Kulun Beg () - was a
Turkic (Göktürk) ruler who tried to sustain the
Second Turkic Khaganate
The Second Turkic Khaganate was a khaganate in Central and Eastern Asia founded by the Ashina clan of the Göktürks that lasted between 682–744. It was preceded by the Eastern Turkic Khaganate (552–630) and the early Tang dynasty period ( ...
in vain.
Family
Kulun Beg succeeded
Özmiş Khagan who was beheaded by the
Ashina Shi. His relation to Özmiş Khagan is unclear. According to Taşağıl
[Ahmet Taşağıl: ''Göktürkler'', AKDTYK Yayınları, Ankara, 2012, pp.359-62] he was Özmiş Khagan's son and according to the family tree drawn by
Gumilev he was Özmiş Khagan's brother.
[L.M.Gümilev :''Eski Türkler'', trans:Ahsen Batur, Selenge yayınları, İstanbul, 2002, , , P.441, 564]
Reign
He was enthroned in 744. When he was enthroned the
Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
n steppes were already conquered by the coalition of
Uighur -
Basmyl
The Basmyls (''Basmyl''; Basmals, Basmils, , , Middle Chinese ZS: *''bË É›tÌš-siɪtÌš-miɪtÌš/mË iɪtÌš/miá´‡''; or as 弊剌 ''Bìlà '', MC *''bjiejH-lat'')Golden, Peter B. ''An Introduction to the History of Turkic Peoples'', p. 142-143 were a ...
and
Karluk. Chinese emperor
Xuanzong decided to destroy the last traces of Turkic khaganate and he sent general Wang Zhongsi (çŽ‹å¿ å—£) over Kulun Beg’s forces. Meanwhile
Ashina Shi was deposed by
Kutlug I Bilge Kagan. Wang Zhongsi (çŽ‹å¿ å—£) defeated the eastern flank of Turkic army headed by Apa Tarkhan.
Although Kulun Beg tried to escape, he was arrested by the
Uighurs and was beheaded just like his father in 745.
Aftermath
Most of the Turks fled to other Turkic tribes like Basmyl. However, a group including
Po Beg,
Bilge Khagan
Bilge Qaghan (; ; 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 t ...
’s widow who was also
Tonyukuk
Tonyukuk (, zh, , c=暾欲谷, p=Tunyugu, , born c. 646, died c. 726) was the baga-tarkhan (supreme commander) and adviser of four successive Göktürk khagans – Ilterish Qaghan, Qapaghan Qaghan, Inel Qaghan and Bilge Qaghan. He conducted v ...
’s daughter, took refuge in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. Chinese emperor legitimised her as a princess and she was appointed as the ruler of her people.
According to Taşağıl, Turks were mentioned in Chinese chronicles up to 941.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beg, Kulun
Göktürk khagans
8th-century monarchs in Asia
745 deaths
Year of birth unknown