Duolu


Duolu was a tribal confederation in the Western Turkic Khaganate. The Turgesh Khaganate may have been founded by Duolu remnants.
There existed several Chinese transcriptions 咄陸, 咄六, 都陸, 都六. The Old Turkic name behind those has been reconstructed, variously and with uncertainty, as *Tör-ok, *Turuk, *Tuğluq, Tölük, Türük, and most recently Tuğluğ "have flags, have standards".
There is confusion, or possibly connection, with the earlier Onogurs which also means 'ten tribes'. Additionally, Duolu's relation to the Dulo clan of the Bulgars is possible, but not proven.
Initially, Western Turks might have organized themselves into eight tribes, consistent with statements by Syriac and Greek authors: John of Ephesus mentioned eight rulers of the Turks besides Istämi; and Menander Protector mentioned that at Istämi's death, the Western Turkic realm was divided into eight parts. Later on, two Nushibi tribes, Axijie and Geshu, reformed themselves, each sub-divided into two sub-tribes, bringing the total number to ten. Therefore, Western Turks were also called the Onoq or 'ten arrows', that is 'ten tribes', five led the Duolu chors and five by the Nushibi erkins.
They lived between Lake Balkash and the Tian Shan Mountains. Their western neighbor was the Nushibi confederation which extended west to the Syr Darya and southward. The boundary between the two was around the Ili River and the Chu River, that is, near a line running south from the southwest corner of Lake Balkash. The Nushibi had connections southwest with the literate Sogdian merchants. The Duolu were probably more pastoral. Rivers running down from the Tianshan supported agriculture and towns and thus a natural caravan route. The Duolu presumably taxed these people. The West Turkic Khagans had a sort of capital at Suyab near the Duolu-Nushibi boundary.
From at least the time of Heshana Khagan new Khagans were usually supported by either the Duolu or Nushibi faction. In 638 there was an ill-documented Ili River Treaty that separated the two factions along the Ili River.
Chinese sources record of Duolu tribal names & titles:
HanziPinyinReconstructed Old Turkic
处木昆 律 啜Chùmùkūn lǜ chuò*Čomuqun külüg čor,
胡祿屋 闕 啜Húlùwū què chuò*Uluğ oq kül čor
摄舍提 暾 啜Shèshètí tūn chuò*Čapšatā ton čor
突騎施 賀羅施 啜Tūqíshī hèluóshī chuò*Türgeš-Qalač čor
鼠泥施 处半 啜Shǔníshī chùbàn chuò*Šüŋiš čupan čor