Bumin Khan

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Bumin Khan (death: 552 AD) was the founder of the Kokturk Empire. He is mentioned as "Tumen" (土門) in the ancient Chinese sources. His name means "smoke cloud." Little is known about his life, and most of the information comes from legends in which he gathers a group of Turkic people living in a legendary place called Ergenekon located in the inaccessible valleys of the Altay Mountains.

In 542 he put down a revolt of the Tiele tribes against their overlords the Avars (Rouran, Ruan-Ruan). In return he asked and was refused the hand of an Avar princess. His next move was to successfully establish contact with the Wei state in China. According to Chinese records, in 545 the Sogdian envoy An Nopantuo led a diplomatic mission to China. As a result of the mission, the Kokturk-Chinese alliance was sealed by Bumen's marriage to the princess Wei Chang'le (長樂公主).

The beginning of formal diplomatic relations with China propped up Bumen's authority among the Turks. He eventually united the local Turkic tribes and threw off the yoke of the Avar domination. With their defeat he proclaimed the Turkic Empire (Gökturk Khaganate) and assumed the title of Il-Khağan ("great-king", 伊利可汗) at the sacred Mt. Ötüuken.

Bumen died within several months after proclaiming himself Il-Khağan. He was succeeded by his brother Istami in the west and by his son Muhan Khan in the east. In less than one century, his empire expanded to comprise most of Central Asia.

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