors note that this is "providing a new piece of information on this understudied period".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lee |first=Juhyeon |last2=Sato |first2=Takehiro |last3=Tajima |first3=Atsushi |last4=Amgalantugs |first4=Tsend |last5=Tsogtbaatar |first5=Batmunkh |last6=Nakagome |first6=Shigeki |last7=Miyake |first7=Toshihiko |last8=Shiraishi |first8=Noriyuki |last9=Jeong |first9=Choongwon |last10=Gakuhari |first10=Takashi |date=1 March 2024 |title=Medieval genomes from eastern Mongolia share a stable genetic profile over a millennium |url=https://www.pivotscipub.com/hpgg/4/1/0004 |journal=Human Population Genetics and Genomics |language=en |volume=4 |issue=1 |doi=10.47248/hpgg2404010004 |issn=2770-5005 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Buddhist and Manichean Uyghur artifacts==
Below is a set of images of Buddhist and Manichean Uyghurs, found from the Bezeklik caves and Mogao grottoes.

{{gallery
|width=200
|File:Uighur woman from Bezeklik murals.jpg|Uyghur woman from the Bezeklik murals
|File:UighurPrincess.png|Uyghur princesses
|File:Uyghur Donors, 4th-century.jpg|Uyghur donors
|File:Uigure-bezeklik-17.jpg|Uyghur prince from the Bezeklik murals
|File:Uigure-bezeklik-19.jpg|Uyghur noble from the Bezeklik murals
}}

==See also==
{{History of the Turks pre-14th century}}
{{History of Mongolia}}
{{History of Kazakhstan}}
* [[History of Turkic people]]
* [[History of the Uyghur people]]
* [[An Lushan Rebellion]]
* [[Ethnic groups in Chinese history]]
* [[Guo Ziyi]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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*{{citation|last=Wang|first=Zhenping|year=2013|title=Tang China in Multi-Polar Asia: A History of Diplomacy and War|publisher=University of Hawaii Press}}
*{{citation|last = Xiong |first= Victor |year = 2008 |title = Historical Dictionary of Medieval China |publisher = Scarecrow Press, Inc. |location = United States of America |isbn = 978-0810860537}}
*{{citation|last=Xue|first=Zongzheng|year=1992|title=Turkic peoples|publisher=中国社会科学出版社}}

==Further reading==
*Jiu Tangshu ({{lang|zh-hant|舊唐書}}) [[Old Book of Tang]] [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E8%88%8A%E5%94%90%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7195 Chapter 195] (in Chinese)
*Xin Tangshu ({{lang|zh-hant|新唐書}}) [[New Book of Tang]], chapter 217,  [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%96%B0%E5%94%90%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7217%E4%B8%8A part 1] and [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%96%B0%E5%94%90%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7217%E4%B8%8B part 2] (in Chinese).  Translation in English here [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/tangshu/tangshu.html] (most of part 1 and beginning of part 2).
*[https://archive.org/details/diechinesischei00schlgoog Die chinesische Inschrift auf dem uigurischen Denkmal in Kara Balgassun (1896)]
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{{Empires}}

[[Category:Uyghur Khaganate| ]]
[[Category:Turkic peoples of Asia]]
[[Category:Former countries in Chinese history]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of Asia]]
[[Category:744 establishments]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 740s]]
[[Category:847 disestablishments]]
[[Category:Khanates]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 9th century]]
[[Category:Former empires]]