Uigur Kaganate

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Uigur Kaganate is a traditional name for the descendent state that revived the core portion of the Great Türkic Kaganate (552-743) after its desintegration in the 740es AD. The revived Kaganate received its name because the Uigur tribal confederation seized a dominant position in the restored Kaganate. The Uigur Kaganate lasted for a hundred years, until its antagonism with its northern neighbor, Yenisei Kyrgyz Kaganate, brought a crushing military defeat on the Uigur Kaganate in the 840 AD^[1].

In the literature, the name Uigur has a number of differing spellings, mostly connected with variations in the language of research. Uigur is variously spelled Uygur, Uighur, and Uyghur. The word means "Confederation of Eight Tribes", and is synonimous with the name Tokuz-Oguz. In the Türkic inscriptions the name Tokuz-Oguz is used for the subdued Uigurs, and the resisting are called Uigurs, pointing to semantical nuances between the two names^[2]. Etymologically, Türkic "tokuz" = eight, and "gur" = tribe. In Chinese, the ancient Uigurs were called Chi-Di, meaning "Red Di", they were one of the Tele tribes that migrated in the 4th c. from Khesi northward. Chinese also used names Hoy-Hu and Üan-Ga to designate Uigurs or their components^[3].

[edit] References

1. ^ Gumilev L.N., "Ancient Turks", Moscow, 'Science', 1967
2. ^ Gumilev L.N., "Ancient Turks", Moscow, 'Science', 1967, Ch.27 http://gumilevica.kulichki.net/OT/ot27.htm
3. ^ Gumilev L.N., "Hunnu in China", Moscow, 'Science', 1974, http://gumilevica.kulichki.net/hph/hph16.htm