SCIENTIFIC COLLECTION «INTERCONF» | № 50

HISTORY AND ARCHEOLOGY, ARCHIVAL STUDIES

Kalysh Amanzhol Boranbayuly Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Republic of

Akkaliyeva Aibobek Shynybekkyzy Master's student of the Department of Archaeology, Ethnology and Museology of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Republic of Kazakhstan

ABAT-BAITAK MAUSOLEUM IS A UNIQUE MONUMENT IN KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract. Abat-Baitak mausoleum, a unique and rare architectural monument of Western Kazakhstan, is located on the territory of . The monument was discovered in the XIX century by the French traveler Joseph Castanier, in the 50-70s of the XX century by the famous researcher M.M. Mendikulov, who supposedly left the legacy of the Kipchak ulus in close contact with Khorezm around the beginning of the XIII century, before The Golden Horde era. Subsequently, he found a specific place in the research of a famous ethnoarchaeologist S. E. Azhigali. This mausoleum belongs to the two-domed type of roofing structures. Similar types of Tent-domed mausoleums exist around the city of Madzhar in the North Caucasus, built by analogy with the aforementioned monuments of Khorezm architecture. All of them are directly related to the names of famous people who lived during the Golden Horde era. In terms of architecture and style, such monument is not found in our country. In the mausoleum of Abat- Baitak, more than 200 tombstones have been preserved, crowned with various patterns and ornaments. Many of them were made of white and white gray limestone. The height is from one to two meters. Keywords: Aktobe, Abat-Baitak mausoleum, objects, history of study.

Introduction On the territory of Aktobe region there are many monuments associated with the legendary representatives of the and belonging to different eras. One of them is the Abat – baitak Mausoleum, which is an important monument of historical and cultural heritage. The Abat-baitak necropolis, which dates back to the beginning 345

SCIENTIFIC HORIZON IN THE CONTEXT OF SOCIAL CRISES of the 14th-20th centuries, is located in the Kobda district of Aktobe region, 12 km South of the of Taldysay. According to the prevailing opinion and generalization, Abat Batyr was the son of the well-known utopian philosopher Asan Kaigy throughout the Kazakh steppe. According to legend, Abat, on the orders of his father, fell from camel while searching for land suitable for migration, and tragically died in the Beskopa gorge (Adzhigaliev, 1983: 57). The mausoleum was built in a very short time with the help of neighboring tribes. Since that time, the word "baytak", meaning national, began to be called by his name. And the architectural structure of the structure indicates its typicalityfor aristocrats. Abat-Baitak mausoleum consists of more than 200 memorial architectural structures-stela-tombstone made of stone and is the largest complex in the Northern part of the Aral-Caspian region. This mausoleum is a famous monument of medieval architecture, built of burnt brick, which is preserved in the area only a few, and belongs to one of the domed mausoleums with a pointed "tent". Main part Information about the Abat-Baitak Mausoleum is first given in P. I. Rychkov's work "’s topography". On it, Lieutenant Rigelman found at the mouth where the Karasu River flows into the Big Kobda "several stone buildings made in the shape of a pyramid, which the Kirghiz (Kazakhs) called Astana, photographed them and wrote that famous people were buried here, one of whom they call Baitak."."Later, at the end of the XIX century, this monument was described by Ya.Ya.Polferov mainly as a legend. For the first time in the early twentieth century, a graphic recording ( photo) of the "Baitak mausoleum" was published in the work of Joseph Castanier. This article provides information that in the mausoleum of Baitak, along with Abatare buried his wife and captured Kalmyks. The necropolis is rounded and conical in shape. And the height-up to 10 arsh, width - up to 8 arsh. There are no cracks in the upper part, and traces of green paint and inscriptions are visible on the inner surface of the wall. Since the construction was built to a high standard, destroying it naturally would take some time. But this historical and cultural heritage was already being destroyed by nomads. Thus, it is reported that the bricks of the Baitak-Tam 346

SCIENTIFIC COLLECTION «INTERCONF» | № 50 necropolis are dying out over time. (Castagné, 1910: 91-92).For many years, this work was considered the only source of information about Abat-Baitak mausoleum.The first dimensions of the mausoleum may have been made by engineer G. Gerasimov in 1947. According to him, the lower volume of the monument is represented in the form of an eight. This was facilitated by the destruction of the southern part of the monument. In general, in the post-war years, the architecture of the Abat-Baitak mausoleum began to attract the attention of historians. In particular, in the works of M. M. Mendykulov, a comparative typological analysis is carried out. That is, the monumental memorial and religious monuments of Western Kazakhstan were divided into underground mosques, single- chamber mausoleums (with cone-pyramidal and helmet-shaped domes), saganatams and mausoleums of the "tent type". The Abat-Baitak mausoleum was compared to the Kok mausoleum on the Syganak burial ground and tent structures similar to the Mausoleum in the Chelyabinsk region, but it was characterized as a centralized monument without a portal and attributed to the Mongolian time (XIII century) (Mendikulov, 1987: 45-47). In the late 1950s, the Abat-Baitak monument was investigated by local historians, but as a result of their work, no new data were found. Even some experts considered the "Abat-Baitak mausoleum" lost (not preserved). Conducting comprehensive studies of the Abat-baitak burial ground in 1979- 1980. The expedition of the Ministry of culture of Kazakhstan (headed by S.E. Azhigali) carried out a practical restoration of the monument. Topographical and photographic studies of the mausoleum were carried out, the dimensions of many monuments (tombstones) were made, as well as the architectural dimensions of the Mausoleum itself (architect A. O. Itenov), and the portal of the building was excavated. Thanks to these investigations, it can be seen that the architectural appearance of the Abat-Baitak mausoleum is close to the portal-domed monuments (Kok-Mausoleum and Mausoleum), which, as already mentioned in the literature, are not centric, but tent-shaped. The presence of an improved entrance part of the building (portal) indicates a number of circumstances, which is also confirmed archaeologically: excavations 347

SCIENTIFIC HORIZON IN THE CONTEXT OF SOCIAL CRISES revealed the remains of pylons protruding 2.98 m from the walls.The view of the preserved part of the mausoleum is a denazarian landmark-the base is square (9. 52x9. 80 m), slightly ribbed, with eleven-sided drums located on it and a dome directed to the sky. With the parallel installation of a high drum with a dome, the architect's goal is to build a building in the sky, to connect it with the sky. The monument, the first height of which was about 16 m, is a real monumental structure. Arched openings-windows are installed in the Western and Eastern walls of the cell, and slopes are installed at the foot. Various symbols have been preserved on the interior walls of the building (Azhigali, 2002: 173-176). The design of the Abat-Baitak mausoleum was carried out by installing double (one after the other) false window openings, which ended in steps on the outer faces of the drum. This approach can also be traced in the tent monuments of Il-Arslan, Tekesh, Kok Mausoleum, similar to this mausoleum. The building is built of square bricks (24x24x6 cm) at the base. In some places, rectangular (24x12x6 cm) bricks were used in the arched rows. In addition, there is a decrease in quality in the finishing layer (dark green color). In general, Abat-Baitak tombstones are distinguished by a variety of patterns, compositional and decorative uniqueness, and original ornaments. Many monuments contain texts and symbols written in the with an Arabic letter. Their historical and ethnographic significance is very great. Representatives of the tabyn, kete, shekty, ozhyrai, baibakty and other genera of the Kishi Zhuz are buried in the burial ground. The complex presents the best works of representatives of the Kazakh stone- chipping school of the mid-XIX century. Its ancient examples are also interesting, for example: a gravestone in the form of a stone tree, installed in the Western part of the necropolis, catches the eye with its incredible simplicity. And on the foundations of the monument there are many drawings of plant type. Of the famous stone-chipping masters who took part in the creation of unique tombstone Abat- Baitak, we know only stone mason Myktybai (Azhigali, 2004: 21-24). In recent years, the question of carrying out restoration, conservation and processing activities has been raised in the Abat-Baitak mausoleum. In the middle of 1980s "recycling" event initiated by the “KazProektRestavratsiya” Institute was 348

SCIENTIFIC COLLECTION «INTERCONF» | № 50 failed. Later, the monument was abandoned again, and new graves were erected in the necropolis, and its decoration was damaged. Since 2003, the reconstruction of the Abat-Baitak mausoleum has been carried out under the state program of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Madeni Mura". E. A. Smagulov conducted archaeological research in the summer of 2004. Excavations were carried out in two main areas – in the inner part of gurkhan and in the previously destroyed ziaratkhana. The width of the ziarathana from North to South was 2 m, and from West to East-5.2 m. And three burial pits were opened, where cleaning works were carried out. First floor of the burial site. It is located 1.6 m from the Northern wall, in the Northern part of gurkhan. The walls of the burial pit are surrounded by burnt bricks. At the bottom of the burial there is a box made of burnt bricks. The box is 0.8 m wide, 2.25 m long, and 1.5 m deep. the remains of a man with incomplete skeletal preservation were also found inside. The second grave is located in the South direction from the burial site, which was written above. A simple burial, filled with soil and burnt brick fragments, has a width of 0.8 m, a length of 2.1 m, and a depth of 1.6 m. The third place of burial. This burial pit was also surrounded by burnt bricks, and a box was placed in the center. Its length is 2.05 m, width 0.8 m, depth 1.5 m. the skeletal bones belonging to the woman were cleaned. Bones back, elongated, with the head facing West, and on the forehead is a bracelet of the left hand (Smagulov, 2006: 128-131). In addition, as a result of these excavations, an entrance in the form of a vestibule-chamber was discovered on the right side. XIV-XV centuries. periodically constructed buildings usually have a wide entrance part in the form of a kind of vestibule.Hence, the Abat-Baitak mausoleum also belongs to this period. Conclusion In the Northern part of the Aralsk-Caspian region, there are various religious- memorial and monumental tombstones, in particular, Zhem and Kobda, Atyrau, Bokey Horde, burial grounds on the Northern Aral coast (Karasakal, Dauimshar, Altyn, Khan cemetery and Abat-Baitak). One of them is the Abat-Baitak mausoleum, which belongs to the Kobda historical, cultural and architectural 349

SCIENTIFIC HORIZON IN THE CONTEXT OF SOCIAL CRISES monument dating back to the Golden Horde period.The restoration work of this monument was carried out with the adoption of the Republican program "Madeni Mura" translated as “Cultural heritage”in 2004-2006. Today, the Abat-Baitak mausoleum is an architecturally unique place in the country and is one of the 100 sacred sites of Kazakhstan.However, the Abat-baitak monument still needs scientific research and reconstruction. The problem of recycling a unique monument is quite complex and requires a comprehensive justification, a balanced approach, and an unbiased solution.An exact copy of the Abat-Baitak mausoleum was found in the Chelyabinsk region of . However, the mausoleum was reconstructed in Soviet times. In addition, due to the periodicity of the Abat-Baitak mausoleum, a number of opinions are currently expressed: the mausoleum of M. M. Mendykulov dates back to the first quarter of the XIII century, that is, on the eve of the Mongol invasion. The historian A. U. Toktabai considers the monument dated to the XV century.

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