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112-568: The Tian Shan is sacred in Tengrism . Its second-highest peak is known as Khan Tengri , which can be translated as "Lord of the Spirits". At the 2013 Conference on World Heritage , the eastern portion of Tian Shan in western China's Xinjiang Region was listed as a World Heritage Site . The western portion in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan was then listed in 2016. The Tian Shan range

224-502: A plateau glacier during glacial times. The only remaining interglacial remnant of this glaciation is the 61 km long South Inylschek glacier. The outlet glacier tongues of the plateau glacier flowed northward down to Lake Issyk Kul , calving in this 160 km long lake. Similarly, strong glaciation was present in the high mountain area of the Kungey Alatau , which stretches for 230 km north of Issyk Kul and connects to

336-569: A big ger cart on the main road and followed Temujin, bellowing "Heaven and Earth have agreed to make Temujin the Lord of the nation and I am now carrying the nation to you". Temujin afterward tells his earliest companions Boorchi and Zelme that they will be appointed to the highest posts because they first followed him when he was "mercifully looked upon by Tengri" (paragraph 125). In the Battle of Khuiten, Buyuruk Khan and Quduga try using zad stones to cause

448-500: A dynastical legitimation. It is at least agreed that Tengrism formed from the diverse folk religions of the local people and may have had diverse branches. It is suggested that Tengrism was a monotheistic religion only at the imperial level in aristocratic circles, and, perhaps, only by the 12th-13th centuries (a late form of development of ancient animistic shamanism in the era of the Mongol empire). According to Jean-Paul Roux ,

560-525: A group of endorheic lakes that include Lake Manas and Lake Ailik . During the region's geological past, a much larger lake (the "Old Manas Lake") was located in the area of today's Manas Lake; it was fed not only by the streams that presently flow toward it but also by the Irtysh and Ulungur, which too were flowing toward the Old Manas Lake at the time. The cold climate of nearby Siberia influences

672-564: A large role in the religion of Mongol Empires as the primary state spirituality. Genghis Khan and several generations of his followers were Tengrian believers and "Shaman-Kings" until his fifth-generation descendant, Uzbeg Khan, turned to Islam in the 14th century. Old Tengrist prayers have come to us from the Secret History of the Mongols (13th century). The priests-prophets ( temujin ) received them, according to their faith, from

784-483: A nationalist ideology of Turanism and Kemalism contributed to the revival of Tengrism. Islamic censorship was abolished, which allowed an objective study of the pre-Islamic religion of the Turks. The Turkish language was purified of Arabic, Persian and other borrowings. A number of figures, while they did not officially abandon Islam, adopted Turkic names, such as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( Atatürk — "father of Turks") and

896-845: A pause before it is followed by the phrase Khagan-u Suu ("Majesty of the Khan"): Under the Power of the Eternal Tengri. Under the Majesty of the Khan ( Kublai Khan ). Arghun Our word. To the Ired Farans (King of France). Last year you sent your ambassadors led by Mar Bar Sawma telling Us: "if the soldiers of the Il-Khan ride in the direction of Misir (Egypt) we ourselves will ride from here and join you", which words We have approved and said (in reply) "praying to Tengri (Heaven) We will ride on

1008-596: A pre-existing continental block before the Kazakhstan Block was formed. Ürümqi , Yining and Karamai are the main cities; other smaller oasis towns dot the piedmont areas. Dzungaria is home to a semi-desert steppe ecoregion known as the Dzungarian Basin semi-desert. The vegetation consists mostly of low scrub of Anabasis brevifolia . Taller shrublands of saxaul bush ( Haloxylon ammodendron ) and Ephedra przewalskii can be found near

1120-438: A problem. The turnover of individual trees is likewise conducive to the rapid evolution of a tree species, as is the fact that sweet apples are now, at least for all practical purposes, self-incompatible—that is, they cannot pollinate themselves. Therefore each apple tree within the forest and even each pip, usually five, within each individual fruit will be different. There are many apples on a mature tree, so natural selection has

1232-456: A rich and diverse population upon which to work. Birds, of course, eat all manner of fruit. But most birds eat seeds—a dietary feature not conducive either to the selection or spread of a fruit tree. Sweet apples are often eviscerated by birds, but the seeds are frequently left in the empty shell of the pome. The reason is that apple (and pear and quince) seeds are rich in cyanoglycosides, which are highly repellent, particularly to birds... Moreover,

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1344-666: A role in search for native spiritual roots and Pan-Turkism ideology since the 1990s, especially in Kyrgyzstan , Kazakhstan , Mongolia , some autonomous republics of the Russian Federation ( Tatarstan , Bashkortostan , Buryatia , Yakutia , and others), among the Crimean Karaites and Crimean Tatars . After the 1908 Young Turk Revolution , and especially after the proclamation of the Republic in 1923,

1456-450: A thin layer of vegetation to grow. This is enough to sustain populations of wild camels , jerboas , and other wild species. The Dzungarian Basin is a structural basin with thick sequences of Paleozoic-Pleistocene rocks with large estimated oil reserves . The Gurbantunggut Desert , China's second largest, is in the center of the basin. The Dzungarian basin does not have a single catchment center. The northernmost section of Dzungaria

1568-488: A thunderstorm against Temujin but it backfires and they get stuck in slippery mud. They say "the wrath of Tengri is upon us" and flee in disorder (paragraph 143). Temujin prays to "father Tengri" on a high hill with his belt around his neck after defeating the Taichiud at Tsait Tsagaan Tal and taking 100 horses and 50 breastplates. He says "I haven't become Lord thanks to my own bravery, but I have defeated my enemies thanks to

1680-565: Is Xinjiang's center of heavy industry , generates most of the region's GDP, and houses its political capital Ürümqi ( Oirat for 'beautiful pasture'). As such, Dzungaria continues to attract intraprovincial and interprovincial migration to its cities. In contrast to the Tarim Basin, Dzungaria is relatively well integrated with the rest of China by rail and trade links. Xinjiang has traditionally been divided into two geographically and ethnically distinct regions: Dzungaria, located north of

1792-704: Is fixed by the Orkhon, or Old Turkic script used by the Göktürks ("celestial Turks") and other early khanates during the 8th to 10th centuries. Tengrism most probably existed in medieval states in Eurasia , such as the Göktürk Khaganate , Western Turkic Khaganate , Old Great Bulgaria , Danube Bulgaria , Volga Bulgaria , and Eastern Tourkia (Khazaria) Turkic beliefs contains the sacral book Irk Bitig from Uyghur Khaganate . Tengrism also played

1904-403: Is legitimate. We say: "We the descendants of Genghis Khan, keeping our own proper Mongol identity, whether some receive silam or some don't, that is only for Eternal Tengri (Heaven) to know (decide)." People who have received silam and who, like you, have a truly honest heart and are pure, do not act against the religion and orders of the Eternal Tengri and of Misiqa (Messiah or Christ). Regarding

2016-770: Is located north and west of the Taklamakan Desert and directly north of the Tarim Basin . It straddles the border regions of Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Uzbekistan and Xinjiang in Northwest China . To the south, it connects with the Pamir Mountains , while to north and east, it meets the Altai Mountains of Mongolia . The Tian Shan range extends eastwards for approximately 2,900 kilometers from Tashkent , Uzbekistan. It forms part of

2128-649: Is located on the northern margin of the Tarim basin between the Kokshaal-Tau mountain chain to the south and the Terskey Alatau mountain chain to the north. The Kokshaal-Tau extends for 570 km from Pik Dankowa in the west to Pik Pobeda in the east-northeast. This mountain chain, along with the parallel Terskey Alatau and the Tian Shan plateau in between, were covered by connected ice-stream-networks and

2240-714: Is part of the basin of the Irtysh River , which ultimately drains into the Arctic Ocean . The rest of the region is split into a number of endorheic basins . In particular, south of the Irtysh, the Ulungur River ends up in the (presently) endorheic Lake Ulungur . The Southwestern part of the Dzungarian basin drains into the Aibi Lake . In the west-central part of the region, streams flow into (or toward)

2352-718: Is sometimes poetically called the "Land of Eternal Blue Sky" ( Mönkh Khökh Tengeriin Oron ) by its inhabitants. According to some scholars, the name of the important deity Dangun (also Tangol) (God of the Mountains) of the Korean folk religion is related to the Siberian Tengri ("Heaven"), while the bear is a symbol of the Big Dipper (Ursa Major). The word "Tengrism" is a fairly new term. The spelling Tengrism for

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2464-489: Is the triangular Dzungarian Basin , also known as Junggar Basin ( simplified Chinese : 准噶尔盆地 ; traditional Chinese : 準噶爾盆地 ; pinyin : Zhǔngá'ěr Péndì ), with its central Gurbantünggüt Desert . It is bounded by the Tarbagatai Mountains to the northwest, the Altai Mountains to the northeast, and the Tian Shan mountains to the south. The three corners are relatively open. The northern corner

2576-610: Is the valley of the upper Irtysh River . The western corner is the Dzungarian Gate , a historically important gateway between Dzungaria and the Kazakh Steppe ; presently, a highway and a railway (opened in 1990) run through it, connecting China with Kazakhstan. The eastern corner of the basin leads to Gansu and the rest of China. In the south, an easy pass leads from Ürümqi to the Turfan Depression . In

2688-529: The Göktürks received the lands of Dzungaria as an inheritance after the death of his father in the latter half of the sixth century AD . Dzungar power reached its height in the second half of the 17th century, when Galdan Boshugtu Khan repeatedly intervened in the affairs of the Kazakhs to the west, but it was completely destroyed by the Qing Empire about 1757–1759. It has played an important part in

2800-620: The Himalayan orogenic belt , resulting from the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates during the Cenozoic era. The range encompasses the Bogda Shan in the east, as defined by both Western and Chinese cartography. The Tian Shan's highest peak is Jengish Chokusu (also known as Victory Peak) , shared by Kyrgyzstan and China. At 7,439 metres (24,406 ft) high, it is

2912-453: The Karamay oil fields. Intraprovincial migration has mostly been directed towards Dzungaria also, with immigrants from the poor Uyghur areas of southern Xinjiang flooding to the provincial capital of Ürümqi to find work. As a political or geographical term, Dzungaria has practically disappeared from the map; but the range of mountains stretching north-east along the southern frontier of

3024-520: The Mongolian words züün gar , meaning 'left hand'), also known as Northern Xinjiang or Beijiang , is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang . Bound by the Altai Mountains to the north and the Tian Shan mountain range to the south, Dzungaria covers approximately 777,000 km (300,000 sq mi), and borders Kazakhstan to

3136-545: The Orkhon inscriptions , Secret History of the Mongols , and Altan Tobchi . However, these texts are more historically oriented and are not strictly religious texts like the scriptures and sutras of sedentary civilizations, which have elaborate doctrines and religious stories. On a scale of complexity, Tengrism lies somewhere between the Proto-Indo-European religion (a pre-state form of pastoral shamanism on

3248-583: The Qarlik Tagh and the Barkol Mountains . Then the Bogda Shan (god mountains) run from 350 to 40 kilometres (217 to 25 mi) east of Ürümqi. Then there is a low area between Ürümqi and the Turfan Depression . The Borohoro Mountains start just south of Ürümqi and run west-northwest 450 kilometres (280 mi) separating Dzungaria from the Ili River basin. Their north end abuts on

3360-649: The Qilian Mountains . The name of the Tannu-Ola mountains in Tuva has the same meaning. The Chinese name Tian Shan is most likely a direct translation of the traditional Kyrgyz name for the mountains, Teñir Too. Tengrism Tengrism (also known as Tengriism , Tengerism , or Tengrianism ) is a religion originating in the Eurasian steppes , based on shamanism and animism . It generally involves

3472-784: The Republic of China , the Second East Turkestan Republic and since 1950, it has been under the control of the People's Republic of China . Dzungaria is named after the Dzungar Khanate that existed in Central Asia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Dzungaria , or Zungharia , derives from the name of the Dzungar people , which comes from the Mongolian term Zűn Gar , or Jüün Gar (depending on

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3584-718: The Tarim Basin from the Fergana Valley . The Fergana Range runs northeast towards the Talas Ala-Too and separates the upper Naryn basin from Fergana proper. The southern side of these mountains merge into the Pamirs in Tajikistan ( Alay Mountains and Trans-Alay Range ). West of this is the Turkestan Range , which continues almost to Samarkand. The Tian Shan plateau, stretching 100 to 120 km wide,

3696-815: The Tocharians in prehistory and the Jushi Kingdom in the first millennium BC. One of the earliest mentions of the Dzungaria region occurs when the Han dynasty dispatched an explorer to investigate lands to the west, using the northernmost Silk Road trackway of about 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) in length, which connected the ancient Chinese capital of Xi'an to the west over the Wushao Ling Pass to Wuwei and emerged in Kashgar . Istämi of

3808-744: The Xiongnu word Qilian ( traditional Chinese : 祁連 ; simplified Chinese : 祁连 ; pinyin : Qílián ), which, according to Tang commentator Yan Shigu , is the Xiongnu word for "sky" or "heaven". Sima Qian , in the Records of the Grand Historian , mentioned Qilian in relation to the homeland of the Yuezhi , and the term is believed to refer to the Tian Shan rather than the range 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) further east now known as

3920-525: The highest point in Kyrgyzstan . The Tian Shan's second highest peak, Khan Tengri (King Heaven), straddles the Kazakhstan - Kyrgyzstan - China tripoint and at 7,010 metres (23,000 ft), is the highest point of Kazakhstan . Mountaineers class these as the two northernmost peaks surpassing 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) in the world. The Torugart Pass , at 3,752 metres (12,310 ft), marks

4032-618: The 14th century, when the Golden Horde converted to Islam . Since then, Tengrism was mostly submerged by other religious ideas. Traditional Tengrism persists among the Mongols and in some Turkic and Mongolic influenced regions of Russia ( Sakha , Buryatia , and Tuva ) in parallel with other religions. According to the Orkhon inscriptions , Tengri played a big role in choices of the kaghan , and in guiding his actions. Many of these were performed because "Heaven so ordained" ( Old Turkic : Teŋіri yarïlqaduq üčün ). Arghun expressed

4144-468: The 1990s, Russian-language literature uses it in the general sense, as for instance, reported in 1996 ("so-called Tengrianism") in the context of the nationalist rivalry over Bulgar legacy . The spellings Tengriism , Tangrism , Tengrianity are also found from the 1990s. In modern Turkey and, partly, Kyrgyzstan, Tengrism is known as the Tengricilik or Göktanrı dini ("Sky God religion");

4256-547: The 200 kilometres (120 mi) Dzungarian Alatau which runs east northeast along Sino-Kazakh border. They start 50 kilometres (31 mi) east of Taldykorgan in Kazakhstan and end at the Dzungarian Gate . The Dzungarian Alatau in the north, the Borohoro Mountains in the middle and the Ketmen Ridge in the south make a reversed Z or S, the northeast enclosing part of Dzungaria and the southwest enclosing

4368-530: The 9th generation ancestor of Genghis Khan is called a "son of Tengri". When Temujin was brought to the Qongirat tribe at 9 years old to choose a wife, Dei Setsen of the Qongirat tells Yesugei the father of Temujin (Genghis Khan) that he dreamt of a white falcon, grasping the sun and the moon, come and sit on his hands. He identifies the sun and the moon with Yesugei and Temujin. Temujin then encounters Tengri in

4480-444: The First Turkic Khaganate , the Western Turkic Khaganate , the Eastern Turkic Khaganate , Old Great Bulgaria , the First Bulgarian Empire , Volga Bulgaria , Khazaria , and the Mongol Empire . In the Irk Bitig , a ninth century manuscript on divination, Tengri is mentioned as Türük Tängrisi (God of Turks). According to many academics, Tengrism was, and to some extent still is, a predominantly polytheistic religion based on

4592-521: The Ili valley) to avoid the mountains west of the Tarim and because Russia is currently more developed. After the Dzungar genocide , the Qing subsequently began to repopulate the area with Han and Hui people from China proper. The population in the 21st century consists of Kazakhs , Kyrgyz , Mongols , Uyghurs and Han Chinese . Since 1953, northern Xinjiang has attracted skilled workers from all over China—who have mostly been Han Chinese —to work on water conservation and industrial projects, especially

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4704-437: The International Fund of Tengri Research is also located in Yakutsk . Several Kyrgyz politicians are advocating Tengrism to fill a perceived ideological void. Dastan Sarygulov , secretary of state and former chair of the Kyrgyz state gold-mining company, established in 2005 the Tengir Ordo —a civic group promoting the values and traditions of Tengrism—and an International scientific center of Tengrist studies. He based on

4816-460: The Keraits Genghis Khan says "By the blessing of Eternal Tengri I have brought low the Kerait nation and ascended the high throne" (paragraph 187). Genghis sends Subutai with an iron cart to pursue the sons of Togtoa and tells him "If you act exposed though hidden, near though far and maintain loyalty then Supreme Tengri will bless you and support you" (paragraph 199). Jamukha tells Temujin "I had no trustworthy friends, no talented brothers and my wife

4928-547: The Khorchi. Our writing was written while We were at Khondlon on the sixth khuuchid (6th day of the old moon) of the first month of summer on the year of the cow. Arghun expressed Tengrism's non-dogmatic side. The name Mongke Tengri ("Eternal Tengri") is at the top of the sentence in this letter to Pope Nicholas IV , in accordance with Mongolian Tengriist writing rules. The words "Tngri" (Tengri) and "zrlg" (zarlig, decree/order) are still written with vowel-less archaism: ... Your saying "May [the Ilkhan] receive silam (baptism)"

5040-420: The Mongolian dialect used). Zűn (or Jüün ) means 'left' and Gar means 'hand'. The name originates from the notion that the Western Mongols ( Oirats ) were on the left-hand side when the Mongol Empire began its division into East and West Mongols. After this fragmentation, the western Mongolian nation was called Zuun Gar . The first people to inhabit the region were Indo-European-speaking peoples such as

5152-419: The Taichiud were waiting for him there and promptly captured him. Toghrul later credits the defeat of the Merkits with Jamukha and Temujin to the "mercy of mighty Tengri" (paragraph 113). Khorchi of the Baarin tells Temujin of a vision given by "Zaarin Tengri" where a bull raises dust and asks for one of his horns back after charging the ger cart of Jamukha (Temujin's rival) while another ox harnessed itself to

5264-415: The Tangut insults him again after his return from the Khwarezmian campaign Genghis Khan says "How can we go back (to Mongolia) when he says such proud words? Though I die I won't let these words slip. Eternal Tengri, you decide" (paragraph 265). After Genghis Khan "ascends to Tengri" (paragraph 268) during his successful campaign against the Tangut (Xi Xia) the wheels of the returning funeral cart gets stuck in

5376-545: The Tian Shan Mountains. The plant then made its way to Turkey via the Silk Road and became a symbol of the Ottoman Empire . Ancestors of important crop vegetation were established and thrived in the area, among them: apricots ( Prunus armeniaca ), pears ( Pyrus spp.), pomegranates ( Punica granatum ), figs ( Ficus ), cherries ( Prunus avium ) and mulberries ( Morus ). The Tian Shan region also included important animals like bears, deer, and wild boar, which helped to spread seeds and expand ecological diversity. Among

5488-555: The Tian Shan mountains through Dzungaria or south of the mountains through the Tarim Basin. Trade usually took the south side and migrations the north. This is most likely because the Tarim leads to the Ferghana Valley and Iran, while Dzungaria leads only to the open steppe. The difficulty with the south side was the high mountains between the Tarim and Ferghana. Furthermore, the Taklamakan is too dry to support much grass, and therefore nomads when they are not robbing caravans. Its inhabitants live mostly in oases formed where rivers run out of

5600-404: The Tian Shan mountains; and the Tarim Basin, located south of the mountains. At the time of the Qing conquest of Xinjiang in 1759, Dzungaria was predominantly inhabited by steppe -dwelling, nomadic Tibetan-Buddhist Dzungars while the Tarim Basin was inhabited by predominantly oasis-dwelling, sedentary, Turkic Muslim farmers, now known as the Uyghurs . The Qing government was well aware of

5712-422: The Tian Shan, spreading along the Silk Road and killing half of Europe's population in the mid 1300s. Tian Shan has an alpine climate ( Köppen climate classification ETH ). In Tengrism , Khan Tengri , is the lord of all spirits and the religion's supreme deity, and it is the name given to the second highest peak of Tian Shan. One of the earliest historical references to these mountains may be related to

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5824-479: The Turkic nations of Central Asia ( Kyrgyzstan with Kazakhstan ) and Russia ( Tatarstan , Bashkortostan ) since the dissolution of the Soviet Union during the 1990s. Still practiced, it is undergoing an organized revival in Buryatia , Sakha (Yakutia) , Khakassia , Tuva and other Turkic nations in Siberia . Altaian Burkhanism and Chuvash Vattisen Yaly are contemporary movements similar to Tengrism. The term tengri (compare with Kami ) can refer to

5936-502: The Turkish gök (sky) and tanrı (God) correspond to the Mongolian khukh (blue) and Tengeri (sky), respectively. Mongolian Тэнгэр шүтлэг is used in a 1999 biography of Genghis Khan . In the 20th century, a number of scientists proposed the existence of a religious imperial khagan cult in the ancient Turkic and Mongolian states. The Turkish historian of religion Ziya Gökalp (1876–1924) wrote in his The History of Turkish Holy Tradition and Turkish Civilization that

6048-594: The Türks! ). The most famous modern ideologues and theorists of Tengrism are Murad Adji  [ ru ] (1944–2018), Sabetkazy Akatai  [ kk ] (1938–2003), Aron Atabek , Nurmagambet Ayupov  [ kk ] (1955–2010), Rafael Bezertinov, Shagdaryn Bira , Firdus Devbash  [ ru ] , Yosif Dmitriev (Trer)  [ ru ] (1947–2018), Mongush Kenin-Lopsan , Auezkhan Kodar  [ kk ] (1958–2016), Choiun Omuraliyev, Dastan Sarygulov , and Olzhas Suleimenov . The poet, literary critic and Turkologist Olzhas Suleimenov,

6160-467: The Zhetysu, as the district to the southeast of Lake Balkhash preserves the name of Dzungarian Alatau . It also gave name to Djungarian hamsters . Wheat , barley , oats , and sugar beets are grown, and cattle , sheep , and horses are raised in Dzungaria. The fields are irrigated with melted snow from the permanently white-capped mountains. Dzungaria has deposits of coal , gold , and iron , as well as large oil fields . The core of Dzungaria

6272-412: The ancient and modern Turkic and Mongolic are Tengeri , Tangara , Tangri , Tanri , Tangre , Tegri , Tingir , Tenkri , Tangra , Teri , Ter , and Ture . The name Tengri ("the Sky") is derived from Old Turkic : Tenk ("daybreak") or Tan ("dawn"). Meanwhile, Stefan Georg proposed that the Turkic Tengri ultimately originates as a loanword from Proto-Yeniseian *tɨŋgɨr- "high". Mongolia

6384-462: The appointed time and appointment? What would be the use of regretting afterwards? Also, if, adding any additional messages, you let your ambassadors fly (to Us) on wings, sending Us luxuries, falcons, whatever precious articles and beasts there are from the land of the Franks, the Power of Tengri ( Tengri-yin Kuchin ) and the Majesty of the Khan ( Khagan-u Suu ) only knows how We will treat you favorably. With these words We have sent Muskeril (Buscarello)

6496-438: The association of Tengri with imperial legitimacy and military success. The majesty ( suu ) of the khan is a divine stamp granted by Tengri to a chosen individual through which Tengri controls the world order (the presence of Tengri in the khan). In this letter, "Tengri" or "Mongke Tengri" ("Eternal Heaven") is at the top of the sentence. In the middle of the magnified section, the phrase Tengri-yin Kuchin ("Power of Tengri") forms

6608-416: The battle against Toghrul, Genghis Khan strikes his chest in anguish and says "May Eternal Tengri decide" (paragraph 172). Genghis Khan tells Altan and Khuchar "All of you refused to become Khan, that is why I led you as Khan. If you would have become Khan I would have charged first in battle and brought you the best women and horses if high Khukh Tengri showed us favor and defeated our enemies". After defeating

6720-452: The belly strap can come loose, but how can the breast strap also come loose? Is Tengri persuading me?" He waited three more nights and decided to go out again but a tent-sized rock had blocked the way out. Again he said "Is Tengri persuading me?", returned and waited three more nights. Finally he lost patience after 9 days of hunger and went around the rock, cutting down the wood on the other side with his arrow-whittling knife, but as he came out

6832-554: The blessing of heaven and earth I have greatly increased in power, united all the great nation and brought them under my reins" (paragraph 224). Genghis orders Dorbei the Fierce of the Dorbet tribe to "strictly govern your soldiers, pray to Eternal Tengri and try to conquer the Khori Tumed people" (paragraph 240). After being insulted by Asha Khambu of the Tanguts of being a weak Khan Genghis Khan says "If Eternal Tengri blesses me and I firmly pull my golden reins, then things will become clear at that time" (paragraph 256). When Asha Khambu of

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6944-405: The border between Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang . The lower-altitude, forested Alatau ranges in the northern Tian Shan is home to Turkic -speaking pastoral tribes. The Tian Shan is separated from the Tibetan Plateau by the Taklimakan Desert and the Tarim Basin to the south. The Syr Darya , Ili River and Tarim River that originate in the Tian Shan. The Aksu Canyon is a prominent feature in

7056-416: The climate of the Dzungarian Basin, making the temperature colder—as low as −4 °F (−20 °C)—and providing more precipitation, ranging from 3 to 10 inches (76 to 254 mm), compared to the warmer, drier basins to the south. Runoff from the surrounding mountains into the basin supplies several lakes. The ecologically rich habitats traditionally included meadows, marshlands, and rivers. However, most of

7168-527: The differences between the inhabitants of the two regions, and initially ruled them as separate administrative units. However, after the Qing army 's final pacification of the Tarim Basin in 1760, the Qing government began to describe Dzungaria and the Tarim Basin as one region called "Xinjiang" ( lit.   ' new frontier ' ). The Qing government officially unified Dzungaria and the Tarim Basin into one political entity called Xinjiang Province in 1884, despite protests by some officials who believed that

7280-425: The ethnic religions of other parts of Asia, Africa, Australasia and even completely unrelated parts of the Americas, as they believed these practices to be similar to one another. Terms for 'shaman' and 'shamaness' in Siberian languages: Buryat scholar Irina S. Urbanaeva developed a theory of Tengrist esoteric traditions in Central Asia after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the revival of national sentiment in

7392-429: The eulogist of the Kazakh national identity, in his book AZ-and-IA that was banned after publication in 1975 in Soviet Kazakhstan, USSR, presented Tengrism ("Tengrianstvo") as one of the most ancient religions in the world. Tengrism's revival of an ethnic religion reached a larger audience in intellectual circles. Former Presidents of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and Kyrgyzstan Askar Akayev have called Tengrism

7504-601: The former Soviet republics of Central Asia. The first time the name Tengri was recorded in Chinese chronicles was from the 4th century BC as the sky god of the Xiongnu , using the Chinese form 撐犁 ( chēnglí , Old Chinese /*rtʰaːŋ.riːl/ ). Tengrism formed from the various Turkic and Mongolic folk religions, which had a diverse number of deities, spirits and gods. Turkic folk religion was based on Animism and similar to various other religious traditions of Siberia, Central Asia and Northeast Asia. Ancestor worship played an important part in Tengrism. The cult of Heaven-Tengri

7616-458: The global average of 7%. By 2050, half of the remaining ice is projected to disappear. Russian explorer Peter Semenov was one of the first European to extensively document the Tian Shan in the 1850s. The Tian Shan have a number of named ranges which are often mentioned separately (all distances are approximate). In China the Tian Shan starts from about 600 to 400 kilometres (370 to 250 mi) east of Ürümqi , north of Kumul City (Hami) with

7728-409: The great deity/spirit Munkh Tenger . Tengrism was probably similar with the folk traditions of the Tungusic peoples , such as the Manchu folk religion . Similarities with Korean shamanism and Wuism as well as Japanese Shinto are also evident. According to Hungarian archaeological research, the religion of the Magyars ( Hungarians ) until the end of the 10th century (before Christianity)

7840-592: The ground and Gilugdei Baatar of the Sunud says "My horse-mounted divine lord born with destiny from Khukh Tengri, have you abandoned your great nation?" Batu Khan sends a secret letter to Ogedei Khan saying "Under the power of the Eternal Tengri, under the Majesty of my uncle the Khan, we set up a great tent to feast after we had broken the city of Meged, conquered the Orosuud (Russians), brought in eleven nations from all directions and pulled on our golden reins to hold one last meeting before going our separate directions" (paragraph 275). A revival of Tengrism has played

7952-451: The historian of religion and ideologist of the Kemalist regime Ziya Gökalp ( Gökalp — "sky hero"). The prominent Turkish writer and historian Nihal Atsız was Tengrist and the ideologue of Turanism. The followers of Tengrism in the paramilitary organisation Grey Wolves , mainly inspired by his work, replace the Arabic designation of the god "Allah" with the Turkish "Tanri" in the oath and pronounce: " Tanrı Türkü Korusun " ( Tengri, bless

8064-698: The history of Mongolia and the great migrations of Mongolian stems westward. Its widest limit included Kashgar , Yarkand , Khotan , the whole region of the Tian Shan , and the greater proportion of that part of Central Asia which extends from 35° to 50° N and from 72° to 97° E. After 1761, its territory fell mostly to the Qing dynasty during the campaign against the Dzungars ( Xinjiang and north-western Mongolia) and partly to Russian Turkestan (the earlier Kazakh state provinces of Zhetysu and Irtysh river). A traveler going west from China must go either north of

8176-479: The ideas of one of the first ideologists of pre-Islamic religion in the post-Soviet space, the Kyrgyz writer Choiun Omuraliyev alias Choiun uulu Omuraly, described in his book Tengrism (1994). Another Kyrgyz proponent of Tengrism, Kubanychbek Tezekbaev, was prosecuted for inciting religious and ethnic hatred in 2011 with statements in an interview describing Kyrgyz mullahs as "former alcoholics and murderers". At

8288-734: The lake is the Terskey Alatau and the north side the Kyungey Ala-Too (shady and sunny Ala-Too). North of the Kyungey Ala-Too and parallel to it is the Trans-Ili Alatau in Kazakhstan just south of Almaty . West of the eye, the range continues 400 kilometres (250 mi) as the Kyrgyz Ala-Too , separating Chüy Region from Naryn Region and then Kazakhstan from the upper valley of the river Talas ,

8400-626: The land is now used for agriculture. It is a largely steppe and semi-desert basin surrounded by high mountains: the Tian Shan (ancient Mount Imeon ) in the south and the Altai in the north. Geologically it is an extension of the Paleozoic Kazakhstan Block and was once part of an independent continent before the Altai mountains formed in the late Paleozoic. It does not contain the abundant minerals of Kazakhstan and may have been

8512-551: The last ice age than it is today. This would result in a depression of the average annual temperature of 7.2 to 8.4 °C for the Last Glacial Maximum compared with today, assuming a comparable precipitation ratio. The Tian Shan holds important forests of Schrenk's spruce ( Picea schrenkiana ) at altitudes of over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft); the lower slopes have unique natural forests of wild walnuts and apples . The Tian Shan in its immediate geological past

8624-399: The last month of winter on the year of the tiger and descend on Dimisq (Damascus) on the 15th of the first month of spring." Now, if, being true to your words, you send your soldiers at the appointed time and, worshipping Tengri, we conquer those citizens (of Damascus together), We will give you Orislim (Jerusalem). How can it be appropriate if you were to start amassing your soldiers later than

8736-525: The love of my father mighty Tengri". When Nilqa Sengum the son of Toghrul Khan tries to convince him to attack Temujin, Toghrul says "How can I think evil of my son Temujin? If we think evil of him when he is such a critical support to us, Tengri will not be pleased with us". After Nilqa Sengum throws a number of tantrums Toghrul finally relents and says "I was afraid of Tengri and said how can I harm my son. If you are really capable, then you decide what you need to do". When Boorchi and Ogedei return wounded from

8848-622: The margins of the basin. Streams descending from the Tian Shan and Altai ranges support stands of poplar ( Populus diversifolia ) together with Nitraria roborovsky, N. sibirica, Neotrinia splendens , tamarisk (Tamarix sibirimosissima) , and willow ( Salix ledebouriana ) . The northeastern portion of the Dzungarian Basin semi-desert lies within Great Gobi National Park , and is home to herds of Onagers (Equus hemionus) , goitered gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa) and Wild Bactrian camels (Camelus ferus) . The basin

8960-716: The modern Turks and Mongols. Their names are 90% Arabic, Persian, Greek, Jewish, etc; religion is Semitic (Arabic, Christian, Jewish) and Indian; many do not know their philosophy and traditions; live by the laws and lifestyle of the West; clothes and their food is western; the alphabet is western; forgotten your kind and ancestors; they do not know the history of their folk; many city residents do not speak their native language. Who are they really and what do they have own for today? Only hereditary genes ... The Yakut philologist Lazar Afanasyev-Teris, PhD founded Tengrist organisation "Kut-Siur" (now Aiyy Faith ) in 1990–1993. The headquarters of

9072-572: The monotheistic concept evolved later out of a polytheistic system and was not the original form of Tengrism. The monotheistic concept helped to legitimate the rule of the dynasty: "As there is only one God in Heaven, there can only be one ruler on the earth ...". Others point out that Tengri itself was never an Absolute, but only one of many gods of the upper world, the sky deity , of polytheistic shamanism, later known as Tengrism. Tengrism differs from contemporary Siberian shamanism in that it

9184-581: The mountain foreland near Alma Ata. The glacial glaciers from the Kungey Alatau also calved into Lake Issyk Kul, with the Ak-Sai valley glacier developing a mountain foreland glacier. The Chon-Kemin valley was glaciated up to its inflow into the Chu valley. Altogether, the glacial Tian Shan glaciation occupied an area of approximately 118,000 square kilometers. The glacier snowline was about 1200m lower during

9296-474: The mountain range's northwestern section. Continuous permafrost typically forms in the Tian Shan at elevations above 3,500-3,700 meters. Discontinuous permafrost can be found as low as 2,000 meters in specific locations influenced by unique topographical and climatic conditions, though it generally occurs between 2,700-3,300 meters altitude. The Tian Shan's glaciers are rapidly receding, losing 27% or 5.4 billion tons of ice annually since 1961— nearly four times

9408-401: The mountains at the age of 12. The Taichiud had come for him when he was living with his siblings and mother in the wilderness, subsisting on roots, wild fruits, sparrows and fish. He was hiding in the thick forest of Terguun Heights. After three days hiding he decided to leave and was leading his horse on foot when he looked back and noticed his saddle had fallen. Temujin says "I can understand

9520-399: The mountains into the desert. These are inhabited by peasants who are unwarlike and merchants who have an interest in keeping trade running smoothly. Dzungaria has a fair amount of grass, few towns to base soldiers in and no significant mountain barriers to the west. Therefore, trade went south and migrations north. Today most trade is north of the mountains ( Dzungarian Gate and Khorgas in

9632-533: The national, "natural" religion of the Turkic peoples. So, during the 2002 trip to Khakassia , Russia, Akayev spoke out that a visit to the Yenisei River and the runic steles constituted "a pilgrimage to a holy place for the Kyrgyz" just as the pilgrimage to Mecca. Presenting Islam as foreign to the Turkic peoples, as Semitic religion together with Christianity and Judaism, adherents are found primarily among

9744-428: The nationalistic parties of Central Asia. Tengrism may be interpreted as a Turkic version of Russian neopaganism , which is already well-established. It is partly similar to the new religious movements , such as New Age . In Tatarstan, the only Tengrist periodical Beznen-Yul (Our Path) appeared in 1997, and also works a theorist of Tengrist movement Rafael Bezertinov. He writes: Today it's hard to even say who

9856-471: The new moon of the first summer month (May 14th, 1290), when we were in Urumi. Tengri is mentioned many times in the Secret History of the Mongols , written in 1240. The book starts by listing the ancestors of Genghis Khan starting from Borte Chino (Blue Wolf) born with "destiny from Tengri". Borte Chino was either a heavenly wolf, a real man with the totemic name of a wolf or Modu Chanyu . Bodonchar Munkhag

9968-486: The northern Caucasus reportedly believed in two gods: Tangri Han (or Tengri Khan), considered identical to the Persian Esfandiyār and for whom horses were sacrificed, and Kuar (whose victims are struck by lightning). Traditional Tengrism was more embraced by the nomadic Turks than by those residing in the lower mountains or forests. This belief influenced Turkic and Mongol religious history since ancient times until

10080-407: The other peoples, those who, forgetting the Eternal Tengri and disobeying him, are lying and stealing, are there not many of them? Now, you say that we have not received silam, you are offended and harbor thoughts of discontent. [But] if one prays to Eternal Tengri and carries righteous thoughts, it is as much as if he had received silam. We have written our letter in the year of the tiger, the fifth of

10192-462: The placenta of the apple fruit, the womb, contains inhibitory substances that prevent the germination of the apple seed in situ. This is a commonly observed phenomenon in fruits as Michael Evenari showed in 1949. So what then does, or did, distribute the original apple seed? The bear... The strain of Y. pestis which caused the bubonic plague now know as the Black Death may have originated in

10304-653: The region. These policies pushed forward a cultural identity which sharply contrasted with both the rest of China and the rest of Central Asia. Before the 21st century, all or part of the region has been ruled or controlled by the Xiongnu Empire , Han dynasty , Xianbei state , Rouran Khaganate , Turkic Khaganate , Tang dynasty , Uyghur Khaganate , Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate , Liao dynasty , Kara-Khitan Khanate , Mongol Empire , Yuan dynasty , Chagatai Khanate , Moghulistan , Kara Del , Northern Yuan , Four Oirat , Dzungar Khanate , Qumul Khanate , Qing dynasty ,

10416-414: The religion of the ancient Turkic states could not be primitive shamanism, which was only a magical part of the religion of the ancient Türks (see a historiography of the problem: Alici 2011 , pp. 137–139). The nature of this religion remains debatable. According to many scholars, it was originally polytheistic , but a monotheistic branch with the sky god Kök-Tengri as the supreme being evolved as

10528-527: The religion of the ancient Turks is found in the works of the 19th century Kazakh ethnographer Shoqan Walikhanov . The term was introduced into a wide scientific circulation in 1956 by Jean-Paul Roux and later in the 1960s as a general term of English-language papers. Tengrianism is a reflection of the Russian term, Тенгрианство ("Tengriánstvo"). It is introduced by Kazakh poet and turkologist Olzhas Suleymenov in his 1975 book AZ-and-IA . Since

10640-617: The same time, the Kyrgyz authorities do not go for the official registration of "Tengirchilik" (Теңирчилик) and other Tengrist associations. The ideology of de-Judaization and the revival of Tengrism is imbued with the works of the leaders of the Crimean Karaites and Krymchaks of Crimea , who traditionally professed forms of Judaism (Igor Achkinazi (1954–2006), David Rebi  [ ru ] (1922–2019), and others). Dzungaria 45°00′N 85°00′E  /  45.000°N 85.000°E  / 45.000; 85.000 Dzungaria ( /( d ) z ʊ ŋ ˈ ɡ ɛər i ə / ; from

10752-495: The shamanistic concept of animism , and was first influenced by monotheism during the imperial period, especially by the 12th–13th centuries. Abdulkadir Inan argues that Yakut and Altai shamanism are not entirely equal to the ancient Turkic religion. The term also describes several contemporary Turkic and Mongolic native religious movements and teachings. All modern adherents of "political" Tengrism are monotheists. Tengrism has been advocated for in intellectual circles of

10864-439: The sky deity Tenger Etseg – also Gök Tengri ; Sky father , Blue sky – or to other deities. While Tengrism includes the worship of personified gods ( tngri ) such as Ülgen and Kayra , Tengri is considered an "abstract phenomenon". In Mongolian folk religion, Genghis Khan is considered one of the embodiments, if not the main embodiment, of Tengri's will. The forms of the name Tengri ( Old Turkic : Täŋri ) among

10976-605: The south side of which is the 200 kilometres (120 mi) Talas Ala-Too Range ('Ala-too' is a Kyrgyz spelling of Alatau). At the east end of the Talas Alatau the Suusamyr Too range runs southeast enclosing the Suusamyr Valley or plateau. As for the area south of the Fergana Valley there is an 800 kilometres (500 mi) group of mountains that curves west-southwest from south of Issyk Kul Lake separating

11088-485: The southwest, the tall Borohoro Mountains branch of the Tian Shan separates the basin from the upper Ili River . The basin is similar to the larger Tarim Basin on the southern side of the Tian Shan Range. Only a gap in the mountains to the north allows moist air masses to provide the basin lands with enough moisture to remain semi-desert rather than becoming a true desert like most of the Tarim Basin and allows

11200-433: The titular sky god Tengri , who is not considered a deity in the usual sense but a personification of the universe. According to some scholars, adherents of Tengrism view the purpose of life to be in harmony with the universe. It was the prevailing religion of the Göktürks , Xianbei , Bulgars , Xiongnu , Yeniseian and Mongolic peoples and Huns , as well as the state religion of several medieval states such as

11312-518: The two regions were better off left separated. The geographic concept of Xinjiang was ultimately a construct of the Qing government; by the end of Qing rule in 1912, Xinjiang's native inhabitants had still not developed a distinct regional identity. However, the foundations for a regional identity were laid by the Qing government's 150-year-long policies of politically isolating Xinjiang from the rest of Central Asia and introducing Han and Hui settlers into

11424-574: The upper Ili valley. In Kyrgyzstan the mainline of the Tian Shan continues as Narat Range from the base of the Borohoros west 570 kilometres (350 mi) to the point where China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan meet. Here is the highest part of the range – the Central Tian Shan, with Peak Pobeda ( Kakshaal Too range) and Khan Tengri . West of this, the Tian Shan split into an 'eye', with Issyk Kul Lake in its center. The south side of

11536-526: The vegetation colonizing the Tian Shan came, likely via birds from the east, the ancestors of what we know as the "sweet" apple. The fruit probably then looked like a tiny, long-stalked, bitter apple something like Malus baccata , the Siberian crab. The pips may have been carried in a bird's crop or clotted onto feet or feathers. What natural features of the unique Tian Shan might have contributed to this rigorous selection program? Time is, as we have seen, not

11648-529: The west and Mongolia to the east. In contexts prior to the mid-18th century Dzungar genocide , the term "Dzungaria" could cover a wider area, coterminous with the Oirat -led Dzungar Khanate . Although Dzungaria is geographically, historically, and ethnically distinct from the Tarim Basin or Southern Xinjiang (Nanjiang), the Manchu -led Qing dynasty integrated both areas into one province, Xinjiang. Dzungaria

11760-627: The western steppe) and its later form the Vedic religion . The chief god Tengri ("Heaven") is considered strikingly similar to the Indo-European sky god *Dyḗus and the East Asian Tian (Chinese: "Sky; Heaven"). The structure of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion is actually closer to that of the early Turks than to the religion of any people of neolithic European, Near Eastern or Mediterranean antiquity. The term "shamanism"

11872-463: Was a form of Tengrism and Shamanism. Tengrists view their existence as sustained by the eternal blue sky (Tengri), the fertile mother-earth spirit ( Eje ) and a ruler regarded as the chosen one by the holy spirit of the sky. Heaven, earth, spirits of nature and ancestors provide for every need and protect all humans. By living an upright, respectful life, a human will keep his world in balance and perfect his personal Wind Horse , or spirit. The Huns of

11984-758: Was a more organized religion. Additionally the polities practicing it were not small bands of hunter-gatherers like the Paleosiberians , but a continuous succession of pastoral, semi-sedentarized khanates and empires from the Xiongnu Empire (founded 209 BC) to the Mongol Empire (13th century). In Mongolia it survives as a synthesis with Tibetan Buddhism while surviving in purer forms around Lake Khovsgol and Lake Baikal . Unlike Siberian shamanism, which has no written tradition, Tengrism can be identified from Turkic and Mongolic historical texts like

12096-463: Was a talker with great words. That is why I have lost to you Temujin, blessed and destined by Father Tengri." Genghis Khan appoints Shikhikhutug chief judge of the Empire in 1206 and tells him "Be my eyes to see and ears to hear when I am ordering the empire through the blessing of Eternal Tengri" (paragraph 203). Genghis Khan appoints Muqali "Gui Wang" because he "transmitted the word of Tengri when I

12208-421: Was first applied by Western anthropologists as outside observers of the ancient religion of the Turkic and Mongolic peoples, as well as those of the neighbouring Tungusic and Samoyedic-speaking peoples. Upon observing more religious traditions across the world, some Western anthropologists began to also use the term in a very broad sense. The term was used to describe unrelated magico-religious practices found within

12320-494: Was kept from glaciation due to the "protecting" warm influence of the Indian Ocean monsoon climate. This defined its ecological features which could sustain its distinctive ecosphere. The mountains were subjected to constant geological changes with constantly evolving drainage systems which affected the patterns of vegetation, as well as exposing fertile soil for newly emerging seedlings to thrive in. Tulips originated in

12432-519: Was one of the last habitats of Przewalski's horse (Equus przewalskii) , also known as Dzungarian horse, which was once extinct in the wild, though it has since been reintroduced in areas of Mongolia and China. Dzungaria and its derivatives are used to name a number of pre-historic animals, hailing from the rocky outcrops located in the Dzungar Basin : A notable find, in February 2006,

12544-478: Was sitting under the spreading tree in the valley of Khorkhunag Jubur where Hotula Khan used to dance" (paragraph 206). He gives Khorchi of the Baarin 30 wives because he promised Khorchi he would fulfill his request for 30 wives "if what you say comes true through the mercy and power of Tengri" (paragraph 207). Genghis mentions both Eternal Tengri and "heaven and earth" when he says "By the mercy of Eternal Tengri and

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