Li Sizhong

Li Sizhong (李思忠), né Wamosi (嗢沒斯), formally the Prince of Huaihua (懷化王), was a general of the Chinese Tang dynasty of Uyghur ancestry, who submitted to Emperor Wuzong after the collapse of the Uyghur Khaganate in 840 and subsequently served the Tang imperial government.

Name Wamosi's Old Uyghur name is reconstructed as Ormïzt, which transcribed Sogdian wrmzt "Ormuzd", ultimately derived from Ahura Mazda "Lord of Wisdom", the chief creator god of Zoroastrianism.

Background Little is known about Wamosi's early years, and it is not known when he was born. The earliest reference to him in Chinese historical sources, was in 840, during the reign of the Tang dynasty's Emperor Wuzong. That year, Yenisei Kyrgyz forces, under the Kyrgyz khan Are (阿熱), defeated and killed Qasar Qaghan of the Uyghur Khaganate's and their chancellor Jueluowu (掘羅勿). The Uyghur people scattered; some fled to the Karluks; some fled to the Tibetan Empire; and some fled to Anxi (安西, in modern Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang). Some of the Uyghurs, led by Wamosi—who was said to be a brother of a qaghan (and the modern historian Bo Yang believed that he was Qasar Qaghan's brother ), along with the chancellors Chixin (赤心), Pugu (僕固), and the noble Najiachuo (那頡啜; *Nağïd Čur ), arrived at the Tang border city of Tiande (天德軍, in modern Bayan Nur, Inner Mongolia). They traded for food with other non-Han tribesmen, while seeking protection from the Tang. That was the last reference to Li Sizhong in Chinese historical records, and the date of his death is unknown.

Notes and references

New Book of Tang, vol. 217, part 2. Zizhi Tongjian, vols, 246, 247.