Istämi (or Dizabul[1] or Ishtemi Sir Yabghu Khagan;[2]Chinese: 室點密) was the ruler of the western part of the Göktürks, which became the Western Turkic Khaganate and dominated the Sogdians.[3] He was the yabgu (vassal) of his brother Bumin Qaghan in 552 AD.[4] He was posthumously referred to as khagan in Turkic sources.[5] His son was Tardu.
During his rule Istami established diplomatic relations with the Persian and Byzantine Empires, defeated the Hepthalites, and acted as an elder statesman during the disintegration of the eastern half of the empire. We know a great deal about him from the diplomatic missions of the Byzantine Empire.
Shortly after the smuggling of silkworm eggs into the Byzantine Empire from China by Nestorian Christian monks, the 6th-century Byzantine historian Menander Protector writes of how the Sogdians attempted to establish a direct trade of Chinese silk with the Byzantine Empire. After forming an alliance with the Sassanid ruler Khosrow I to defeat the Hephthalite Empire, Istämi was approached by Sogdian merchants requesting permission to seek an audience with the Sassanid king of kings for the privilege of traveling through Persian territories in order to trade with the Byzantines.[6] Istämi refused the first request, but when he sanctioned the second one and had the Sogdian embassy sent to the Sassanid king, the latter had the members of the embassy poisoned to death.[6] Maniah, a Sogdian diplomat, convinced Istämi to send an embassy directly to Byzantium's capital Constantinople, which arrived in 568 and offered not only silk as a gift to Byzantine ruler Justin II, but also proposed an alliance against Sassanid Persia. Justin II agreed and sent an embassy to the Turkic Khaganate, ensuring the direct silk trade desired by the Sogdians.[7][6]
As the brother of Bumin he ruled the far-western region of their khanate. His son was Tardu. As a Yabghu, he was autonomous and had de facto sovereignty while officially recognizing the authority of the qaghan. After Khushu's death he arranged the division of the territory into three realms east, central, and west and distributed them between Jotan, Arslan, and Shetu, respectively.
^Howard, Michael C., Transnationalism in Ancient and Medieval Societies, the Role of Cross Border Trade and Travel, McFarland & Company, 2012, p. 133.
^Christoph Baumer, History of Central Asia, volume two, 2014
^Wood, Francis (2002). The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. pp. 238–239. ISBN978-0-520-24340-8.
^Michalis N. Michael; Matthias Kappler; Eftihios Gavriel (2009). Archivum Ottomanicum. Mouton. pp. 68, 69.
^ abcHoward, Michael C., Transnationalism in Ancient and Medieval Societies, the Role of Cross Border Trade and Travel, McFarland & Company, 2012, p. 133.
^Liu, Xinru, "The Silk Road: Overland Trade and Cultural Interactions in Eurasia", in Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History, ed. Michael Adas, American Historical Association, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001, p. 168.
Further reading
Golden, Peter (1992). An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples: Ethnogenesis and State-Formation in Medieval and Early Modern Eurasia and the Middle East. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. ISBN9783447032742.
istämi, dizabul, ishtemi, yabghu, khagan, chinese, 室點密, ruler, western, part, göktürks, which, became, western, turkic, khaganate, dominated, sogdians, yabgu, vassal, brother, bumin, qaghan, posthumously, referred, khagan, turkic, sources, tardu, yabgu, first,. Istami or Dizabul 1 or Ishtemi Sir Yabghu Khagan 2 Chinese 室點密 was the ruler of the western part of the Gokturks which became the Western Turkic Khaganate and dominated the Sogdians 3 He was the yabgu vassal of his brother Bumin Qaghan in 552 AD 4 He was posthumously referred to as khagan in Turkic sources 5 His son was Tardu IstamiYabgu of the First Turkic KhaganateReign552 575SuccessorTarduQaghanBumin Qaghan 552 553 Issik Qaghan 553 554 Muqan Qaghan 554 572 Taspar Qaghan 572 574 Died575IssueTarduTamganHouseAshinaFatherAshina TuwuReligionTengrism Contents 1 Activities 2 See also 3 References 4 Further readingActivities EditDuring his rule Istami established diplomatic relations with the Persian and Byzantine Empires defeated the Hepthalites and acted as an elder statesman during the disintegration of the eastern half of the empire We know a great deal about him from the diplomatic missions of the Byzantine Empire Shortly after the smuggling of silkworm eggs into the Byzantine Empire from China by Nestorian Christian monks the 6th century Byzantine historian Menander Protector writes of how the Sogdians attempted to establish a direct trade of Chinese silk with the Byzantine Empire After forming an alliance with the Sassanid ruler Khosrow I to defeat the Hephthalite Empire Istami was approached by Sogdian merchants requesting permission to seek an audience with the Sassanid king of kings for the privilege of traveling through Persian territories in order to trade with the Byzantines 6 Istami refused the first request but when he sanctioned the second one and had the Sogdian embassy sent to the Sassanid king the latter had the members of the embassy poisoned to death 6 Maniah a Sogdian diplomat convinced Istami to send an embassy directly to Byzantium s capital Constantinople which arrived in 568 and offered not only silk as a gift to Byzantine ruler Justin II but also proposed an alliance against Sassanid Persia Justin II agreed and sent an embassy to the Turkic Khaganate ensuring the direct silk trade desired by the Sogdians 7 6 As the brother of Bumin he ruled the far western region of their khanate His son was Tardu As a Yabghu he was autonomous and had de facto sovereignty while officially recognizing the authority of the qaghan After Khushu s death he arranged the division of the territory into three realms east central and west and distributed them between Jotan Arslan and Shetu respectively See also EditTardu TamganReferences Edit Howard Michael C Transnationalism in Ancient and Medieval Societies the Role of Cross Border Trade and Travel McFarland amp Company 2012 p 133 Christoph Baumer History of Central Asia volume two 2014 Wood Francis 2002 The Silk Road Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia Berkeley CA University of California Press pp 238 239 ISBN 978 0 520 24340 8 Michalis N Michael Matthias Kappler Eftihios Gavriel 2009 Archivum Ottomanicum Mouton pp 68 69 TURK BITIG bitig org Retrieved 2018 07 28 a b c Howard Michael C Transnationalism in Ancient and Medieval Societies the Role of Cross Border Trade and Travel McFarland amp Company 2012 p 133 Liu Xinru The Silk Road Overland Trade and Cultural Interactions in Eurasia in Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History ed Michael Adas American Historical Association Philadelphia Temple University Press 2001 p 168 Further reading EditGolden Peter 1992 An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples Ethnogenesis and State Formation in Medieval and Early Modern Eurasia and the Middle East Wiesbaden Otto Harrassowitz ISBN 9783447032742 IstamiAshina ClanPreceded bynone Yabgu of the First Turkic Khaganate552 575 Succeeded byTardus This article related to Central Asian history is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Istami amp oldid 1105451605, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
