Ashina leader Bumin Qaghan overthrew Rouran dominance and proclaimed a new steppe empire centered on Ötüken, conventionally dated to 552. This is the starting point for the Göktürk imperial tradition later revived in the Second Turkic Khaganate.
Under Muqan Qaghan (r. 553–572), the First Turkic Khaganate strengthened its supremacy on the steppe and secured frontiers through campaigns and alliances, turning the Göktürks into a major Inner Asian imperial power.
A Sasanian–Göktürk alliance defeated the Hephthalites in a decisive mid-6th-century confrontation (often dated c. 563), contributing to the breakup of Hephthalite power and reshaping control of Transoxiana and Silk Road routes.
In 568, an embassy associated with Istämi (Istemi) reached Constantinople, seeking trade and alliance arrangements that would bypass Sasanian intermediaries—an important milestone in Göktürk participation in westward diplomacy along the Silk Road.
The death of Taspar Qaghan in 581 led to contested succession and factional rivalry, weakening central authority and setting conditions for the long civil conflicts that fractured the First Turkic Khaganate.
Amid prolonged internal conflict, the Göktürk realm increasingly separated into western and eastern spheres; many overviews date the institutionalized split to the early 7th century (commonly 603), producing the Western and Eastern Turkic Khaganates as distinct political formations.
On 630-03-27, Tang general Li Jing defeated Eastern Turkic forces near the Yin Mountains. The victory and subsequent capture of Illig Qaghan marked the collapse of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate and a major expansion of Tang influence into the steppe.
In 657, Tang general Su Dingfang defeated Western Turkic ruler Ashina Helu at the Battle of the Irtysh River, ending effective Western Turkic independence and strengthening Tang control and protectorate structures across Xinjiang and Central Asia.
After revolts against Tang authority, Ilterish (Elteriš) Qaghan founded the Second Turkic Khaganate (traditionally dated to 682), restoring a steppe-centered polity rooted in the Ashina dynasty and the Ötüken region.
The Tonyukuk monuments—key Old Turkic texts narrating early Second Khaganate history and ideology—are generally dated to the early 8th century, with estimates placing their erection between 716 and 734.
The Kül Tigin inscription, part of the Orkhon inscriptions complex, was erected in 732. It is among the earliest major written records in Old Turkic and a central source for the politics and self-representation of the Second Turkic Khaganate.
The Bilge Qaghan inscription was erected in 735, complementing the Kül Tigin text and presenting a programmatic account of rulership, unity, and the dangers of dependence on China—foundational evidence for early Turkic political thought.
In 744, a coalition led by the Uyghurs (with other steppe groups) overthrew the Second Turkic Khaganate and took control of the Ötüken region, clearing the way for the rise of the Uyghur Khaganate.
Göktürk and Early Turkic Khaganates (552–740 CE)
