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 "title": "Bilge Qaghan",
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 "excerpt": "Bilge Qaghan (毗伽可汗) is a name borne by two rulers: an Eastern Turk khagan enthroned in 716, and a Uyghur qaghan invested by the Tang.",
 "snippet": "Bilge Qaghan (毗伽可汗) is a name borne by two rulers: an Eastern Turk khagan enthroned in 716, and a Uyghur qaghan invested by the Tang.",
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 "markdown": "# Bilge Qaghan\n\n**Bilge Qaghan** (毗伽可汗) is a name borne in the sources by two different rulers: it was the name of the Eastern Turk (东突厥) khagan enthroned in Kaiyuan 4 (716), and it appears as the closing element of the Tang-invested title 英武威远毗伽可汗 (\"Bilge Qaghan of Martial Might and Far-Reaching Authority\"), which was conferred on the Uyghur (回纥) qaghan 磨延啜 during the [Tang dynasty](https://www.edgepedia.org/tang-dynasty).<sup>[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/新唐書/卷217上)</sup> The Uyghur qaghan who bore that title ruled during the [An Lushan](https://www.edgepedia.org/an-lushan) rebellion and, according to the *Jiu Tangshu*, married a genuine daughter of Emperor Suzong, and sent Uyghur cavalry to fight for the Tang, making the Uyghur–Tang marriage alliance of his reign a fixture of later Tang frontier policy.<sup>[2](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195)</sup> \n\n| Fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Principal title | 英武威远毗伽可汗, conferred by Tang investiture<sup>[1](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/新唐書/卷217上)</sup> |\n| Marriage | Received Princess Ningguogongzhu (宁国公主), a daughter of Emperor Suzong, as his wife (可敦)<sup>[2](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195)</sup> |\n| Military aid to Tang | Sent Guchuaitelei (骨啜特勒) and the chancellor Di De (帝德) with 3,000 cavalry to help suppress the rebellion<sup>[2](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195)</sup> |\n| Reported victory | Defeated a force of 50,000 坚昆<sup>[2](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195)</sup> |\n| | Invested by Emperor Daizong in 763 as 颉咄登蜜施合俱录英义建功毗伽可汗; the recipient was Bögü Qaghan, Moyanchur's successor, so this was not a later title of Moyanchur<sup>[2](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://skqs.dazhishi.com/show_rmyjrzzvyv.html)</sup> |\n\n## Marriage alliance and investiture\n\nIn the seventh month of a year during Suzong's reign, the emperor decreed that his young daughter be created Princess Ningguogongzhu and sent out to marry the qaghan.<sup>[2](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195)</sup> The Prince of Hanzhong Yu (瑀) was made investiture envoy, with Xun (巽) as deputy and ceremony envoy, and the senior minister [Pei Mian](https://www.edgepedia.org/pei-mian) (裴冕) escorted the princess to the frontier.<sup>[2](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195)</sup> Suzong personally accompanied the princess to the relay station at Xianyang (咸阳), where she said, \"The state's affairs are weighty; I would not regret it even in death,\" and the emperor returned weeping.<sup>[2](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195)</sup>\n\nThe audience at the qaghan's tent shows the etiquette of the alliance being negotiated in person. When the qaghan demanded ritual bows, Yu replied that the Tang emperor, because of the qaghan's merit, was marrying his own daughter rather than a princess of the imperial clan, and that as the Son of Heaven's son-in-law the qaghan should not receive the edict sitting on his couch.<sup>[2](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195)</sup> The qaghan then rose, received the edict, and accepted the investiture; the next day the princess was honored as 可敦 (khatun, the qaghan's consort), and the Uyghur chiefs rejoiced that the Tang emperor had sent his true daughter.<sup>[2](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195)</sup> The qaghan distributed the silk, clothing, gold, and silver vessels of the bridal embassy among his own officials and chieftains, and on Yu's return presented 500 horses, sable furs, and white felt.<sup>[2](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195)</sup>\n\n## Military aid and campaigns\n\nIn the eighth month the qaghan sent the prince Guchuaitelei and the chancellor Di De with 3,000 cavalry to aid the Tang against the rebels; Suzong feasted them on their arrival and placed them under the Shuofang field commander Puguhuai'en (仆固怀恩).<sup>[2](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195)</sup> In the ninth month a Uyghur embassy thanked the Tang for the princess's marriage and reported the defeat of 50,000 坚昆 troops.<sup>[2](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195)</sup> The victory reported to the court was won against a steppe rival rather than in China.<sup>[2](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195)</sup>\n\n## Political influence\n\nThe qaghan's marriage alliance outlasted him as an institution. The precedent of a Tang emperor's true daughter marrying a Uyghur qaghan shaped later reigns: Daizong invested Moyanchur's successor, Bögü Qaghan, in 763 with the title 颉咄登蜜施合俱录英义建功毗伽可汗, and his consort as 婆墨光亲丽华毗伽可敦, with the investiture performed at the qaghan's own camp.<sup>[2](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://skqs.dazhishi.com/show_rmyjrzzvyv.html)</sup> On that occasion the qaghan, the khatun, and their officials down to the inner and outer chancellors were granted an enlarged fief, and the qaghan's chief lieutenants received princely titles: the Left and Right 杀 as 雄朔王 and 宁朔王, the 胡禄都督 as 金河王, and eleven tuquns as dukes.<sup>[2](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195)</sup> The Uyghur military contribution to suppressing the An Lushan rebellion, begun under this qaghan, became the standing basis on which later emperors justified the marriage policy; the histories record later emperors noting that the northern people \"had rendered service to the royal house.\"<sup>[2](https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195)</sup>\n\n## References\n\n1. 《新唐书》卷二百一十七上 (passage naming 磨延啜 as 英武威远毗伽可汗), Wikisource transcription. https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/新唐書/卷217上\n2. 《旧唐书》卷一百九十五 (passages naming 毗伽可汗), Wikisource transcription. https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/舊唐書/卷195\n3. 第二百二十三卷 - 资治通鉴全译 - 四库全书, https://skqs.dazhishi.com/show_rmyjrzzvyv.html\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Asian history › China › Early Tang (618 to 755) › Frontier peoples and diplomacy*\n\n*Initially written Sep 23, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n",
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 "credit": "\"Bilge Qaghan\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/bilge-qaghan. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.",
 "credit_md": "\"[Bilge Qaghan](https://www.edgepedia.org/bilge-qaghan)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/bilge-qaghan](https://www.edgepedia.org/bilge-qaghan). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).",
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 "speakable": "Bilge Qaghan is a name borne by two rulers: an Eastern Turk khagan enthroned in 716, and a Uyghur qaghan invested by the Tang."
}