HISTORICAL RECONSTRUCTION OF THE SACRED MISSION OF THE JOCHI KHAN MAUSOLEUM

Abstract

Kazakh folk tradition associates the mausoleum of Jochi Khan (Kazakhstan, Ulytau) with the name of the eldest son of Genghis Khan, where he was buried as the legend says. The mausoleum, built in the style of XIV century Islamic architecture, was fi rst mentioned under this name in the XVI century. Under this name, the structure was mentioned in numerous written records of the Russian Empire between XIX and early XX centuries. The construction of the mausoleum has 2 stages: erecting the main building with a single dome and portal (late XIII – early XIV century) and adding an external dome on a ribbed “star-shaped” drum with the top covered with glazed turquoise-blue tiles (late XIV – early XV centuries). The complex reconstruction of the mausoleum strengthened the visual symbols of Islam. The adoption of Islam in the Ulus of Jochi by the nomadic society was organized by missionaries of Sufi orders, especially the Yassawi’s Sufi tariqa. The renovation of the mausoleum of Jochi Khan coincided with the design change for the burial architecture of the holy Sufi s and spiritual leaders to make their appearance more prominent, which was initiated by the Timurids in the XIV century. Our earlier studies demonstrated that the mausoleum is very unlikely to be the sacral burial of Jochi Khan, who was not a Muslim. The historical reconstruction of the mausoleum is associated with Sufi order. The mausoleum's two burials may belong to Sufi s leaders or elders, who preached in the Ulytau. To date, the sacred mission of the Jochi Khan mausoleum preserves the memory of the great ancestor and remains the place of ancestral pilgrimage.