Riding the Eternal Blue Heaven TL

[Malta]

https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=154505
Riding the Eternal Blue Sky TL


In the world affairs of events and cultural change, the 7th century would be marked by the strangely parallel rise of two history changing Empires accompanied by new, sweeping religious change as these new religious doctrines spread by their 'Holy Men-Warriors' central figures who would sweep across the most least densely populated areas of the world to found two of the most central religions in the world and would inspire other leaders to change the course of history as well.

The religion of Islam founded by the Prophet Muhammad centered in Mecca on the Arabian Peninsula would go on to unite the various Arab tribesmen and then move on to sweep across the western Middle East and into North Africa eventually reaching Spain. The religion of NeoTangriism or Diyanatism, as western scholars call the Faith of the Eternal Blue Sky would start with The Son of Tengri otherwise known as Diyanat (though the nature of his real name is in dispute as Diyanat means 'Piety' but the only occurrence of this name is in Persian sources) from Samarkand the Turk of the Oghuz tribes would unite and conquer Transaxonia and then Central Asian as west as Europe, as East as China, as north as Siberia, and as south as the Delhi Plains in India.

The origins of the two leaders are quite very similar in the beginnings. Muhammad a humble merchant and Diyanat the third son of his tribe the Kayi, realtivly in the middle for their status in their societies. Further their beginnings revolve around major urban centers, despite the pastoralism of their backgrounds and creeds, for Muhammad it was Mecca and for Diyanat it was Samarkand which both would transform into the opulent centers of their political and cultural empires. Not only that but both men may have been influenced in part by other outside source cultures as despite their 'pagan' influences, both cities were home to various religions as traders of many influences from Nesotorian Christians to Zoroastrians to Jews to Buddhists and Hindus, who some speculate may have influenced and jumpstarted the doctrines of these men. Both also worked on the previous religion of their region and transformed it, Allah and Tengri being the major deities of the Arabs and Turks and then their doctrine was reformed (as was not Jewish doctrine when Jesus founded Christianity? Or Buddha reformation of Hinduism?) to the point where the previous religious practices were entirely overcome by these men.

As these two men of history made their way both would eventually become the father of their peoples, Muhammad as hailed as being the epitome of Islam but also the modern cultural and nationalistic father of the Arab people and so would Diyanat the epitome of Tengrism is hailed by all as the Atatürk. The founding religion and proto-nationalistic consciousness that both men would found though in the eyes of history would become the fiercest of rivals....

-"Origins of the Nomadic Religious Empires of the 600s" by Dr. Mustafa Kemal (1923)

----------------
"Where Diyanat comes into place in history is around the year 622 CE, around the age of 32 for himself, when from oral accounted sources later written down, Diyanat went missing for an entire week, not even the fastest and farthest reaching riders could find him! It was as if he had disappeared from the face of the earth, his father Arslan worried during this entire time-perhaps his son had been taken hostage by a rival tribe? Perhaps he had been beset by wolves or fallen off his horse and was dead?! The possibilities were many but on the seventh day as it is said he returned completely unharmed, riding into the encampment of the Kayi a changed man! It is said he now possessed a glow to his personality and as he rode the shepherding beasts followed him in a single line, followed by a pack of wolves that seemed most tame and a wild goose (a symbol of Tengri) perched on his steed!

His father and family ran to his son and asked where he had been and what had he done! His reply was this "I have ridden across the Eternal Blue Sky!" This proclamation brought both awe and anger toward him as he proclaimed these things, but with a wave of his hand he calmed down the growing crowd around him and with a possession of command not known to him before he continued with what had happened.

He was struck by a strike of lightning, on the nearly clear day, and instantly his self ascended into the heavens of the sky and what he saw was ever beautiful. Drawing in the crowd around him they all began to listen to every word as he described it, which he described very much as earth but only more golden and perfect, where no man, woman, or child is sick and all suckle plentiful on food and drink gifted to them by Tengri. Though all was not well, as he wandered through heaven the sky darkened and from the depths of the earth Er Kishi the dark being in Turkic mythology ascends into the heavens and does battle with the Pure Father Tengri and a titanic battle erupts. Dutiful to his god, Diyanat takes his bow and joins in the attack on Er Kishi, one of his arrows piercing the dark being's eye and causing him much anguish! Tengri uses this to his advantage and strikes Er Kishi casting him out of the heavens and back into his own dark dominion. Turning to Diyanat the god thanks him greatly and immediately adopts him as his own! Gifting him the command of animals and life once again, Tengri and Diyanat take time though to ride across the sky and across the steppes, while doing so Tengri conveys to Diyanat instructions on how to lead the people and guide them into a new and prosperous time.

Diyanat finishes his account with that he was returned to his mortal body, the animals around him having gathered and protected his mortal flesh! By now most of the people are quite curious as to what the message Tengri conveyed to Diyanat and how to better lead the people to a better life, and so he tells them these new laws becoming the basis of the ideals of his teachings as passed down from Tengri.

Already the goal of all people are to live in harmony with the world around them, to keep to the natural balance of things which can only bring about good fortunes for those that seek to do this as Balancing the Harmony should be a unified goal of the people. All should strive for this common goal which can best be suited through working for the better and unification of one's tribes and the other tribes who confess this belief. The world is in constant change, and so the people may change to better strive for the Harmony but they should not forget their roots and resist those that attempt to change this, which is best described through the practice of the nomadic lifestyle, while if one were to live in the city and take up the plow they can still work for the Harmony and best that they practice the nomadic lifestyle and its 'arts' (Horse riding, archery, herding, and so on) to better keep themselves connected to the natural world.

Those that in their lives keep the Harmony will be rewarded in their afterlife by ascending into heaven and the blissful life for several centuries before returning to life once more, while those who do not contribute to the Harmony will be condemned to spend several centuries within the darkest reach of the earth and El Kishi's dominion.

Further in relation to other people of foreign tongue and gods, peace should first be sought with them, in a live let sort of quality, but should these people and their culture, leader, and god(s) bring a misbalance into the Harmony through violence then every favored son and daughter of Tengri has the right and duty to fight back to see these people humbled! If they still will not see the Harmony Tengri offers then they must be destroyed and expunged to bring balance to the natural order and peace amongst the peoples!

In times after the death of the Son of Tengri, those who would take these tenants too strict and too literal, even in this day and age, would flock together abandoning all forms of higher technology, including guns and medical advances, as well as be quite hostile to ANYONE not in following with their view on the message from Tengri. I cite the purging of not only Mazdis, but also Muslims and Christians by the Kajar Tribe in 1694 in the Caucasus Mountains at the behest of Bey Kursi as an example of this.

This would form the basis of the new Gök Tanrı or faith of the Eternal Blue Sky that is Tengriism though at first not all within the Kayi accepted this doctrine turning to the current Shamans of the tribe to verify this occurrence. It is said that half and half of the shamans either supported or did not support Diyanat, but when one such Shaman took to calling Diyanat a liar and strike him-the wild goose perched on Diyanat's steed took flight and the wolves pounced on these men tearing them to shreds! Stunned and perhaps sensing the sudden shift of support, Ayrat the leader of the Kayi declared his belief in Diyanat and immediately offered his first daughter to marriage thus Diyanat took his first steps to unleashing the Turkic tribes and the Way of the Eternal Blue Sky on the people of the world!"
-Chapter 1 The Son of the Eternal Blue Sky, Origins of the Nomadic Religious Empires of the 600s" by Dr. Mustafa Kemal (1923)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

During the period of the next twenty years the area of Transoxiana. The first year and a half focusing on the area around Samarkand, uniting the various Turkic tribes that lived or traveled through the area such as fellow Oghuz Turks but also Kangars, Kimeks, Kipchaks, and first waves of Uzbeks and others traveling westward but also in a few cases Indo-Iranian nomads (as records describe some of Diyanat's early followers as speaking Persian). This force of change worried the local Samarkandis but also drew the eyes of Tong Yabghu the ruler of the Western Gokturk Khanganate who was beginning campaigns against the western border of the Sassanid Empire of Persia at the time by heading a number of raids into the Caucasus mountains. Though the area had much to worry about along with the Tang Dynasty of China probing the area for future expansion.

Having united all of the surrounding tribes around Samarkand through various ways of alliance, negotiation, or just plain warfare Diyanat in 624 marched into Samarkand at the head of a entire Tuman (10,000) strong army and the city gave into Diyanat's domination when the Son of Tengri made his intentions clear that he had no wish to rape and sack the entire city (though loot from those who resisted would be taken and distributed). The city had heard rumors of Diyanat that he had received a divine message from Tengri, and this naturally put the local Zoroastrian Temple and Nestorian Christian adherents on the edge. Riding into the city Diyanat made praise of the people and immediately rounded up the population and told them of his story of Riding Across the Eternal Blue Heaven. At the end of his story, Diyanat was immediatly challenged by a Zoroastrian Magi who angrily refuted this claim (despite the warnings of some of his fellows). Diyanat asked the man if there would be peace between his faith and that of his own, the Magi outright said that there would be war with the Sassanid’s driving from the east to annihilate Diyanat and all traces of Tengri!

Calmly, Diyanat reached down to his bow and shot the Magi through the heart, creating a panic in the crowd but Diyanat held up his hands and shouted for peace! Turning to the other Zoroastrian Magi Diyanat asked them for peace, and these men hastily agreed to a peace between them. Satisfied, Diyanat continued on leaving many shocked at this. Overtime the majority inhabitants of Samarkand would convert to Tengriism, moved by the peace and will of Diyanat, though for this the other faiths in the city would slowly shrink, everytime there was a religious spat Diyanat would interveane and ask for peace and if anyone was foolish enough to deny this they would be killed. Though not long after witnessing this the Nestorian Christians, the majority missionaries from farther west would leave the city in a hurry-bringing the first word westward of Diyanat and his faith.

Making Samarqand his capital, Diyanat would rearrange the city structure to provide for wider roads and as the population sprung up with the influx of nomads making camps outside the city these camps would be replaced with firmer housing as new complexes were established based on the size and where the different tribal groups and clans settled down. Though in this time Diyanat would also begin the 'Book of the Eternal Sky' as he laid down the foundations for the organized religious structure of Tengriism with the establishment of the High Shaman Council and religious school though to do this Diyanat had organized the first written structure of the Turkic peoples, what is known as 'Old Turkic' via wide spread runic script system the Turkic peoples had in use but never offically organized. This is characterized by a massive amount of importation of paper from the east as the Tenets, the tale of Diyanat, and other minor laws and rules reflecting on tribal and nomadic life settings, were combined to make the 'Book of the Eternal Sky' which would be finished only after Diyanat's death.

Following the capture and settling of Samarkand, Tengriism of Diyanat would spread across Transoxiana along the silk road both west and east, spreading like wildfire across these routes and amongst not only the Turkic tribes but those of a nomadic set who were non-Turkic such as Indo-Iranian nomads to the west and into parts of the Eastern Gokturk Khanganate and lands under the Tang influence. Notably, a Han-Han Chinese merchant and herdsmen by the name of Jin Peng would take up Tengriism and take the religion back to his home region of Gansu which would later develop into much headaches for the expansionist Tang.

Notably the Sassanid were early on quite aware of Diyanat's growing influence in the heart of the Gokturk Khaganate and there is some evidence of the Persians sending envoys to Samarkand to encourage this.

By the time that Tong Yabghu realized the developments in the heart of his Khaganate, the Diyanat Dynasty or the Tengri Khaganate had expanded to the shores of the Aral and Caspian Sea, much of this making up of its influence where tribes and urban populations declaring their allegiance to Diyanat. Flush from his victories over the Persians in the Third Perso-Turkic War Tong Yabghu turned back to his heartland to put down the growing influence of Diyanat, marching his host eastward though on the return route tragedy struck as Tong Yabghu died of Pneumonia which would be the deathblow for the Western Gokturk Khangante as the remaining leaders fell into infighting or sided with Diyanat's growing strength. By the mid 630s, the Tengri Khangante had expanded from the edge of the Caucasus and the Khazars to the Tuyuhun Kingdom (Qingbei and Gansu provinces of China).

During this period Diyanat established peaceful relations with its neighbors, even as those who spread Diyanat's words were making inroads into Siberia and the Caucasus, and into Tibet and the outer edges of the Mongolian steppe. Diyanat sent peaceful envoys not only to the Tang Emperor and the Eastern Khanganate but also to Yazdgerd III of Persia and Emperor Heraclius in Constantinople. Though the one most of note was that the Prophet Muhammad also took note of his fellow empire and religious builder to his east, sending envoys to Samarkand where on the occasion Diyanat received them graciously but much like the confrontation with the Magi in Samarkand (and by now increasingly expansive confrontations with raiding Zoroastrian Persians) the envoys that Muhammad sent were immediately abhor to Tengriism as they came in to take in more and more of the faith. The matter is safe to say did not end well, with a fierce lecture to one of the envoys and the burying alive of the other (a practice seeming as to become popular way of punishment, a metaphoric death toward Er Kishi's underworld).

It was at this time though that news came to the aging Diyanat from the west, the followers of Muhammad, their Prophet long dead, had defeated the Persians taking over much of Mesopotamia and Battle of Jalula had seen the utter defeat of the Persians. Diyanat was at first somewhat resistant to calls for attacking the Persians and confronting the Muslims, but when a raiding party of Persian cavalry attacked and burned several encampments along the Tengrist-Persian border-Diyanat was said to have stood up from his throne and shouted out with the roar of a lion "BY THE WILL OF THE ETERNAL BLUE HEAVEN!"

With that the Tengrists went to war.

--Chapter 1 The Son of the Eternal Blue Sky, Origins of the Nomadic Religious Empires of the 600s" by Dr. Mustafa Kemal (1923)

Excerpt from The Turkic-Arab Wars, Chapter 2: The Persian Succession 635-650 by Diyanat Wacinyapin (2001)


...and from the east the fury of the Steppe the noble Horse Warriors of the Turkic people under the Son of Tengri, despite his advancing age, swarmed into the Iranian Plateau their throats roaring with praise to Tengri and promises of victory and spoils for all! What had been a mounting number of increasingly hostile acts by Persian border guards into the territory of the Diyanatists had snowballed into the first historical practice of Diyanat's Tenet of 'Restoration of the Harmonic Balance Through Force of Arms' on a wide scale aimed at either the total humbling or destruction of their opposing political and cultural opponent. That the opening invasion of the Iranian Plateau utterly saw the wiping out of the Zoroastrian-Persian civilization from Central Asia and the North-Eastern area of the Iranian Plateau in a century is a testament to the both military and social might that the Son of Tengri had launched onto the world. The choice also to deal with the Muslims was not a easy one for Diyanat for the harmony of the world weighed on his shoulders, but he deicded in his wisdom that the advancing Arabs could pose too much a threat in the increasingly unstable Persia, and with the event of the last Muslim envoys on his mind, in the same year of the invasion of Persia he declared the advancing Muslims would be humbled.

Beginning in 643 a year after the beginning conquest of the Arabs under their Caliph Umar, Diyanat appointed his son and successor Chaghri and the majority of the assembled army were from the Oghuz Turks as they formed the 'Point' of the assembled force of various tribes and clans (Oghuz in Turkish means 'Arrow' aptly named) marching into eastern Persia. The Arabs already had quite the headstart over the Turks, as in their own martial ability captured the eastern and northern heartland of Persia and were marching into Eastern Persia from the south via Kerman and were also marching through the north just south of the Caspian Sea.

As Chaghri marched westward into Persia the few garrisons remaining in the west quickly surrendered to the overlord ship of the Turks only a few cases of fierce resistance, in practice those that surrendered were marched out from their towns and cities which were promptly looted then burned by the Turks but left the crops and water systems intact and in a few weeks all of Khorasan was conquered by the Turks. Following this Chagri split the Turkish army into two, one heading north headed by himself while a second going south headed by Alp Bey. The reason for this was that already Chaghri could see that the very limited terrain would hamper the large Turkic force due to overgrazing because the army just had so many horses and so many grazing cattle brought along as well as a large chain of women and children, as many of the Turks had intentions of settling down in parts of Persia.

As Chaghri skirted the Caspian, Alp Beg skirted the great salt deserts of the Iranian Plateau and headed south along the very edge of the plateau itself through various intervals of grazing land they sped through Khorasan and met with a Arab army under a Arab general of Suhail ibn id which had just fought at Battle of Rasil against Hindu warriors of the Sindh of the Rai Kingdom on the Indus. Taking advantage of the Arab army's battle weariness and extended supply chain Alp Beg met with the Arabs and utterly threw them back! Advancing into the province of Fars which turned into a pitch battle between both Arabs and Turks, ending only after the Battle of Fasa where the Arab forces retreated into Western Fars and Fasa submitted to Alp Beg who instead of burning down the city only burned down some of its Zoroastrian temples. As a result of this the Diyanat Khanganate began relations for the first time with the Hindu nations of the Subcontinent (peace relations over reassuring that the Turks would not invade) and the spread of Diyanatism into the Subcontinent.

In the north the battle was much more pitched as the recently submitted area of Tabaristan flared into revolt following its submission to the Arabs at the oncoming of the Turks and here Chaghri matched wits with the likes of Naimen Ibn Muqarren who had recently invaded the region which submitted peacefully so at first both Arab and Turkic armies were a match for one another. The battles in northern Persia here were much less inconclusive as both sides were equally elusive of one another with their hit and raid style tactics and unfamiliarity with waging battle in the relatively wooded area of Northern Persia. The inhabitants for their part did not wish for either side to win, and so took part in actions against both Turks and Arabs. This would lead to a five year stalemate as both sides vied against one another in the north and south, with raids going on in the middle desert region.

It was after the Second Battle of Rayy between Arabs and revolting Persians that the Turks took advantage to pummel both! Through a series of long messanger co-ordinations with Alp Beg, Chagri strategically minded the stimulus assault that saw the Turks sweep into Western and Central Persia in a massive pincer movement that caught the Arabs but did not totally destroy them, it was only when Arab forced invested into the Caucasus mountains were pushed back by the sudden arrival of Khazars flying under the banner of Diyanatism that the Arabs began a full out retreat from Persia.

The Arab Empire at this point was greatly overtaxed politically, what also contributed to its un-successes was instances of over expansion into the Levant and Egypt, followed by the assassination of Caliph Umar in 645 and Caliph Uthman was pressured under bad sentiment against himself by supporters of Ali and social tension as tribal tensions rose up once more. This followed by a revolt in Mecca in 650, and with the Turks raiding up the Euphrates made the Caliph seek peace with Diyanat, establishing a border along the Tigris River.

Sending a more humble envoy to Samarkand, Diyanat quite happily agreed to a peace between the Khanganate and the Caliphate, even going so far as to take the envoy on a hunting trip and holding a massive festival of celebration that was echoed across the span of the Khanganate. The Khagan of Tengri had also been quite busy, establishing the base and foundation of the steppe confederation and the religious order of his faith for after he was gone and dealing with the massive wave of influences assumed from taking over a once great superpower that was Persia. As well as the negotiation to bring the Khazars and Magyar tribes of the far Caucasus mountains into the Khanganate as well as dealings with the Tibetan Empire. So tired out from this, the Great Son of Tengri, He Who is Blessed of the Eternal Blue died two years later in 652AD.

--------------------------------

The Arab Domination of the Red Sea, the Fall of Coastal Axum

The Caliph Uthman was in trouble. Following the end of the First Turko-Arab War the energy that seen the followers of the Prophet unit in Arabia and expand across Mesopotamia, into Persia and Egypt was in a danger of running on empty following what was likely the most disastrous turn of events for the Islamic State following the Death of the Prophet and the Flight to Medina. He was facing civil unrest from supporters of Ali, and disgruntled Arab clans that while having gotten away with a large portion of the treasure in Persia were still unhappy at leaving the Euphrates-Tigris border in dispute, many having claimed areas for future estates if the Arabs had conquered Persia. Uthman saw the possibility of the unraveling of the Arab Empire or even more likely his own assassination (which would come true later in 656). What he needed was a political victory to calm his dissenters and those-on-the-fence long enough to re-establish his legitimacy in the eyes of the people and in the eyes of Allah in the face of Turkic expansion in Persia and the Caucasus mountains to which Uthman in a rather prophetic statement declared following the peace with the Khanganate "They have taken Persia from us! very well! They may have it for now, nay they may even go on to take the other ancient centers of the world perhaps India or Constantinople....but they will not have Rome or Aksum for they belong to the Faithful!!!"

As Uthman searched for a victory to reestablish his power news of a pirate raid from nay across the Red Sea, pirates from the once mighty-Aksumite Empire had raided several coastal villages in southern Arabia and their was a great grumbling of the Arab merchants. The Empire of Aksum, beginning in the great city of Axum that stood to the north of the Ethiopian Highlands had for a longtime been the greatest power on the Red Sea, even the Emperors in Constantinople extended brother ship to the Christian Kingdom, their influence once even having stretched into Arabia, especially the area of Yemen when they controlled access to the Red Sea. Now though this ancient legacy was falling into decay, drought and over farming had been striking the Aksumites for sometime, causing the main power of the kingdom to slowly retreat inland. Further, with the opening of the Arab Empire, Arabian merchants were becoming quite influential and fierce in their competition with the Aksumites and the Somali City-States further south. With the opportunity of extending Islamic influence to the famous Silk Route overland being utterly crushed, the hopes of these traders resumed to majorly focus on the sea trade hence more and more violent interactions with the East Africans.

Though as well, the Negus or King of the Aksumites had saved followers of the Prophet during the darker early times of Islam, and some say that before his death in 530 he had converted to Islam and so had his son some said, but given the Christian majority of the Kingdom this seemed unlikely, though Muslim merchants were making slow inroads into the coastal areas much to the dismay of the inland moving political group of the Aksumites. Further the prophet had declared in a lesser hadith or law that the Muslims should not attack Ethiopia for their kindness, unless they attacked first.....

The invasion began in 563, and for the job Uthman tapped the famous conqueror of Egypt, Amr ibn al-Ās holding a all-out invasion of Rhodes and the Byzantine Empire for raids into the interior of Anatolia, drawing up much of the forces from Persia and the Anatolia attack, Amir launched an invasion of Nubia and Aksum!

Personally he headed a force traveling south along the Nile into the land of the Nubians who a few years before had fiercly resisted advances by his cousin as the Arabs then had merely entered to show off their might, now though they entered for domination. Using propaganda of the loot of the great halls of Aksum, Amr Ibn propmted his men, whose pride had been bruised in Persia, to sweep over the fiercely resisting Nubians! For the most part this ploy worked as they matched the Nubians in growing ferocity for their campaign. Nubia was split into three Kingdoms at this time, so the Arab advance down the Nile brought them over the feuding Nubian Kingdoms who only united at one alst ditch effort to stop the advancing Arabs at Dongola, the Arabs were taken back a step but quickly recovered and devastated the Nubians, toppling Dongola and submitting the area of Nubia soon after as the remaining leaders following the defeat at Dongola quickly agreed to become vassals to the Arabs.

Nubia pacified the army split, one portion going overland to assault northern Axum, spilling into the northern coastal area while another half turned to the Red Sea and a large Arab navy transported the Arabian army to besiege the port of Adulis, crossing into the coastal countryside. Their they learned that the situation in Aksum was even worse than before though, the Monarchy had moved even more inland and most of the warriors of Axum were fighting pagan invaders from the inland of Africa. The Arabs were victorious as they swept down the Red Sea coast bringing the coast and a slice of the inland Aksum (the area of Eritrea) into their Empire and solidifying their hold on the Red Sea and their orientation to East Africa trade as they advanced to raid Somali city-states. It is likely that expansion would have continued were it not for the sudden murder of Caliph Uthman in 656, thus the Christian Kingdom of Axum got of flighty for now but in the coming centuries would be the subject of further raids by Arab invaders, many of which would focus on carrying away young Ethiopian Christians for a special role in changing Arab Society in the future.

652-691 The Reign of Chagri the Rock

The death of the Grand Son of Tengri, Diyanat was met with sorry across the Khaganate and mourning took place everywhere that the historic figure had spread his world changing doctrine of harmony, from the center of his realm in Samarkand as far east as the Tang Chinese Empire and as west as the shores of the Black Sea to the banks of the Tigris River. Hundreds of clans of the many and multiple tribes that stretched across his mighty steppe empire sent emissaries and condolences to Samarkand. The grand set up of yurts and tents that usually surrounded Samarkand grew to stretch across the horizon as far as the eye could see one ancient account puts the funeral of Diyanat. Turkics, East Persians, and even a smattering of Western Persians, Han Chinese, Uyghers, and Arabs were said to attend the funeral. The working on his Grand Tomb that now stands at the center of Samarkand was begun even before his death and it is said contains a slab of stone from every mountain under his rule, some even say stone came down from the Roof of the World, Tibet. The creation of his Tomb represents two things to the Turkics, for one it represents the beginning style of Turkish architecture while there is a hint of former Persian influence it the many mosaics depicting Life on the Steppe and Rounded Roof represents the beginning of the Turkish art but also the Tomb represented a otherworldliness to the Nomads-something so large and 'still', unmoving in the constantly changing world must have been quite alien to the nomadic peoples of the era.

Following the internment of Diyanat's body, before the assembled Peoples Chaghri proclaimed to the Eternal Blue Sky and all the other gods that governed the aspects of the world, that he would go instead of his father and continue his goal of maintaining the harmony of the world for any and all who came under his rule, shouldering the Mandate of Heaven and ascending atop the Political-Religious role as Khagan of the Khaganate and Chosen of Tengri to seek the Balance in this world.

It is quite fitting that Chaghri is most worldly known as 'the Rock', not unlike how St. Peter of Christianity is known as founding the Catholic Church and modern Christianity, Chaghri is known as the Rock as he would lay down the foundations of the Khaganate and institute the Tenets of his father in a organized system through the governing body of the Shaman Council, or Those That Commune With the Gods and would dispatch and approve of every Shaman sent to every clan and tribe within the Khaganate-forming the beginnings of a slow political centralization of the steppe tribes in the grand confederation of Khanates that formed the Tengri Khaganate. His laying down the law for his successors and those that would be trained as Shamans was also very important in maintaining the balance within the Khaganate for some time, decreeing that every tribe would send a representative (one who was not the Khan or of his line) to compete in a series of both physically enduring tests from archery to wrestling but also philosophical debates and shows of correct faith. Then whoever was left would be elected as his successor and so would every other successor Khagan.

Taking the reins of the Khaganate, Chaghri first looked toward the center of the Empire, of Transoxiana and to the recently conquered Persian plateau. Beginning the task of consolidating this significant area and equally resisting and absorbing elements of the Persian culture.
Over his reign the Persian influences within Transoxiana, Eastern Persia, and the Bactira were on the decline thanks to the successes of Tengriism, the formation of the Turkic consciousness or the rise of a Turkic culture to counter the Persian influence as well as an influx of non-Persian cultural tribes into the area, mainly the Oghuz Turks, who mingled and Turkified the inhabitants-indeed more than one of the modern day tribes of the area descend from the Indo-Iranians such as the Sogdinans and the Tajiks but over the realm of Chaghri's reign and the centuries which favored Tengrism the Indo-Iranian peoples of the area were absorbed into the nascent Turkic consciousness that was sweeping the Steppe. Not to say that all of Persian culture became extinct in the area, their are still a few clans of Zoroastrians and Buddhist minorities in Bactria. At some point though to be Tengrist merged with to be 'Turkic', not unlike the opinion of Assyrian Chaldeans that if one converts to another religion they are no longer considered an Assyrian and the same for Han Chinese who stop practicing elements of Confucianism.

This is also not to say that the Turkic culture and the Khaganate was unaffected by the Persian Culture! Indeed in western Persia to the Tigris we see beginnings of the Khurasan Turko-Persian Khanate forming as the Turkics there though practicing Tengrists eventually after years of the Persian culture shock at their dramatic defeat wore off and the culture and West Persians made their dramatic resurgence much later on. Though the effects on the Turkic culture and the Khaganate for now were quite simple, a few letters and words in the quickly disseminating Turkic Alphabet, hints in growing Turkish architecture and arts, the sciences and the Bureaucracy to Rule a Mighty Empire. Indeed, Chaghri specifically imported thousands of Persian Bureaucrats and to Samarkand to imprint the Sassanid government into the Khaganate, but of course not entirely trusting the culture that had so 'misbalanced the Harmony' of the Steppe he kept careful eye on these men, quickly weeding out the most corrupt through mass living burials. This is where the importance of the Shamans came in, as these priests to Tengri were instituted as the spiritual and political administrators of the Khaganate, their diverse backgrounds ensured competition ensuring the Khagans position.

The East

The East descended into violence in the 560s as the Tang Dynasty invaded the Turkic Steppe in force, under General Sun Dinfang in the interest of bringing both the remnants of the Eastern Gokturks and the Tengri Khaganate to its knees. Plans earlier had been set in motion, the Tang making slow advances into the Gokturk territories but these were offset by revolts by the Tengriist Turkics, Chaghri repeatedly sent warnings to the Tang Emperor Gaozong to cease his advances but the Khagan was ignored, so Chaghri slowly encouraged his Turkic brothers to head eastward and prepare. Eventually the invasion came in 661AD, with General Sun Dinfang's army pouring into the Tarim Basin and the Steppe of the Eastern Gokturks, the Uyghers who dominated the Eastern Gokturk Confederation were mired as revolts against their rule of the Confederation initially saw the destruction of the Eastern Gokturk Confederation into feuding tribes and the advancing Chinese.

The Tang nearly conquered the entire area when raging from the West Chaghri lead Tuman after Tuman, descending onto the Chinese and their Turkic allies who soon switched sides! Declaring their wills with the Will of the Eternal Blue Sky and the son of the Son of Tengri! The Tang were swept out of the area in a campaign that saw the slow struggle of forcing fortification after fortification of the Chinese to submit, it was here following this important campaign that the art of Siege Warfare was instituted knowledge throughout the Khaganate. The failure of this campaign would prove too much for Emperor Gaozong, his mental stability already in question due to slow poisoning by the Empress Wu who used this to gain power much sooner then even she expected, soon ending the Tang Dynasty and establishing the Zhou Dynasty and establishing peaceful relations with the Khaganate throughout the remainder of the 7th century. Following the peace, the Khaganate would absorb the remnants of the Eastern Gokturks and the Tarim Basin.

Also notable during this period is the introduction of both Buddhism and Tengriism into the Tibetan Empire, the former being introduced by the Emperor Songtsan Gampo while the later being introduced by increased trade between the Tibetans and the Turkics. Buddhism would stay amongst the Noble Elite of the Tibetan Empire while Tengriism spread amongst the commoners of Tibet, what more a people to appreciate the Eternal Blue Sky then those who lived so close to Him. Also Tengriism of Diyanat is noted to have spread into Mongolia at this time, which would have later consequences on world history....

The South

With increased relations with the Indian Subcontinent, through trade and devastating raids that swept through the Pashtun tribes and Indian States that dotted the Ganges Plain, Tengriism naturally also spread to the area. The cultural syncreticism of both Tengriism and Hinduism would have later impacts of the Turko-Ind Khanate to arise in this area.

The West

Chaghri during his reign pushed many of the Turkic tribes westward, encouraging them to go westward even which would act as a yearly expansion of the borders of the Khaganate as the nomadic tribes moved westward year by year. The forerunners and most enthusiastic would be the Magyars and Kabars. More importantly, as Khazar Khanate ships plied the waters of the Black Sea we see the important and historic spread of Diyanat Tengriism amongst the Bulgars, and by the end of the century the Bulgars would be committed Diyanatists but also historically would become the first Diyanatist Tengrists to not petition to immediately be absorbed by the Khaganate, with Oghuz Turk and Khazar coordination the Anatolia and the Balkans would be in flames by the end of the century.

Through most of his reign he kept the peace for the first few decades with the Arabs of the Abdullah Caliphate the two Empires merely exchanging greetings through various raids into Persia and Mesopotamia likewise. This peace would be broken in the Second Turkic-Arab War in the last years of the reign of Chagri the Rock.

Formation of the Abdullah Caliphate

Following the assassination of the Caliph Uthman his position was taken over by Ali whose term as Caliph was even shorter lived as he was assassinated, which followed not long after Muawiyah I briefly declared a Ummayad Caliphate but this was for less then a year in the 660s as he too was assassinated by disgruntled political opponents. Soon after this the lands of Islam descended into a political vacuum that could only be filled by Amr ibn al-Ās the Governor of Egypt and Nubia. Al-A's position in the Caliphate was at this time the best, he governed Egypt and Nubia most notably with a very tolerant position toward the Christian Copts and Eastern Orthodox at the time and even pursued peaceful relations with the Axumite Remant in the heartlands of the Abyssinia Highlands and his family members were in positions of power in Islamic Axum.

Aisha, the widow of the Prophet thus from Medina turned to al-As to bring order to the Islamic World following the assassination of Muawiyah and a dutiful Commander and Muslim he complied, his veteran army and supporters erupted from Egypt to bring peace into the Islamic Levant, Mesopotamia, and Arabia. Shortly after this al-As died, leaving in position of power his son Abdullah I who then took position as Caliph and declared the formation of the Abdullah Caliphate, first directing the expansion of Islamic interests over all of North Africa after utterly displacing the weakening Byzantines from all of North Africa and beginning relations with the Berbers.

The 2nd Turkic-Arab War
The second major conflict between the Khaganate and the Caliphate were much more politically minded, rather than the Holy War that had characterized the last war between the two empires. This war began in the 680s with a sudden breakout of increasingly intensive raids by both Turkics and Arabs across the Euphrates and Tigris rivers which soon collimated in open invasion by the Khaganate of Mesopotamia and the Levant!

The Turkics moved swiftly through Mesopotamia, coming out of Persia and from the Caucasus Mountains, a large Turkic force under Alp Beg descended on the city of Damascus and in the following siege burnt it to the ground, continuing to sweep down the coast of the Med. Sea and eventually laying siege to Holy Jeruselum itself! This caused a great stirring amongst the Muslims and Abdullah in retaliation to this sent a large force of raiders and pirates in what would be the Arab's largest raid into Persia for sometime which even managed to sack the city of Isfahan! Following this an Arab army also managed to displace the Turkics from Jerusalem by defeating the Turkics outside the holy walls who began a general withdrawn from the Levant, and likewise the Arabs would do the same from Persia as Turkic reinforcements came from the east.

Though as the Turkics began their retreat they once again plundered the Levant area, burning Damascus again and sacking many of the ancient Cannanite cities. Noticeably following the sack of Heliopolis in Phoenicia, one of the retreating hosts of Turkics was ambushed and defeated by a group of Arab soldiers, freeing the inhabitants of the city who were taken into captivity. After this, one of the newly freed men, a Christian Syrian came to the commander of the Arab force and got on his hands and knees, thanking him greatly and saying that he had been inspired by God now to convert to Islam. When asking the man's name he replied that his name was Callinicus of Heliopolis.....

Generally the outcome of the battle was both a victory and a defeat for the Caliphate. They had resisted invasion by the Turkics, but their central cities had been either besieged or sacked-which would cause a shift of power from the Levant and Arabia to Egypt, the capital of the Caliphate soon being declared at Fulsat. Though the Arabs claimed a moral victory in this, inflicting defeats onto the Turkics and rehabilitating themselves in the eyes of Allah. This would ensure the continued stabilization of the Abdullah Caliphate.

Selected Religious/Political Map About 700 AD

Blue - Tengri
Green - Islam
Red - Khaganate
Gold - Bulgars
Attached Images

(Special Thanks to MNP)

The Nature and Spread of Diyanatism

Previous to the monumental efforts by Diyanat, Tengriism, was not a united religion. Yes it was by the 7th century practiced widely across the Steppe and nearly all of the Steppe Tribes were adherents to Tengri with archaeological evidence supporting this to a great extent. From in the west the Bulgars known to them as Tangra the more newer arrivals into Europe and the Avars who had been in Europe for more than a century to the Turkic peoples that inhabited Central Asia and the Caucasus known to them as Tangri and in the East the Mongolic peoples were known practitioners before the arrival of Diyanat's creed by the 700s beginning, even the Chinese who referred to Tengri as Tian li-Sky God.

It would be Diyanat's Tenets that changed the nature of Tengriism not unlike how the Prophet Muhammad's Islam changed the nature of Pre-Islamic Allah by mixing it with the Judeo-Christian Background. Diyanat's sources may have likewise come partially from Zoroastrianism or even more from Buddhism or even Nestorian Christianity, all of these religions at the time were present in the area of Transoxiana at the time. Though largely still he could be seen as mostly a Reformer, no unlike Moses who created the Orthodox Monotheistic Judaism. Largely the differences in name between those that accepted Diyanat's tenets and those Tengriists who before the spread of his doctrine had not accepted was not exsistent, they were all called Tengriists and other cultures made very few differences between the Pre-Diyanatists and the Diyanatists. It was onlt as time went on and the scholarly art went on did the term 'Diyanatist' become popular as the centralization of the Khaganate took place and the dissemination of writing.

Though soon this too would change with the rise of synergetic cultures such as the Kurdish and some Arabs Elewî who mixed Diyanatist beleifs with Islam, and the later Turko-Persian and Turko-Ind religious syncreticisms, which would eventually lead to the term 'Diyanatists' to refer to those who practice 'Diyanats Tenets in the form of the original Turkic form', this term would become prevalent by the beginning of the beginning of the next Christian Millennium following Diyanat.

Though largely by the end of the 600s Diyanat's Tengriism had spread far and wide! Spreading from Transoxania westward into Persia and over the Black Sea where the acceptance by the Khazars and Magyars allowed the spread across and around the Black Sea to the Bulgars and the eastern edge of the Avar Khanate. Following the 2nd Turkic-Arab War Tengriism would spread across the Tigris to the Euphrates as a general pull back of Arab population migrated westward. The most southern extent made its way to the Indus via arrival of Qynyq following the conquests of Alp Beg and dealings with the Sindh of Rai Kindgom and various yearly drives by Turkic raiders into the Ganges Plain and the area of the Zabul Mountains amongst the Pashtuns who fiercely resisted early attempts at domination but notably began accepting Tengriism as relations between the Turkics and Pashtuns increased overtime. In the East it made its way into the Roof of the World despite the adoption of Buddhism by Tibetan Kings, and following the Turkic-Tang war Diyanatism spread into the Mongolian Area and the Tarim Basin flowing into Manchuria and the Korean peninsula by Mongolic nomads, though notably small communities of Diyanatists sprang up on the Korean Peninsula it would not become the dominate religion in the face of prevalent Confucianism and Buddhism.

The Nature of Diyanatism is mainly focused on the Upkeep of Harmony known as Kut, Harmony within one's self and within the larger local Community. This Harmony flows from relation with the Heavens and profoundly affected by the human world which affects the Heavens thus creating terrible natural disasters in the world! Diyanat taught that the constantly changing world would change and that the Steppe Peoples should come to accept increasingly changing times but should always keep a foot on their past as the nomadic lifestyle is the best way (but not the only way) to gain Harmony and Balance. Thus in these modern times it is often a good therapy amongst Diyanatists living in today's modern and urban environments that feel a great deal of stress in their life will go on 'Retreats' back to nature and the past, taking vacation time alone or amongst family on the Steppe living as their ancestors have or they will practice the Arts such as drawing of natural scenery or riding the horse or shooting the arrow methodically.

It also acted as a political unification force amongst Tengriists, especially the clause of 'Rebalancing Harmony' in the wider world, which characterized by declarations of war against the hostile culture or nation, such as was done against Persia and the Arabs first, in order to purge these foreign influences and gain political power. Later this power would be taken up by Elder Shamans, the Edjanets following the breakup of the Khaganates periodically throughout history.

Diyanatism and Tengriism hold Tengri as Cheif of the Gods but also recognize a host of other gods, those more in line with the original Tengriism hold such gods as Aka Ann the White Mother who with Tengri created Umay the Earth. Though being Henotheist a Tengriist can accept multiple other deities into the pantheon as long as they hold up the teachings of Diyanat and Tengri as Chief of the Gods.

Rise of Serkan, The End of the Romans, Invasion of Hispania

Chaghri ended his reign at his death in 691, of a case of pneumonia the Khaganate was struck into mourning at his death, edifices of his conquering of Persia, his administration of the Khaganate, and his ascension into the Heavens becoming a common theme of art and literature that was beginning to flourish throughout the Khaganate at this time. As per the rituals set up by him, each and every tribe of the Khaganate sent to Samarkand a worthy, non-royal claimant to be chosen as the next Khagan and Chosen of Tengri. After several days of competitions a winner emerged, Serkan Beg who was both a nephew of Chagrhi and of Alp Beg, the Conqueror of Southern Persia. This was a change of position for the Khaganate as Serkhan was not a Kayi Oghuz Turk but a Qynyq Oghuz Turk! The branch of the Oghuz having settled in Eastern Persia, doing the work of wiping of the remants of the Persia in the area and Turkicfying the area, with their capital at Fasa in the former Fars Province of Persia.

In a speech before the assembled Tribal and Shaman representatives, Serkhan pledged to be true to the Will of the Eternal Blue Sky and seek to serve the Khaganate much as his predecessors had done. In a show of commitment to the new Khagan, Timur the Khan of the Kayi Oghuz Turks pledged himself to be his arrow if the Khagan would be a bow for the Khaganate. Soon after this any dissent at the new Khagan disappeared. Timur's promise to Serkhan would soon be put into use as the Khagan ordered Timur to gather forces for a invasion westward a mere four years later as rumbling in the Byzantine Empire drew the eye of the Khaganate.

The Emperor Justinian II had taken the throne of Constantinople in 685, and for much of his reign up until 695 was characterized by building of grand projects and the suppression of Non-orthodox religions, include non-orthodox Christianity and Tengriists. Chagrhi had previously sent warnings to the Byzantine to stop the harassing of not only Tengriists but of the Manicheans as well, citing that such violence was harmful to the Harmony and the previous Khagan sent many raids by the Khazars into the Anatolia as a result. By 695 it seemed that the ruthless character of Justinian had caught up with him, when he was deposed by Leontios the strategos of Hellas and exiled Justinian who then escaped into the Khanate of the Khazars in 703.

Leontios was crowned Emperor, and during his short reign as he attempted to consolidate the hastily collapsing Byzantine Empire, but in 697 the Arabs under Abdullah I invaded Carthage, having been inspired following the 2nd Turkic-Arab War which lead to a mass migration of Arabs across North Africa which soon would have even greater ramifications. Leontis sent a Byzantine Fleet to retake Carthage in the 698 unfortunately by then the Lebanese Chemist Callinicus of Heliopolis had a few years earlier immigrated to the capital at Fulsat in Egypt where he and his family introduced a new weapon all for the Arabs. When the Byzantine Fleet sailed toward Carthage it was assailed from all sides by Arabian ships which flung and spat a reportedly 'Unholy Fire' against the fleet that would not stop burning even if water was thrown onto it. It was nicknamed by the Arabs "Allah's Fire". The Fleet was utterly destroyed, which cultivated to greater instability as the Arabs pounced on Cyprus and Crete!

Amongst the Khazars Justinian for a time dealt with the Khazar Khan Busir, attempting to scheme him into helping him to retake his throne, but was rebuffed he had to wait for Timur who had been given military matter over the Byzantines. Just as Timur arrived though, Justinian quit Khazaria for the Bulgars in 705 seeking to deal with the Bulgar Khan Terval a staunch Diyanatist....who agreed to help Justinian to retake his Empire but in actuality as he prepared his army for invasion he stalled Justinian long enough for Timur to secretly arrive in the Bulgar Khanate and soon the two Khans would make a deal amongst each other....

In 704 Terval sent an army with Justinian to retake Constantinople, Justinian and his forces slipping into Constantinople and opening the gates of the city allowing the Bulgars to make entrance into the city. Over the next few weeks in the revelry of reinstating his power and executing Leontis and those that had betrayed him he was warned of the sudden arrival of Timur-lead Turk-Khazar Army which by sea landed outside of Constantinople on the Anatolian side of the city, alarmed Justinian once again turned to Terval for support against the Khazars and Terval assented, personally coming to the aid of Constantinople ....once his army was at the city he immediately laid siege from the Thracian side of the straits the Bulgar army within Constantinople fighting against the Imperial Army and opening the gates leading to the capture of Constantinople with the triumphant entrance of all three Khans into the city.

Justinian was found hiding in the dungeons of his own palace, where he was dragged out by the combined Turkic forces and was thrown into a stone coffin immediately sealing it shut where he would be interned Alive beneath Constantinople catacombs. His frantic and horrified screams sounded the end of the Byzantine and Roman legacy.....

Dining amongst the finery of the Imperial Palace the Khans finalized the formal division of the remains of the Byzantine Empire. The Khaganate would grant Terval dominion of all of the Balkans area and the City of Constantinople which the Bulgar would soon move his capital into. Khazar Khan Bursir would be granted all of the Crimea and the northern coast line of the Anatolia to his Khanate, meanwhile Timur would lead a force of Turkic armies to take the rest of the Anatolia Peninsula, moving branches of the Bayat, Yazir, Afshar, and Kizik Oghuz Turk Tribes to subdue the Anatolia between them and a few other minor tribes. Timur also made point to encourage the western expansion of the Magyars to the northwest of the Black Sea, creating a formal alliance with the Bulgar Khanate also sending warriors to aid the Bulgars in their expansion over the Balkans.

It would be after the Fall of Constantinople that the eyes of Europe would turn eastward toward the advancing Tengriists.

Not long after this, sensing weakness in the Visigothic Kingdom which had been by then falling into strife the Caliph Akeem of the Abdullah Caliphate sent the Berber general Tariq Ibn Ziyad to take Al-Andalus for the Caliphate, before the Caliph, Tariq agreed to these demands and with his army of mostly Berbers he sailed across the Straits and promptly invaded the falling Visigoths his army overrunning the Visigoth Christians and bringing most of the Iberian Peninsula under his Dominion.....where once the majority of Hispania was under his command Tariq slowly subverted his influence, and later in 712 when recalled to Fulsat by the Caliph in favor of the Arab Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr, Tariq flat out refused and promptly ambushed Nusayr killing him in single combat! Establishing his own Dynasty in Al-Andalus and Morocco, proclaiming the Ziyad Emirate as the Berbers across North Africa revolted against Arab Rule.

This trend would be repeated throughout the spread of the Arab Caliphate, largely due to the lack of a strong bureaucracy to keep the Arab Empire intact, had the Arabs conquered Persia and taken to the model of the Persian Bureaucracy instead of the Turks. Though with the complete absorption of the Byzantines the period of the Emergence of the Nomadic Empires can said to have closed as these two religio-political forces that had established themselves less than a century early on from the consolidation of various nomadic tribes to the establishment of their twin Empires which would continue to make earth shaking changes to development of the world. As one historian would put it "History had swept into the dustbin the aged corrupt Empires of the Byzantines and Sassanids, and on the mantle of the world put up two new shining stars"
-Origins of the Nomadic Religious Empires of the 600s" by Dr. Mustafa Kemal (1923)


The West

Following the collapse of Government within Constantinople the various far flung wings of the Byzantine Empire fell into complete chaos as various figures attempted to keep at least parts of the Empire together but this was confounded by the advances of both the Bulgars into the Balkans and the Turkics into the Anatolia, lead by Temur who with the Khagan Serkhan organized the migration of various clans and smaller Turkic tribes to pass through the Caucasus into the Anatolia, many drawn to the Anatolia by prospects of plunder and land rights. For the next half a century the remainder of Europe would gain some breathing space as the Turkics consolidated their gains. Though in this case their would be instances of the first cases of major Turkic-Vs-Turkic aggression as the flooding of Turkish tribes into the Anatolia caused infighting to occur throughout this period, especially amongst the Khazars who resented the flood of new Turkic tribes through their territory in the Caucasus though fortunate Temur would be able to hold the western territories together in the face of infighting and aggression from both the Arabs and the Christians to the West.

This influx would cause the migration/fleeing of thousands of Greek Speaking Christians from the Anatolia and the Balkans with the exception of Greece where most fled to Greece or to Southern Italy where Byzantine remnant holdings were still somewhat strong. Though with a up note, the many Pre-Turkish, Christian murals have been well preserved throughout the Anatolia (No Iconoclasm).

During these events Temur looked to Europa, he had voraciously devourered all the knowledge that he could obtain of Europe, even learning Greek so he could read the tomes of knowledge scattered throughout the Anatolia and Constantinople when the translators translating books from Greek to Turkish seemed too slow for him. Learning of the history and culture of at least parts of Europe, from which he would formulate how to deal with these westerners, first sending emissaries from the Khaganate to the Avars who quickly recognized the Khaganate but like the Bulgars preferred to remain independent (for now at least) of the Khaganate, accepting teachers of the Diyanatism in their territory. Further westward, Temur established relations with the other powers of Europe such as the Papacy, the Bavarians, the Lombards, and the Franks.

With the Byzantine hold on the Papacy though no longer, it was Aripert II of the Lombards who filled this gap in Italy as the Greek Papacy had lost much of its support with the end of the Byzantines who no longer needed to be on their toes with the Byzantines. Throughout his reign, Aripert would slowly subvert the power of the Papacy in Italy, allowing Lombardi Dukes to expand southward and influence the Papacy which in 707 under John VII who despite being a Greek himself was not coming into good relationship with the Duchy of Naples, a formerly Byzantine territory, where the Duke Theodosius had declared himself ruler and attempted to influence the Papacy toward the very unpopular Eastern Rites (unpopular in the North).

So in 708 Aripert on favor of the Pope on the condition that current Papal lands would remain intact, invaded Southern Italy defeating Theodosius who fled to Sicily. Unfortunately for Aripert in 710 Ansprand, Duke of Aisti who had been exiled to Bavaria in a previous war of succession marched back into Italy and driving Aripert to southern Italy who in 711 when the battle turned against him attempted to flee into Sicily when his boat was upturned by a large wave and he drowned. Deceased a year later his son Liutprand would take the time to in 714 to invade the Papal Lands and unify Italy under the Lombards just as at the same time in the Frankish lands to the northwest a civil war would erupt bewteen the heirs of Pepin the Middle, eventually leading to the victory of Charles Martel who was supported by Liutprand with soldiers, in 718. In return for his support, the two nascent kingdoms of the Lombards and the Franks would agree to a 'independent Rome', recognizing each other's rule in Italy and Gaul, and recognize that with Justintinian II the legality of the 'Emperor of Rome' was finished so the remainder of the 'former Roman territories' were up for grabs.

The Rome Agreement

By the time Luitprand is able to 'establish' full dominion over the Papal Lands the Lombards are facing problems on multiple fronts. The most pressing is coming from the south, with the collapse of the Byzantines and much of the Peninnsula being weakened by infighting bewteen the Lombards, Papcy, and the Byzantine Naples, especially as the larger Greek Speaking refugees in southern Italy make issue, Italy is easy prey as Arab corsairs and invaders begin ever increasing raids-with their 'Allah Fire' and the lack of Byzantine resistance they are able to continue their attacks with greater destruction, made in point when Syracuse is sacked 669 and later in 703. With capture of Cyprus, Rhodes, and Crete it seems little in doubt that their aim is to capture Sicily for a lunching point into Europe. When Luiprand takes the throne of the Lombards in 712, Muslims have toppled the Visigoths making attacks into Aquitaine though the apparent secession of Zayid anad Berber Revolts across North Africa keep the Arabs occupied. If not to add onto this Bavaria has just come out of a civil war with the winner Grimwold was calling in debts to Luitprand over his father allowing Luitprand and his own father stay in Bavaria during their exile.

With the sudden civil war erupting in the Frankish Kingdom, the Muslim Iberia, and the appearance of Khaganate emissaries from the east- many replay in their minds the Invasion of the Huns, Christendom is in risk! Luitprand sends soldiers to aid Charles Martel, in return not only is the western edge of Christian Europe made secure but also that Charles Martel recognizes Luitprand's dominion over the stolen Papal Lands and to avoid a possibly crippling war the two Monarchs come to power sharing agreement over Rome and the Papacy, to avoid fighting over the Papacy the two monarchs to share 'turns' approving of the Pope and with Luitprand's jurisdiction over Rome he agrees to not seek the 'Crown of Rome', thus both Monarchs give up the ascendency of the Roman Empire (thus no 'Holy Roman Empire') and lay its legacy to rest. Effectively the Papacy loses all independence to the Secular Kings of Europe following the agreement. Neither Charles or Luitprand though knows how long this agreement will last it is more than possible that if Christianity is saved one of their heirs will seek to break this agreement, but for now the two turn their attention to the Pagans at their doors.



The End Is Here

Many throughout the Khaganate looked on toward the approach of 732 with anticipation as it would mark one entire century since the Son of Tengri, Diyanat rode across the Eternal Blue Heaven and began the founding of the Khaganate and the continent expanding victories of the Turkics and Tengri! Most of all, it was Serkhan who looked on this with anticipation and worry in 722 considering reports from abroad.

He was quite pleased to hear that his own Tribe the Qynyq Oghuz Turks (the Seljuks) under Khan Atakhan had successfully invaded across the Indus River, conquering the Rai Kingdom and much of the Punjab but looked on concern when Temur, the Khan of the Kayi Turks authorized punitive raids into Europe and allowed the independence of the Bulgars and Avars who had since converted to Tengri Diyanatism and not forcing them to join the Khaganate-thus Serkhan would have no jurisdiction over their movements. With reports that the settlement and control of the Anatolia was going very well, Serkhan began to fear that Temur might use the Anatolia as a base against his power and his own tribe. Already the Khagan was surrounded by Kayi Oghuz Turks and their allied branches who still made up the majority of the tribes surrounding Samarqand-perhaps he was building a winning coalition against his own tribe when Serkhan died to elect the next Khagan?

Temur had to be dealt with.

While visiting Atakhan and relatives in Fars in Persia, Serkhan dispatched orders that Temur was to return to Samarkand for a special ceremony in recognition of his invasion of the Byzantines, sending a Honor Guard of Qynyq Oghuz Turks to accompany his return. So, before Temur even left the Anatolia the 'Honor Guard' fell onto Temur and his own retainers who managed to flee and find refuge from a friendly Turkic tribe who wiped out the 'Honor Guard'. The ramifications of this failed assassination would be heard around the world.

As soon as he returned to his capital at Konya and denounced Serkhan as a Dishonorable traitor to the Son of Tengri and unfit of his duty to maintain the Harmony, calling to him the Anatolian Turkish tribes and his family and allies in Transoxania as well as the other Turkics across the Khaganate. Temur received support from the Anatolian Turks immediately, many owing him for establishing their holds in the Anatolia, easily his family and fellow Turkics in Transoxiana answered his call, soon occupying Samarkand, and he also received support from the Kimeks and the Uyghers of the East and the Magyars who were at the time advancing up the Volga but he heard flat out refusal unsurprisingly from Atakhan but actually surprisingly refusal from the Khan of the Khazars Barjik who was indignant of Temur's earlier disregard of Khazar territory, and from Azad Kadjar of the Qadjar Oghuz Turks who had primarily settled in West Persia and over the course of time had become Persianized by the culture of their subjects-so immediately following the refusal of the Khazars, Azad declared himself Azad Shah of Persia!!!

The Khaganate was breaking up! Temur immediately roused his forces and made use of local fodder to push back the Khazars out of Anatolia and south of the Caucasus, while the Magyars turned around to assault Khazarian townships along the Black Sea. Khazar meanwhile bribed the Penchegs to make attacks into the Kayi Turks in Transoxiana, who attacked the Qynyq in Persia. Meanwhile the Qadjars attacked everybody, switching sides consistently to undo the balance between the two sides to their east and west, and the Uyghers became broiled with fighting the smaller Turkic-Mongol tribes to their east!

The fighting dragged on for over three more years as the Khazars at one point drove back south of the Caucasus only to face resurgent Armenian rebellions, and the Kayi managed a drive toward Baluchistan when Pashtuns bribed by Atakhan invaded Bactira and forced the Kayi back. Not too long the fighting devolved into skirmishes bewteen the many sides of this fighting within the ruins of the Tengri Khaganate, the fighting only halting on the symbolic anniversary of Diyanat in 732. By then Temur had died of age, and the leadership of Anatolia and Transoxiana had been split between his sons, Galip in Anatolia and Ferhan in Transoxiana. This was soon followed by the death of Serkhan in Fars in the same year, some say he was poisoned by Atakhan while others hold he was struck by lightning.

Whatever the case, the various factions used this anniversary to establish a ending of fighting between the factions, and the division of the Khaganate. Ending the religious dominion of the 'Choosen of Tengri' and the Shaman Council set up by Chaghri have dispersed to the various new states to form influential religious and administrative bureaucracies in the new Khanates The Kayi Anatolian Turks, under the Anadolu (Anatolia) Khanate recieved the whole of the Anatolia and south of the Caucasus. The Kayi Turks of Transoxiana forming a new Gokturk Khanate have much of that area to the borders of former Persia and the Himalayas and have the Ugyhers in their orbit following the invasion of the Khitans into Mongolia.

While the Khazars recieved the area between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea but they were soon overrun by the Penchegs in 735 who established their Khanate as far as the Crimea and reestablished friendly relations with the Kayi Turks.

The Kadjars establish the Qadjar Dynasty in West Persia and North Persia from the Euphrates to some miles east of their Isafahn. Azad Shah looks across the Euphrates to the Levent with hungry eyes. While the Qynyq Turks have established their Atakhan Dyasty over Southern and Eastern Persia into the Punjab of the Subcontinent.

Following this the only ones on the move are the Magyars, who currently by this point are traveling up the Don and Volga river, meeting many Slavic peoples and spreading the Tenets of Diyanat.
Before the Break Up in 720

and After the Breakup