Toquz Oghuz
The Toquz Oghuz, also known as the Nine Oghuz, was a confederation of nine Turkic tribes that formed around the 630s–640s CE within the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, primarily along the Selenga River in present-day Mongolia.[1] This alliance, whose name derives from Turkic terms signifying "nine arrows" symbolizing unity, included tribes such as the Uyghur, Pugu, Hun, Bayegu, Tonglu, Sijie, Qibi, Abusi, and Gulunwugu, as recorded in Chinese sources.[2] The confederation emerged amid the division and internal conflicts of the broader Turkic Khaganate, serving as a political and military entity under nominal Tang Dynasty influence while navigating vassalage, taxation disputes, and border skirmishes.[1] The Uyghur tribe rapidly ascended to dominance within the Toquz Oghuz, holding key administrative titles like tutuq (commander), säqün (advisor), and simä (administrator), and by the mid-8th century, it led the confederation in overthrowing the Eastern Turkic Khaganate to establish the Uyghur Khaganate in 744 CE.[2] This shift marked a period of relative stability and expansion for the group, though internal disunity and pressures from neighboring powers like the Karluks and Uyghurs prompted significant westward migrations beginning in the mid-8th century, from Mongolia toward Central Asia's Semirechye and Syr Darya regions.[1] By the late 8th century, elements of the Oghuz had reached the borders of the Islamic world, with records from 775–783 CE noting their involvement in conflicts and conversions to Islam.[3] Over time, the Toquz Oghuz evolved into a larger Oghuz tribal union, expanding to 24 tribes (divided into 12 Bozok and 12 Üçok branches) by the 11th century, as described by medieval scholars like Mahmud al-Kashgari.[1] These migrations, driven by warfare, resource scarcity, and alliances, carried the Oghuz into the Caucasus, Iran, and Anatolia, where they contributed to the rise of dynasties such as the Seljuks and, ultimately, the Ottoman Empire, profoundly shaping Eurasian history through their nomadic traditions and military prowess.[3] The confederation's legacy endures in the ethnogenesis of various Turkic peoples, including modern Turkmen and related groups.[1]Etymology
Name and Meaning
The term "Toquz Oghuz" is the self-designation employed in Old Turkic inscriptions and Uyghur historical sources to refer to the confederation, highlighting its organizational structure based on nine primary clans.[1] In Old Turkic, "toquz" directly translates to "nine," denoting the core number of tribes within this alliance. The component "Oghuz" designates a Turkic tribal group or community, derived from "og" (tribe or kin) and the collective suffix "uz," meaning "union of tribes."[1] An alternative etymology traces it to the Proto-Turkic word *ok, meaning "arrow" or "clan," extended metaphorically to symbolize the unity and collective strength of allied clans, akin to arrows bound together in a quiver, reflecting the ceremonial significance of arrows in ancient Turkic culture.[4]) In Tang dynasty Chinese records, the confederation was designated as Jiu xing (九姓), literally "Nine Clans" or "Nine Surnames," serving as a calque that directly mirrors the Turkic name's emphasis on the nine-clan framework.[5]Historical Designations
In Tang dynasty Chinese records, the leading tribe within the Toquz Oghuz confederation was designated as Huihe (回紇), a transliteration reflecting their prominence, while the alliance as a whole was termed Jiuxing (九姓), a calque meaning "Nine Surnames" or "Nine Clans," underscoring its tribal composition.[6] This nomenclature appears consistently in official annals like the Old Book of Tang, where the Toquz Oghuz are described as a Tiele subgroup allied with or subordinate to the Eastern Turkic Khaganate.[7] The indigenous Old Turkic sources, particularly the Orkhon inscriptions from the 8th century, directly employ the term Toquz Oghuz to denote the nine-tribe union, portraying it as a subject people (bodun) within the Turkic realm, often alongside references to related groups like the Üč Oghuz.[8] These runic texts, erected by the Second Turkic Khaganate rulers, highlight the confederation's role in eastern Inner Asia without the numerical calque seen in Chinese accounts, emphasizing its Turkic ethnic and political cohesion.[9] Following the collapse of the Uyghur Khaganate in 840 CE, post-9th century Persian and Arabic sources increasingly conflated the Toquz Oghuz with the migrating western Oghuz branches, referring to them collectively under terms like Guz or Ghuzz (غز), which encompassed both eastern remnants and the new steppe polities in the Aral Sea region and beyond.[8] Muslim geographers such as al-Istakhrī and Ibn Ḥawqal described these groups as nomadic warriors raiding Transoxiana, blurring distinctions between the original eastern alliance and the expanded Oghuz yabghu state, often without specifying the "nine" tribes.[1] In later Uyghur-language texts from the 10th to 14th centuries, produced in the Turfan and Qočo regions, the nomenclature shifted to foreground imperial heritage, with self-references as Uyghur deriving from the confederation's core tribe but invoking Toquz Oghuz legacies to assert continuity with the khaganate's prestige and administrative traditions.[10] These Manichaean, Buddhist, and administrative documents, such as royal edicts and chronicles, used the term to legitimize post-nomadic Uyghur identity amid sedentarization, distinguishing it from the western Oghuz while echoing the original alliance's structure.[11]Origins and Early History
Formation within the Turkic Khaganates
The Toquz Oghuz tribes consolidated as a key component of the eastern tribal groups within the First Turkic Khaganate, established by Bumin Qaghan in 552 CE, where they contributed to the military structure under Ashina clan leadership.[1] As nomadic allies in the khaganate's expansive empire, they held a subordinate yet vital role in supporting the central authority during its period of unification and expansion across the steppes until 603 CE.[12] The khaganate's division into Western and Eastern branches in 603 CE placed the Toquz Oghuz under the subordination of the Eastern Göktürk rulers, where they maintained a high status in the tribal hierarchy as a core element of the eastern wing's forces.[12] This period of allegiance to the Göktürks lasted through ongoing internal dynamics and external pressures until the Eastern Khaganate's collapse. Amid conflicts with the Tang dynasty, which subjugated the Eastern Turkic Khaganate in 630 CE through military campaigns, the Toquz Oghuz emerged as a unified nine-tribe alliance in the ensuing power vacuum around 630–640 CE.[1] Weakened by wars, these tribes—including the Uyghurs, Bayirku, Pugu, and others—formed their confederation along the Selenga River to assert collective strength independent of direct Göktürk control.[1] Under the revived Second Turkic Khaganate from 682 to 744 CE, the Toquz Oghuz continued their subordinated position to Göktürk overlords, occupying a prominent tier in the alliance hierarchy while navigating opportunities for autonomy during khaganate instability.[12] In a decisive shift, the Toquz Oghuz allied with the Basmyl and Karluk tribes in 744 CE to rebel against the Second Turkic Khaganate, defeating its forces and ending Göktürk dominance in the eastern steppes.[13]Role in the Tiele Confederation
The Tiele Confederation, also known as the Tölöš, was a loose alliance of Turkic-speaking tribes inhabiting the eastern Eurasian steppes during the 6th to 9th centuries, encompassing various groups that had earlier been subjects of the Rouran and Göktürk khaganates.[14] Within this confederation, the Toquz Oghuz represented a prominent sub-group, often identified as the "Nine Tiele Tribes" (jiu xing Tiele) in Chinese historical records, comprising nine clans related to the Oghuz lineage, including the Huihe (later known as Uyghurs), Bayirqu, and others.[6] These tribes maintained a degree of internal cohesion through shared linguistic and cultural ties but operated within the broader Tiele framework as semi-autonomous entities, contributing to the confederation's collective resistance against dominant powers like the Göktürks.[5] The Toquz Oghuz played a pivotal role in the Tiele's interactions with the Tang dynasty during the early 7th century, particularly amid Tang interventions in steppe politics. In 627 CE, the Toquz Oghuz leader Pusa allied with the Xueyantuo, another Tiele tribe, to launch a successful campaign against the Eastern Göktürk Khaganate, weakening its hold over the region.[6] However, following the Tang's decisive victory over the Eastern Göktürks in 630 CE—with Tiele support, including from the Toquz Oghuz—the Xueyantuo emerged as the dominant force within the confederation, subjugating other Tiele tribes and extracting tribute.[14] This shift led to tensions, as the Toquz Oghuz chafed under Xueyantuo hegemony, prompting them to seek Tang alliances against their rivals. By 646 CE, Tang forces, bolstered by Toquz Oghuz auxiliaries, defeated the Xueyantuo khan, effectively dismantling their control and allowing the Toquz Oghuz to reassert influence over Tiele territories.[6] Strategically, the Toquz Oghuz occupied vital positions in the Ordos region and along the Gobi Desert fringes, serving as a natural buffer between Tang China and northern steppe nomads.[14] Their control over these areas facilitated trade routes and military maneuvers, making them essential partners for the Tang in containing threats from the north while also positioning them to negotiate autonomy. The defeats of the Eastern Göktürks (627–630 CE) and subsequent Xueyantuo collapse enabled the Toquz Oghuz to gain greater independence within the Tiele structure; the Tang granted their leader Tu-mi-du nominal oversight of the Hanhai command under a loose-reins (jimi) policy, allowing self-governance in exchange for military service.[6] This autonomy marked a turning point, elevating the Toquz Oghuz from subordinate allies to key regional players.[15]The Confederation
Constituent Tribes
The Toquz Oghuz confederation was composed of nine core tribes, primarily drawn from the Tiele (or Tiele) groups in the eastern steppes, as recorded in Tang dynasty annals. These tribes formed a loose alliance centered on shared Turkic linguistic and cultural ties, with pastoral nomadism as their primary economic base. Chinese sources refer to them collectively as the "Nine Surnames" or Jiu Xing (九姓), emphasizing their tribal surnames or clans. The leading tribe was the Yaglaqar (Chinese: Yaoluoge 藥羅葛), the royal clan of the Uyghur (Huihe 回紇) that provided the chieftains and held political primacy within the alliance.[6] Historical records, particularly the Jiu Tangshu (Old Book of Tang), list the nine tribes as follows, with their Chinese transcriptions and approximate Turkic reconstructions where identifiable:| Tribe (Chinese) | Turkic Reconstruction | Notes on Role/Identity |
|---|---|---|
| Huihe (回纥) | Uyghur | Core tribe; semi-sedentary pastoralists and the political heart of the confederation. |
| Pugu (仆骨) | Bögü/Pugu | Nomadic herders; allied closely with Uyghur in military campaigns. |
| Hun (浑) | Hun | Pastoralists; some migrated to Tang territories for service. |
| Bayegu (拔野古) | Bayirqu/Bayegu | Warrior-pastoralists; resisted Eastern Turkic dominance. |
| Tongluo (同罗) | Toŋra/Tonglu | Mobile herders; known for raids on Tang borders. |
| Sijie (思结) | Čiŋgil/Sijie | Mixed pastoralists; portions integrated into Tang military. |
| Qibi (契苾) | Kibi/Qibi | Elite horsemen; provided troops to Tang armies. |
| Abusi (阿布思) | Ädiz/Abusi | Nomadic supporters; less documented but integral to the alliance. |
| Gulunwugu (骨侖屋骨) | Qulun/Qay or similar | Pastoral clan; contributed to confederation's eastern flank.[2] |