khanate · Central Asia and the Steppe

Turgesh Khaganate

699 CE – 766 CE (approx.) · capital Suyab

A Turkic khaganate of the Chu and Ili valleys that led the steppe resistance to the Arab conquest of Transoxiana.

Origins

The Turgesh were one of the tribes of the On Oq confederation of the Western Turkic Khaganate. Their chief Wuzhile took Suyab around 699 as the Western Turkic state collapsed, and his son Saqal succeeded him before being killed by the Second Turkic Khaganate in 711.

Rule and society

Under Suluk, who rose around 716, the Turgesh became a major power, allied with the Tibetan Empire and the Sogdian princes against the Umayyads. Arab sources call him Abu Muzahim, 'the one who jostles'. He routed an Arab army on the 'Day of Thirst' in 724, inflicted heavy losses on another at the Battle of the Defile in 731, and sustained a court at Suyab and Talas on Sogdian trade.

Decline and legacy

Suluk was murdered in 738 after a defeat at Kharistan, and civil war between the Yellow and Black Turgesh factions followed. Tang China intervened, and by 766 the Karluk Yabgu had taken Suyab and the Turgesh lands.

Lineage

Western Turkic Khaganate 603 CE – 742 CETurgesh KhaganateKarluk Yabgu 756 CE – 840 CE

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻