Editing Bilge Qaghan

{{Short description|Fourth Qaghan of the Second Turkic Khaganate}}
{{primary|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox royalty
|name= Bilge Qaghan
|title=
|image=Turkic 8th Century Marble Statue of Bilge Khan (35580731981).jpg
|caption=Marble Statue of Bilge Khan
|birth_name=Ashina Mojilian <br> 阿史那默棘連
|birth_date= 683
|birth_place=
|death_date= {{death date and age|734|11|25|683|||df=yes}}
|death_place= [[Otukan]]
|full name= 
|father=[[Ilterish Qaghan|Ilterish Khagan]]
|mother= [[El Bilga Khatun]]
|spouse= [[Po Beg|El Etmish Bilge Khatun]]
|issue=[[Yollıg Khagan|Yollıg Tigin]]<br/>[[Bilge Kutluk Khaghan|Tengri Tigin]]<br/>Two unnamed sons
|reign= February 717 – 25 November 734
|coronation=
|othertitles=
|succession = [[Qaghans of the Turkic khaganates|Qaghan]] of the [[Second Turkic Khaganate]]
|predecessor=[[Inel Qaghan]]
|regent=[[Tonyukuk]]
|successor=[[Yollıg Khagan]]
|house=[[Ashina tribe|House of Ashina]]
|religion = [[Tengrism]]
}}
'''Bilge Qaghan''' ({{langx|otk|𐰋𐰃𐰠𐰏𐰀:𐰴𐰍𐰣|Bilgä Qaɣan}}; {{zh|c=毗伽可汗||p=píjiā kěhàn}};<ref name="irq.kaznpu.kz">{{cite web| url = http://irq.kaznpu.kz/?lang=e&mod=1&tid=1&oid=16&m=1| title = Bilge kagan's Memorial Complex, TÜRIK BITIG}}</ref> 683 – 25 November 734) was the fourth [[khagan|Qaghan]] of the [[Second Turkic Khaganate]]. His accomplishments were described in the [[Orkhon inscriptions]]. 

==Names==
As was the custom, his personal name and the name after assuming the title [[khagan|Qaghan]] were different. His personal name was recorded in Chinese characters as {{lang|zh|阿史那默棘連}} ({{zh|p=Ashǐnà Mòjílián|c=|s=|t=}}). His name after assuming the title was ''Bilgä Qaγan''.<ref name="irq.kaznpu.kz"/> {{zh|c=毗伽可汗||p=píjiā kěhàn}}).

== Early years ==
He was born in 683, in the early years of the khaganate. He campaigned alongside his father from early childhood. He was created as Tardush shad and given command over the western wing of the empire in 697 by [[Qapaghan Qaghan|Qapaghan]]. He managed to annihilate [[Wei Yuanzhong]]'s army in 701 with his brother. He also reconquered [[Basmyl]] tribes in 703. He also subdued [[Yenisei Kyrgyz]] forces in 709, after their disobedience had to reconquer and kill their Qaghan in 710. He killed [[Türgesh]] khagan [[Suoge]] at [[Battle of Bolchu]].

In later years of [[Qapaghan Qaghan|Qapaghan]], he had to fight four battles in a year starting from 714, resubduing tribes and nearly was killed in an ambush from [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] forces in 716.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Gök-Türkler|last=Ahmet.|first=Taşağil|date=1995|publisher=Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi|others=Atatürk Kültür, Dil, ve Tarih Yüksek Kurumu (Turkey)|isbn=975161113X|location=Ankara|oclc=33892575}}</ref>

==Reign==
[[File:Turkic Gold Diadem, 6th-8th C. AD.jpg|thumb|Gold diadem of Bilge Khagan from the burial site at [[:Commons:Category:Khoshoo Tsaidam|Khoshoo Tsaidam]].]]
In 716, [[Qapaghan Qaghan]], the second Qaghan, was killed in his campaign against the [[Toquz Oghuz]] alliance and his severed head was sent to [[Chang'an]].<ref name="Tang194">''[[Old Book of Tang]]'', [[:zh:s:舊唐書/卷194上|Vol. 194-I]]</ref> Although his son [[Inel Khagan]] succeeded him, Bilgä's brother [[Kul Tigin]] and [[Tonyukuk]] carried out a [[coup d'état]] against Inel Qaghan. They killed him and made him ''Bilgä'' ''Qaghan''.<ref name="Tang194" /> His name literally means "wise king".

He appointed his brother [[Kul Tigin]] to be Left Wise Prince, which made second most powerful person in realm. He re-subdued [[Huige]] in 716. He also appointed his father-in-law [[Tonyukuk]] to be Master Strategist.

New reforms and stabilization of the regime, caused tribes that fled Tujue to come back. Tang chancellor [[Wang Jun (Tang chancellor)|Wang Jun]], believing that the Göktürks who surrendered would try to flee back to the Göktürk state, suggested that they be forcibly moved into the heart of the empire to prevent them from doing so. Before Wang's suggestion could be acted upon, however, there was an uprising by the Göktürks who surrendered, under the leadership of Xiedie Sitai (𨁂跌思泰) and Axilan (阿悉爛). [[Xue Ne|Xue]] and Wang tried to intercept them and dealt them defeats, but they were able to flee back to the Göktürk state anyway. This defeat led to Xue Ne's retirement.

== Religious policy ==
At some point in his life, he thought about converting to [[Buddhism]] and settling in cities. However, [[Tonyukuk]] discouraged him from this, citing the Turks' few numbers and vulnerability to Chinese attacks. While the Turks' power rested on their mobility, conversion to Buddhism would bring pacifism among the population. Therefore, sticking to [[Tengrism]] was necessary for survival.<ref name="Tang194" /><ref>''[[Wenxian Tongkao]]'', 2693a</ref><ref>''[[New Book of Tang]]'', [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%96%B0%E5%94%90%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7215%E4%B8%8B vol 215-II]</ref>

== Later reign ==
[[File:Bilge_Khagan_monument_Mongolia.JPG|thumb|The Bilgä Qaghan monument with inscriptions, Mongolia|369x369px]]
In 720, Wang believed that the Pugu (僕固) and Xiedie tribes of the region were planning to defect to Eastern Tujue and attack with Eastern Tujue troops. He thus held a feast and invited the chieftains, and, at the feast, massacred them. He then attacked the Pugu and Xiedie tribes in the area, nearly wiping them out. He then proposed a plan to attack Qaghan along with the [[Basmyl|Baximi]], [[Kumo Xi|Xi]], and [[Khitan people|Khitan]].<ref name="Tang194" /> [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang|Emperor Xuanzong]] also recruited [[Qapaghan Qaghan|Qapaghan Khagan]]'s sons Bilgä Tigin and Mo Tigin, [[Yenisei Kyrgyz]] Qaghan Kutluk Bilgä Qaghan and Huoba Guiren to fight against Tujue. [[Tonyukuk]] cunningly launched first attack on Baximi in 721 autumn, completely crushing them. Meanwhile, Bilgä raided [[Gansu]], taking much of the livestock. Later that year [[Khitan people|Khitans]], next year [[Kumo Xi|Xi]] were also crushed.

In 726, his father-in-law and chancellor [[Tonyukuk]] died.

In 727, he sent Buyruk Chor ({{zh|c=梅錄啜/梅录啜|p=Méilù Chuò}}) as an emissary to [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang|Xuanzong]] with 30 horses as a gift. He also warned him of [[Me Agtsom]]'s proposal of an anti-Tang alliance. This alarm proved to be true when Tibetan general [[We Tadra Khonglo]] invaded Tang China in 727, sacked [[Guazhou County|Guazhou]] (瓜州, in modern [[Gansu]]), Changle (常樂, in south of modern Guazhou County), Changmenjun (長門軍, in north of modern [[Yumen City|Yumen]]) and Anxi (安西, modern [[Lintan County|Lintan]]).

On 27 February 731, [[Kul Tigin]] died, for which Qaghan mourned and ordered a great funeral ceremony.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bitig.org/?lang=e&mod=1&tid=1&oid=15&m=1|title=Kultegin's Memorial Complex|website=bitig.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624010508/http://bitig.org/?lang=e&mod=1&tid=1&oid=15&m=1|archive-date=2018-06-24|access-date=2018-07-29|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 733, he defeated rebellious Khitan tribes.<ref name="irq.kaznpu.kz" />

== Death ==
Just after sending an emissary to [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang|Xuanzong]] to gain heqin alliance, he was poisoned by Buyruk Chor.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://mtad.humanity.ankara.edu.tr/IV-3_Eylul2007/240_47_MTAD4-3_EEkrem.pdf| title = Erkin Ekrem, "Sarı Uygurların Kökeni", ''Modern Türklük Araştırma Dergisi'', Vol. 4, No. 3, 2007, p. 175.}}</ref> He did not die immediately and he had time to punish the family of Buyruk Chor with death.<ref name="Tang194" /> He died on 25 November 734, his burial ceremony took place on 22 June 735.

== Family ==
He was married to [[Po Beg|El Etmish Bilge Khatun]], [[Tonyukuk]]'s daughter. He had several children:

* [[Yollıg Khagan|Ashina Yiran]] (阿史那伊然)
* [[Tengri Qaghan|Ashina Kutluk]] (阿史那骨咄)
* 2 unnamed sons who both became puppet Qaghans under [[Kutluk Yabgu Khagan]]
* A daughter who was married to Suluk
* [[Po Beg]] - submitted to Tang after 744.

== Legacy ==
After his death from poisoning, several [[stele]]s were erected in [[Orkhon Valley|the capital area]] by the [[Orkhon River]]. These [[Orkhon inscriptions]] are the first known texts in the [[Old Turkic language]].

== In popular culture ==
* Bilge Qaghan is portrayed by Kang Jae-ik in the 2006-2007 [[Korean Broadcasting System|KBS]] TV series ''[[Dae Jo-yeong (TV series)|Dae Jo-yeong]]''.

==See also==
* [[Silver Deer of Bilge Khan]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* Encyclopædia Britannica, Micropaedia, Vol. II, pp.&nbsp;16–17

==External links==
*[https://gokturkanitlari.appspot.com/bilgekagan.html Bilge Kagan Inscriptions complete text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107022157/http://gokturkanitlari.appspot.com/bilgekagan.html |date=2014-01-07 }}
*[http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/museums/ubhist/turk.html The National Museum of Mongolian History: The early Turk Empire and the Uighurs]

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Ashina tribe|Ashina Clan]]||}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Inel Khagan]]}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[[Göktürk Kağans|Khagan]] of the [[Second Turkic Khaganate]]|years = 717–734}} 
{{s-aft|after=[[Yollıg Khagan]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Göktürks}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qaghan, Bilge}}
[[Category:680s births]]
[[Category:734 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths by poisoning]]
[[Category:Göktürk khagans]]
[[Category:Ashina house of the Turkic Empire]]
[[Category:8th-century monarchs in Asia]]
[[Category:Leaders who took power by coup]]