«The Secret History» – the cultural heritage of the nomads of Central Asia.

Abstract

The article presents the results of an analysis of the «The secret history», a monument of writing of the XIII century. It makes important discoveries regarding the place that this cultural text occupies in the spiritual culture of the peoples of Central Asia, the ways through which it has reached our days and the phenomenon of continuity. The «The secret history» is a genealogy of the ancestors of the world-famous conqueror Genghis Khan, dating from the beginning of the VIII century, continued during his reign during the lifetime of Genghis Khan himself and completed in 1240 under Crown Prince Ogedei Khan. The value of the chronicle lies in the fact that it contains detailed information about the cultural, spiritual, social, and political phenomena that took place in the history of the medieval nomadic Turks, their worldview, intertribal and tribal relations, and the rulers who ruled the country. The article examines the internal connections in the text of the «The secret history», contextual elements, connections of epic poems-dastans of the Turkic peoples with historical documents that have become sources of the chronicle. Genotheism, the ancestor of Borte-Chino from the «The secret history» is considered by analogy with the batyr Borte-Chino from the medieval history of the Turkic peoples. Important information and information from the «The secret history» through the heirs of Genghis Khan, who ruled over various states of Central Asia, formed the basis for the appearance of numerous genealogies with similar content and motives. Based on the study of the spiritual heritage of the Turks who lived in the Great Steppe before and after the appearance of Genghis Khan, issues of succession of generations, influence on subsequent chronicles, the «The secret history» is assessed as a very valuable monument, a common cultural heritage for the peoples of Central Asia. The results of the study show the importance of fundamental study of the «The secret history» in the context of preserving the cultural heritage of Central Asia. The article focuses on the importance of in-depth analysis of the original of this monument of writing, taking into account the role of the «The secret history» in the formation of the cultural mosaic landscape of the Kazakhs.