Paper short abstract:

This paper is aimed at sacred king in the Central Asian region. This is a very specific position of ruler that we find across different cultures. I argue the presence of a sacral king based on the compilation of the principal characteristics of a sacral ruler according to primary sources.

Paper long abstract:

This paper is aimed at sacred king in the Central Asian region between ancient and medieval times. This is a very specific position of ruler that we find across different cultures. The theme of the sacred king connects west and east, sensing the differences of different cultures. So, this type of king can be found in the Middle East: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, in the West: Greece, Rome, in the environment of the Germanic tribes, East: China and South American ethnicities, and even in Central Asia.

In the diverse environment of Central Asia, we have encountered different religious beliefs since antiquity. These were shamanism, totemism, ancestral and heroes’ worship, Tengrism and the main universal religions worshipped by nomadic tribes in this vast environment. The contrast of the steppe environment enhanced the fragility of life. The adoption of religions was the result of a complex interaction of political and cultural powers.

Sacrament, that is, the spiritual realm of the king has served in history as a guarantee of certainty, welfare, and protection of that society. The ruling elite tends to be related to the gods. The very role of the deity that receives the ruler, communicates with him, gives him advice, gives him the earthly mandate of power confirms his authority for society. Combining material strength and spiritual power was a guarantee of certainty for societies.

I argue the presence of a sacral king in the environment of Central Asia based on the compilation of the principal characteristics of a sacral ruler according to primary sources. This paper is based on primary sources such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, Livy, Plutarch, the Bugut Inscription. I argue with examples of individual traits in other areas and based on a list of characteristic traits, indicate their occurrence in Central Asia.

Paper short abstract:

The article analyzes the relationship between the Kokand Khanate (1709-1876) and the Ching Empire of China (1644-1911), including the Treaty of January 13, 1832. The clauses of the treaty and their information are analyzed on the basis of sources and literature in Russian and English.

Paper long abstract:

The article analyzes the relations between the Kokand Khanate and the Qing Empire of China, including the Treaty on January 13, 1832. The uprising of Jahangir Khoja (1826-1828) in East Turkestan and the suppression of the uprising resulted in establishment of relations between the two countries and signing of the treaty. Some sources explained the special privileges of the citizens (merchants) of the Kokand Khanate in East Turkestan in a period between conquest of Chinese Empire and signing of the treaty. Clauses and information stated in the treaty are analyzed based on Russian and English sources and literature. The treaty also defined the boundaries of the territories in which the system of Aksakals was established. Moreover, the article of W. Waten, the Persian secretary of the British government in Bombay, and Joseph Fletcher’s comparative analysis of the treaty’s clauses with the 1842 Sino-British treaty was also stated. Additionally, some of the powers of Aksakals, which are not found in other sources, are stated. Information about the political and legal status of the Aksakal during the turmoil of Kokand Khanate (including the Bukhara’s invasion of 1842, the Tashkent Uprising of 1847 and others) also included. How the dispute is resolved in cases of breach of contract, the issue of punishment of the perpetrators, the circumstances and reasons for the parties to comply with the terms of the contract are stated in the article. The political and trade relations between the two countries as a result the treaty were scientifically analyzed and conclusions were drawn.

Paper short abstract:

The aim of abstract is to reveal the place and role of the Ephthalites and Turkic dynasties of the Tokharistan Yabghu and the Kabul Teginshahs in the early Middle ages in Tokharistan and the Kabul valley

Paper long abstract:

Socio-political and ethno-cultural processes, that took place in the early Middle Ages in Tokharistan and the Kabul Valley, which were one of the extreme southern territories in Central Asia, occupied the inherent place in the history of the peoples of the region. In Tokharistan, which included the territories of present-day South Uzbekistan, South Tajikistan, and North Afghanistan, and also in northeastern Afghanistan, in particular, in the Kabul valley, which consists of the region of Kabul and its environs, these processes took place in the immediate connections with the central territories of the mentioned region, including with Central Turkestan (the interfluve area of the Syr Darya-Amu Darya/Transoxiana, Semirechye), which has found its confirmation in written sources and archaeological material.

During the period of the Turkic Khaganate, which first captured Tokharistan in the 580s, and then in the 640s – Kabul valley, dozens of Turkic tribes moved to this territory and became actively involved in the affairs of government. In Tokharistan and the valley of Kabul, along with the founding clan of the kaganate - the Ashin Turks, also moved representatives of such Turkic tribes as Khalaj, Oghuz, yamtars (tardushi?), kenjina Turks. They have contributed in an increase in the Turkic ethnic layer that existed in these territories, where a significant part of the population were East Iranian and Indian ethnic groups. Indeed, this is also confirmed by existing opinions about the ethnic affinity with the Turks of the founders of such states as the Kushans, Kidarites, Chionites and Ephthalites ( Khalajs, Turks Kenjine and Abdals as part of the tribal union of Ephthalites), or the presence of Turkic elements.

Tokharistan Yabgu dynasty (620-750), who ruled Tokharistan is about 130 years old, and the Kabul Teginshahs (640-870), who ruled in Kabulistan and its environs for almost 230 years, their origin was associated with the Western Turkic branch of the ruling house of the Turkic Khaganate -Ashina.

The appearance of the ruling dynasties of Turkic origin in dozens of small possessions of Tokharistan, and in the related with the Kabul Valley of Zabulistan, also connected precisely with the Turkic Khaganate.