Saqal (Turgesh Khagan)
Saqal was a Turgesh Qaghan. According to Yuri Zuev, he was a Manichaeist so that his name was possibly derived from Manichean theonym Sakla which means "Creator of the World". Other reconstructions are Saqal and Soq.
Early reign
Suoge succeeded his father, Wuzhile, to the Turgesh throne. However, the Tang court did not acknowledge him as a Khagan, and instead, appointed him as Commander of the Walu Province. They gave him the title of Prince of Huaide, which made him a subordinate of Ashina Huaidao. Later, the deputy of Guo Yuanzhen, Jie Wan, was sent to bestow him with the title of Prince of Jinhe in 708.Conflict with Tang
Eventually, the relationship between Suoge and the Tang court deteriorated. Suoge's subordinate, Juechuo Zhongjie, rebelled to his command, but was unable to prevail. At the suggestion of Guo Yuanzhen, in 708, he was set to give up his military forces and return to Chang'an, the Tang capital. The Tang general Zhou Yiti persuaded Juechuo to bribe chancellors Zong Chuke and Ji Chuna into launching an attack against Suoge. Juechuo did so and succeeded. Zong, after Juechuo's bribery, proposed to Emperor Zhongzong the idea of attacking Suoge in alliance with the Tibetan Empire, to which Emperor Zhongzong agreed, despite Guo's opposition. The Emperor appointed Ashina Xian as Shixing Qaghan and sent him to capture Suyab. The attack did not succeed. Zhongjie was captured and Xian was defeated by Suoge.Suoge's brother, Zhenu, gathered an army of 20,000 members and successfully attacked several Tang outposts – Kucha, Bohuan, Yanqi and Yingzhan. As Guo was hesitant to send an army to Shule, Suoge grew more self-reliant and declared himself as Khagan. Later, Suoge sent an envoy to Chang'an to demand that Zong be executed after wreaking havoc to Anxi. As a response, Guo was replaced by Zhou Yiti. Meanwhile, Suoge sent a letter claiming his innocence to Guo. In turn, Guo reported the facts of the situation to Emperor Zhongzong, which led to the Zongs accusing him of treason. However, Emperor Zhongzong agreed with Guo and sent an envoy to make peace with Suoge and make him Shisixing Qaghan in 709. Meanwhile, he also sent Zhou Yiti to exile in Baizhou.