Tang campaign against Kucha

Tang campaign against Kucha
Part of Tang campaign against the oasis states
A map of the campaigns against the oasis states of the Tarim Basin, including the defeat of Kucha
Date 648 – 19 January 649 Location Tarim Basin Result Tang victory Kucha captured Tang establishes control over the northern Tarim Basin Tang military garrison installed in Kucha
Belligerents
Tang Dynasty	Kucha Western Turkic Khaganate
Commanders and leaders
Ashina She'er Qibi Heli Guo Xiaoke	Haripushpa Nali
Strength
100,000 Tiele horsemen Unknown number of Tang infantry	50,000 Kucha soldiers Turkic reinforcements

Tang victory

The Tang campaign against Kucha was a military campaign led by the Tang Dynasty general Ashina She'er against the Tarim Basin oasis state of Kucha in Xinjiang, which was aligned with the Western Turkic Khaganate. The campaign began in 648 and ended on 19 January 649, after the surrender of the Kuchan forces following a forty-day siege in Aksu. Kuchean soldiers tried to recapture the kingdom with the assistance of the Western Turkic Khaganate, but were defeated by the Tang army.

Kucha, a kingdom in the Tarim Basin, was a vassal of the Western Turkic Khaganate. Under the reign of Emperor Gaozu, the king Suvarnapushpa (Chinese: Sufabushi) provided the Tang court with tribute in 618. In 630, Suvarnapushpa's successor Suvarnadeva (Chinese: Sufadie) submitted to the Tang as a vassal. A Buddhist of the Hinayana sect, Suvarnadeva had hosted the Buddhist monk Xuanzang when he arrived in Kucha during the same year.

Kucha supported Karasahr when the oasis state made a marriage alliance with the Western Turks and ended its tributary relationship with the Tang court in 644. The king of Kucha, Suvarnadeva, renounced Tang suzerainty and allied with the Western Turks. Emperor Taizong responded by dispatching a military campaign led by the general Guo Xiaoke against Karasahr.

Karasahr was besieged in 644 by Guo. Tang forces defeated the kingdom, captured the king, and a pro-Tang member of the royal family was enthroned as ruler. The new king was deposed by the Western Turks soon afterwards, and the Western Turks regained suzerainty over Karasahr. Suvarnadeva died between 646 and 648, and his brother Haripushpa (Chinese: Helibushibi) inherited the throne as Kucha's king. Although Haripushpa sent two tribute embassies to the Tang court, Tang Taizong had already decided to punish Kucha's pro-Turk stance by launching an expedition against the kingdom.

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Wikipedia