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MongoliaRise of the Türk
Northern Wei was disintegrating rapidly because of revolts of
semi-tribal Toba military forces that were opposed to being
sinicized, when disaster struck the flourishing Ruruan Empire.
The Türk, a vassal people, known as Tujue to Chinese chroniclers,
revolted against their Ruruan rulers. The uprising began in the
Altai Mountains, where many of the Türk were serfs working the
iron mines. Thus, from the outset of their revolt, they had the
advantage of controlling what had been one of the major bases of
Ruruan power. Between 546 and 553, the Türks overthrew the Ruruan
and established themselves as the most powerful force in North
Asia and Inner Asia. This was the beginning of a pattern of
conquest that was to have a significant effect upon Eurasian
history for more than 1,000 years. The Türk were the first people
to use this later wide-spread name. They are also the earliest
Inner Asian people whose language is known, because they left
behind Orkhon inscriptions in a runic-like script, which was
deciphered in 1896.
It was not long before the tribes in the region north of the
Gobi--the Eastern Türk--were following invasion routes into China
used in previous centuries by Xiongnu, Xianbei, Toba, and Ruruan.
Like their predecessors who had inhabited the mountains and the
steppes, the attention of the Türk quickly was attracted by the
wealth of China. At first these new raiders encountered little
resistance, but toward the end of the sixth century, as China
slowly began to recover from centuries of disunity, border
defenses stiffened. The original Türk state split into eastern
and western parts, with some of the Eastern Türk acknowledging
Chinese overlordship.
For a brief period at the beginning of the seventh century, a
new consolidation of the Türk, under the Western Türk ruler
Tardu, again threatened China. In 601 Tardu's army besieged
Chang'an (modern Xi'an), then the capital of China. Tardu was
turned back, however, and, upon his death two years later, the
Türk state again fragmented. The Eastern Türk nonetheless
continued their depredations, occasionally threatening Chang'an.
Data as of June 1989
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