Perso-Turkic war of 569-571

İstämi's campaigns of 569-571 was a series of campaigns by the Istämi on Sasanian Empire lasted 569 to 571. The campaigns resulted in a victory for the Göktürks against the Sasanian Empire.

War

The envoys sent by Istämi Khagan to collect taxes were killed in Sasanid Persia. Although the remaining Turkic envoys suspected something was wrong, they told Istemi Khan the same thing. However, Istämi, being a cunning and intelligent man, understood the situation and went on a campaign against the Sasanians in 568-569. The Gokturks began to occupy all of the former Hephthalite territories, that had recently fallen under Persian rule. It is clear from the phrase "Turksun wa Kabulu' (The Turks and the people of Kabul), in a poem written between 575 and 580 by the Arab poet al-'Asha, that the Turkic army was operating in the Kabul-Gandhara area in 570.

Although the Göktürks subsequently occupied Gorgan, the Pannonian Avars began to attack the in the Caucasus, and the Göktürks were forced to stop the attack and return to Sogdia in 569 to focus on the Pannonian Avars. Indeed, in 571, the Göktürks attacked the Pannonian Avars, defeated them, and conquered the entire Caucasus. After this, the Göktürks had the opportunity to devote all their forces to the Sasanians. During this time, Istämi's policy was successful, and the Byzantine-Sasanian conflicts began in 571. At the same time, the Turks conquered Azerbaijan, but their advance was halted because the Byzantines did not act in accordance with the alliance they had made. We understand the Byzantines' breach of the agreement from the accusation made by the envoy Valentinos, sent by Emperor Tiberius II around the time of Istemi's death in 576, by Turkshad in the Aral Sea region.

Outcome

The Turks occupied a large part of the Sasanian lands and emerged victorious from the campaigns. This campaigns was the first step towards increasing Turkish influence in Tokharistan and the Caucasus. Indeed, after this campaigns, the Turks settled in Sogdia and expanded their dominion in the region.