Study of “Shajara-I Tarākima”: Principal Findings and Prospects for Further Research
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THE NORM OF CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON THE SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE REALITY PJAEE, 17 (6) (2020) STUDY OF “SHAJARA-I TARĀKIMA”: PRINCIPAL FINDINGS AND PROSPECTS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Tashkarayeva A. M.1*, Kumekov B. E.2, Umitgalievish U. U.3, Shnanov U. R.4, Rakhimov M. I.5 1PhD doctoral student, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Nur-Sultan, Republic of Kazakhstan, e-mail: [email protected] 2Doctor of history, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Nur-Sultan, Republic of Kazakhstan 3Candidate of history, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Nur-Sultan, Republic of Kazakhstan 4PhD doctoral student, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Nur-Sultan, Republic of Kazakhstan 5PhD doctoral student, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Nur-Sultan, Republic of Kazakhstan Tashkarayeva A. M., Kumekov B. E., Umitgalievish U. U., Shnanov U. R., Rakhimov M. I. Study of “Shajara-i Tarākima”: principal findings and prospects for further research. - Palarch’s Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology 17(3) (2020), 1-20. ISSN 1567-214X. 20 pages + 13 figures, 3 tables + 4 frames. Keywords: Abu al-Ghazi, Shezhire, Turkmens, historiography, Russian scholars, 17th century, manuscript, Turkologist, essay. ABSTRACT This article presents the scientific review and analysis of the works of researchers who investigated and referred in their research papers to “Shajara-i Tarākima,” the work of the ruler of Khiva, historian-chronicler of the 17th century Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur Khan. The main purpose of this article of to analyze and identify the scientific value of works of researchers who studied “Shajara-i Tarākima,” that describes the period starting from the appearance of Adam up to the history of the 17th-century Turkmens, as well as conduct scientific and theoretical analysis of researchers’ works. Keywords: INTRODUCTION At present, the comprehensive, thorough studying of the works of Medieval authors in historic and historiographic aspects is of vital importance for the history of Kazakhstan. Our main goal is to analyze and introduce into scientific use the works of Russian and foreign Turkologists that reflect the writing of the ruler Abu al-Ghazi “Shajara-i Tarākima.” MATERIALS AND METHODS As a historiographic source, this article mainly draws upon the works of foreign and Russian researchers-turkologists of pre-revolutionary and Soviet times, researchers of medieval sources. In addition, this study also addresses 634 THE NORM OF CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON THE SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE REALITY PJAEE, 17 (6) (2020) relevant works of post-Soviet historians and researchers related to the study of the chosen problem, for a more thorough, comprehensive analysis and assessment of the problem. When writing the article, special attention was paid to historical and objective scientific principles that allow objective consideration and analysis of the works devoted to this issue. Following these principles, the authors of this study used comparative and systematic methods that are widely used in historiographical research. The authors considered, compared and analyzed in chronological order the conclusions of world researchers of different periods about the work of Abu al-Ghazi “Shajara-i Tarākima.” DISCUSSION Today, it is of great importance to study the works of medieval authors, who became the main sources of the ancient and medieval history of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. This topic has long attracted the attention of researchers. The writing “Shajara-i Tarākima” is one of such works. Abu al-Ghazi in his work, written in a chronicle manner and keeping with the traditions of Eastern historiography, describes the history of the period from the origin of humanity to the historical events of his modernity. The work of Abu al-Ghazi was first presented to scientific world by A. Tumansky, when it provoked great interest among other researchers. Turkologist A. N. Kononov, working with all the manuscripts of the work, brought the text into scientific form, and thus contributed to the wide dissemination of this writing in the scientific circle. A special place in the research of medieval manuscripts is occupied by orientalist V. Barthold. He studied the Turkic peoples in a wide chronological and problem range. He did not undertake a special study of the “Genealogy of Turkmens,” but when he was writing an essay on the history of the Turkmen people, he used information from the work of Abu al-Ghazi and conducted a comparative analysis. Historians-orientalists S. P. Tolstov, A. M. Shcherbak, V. M. Zhirmunsky used the information of Abu al-Ghazi in their works and expressed their opinion about the work. The essay became the main source for researchers of the history of Turkmenia and Turkmens. In particular, the works of I. G. Karpov, O. Tumanovich, P. P. Ivanov, A. Karryev and A. Yu. Yakubovsky include a comparative analysis of the history of the Turkmen ancestors, referring to the work “Shajara-i Tarākima.” RESULTS Shezhire is a valuable legacy of data on the origin and spread of the people. Since the middle ages, Shezhire began to be applied to paper surfaces. One of them was “Shajara-i Tarākima,” which gives information about the origin and spread of the Turkic people since Adam. Before proceeding to the description of shezhire by Abu al-Ghazi, it is necessary to focus on the biography of this prominent figure. Abu al-Ghazi was born in 1603 in the city of Urgench. He is a direct descendant of Jochi, the son of Genghis Khan. His father, Arab Muhammad Khan, was the eleventh Khan of the Shaibanid dynasty in Khorezm, who ascended to the Khan’s throne in 1603. During his reign, he achieved great success in managing the state and finally stopped the Cossacks who committed robberies in the Khiva khanate. Abu al-Ghazi studied in madrassah from his childhood, studied knowledge and science, military art, and methods of government. When he reached the age of sixteen, his father gave him a part of Urgench to rule, and 635 THE NORM OF CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON THE SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE REALITY PJAEE, 17 (6) (2020) from that time on he participated in the political struggle along with his older brothers. As a result of political struggles and clashes, he was on the run several times and spent ten years in captivity in the Tabarek fortress in Isfahan. In this fortress, Abu al-Ghazi concentrated on improving his knowledge, studied Arabic and Persian languages (Abrazheev, 1946: 69). V. V. Barthold believes that because Abu al-Ghazi spent ten years in Persia, he was much more educated than his fellow tribesmen and highly valued the Khan’s power (Barthold, 1993:187). After escaping from the fortress in 1643, the Uzbeks of the Aral Sea region elected him as Khan. After seventeen years of rule, in 1662 he handed over the throne to his son Anusha Muhammad, and he took up the service and writing of the second famous work “Shajara-i Turk.” The work “Shajara-i Tarākima,” however, was written earlier, in 1071 (1660-1661), when the country had temporary political stability and there were no invasions. Both works of Abu al-Ghazi were based on genealogical traditions, genealogies, accompanied by stories about events that are synchronous to a particular person. According to the author, the book was called “Genealogy of Turkmens” so that every Turkman can understand that it is written without adding Arabic or Persian words (Kononov, 1958: 37), in the old Turkic language with the inscription Shagatai. “Shajara-i Tarākima” is written in the traditional form of shezhire, it reflects the features characteristic of other medieval Eastern works: begins with praise of Allah, some of the parts are put into verses. The work reflects folk wisdom and traditions, history and culture, and also it is rich in legends. The author describes the data chronologically, not only in the narration of historical and political events, but as a researcher, adding his statements according to a certain system. This work is the most important source of the history of the peoples of Central Asia, as well as cultural heritage, which reflects the totality of oral stories, legends and specific historical events of the people. That is why the work has drawn great interest from Russian and foreign researchers since the 19th century. The name of Abu al-Ghazi as a historian-chronicler was known to the scientific world at the beginning of the 18th century with his work “Shajara-i Turk.” The writing, found in 1726 by Swedish officers who were in Russian captivity, was translated into French, Russian and German in the 18th century. Rychkov P. I. (1887), Major General Bronevsky S. B. (1830) referred to “Shajara-i Turk” in their works. In 1825, at the initiative of N. I. Rumyantsev, it was published as a separate book. Since that time, both the name and the work of Abu al-Ghazi were known to researchers and began to be used as a source for scientific research. It should be noted that in both works, the events about the origin of humanity and about Oghuz Khan were conveyed in the same manner. Therefore, in this article, the authors also consider the works of researchers who studied these issues of “Shajara-i Turk.” In the study of these and other issues in the writings of Abu al-Ghazi at various times were engaged world- renowned scholars-orientalists from different countries, who also used the chronicle of Abu al-Ghazi as the main and additional source material. It is worth noting that much attention has long been paid to Oriental studies in Russia and that Russian and Soviet researchers have made a significant contribution to the study of this work. The period of formation and development of scientific Oriental studies in Russia was characterized by the diversity and richness of Russian Orientalism, the creation of an extensive system of Oriental education and research.