kingdom · Central Asia and the Steppe

Turk Shahis

665 CE – 822 CE (approx.) · capital Kabul

A Turkic dynasty that ruled Kabul and Gandhara for over 150 years, blocking the Arab advance into the Indian subcontinent.

Origins

Around 665 a Turkic dynasty, probably linked to the Western Turkic Khaganate and Tokharistan, replaced the Nezak Huns in Kabul and Kapisa. Its founder Barha Tegin claimed a long descent, and al-Biruni later recorded traditions of a line of sixty kings.

Rule and society

The Turk Shahis ruled a largely Buddhist and Hindu population from Kabul, and later also Gandhara, issuing coins with Bactrian and Brahmi legends. They received Tang Chinese titles; Tegin Shah was recognised in the 720s. Allied with the Zunbils to the south, they repeatedly fought off Arab armies from Sistan and Khurasan.

Decline and legacy

In the early 9th century the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun forced the last Turk Shahi king to submit and convert, and soon after, around 822, the Brahmin minister Kallar overthrew the dynasty, founding the Hindu Shahis.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

Nezak Huns 484 CE – 665 CETurk ShahisHindu Shahis 822 CE – 1026 CE

Connections (1)

Turk Shahis paid tribute to Abbasid Caliphate815 CE – 822 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Turk Shahis. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/turk-shahis
MLA: “Turk Shahis.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/turk-shahis. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Turk Shahis.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/turk-shahis.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Turk Shahis’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/turk-shahis (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻