Üge Qaghan (烏介可汗) was the twelfth ruler of Uyghurs. His Uyghur name was probably Üge ().
Life
He was a younger brother of
Zhaoli Qaghan and an uncle of
Zhangxin Qaghan.
['' Tang Huiyao'']
vol 98
/ref> He claimed the qaghanal title after the Yenisei Kyrgyz
The Yenisei Kyrgyz () were an ancient Turkic people who dwelled along the upper Yenisei River in the southern portion of the Minusinsk Depression from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th century CE. The heart of their homeland was the forested T ...
invasion in 841, with the support of 13 tribes. One of his first acts was to ambush the Kyrgyz escort who was guarding Princess Taihe
Princess Taihe (太和公主, personal name unknown), later, in 843, known as Princess Ding'an (定安公主) or Princess Anding (安定公主), was a princess of the Chinese Tang dynasty and a khatun (empress) of the Uyghur Khaganate. She was ma ...
. After capture, he had her write to Emperor Wuzong, requesting for Emperor Wuzong to recognize him as the new qaghan. He also asked for the emperor to lend him the border city of Zhenwu (振武, in modern Hohhot
Hohhot,; abbreviated zh, c=呼市, p=Hūshì, labels=no formerly known as Kweisui, is the Capital (political), capital of Inner Mongolia in the North China, north of the China, People's Republic of China, serving as the region's administrativ ...
, Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...
), in order to allow him to plan the rebuilding of the Uighur Khaganate. Emperor Wuzong responded with an edict that instructed the qaghan to remain outside Tang borders. He also requested Princess Taihe to personally return to Chang'an
Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...
to report on the Uighurs' status.[''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 246.] Among his requests, he demanded security for Manichean temples in China, retrieval of Wamosi and troops for aid.
Qaghan did not follow Emperor Wuzong's orders and pillaged Tang's northern territory in earnest. He also made another request to borrow the border city of Tiande (天德, in modern Bayan Nur, Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...
), which Emperor Wuzong rejected. Emperor Wuzong further wrote a rebuking letter to qaghan and warning of consequences, again ordering him to have Princess Taihe personally report and make requests. Emperor Wuzong also mobilized the forces of the circuits on the northern border, preparing a major retributive campaign against Uighurs. In winter 842, he also had the chancellor
Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
Li Deyu write a letter in his own name, addressed to Princess Taihe, sending it to the Uyghurs remnants along with winter clothes as a gift for Princess Taihe. Also in 842, at Li Deyu's advice, Emperor Wuzong ordered Tiande's commander Tian Mou (田牟) to stop engaging the Uyghurs, but instead entice them with food supplies and send them to Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan
Taiyuan; Mandarin pronunciation: (Jin Chinese, Taiyuan Jin: /tʰai˦˥ ye˩˩/) is the capital of Shanxi, China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. It is an industrial base foc ...
, Shanxi
Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...
). Also under Li Deyu's recommendation, the general Shi Xiong was sent to Tiande to assist Tian in defending against Uyghur raids.
In February 843, qaghan launched an attack on Zhenwu. Tang forces, commanded by the general Shi Xiong and Zhuye Chixin, prepared a surprise counter-attack. Li Sizhong also subsequently volunteered to fight the Uyghur remnants along with soldiers from the Qibi (契苾), Shatuo
The Shatuo, or the Shatuo Turks (; also transcribed as Sha-t'o, Sanskrit SartZuev Yu.A., ''"Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuyao" of 8-10th centuries)"'', Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, I ...
, and Tuyuhun tribesmen; in response, Emperor Wuzong ordered two prefects, He Qingchao (何清朝) and Qibi Tong (契苾通), to report to him with 6000 troops each. When Shi Xiong arrived near the Uyghur camp, he noticed that there were some special wagons lined with rugs and that the servants in those wagons were wearing red and green-colored robes that appeared to be Chinese. He sent a scout named Cai Xi to make contact and found out that these were Princess Taihe's train. He then had the scout again inform Princess Taihe of his plans to attack and asked her and her servants to remain calm and not move during the attack. At night, he made a surprise attack on qaghan's tent and his forces collapsed on 13 February 843. Wujie fled, and Shi then escorted Princess Taihe back to Tang territory.
Death and succession
He fled to Heichezi (黑车子), a Shiwei tribe at first. His defeat also meant a ban on Manichaeism
Manichaeism (; in ; ) is an endangered former major world religion currently only practiced in China around Cao'an,R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''. SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 found ...
in China. However he was still active for next three years fleeing from Kyrgyz and Tang. He later died in 846 in a battle near Altai Mountains
The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The ...
or perhaps assassinated by one of Wamosi's men. He was succeeded by his younger brother Enian Qaghan.
References
{{reflist
Manichaeans
846 deaths
Ädiz clan
9th-century monarchs in Asia
Monarchs killed in action
Uyghur khagans