AHistoryIndependent states
Ötüken
The sacred land of the Göktürks and Uyghurs in the Khangai mountains: the place of "stay in Ötüken and you will hold the realm forever".

Ötüken Yish, the forested mountains of Ötüken, lay in Mongolia's Khangai range, on the upper Orkhon and Selenga rivers. The Göktürk khagans resided here, and the khagan who held Ötüken was considered ruler of all the Turkic peoples. Its exact bounds are unknown, and the point on the map is approximate.
In the Kul Tigin and Bilge Khagan inscriptions Bilge Khagan tells his people that nothing is better than the Ötüken forest, the place from which to hold the realm, and warns them against being lured away by Chinese silk and sweet words. After 744 the Uyghurs also built their capital, Ordu-Baliq, in this very land.
Sources
Updated: November 12, 2026

















