Realignment on the Eve of the Eastern–Western Turkic Khaganate Split

Timeline

1. 581–582Northern steppe khaganal court · Mongolian PlateauAfter the death of Tardu Khagan, fierce struggles over the succession to the great khaganate broke out within the Ashina clan; Ishbara Khagan and several imperial princes each rallied followers, openly exposing east–west disagreements over the khaganate, and the authority of the unified khaganate began to loosen.
2. 583–590North and south of the Tianshan · Tianshan RegionIshbara Khagan based himself in the northern steppe as khagan of the Eastern Turks, while Tardu Khagan (Dianjue) based himself in the Western Regions as khagan of the Western Turks, forming an east–west standoff; Eastern Turkic focused on diplomatic maneuvering with the Sui and remnants of Northern Zhou, while Western Turkic controlled Central Asian trade routes and Sogdian cities, with the Tianshan roughly dividing them.
3. 590–600Northern Sui frontier · Northern ChinaAfter unifying China, the Sui dynasty adopted a divide-and-rule strategy, supporting Eastern Turkic Ishbara while suppressing Western Turkic Tardu, intensifying their conflict; though nominally still one khaganate, east and west were militarily and politically independent, and the split was formally completed in 603 after Ishbara's sons were abandoned by their followers.