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Bilge
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Also spelled:
BilgÀ
Wade-Giles romanization:
P’i-chia, orMo-chi-lien
Pinyin:
Pijia, orMojilian
Died:
734
Title / Office:
khan (716-734), Mongolia
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Bilge

emperor of Mongolia
Also known as: BilgĂ€, Mo-chi-lien, Mojilian, P’i-chia, Pijia
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History

Bilge (died 734) was the khagan, or great khan, of Mongolia from 716 until his death. His name literally translates as “Wise Emperor.”

Bilge assumed leadership of the T’u-chĂŒeh, a tribe of Turks in control of southern Central Asia, when his brother instigated a palace coup against the old ruler. When the T’ang emperor HsĂŒan Tsung refused his offer of an alliance, Bilge decimated the Chinese army, forcing them to sue for peace in 721. Bilge is even better known, however, for advising his successors that the power of the T’u-chĂŒeh came from their nomadic life and that to settle in agricultural communities on the Chinese border would weaken them.

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