Under the name Otyuken¹ a well-known area in Mongolia, which was the political and sacred center of several powerful nomadic empires. News about it has reached our days thanks to Turkic runic inscriptions, works of Chinese historiographers and some other sources. Despite the fact that Otyuken attracts the attention of scientists in one way or another, very little special research has been devoted to it, and there is still a lot of unclear ideas about it.

Keywords: Otyuken, Orkhon, Khangai, Khorgo volcano, ancient Turks, Uyghurs, Mongols.

In general terms, historians are more or less unanimous about the location of Otyuken. However, we will start our research with an idea that stands somewhat apart. In one of his relatively early works, the well-known ethnologist L. P. Potapov placed Otyuken in the north-eastern part of modern Tuva, where in the upper reaches of the Biy-Khem there is the mountain range of the same name Utygen, one of the peaks of which is almost devoid of vegetation, an inaccessible plateau with an area of approximately 15 x 30 km. The taiga is spread out all around. This mountain, according to L. P. Potapov, could be the ancestral mountain of the ancient Turkic Ashina clan, the description of which in Chinese annals largely coincides with the appearance of the Tuvan mountain. Having advanced into the Mongolian steppes, the khagans did not forget about their sacred peak [Potapov, 1957, pp. 111-117]. However, this assumption does not agree well with the ethnogenetic history of Ashin and does not meet with broad support in scientific circles, but it is by no means useless for penetrating the spiritual world of medieval nomads, and we will return to it later.

The famous nomad scholar SI wrote about the Tuvans ' veneration of this mountain range in the upper reaches of the Azas and Khamsara Rivers, which includes several sacred mountains. Weinstein. T. N. Prudnikova's "geological remark" on the published materials of S. I. Vainshtein is interesting:"...The sacred highlands of Otuken are nothing more than volcanic plateaus, and the isolated sacred mountains are volcanic centers... It is the eruption of volcanoes - a terrible phenomenon of nature, in which there are powerful explosions with the release of a huge amount of debris, the outpouring of lava, the formation of lava lakes, as well as toxic clouds of sulfur gases, changing the appearance of the earth beyond recognition in a matter of hours and even minutes-that gave rise to ancient man's faith in mountain spirits [Prudnikova, 1997, p. 294]. In this connection, it is necessary to say that in Central Asia, the cult of mountains was widespread (and to some extent persists) everywhere, and not all sacred mountain peaks are located.-

* I consider it my pleasant duty to thank S. G. Klyashtorny and D. V. Rukhlyadsv (IVR RAS, St. Petersburg) for their useful comments, advice and help in getting acquainted with the works of Turkish scientists.

¹ The spelling of this geographical name varies in the writings of various authors. We adhere to the spelling "Otyuken", keeping the author's variants in the cited works. For various Chinese variations of this toponym, see [Malyavkin, 1989, pp. 116-117].

mountains or massifs were once active volcanoes. On the territory of modern Tuva, volcanic activity ceased long before the appearance of Homo sapiens, which is why the sacralization of the Tuvan Otyuken should have had a different genesis. But even a long-extinct volcano with its unusual appearance could cause awe in people and become an object of reverence.

Later, L. P. Potapov wrote about Otyuken that it is "a vast mountain-taiga region in the Khangai and partly in the Sayan Highlands, extending from the upper Selenga basin to the upper reaches of the Yenisei and including one of the north-eastern regions of modern Tuva. Here, on the Orkhon River, was the political center of this (Old Turkic - Yu. D.) state and the seat of the khagans ,тTкKнN, usually referred to in combination with the word yysh ("forest, taiga"), and once with yer ("land"), is praised in ancient Turkic inscriptions as a sacred homeland, as a place of worship. the divine patron of this state. тTкKнN, who was considered a female deity, gave kut - "sacred grace" to the khagan, whose authority was considered a divine favor. It was il ötükän quti, as one religious text suggests, and as some researchers have already pointed out. But even here, it seems to me, the idea of the kagan receiving kut from the deity of the localityтTкKнN reflects the real features of earthly relations: the kagan was the supreme owner and administrator of the lands of the Turkic state "[Potapov, 1973, pp. 283-284].

Most experts believe that Otyuken is a locality in the Khangai Mountains on the territory of present-day Mongolia, in the middle (still, it would be more accurate to say, upper) course of the Orkhon River. The natural features of this area predestined its choice for placing bets of the supreme rulers of the nomads. The first reliable information about the existence of a state center somewhere here dates back to the era of the First Turkic Khaganate (552-630). They are preserved in Chinese sources and were the subject of special consideration by P. Pelliot (1929, pp. 212-219). They also reflect the highest state cults of the ancient Turks: "The Khan always lives near the Dugin Mountains. The entrance to his headquarters is from the east, out of reverence for the side of solar ascension. Every year he and his nobles offer a sacrifice in the cave of the ancestors; and in the middle decade of the fifth moon he gathers the rest, and by the river he offers a sacrifice to the spirit of heaven. 500 li (about 250 km. - Yu. D.) from Dugin in the west there is a high mountain, on the top of which there are no trees or plants; it is called Bodyn-inli, which means in Chinese: "patron saint of the country" (Bichurin, 1950, p. 230-231). It is believed that the source refers to the Tamir River, where the Taspar Kagan monument (Bugut stele) was discovered, and Bodyn-inli could be one of the peaks of Khangai or the entire Khangai (Voitov, 1996, p. 74).

However, in those years, Otyuken was probably not the only or even the main headquarters of the Turkic khagans. Of greater importance was the so-called Southern Courtyard, located on the northern slopes of the Yinshan Mountains, in the area known as Black Sands (Czegledy, 1962, p. 67). It is known that these mountains served as a kind of" reserve " even among the Xiongnu during the period of their maximum power, since it was possible to rest the army there, replenish meat food supplies by hunting, prepare and repair weapons, and then raid China [Materials..., 1973, pp. 39-40]. It was there that the rebellious Turks under the leadership of Kutlug and Tonyukuk took refuge before marching to Khangai. Judging by the chronology of their activity in this region, recorded in Chinese annals, the Turks left Yinshan not earlier than 687.

Earlier data concerning the political centers of the Xiongnu and Ruanzhuan do not give an exact geographical reference, but it is quite possible to assume that they could also be located somewhere on the south-eastern outskirts of Hangai (Kychanov, 1997, p. 101) ^.2 Han sources mention a certain Longcheng (Dragon City), where every year the Xiongnu gathered to offer sacrifices to their ancestors, Heaven and Earth.-

² There is an opinion that the city of Ruanzhuanei Mumocheng, known from Chinese chronicles, could have been located near Mount Mume-Tolgoi on the Tamir River, a left tributary of the Orkhon (Shavkunov, 1978, p. 19).

It remains unclear, although, presumably, the Chinese themselves knew its location and even hatched plans to destroy it [Torchinov, 2005, p. 431]. The lack of references to the defeat of Longcheng suggests that either it was not strictly a city, but only a place of regular Xiongnu meetings, or it was safely hidden from the Chinese punitive armies somewhere in the mountains, most likely in Hangai. It would seem that the joint efforts of researchers have long exhausted the problem of Otyuken, but a comparison of the preserved medieval evidence about this peculiar corner of Central Asia shows that this is not the case.

The Buryat researcher P. B. Konovalov believes that the concept of Otyuken as a native land could have originated among the northern Xiongnu [Konovalov, 1999, p. 180] and admits the possibility of using the term otyuken not as a toponym, but to denote ancestral mountains in general [Konovalov, 1999, p. 176, 177], which is confirmed by the just considered example of the Tuvan Otyuken. Apparently, it is not by chance that a certain mountain in Khangai is sometimes called Otyuken in the sources, but not all of Khangai or even part of it. Maybe it was also called Kut-tag and Halin. There is reason to believe that the current mount Erdeni-ula to the west of the ruins of the Uyghur Ordu-Balik may have been known by this name. Given the ethnographic materials on the peoples of Central Asia, it is impossible to exclude the multiplicity of "Otyukens" as earth deities dominating the area. More than 80 years ago, B. Ya. Vladimirtsov proved the identity of the Turkic Ötüken and the Mongolian etügen ~ ötügen ("Land", "Land-mistress, deity of the earth") on philological material (Vladimirtsov, 1929, p.134) ^.3 In this case, it is not surprising that the mention of Otyuken in ancient Turkic runic inscriptions has extremely positive connotations, although for the Turks Ashina Khangai was by no means an ethnic cradle. Why, then, did this particular area acquire such a high status among them?

The general rule is spiritualization, sacralization of ancestral lands, but Otyuken was not such for the Turks. It is more logical to assume that for them the Altai was sacred, where they lived before they became hegemons of the steppes, and where they performed the cult of their ancestors in a cave. It is believed that there was a mountain named Otyuken in the Altai (Kwanten, 1979, p. 43). At least, according to some researchers, during mass migrations, nomadic tribes transferred the former names of their sacred areas to new ones, so Otyuken could be called the area in the new political center of the ancient Turks on Khangai in a reminder of the former shrine. However, if you go even deeper into the history of the Turkic people, you may have to look for Otyuken in the territory of the former Pinliang and Hexi districts in Shaanxi Province, from which, apparently, the ancestors of Ashin came. Based on Chinese sources, P. B. Konovalov hypothesizes that this area was located in the Yinshan Mountains (Konovalov, 1999, p. 179). In any case, it seems likely that the ancient Turks could have used the" ready-made " Otyuken in northern Mongolia, i.e., the sacred territory of its former owners-the Xiongnu, Ruanzhuan, etc.Uyghurs, which, however, may not have previously had such a name, and transfer there the name of their former sanctuary, located in their ancestral homeland.

Apparently, the ancient Turks chose the Otyuken rabble as the center of the khaganate, not least because of the fame of its universal sacredness, which spread throughout the nomadic world of the Middle Ages. This assumption is supported by the results of P. Golden's research, according to which the claims of the ancient Turks to rule the nomadic ecumene were based on their origin from the charismatic Ashina clan or connection with it, as well as on the possession of generally recognized sacred objects.

³ D. S. Rachcwiltz also believes that the Mongolian word " etugen "is associated with Otyuken, this" sacred forest of the Turks " (Rachcwiltz, 1973, p.28).

in some places (forests, mountains, rivers) [Golden, 1982, p. 56]; all of the above just characterizes the taiga Otyuken. In addition, runic inscriptions suggest that the" Otyuken land "("Otyuken jer") is not an abstract land "in general", but rather "its own" land, with all the attributes of sacredness and exclusivity associated with this concept, heavenly protection and the center of all good that is under the Sky. It could be considered "their" by various peoples, including those who came here from other places: the Xiongnu, the Ruanzhuani, the Turks, the Uyghurs, the Karluks, whom the Uyghurs ousted from Otyuken during the war with their recent allies in the anti-Turkic coalition, and later the Mongols.

A. V. Tivanenko expressed a number of interesting thoughts on this issue. In particular, he noted that all the peoples of Central Asia, starting with the tribes of the tile grave culture, "have a strikingly unanimous veneration of Otyuken, associated with the Khangai Highlands, as a sacred tribal territory" [Tivanenko, 1994, p. 37], although the reason for its priority over other shrines is unclear [Tivanenko, 1994 A.V. Tivanenko asserts that Otyuken had "truly universal significance" as "the greatest sacred land of the Mongolian nomadic world", and the religious and mythological justification for the possession of sacred Otyuken was put forward by the ancient Turks-this is the cult of "earth-water" (Yer-Sub). Its final consolidation as a political and sacred center was completed by the creation of Kagan camps and tombs there [Tivanenko, 1994, p. 89-90].

Considering that Otyuken acquired its indisputable documented significance as a sacred state center among the Turks during the Second Khaganate (682-744), it is quite possible that this area became a symbol of freedom for them after half a century of subjugation to China. It was believed that staying there guaranteed the prosperity of the Turkic people. The Small inscription of Kul-Tegin says: "(So), O Turkic people, when you go to that country (China - Yu. D.), you are on the verge of death; when you are in the Otuken country, (only) send caravans (for gifts, i.e. for tribute) you have no grief at all when you stay in the Otyuken mob, you can live creating your eternal tribal union, and you, the Turkic people, are fed... " [Malov, 1951, p. 35]. The sacred Otyuken mob is praised by the ancient Turks as the center of the world, from where they went on campaigns "forward", "back", "right" and " left "to conquer" all four corners of the world " (Klyashtorny, 2003, p.241).

All these maxims could be regarded as an ode to the native land, but this is a different case: runic texts perform a clear ideological function, which is clearly seen both from their general edifying tone and from the private statements made on behalf of the kagan. The ideology is also evident in the statement of the famous Kagan adviser Tonyukuk, in which Otyuken is presented in a rather unexpected angle: "When they heard that I had brought the Turkic people to the land of Otyuken and that I, the wise Tonyukuk, had chosen the land of Otyuken as my place of residence, the southern peoples, the western, northern and eastern peoples came (to us)" (Malov, 1951, p.66). Isn't this idea borrowed from China, where Tonyukuk spent his youth under the name of Yuanzhen and received a classical Confucian education [Klyashtorny, 1966, pp. 202-205]? People voluntarily flock to the khagan adviser who sits in Otyuken, just as, according to traditional Chinese political teachings, "barbarians" from all sides of the world come to the "Son of Heaven", whose good power of te has reached its peak. However, Tonyukuk was undoubtedly lying. He was not supposed to be the focus of attraction of different tribes, but the supreme ruler - the khagan, who in the years of migration of the rebellious Turks to Khangai was Kutlug, who took the name Elterish - "Who created the state". Like the Chinese emperor, who personified the" world pillar " connecting Heaven and Earth, the establishment of the Kagan headquarters in the sacred Otyuken was supposed to symbolically mark the establishment of the Khagan headquarters.-

As a result, the entire universe was transformed into an ordered, harmonious state. It is clear that all tribes and peoples eagerly aspired to the court of the Kagan as the center of this harmony. It seems very likely that Tonyukuk, armed with Chinese cosmological concepts and, apparently, having drawn from Chinese sources the idea of the sacredness of Otyuken among nomads from ancient times, led the Turkic army from Black Sands with the blessing of the khagan there.

The ancient Turks were not alone in their claims to Otyuken. The history of the Turkic-speaking tribes that first formed the Tele union, and later the Tokuz-Oguz union, which managed to deal with the First Eastern Turkic Khaganate, allows us to answer the question of what role Khangai played in their destinies. Chinese sources under 611 AD mention six tribes in the Otyuken mob: Uyghurs, Bayirku, Ediz, Tonra, Boku, and White Si. In the same order, the tribes are listed in the entry under 629. [Malyavkin, 1981, p. 87]. After defeating the Qiubi Khagan in 650, the Chinese settled the remnants of his people near Mount Yuduqunshan (Otyuken) and placed a tutuk (military governor) over them (Liu Mau-tsai, 1958, p. 156). According to an inscription from Mogon Shin-Usu, in the middle of the eighth century, these places were occupied by Karluks and Turgeshs, with whom the Uyghurs fought in Otyuken in 753. [Kamalov, 2001, p. 81]. The presence of Karluks there is also confirmed by the Tang Huiyao code [Zuev, 1960, p. 105; Kamalov, 2001, p. 90]. An analysis of the events that unfolded around this corner of Central Asia suggests that the Uyghur elite had special feelings for it, since Hangai was the homeland of its ancestors-natives of the Muslim tribes. The declarative lines of the Terkhin inscription affirm the Uyghurs ' right to own these lands precisely in so far as they were managed by their great-grandfathers, whose graves are located here: "My ancestors ruled for (about) eighty years. (They ruled) in the land of Otyuken (and) Tegres, on the Orkhon River, which is between these two... " [Tekin, 1983(1), p.49].

Having compared the data of three Uyghur inscriptions (Terkhin, Taesin, and Mogon Shin-Usu inscriptions), S. G. Klyashtorny reconstructed the Uyghur historiographic concept, according to which Otyuken was built before the eighth century. it was already the center of two Uyghur associations - eli. The first ale lasted for 200 or 300 years, after which it was defeated and spent a whole century under foreign rule, and then revived thanks to the exploits of the Jaglakar khagans. After 80 years, this ale died because of the betrayal of the Buzuk leaders. Otyuken passed into the hands of the Turks and Kipchaks for 50 years. Finally, Uyghur rule was restored by the forces of Kul-begbilge Kagan and his son Turyan, who took the throne name Eletmish Bilgekagan (Klyashtorny, 1987, p. 28). This concept was by no means a baseless invention designed to justify the seizure of foreign lands. In general, it is confirmed by other sources, in connection with which the Uyghurs ' claims to Otyuken seem quite natural, and, in addition, their reverence for this area becomes more understandable. There is an assumption that there was a center of Uyghur power back in the era of the First Uyghur Khaganate (647-689), as well as its man-made sacred center, which could be the so-called Blue Palace, the ruins of which were found on the bank of the Tsagan Sumyn Gol River, which flows into Orkhon (Kolbas, 2005, p.303-327).

Defeated in 744. The Second Turkic Khaganate and having done away with their recent allies in the anti-Turkic coalition, the Uyghurs established the center of their state in approximately the same places where the horde of the Turkic khagan was located. Here they rebuilt the city of Ordu-Balyk, the ruins of which are still impressive, known as Karabalgasun. For the Uyghurs, as well as for their defeated enemies, Otyuken represented the center of all earthly goods, but there was also a difference. S. V. Dmitriev drew attention to the fact that the inscriptions from the time of the Second Turkic Khaganate emphasize the economic and political significance of Otyuken, and in the Uyghur period of the formation of the Khaganate

(750s) the sacred peak of Syungyuz Bashkan ⁴ immediately begins to appear, and the entire region takes on sacred features. The author quite rightly explains this difference in the perception of the same area: for the Uyghurs, it was their ancestral land, and for the Turks who settled on Orkhon, it was nothing more than a fertile land, control over which promised many advantages [Dmitriev, 2009, pp. 84-85].

Uyghur hegemony in Central Asia continued for almost a century, until Kyrgyz troops arrived from the upper reaches of the Yenisei River at the invitation of a rebellious Ediz warlord and crushed the khaganate. It is striking that the Kyrgyz Khagan did not establish his headquarters in the Orkhon Valley, where there was already a developed infrastructure - fortifications, settlements, arable land, and communication routes - but migrated to the Tannu-Ola Mountains, a distance of 15 days of horse travel [Bichurin, 1950, p.356]. Instead of taking advantage of the agricultural area near Ordu-Balyk, the Kyrgyz in 840 destroyed it, burned the dwellings of the Uyghur Khagan and his wife, smashed the triumphal stele, and even broke stone stupas and millstones (Kiselyov, 1957, p. 94-95). The Otyuken mob, which many peoples had previously sought to master, did not seem to need them. Unlike other inhabitants of Central Asia, the Kyrgyz did not attach any sacred or political significance to this area and ceded it to other peoples who settled on the Mongolian steppes after the fall of the Uyghur Khaganate. Moreover, the sources do not mention any clashes between the Kyrgyz and any newcomers, primarily with those who were gaining strengthKhitans, from whom they would try to defend their territorial acquisitions in Mongolia. The Kyrgyz people's behavior, which does not fit into the usual Central Asian standards, gave rise to criticism. Drompp calls the events that took place in those years "a violation of the Orkhon tradition" [Drompp, 1999, p. 390-403; Drompp, 2005, p. 200]. What is the essence of this tradition?

According to L. Moses, controlling Otyuken in the Middle Ages meant controlling the whole of Mongolia, so all nomadic peoples from the Xiongnu to the Mongols, who succeeded in creating relatively strong states in the Mongolian steppes, established the center of their power here, in the Orkhon Valley. Neighboring tribes were subject to the masters of Otyuken. The same nomads who for some reason neglected Otyuken: Yuezhi, Tele, Kereits, Tatars, were unable to consolidate the tribes of Central Asia.⁵ With the loss of this sacred territory, the system of tribal subordination, similar to the feudal one ("vassal-lord"), collapsed, which is illustrated by the examples of the Ruanzhuan, Turks and Uyghurs. A special case is the Khitan, which the author writes about first as an exception to the rule he formulated (they did not rule Mongolia from Otyuken), and then connects the death of the Khitan control system

⁴ The name of this peak could be derived from the Turkic süŋü ("spear"), which, however, does not add clarity to the search for the cc location. During the revision and refinement of his translations of Uyghur runic monuments, S. G. Klyashtorny suggested that we are talking about two different peaks - Syungyuz and the Khan Sacred Peak (Klyashtorny, 2010: 41, 46). T. Tekin came to a similar conclusion earlier. In his opinion, the Kagan headquarters was located on the western slopes of the As-Onguz and Kan-Yduk mountains (Tckin, 1983(1), p. 50). Moreover, Tekin saw here the word as, noted in Mahmud of Kashgar with the meaning "white", and eventually translated As ÖŋÜz as "white-colored" [Tekin, 1983(2), pp. 815-816]. So the sacred peak acquired an additional important marker. Professor Johannes Schubert of the University of Leipzig, who participated in expeditions to Mongolia in 1957, 1959 and 1961, put forward a curious hypothesis about the location of Otyuken: he believed that Otyuken yish is the highest point of Hangai (4021 m), covered with a growing snow cap of Mount Otgon Tenger. Based on this, Schubert suggested that the Otyuken area was located in the south-eastern part of the present Zavkhan Aimag (Schubert, 1964, p. 215). This idea is supported by Turkish researcher Erhan Aydin. In his opinion ,the "white-colored" mountain peak mentioned in the Terkhin inscription as located "in the middle of Otyuken" may indicate the Tengar Otgon (Aydin, 2007, p. 1262-1270). S. Gemsch read it exactly the same way as Klyashtorny - SüŋÜz-Başkan, but suggested that the terms syungyuz and bashkan should be considered tribal names. According to his version, the yeyungyuz are a tribe from the dulu group of the On-ok bodun union, and the Bashkans are a tribe from the nushibi group. Syunguzy and bashkans fled from the Chinese to the depths of the Otyuken and gave this new habitat their tribal names (Gomcç, 1997, p. 26; Gomeç, 2001, p.43).

⁵ This claim of Otyuken's neglect of the listed peoples is at least controversial.

over nomads with the loss of Otyuken [Moses, 1974, p. 115-116] ⁶. Meanwhile, it is known that the Khitan Liao Empire collapsed under the blows of the Jurchens before the Khitan withdrew their garrison from the city of Cheng-Zhou, which was the headquarters of the Khitan governor in Mongolia. Yelu Dashi, the founder of the Western Liao State, arrived here in 1124 in the hope of rallying the tribes against the Jurchen threat. Researchers have not yet come to a consensus on the location of this city. X. Purlee, A. L. Ivliev, H. H. Kradin, S. V. Danilov and some other historians and archaeologists localize it in the Dashinchilen somon of the Bulgan aimag of Mongolia and identify it with the Chintolgoi balgas settlement. This is supported by the finding of a layer dated to the Uyghur era under the Khitan time layer, which is consistent with written sources about the creation of the Khitan settlement of Cheng-Zhou on the site of the Uyghur city of Hedong. Other experts place it on Orkhon, in the area of the capitals of nomadic empires, which, although not yet confirmed archaeologically, seems reasonable from a geopolitical point of view. In any case, the presence of the Khitan city in the Orkhon Valley is noted in the chronicles.

The episode of the appearance of the first Khitan emperor Yelyu Abaoji on the ruins of Ordu-Balyk is very interesting and significant. In 924-925. Abaoji mounted an expedition to the steppes against the Tuyuhun, Dang Xiang, and Zubu. On the way to Eastern Dzungaria, in the ninth month of 924, he passed through the Orkhon Valley, where he ordered to erase the inscription on the stele in honor of the Uyghur Bilge Kagan and instead carve an inscription in Khitan, Turkic and Chinese to perpetuate his glorious deeds [Wittfogel, Feng Chia-sheng, 1949, p. 576; Drobyshev, 2009, pp. 83-85]. In addition, they took water from the river and stones from the sacred mountain and brought it all to the original Khitan lands, where the water was poured into Shara-muren, and the stones were placed on the ancestral Khitan mountain, which was supposed to symbolize the tribute of rivers and mountains [Bretschneider, 1888, p. 256]. Apparently, these actions should be regarded as recognition by the Khitan leader of the sacred significance of this area. However, he also refused to occupy it and offered the Uighurs who had fled from the Kyrgyz pogrom to return to Orkhon, but they refused.

After the Khitan wars, the Kereites rose in the central part of Mongolia, whose leaders probably had a stake in Orkhon-the city of Takhai-Balgas (Tkachev, 1987, p. 55). From the "Hidden Legend of the Mongols" it follows that the horde of Van Khan of Kereit was located in the "Tula black Forest", which, however, is more suitable for the image of the forested mountain Bogdo-ula near the Tola River, near which the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar now stretches. Wang Khan was one of the last opponents of Genghis Khan in the Mongolian steppes. The Persian historian Rashid ad-Din places the Naimans in Otyuken (Rashid ad-Din, 1952, p. 136); this is consistent with the ethnic map of pre-Genghis Central Asia, if Khangai is understood as Otyuken.

When Mongolia was united under the rule of Genghis Khan and the foundations of statehood began to take shape, the question of choosing the center of the state could not help but arise. The native nomads of the great Mongol were not suitable for this large-scale task, as they were located away from the steppe highways. It is hardly by chance that the views of the representatives of the" golden family "of Borjigin turned to Orkhon. H. H. Kradin writes," The location of the future capital was primarily due to geopolitical advantages. From the Orkhon Valley, it is much more convenient to control China, trade routes through Gansu, and make trips to Dzungaria and East Turkestan. It is possible that this was also due to the special sacral attractiveness of these places, due to the fact that the historical center of earlier steppe empires was located here" [Kradin, 2007, p. 44-45; Kradin, 2008, p. 340]. S. V. Dmitriev justifies this choice by the Mongols (more precisely, the Ogedei Khagan) with the strong ideological influence of the Uyghur peoples. advisors-recognized teachers of the state builder-

⁶ S. G. Klyashtorny and D. Rogers also point out the important strategic position of this region. See: [Klyashtorny, 1964, p. 34; Rogers, 2008, p.161-162].

The authors of the book, which was published in the Russian Academy of Arts of the Mongolian Empire, revealed to their patrons the connection between the sacred mountains and the well-being of the state, which the author aptly called "imperial feng shui" (Dmitriev, 2009: 87, 89). This connection is reflected in the well-known legend about the origin of the Uyghurs and how the treacherous Tang spy tricked access to the sacred peak of the Uyghurs and carried away the stones endowed with special grace, after which the Uyghur state fell into complete decline. The legend is set forth in the Yuan Shi ("Stories of the Yuan Dynasty") and reads as follows:

"Bar-ju-arte te-gin was I-du-gu; I-du-gu was the title of the princes of Gao-chan. In former times, they lived in the country of the Uyghurs; there is a mountain Golin, from which 2 rivers flow, they are called Tu-hu-la and Se-len-ge. One day, a wonderful light appeared over a tree between two rivers. Residents went there to see what it meant. A growth (tumor) appeared on the tree in appearance, like the stomach of a pregnant woman. After that, the light often showed up. After 9 months and 9 days, the growth on the tree burst and five boys came out. They were brought up by the people there; the youngest of them was called Bu-kya-khan. When he grew up, he subdued those people and their country and became king. After more than 30 kings to whom the throne passed, Yu-lun-ti-gin appeared, having fought many times with the Tang people. After a long time, they began to confer to conclude an alliance on the basis of kinship, in order to end the war and deal with the regulation (affairs) of the people. Then Tang was given to Princess Jing-lian Ye-li Tegin, son of Yu-lun Tegin. They lived near Mount Golin, on Pe-li-po-li-ta( i.e. tag), i.e. on a mountain inhabited by a woman. In addition, there was a mountain Tien-chs-li-yu ta-ha, i.e. "the mountain of the judgment of heaven", on it (or near it, theirs? there was a cliff (stone-mountain), which was called Gu-li-t'a-ga (Hu-li-ta-ha), i.e. " mountain of happiness "(Kutluk-Tag). When the Tang envoys came there with a spy, he said: "The greatness and power of Golin lies in this mountain; this mountain must be destroyed to weaken this kingdom." So they told Yu-lun-Tegin: "Regarding the marriage, we have a request before you, will you fulfill it? The stone on Mount Happy is useless to you, and the Tang want it." Yu-lun-Tegin gave them the stone. But the stone was too big to be taken away. Then the Tang people heated it with a strong fire and poured wine and vinegar over it. Then the stone broke up and he was carried away on a stretcher. Then the birds and four-legged animals of the Uyghur kingdom let out their plaintive cries. After 7 days, Yu-lun-Tegin died. All sorts of misfortunes and calamities appeared, the people lived in unrest, and often those who occupied the throne also died. Therefore, they moved to Tsao Zhou, i.e., to Ho-zhou" (Radlov, 1893(1), pp. 63-64) ^.7

The legend turned out to be very tenacious, and the inhabitants of the Orkhon valley remembered it well even at the end of the XIX century. The Mongols called the mountain the same as the Uyghurs - Mount of Happiness (in Mongolian, Erdeni-ula) and said that Mongolian happiness was buried here, but the Chinese broke the mountain and took it to Beijing. Along with the mountain, Mongolian happiness also went to China, so the Chinese became rich, and the Mongols became impoverished. However, unlike the Uyghur legend, the Mongolian one had an optimistic ending. An old Shibaganza woman, a laywoman who had taken eight Buddhist vows, sat down on the place where the mountain was and began to call for prosperity-talakha, which is why the steppe there was called Dalalkhain-tala. It left gold and silver to the Chinese, and restored happiness to the Mongols, which consisted in the fertility of livestock [Radlov, 1892, pp. 91-92]. There is no mention of any Uighurs, but the main ideas are accurately conveyed.

N. M. Yadrintsev also wrote down another version of the legend, according to which " Temir Togon Khan lived in the palace of Khara-Balgasun; he took a shoulder of mutton and put it in a sheepskin coat, then took Tsagan-ede (dairy food) and put it in a bucket, then poured milk into a cauldron, put cheese on a dish (bislyk), the arrow of happiness and all buried on the steppe tolagai and served a moleben. In this way, he tried to summon happiness from the Chinese and pass it on to the Mongols" (Radlov, 1892, p. 92).

⁷ The subject reviewed was not unique in Central Asia. The epic Gesar Khan dealt with his enemies in a similar way, subtly encouraging them to make special armor out of the sacred stone [Geseriada, 1935, pp. 197-198]. And in order to destroy the hostile Shiraigol khans, he sacrificed silk cloths on their sacred mountain, which was obviously the ancestral one, and said: "From time immemorial you were a blessing and happiness for the Shiraigol khans, and now be you, mountain, a blessing for me!" [Heseriad, 1935, p.192].

We are not concerned here with the history of Karakorum, as it has already been repeatedly described in the scientific literature. We will return to the problem of the origin of its name, but here we will only mention that this city served as a capital for a short time, between 1235 (the most reasonable date of its foundation) and 1260, when Khagan Kublai moved the capital to Beijing. According to established tradition, during the reign of the Mongol Yuan dynasty in China (1279-1368), the heir to the Yuan throne lived in Karakorum, who was essentially the ruler of Mongolia proper. After the fall of the Yuan, the capital functions of this city were not restored, and in the spring of 1380, it was occupied and defeated by Chinese troops, after which it practically lost all significance in the life of Mongolian society. However, its location still bore some trace of sacredness, which can be assumed on the basis of the fact that it was there in 1585 that Abatai Khan founded the first Buddhist monastery of Erdeni-Dzu in Khalkha (Northern Mongolia).

In 2004, the Orkhon Valley, rich in historical and cultural monuments, with an area of about 150 thousand hectares adjacent to it, was included in the UNESCO List of Natural and Cultural Heritage Sites [Urtnasan, 2009]. Tourism, including international tourism, is actively developing here, and archaeological and other research is continuing.

Today, Mongolian society is discussing the prospects of moving the capital of the state to Orkhon, in the Kharkhorin district, where the capital of the Mongol Empire was once located. This step could have both symbolic and purely utilitarian significance, and if the former speaks for itself, the latter is explained by the significantly more favorable natural and climatic conditions of the Orkhon Valley compared to the Tola Valley, along which the current Mongolian capital stretches. The windless anticyclonal weather regime prevailing in the winter months (from November to March inclusive) contributes to the formation of stable temperature inversions, which lead to stagnation of the air over Ulaanbaatar and the accumulation of suspended particles in it-dust, soot, etc. over the mountains. The winter period accounts for the most significant emissions of products of incomplete combustion of solid fuel, which leads to the accumulation of pollutants in the air and on the soil surface [Gunin, Yevdokimova, Baja, Saandar, 2003]. The well-ventilated Orkhon valley lacks these disadvantages.

Touching upon the natural-historical aspect of the problem, it is timely to ask the question: what could Otyuken be from a geomorphological point of view? The phrase "Otyuken yysh", usually translated as "Otyuken rabble", i.e. taiga, indicates a mountain forest, since the valleys of the south-eastern Hangai are occupied by steppes today and, most likely, were occupied by them in the historical past, and woodlands (usually in the form of island forests) are located on the northern on the slopes of the mountains, since the territory of interest is part of the natural zone of the exposition forest-steppe. The term "yish" could denote a mountain forest, a highland (Clauson, 1972, p. 976). V. V. Radlov in his "Dictionary of Turkic Dialects" translated it as "Bergwald" ("mountain forest"), noting that it is "the northern part of Khangai". In his opinion, the actual" rabble", i.e." dark rabble "("das dunke (dichte) Waldgebirge"), is conveyed by the term" tнn kara yish " (Radlov, 1893 (6), p.498). Therefore, there is some doubt about the fairly widespread interpretation of the old Turkic "yish", based on the vocabulary of modern Turkic languages of the Sayan-Altai region, where this word means the so-called "yish".black taiga, which is dominated by spruce and fir, which create strong shading. The fact is that light - coniferous taiga is widely represented on Khangai, composed mainly of Siberian larch, a tree with a rather openwork, light crown that has adapted well to the arid conditions of Central Asia. Almost always, larch is adjacent to birch, which quickly captures territories where the forest has died for some reason. Both of these trees have been used since ancient times by the Turkic peoples.

They were considered "light" and believed that good spirits stopped at them [Gerasimova, 2000, p. 28]. They are also visually light, so the forests made up of them are also light and transparent. Only after rain or heavy dew does the bark of larch trees turn dark.

In economic terms, the mountain forest, of course, is not useless for the nomad, since it provides wood that is always needed in everyday life and for making weapons, serves as a hunting ground and a place for growing medicinal plants and berries, as well as pasture for livestock, especially in spring after the snow melts. It is no accident that the Ukrainian researcher V. A. Bushakov deduces the name of this area from the Old Turkic * ötügän ("convenient mountain pasture", "place of former parking") [Bushakov, 2007, pp. 192-196], which echoes the Old Turkic word jšš ("highlands with valleys convenient for settlements") [Old Turkic Dictionary, 1969, p. 268], which often goes with Otyuken in a pair and seems more accurate than the modern meaning of this word "rabble". A semantic parallel to Otyuken can be traced in the Mongolian word "hangai", which means not only a mountain system, but also" mountainous and wooded area, abundant in water and fertile " [Bolshoy Akademicheskiy Mongol-Russian Dictionary, 2002, p.38]. Sometimes the function of the Otyuken as a shelter from enemies, reinforced by nature itself, is emphasized.

Nevertheless, nomadic ethnic groups always preferred the steppe, while the forest as a whole was alien and even hostile to them. It is also difficult to imagine, even considering the complex ethnogenetic fate, that the Turkic and Uyghur ruling clans would adhere to forest landscapes, and their subjects would inhabit steppe landscapes. Therefore, in our opinion, the medieval owners of Otyuken put the emphasis on pastures in its name, and not on the forest.

P. B. Konovalov believes that the cult of Otyuken is a "sacralized ecological ethno-political concept of the Motherland" (Konovalov, 1999, p. 181). This statement does not contradict the very semantics of the term, but it does not explain what is important in this concept. Unfortunately, there is almost no information available to assess how people's behavior towards nature in Otyuken could differ from their behavior outside of it. One can only assume a more precautionary treatment of natural resources and a ban on certain types of nature management due to the sacredness of this territory. But there is no direct evidence of this.

Despite all of the above and seemingly obvious identifications, the question of Otyuken's borders is still open. Is it possible to put an equal sign between Otyuken and Khangai, or should only the southeastern Khangai be considered as Otyuken, or should we limit ourselves to the Orkhon Valley with its surrounding mountains? All three points of view are presented in the literature, and taking into account the Tuvan Otyuken, with which we started the article, there will be four of them. Meanwhile, the answer lies in the runic texts, and the most accurate and informative inscriptions carved on stones in praise of the exploits of the Uyghur Eletmish Bilge Kagan (747-759).

Stelae with inscriptions marked the location of the stakes established by Eletmish Bilge Kagan in several places in the Khangai Highlands shortly after the victory over the Turgesh and Karluks. Some of them have survived to this day. One gets the impression that the khagan quickly and methodically "pillaged" his lands, smashing enemies in military campaigns and drawing the borders of his possessions along the outskirts of Khangai. Ideally, in East Asia, the ruler had five stakes: four on the cardinal directions and one central, as was the case, for example, with the Khitan and Jurchen emperors; nomads in reality could be limited to two - north and south. In this case, the question is which of the known rates of the Uyghur Kagan should be considered central, because logically it should have been located in the very heart of Otyuken. S. G. Klyashtorny recognized the Horde-Balyk as such,

one cannot disagree with this, although it is doubtful that the inscription on the "Selenga Stone" from Mogon Shin-Usu places it in the middle of the Otyuken.:

"The striking coincidence of ancient Turkic and modern hydronymics makes it possible to confidently localize both stakes of the Uyghur khagan. One of them, "in the middle of Otyuken", was known from the burial inscription of Eletmish Bilge Kagan in Mogon Shin-Usu; even before it was discovered archaeologically, it was Ordubalyk (the ancient settlement of Karabalgasun). The second, western one, "in the upper reaches of the [river] Tez" (modern Tes River), is located on the territory of South-Eastern Tuva. Here, in the interfluve of Kargy (the Karga of our text) and Kaa-khem (the Ancient Turkic Burgu), on the coastal island of Lake Tere-khol, SI. Vainshtein discovered a palace building of the Uyghur period (Klyashtorny, 1983, p. 121). This building is known as Por-Bazhyn. It served for two seasons (750 and 753) as the center of the summer nomads of Eletmish Bilge Kagan and at least once - his son and heir Begyu Kagan. The surrounding area was forbidden" [Klyashtorny, 2010, p. 254-257].

Unfortunately, the preservation of runic inscriptions describing the emergence or, more precisely, the revival of the Uyghur state in the middle of the eighth century leaves room for various interpretations of the limits of Otyuken and its center. In reading the Terkhinsky inscription of Talat Tekin, the boundaries of both Otyuken and, separately, the boundaries of Kagan pastures within its borders are given, and the latter easily and, apparently, correctly correlate with modern toponyms lying on the territory under consideration. According to Tekin, Eletmish Bilge Kagan describes his possessions as follows: "My summer pastures lie on the northern (mountain slopes) Otyuken. Their western part is the upper reaches (of the river) Tez, and their eastern (part) is Kangyu and Kyunyu... My own valleys (meadows) lie (in) Otyuken" (Tekin, 1983(1), p. 51). According to the scientist's comment, the name Q (a)nuy is the right tributary of the Selenga, the Hanui Gol River, and the Kün (ü)y is the right tributary of the Hanui Gol, the Hunui River. Both rivers flow down from the northern slopes of Hangai. Together with the upper reaches of Taesin Gol, a clear and quite plausible localization of the pastures of the Uyghur Kagan is obtained in the north of this mountain system or, in any case, to the north of its main ridge.

The situation is more complicated with the borders of Otyuken: "Its northern (part) is Ongy Tarkan Xu (?), belonging to hostile tribes and (hostile) kagan; its southern part is the Altun Chern (i.e. Altai Mountains), its western part is Kogmen (i.e. Tannu-Ola Mountains), and its eastern part is Kolti (?) " (Tekin, 1983 (1), p.51). Tekin did not suggest any identification for the toponym, which he reads as Ongy Tarkan Xu, but at the same time did not agree with the versions of translation of this part of the phrase by M. Shinehu and S. G. Klyashtorny.⁸ We also have no reason to make any assumptions about this. Perhaps this is some large geographical feature (a mountain range, for example) lying somewhere to the north beyond Selenga. Altai as the southern border of the Otyuken requires an explanation. Probably, we are not talking about the Mongolian Altai in its entire length, but only about its spurs skirting the Khangai from the southwest, and, perhaps, also about the Gobi Altai, which extends even further south. The inclusion of the Altun rabble in the Otyuken greatly expands its limits and, as far as we know, is not found anywhere else. Mention of the Tannu-Ola Mountains as the western part (more precisely, the border) Otyukena doesn't raise any particular objections. Finally, we can only regret that nothing is known about its eastern part. The word "Kolti" (költ[i]) in Tekin was left without comment. Since Orkhon, where Ordu-Balyk was located, has a relatively flat, easily passable terrain extending almost 400 km to the east, it is unlikely that we should look for natural barriers that could serve as the eastern border of Otyuken, if we do not take windows itself as such-

⁸ Version of the psrsvod proposed by S. G. Klyashtorny: "At my request, Ongy from the Otyuken land went on a campaign. "Go with the army, gather the people!" - [Did I say?]. " Po... the southern border, the western border along the Altunskaya rabble, and protect the northern border along the Kegmsn! " [Klyashtorny, 1980, p. 92]. Here the northern and western borders of Otyuken are marked somewhat more plausibly than in Tekin's translation.

chaniye of the Khangai Mountains. In addition, the Tola flowing east is usually listed among the lands subject to the khagans, but it never has any boundary function, at least not once all the enemies in Central Mongolia have been defeated. Further on lies Hentei, which is significantly less suitable for nomadic life compared to Hangai. Maybe the location of the mysterious Colty should be found there.

The Terkhinsky inscription twice mentions the establishment of the Eletmish Bilge Kagan's headquarters and its enclosure with walls "in the middle of Otyuken, to the west of the sacred peak of Syungyuz Bashkan" (Klyashtorny, 1980, p. 92, 94). Considering that the stele with the inscription was discovered in the town of Dolon-mod in the territory of the modern somon Tariat (Archangay aimag), two kilometers south of the slopes of the Tarbagatay ridge and 12 kilometers west of Lake Terhiyn-Tsagan-Nur, and the inscription itself refers to the khagan's order to carve it on the stone where his family was established. So, we can assume that the center of Uyghur Otyuken is located here.

The following observation supports this assumption. It is noteworthy that Eletmish Bilge-Kagan alternated the definitions of "there" (anta) and "here" (bunta) in the inscriptions on the stelae in relation to his stakes, as well as to the location of "flat" and "heavy" stones, on which he ordered to inscribe his "eternal writings", and the correlation of the following terms: These places are located in the center of Otyuken. In the Terkhin inscription, " here "is the area to the west of Lake Terkhin-Tsagan-Nur, near the sacred mountain peak:" ...I spent the summer in the middle of Otyuken, to the west of the sacred peak of Sungyuz Bashkan. I have commanded that a tent be set up here, and that walls be built here. I ordered to carve my eternal letters and signs here on a flat stone... "[Klyashtorny, 1980, p. 92; Klyashtorny, 2010, p.41; Tekin, 1983(1) p. 50]. An inscription from Mogon Shin-Usu (an area about 360 km northwest of Ulaanbaatar in the Saikhan Somon of the Bulgan aimag) describes the same place somewhat differently: "... there I spent the summer, there I ordered to build my palace, there I ordered to build walls" and in the same place He ordered them to carve their "millennial signs" on the stone [Malov, 1959, p. 4]. 40; Klyashtorny, 2010, p. 63]. In addition, this inscription adds that the Yabash and Tukush Rivers merge somewhere in that place (Ramstedt, 1912, p. 43; Malov, 1959, p. 40; Klyashtorny, 2010, p.63). Most likely, these are the current Hoyd-Terhiin-Gol and Urd-Terhiin-Gol. For a sacred peak, you can take the extinct volcano Khorgo, located to the northeast of Terhiin-Tsagan-Nur and from the Kaganskaya stavka. Its unusual appearance, with its deep crater filled with water and partially overgrown with forest, apparently should have made quite a strong impression on the nomads.⁹ The presence of this holy mountain should not have hindered the existence of other sacred mountains in Khangai, where the corresponding cults were performed, including on Orkhon. This is not at all contradicted by the Chinese source's report that the first Uyghur ruler Kutlug Bilge Kul Kagan (742-747) " lived in the south, on the former Tukyu land; and now he placed the horde between the Ude-gian Mountains and the Gun River..."[Bichurin, 1950, p. 308], i.e. between Otyuken and Orkhon. What can this geographical reference mean? A place on the left bank of Orkhon? Of course, the headquarters of the Uyghur ruler were not located on the mountain slopes, but its location in a river valley at the foot of the sacred mountain of the ancient Turks named Otyuken (=Mongolian Erdeniula?) it is quite possible, as it is also likely that his successor Eletmish Bilge Kagan could have set up a temporary military camp a couple of hundred kilometers in a straight line to the northwest, and then use the Orkhon Valley first as a southern headquarters and only then raise it to the status of a capital.

Thus, the area that, according to its Uyghur owner, was the center of Otyuken, is localized quite confidently, although we will refrain

⁹ A description of this volcano and its surrounding area can be found in the popular science book of the Russian geologist Yu. O. Lipovsky (Lipovsky, 1987, pp. 50-88).

from the statement that this problem is finally solved and the discovery of new runic inscriptions or a new, more accurate reading of those already introduced into scientific circulation will not make serious adjustments. Today, knowing the supposed center and places of the Khagan camps, we can conclude that in the era of the formation of the Uyghur Khaganate, the borders of Otyuken actually coincided with the borders of the Khangai Highlands.

However, even if we consider the center of Otyuken discovered, we still have to answer the question of why the capital of the Uyghur Khaganate was located in a different place. The answer seems simple: the location of the capital had to meet security considerations from enemy raids and be comfortable for life, conveniently located for the passage of trade caravans and the exercise of control over their tribesmen and subordinate peoples. In this respect, the Orkhon Valley is much preferable to the narrow basin of Terhiin-Tsagan-Nur, even though it is very open to enemy incursions. Ordu-Balik was not just a" capital city " of the Uyghurs, but also a craft, agricultural and commercial center and a transshipment base for Chinese silk and other goods. From here, it is faster and easier to send cavalry to quell rebellions in your own state or in the weakening Thai empire. There were also probably shrines of the First Uyghur Khaganate, the presence of which could have been essential for the foundation of this military-political and economic hub of Central Asia. Even if they were not preserved by the time the Uyghurs returned to Orkhon as victors, their memory must have been passed on. Finally, the long-cultivated Orkhon valley could attract Sogdians, who were quite numerous among the Uyghurs and whose cultural influence on the latter is estimated by historians as very significant.

This leads us to assume that we can talk about two centers of Uyghur Otyuken - geographical and political. The former roughly coincided with the center of the Khangai Highlands, the latter was located on the south-eastern outskirts of Khangai, in the Orkhon Valley, and in addition to its political role, it also played the role of a sacred center. The latter is indicated by an inscription from Mogon Shin-Usu: "At the confluence (of the rivers) Orkhon and Balyklig, he then ordered to erect a sovereign throne and a state headquarters..."[Klyashtorny, 2010, p. 65].

If we do not make this distinction and, following many experts, assume that the center of Otyuken was located in the middle Orkhon region, where Eletmish Bilge Kagan ordered the construction of the Horde-Balyk, then we will have to look for the sacred Syunguz Bashkan to the east. This search does not promise fast and reliable identifications due to the predominance of proper Mongolian names in the modern toponymy of Mongolia. 20 km from the ruins of Ordu-Balyk, due east, on the opposite side of the Orkhon Valley, there is a treeless mountain peak with a rather characteristic name for Mongolia, Bayasgalan-Obo, which means "Joyful obo"¹⁰ (absolute height of 1658 m). Almost 60 km to the east rises Tsetserleg-ula ("Garden Mountain", 1966 m). Obviously, it owes its name to the forest that covers it. Which of these mountains was sacred, and, in general, whether it is necessary to make a choice from them, remains unknown. Both are too far from Ordu-Balik to magically patronize it, and there are no more prominent peaks closer to the Uyghur capital.

Moreover, neither the Terkhin nor Taesin inscriptions give any precise eastern boundary of Otyuken. In addition to the obscure "Kolti" of the Terkhinsky inscription, Tesinskaya cites the name of the eastern headquarters of the kagan: "In the east, in Elser, (?) he settled" [Klyashtorny, 1987, p. 33; Klyashtorny, 2010, p. 89], but what area was hidden under the toponym "Elser" is unknown, especially since this word itself is a cheat-

^Obo 10 is a pyramid made of stones, a local analogue of the "world axis", which marks places of high sacredness (mountain peaks, passes, sacred groves, rocks, springs, etc.). This word is often included in the names of mountains in Mongolia.

it is used hesitantly. In this case, a dilemma arises: either Orkhon is not the center of Otyuken, but rather its eastern part, or Otyuken extended further to the east and probably included Khentei. The second assumption is supported by the inscription on the "Stele on the merits of the Idikuts of Gaochang-wan" in 1334, according to which Selenga and Tola flow down from Mount Helin in the land of the Uyghurs. Helin is the "cradle" of the Uyghurs, the place where the ancestors of this people were supposedly born in a miraculous way and where the capital of the Khaganate later stood [Dmitriev, 2009, p. 79]. The same story is told by the legend quoted above from the "Yuan Shi".

Meanwhile, these rivers originate in different mountain systems in Mongolia: Selenga-in Khangai, and Tola - in Khentei. The simplest explanation for this discrepancy is a mistake made by the authors of the legend. But couldn't it be that Mount Helin symbolized both the forested mountain systems of Mongolia - Hangai and Khentei? Both meet the concept of "Otyuken yish", if" yish "is translated as "wooded mountains", and Hentei with its black taiga has even more grounds for this than Hangai. It should also be remembered that, on the one hand, the Selenga srednegorye, i.e., the relatively low elevated and poorly dissected surface between the mentioned mountain systems, stretching along the Tola, Orkhon, Khara-gol, and Sharyn-gol valleys, is not perceived as a distinct border between Khangai and Khentei, and, on the other hand, the peaks of Khangai have a distinct border between Khangai and Khentei. It has a gentle outline and also does not seem to be sharply separated from the neighboring mountain landscapes. Therefore, we can make a cautious assumption that, at least in some cases, the word Otyuken in the Middle Ages meant Hangai and Hentei together. Then it will be quite possible to take the Orkhon valley as the center of this territory. In fact, the borders of the Uyghur Khaganate, like its historical predecessors, extended east to Bolshoy Khingan, and were by no means limited to the Toloi River, which is repeatedly mentioned in runic texts. However, most sources do not support this hypothesis.

The ancient Turks may have put a different, narrower meaning into the concept of "Otyuken"than the Uyghurs. Let us recall the history of their appearance in the Orkhon Valley at the end of the seventh century. Khagan Kutlug, who led the Turks in 682-692, ordered Tonyukuk to lead the Turkic army, which after the uprising against the Tang stayed for some time in the Black Sands, as mentioned above, and he led the Turks to a place that he himself designated as "Otyuken forest". Undoubtedly, we are talking about the south-east of Hangai and, perhaps, even about the vicinity of a particular mountain peak. When the Oghuz army arrived in the Tola Valley, the Turks were able to put up two thousand soldiers against it (Malov, 1951, p. 4). 66], therefore, their total number is unlikely to exceed eight or nine thousand people. For the settlement of the entire Hangai, this is very small, and for the Orkhon Valley and the surrounding lands, it is quite a suitable population that can hold this fertile and sacred place in its hands. Having settled on Orkhon, the Turks subjugated the whole of Central Asia and tormented the lands of Northern China with raids. After that, Kul-Tegin could easily claim that Otyuken was ideally suited for creating a tribal alliance. Having escaped from Chinese captivity and taken refuge in wooded mountains rich in water and good pastures, the Turks could apply this toponym in a narrow sense to the south-eastern part of Hangai, to the place where Tonyukuk led them, while the Uyghurs, relying on their historical memory, extended it to the whole of Hangai.

The Orkhon Valley has left another mystery. Where did the toponym "Karakorum"come from? Its Turkic origin can be considered proven, but why exactly did this word serve as the name of the Mongolian capital? If it is translated literally as " scree of black stones "[Drevnetyurkskiy slovar', 1969, p. 460]¹¹, then it is natural

¹¹ Translated by J. R. R. Tolkien Boyle's "Black Rock" is less accurate, although it is also possible (Juvaini, 1997, p.54). Meanwhile, in the Turkic languages, the word "kara" has several other meanings: terrible, terrible, northern, etc. Therefore, it is possible that the name Karakorum could mean the Northern Camp of the Mongol Khan (Kononov, 1978, p. 167). Juvaini and Rashid ad-Din wrote about the seasonal movements of the Ogedei horde, but unfortunately, the place names mentioned by them are difficult to identify (see: [Rashid ad-Din, 1960, pp. 41-42; Juvaini, 1997, pp. 236-239]).

the question arises: is there such a scree somewhere nearby, impressive enough to give the city a name? Mount Malakhite, which rises to the west of Karakorum, does not stand out from other similar mountains in this respect; there are no prominent black scree on Erdeni-ul and other surrounding mountains, although dark-colored igneous rocks are occasionally found. But a large, spectacular field of black solidified lava is spread out near the Horgo volcano, whose slopes are dotted with black lava fragments. Above, we assumed that the central hiking camp of Eletmish Bilge Kagan was located not far from this volcano, now we can go further and make a guess that it could have been called Karakorum. Perhaps Eletmish Bilge Khagan entered the national memory of nomads as the actual creator of the Second Uyghur Khaganate and eclipsed the glory of his predecessor, so the name of his horde was passed down from generation to generation, even if it itself did not last long, losing the palm to the Horde-Balyk. Juvaini reports that the capital of the Mongol Empire, built on Ogedei's orders, was also called Ordu-Balik, although it is better known as Karakorum (Juvaini, 1997, p. 236). The fact that both the Uyghur and Mongolian stavkas had the same name is not surprising, since the name "Palace City" corresponded to their high status, and the legendary name Karakorum could have been relevant in the XIII century, when it was necessary to give a worthy name to the capital of the victorious Mongol state. S. V. Dmitriev explains its origin by the ideological influence of the Uyghurs and notes that for the first time it is recorded as Sagasogop in the report of Plano Carpini. Subsequently, this name is reproduced in Rubruk, in the works of Juveini, Rashid al-Din and other historians and becomes well-known [Dmitriev, 2009, p. 79]. However, it did not survive even the Yuan era: in 1312, the city was officially renamed Henin, which means "Harmonious World" (Pelliot, 1959, p.165).

But what about the claims of Juweini and Rashid al-Din that the city was named after Mount Karakoram? "The Uyghurs believe that the beginning of their generation and multiplication was on the banks of the Orkhon River, which flows down from the mountain they call Kara-Korum; the city built by Kan (Ogedei - Yu. D.) in the present century is also called by the name of this mountain" (Juvaini, 1997, p. 54). The mountain must have been large, since, according to the same source, 30 rivers flow down from it, and each river is inhabited by a separate people. Uyghurs form two groups in Orkhon (Juvaini, 1997, p. 54). In this case, it is quite reasonable to consider Karakorum as a synonym for Khangai. However, it turns out that there are mountains in those parts larger than this. Referring to oral reports, Rashid al-Din writes the following:

"It is said that in the Uyghuristan country there are two extremely large mountains; the name of one is Bukratu-Bozluk, and the other is Ushkun - Luk-Tengrim ¹²; between these two mountains is Mount Karakoram. The city that Ogedei-kaan built is also named after that mountain. Next to those two mountains is a mountain called Kut-tag. In the regions of those mountains, there are ten rivers in one area, and nine rivers in another area. In ancient times, the Uyghur tribes lived along the course of these rivers, in the mountains and plains. Those who lived along the ten rivers were called on-Uyghur, and those who lived in the nine rivers were called Tokuz - Uyghur. Those ten rivers are called On-Orkhon, and their names [follow] in this order: Ishlik, Utinger, Bukyz, Uzkundur, Tular, Tardar, Adar, Uch-Tabin, Kamlangju and Utikan " [Rashid ad-Din, 1952, pp. 146-147].

Of the listed mountains, only Kuttag can be located more or less confidently, and the listed ten rivers probably belong to the Orkhon basin, and the river itself is located in the same area.

¹² It hardly makes sense to search for these mountains under their modern names on the map of Mongolia, although this clarification of the Persian historian allows us to consider Karakorum ns as the highest peak of Hangai, which, we hope, will somehow facilitate the identification of ss in the future. Note that the Horgo crater also does not reach the height of the mountain ranges that stretch along the Terhiin-Tsagan-Nura basin.

The Orkhon River does not appear here as an independent river. The name of the Utikan River, which is consonant with Otyuken, is interesting.

This suggests the origin of the toponym "Karakorum" from the "Otyuken rabble". It looks quite convincing for the Russian-speaking reader, when the noun "rabble" flows quite naturally into the adjective "black", but in the Old Turkic "yysh" there is no hint of black color. Why did this replacement of one place name by another occur? It can be assumed that initially" Karakorum "was a much narrower concept, referring to the vicinity of the city of the same name, and the Uyghur" Otyuken yish "was simply replaced by the Mongolian" Hangai", which has the same meaning and now refers to the mountain system in northern Mongolia. By the way, the toponym Khangai is not found in the work of Rashid al-Din, from which we can conclude that for him Karakorum was equal to Khangai, as we suggested above. Meanwhile, the last time the toponym Otyuken is found in the famous dictionary of Mahmud of Kashgar, compiled in 1072-1074, where it is indicated that Otyuken is called a locality "in the Tatar steppes near the Uyghurs" [Mahmud al-Kashgari, 2005, p.166]. The change of ethnic and linguistic dominance in the steppes led to its oblivion. Given Rashid al-Din's "strange silence" about Khangai and repeated references to Mount Karakorum, we can only assume that Karakorum is Khangai, as it was understood by the Mongols in the XII-XIV centuries.

So, summing up, we will assume that the Mongolian name Hangai was assigned to the same territory that the Uyghurs called Otyuken, and the nomads of the Mongol Empire era-Karakorum.

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