An Examination Of Issues Related To The Sha—Tuo Army In The Dai Northern Regions Of The Middle And Late Tang Dynasties

The Sha—tuo Army was a formidable force of warriors formed by the Sha — tuo clan of the Western Turkic tribes during the Middle and Late Tang dynasties,with the Dai northern part of the Dai Dynasty as its main area of activity.The three regimes that developed from the Sha—tuo army,the Later Tang,Later Jin and Later Han,inherited from the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty,had a major impact on the course of ancient Chinese history and occupy a relatively important place in the history of northern peoples and ancient Chinese history.In the fourth year of Yuan—he(808),Fan Xichao,who was then the governor of He—dong,formed the Sha—tuo Army with 1,200 elite Sha—tuo horsemen and set up a military ambassador to command his army.The Sha—tuo Army inherited the traditional clan system of the northern nomads and formed its ranks in the decimal system,and also incorporated the Chinese cavalry fighting methods into its battles,making the Sha—tuo Army different from other nomadic armies in terms of organisation.As the Sha—tuo army retained its tribal organisation,its chiefs held the title of "Que Qi Jin",a northern nomadic official,as well as accepting Chinese official positions from the Tang court,which meant that the identity of the Sha—tuo army’s top military officer had dual attributes.In addition to this,the ethnic composition of the lower ranks of the Sha—tuo army was more complex than that of the other nomadic armies,and it was customary for the generals to maintain relations with each other by adopting dummy sons.In addition,as an important military pillar of the northern clan,the Sha — tuo army’s senior generals had more opportunities to participate in the financial system of the northern region,allowing the Sha—tuo army to have a stable source of military funding.The Sha—tuo army was financed from three main sources,namely the military rations and supplies retained by the clans and allocated by the central government,the income from the cantonment of the garrison,and the profits from the local customs trading.These three stable sources of military funding were the material guarantee for the gradual strengthening of the Sha — tuo army.By improving and developing its own internal structure,and by acquiring a stable and diverse source of military funding,the Sha—tuo army stood out from the rest of the clans throughout the mid — and late — Tang period,and laid a good political and economic foundation for the subsequent establishment of power.