TY - JOUR AU - Rustam, Kalikov PY - 2022/12/29 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Manichaeism in the Uyghur written monuments JF - Turkic Studies Journal JA - TSJ VL - 4 IS - 4 SE - ARTICLES DO - 10.32523/2664-5157-2022-4-51-62 UR - https://tsj.enu.kz/index.php/new/article/view/248 SP - 51-62 AB - <p><!--StartFragment--></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 1.0cm; line-height: 115%;">The article is devoted to the study of Manichaeism in Uyghur written<br />monuments. Manichaeism is a religious belief that emerged in the Middle East<br />in the 3rd century AD. Manichaeism contained Zoroastrian, Christian, Judaic,<br />Mithraic and Buddhist elements. However, it is a holistic, complex religious<br />system based on the dualistic philosophy of the struggle between good and<br />evil, darkness and light, bright and dark. After the demise of the Old Turkic<br />Khaganates, the Uyghur Begyu Khagan made Manichaeism the state religion<br />of the Uyghur Khaganate. One of the reasons for the adoption of Manichaeism<br />by the Uyghurs was the Begyu Khagan’s desire to establish relations with the<br />Sogdians, the missionaries of Manichaeism, who were trying to spread it in<br />East Turkestan, China and Mongolia.<br />The spread of Manichaeism among the ancient Uyghurs is attested by Chinese<br />and Arabic sources, but especially by several Uyghur monuments. Among these<br />monuments is the Karabalgasun inscription, found by N.M. Yadrintsev in 1889<br />during an expedition to Mongolia, Ordu-Balyk (Karabalgasun). The author<br />of the article analyzes the content of the Karabalgasun inscription and other<br />Uyghur texts, explores the essence of the ideas of Manichaeism and reveals its<br />origin, spread and close connection with Buddhism.</p><p><!--EndFragment--></p> ER -