Rise of the First Khaganate
Name the ruling state that forced early Turks to pay tribute in iron and called them "smelting slaves"
the Rouran Khaganate
Name Bumin Khagan’s younger brother who led the western military campaigns across Central Asia.
Istemi Khagan
Name the geographical location where Russian explorer Nikolai Yadrintsev discovered the famous stone steles in 1889.
Vilhelm Thomsen
Name the winter capital located in the Chuy Valley and the summer capital near modern-day Taraz.
Suyab and Ming-Bulak
Name the main core region and capital center of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate located in modern-day Mongolia.
Otukan (or the Orkhon River valley)
Name the leader who defeated the Rouran in 552 CE after being denied a marriage alliance, taking the title "Elkhan".
Bumin Khagan
State the size of the army led westward by Istemi Khagan to reach the Aral Sea by 555 CE.
10 tumens (100,000 warriors)
Name the geographical location where Russian explorer Nikolai Yadrintsev discovered the famous stone steles in 1889.
the Orkhon River basin (in modern Mongolia)
State the primary geographical region that comprised the territory of the Western Turkic Khaganate.
modern Kazakhstan, Central Asia, and the North Caucasus
Name the primary foreign rival and neighboring power with which the Eastern Turkic Khaganate engaged in frequent border conflicts and trade relations.
Tang Dynasty China
Identify the year in which the ethnonym "Turk" first appeared in official Chinese historical records.
542 CE
Name the settled group in Central Asia subdued by the Turks between 563 and 567 CE to gain control over the Great Silk Road.
the Hephthalites
Name the first two words decoded from the Old Turkic runic monuments.
"Tengri" and "Turk"
Name the ruler (618–630 AD) under whose reign the Western Khaganate reached the apex of its political and military power while expanding administrative ties with Sogdian merchants.
Tong Yabghu Khagan
Identify the year the initial Eastern Turkic Khaganate was defeated and temporarily brought under the control of Tang China before its later restoration.
630 AD
Name the collective group of over 30 Turkic tribes (including the Oguz, Uyghurs, and Kyrgyzes) that united near the Altai Mountains.
the Tele tribes
Name the Sogdian merchant who led a Turkic diplomatic embassy to the Byzantine Empire in 568 CE.
Maniakh
State the direction in which the Old Turkic runic alphabet was written and read.
right-to-left (or top-to-bottom)
Name the primary tribal alliance that formed the structural foundation of the Western Turkic Khaganate.
"On Oq" (Ten Arrows) union
Name the prominent leaders responsible for re-establishing the Second Eastern Turkic Khaganate in 682 AD.
Elterish Khagan and Qapaghan Khagan
Name the ruler who succeeded Kara-Eske in 553 CE, completely crushed the Rourans, and exacted an annual tribute of 100 bolts of silk fabric from Northern Chinese states.
Mukan Khagan
Name the empire that was forced to pay the Turks an annual tribute of 40,000 gold pieces following the Turkic-Byzantine alliance.
the Sasanian Empire (Persia)
State the total number of characters contained in the Old Turkic runic alphabet.
38 to 40 characters
Name the primary geopolitical rivals of the Western Turkic Khaganate as it expanded westward toward Central Asia and the Caucasus.
Sasanian Persia and local nomadic tribes
Name the famous ruling triumvirate—consisting of a khagan, his military commander brother, and a wise advisor—whose deeds are commemorated on the major Orkhon monuments.
Bilge Khagan, Kul Tigin, and Tonyukuk