nomadic confederation · Central Asia and the Steppe

Karluk Yabgu

756 CE – 840 CE (approx.) · capital Suyab

A Turkic confederation that fought beside the Arabs at Talas and seized Suyab, preparing the ground for the Kara-Khanid Khanate.

Origins

The Karluks lived in the Altai and joined the Uyghurs and Basmyls in overthrowing the Second Turkic Khaganate in 744. Driven west by the Uyghur Khaganate, they moved to the Zhetysu region, and in 751 their defection to the Abbasid side helped decide the Battle of Talas against Tang China.

Rule and society

Led by a yabghu, the Karluks took Suyab and the lands of the Turgesh Khaganate by 766, ruling a mix of nomadic tribes and the Sogdian towns of the Chu valley. They controlled Silk Road routes between Transoxiana and the Tarim, and Muslim geographers describe them as rich in livestock and towns. Some groups converted to Islam early.

Decline and legacy

After the Uyghur Khaganate fell in 840, the Karluk leader Bilge Kul Qadir Khan proclaimed himself khagan, an event many historians take as the founding of the Kara-Khanid Khanate, which absorbed the Karluk lands.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

Turgesh Khaganate 699 CE – 766 CEKarluk YabguKara-Khanid Khanate 840 CE – 1042 CE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Karluk Yabgu. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/karluk-yabgu
MLA
“Karluk Yabgu.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/karluk-yabgu. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Karluk Yabgu.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/karluk-yabgu.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Karluk Yabgu’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/karluk-yabgu (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻