Nushibi (Nu-shibi, ; Middle Chinese: *nuoXɕiɪt̚piɪt̚) was a Chinese collective name for five tribes of the right (western) wing in the Western Turkic Khaganate, and members of "ten arrows" confederation found in the Chinese literature (十箭 shíjiàn; ). The references to Nushibi appeared in Chinese sources in 651 and disappeared after 766. The Nushibi tribes occupied the lands of the Western Turkic Kaganate west of the Ili River of contemporary Kazakhstan. Name's Etymology Yury Zuev reconstructs Nushibis Middle Chinese pronunciation as nou siet-piet, which, he asserts, transcribes Turkic oŋ šadapït "right wing". Šadapït either means "entourage of the Shad" (Clauson, 1972) or is a title, either cognate with Old Persian *satapati (Bombaci, 1976) "lord of a hundred" or borrowed from Middle Iranian *špādapit < *špād-pad "army lord", compare Pahlavi Spāhbed (Róna-Tas, 2016:70). If true, Nushibi might be identified with the Šadapït () mentioned in the Orkhon inscriptions. Other scholars etymologised Nushibi without Šadapït in mind. János Harmatta reconstructed "Nushibi" as *nu śipiɺ, *nu śipir; and proposed Iranian etymologies, meaning "good horsemen": with *nu "good" (cf. Old Persian *naiba-) and *aśśaβâra, *aśva-bâra, or *aśśaβârya (cf. Saka aśśa "horse", Old Indic bhârya, "soldier, servant"). Nurlan Kenzheakhmet etymologised 弩失畢 (MC: nuǝ-șit-pjit) as Chinese transcription of Sogdian nšypyk (*nišēbīg), nšmy (*nišame), meaning "west". Ethnic and sartorial characteristics In the Afrasiab paintings, the Nushibi Western Turks are ethnic Turks, rather than Turkicized Sogdians, as suggested by the marked Mongoloid features and faces without beards. They are the most numerous ethnic group in the mural, and are not ambassadors, but rather military attendants. Their depiction offers a unique glimpse into the costumes of the Turks in the 6-7th century CE. They typically wear 3 or 5 long long plaits, often gathered together into a single long one. They have ankle-long monochromic sleeved coats with two lapels. This fashion for the collar is first seen in Khotan near Turfan, a traditional Turkic land, in the 2nd-4th century CE. They have low black sharp-nosed boots. They wear gold bracelets with lapis lazuli or pearls. Historical outline Western Turkic Kaganate After the split of the First Turkic Khaganate in 604, the Western Turkic Kaganate initially had a three-tribe Nushibi right wing and a five-tribe Duolu left wing. Later on, two Nushibi tribes, Äskäl and Qoshu, reorganized themselves, each subdivided into two tribes, bringing the total numbers to ten, thus the collective name On Oq (Ch. 十箭 "ten arrows"). Both