The Qarluqs

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

(Originially posted by me at October 6, 2004)
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I guess none or few of us have heard of the Qarluq State which ruled most of Western Turkestan during mid 8th-mid 10th centuries. I was planning of writing a short article about their empire but now I will not have enough time for that (maybe I can write bits of stuff slowly in time)

[firdus]

oH!karluk ! after uyhgur moved to tarim baisin ,togher with karluk they set up karahanid kingdom (10th century to 12th),later they were defeated by karahetai ,then by Chingis han!

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

The Qara-Khanid Empire was different from the Qarluq Empire I'm talking about. The Qarluq "Empire" was centered at Semirechie and it was weakened greatly by the Sâmânids and Qara-Khanids. They survived as a vassal state until Chinggis Khaan subjugated them.

[snafu]

I remember reading about them in History of the World Conqueror. I think they submitted to Genghis voluntarily at the same time the Uighurs did.

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

Yes, by the time of Chinggis Khaan, the Qarluq Empire (the one this thread is opened for) was reduced to a small Yabghunate in northern Yedisu south of Laker Bashkal. When the Mongols came, they joined the Mongol Empire like the Uyghurs did.

[Boorchi Noyan]

What was the power of them? Where did they affect? What did they leave (I mean sth cultural)?
Who was the greatest leader of them? And one more question, which clans were they made up by?

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

According to my recent researchs, the Qarluqs had a very loose federation (or a confederation) unlike the empires of the Blue Turks, Türgish or the Uyghurs. Their "state" was more like that of the Pecheneks or of 9th-10th century Oghuz.

[tengrikut]

in old articles, kara-khaneds were known as ilig-khaneds.

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

Yes but we aren't talking about the Qara Khanids here

[tadamson]

They were a loose federation, briefly became allied to the Karakhanids, then became one of the subject states that made up the Qara Khitai, then became subject to the Mongols after the fall of the QK. Large numbers moved to Northern Manchuria to the ulus of Khachiun and Temüge Odchigin.

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

tadamson said:

They were a loose federation, briefly became allied to the Karakhanids, then became one of the subject states that made up the Qara Khitai, then became subject to the Mongols after the fall of the QK.

Exactly.

tadamson said:

Large numbers moved to Northern Manchuria to the ulus of Khachiun and Temüge Odchigin.

Ah I didn't know that

Some Qarluqs later migrated to Asia Minor because there are some villages in Turkey with the name Qarluq. Also, the name of one of the Uzbek tribes in Northern Afghanistan is called with the same name.

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

According to F. Grenard in his article about Satuq Bughra Khan, the Qarluqs were the vassals of the Tibetan Empire in the second half of the 8th century. Is this true?

[uyghur]

oH!karluk ! after uyhgur moved to tarim baisin ,togher with karluk they set up karahanid kingdom (10th century to 12th),later they were defeated by karahetai ,then by Chingis han!

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

Yes indeed, you are right. The founders of the Qarakhanid Empire were from the Uyghur Federation. After conquering the Yedisu (Semirechje) region, they relied more on the Turkic peoples living there, such as the Qarluqs.

[pantigin]

Oh, so called qarluk empire would be another legendary history like so called kyrgyz empire that kyrgyz friends kept claiming . But no historical book by neighbouring countries or themselves had a record about their that empires. funny!