Qapgan: 2nd Khagan of the Göktürk Empire (692–716 CE)

This is a depiction of Qapgan, the younger brother of Kutluk Ilterish and his successor within the 2nd Göktürk Empire. Ruling from 692 to 716, Qapgan was essential in the expansion of the empire's borders, as he defeated several Turkic tribes including the Kyrgyz, Karluk, Basmyl and Uyghurs and at the same time waged war against China. Being confronted by Empress Wu of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty, he managed to suppress any Chinese advances into Mongolia and even extorted massive tribute. He died in 716, shortly after having prevented a coalition of Kyrgyz, Karluk and Chinese from attacking the Göktürks at the same time. Qapgan was followed by the legendary Bilge Khagan.

I used AI to generate this image and implemented it into my upcoming second book about the Göktürks. Note the facial features of Qapgan. The Göktürks were, most likely, of Northeast Asian origin.