Golden Horde: from Yasa to the Koran
Emir Berke accepting the Koran of Uthman, presented to him by the Egyptian Sultan Baybars; about the corresponding stories see the work of A. G. Yurchenko, given in the list of references.
Tengrianism: was there a chance?
Previous article "The Golden Horde on the Path to Traditional Islam: From Batu to Berke" We ended with the accession to the throne of Mengu-Timur, during whose reign the most powerful Eastern European state gained independence from the Mongol Empire.
Mengu-Timur can be rightfully called a khan, since the previous rulers of the Ulus of Jochi apparently did not bear such a title: Berke, according to Muslim sources, was called an emir. That is, his status in the eyes of the Muslim elite looked lower than in the view of Russian scribes, who called the Golden Horde rulers tsars, the legitimacy of whose power was not disputed until 1472, when the dominance of the fragments of the already essentially disintegrated Great Horde, loosely glued together by Akhmat, was overthrown, which was discussed in the article "On the way to the kingdom: Rus' in the mirror of sacred history".
However, on the coins minted in Bulgar, the Golden Horde ruler was called sultan – a title higher than emir. For example, the famous Salah ad-Din had it. Actually, only the caliph – the head of all Muslims – stood above the sultan.
It was not without reason that after Selim I Yavuz defeated the Mamluk troops of Caliph al-Mutawakkil III in 1516, the Sultan assumed such a high title. From that time on, Ottoman rulers combined in their titles nominal political supremacy over the Christian and Muslim worlds. For Mehmed II Fatih, who still asserted his kinship with the Palaeologs, assumed the title of Kaiser-i-Rum.
Let's return to Dasht-i-Kipchak. Muslims - subjects of the Golden Horde khans - put their political status on the same level with the rulers of the leading powers of the Islamic world. Moreover, the fall of the Abbasid Caliphate formed certain tendencies for the transformation of the Golden Horde from the periphery of Islamic civilization to its center. It did not work out. And not only because the laws of socio-economic development are inexorable and the Ulus of Jochi entered a period of feudal fragmentation.
We draw evidence of the Islamization of the Golden Horde from biased Arab-Persian sources. To what extent can we trust them? For example, at the turn of the 13th–14th centuries, the minting of coins convinces not so much of the triumph of the religion born in Arabia, but of the monopolization of the corresponding sphere of activity by Muslims, which contributed to the Islamization of the Golden Horde society, but nothing more.
Golden Horde coins of the 14th century, minted by Muslims
As an example: the 18th century author Abd al-Ghaffar Qırımı, in his work “Umdet al-akhbar”, written on the basis of sources available to him, spoke about the return to paganism of many inhabitants of the Horde, who had previously accepted Islam, after the death of Berke.
In this case, we must take into account the cultural dichotomy of nomadic and sedentary societies, expressed in the contempt of the stern, illiterate horse warriors who grew up in the steppe for the effeminate city dwellers and, as a consequence, for their religion. Five hundred years have passed since the Arab conquests ceased. And the descendants of the warlike Bedouins either remained Bedouins, wandering somewhere in the sands of Arabia or Maghreb, or, having become lords, lost their fighting spirit. Of course, we are talking about the general situation in the Eastern world, and not about individual details.
The effeminacy and hedonism of some parts of the Islamic medieval world were unlikely to arouse sympathy among the stern nomadic cattle breeders, who were in no hurry to part with paganism, unlike part of their elite.
Accordingly, the question is: did Tengrism, which was professed by a significant part of the imperial military aristocracy - the other, as we remember from the previous article, professed, along with Tengrianism, Nestorianism and Buddhism - have a chance of being elevated to the rank of the dominant ideology in the second half of the 13th century?
Yes, a certain trend was set by the expansion of nomads:
The cult of Tengri, which existed among the Mongols during the period of the clan system, as one of many, notes the medievalist A. G. Sheremetyev, was transformed by the beginning of the 13th century into an imperial ideology that met the global interests of the conquerors.
The historian and one of the most interesting researchers of medieval Mongolian society, A. G. Yurchenko, writes about this in epic tones:
Two concepts, two ghosts, the World Caliphate and the Mongol Empire, clashed in the struggle for control over the steppe belt of Eurasia.
However, despite the global, from a geographical point of view, nature of its spread, Tengrism could not transform into a world religion due to the lack of a developed theology, a body of books constituting sacred scripture, an educated priestly class, as well as developed religious institutions.
In other words, if the pagan steppe resisted the cultural expansion of Islam, then, in turn, it had no chance of conquering the city: a military victory could not turn into a civilizational one.
The harsh and unfeeling life of nomads is least susceptible to the influence of progress
Let us recall Vladimir's pagan reform. The same reason for the failure: the complete cultural, political and intellectual failure of paganism in the face of the Eastern Roman and Bulgarian architectural and intellectual brilliance of Orthodoxy, which predetermined the choice of the Grand Duke, and even earlier - Olga. Of course, the military-political factor also played an important role in the decision of both.
At the same time, both the process of Christianization of Rus and Islamization of the Golden Horde were not instantaneous. However, its progressive nature is obvious, without any relapses at the level of the ruling elite associated with attempts to return to Tengrianism, similar to the pagan reaction in the person of Emperor Julian to the Christianization of the Roman Empire.
Tengriism was simply gradually supplanted by Islam, remaining among the nomads at the level of customs. Over the years, the understanding of their inner content was lost. It is like celebrating Maslenitsa or throwing coins on a coffin lowered into a grave. It is unlikely that in both cases, compatriots understand the original meaning of the actions they perform, inherent to their ancestors.
The gradual nature of the spread of Islam among the elite of the Golden Horde is evidenced by the double name of the khan - Mongolian and Muslim, which expressed the transformation of the Ulus of Jochi from paganism to monotheism, which lasted for at least a century, that is, the transition to a higher cultural and civilizational level, although at the level of personal religious preferences Mengu-Timur expressed a commitment to Tengrianism.
Another thing is that objectively his policy, like Batu's, not to mention Berke's, contributed to the spread of Islam. The reasons were discussed in the previous conversation.
Under Mengu-Timur, to an even greater extent than under the founder of the Golden Horde, peace reigned within it; military actions were conducted only on the outskirts – with the Hulagids.
During the sixteen-year reign of Mengu-Timur, trade developed, the prosperity of merchants and cities in general grew, primarily Bulgar cities, with a predominantly Muslim population, which exerted an albeit indirect influence on the nomadic nobility in the person of the noyons.
The ruins of Otrar, a Muslim city that was once part of the Golden Horde
Yes, some of them converted to Islam sincerely, based on religious preferences that changed under the influence of a different, more cultural environment. Some were guided by the interests of political gain. A striking example here is the beklarbek Nogai, mentioned in Arabic sources under the name Isa.
Controlling the ulus on the Danube that was his due, as a Chingizid, Nogai, formally subordinate to Sarai, behaved independently: in his own name he sent an embassy to the Egyptian Sultan Rukn ad-Din Baybars and, trying to gain his favor, announced, according to the medievalist R. Yu. Pochekaev, his acceptance of Islam.
We will talk about Nogai's extraordinary personality, his political ambitions and relations with Russia in a separate article. Here I will note: in the format of relations between both, a balance of interests was observed, although Nogai's ambitions were partly infringed upon by Mengu-Timur, who removed the former from Sarai to his Danube possessions. There, however, Nogai quickly got involved in the complex game in the Balkans, feeling himself in it like a fish in water.
As for the relationship with Russia and the possible question: “Could Christianity have become an alternative to Islam in the vastness of Dasht-i-Kipchak?”
No. Mengu-Timur tried not to interfere in the princes' quarrels without necessity, maintaining a balance of interests between them and patronizing the Church, which, due to its peripheral position relative to the Islamic East and for a number of other reasons, could not exert religious and intellectual influence on the Golden Horde military elite. There were exceptions, the most famous of which is the story of Berke's nephew Peter Ordynsky.
Icon depicting Saint Peter, Tsarevich of the Horde; an episode of his hunt in the vicinity of Rostov
Nevertheless, the influence of the Kyiv Metropolitanate, which in fact moved first to Vladimir and then, under Ivan Kalita, to Moscow, was in no way comparable to the Muslim influence, expressed in the spread of the Hanafi madhhab.
It was mentioned in the article "The Taliban - the future of Afghanistan, or Khalifas for an hour?"In the context of our topic, I will note the rather peaceful nature of the spread of this particular trend.
Sufism, or the Path of Syncretism
The reason is as follows.
At the center of Abu Hanifa’s teaching, writes A. G. Sheremetyev, was the concept of “irja” (rejection of unambiguous judgments) and such a method of finding legal solutions as “istihsan,” which justifies the rejection of “qiyas” (judgment by analogy from the Koran or hadith), the consequence of which was the possibility of variability in the decisions of judges, consistent with the specific conditions of place and time (customary law, decrees of rulers, etc.).
This is important in the context of the Golden Horde's transition to peaceful life under Mengu-Timur, which we mentioned, when there were still several decades left before the Great Turmoil - there was less turmoil before Nogai, but it was not as large-scale and catastrophic for the Horde as the one caused by the murder of Khan Berdibek - and the state was on a cultural and economic upswing, which created favorable conditions for the activities of Sufi preachers.
Dervish from a famous painting by V.V. Vereshchagin; this is how dervishes looked in the Middle Ages, one must assume
They acted as a link between the Islamized city and the nomadic society, mainly its military aristocracy in the person of the noyons. The above-mentioned dichotomy between the settled population and the nomads was partly overcome by the Sufis, especially the dervishes, who were revered by the common people.
The success of Sufism was facilitated by its syncretic nature. It could not have been otherwise. Weakened by the Justinian Plague and the confrontation with the Sassanids, the Eastern Roman Empire, like the Persians, was unable to effectively resist the Arab stream that burst forth from the depths of Arabia, flooding vast areas from Poitiers to Tibet, from the Indian Ocean to the Kama in a relatively short historical period.
However, Islam, born of the Arabs, could not help but experience the influence of more cultured peoples and developed theological and philosophical systems that found themselves under the rule of the Caliphate, as well as the neighboring ancient, Zoroastrian, and later Hindu worlds.
Sufism was the result of outside influences on the religion born from the preaching of Muhammad and brought to the Mediterranean and the Zagros valleys on the blades of Arab sabers.
It is important for us that by the 13th century, Islam, thanks to the Sufis, was an integral part of the intellectual and cultural space from Bulgar to Otrar:
During the Golden Horde period, writes medievalist L. Z. Borodovskaya, most of the major Sufi tariqats emerged and developed – Mavlyaviya, Kubrawiyya, Suhrawardiya, Yasaviya, Naqshbandiya, etc. The sacred ideas of Sufism were praised by Arab, Iranian and Turkic poets – these were Omar Khayyam, Abu'l-Ala al-Ma'arri, F. Attar, D. Rumi, Hafiz. By this time, the main theoretical works of Sufi thinkers – al-Ghazali, Ibn Arabi – had already been written, dictionaries of terms and biographies of saints had been compiled, and the charters of many tariqats had been written.
And what is important:
Hanafi Islam and Sufis, - the author quoted above notes, - peacefully coexisted from the very beginning of their spread in the territory of Volga Bulgaria. Sufism was not separated here as sectarianism, hermitism (as in other countries), it was always introduced into the life of the state as a traditional Islamic school of mentoring, spiritual education, and a scientific basis for the development of culture.
It was mentioned above about the defenselessness of paganism – let me clarify: especially of the shamanistic persuasion – before developed theological systems. However, in relation to the Horde, the Sufis sought not so much to overcome Tengrianism as to adapt it to the norms of Islam.
I will give a telling example, when in some Sufi works, intended for the Golden Horde audience, which was not yet fully Islamized, Allah was replaced by Tengri for proselytizing purposes.
The literary monument of the Golden Horde era "Nahj al-Faradis" ("The Path to Paradise"), which is classified as a Sufi work, speaks about the introduction of religious and everyday traditions of the Turkic-Mongols in the spread of Islam, - notes historian E.G. Saifetdinova. In the content of the book, when addressing Allah, along with the generally accepted "Hak tabarak va tagala", "Hak tagala", the epithet "Tengre Tagala" is also used. For religious works of the Muslim East, the substitution of concepts, especially in relation to addressing Allah, is not allowed. Why, when rewriting hadiths, sayings of sheikhs, Sufis from medieval theological works of the Muslim East, does Mahmud al-Bulgari sometimes replace the word "Allah" with the address "Tengre Tagala"?
The author of the above quote answers this question as follows:
Having analyzed the content of literary works of the Golden Horde era (Kutb "Khosrow and Shirin", S. Sarai "Gulistan bit-Turki" and others), it can be said that the use of the name of the Turkic god Tengri as an interchangeable synonym for the word "Allah" was widespread. Subsequently, the tradition of using the word "Tengri" became deeply rooted in popular usage.
Sufi on the throne?
A follower of Sufism was Tuda-Mengu, who succeeded Mengu-Timur to the throne, and who, according to Islamic sources, abdicated the throne: an unthinkable act not only for the Horde, but for Pax Mongolica as a whole.
The researchers believe that the work of the popular Sufi mystic poet Khoja Akhmed Yasawi, who lived a century earlier and who reflected in his poems on the frailty of earthly existence and called for the renunciation of worldly goods for the sake of knowing the Truth, could have influenced such an unconventional decision for a Chingizid. However, the voluntary renunciation of the khan is one of the versions.
There is another: Tuda-Mengu, recognized as insane, was removed from the throne. Maybe so. Or maybe the very desire to abdicate looked like madness in the eyes of the Golden Horde military elite, fed by the steppe.
At the same time, like Orthodoxy in Rus', Islam in the Golden Horde did not escape dual faith, because, having emerged from the circle of the nomadic elite, it:
acquires a “folk” awareness, is fused, writes medievalist L.Z. Borodovskaya, into fairy tales, songs, ancient legends and epic tales sound in a new way (with the addition of verses from the Koran as an introduction, with the mention of the name of the Prophet, etc.).
And yet, in the 14th–15th centuries, the pagan burial rite was replaced by a Muslim one throughout the territory of the Ulus of Jochi. That is, the process of Islamization of the Golden Horde became irreversible, since it affected not only the elite, but also ordinary nomads.
The last non-Muslim Golden Horde khan was Tokhta, who most likely professed Buddhism, but patronized Muslims, who made up the administrative and fiscal apparatus of his state.
The medievalist Yu. M. Seleznev, who studied the worldview of the Golden Horde elite of the period under consideration, came to the conclusion that a special part of it was made up of Muslim qadis, mullahs, and sheikhs, as evidenced by the many Sufi khanaqas that were built, which were something like monasteries. It is interesting that, like Russian medieval monasteries, khanaqas owned land and peasants, that is, they represented a collective feudal lord.
Sufi Khanaka
The peak of the Islamization of the Golden Horde was the reign of Uzbek. However, this is not all that simple. What exactly? We will talk about it in the next article.
Использованная литература:
Borodovskaya L.Z. Expansion of the sphere of influence of Sufism during the Golden Horde // Islam Studies. 2017. Vol. 8, No. 3. P. 82–94
Dugarov S.Zh. Characteristics of criminal-legal prohibitions of the Great Yasa
Pochekaev R.Yu. Tsars of the Horde. Biographies of the Khans and Rulers of the Golden Horde. St. Petersburg, 2010
Saifetdinova E.G. Sufi traditions in the spiritual culture of the Golden Horde // Golden Horde Review. - 2014. - No. 1 (3). - P. 75 - 78
Seleznev Yu.V. - Elite of the Golden Horde. Kazan: Publishing House "Fen" of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, 2009
Seleznev Yu.V. The Golden Horde between state governance and religious doctrine: reflections on the dilogy of A.G. Yurchenko (The Golden Horde: between Yasa and the Koran. The beginning of the conflict. St. Petersburg: Eurasia, 2012; Khan Uzbek: between empire and Islam (structures of everyday life). A book-summary. St. Petersburg: Eurasia, 2012)
Yurchenko A.G. Khan Uzbek. Between Empire and Islam. Structures of Everyday Life. - SPb.: Eurasia, 2012
Information