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Tang Anbei Protectorate

Type Object Region North of the Gobi Time c. 701–800

The Anbei Protectorate was the Tang's highest military-administrative body north of the Gobi, established late in the Zhenguan era, reaching its peak…

Timeline

  1. c. 701–740Hanhai · Mongolian PlateauIn the early 8th century the Anbei Protectorate governed the tribes north of the Gobi through jimi governorships; Uyghur power gradually rose, and the Tang maintained steppe stability through investiture, heqin marriages, and markets, with the protectorate's seat shifting between Hanhai and the Chanyu Protectorate as the political focus moved.
  2. c. 741–755Chanyu Protectorate · Chanyu ProtectorateUnder Emperor Xuanzong, the Anbei, Chanyu, and Annan protectorates formed a northern frontier defense system; the Uyghurs were invested as Khagan Huairen by the Tang, the tribes north of the Gobi submitted, and Tang control over the steppe reached its height.
  3. c. 756–800Uyghur court (north of the Gobi) · UyghurAfter the An Lushan Rebellion the Tang could no longer manage the region north of the Gobi; the Uyghurs greatly expanded their power after helping the Tang suppress the rebellion, and although the Anbei Protectorate's organization survived, actual control passed to the Uyghurs, with heqin marriages under Emperor Dezong maintaining a nominal vassal relationship.

Sources