Göktürks

The Göktürks or Kök Türks (Celestial/Blue Turks) were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples in medieval Inner Asia. The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) and his sons, succeeded the Rouran as the main power in the region and took hold of the lucrative Silk Road trade. Gök means Sky in modern Turkish.

The Göktürks became the new leading element amongst the disparate steppe peoples in Central Asia, after they rebelled against the Rouran Khaganate. Under their leadership, the Turkic Khaganate rapidly expanded to rule huge territories in Central Asia. From 552 to 745, Göktürk leadership bound together the nomadic Turkic tribes into an empire, which eventually collapsed due to a series of dynastic conflicts.

Read more about Göktürks:  Etymology, Origins, First Khaganate, Civil War, Eastern Turkic Khaganate, Western Turkic Khaganate, Eastern Turks Under The Jimi System, Second Turk Khaganate, Customs and Culture