Concept
Tonyukuk (Bilgä Tuňuquq, , , born c. 646, died c. 726) was the baga-tarkhan (supreme commander) and adviser of four successive Göktürk khagans – Ilterish Qaghan, Qapaghan Qaghan, Inel Qaghan and Bilge Qaghan. He conducted victorious campaigns against various Turkic and non-Turkic steppe peoples, such as Tölis, Xueyantuo, Toquz Oguz, Yenisei Kyrgyz, Kurykans, Thirty Tatar, Khitan and Tatabi as well as the Tang dynasty. He was described as a kingmaker by historians such as E. P. Thompson and Peter Benjamin Golden. The name is spelled as t1-o-ɲ-uq1-uq1 () in the Old Turkic script, variously interpreted as Tunuquq, Tonuquq, Tuj-uquq, Toɲ Yuguq, Tujun-oq, Tojuquq, Tuɲoqoq with a number of suggestions for its etymology. According to Sertkaya, Tunuk means "clear, pure, abyss, who reached the depth" or "pure, penetrative", and uq or oq means "idea, wise, well-informed". Thus, Tonuquq is the owner of deep and pure idea. His title "Bilge" means wise or master. According to Klyashtorny, the element yuquq means "hidden, protected thing, value, treasure, jewelry", which is derived from the verb "yoq/yuq" meaning "to hide, to protect" (used in Uyghur legal documents); meanwhile, the other ton means "first"; thus his Chinese name 元珍 Yuánzhēn is a calque of his Turkic name Tonyuquq, both meaning "first treasure" René M. Giraud read the name as tonïuquq, from ton "dress, clothes" with I possessive and yuquq (from the verb yuk- "to stick") and meaning "whose dress is blessed with oil"; Likewise, Jean-Paul Roux explained the name as "with oiled dress" while discussing the culinary culture of the Mongols and suggesting that they had dirty and stained clothes. He was born around 646, near Tuul River in Ashide tribe. He fled the Tang dynasty in 679 and joined Elteriš in 681. I myself, wise Tonyukuk, born in Tabgach [i.e. Tang China] country. (As the whole) Turk people was under Chinese subjection. Bilgä Toñuquq bän özüm Tabγač eliŋä qılıntım Türk bodun Tabγačqa körür ärti.