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The assimilation of Mongols in central and western Eurasia
Topic Started: Jul 9 2007, 12:54:34 AM (669 Views)
black man
The Right Hand
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Fletcher 1986: The Mongols: Ecological and Social Perspectives

p. 20 (interesting parallels):
Quote:
 
Among the early Aryan (Indo-Iranian) peoples of the steppe, from whom the Turks and the Mongols ultimately derived much of their culture, the leadership role of the priest had rivalled that of the warrior. Eventually kingship was assigned to the warriors, but the priests, in compensation, were accorded the higher ritual status and were influential in the legitimation of kingship; so they retained the ability to pose ideological challenges to kingly power. A parallel is to be found among the early Arabian tribes, for whom the role of the kahin (shaman or soothsayer) stood, to some degree, in opposition to the authority of the sayyid (tribal chief). The kdhin approved tribal decisions and legitimated the sayyid's authority.


p.43
Quote:
 
The Mongols' conversion en masse to Islam in the Qipchaq steppe, Central Asia, and the Middle East-and their failure to convert, except on an individual basis,30 to Confucianism, Taoism, or Chinese popular Buddhism in China or to Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Rus'-can be attributed mainly to two factors: (1) the extent to which these religious traditions had already been adapted for nomadic consumption by the time that the Mongols first encountered them, and (2) the nature of the contacts between Mongols and the adherents of these religions.

In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Confucianism, Taoism, and Chinese popular Buddhism were specific to Chinese culture and to the pale of Chinese agriculture. (...)


pp. 43-44:
Quote:
 
(...) the Mongols had found it expedient to control Rus' from the Qipchaq steppe, where the indigenous Islamic culture in its Turkish-speaking steppe nomadic form quickly transformed them (...)

Islam was different. By origin it was as much the religion of the nomad as of the townsman. Arab tribesmen had brought it as far east as Central Asia, and the Turks, coming from the eastern steppes had adapted the Islamic tradition in a way that made it attractive to the Mongols. By the time the Mongols reached the Qipchaq steppe, Islam was already widespread among the Turkish-speaking nomads. Similarly, in Central Asia and Iran, Islam had permeated the nomadic population and was not merely the religion of the Turkish rulers.


pp. 44-45
Quote:
 
In the Qipchaq steppe, the Mongols were outnumbered and swallowed up by the Turkish-speaking Muslim majority and became, in effect, Qipchaqs. In Central Asia and the Middle East, Islam eased the transition from steppe conqueror to desert ruler for the Mongols just as it had done for the Turks who had preceded them. The Middle Eastern Muslim tradition held a place for such conquerors at the top, and they did not need to abandon their nomadic traditions to occupy it. In the long run, however, in Central Asia and the Middle East, as also in the Qipchaq steppe, adoption of Islam went hand in hand with the cultural assimilation of the Mongols to the Turks.





Topics in this forum dealing with the descendants of assimilated Mongolic-speakers and non-Mongolic descendants of Mongolic-speakers in general:
- Asian IEs with an "Altaic" background
- Russian/Buryat metis
- 20th century Hazara social organisation
- Cultural classification/s of Hazara-related populations
- Dulat / Dughlat
- The formation of Hazara ethnographic groups
- Ethnographic and human genetic diversities of the Hexi corridor
- Moghols
- Sart Kalmaks
- "Sog-po" Mongols of Amdo
(more topics in preparation)
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manju
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Quote:
 
Among the early Aryan (Indo-Iranian) peoples of the steppe


Was 'Indo-Iranian' in the original text or was it Indo-European? I wonder whether in 1986 Kurgan(Steppe IE) were considered Indo-European or Indo-Iranian. The latter appears to be a recent speculation.

Even though linguists might have considered Aryan epithet is restricted to Indo-Iranians only, however, I suppose in popular usage it was 'Indo-European' (probably, even in scientific circles). Also, here the author talks about people of steppe, which, I believe hinting at Kurgans, or the so-called Proto-IEs.
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black man
The Right Hand
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manju
Jan 10 2011, 05:28:58 PM
Quote:
 
Among the early Aryan (Indo-Iranian) peoples of the steppe


Was 'Indo-Iranian' in the original text or was it Indo-European? I wonder whether in 1986 Kurgan(Steppe IE) were considered Indo-European or Indo-Iranian. The latter appears to be a recent speculation.

Even though linguists might have considered Aryan epithet is restricted to Indo-Iranians only, however, I suppose in popular usage it was 'Indo-European' (probably, even in scientific circles). Also, here the author talks about people of steppe, which, I believe hinting at Kurgans, or the so-called Proto-IEs.
That's actually Fletcher. I thought, he meant Zoroastrians or something alike.
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