EPITAPHS OF THE POST-MONGOL ERA. EXPERIENCE OF COMPARATIVE RESEARCH
ЭПИТАФИИ ПОСТМОНГОЛЬСКОЙ ЭПОХИ. ОПЫТ СРАВНИТЕЛЬНОГО ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ
Babadjanov B.M. Kurumbaev A.Sh.
2023Daghestan Federal Research Centre of Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS)
History, Archeology and Ethnography of the Caucasus
2023#19Issue 3623 - 634 pp.
The collapse of the Golden Horde in the late 14th century coincided with the widespread tradition of erecting tombstones adorned with Arabic inscriptions. This transition did not signify the cultural isolation of the diverse ethnic groups that constituted the ulus of Jochi Khan across vast Eurasian territories. One of the most telling indicators of the religious and broader cultural exchange among these large and small ethnopolitical groups is the presence of tombstones in the form of steles and, to a lesser extent, prismatic stones (“chests”). This paper offers an examination of various groups of monuments in Western Kazakhstan, placing them in the context of evident parallels with tombstones found in the North Caucasus, particularly in the Nogai steppe. Striking similarities are evident, encompassing epitaph shapes, tamgas, tombstone types, and more. These shared features illuminate analogous funeral and ritual traditions, clan structures, and the veneration of the dead among the neighboring peoples of the vast Eurasian steppes and cities. The study of tombstones in the Eurasian steppes as artifacts of material culture and art is still in its nascent stages. Regrettably, formalized descriptions and incomplete interpretations of tombstone epigraphy have produced limited results. This written source often serves primarily for dating or classifying clan associations and their tamgas, with social and cultural contexts frequently overlooked. Consequently, a quest for new interpretative models becomes imperative, acknowledging that tombstones and their inscriptions were created within specific historical circumstances and social settings, deeply intertwined with ritual practices.
epigraphy , Islam , Kazakhs , Nogais , qulpytas , syntaslar
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National Center of Archeology, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
R.B. Suleimanov Institute of Oriental Studies, Almaty, Kazakhstan
National Center of Archeology
R.B. Suleimanov Institute of Oriental Studies
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