Life
Arslan Taman Qaghan or Taman Qaghan is the son of Niri Qaghan and the third khagan of Western Turkic Khaganate. Not much is known about his reign. He was said to be collecting excessive taxes from the Chile tribe, leading to resentment among the Tiele tribe. Khagan thus suspected the Tiele chieftains and, on one occasion, gathered some 100 Tiele chieftains and slaughtered them. Tiele thereafter rebelled and supported Geleng the chieftain of the Qibi, as the Yiwuzhenmohe Khan. They also supported Yishibo as Yiedie Khan, as a subordinate khan under Geleng. About 605 Tiele rebels drove him from Dzungaria to the Ili River area. Sui suggested forming an alliance with Tamans subordinate Shekui, who had been requesting to marry a Sui princess. Shekui was uncle of Taman. Emperor Yang agreed and subsequently, Shekui attacked Taman with help of Sui, defeating him and forcing him to flee to Gaochang.
Taman subsequently stayed in China and did not return to his own land. Taman also married a Sui princess. By 619, he was no longer in control of his khaganate and was at Chang'an, the capital of China's Tang Dynasty, when Emperor Gaozu of Tang, giving in to Shibi khagan's pressure, had him delivered to Eastern Turk emissaries to be executed. He was survived by two sons who were in service of the Tang dynasty thereafter.