Political Development
The Kyrgyz state reached its greatest expansion after defeating the Uyghur Khaganate in 840 AD, in alliance with the Chinese Tang dynasty.
The Kirghiz Khagans of the Yenisei Kirghiz Khaganate claimed descent from the Han Chinese general Li Ling (Han Dynasty), which was mentioned in the diplomatic correspondence between the Kirghiz Khagan and the Tang Dynasty Emperor, since the Tang Imperial Li family claimed descent from Li Ling's grandfather, Li Guang. The Kirghiz Qaghan assisted the Tang dynasty in destroying the Uyghur Khaganate and rescuing the Taihe princess from the Uyghurs. They also killed a Uyghur Khagan in the process.
Then Kyrgyz quickly moved as far as the Tian Shan range and maintained their dominance over this territory for about 200 years. In the 12th century, however, the Kyrgyz domination had shrunk to the Altai Range and the Sayan Mountains as a result of the rising Mongol expansion. With the rise of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, the Kyrgyz migrated south. In 1207, after the establishment of Yekhe Mongol Ulus (Mongol empire), Genghis Khan's oldest son Jochi occupied Kyrgyzstan without resistance. They remained a Mongol vassal until the late 14th century.
Various Turkic peoples ruled them until 1685, when they came under the control of the Oirats (Dzungars).
Read more about this topic: Kyrgyz People
Famous quotes containing the words political and/or development:
“Man is naturally a political animal.”
—Aristotle (384322 B.C.)
“This was the Eastham famous of late years for its camp- meetings, held in a grove near by, to which thousands flock from all parts of the Bay. We conjectured that the reason for the perhaps unusual, if not unhealthful development of the religious sentiment here, was the fact that a large portion of the population are women whose husbands and sons are either abroad on the sea, or else drowned, and there is nobody but they and the ministers left behind.”
—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)