AHistoryIndependent states
The Gaoche (Tiele) State (487-541)
A state set up by the Turkic Tiele tribes around Turfan in defiance of the Rouran; the ancestors of the Uyghurs came from these tribes.
Chinese sources called the Turkic tribes of the northern steppe after the Huns "Tiele", or sometimes "Gaoche", meaning "high carts": these tribes were known for their carts with tall wheels.
In 487 a chief named Afuzhiluo led tens of thousands of families away from the Rouran Khaganate to the west, to the Turfan area, and declared himself ruler. The new state allied with the Northern Wei dynasty and fought the Rouran many times.
Squeezed between the Rouran and the Hephthalites, the Gaoche state was destroyed by the Rouran in 541. The Tiele tribes lived on, though: the Uyghurs, the Sir Tardush and other Turkic peoples came from them.
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Updated: November 10, 2026