Ashina (or Asena), the ruling dynasty of the ancient Turks and Mongols. According to Marquart, the Ashina clan constituted a steppe aristocracy that ruled over many of the Eurasian nomad nations. The Ashina rose to prominence in the mid 500's when their leader, Bumin Khan, revolted against the Juan Juan. The two main branches of the family, one descended from Bumin and the other from his brother Istami Khan , ruled over the eastern and western parts of the Gokturk empire, respectively.
After the collapse of the Gokturk empire, branches of the Ashina clan seized control of the Khazars and possibly other nomadic peoples. The Tatar historian Zeki Validi Togan described them as a "desert aristocracy" that provided rulers for a number of Eurasian nomad states.
