Title Yabghu in Tocharestan

[Azadan Januspar]

I need help on the sources regarding title Yabghu in Tocharestan. Recently I footnotes of the history of bukhara by Narakhashi it wass written that the arabic tanslation of the title Jab-ghuye was actually name of a dynasty there Chap-guye which is known as Yabghu today for Tocharians.

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

That's one of the topics I examined in my MA thesis

During the early 630s, according to the Chinese travelling Buddhist monk Xuánzàng (Hsüan-tsang) 玄奘, the region of Tokharistan was ruled by Dáduò Shè (Ta-tou She) 呾度設 (*Tardu Šad), who was a son of Tǒng (T'ung) Yabġu Qaġan 統葉護可汗, the ruler of Western Türk Qaġanate. When the monk was returning back home in 733-734, while passing from Tokharistan again, he was met with the region's ruler who carried the title Yabġu (Yèhù / Yeh-hu 葉護) - he was the son of Tardu Šad (shortly after the monk had left Tokharistan for India in 730, Tardu Šad died and was succeded by his brother who also ruled the region for a short time with the title Šad). According to the New Book of Tang (Xīn Tángshū / Hsin T'ang-shu 新唐書), the rulers of Tokharistan were called Yabġu 葉護. While making my research, using the records found in Xīn Tángshū 新唐書 and The Prime Tortoise of the Record Bureau (Cèfŭ Yuánguī / Ts'e-fu Yüan-kui 冊府元龜) about emissaries sent to China from Tokharistan, I was able to detect that the rulers of Tokharistan all carried the title Yabġu after 634, until 758, which is the year that contains the last record I could find. According to the records about the years 652, 718, 719, 727, 749 and 758, the Yabġus of Tokharistan sent emissaries to China, sometimes sending news of their submission, but sometimes asking for help against the invading Arabs. Plus, according to Cèfŭ Yuánguī 冊府元龜, in the year 729, the Chinese emperor gave the titles Tǔhuǒluó Yèhù (T'u-huo-luo Yeh-hu) 吐火羅葉護 (Yabġu of Tokharistan) and Yìdá Wáng (Yi-ta Wang) 悒怛王 (Ephtalite King) to the ruler of Tokharistan who had the name (title) Gǔduōlù Xié Dádù (Ku-to-lu Hsieh Ta-tu) 骨咄祿頡達度 (*Qutluġ Il Tardu).

[Azadan Januspar]

What about the Kushan or Sogdian possible origins suggested of title Yabghu and Shad. In your researches you happened to encounter sources stating this transliteration "Chap-guye"?

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

Šad is indeed most probably a Soghdian title having it's origins in the Avesta (Old Iranic *xšaita- → Avestan xsaēta- → Soghdian xšēδ/ġšyd [γšyδ] → Turkic Šad). However, even though the Kushan word Yavugasa and Yavasa seem similar to Yabghu, that is probably a mere coincidence, because the word Yabġu most probably is a Turkic word, made from the root word "Yap-" (cover, protect) and the suffix "-ġu" (there are many examples of such words, like Urunġu [Warrior, from "Ur-" meaning "hit"], Tayanġu [Vizier, from "Tayan" meaning "to get support"], etc), which means "someone who covers (his people/country)".

Čapġu is a Turkic dialectical version of Yabġu. In some dialects, the "y" sound turns to "ch" or "j", as can be attested from the 10th-century Ḥudûd al-'Âlam حدود اﻠﻌﺎﻠﻢ, which gives both versions (Jabġûy ﺠﺒﻐﻮﻯ and Yabġû ﻴﺒﻐﻮ).

[ALTAR]

There is another well-known view for Šad.

Šad could come to Ancient Turk language from Sanskrit language like Ishbara title(originally Ishavara in Sanskrit language).

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

Well that's also possible

There's another Iranic-origin theory regarding the origin of the title Šad too. According to this, the title comes from Old Persian xšāyaθiya-, which became the well-known Classical Persian title Šâh, while it turned to Šad among the Turks. Besides these Iranic theories, there was once a claim that Šad was an Assyrian word, but this is quiet unlikely.

All these theories can be found at Alessio Bombaci's article "On the Ancient Turkish Title «Šaδ»", Gururājamañjarikā – Studi In Onore Di Giuseppe Tucci, Instituto Universitario Orientale, Napoli, 1974, pp.167-193.

I personally stick to the "Old Iranic *xšaita- → Avestan xsaēta- → Soghdian xšēδ/ġšyd [γšyδ] → Turkic Šad" theory.

[Azadan Januspar]

Thanks guys!

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

You're welcome

For more info about the Western Türk (Celestial Turk) Qaghanate, you can check Édouard Chavannes (in French).