Bilge Khagan
Bilge Khagan        | |
|---|---|
| Khagan of the Turkic Khaganate | |
| Reign | 717–734 |
| Predecessor | Inel Khagan |
| Successor | Yiran Khagan |
| Born | 683 or 684 |
| Died | 25 November 734 |
| Spouse | Po Beg |
| Issue |
Yollıg Khagan Tengli Khagan |
| House | House of Ashina |
| Father | Ilterish Khagan |
| Mother | Ilbilge Khatun |
| Religion | Tengrism |
Bilge Khagan (Old Turkic: , Bilge qaγan)[1] (683 or 684 – 25 November 734) was the khagan of the Second Turkic Khaganate. His accomplishments were described in the Orkhon inscriptions.
Names
As was the custom, his personal name and the name after assuming the title Khagan were different. His personal name was : 阿史那默棘連, Ashǐnà mòjílián, a-shih-na mo-chi-lan) . His name after assuming the title was Bilge Khagan (or Bilge Qhagan). (Old Turkic: 𐰋𐰃𐰠𐰏𐰀 𐰴𐰍𐰣, Bilge qaγan,[1] 毗伽可汗, Pinyin: píjiā kěhàn, Wade–Giles: p'i-chia k'o-han, official title: 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃𐱅𐰏 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃𐰓𐰀 𐰉𐰆𐰞𐰢𐱁 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜 𐰋𐰃𐰠𐰏𐰀 𐰴𐰍𐰣, Teŋіriteg Тeŋiride bolmuš Türük Bilge qaγan,[2] His wife was Po Beg, Tonyukuk's daughter. "Bilge" meaning "wise" or "one who has wisdom" in Turkic languages. Khagan (Kağan) is a title for ruler (like king, earl, etc.). "Bilge", as is the case with many pure Turkic names, is a unisex name. Even in today's Turkey, Bilge continues to be adopted both as a male and female name. Kağan or Kaan, however, is used only as a male name in contemporary Turkish.
As a khagan
In 716, Kapaghan Khagan the second khaghan of the khaganate was killed in his campaign against Toquz Oghuz and his severed head was sent to Chang'an.[3] Although his son Inel Qaghan succeeded him, the legal claimant of the throne was his cousin Ashǐnà mòjílián. Mojilan's brother Kul Tigin and Tonyukuk carried out a coup d'état against Inel Qaghan. They killed Inel Qaghan and made Mojilan a khagan with the name Bilge Qaghan.[3] His name literally means "wise king".
Bilge's khaganate spanned vast steppes from the Caspian Sea to Manchuria; he also invaded the western sections of the Chinese territories. After his death from poisoning, several stelae were erected in the capital area by the Orkhon River. These Orkhon inscriptions are the first known texts in the Old Turkic language. He was poisoned by Buyruk Chor[4] (梅錄啜/梅录啜, méilù chuò, mei-lu-ch'o). He didn't die immediately and he had time to punish the family of Buyruk Chor with death.[3]
Sources
References
Encyclopædia Britannica, Micropaedia, Vol. II, pp. 16–17
Illustrations
External links
| Bilge Khagan | ||
| Preceded by Inel Khagan |
Khagan of the Second Eastern Turkic Khaganate 717–734 |
Succeeded by Yollıg Khagan |
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