Princesses of the Central Plains Married into the Turkish Khaganate

1 Introduction

Before entering the main topic of the article. It is better to briefly explain what alliance marriage is to help to understand this article. Alliance marriage and Continual marriage aim to create long-term peace and stability, this creates alliances for military warfare and develops cultural exchanges between the two countries. In turn, the effect of Alliance Marriage influences and expresses the country’s policy direction through their counterparts.

The historical conditions of the two countries before these princesses entered the Turkish Khaganate, and the political changes after their arrival will be written here. It is intended to mainly narrate the historical truth, such as the married princesses of the Northern Zhou and Sui dynasties meddling in politics and trying to achieve their own goals, and all of this ultimately created bad repercussions for the Turkish Khaganate.

Widow inheritance (also known as bride inheritance), is a cultural and social practice whereby a widow is required to marry a male relative of her late husband, often his brother. The practice is more commonly referred to as levirate marriage, examples of which can be found in ancient and biblical times for different reasons in various ethnic groups at that time. We can see it clearly in the marriage of Princess Qianjing and Yi Cheng. Alliance Marriage (和亲 heqin, 和戎 herong 和番 hefan) is a separate independent term from ordinary marriage. Middle-earth kings and princess gave their daughters away to nomads for political purposes. It is believed to have originated during the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC–8 AD). The alliance between the Han Dynasty and the Huns is notorious, and it will become a classic example of the alliance between the Han Dynasty and the people finding peace. Such alliances and kinship traditions ceased to exist in 1912 with the demise of the Qing Dynasty.

According to the history of the coalition of the past dynasties, the contents, and goals are all different. Among them, the most basic (common) goal is to love peace, tolerate war and usurpation, and love goodness. However, the alliance between the Turkish Khaganate and the Northern Zhou Dynasty (577–581) and the Sui Dynasty (581–618) is full of uncertainty, unlike in the past. The reason is that the traditional alliance’s content and purpose will be completely different in their marriages. First of all, it is worth clarifying briefly the historical trajectory and goals of the Alliance. That is why the alliance between the Northern Zhou and Sui dynasties destroyed the peaceful coexistence and stability of the two countries while taking blood revenge on the people of their lineage. As a result, the war continued continuously, affecting the foreign relations and trade relations of the two countries, and ultimately weakened the power of the Turkish Khaganate, accelerating the process of their empire collapsing. Therefore, a detailed study of the queens and princesses who married from the Middle Kingdom to the Turkish Khaganate is important now and in the future.

2 Ashina Tumen and Princess Chanle

Turks were engaged in the work of blacksmiths during the Rouran Khaganate (柔然402–555). There was a political crisis in Rouran, and the government took advantage of the weakening of the forces to launch a rebellion in Tiele Province. Tumen (Bumïn qaγan) suppressed the rebellion and said, “Fifty thousand families of Tele province became his subjects.”^[2] However, this is how Tumni’s request from the Nirun dynasty was recorded in the source. “Tumen, proud of his power and strength, asked Rouran for a wife. The king of Rouran got very angry and appointed an ambassador and insulted him, saying”, “You are my iron slave, how dare you speak so much.” Tumen was also very angry, killed Rouran’s messenger, and cut off relations with Rouran. Then he asked Western Wei for a marriage. Owen Tai (宇文泰), Minister of Western Wei gave the princess Chanle (长乐) to him.”^[3] noted that “In the 17th year of Datun (551 AD), a girl from the Yuan clan of Western Wei was honored by Princess Changle and married to Tumen.”^[4] “In the same year, Yuan Baoju (元宝炬), the Wendi king of Western Wei died. Tumen sent a messenger to mourn and presented two hundred horses.^[5]

Ashina Tumen founded the Turkish Khaganate in 552 and became the king. Unfortunately, he died the next year. There was no news about Princess Chanle that was recorded in the historical records. But Taspar (他钵, 佗钵), born from King Tumen and Queen Chanle became the fourth Khan of the Turkish Khaganate.

3 Niri (泥利) Khan and Queen Xiang (向)

Niri Khan ruled the Western Turkish Khaganate from 587 to 603.

After the establishment of the Sui dynasty in the Middle Khaganate in 581, the foreign policy of the Sui to Turkish Khaganates was different from that of the Western Wei, Northern Zhou, and Northern Qi dynasties. To weaken the power of the Turkish Khaganate, Sui carried out many policies, such as the “Policy of Separation” (离间计) and “Attack the near ones, unite the distant ones, flee from the strong, support the weak” (远交近攻). Due to the internal conflicts of the Turks, The Turkish Khaganate was divided into Eastern and Western Turks in 583.

In the Sogdia inscription of the “Turkey stone from Little Hongnahai (小洪纳海)”^[6] found in the Il-Mongolian region of SHUEZO, Niri Khan is called the Great Khan. In the 5th line of the Brahmi inscription “Khuis Tologi” found in Mogod Sum, Bulgan province of Mongolia appears “King Niri … Niri Khan Turk Khan” in the year 601. According to the fact that the people of the country honored Niri as theKhan, and Eastern and Western Turkish countries built a bright statue for him and marked him as the great Khan, it is certain that Niri Khan was not only the Khan of Western Turkish, but also a famous Khan recognized in Eastern Turkish.

Then, King Niri had a queen from the Xiang clan of the Middle Kingdom. There is currently no source information about who the queen was in the Xiang clan, when, and how she became the queen. If we look at the historical events, the queen may have been the daughter of a nobleman, who could have been from Northern Zhou or Northern Qi, which was the Middle Kingdom before the establishment of the Sui dynasty.

Nijiuechulo (泥撅处罗), the son of Niri Khan and the Xiang clan queen, was one of the most important persons in the history of foreign relations between the Turkish Khaganate and the Sui Dynasty.

4 Nijuechulo Khan and Princess Ishin (义信)

The Sui Khaganate not easily married Princess Yixin to Chulo (泥撅处罗). It took a long historical journey for King Chuluo married to Princess Ishin. Also, it is clearly written in the source how the Sui dynasty interfered in the internal affairs of the Western Turkish Khaganate.

King Chulo did not obey the Sui dynasty, and Sui put pressure on him from many sides, such as having his brothers attack him, attacking him with his own military force, and Chang’an arrested his mother Xiang Queen, demanding Chulo submit to the Sui dynasty.

In a source called “Zizhi Tongjian” (Chinese: 資治通鑑 lit. ‘Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance’[a])is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography)^[7] The ambassador of Sui arrived at Chulo Khan’s palace in Western Turkia and asked Chulo Khan, “ … Why do you want to make the difficult choice of sacrificing your loving mother’s life by abandoning the ritual of prostration? Is it so difficult to enter Sui as an official?” Because of this, your Khaganate will perish, and your house will be ruined to ashes.^[8] There was a lot of demand from the Sui dynasty to serve as an official of the Turkish Khaganate, and such affairs were taking place very intensively. On the contrary, the Turkish khans and nobles wanted and aimed for equal relations with Sui. This kind of bowing down to the ambassador of the Sui dynasty also occurred during the reign of the Ishbara King and Princess Qianjin of Eastern Turkia, which will be discussed in the next section.

In 611, when Yandi (隋炀帝) was visiting Urnush, his assistant Huije (韦节) ordered King Chuluo (处罗) of Western Turks to come and see him. The Turkish people disobeyed his orders. Chuluo refused the ambassador saying that he could not go for other reasons. King Yang Di was furious. There was no choice but to rage. It was at this time that the head of a province (部落) of a Western Turkish province called Shegui (射匮) sent an ambassador and asked for a wife.

He told the ambassador about Chuluo (处罗)’s disobedience from the Sui dynasty and thanked him for being appointed as an ambassador and asked for marriage. He also informed that he was going to elevate Shegui to the great king. First of all, he needs to send an army and destroy Chuluo (处罗). After that, let’s discuss the marriage. A white arrow made of bamboo prevailed in Yande Sheguy. He told him, “Perform this deed as quickly as this arrow.”^[9] As soon as the appointed ambassador returned, Shegui went about his business of escorting and destroying Chuluo Khan. Chuluo Khan was defeated by a surprise attack by Shegui. Sui appointed an ambassador and advised Chuluo Khan to surrender, but they would not surrender, hiding in Gaochang’s territory. Suyul is a relative of his mother’s side and sent Chuluo Khan’s own confidants to persuade him to bring him into the dynasty. Later he was given a princess named Ishin from the royal dynasty of Sui. Chuluo Sui Yandi and Wendi made merit by participating in the war to conquer Korea (高丽) immediately east of the emperor.

5 Tolis Khan the Young and Princess Huainan (Töles qaγan 突利, 什钵苾 602–631)

Princess Huainan (淮南) is the youngest daughter of Sui Yandi Yangaowa. Lived in Yangzhou. Yandi was proud to visit Yangzhou and Yanan, and they would go there for a while to avoid the cold in the north. Yandi gave her daughter the name of Huainan, a place in the south, and later named her Princess Huainan. There is very little information about Princess Huainan, who was known for her beauty and intelligence. She was a talented musician and poet and was said to have composed many songs and poems. She was also a skilled painter and calligrapher. She was also known for her kindness and generosity. In 618, Sui Yandi was killed by Yuwen Hua (宇文化) in a place called Jiangdu and Princess Huainan, daughter of Sui Yandi became the wife of Turkish Khan Tolis the Younger after the collapse of the Sui dynasty. Tolis Khan did not have a solemn marriage ceremony because his country was destroyed and his family was ruined. this time their marriage is different from other alliance marriages. Some researchers believe that it is not a political relationship. It is believed that the fact that Princess Huainan came to the Turkish Khaganate and became the queen of Tolis Khan is also significant. However, it will be difficult to accept these because of the customs, understanding, and written teachings of the time that Princess Huainan came from the warm south land to the Northern Turkish Khaganate and became the wife of a nomad.^[10] Because there was a duty and a purpose for Princess Huainan in coming to Turkey after accepting all these hardships. The purpose of Princess Huainan’s visit to Turkey was to learn about the culture and customs of the Turks and to gain knowledge of the military and political systems of the Turks. In any case, it is clear that at that time, the Yi Chen or Xiao clan queens who were in the Turkish Khaganate had planned to get information. Il-Khan ruled over the Turks. The fact that Princess Huainan did not go to Il-Khan and Princess Yi Cheng of her lineage, but became the wife of Tolis Khan, who ruled the territory north of Beijing in Youzhou (幽州), was not clarified in the history, but she likely had the intention of reviving the Sui dynasty.

6 Princess Qianjin Became the Queen (Khatun) of Kaghans such as Taspar, Ishbara, and Tulan

Princess Qianjin was the daughter of Zhaowan Yuwen Zhao (赵王宇文招) of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (557–581) and was named Yu Wenfang (宇文芳). Princess Qianjin came to Turkey and was an important person in the relationship between the three countries, Northern Zhou, Sui, and Turks, and was eventually killed as a political victim. It is worth clarifying the historical situation of the Northern Zhou Dynasty during the marriage of Princess Qianjin and the Turkish Khaganate. After the death of Yuwen Tai (宇文泰), who had worked hard to build the Western Wei dynasty and was a master of military affairs, under the support of the military general Yuwein Hu (宇文护), the third son of Yuwen Tai, Yuwen Jue (宇文觉) sat on a throne. The title of country was called Northern Zhou.

In 577, the Northern Zhou dynasty destroyed the Northern Qi (550–577 AD) of the Xianbi dynasty. Although the Northern Qi dynasty was destroyed, the Middle Kingdom was destabilized by invading the Northern Zhou dynasty under the excuse of revenge. In 579, the Turkish king Tespar asked for a wife from Northern Zhou. To strengthen the dynasty by getting the help of troops and horses from the Turkish Khaganate, Yu Wenfang, the daughter of Emperor Yu Wenfang, was honored by Princess Qianjin and married the king of Taspar in 580. Taspar Khan died in 581. Princess Qianjin became the wife of Ishbara Khan following the tradition of nomadic continual marriage. In the same year, the Northern Zhou dynasty was also get destroyed and the Sui dynasty was established. The real-life of Princess Qianjin in the Turkish Khaganate will be related to the Sui period.

In the “Sui Dynasty Book”, “Ishbara Khan’s wife is a daughter of the Yuwen Dynasty called Princess Qianjin. She mourned the slaughter of his own family and thought of taking revenge on Sui. She started talking about this to Ishbara King day and night. Ishbara Khan said to the ambassador of Sui: ”I am actually married to the princess of northern Zhou. Now King Yangjian of the Sui dynasty destroy the Northern Zhou and become the king himself. If I sat watching with nothing to do, would not I be helpless? How can I see the queen’s face later? Saying this, Khan Ishbara declared war on Sui in 582. Princess Qianjin also went to war. To crush the army of Sui, the Turks joined forces with Gao Baoning (高宝宁), an officer of Yingzhou (营州) in the dynasty of Qi in the north, and attacked Sui. The king of Sui was very worried about this and issued an edict to build the Great Wall even stronger and he said, “It is necessary to send a few soldiers to prevent the Turkish invasion.”

After the establishment of the Sui dynasty in 581, along with the withdrawal of Ishbara Khan, he took a policy of pacification in the Turkish Khaganate. Then, “Yuanhui (元晖) sent a nobleman as an ambassador to his country. The wolf-headed flag prevailed. Because, at that time, Ishbara Khan’s army was strong, but his position and reputation in that society were not high. As a result of all this, Sui considered that it is appropriate to attract and support Ishbara Khan. Although Ishbara Khan was reluctant to receive the honor of the Sui dynasty, he appointed an ambassador and “presented their local products with their characteristics.” King Abo (阿波) and Da Luobian (大滑便) were displeased with this incident and joined forces to defeat Ishbara. When Khan Ishbara was defeated by this surprise attack, Princess Qianjin wrote a speech to King Sui Yandi and expressed her submission. Yangjiang gave Princess Qianjin the title of Princess Da-yi (Princess of Great Order) by taking advantage of her Yang surname. The exhausted Ishbara followed the implacable Sui.

When Ishbara died in 587, his younger brother Chuluohou (处罗侯) succeeded him. One year later, he died in 588. Ishbara Khan’s son Yunliuilue (雍虞闾) became the king of Eastern Turks with the royal title of Tulan (都蓝). He made Princess Qianjin his queen. Princess Qianjin was deeply disappointed by the loss of the Northern Zhou, which had risen to power in a short period, by the Sui dynasty. She was deeply disappointed by the memories of her parents, and she immediately wrote a poem for the king of the Sui dynasty. The main content of the poem is that he was saddened by the destruction of his dynasty and that Sui became stronger by uniting China. This caused the displeasure and fury of the King of Sui.

At that time, King Yami (Jami, Chimin 启民, Rangan 染干), who ruled the area south of the Gobi desert with the title of a minor king within the Turkish Khaganate, came under the influence of Sui. Ishbara of Eastern Turkey and Tarduush (Tarduš, Tardu, 达头) of Western Turkey joined forces and attacked with reason of that and the minor king respected Yami with the rank of a great king which is the main point to attack The younger king Yami was defeated and submitted to the Sui Khaganate. Princess Anyi (安义) of the Sui Kingdom is possessed by Yami. When Princess Anyi died in 599, he asked Sui for a wife again. Sui told that if he wants to have a wife, they will accept it under the condition that Princess Qianjin is killed. Yami, with the support of Sui, slandered King Tulan and killed Princess Qianjin. Later, when Tulan had known that she was an innocent and political victim, it was too late to bring her life back.

7 Yami (Chi min 启民) Is the Khan and Anyi Is the Princess

Yami Sui, a nobleman of the Ashina tribe in Turkey, took two wives from Sui. They were princesse Anyi (安义) and Yi Cheng (义成). In this chapter, we will talk about Princess Anyi. At that time, the territory of the Turkish Khaganate was vast, so there was a rule of great Khan and small Khan, and these great and small Khans ruled the territory and many ethnic groups. Ishbara was a great khan who ruled the Turkish and nomadic tribes of the north.

The southern Govi area was ruled by Yami the small Khan. During the reign of Khan Shibi (始毕), Turkey became powerful and reached its peak. Therefore, under the “Policy of Encouraging the Underprivileged of the Sui Kingdom”, Sui was close with Yami and in addition to giving him a large amount of money, they also rewarded him with a princess named Anyi. At that time, Ishbara, the great Khan of Turks, wanted to marry the daughter of the king of Sui, but Sui did not agree. Because of this, there was a conflict between the small king Yami and the great Khan Ishbara. Eventually, they became enemies who has no mutual consent. In 597, Sui let Princess Anyi married to Yami. It is not even known when Anyi was born and whose daughter. Also, there is nothing recorded in history about the contribution of Princess Anyi to the society and politics of the Turkish after she came to the Turkish Khaganate. It has been recorded that she died in 599.

In the “Sui Dynasty Book”, Yami Khan asked for another Sui princess as a wife after Princess Anyi died”. There is no news about Princess Anyi from other sources. This was the beginning of the relationship between Yami and Sui. After that, khan Yami became the great khan of Turks with the support of the Sui dynasty and took Princess Yi Cheng as his wife and crowned her as queen. In the next chapter, Queen Yi Cheng’s good and bad things that affected the social, political, and foreign relations of the Sui and Tang dynasties and the Turkish Khaganate during her thirty years of life in the Turkish Khaganate will be told.

8 Princess Yi Cheng and Yami, Shibi, Chuluo, and Ili King

Princess Yi Cheng is the daughter of Yang Xie, a royal family. Her birth date is unknown, and in 630 she was assassinated by General Li Jin of the Tang dynasty. Princess Yi Cheng’s life career is full of confusion, revenge, and tragedy. Princess Yi Cheng of the Sui Dynasty was first married to King Yami of the East Turkish Khaganate (the first Turkish Khaganate) in 599. She lived in the Turkish Khaganate for more than thirty years. In those 30 years, she married four khans, Yami Khagan, Shibi Khaganm Chuluo Khagan to Illig Kaghan. A decade later, the Sui Dynasty collapsed and the Tang Dynasty was founded. However, Princess Yi Cheng was still trying to re-establish the Sui dynasty with the Turkish military. From the perspective of the historical document study, I aimed to describe the relations between Princess Yi Cheng and Sui, the Tang dynasty, and Turks during Princess Yi Cheng’s time in Turkish Khaganate. Also, how she affected their diplomacy will be conveyed in this paper.

1. Yami and Princess Yi Cheng 599–609

When Sui was established in 581, the Turkish Khaganate united the northern nomads and became a very powerful dynasty. Princess Qianjin, who is a queen of Turkey, told the Turkish khan about the suffering of her own country and wanted to destroy the Sui dynasty with the power of Turkish soldiers and horses and re-establish the Zhou dynasty in the north of her lineage. This incident angered the Sui king and the nobles. From the beginning of the Khaganate, Sui appointed an ambassador to the Turkish Khaganate and persuaded and demanded^[11] to kill Princess Qianjin. Tulan Khan did not accept this. So, other methods of killing began to be discussed.

Yami Khan’s wife, Princess Anyi of Sui died tragically in 599. khan Yami gave a speech to Sui and asked for another wife. And the king of Sui said, “If we can kill Princess Qianjin of Northern Zhou, the queen of Tulan Khan, we will give my daughter to you.” According to historical sources, the younger Khan Yami successfully accomplished the killing in a very short time. Some sources say that Tulan killed Princess Qianjin for her gossiping about Khan Tulan, while others say that Tulan was slandered. In return for killing Princess Qianjin, khan Yami took Princess Yi Cheng as his wife. Thus, relations between Sui Dynasty and Yami Khan improved, and they often sent ambassadors to each other, so Tulan, the great khan of Turks, and other nobles resented him. Yami was defeated by a group of soldiers of the great king and other nobles, and at last, he fled to the Kingdom of Sui. It turned out to be a very good event for Sui. In the name of supporting the Khan Yami and taking back the land and the people, he took advantage of the situation his army suddenly invaded Turkey. He said that if they surrender to Sui country, they will be given property and money. Thus, Yami became the great Khan of Turkey after one internal riot and war in Turkey. Relations between the Turkish kingdom and the Sui dynasty were very good during his reign. Princess Yi Cheng also had a good influence on the foreign relations of the two countries, and Khan Yami was also very happy that he rose again with the grace of Sui and became the great king of the Turkish Khaganate. Here is a speech he wrote to the King of Sui.

There are quite a few written accounts of Yami Khan and the Sui Kingdom in the archives, some of which require further analysis. To clarify, when King Sui Yandi traveled along the Great Wall as a guard, Yami, and Princess Yi Cheng gathered the people of the province and submitted a letter to the king. Five things are mentioned in the article.

1. Since the previous noble king, married Princess An Yi to me, the whole country was full of happiness without any struggle.

2. My brothers were narrow-minded and jealous of me, so they tried to harm me by joining forces. At that time, there was no way, but to go to your ground for help.

3. King Sui Wendi raised me, protecting me from debt pain and the fate of destruction. And helped me to be a great Khan.

4. It is difficult for me to express my thank in words. You always support the Turkish people.

5. Now I am no longer the Turkish king of the former frontier, but an ordinary man who belongs to the king. Request: Regulate the dress code of the Great Sui and allow Chineseization,^[12] which was an interesting note.

Summing it up, khan Yami obeyed the authority of the Sui Kingdom, in which Princess Yi Cheng was playing a very important role. And she emphasized the culture and traditions of the Middle Countries to the king. However, at that time, the Sui dynasty was conducting its own policy in the Turkish Khaganate through its representative, King Yami.

1. Khan Shi Bi and Princess Yi Cheng 609-619

When King Yami died in 609, the king of the Sui Dynasty mourned for three days. He has immediately become the kingdom of Shi.^[13] Shi Bi made a speech and asked to take Princess Yi Cheng as a wife following the traditional customs.^[14] Sui agreed to his request. During the reign of Khan Shibi, he was not as receptive as his father, Khan Yami, and began to demand equal relations with the dynasty. Also, during the reign of Khan Shi Bi, he stopped senseless wars and fighting among themselves, focused on domestic economy and agriculture, developed foreign relations with Western Turks and other countries, organized law and order, and implemented appropriate policies. “The rise of the northern barbarians, who were not so strong before, looked down on the Chinese from the Yinshan mountain” and the “Old Tang Dynasty Records and Turkish Chronicles” about the strength of the Eastern Turkish Khaganate.^[15]

As the Turks grew stronger and threatened Sui, the peaceful foreign relations maintained by Shi Bi Khan were replaced by wars and atrocities, as the king of Sui tried to implement their dynasty policy of seizing the Sui country again and dividing it.

In 614, the Sui Dynasty promoted Chiji Shad,^[16] the younger brother of Shi Bi Khan, to the king of the South, gave him alms, and tried to weaken his power by making them fight among themselves. This was not accepted by Chiji Shad, and King Shi Bi was furious when he heard of this incident, but he did nothing.

When this policy failed, the minister of Sui named Peiju invited Shi Bi, a trusted and wise official of King Shi shu huxi (Shi shu huxi 史蜀胡悉) to trade in Mai’s Mayi land. When the Turkish merchant group arrived at Ma’i’s place and was busy with their cargo, all the soldiers of the Sui dynasty slaughtered Shi Shukhushi and sent a letter to Khan Shi Bi, saying: “Tushmel Shi Shu Khushi betrayed the Turkish Khaganate and asked Sui to rely on the Sui Khaganate and we killed the noble king without hesitation”.^[17] Shi Bi Khan waiting for this opportunity prepared his army attacked to Sui to take revenge on the wicked dynasty, who had been involved in the internal affairs of the country and killed their trusted officials and merchants. Also, Princess Yi Cheng, who had been Sui’s eyes and ears before the departure of the army, informed the Sui dynasty. It is noted in the literature that the queen has the right to learn about military actions.^[18] Thus, despite the urgent news of Princess Yi Cheng, Sui was, firstly, unprepared for war, and secondly, weakened by years of fighting with Goguryeo to the east. King Sui Yandi hid in Yan Men (雁门). In a short period, the great army of the king of Shi B besieged Yan Meng and attacked without turning back, capturing 29 out of 32 cities. The army from Sui concentrated all its forces to protect the king and the king’s son, but there was food only enough for 20 days, and they were in a difficult situation, being attacked and surrounded by the Turkish army for a month. On the brink of destruction, Sui sent an ambassador to ask Princess Yi Cheng for urgent help. Princess Yi Cheng sent a messenger to King Shi Bi, saying, “Families left behind in the war are in danger, the enemy has come and attacked”^[19] and Shi Bi immediately withdrew his troops, abandoned the siege, and returned. In this way, Princess Yi Cheng saved the despairing king and the broken dynasty. In the last period of Shi Bi Khan’s reign, the power of the Sui Kingdom weakened due to the dissonance and lack of trust in each other. The Turkish Khaganate changed its foreign policy and established relations with the newly emerging Tang dynasty, helping to establish a dynasty in the middle country.^[20] In 618, when the Sui Khaganate was destroyed and the new Tang dynasty was established, the position of Princess Yi Cheng in Turks was greatly reduced, and she could not be involved in the foreign policy and military affairs of the Khan of Si Bi like before. and she even tried to attack Tang to reestablish Sui, but the plan failed to gain Khan Shi Bi’s support, and Khan Shi Bi soon relented and crowned the boy Chu Luo as king.

1. Khan Chu Luo and Princess Yi Cheng 619-620

Chu Luo died after more than a year on the throne. At the time of his death, a man named Zheng Yuanshu (元郑璹), an envoy from the Tang Dynasty, arrived, and he was detained for half a year on suspicion of murdering the emperor. It may not be true that it was written in “New Tang Dynasty Records” that Princess Yi Cheng killed the king by giving poison to him.^[21] Most researchers agree that Princess Yi Cheng had something to do with the murder of the Khan. Because after Chu Luo ascended to the throne, his father, Shi Bi, carried out the foreign policy of Emperor Shi, and was an ally of the Tang dynasty with troops and horses. And the fact that the ambassador of Tang arrived in Turkey at that time may be directly related to a major political decision.

1. Khan Ili and Princess Yi Cheng 620-630

The eldest son of King Chu Luo is O She (奥射设, Ashina Momo 阿史那摸末) Shad. According to the tradition of that time, the eldest son should have succeeded to the throne, but Princess Yi Cheng did not put him on the throne because she said he was “ugly and weak”,^[22] but supported Chu Luo’s younger brother Ili (Illig), who supports her ideals, to the throne. O She Shad or Ashina Momo, noblemen of the Shibi Khan dynasty, betrayed the Turks and surrendered to the Tang Empire. The country welcomed him with joy and gave him many honors and gifts. According to the Chinese records and the inscriptions on the monument erected after O She’s death, She was not a weak but a courageous hero. Due to such erroneous policies, a political crisis was created inside the Turkish Khaganate.

During Ili Khan’s rule, he fought with Tang for many years. People hated war and wanted peace. To protect against Turkish attacks and gain the right to initiate war, the Tang dynasty also strengthened its borders by adding troops and reorganized the “Twelfth Military Army”^[23] in important ports and border cities, which had been abolished in 625. added soldiers and stopped the attack by crossing the Great Wall. Also, the deployment of soldiers along the border to cultivate the land solved the problem of the difficulty of transporting rice from the interior. In a short time after the establishment of the Tang dynasty, the last army of the Sui dynasty put an end to the small khanates that were partially occupied, and the society and economy began to recover. Because of this, Ili Khan wanted to ally with the newly rising Tang Dynasty, saying that it would not be beneficial for Turkey to make war with the newly rising Tang Dynasty, but Princess Yi Cheng and his brother Yang Shanjing (杨善经), who were refugees who had fled to support the Turkish Khaganate, and Wang Shichung’s (王世充) messenger, all persuaded the court of Ili Khan said, “In the past, to seize the Khaganate, when Khan had wars with your brothers, you rebuilt the country with the support of Sui, and this is how your children got a country. Now how could you forget the kindness of King Wendi (文帝)? “Would not it be better to pay back the great favors of the former Sui dynasty by adhering to the central system?”^[24]

Ili has more truth than Khan Ili. In addition, the Tang dynasty was displeased with the fact that the Turks had neutralized the middle country and agreed to fight several times, but they did not fulfill their terms. And so the war stopped. But less than a year later, Princess Yi Cheng and her accomplice reported to Khan Ili that there was a political crisis in Tang. He said that if the army is mobilized and attacked, it is possible to win and destroy the Tang dynasty.

Believing this news, Khan Ili led his army to besiege the city of Mai, and the battle was very fierce, and more than ten battles were fought every day. It was not clear who would win and who would lose.^[25] Khan Ili, knowing that it would be useless for him if the war escalated, ordered him to withdraw his army and retreat from Mai. When the warriors demanded to be besieged and massacred in Ma Yi, Khan Ili changed his tactical tactics and attacked Ma Yi by night, but could not rule for a long time.^[26]

In the sources, the Turks initiate war every year, their country is suffering, and many people in the province are ambivalent. In the winter of 627, there was heavy snow, and most of the six-headed cattle died. There was a lot of hunger in the country, and when people could not give the people what they wanted, a meeting was held in the Tang dynasty to destroy the Turkish Khaganate. In 628, Tu li (突利, 什钵苾) sent an envoy to the Tang dynasty and asked them to attack because they were not in harmony with the people.^[27] The internal crisis and natural disasters in the Turkish Khaganate, the split between Khan Ili and Tuli, and the split in the minds of the people took advantage of the opportunity to send a large army into the Tang Kingdom in three ways. (Li) Jing’s 27 soldiers approached at a distance of fifteen places from Ili’s palace, and the enemy just woke up.

Ili was terrified and moved forward. Many people in the tribes were scattered. (Li) Jing’s army slaughtered more and captured dozens of men and women. Ili’s wife killed Princess Yi Cheng. After being taken to Chang’an city, it was noted that “Khan Ili was very sad and cried with his family members in sad songs”^[28] Although people don’t always realize it, Princess Yichen, who has gone down in history for her good deeds, was guided by the teachings of writing and the morals of the Bom, and tried to restore the Sui dynasty of her family with the power of Turks. Many complicated historical events such as the actions that caused great damage to the Turkish people and even caused the death will be studied in depth in future studies.

9 Conclusions

The seven princesses studied in the article arrived in the Turkish Khaganate and all were crowned queens. In the Turkish Khaganate, some of the princesses lived with three or four Khans and became their queens.

At the time of these princesses’ accession to the Turkish Khaganate, the politics of the Middle Kingdom was unstable, war-torn, and not internally unified. However, the Turks united many rich nomads in the present-day Mongolian highlands and built a powerful Khaganate, actively participated in the affairs of the Mediterranean dynasty, and implemented foreign policies such as equalizing their forces by stopping some disputes and misunderstandings. Therefore, the Northern Zhou and Sui countries in the Middle Country attracted as many Turks as they could, and gave them their princesses to find peace and stability through military alliances or alliances. On the contrary, it could not find peace and even created hatred, revenge, war, and terrorism. To narrow down the content of this article, Princess Qianjin of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and Princess Yi Cheng of the Sui Dynasty are representative, and the historical traces are defined as the direction of the dynasty’s policy to observe the same and different things. And behind all of this, the Chinese literary culture is compressed by the traditional ideas and concepts of blood revenge, keeping the lineage, and the person of that lineage should reign forever.

The princess who went to the Turkish Khaganate from the Middle Kingdom developed and strengthened the foreign relations between the two countries during the historical period of her country’s existence. started a struggle against Turkey and began to act inconsistently with the foreign policy of Turkey, which had a bad effect on the foreign policy of both countries. In the end, they wanted to solve the problem with weapons and war, not in the form of diplomacy, but instead of establishing a new dynasty, fighting for a long time with a country that has gained the hearts and support of the people. In 630, taking advantage of the fact that the economy was exhausted, many people became poor, a group of people opposed to the war appeared, the power of the Turkish Khaganate weakened and the politics became unstable due to natural disasters in 630.

The alliance had the goal of a peaceful, stable, and long-term harmonious existence, while princesses such as Qianjin and Yi Cheng embraced transnational revenge and defied the development of history. It can be considered that the military of the Turkish Khaganate used the power of horses and weapons to rebuild the destroyed dynasty that never existed, and the ill-advised and fruitless war with the newly resurgent Sui and Tang dynasties, in a sense, intensified the internal crisis of the Turkish Khaganate and accelerated its destruction.