98 chapter two
In 625 (or 627?) A.D., the West Turkic khagan Ton yabghu declared
his desire for a matrimonial alliance with the Chinese court and sent to
the emperor a crown, 5 000 horses and a special golden belt decorated
with jewels.^44 In 612 A.D., together with the princess, the Chinese sent
the Turkic khagan 1 000 kaftans and 1 000 pieces of silk.^45 In 703 A.D.,
Kapaghan kaghan (692–716) ordered Bagha tarkhan to negotiate for a
marital alliance with China. On a later date that same khagan, as a spe-
cial sign of gratitude, sent to the Middle Kingdom 1 000 horses. Usu-
ally, all these measures and initiatives were most often accompanied
by blackmailing from the Turkic side, as well as by raids of the Turkic
cavalry across the northern border of China. In 698 A.D., Kapaghan
khagan avoided such an alliance, but soon after 703 A.D., i.e. in 710
A.D., he again had to seek for a marital alliance with his southern
neighbor. This time Kapaghan khagan received from the Chinese a
princess with a title of Gin-xan.^46 Though the Turks received Chinese
princesses as wives for their supreme rulers, in reality the khagans
usually were not satisfied with these matrimonial alliances based on
inter-marriage since they were well aware that the Middle Kingdom
would never admit having such an alliance on an equal level. And the
khagan’s disappointment is well illustrated by the following phrase:
“Besides the princesses given to us are not daughters of the emperor;
so we do not dare to make a choice”.^47
In this type of relations the sedentary civilizations and the Chinese,
in particular, used such alliances to establish the security and peace
along the Great Wall. The nomadic leaders, in their turn, viewed the
inter-marriage alliances as another pretext to receive rich donations
and gifts as well as possibilities for closer connections to different
courts in the South. This means, beyond any doubt, an easier access to
the precious and luxurious objects made by craftsmen in Byzantium,
Sassanian Persia, or China that were so dear to the hearts and eyes
(^44) Schafer 1963, 222 [= Shefer 1981, 293]; also see, Jagchid and Symons 1989, 152.
(^45) Bichurin 1950, 56, 90, 93, 101, 284. Gumilev 2004, 190, adds that Chu-lo was
offered by the Chinese (at that time he was still “shad” only) a princess and the title
“southern khan”.
(^46) Bichurin 1950, 271–272; Jagchid and Symons 1989, 152–153.
(^47) Bichurin 1950, 276. Especially for the Turgesh people in Central Asia and its
marriage ‘tactics’ see, Bichurin 1950, 298–299. For the attitude of the eastern Turks
from the Second khaganate (while on the Turkic throne was Bilge khagan) towards
these marriages as well as Bilge khagan’s lash towards China’s tactics to search for a
balance against the Turks through marriages with Tibet or the Qitans, see more in,
Jagchid and Symons 1989, 153–156.