the ruling family may have came from the āshǐnà (阿史那) clan of the west türkic tribes. the chinese and arabic records are almost identical, indicating strong support for this theory. the leader may have been yǐpíshèkuì (乙毗射匱). he died around 651. moving west, the khazars reached akatziroi, one of the important friends of byzantium fighting attila's army.