Nushibi
Encyclopedia
Nushibi was a Chinese collective name for five tribes of the right (western) wing in the Western Turkic Kaganate, and members of On oq (Turkic ten arrows) confederation found in the literature about the Western Turkic Kaganate as Ten arrows (ten tribes) Türks. The references to Nushibi appeared in Chinese sources in 651 and disappeared after 766. The Nushibi tribes occupied the lands of the Western Turkic Kaganate west of the river Ili
. The Chinese annals recorded that the first in the list of tribes of right wing was listed Ashtak tribe of Ulug-ok (Turkic Great tribe), a conjugal tribe of the Kagans from the Kaganate western branch, who belonged to the "celestial-blue" tribe Ashina
. In the Kaganate, the position of Yabgu (Chinese Pinyin "Sihou"), and Katun (Kagan's wife) belonged to the members of the Ulug-ok tribe. Two other members of the Nushibi wing were Turgesh
tribes Alishi and Sakla-baga (Chinese Pinyin
Soge Mohe), with a common appellation Halach (Kalach) for the two-tribe composition, known from the Chinese, Arabic, and Turkic sources. Two more tribes were the descendents of the Eastern "weak Huns" (Ch. Yueban) - Chumuhun
and Chuban.
Etymology of the term Nushibi comes from the Turkic name for the "right wing" on shadapyt, "nushibi" is a colloquial pronunciation in modern Han dialect of the Chinese hieroglyphs for "right wing", modern Chinese Nu-shibi < 'nou siet - piet < Turkic ong shadapyt.
After the split of the First Turkic Kaganate in 604, the Western Turkic Kaganate was initially reorganized as a "ten arrows" Onoq confederation with Nushibi 5-tribe right wing dominating over the left wing of the Dulu (Tele
) group of five tribes. Both Nushibi and Dulu (Dulo) belonged to the Turkic tribes of the Chuy
group, and spoke close dialects.
The transfer of supremacy from the Dulu group to Nushibi had outcome revebrating across Erasian continent. Nushibi controlled, and benefited, from the operation of their section of the transcontinental trade road (Silk Road
), and were in alliance with Sogdiana
, a chain of small oasis principalities who were also members of the Western Turkic Khaganate, and served as main operators of the Silk Road. Nushibi interest in the Silk Road operation brought them, in addition to the Sogdians, into a coalition with Byzantine
and China
, two other superpowers interested in the east-west trade. In the west, the coalition included Khazars in the N. Caucasus, and Bulgars in the N. Pontic steppes. This alignment was opposed a coalition of two other powers, Persia and Eastern Turkic Kaganate, which brought about the first world wars of the 7th century Early Middle Ages.
Nushibi interests in the Western Turkic Kaganate were advanced by the Kagan Tun-djabgu-khan
(Djabgu = dialect. Yabgu
), known from the Armenian annals as "King of the North". The capital was located north of Chach (modern Tashkent
) oasis. The period of Nushibi dominance was interrupted in 628 by a joined revolt of Karluks and Dulu tribes, and a cosequent death of Tun-djabgu-kagan from the hands of his uncle. In the interregnum, led by his uncle with a title Külüg Sibir-Khan, the Dulu fraction restored its former dominating position. The coup brought a considerable upshot, in 630 Sibir-Khan had to grant Bulgarians their independence and allow them reorganize as what became known as Great Bulgaria. Nushibi opposition to the usurper was headed by Nishu-Kana-shad, a ruler with a seat in Paykend (Paikent), who ruled Bukhara
province. Sibir-Khan was killed in 631, and Nushibi istalled their choice, son of Tun-djabgu-kagan with a title Irbis Bolun djabgu-khan, who received a derisive nickname Sydjabgu (Turkic treacherous), and was known to western contemporaries as Sinjibu and Silzibul but soon had to replace him with Nishu-Kana-shad under a name Dulu-khan (632-634), probably to apease the northern Dulu tribes. The next succession followed the traditional lateral succession
order, a younger brother of Nishu was enthroned with a title Yshbara Tolis-shad (634-639), he enacted a major reform by consenting to the Dulu and Nushibi wings' autonomy and native leadership, not drawn from the Ashina clan. The order, favorable to the Dulu and Nushibi, was hurtful to the Karluks, Yagma
, Kipchaks
, Basmals, and worse of all to the descendents of the Eastern Huns
- Chuüe
, Chumi
and Shato, they were especially anguished because their kins Chumuhun
and Chuban
were in the privileged Nushibi wing.
treaty. The independence period lasted until the rise of the Second Turkic Kaganate. In 667 the Nushibi wing of the On oq allied with Tibet. At about 720, a campaign led by Kul Tegin defeated the forces of the Nushibi tribal union led by the Ezgil
(Izgil) tribe, and subjugated the former "eastern wing", which from that time disappeared from the literature. The epizode of the military campaign is mentioned in the Bilge Kagan inscription in the Orkhon
written monuments.
1. Ezgil
Kül-erkin;
2. Kashu Kül-erkin;;
3. Barskhan Tun-ashpa [ra]-erkin;;
4. Ezgil
Nizuk-erkin;;
5. Kashu Chopan-erkin.
The first word of the title is the name of the Nushibi tribe. Ezgil/Ezgel
tribe was a "strongest" of them, its leader in the 563 sent ambassadors to the distant Constantinople.
of the Turfan basin. Nushibi occupied lands south of Dulu, controlled a major stretch of the caravan road artery and numerous branches, and were profoundly affected by its operation. The constellation of oasis city-states with a common name Sogdiana, whose merchants were the main trade operators, spoke a Turkic language, and established a symbiotic relationship with their Nushibi nomadic sponsors. Lev Gumilev noted that Dulu and Nushibi language was a "djo"-type dialect (djabgu), as opposed to the "yo"-type dialect (yabgu). The "djo"-type dialect belongs to the Ogur (Karluk) branch of the Turkic language family.
Ili
-Acronyms:* ILI: I Laugh Inside* Integrating Lifestyle Innovations, a home automation company specialising in the design and supply of systems in New Zealand to the world.* Irish Life International, part of Irish Life and Permanent...
. The Chinese annals recorded that the first in the list of tribes of right wing was listed Ashtak tribe of Ulug-ok (Turkic Great tribe), a conjugal tribe of the Kagans from the Kaganate western branch, who belonged to the "celestial-blue" tribe Ashina
Ashina
Ashina was a tribe and the ruling dynasty of the ancient Turks who rose to prominence in the mid-6th century when their leader, Bumin Khan, revolted against the Rouran...
. In the Kaganate, the position of Yabgu (Chinese Pinyin "Sihou"), and Katun (Kagan's wife) belonged to the members of the Ulug-ok tribe. Two other members of the Nushibi wing were Turgesh
Turgesh
The Türgesh, Turgish or Türgish were a Turkic tribal confederation who emerged from the ruins of the Western Turkic Kaganate...
tribes Alishi and Sakla-baga (Chinese Pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
Soge Mohe), with a common appellation Halach (Kalach) for the two-tribe composition, known from the Chinese, Arabic, and Turkic sources. Two more tribes were the descendents of the Eastern "weak Huns" (Ch. Yueban) - Chumuhun
Chumuhun
Chuban "Weak Huns" was the name used by Chinese historians for the Chuy tribes: Chuyue, Chumi, Chumuhun, and Chuban. They were also collectively named Chuyue . The present endoethnonym of the Chuy descendents is Chuy Kiji, Turkic for "Chuy People"...
and Chuban.
Etymology of the term Nushibi comes from the Turkic name for the "right wing" on shadapyt, "nushibi" is a colloquial pronunciation in modern Han dialect of the Chinese hieroglyphs for "right wing", modern Chinese Nu-shibi < 'nou siet - piet < Turkic ong shadapyt.
Western Turkic Kaganate
Main article Western Turkic KaganateWestern Turkic Khaganate
The Western Turkic Khaganate was formed as a result of the internecine wars in the beginning of the 7th century after the Göktürk Khaganate had splintered into two politiesEastern and Western.The Western Turks initially sought friendly relations with the Byzantine Empire in order to expand their...
After the split of the First Turkic Kaganate in 604, the Western Turkic Kaganate was initially reorganized as a "ten arrows" Onoq confederation with Nushibi 5-tribe right wing dominating over the left wing of the Dulu (Tele
Tiele
Tiele may refer to:*Tiele people, an ancient people of Central Asia*Tiele, Mali, commune and town*Cornelis Petrus Tiele...
) group of five tribes. Both Nushibi and Dulu (Dulo) belonged to the Turkic tribes of the Chuy
Chuy
Chuy is a town in the extreme east of Uruguay, in the Rocha Department, northeast of Montevideo. It lies on the border with Brazil, separated from its Brazilian sister town of Chui only by a shared avenue that serves as the border, and by the Arroyo Chuy to the east...
group, and spoke close dialects.
The transfer of supremacy from the Dulu group to Nushibi had outcome revebrating across Erasian continent. Nushibi controlled, and benefited, from the operation of their section of the transcontinental trade road (Silk Road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
), and were in alliance with Sogdiana
Sogdiana
Sogdiana or Sogdia was the ancient civilization of an Iranian people and a province of the Achaemenid Empire, eighteenth in the list on the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great . Sogdiana is "listed" as the second of the "good lands and countries" that Ahura Mazda created...
, a chain of small oasis principalities who were also members of the Western Turkic Khaganate, and served as main operators of the Silk Road. Nushibi interest in the Silk Road operation brought them, in addition to the Sogdians, into a coalition with Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, two other superpowers interested in the east-west trade. In the west, the coalition included Khazars in the N. Caucasus, and Bulgars in the N. Pontic steppes. This alignment was opposed a coalition of two other powers, Persia and Eastern Turkic Kaganate, which brought about the first world wars of the 7th century Early Middle Ages.
Nushibi interests in the Western Turkic Kaganate were advanced by the Kagan Tun-djabgu-khan
Tong Yabghu
Tong Yabghu Qaghan was khagan of the Western Turkic Khaganate from 618 to 628 AD...
(Djabgu = dialect. Yabgu
Yabgu
Yabgu was a state office in the early Turkic states, roughly equivalent to viceroy...
), known from the Armenian annals as "King of the North". The capital was located north of Chach (modern Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
) oasis. The period of Nushibi dominance was interrupted in 628 by a joined revolt of Karluks and Dulu tribes, and a cosequent death of Tun-djabgu-kagan from the hands of his uncle. In the interregnum, led by his uncle with a title Külüg Sibir-Khan, the Dulu fraction restored its former dominating position. The coup brought a considerable upshot, in 630 Sibir-Khan had to grant Bulgarians their independence and allow them reorganize as what became known as Great Bulgaria. Nushibi opposition to the usurper was headed by Nishu-Kana-shad, a ruler with a seat in Paykend (Paikent), who ruled Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
province. Sibir-Khan was killed in 631, and Nushibi istalled their choice, son of Tun-djabgu-kagan with a title Irbis Bolun djabgu-khan, who received a derisive nickname Sydjabgu (Turkic treacherous), and was known to western contemporaries as Sinjibu and Silzibul but soon had to replace him with Nishu-Kana-shad under a name Dulu-khan (632-634), probably to apease the northern Dulu tribes. The next succession followed the traditional lateral succession
Order of succession
An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death, resignation, or removal of its current occupant.-Monarchies and nobility:...
order, a younger brother of Nishu was enthroned with a title Yshbara Tolis-shad (634-639), he enacted a major reform by consenting to the Dulu and Nushibi wings' autonomy and native leadership, not drawn from the Ashina clan. The order, favorable to the Dulu and Nushibi, was hurtful to the Karluks, Yagma
Yagma
The Yagma were a medieval tribe of Turks whose members are among the ancestors of modern Uigurs and Uzbeks. Yagma is one of the Turkic tribes that came to the forefront of history after the disintegration of the Western Turkic Kaganate. They were one component of a three-member confederation known...
, Kipchaks
Kipchaks
Kipchaks were a Turkic tribal confederation...
, Basmals, and worse of all to the descendents of the Eastern Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
- Chuüe
Chumuhun
Chuban "Weak Huns" was the name used by Chinese historians for the Chuy tribes: Chuyue, Chumi, Chumuhun, and Chuban. They were also collectively named Chuyue . The present endoethnonym of the Chuy descendents is Chuy Kiji, Turkic for "Chuy People"...
, Chumi
Chumuhun
Chuban "Weak Huns" was the name used by Chinese historians for the Chuy tribes: Chuyue, Chumi, Chumuhun, and Chuban. They were also collectively named Chuyue . The present endoethnonym of the Chuy descendents is Chuy Kiji, Turkic for "Chuy People"...
and Shato, they were especially anguished because their kins Chumuhun
Chumuhun
Chuban "Weak Huns" was the name used by Chinese historians for the Chuy tribes: Chuyue, Chumi, Chumuhun, and Chuban. They were also collectively named Chuyue . The present endoethnonym of the Chuy descendents is Chuy Kiji, Turkic for "Chuy People"...
and Chuban
Chumuhun
Chuban "Weak Huns" was the name used by Chinese historians for the Chuy tribes: Chuyue, Chumi, Chumuhun, and Chuban. They were also collectively named Chuyue . The present endoethnonym of the Chuy descendents is Chuy Kiji, Turkic for "Chuy People"...
were in the privileged Nushibi wing.
Independence
In 647 the Western Turkic Kaganate was split into two independent states as a result of Ili RiverIli River
thumb|right|300px|Map of the Lake Balkhash drainage basin showing the Ili River and its tributariesThe Ili River is a river in northwestern China and southeastern Kazakhstan .It is long, of which is in Kazakhstan...
treaty. The independence period lasted until the rise of the Second Turkic Kaganate. In 667 the Nushibi wing of the On oq allied with Tibet. At about 720, a campaign led by Kul Tegin defeated the forces of the Nushibi tribal union led by the Ezgil
Esegel
Esegels were a, possibly,Turkic dynastic tribe that in the Middle Ages joined the Itil Bulgaria state and were assimilated to Bulgars; or was possibly a Bulgar tribe all along, as mentioned by Ibn Fadlan...
(Izgil) tribe, and subjugated the former "eastern wing", which from that time disappeared from the literature. The epizode of the military campaign is mentioned in the Bilge Kagan inscription in the Orkhon
Orkhon
Orkhon may refer to:* Orkhon River, Mongolia* Orkhon Valley, the landscape around that river* Orkhon Province, an Aimag in Mongolia* several Sums in different Mongolian Aimags:** Orkhon, Bulgan** Orkhon, Selenge...
written monuments.
Nushibi Tribal Leaders
Reconstructed partial list of tribal leaders of the on shadapyt right wing, recorded in the Chinese sources:1. Ezgil
Esegel
Esegels were a, possibly,Turkic dynastic tribe that in the Middle Ages joined the Itil Bulgaria state and were assimilated to Bulgars; or was possibly a Bulgar tribe all along, as mentioned by Ibn Fadlan...
Kül-erkin;
2. Kashu Kül-erkin;;
3. Barskhan Tun-ashpa [ra]-erkin;;
4. Ezgil
Esegel
Esegels were a, possibly,Turkic dynastic tribe that in the Middle Ages joined the Itil Bulgaria state and were assimilated to Bulgars; or was possibly a Bulgar tribe all along, as mentioned by Ibn Fadlan...
Nizuk-erkin;;
5. Kashu Chopan-erkin.
The first word of the title is the name of the Nushibi tribe. Ezgil/Ezgel
Esegel
Esegels were a, possibly,Turkic dynastic tribe that in the Middle Ages joined the Itil Bulgaria state and were assimilated to Bulgars; or was possibly a Bulgar tribe all along, as mentioned by Ibn Fadlan...
tribe was a "strongest" of them, its leader in the 563 sent ambassadors to the distant Constantinople.
Ethnic and linguistic affiliation
The difference between Nushibi and Dulu groups was solely economical, a consequence of their relative geographical location. Dulu occupied northern portion of the Middle Asia steppes, away from the main artery of the Silk Road, and were little affected by the intracontinental trade. The main source of Dulu trade income came from TurfanGaochang
Gaochang is the site of an ancient oasis city built on the northern rim of the inhospitable Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang, China. A busy trading center, it was a stopping point for merchant traders traveling on the Silk Road...
of the Turfan basin. Nushibi occupied lands south of Dulu, controlled a major stretch of the caravan road artery and numerous branches, and were profoundly affected by its operation. The constellation of oasis city-states with a common name Sogdiana, whose merchants were the main trade operators, spoke a Turkic language, and established a symbiotic relationship with their Nushibi nomadic sponsors. Lev Gumilev noted that Dulu and Nushibi language was a "djo"-type dialect (djabgu), as opposed to the "yo"-type dialect (yabgu). The "djo"-type dialect belongs to the Ogur (Karluk) branch of the Turkic language family.