← Explore on the interactive map

Fall of the Uyghur Khaganate

Type Event Region Mongolia Time 839–840

In 840 CE the Kirghiz defeated and destroyed the Uyghur Khaganate, which had ruled the Mongolian steppe for nearly a century;…

Timeline

  1. 839–840Mongolian Plateau · MongoliaThe Uyghur Khaganate was weakened by infighting within the ruling elite, fiscal distress, and severe natural disasters, leaving it unable to maintain control over the steppe tribes and creating conditions for foreign invasion.
  2. 840Ordu-Baliq · MongoliaA Kirghiz army surprised the Uyghur ordu capital, killed the khagan, and destroyed the khaganate's central government, collapsing Uyghur rule over the Mongolian Plateau.
  3. 840–843North and south of the Tianshan and the Hexi Corridor · Northwest ChinaRemnant Uyghurs split into groups migrating west to the regions north and south of the Tianshan (Gaochang Uyghurs) and south into the Hexi Corridor, some joining the Tang dynasty, creating a power vacuum on the steppe.

Sources