Uyghur Khaganate - Decline

Decline

The power of Uyghur Empire declined and the empire started to fragment after Tun Bagha Tarkhan's death in 789. The Tibetans took from Uyghurs the area of Beshbalik, and the Karluks captured Fu-tu valley, which brought considerable fear to the Uyghur people. In 795, the khagan bearing the title Qutlugh Bilge died, and the Yaghlakar dynasty came to an end. A general named Qutlugh, declared himself the new khagan, under the title Tängridä ülüg bulmïsh alp kutlugh ulugh bilgä kaghan ("Greatly born in moon heaven, victorious, glorious, great and wise Kaghan"), founding a new dynasty, the Ediz (Chinese: A-tieh). With solid leadership once more, the Khaganate averted collapse. Qutlugh became renowned for his leadership and management of the empire. Although he consolidated the empire, he failed to restore it to its previous power. On his death in 808, the empire began to fragment once again. He was succeeded by his son, who went on to improve trade in inner Asia. The last great khagan of the Empire was a khagan with unknown name, bearing the title Kün tengride ülüg bulmïsh alp küchlüg bilge ("Greatly born in sun heaven, victorious, strong and wise"), whose achievements included improved trade up till the region of Sogdiana, and on the battlefield he repulsed a force of invading Tibetans in 821. This khagan died in 824 and was succeeded by a brother, Qasar, who was murdered in 832, inaugurating a period of anarchy. In 839 the legitimate khagan was forced to commit suicide, and a usurping minister named Kürebir seized the throne with help of invited 20,000 horsemen of Shato from Ordos. In the same year there was a famine and an epidemic, with a particularly severe winter that killed much of the livestock the Uyghur economy was based on.