Ethnogenesis
History
Who Were the Göktürks?
The Göktürks — the "Celestial Turks" — rose from servitude to supremacy in a single generation. Before 552 CE, they were the Ashina clan, metallurgists working the iron-rich Altai Mountains as subjects of the Rouran Khaganate. Within decades, they had overthrown their masters and built an empire stretching from Manchuria to the Black Sea, the largest contiguous state the world had yet seen. Their name became synonymous with "Turk" itself, and from their confederation descended the linguistic and cultural family that would later produce Seljuks, Ottomans, and dozens of other peoples across Eurasia.
What distinguished the Göktürks was not merely military prowess — the steppe had seen fearsome cavalry before — but organizational genius. They created an imperial ideology centered on the khagan as heaven's chosen ruler, developed a runic script to record laws and legends, and managed a multi-ethnic empire through a sophisticated system of subordinate rulers and marriage alliances. They were not mere raiders but state-builders who understood that lasting power required more than sharp swords.
Homeland and Way of Life
The Göktürk heartland lay in the Altai Mountains and the steppes of Mongolia — landscapes of harsh winters, brief summers, and endless grass that could support millions of horses but few farmers. The Ötüken forest, a sacred highland region in central Mongolia, served as the spiritual and political center of khaganate power. Here the khagans held court, received ambassadors from China and Persia, and performed the rituals that legitimized their rule. To control Ötüken was to claim heaven's mandate over all Turks.
Life followed the rhythms of pastoral nomadism. Families lived in felt tents — yurts — that could be assembled or packed within hours, following herds of horses, sheep, and cattle across seasonal pastures. The Göktürks measured wealth in livestock, especially horses: a rich man might own thousands, a poor one merely dozens. Meat and fermented mare's milk sustained them; grain was a luxury traded from settled neighbors. Yet they were not isolated primitives — Göktürk camps bustled with Sogdian merchants, Chinese craftsmen, and travelers from across the Silk Road, which the khaganate controlled and protected.
Warfare, Power, and Limits
Göktürk armies were cavalry forces of terrifying mobility and discipline. Every adult male was a warrior, trained from childhood to ride, shoot, and fight. Their composite bows could pierce armor at distances that left enemies helpless; their horses, bred for endurance, could cover distances that seemed impossible to sedentary generals. A Göktürk campaign might strike a thousand kilometers from its starting point, appear where no scouts had reported movement, and vanish before retaliation could organize. China's Tang dynasty, no military weakling itself, treated the Göktürks as the greatest threat on their northern frontier.
The khaganate's weakness was political, not military. The Göktürks practiced lateral succession — rule passing among brothers before descending to the next generation — which bred constant rivalry. The empire split into Eastern and Western Khaganates in 603, each claiming legitimacy, each warring with the other as readily as with outsiders. Tang China exploited these divisions masterfully, supporting pretenders, bribing rivals, and eventually subjugating the Eastern Khaganate in 630. The Second Turkic Khaganate (682–744) revived Göktürk power briefly, but the same centrifugal forces ultimately allowed the Uyghurs to supplant them.
Beliefs, Customs, and Society
The Göktürks worshipped Tengri, the Eternal Blue Sky, whose favor elevated the khagan above ordinary men and whose displeasure could destroy dynasties. The earth-goddess Umay protected women and children; sacred mountains and springs received offerings; shamans mediated between human and spirit worlds. This Tengriist worldview spread with Turkic expansion, influencing peoples from Hungary to Siberia. The khagan was not merely a military leader but heaven's representative on earth, responsible for cosmic order as well as political stability.
Göktürk society was hierarchical but fluid. The Ashina clan monopolized the khaganate, but capable men from other clans could rise high through military success. Below the aristocracy, ordinary herders maintained their own household economies, owing tribute and military service but managing daily life independently. Women held considerable status: khatuns (queens) participated in politics and diplomacy, and widows often wielded power until sons came of age. The Orkhon inscriptions — stone monuments erected by later khagans — record this society's values in its own words: loyalty, martial valor, and the duty of rulers to preserve their people.
Contacts, Conflicts, and Legacy
The Göktürks dealt with the world's great powers as equals. They allied with Sasanian Persia to destroy the Hephthalites, then turned against Persia when interests diverged. They negotiated with Byzantine emperors who sought allies against Persia and sent embassies across the length of the Silk Road. Tang China was their greatest rival and sometime overlord, but also their most sophisticated partner — Göktürk nobles served in Tang armies, married Tang princesses, and absorbed Chinese administrative techniques even while resisting Chinese domination.
When the Second Khaganate fell to the Uyghurs in 744, the Göktürks dispersed but did not vanish. Their language, script, and traditions flowed into successor peoples: Uyghurs, Khazars, Bulgars, and eventually the Seljuks and Ottomans who would reshape the medieval world. The Orkhon inscriptions, rediscovered in the nineteenth century, revealed a literate, sophisticated people who had built one of history's great empires and knew their own worth. "When the blue sky above and the brown earth below were created," reads one inscription, "between them human beings were created. Over the human beings my ancestors Bumin Khagan and Istemi Khagan ruled." The Göktürks had given the Turkic peoples their name, their script, and their memory of greatness.
Abilities
In Glory of Civilizations, the Göktürks embody pure steppe cavalry culture at its apex. Their cavalry gains both strength and movement bonuses, reflecting elite horsemen who could outfight and outmaneuver any opponent. The inability to recruit infantry or gather food conventionally represents a society that disdained foot soldiers and farming — food comes from herds grazing on meadow hexes, not agricultural labor. Cheaper cavalry recruitment captures the Göktürk advantage: where settled peoples struggled to maintain mounted forces, every Turkic herder was already a horseman.
Gaining peasants from destroyed enemy units reflects the steppe practice of absorbing defeated populations — captives who became herders, servants, and eventually clan members in the Göktürk system.
Gokturks I
have +1 strength bonus against 
and +1 movement points
.When recruiting each available
, pay -3 
for each destroyed enemy
for each of your on a meadow hex
FAQ
Do I gain food from my exhausted units on meadow hexes?
Yes. The ability grants 1 food for each of your units on a meadow hex regardless of whether they are exhausted or not.
If I choose a nation in Age II with a cavalry-class elite unit, does my recruitment discount apply?
Yes. The -3 coins discount applies to all cavalry-class units, not just standard Cavalrymen. Any elite unit that belongs to the cavalry class benefits from this discount.
Where do I deploy the exhausted peasant I gain after destroying enemy units?
In the same location where you would deploy a peasant during normal recruitment: on a hex with your City or Castle, or on a hex adjacent to your City or Castle.
What should I do if I run out of food?
Use your fourth ability by positioning units on meadow hexes to gain food, or purchase food at the market. Since you cannot gather food conventionally, these are your primary options for food income.