Duolu Qaghan

Duolu Qaghan is a historical figure from the Ashina ruling house of the Western Turkic Khaganate. He was the son of Bagha Shad. His rise to the khaganate occurred in the wake of the assassination of his uncle Tong Yabghu Qaghan by Külüg Sibir; after that event the Duolu tribal faction became a dominant force, and following a coup in 633 (per some accounts) the Nushibi supported Ashina Nishu—then living in Karasahr—to become khagan under the title Duolu Qaghan.

No physical or anthropological description of Duolu Qaghan is provided in the available sources. The records identify him by clan and office (Ashina Nishu; Duolu Qaghan) rather than by bodily features or dress.

Sources attribute to Duolu Qaghan political and military agency characteristic of a steppe ruler: participation in factional succession politics (initially a partisan of the Nushibi who supported his cousin Dieli Teqin/Sy Yabghu Qaghan in 631), accession to the khaganate around 632–634 with Duolu faction backing after a coup, and (according to later historians cited by modern scholars) a brief attempt to assist Sasanian claimant Khusrow III against Arab caliphal forces, participating in minor engagements before returning east due to rebellion. These are historical-political actions rather than supernatural powers.