Bilge Khagan and Kül Tigin

Bilge Khagan and Kül Tigin were the sons of Ilterish Khagan. When their uncle Kapgan Khagan died in 716, Kül Tigin handed the throne to his elder brother: Bilge became khagan and Kül Tigin led the army. The aged Tonyukuk once again became the state's chief adviser.

Under Bilge Khagan the scattered clans were reunited, peace was made with Tang China and trade revived. Kül Tigin died in 731; the monument raised for him in 732 is the most famous of the Orkhon inscriptions. Bilge Khagan was poisoned and died in 734.

In 1958 the marble head of Kül Tigin was found in the Orkhon valley — the best-known sculpture of the Göktürk era, now kept in Ulaanbaatar. Excavations at Bilge Khagan's memorial complex also uncovered a treasure of gold and silver.