answer unambiguously the question about religion Turkic khanate almost impossible, and so multifaceted mosaic of culture, including religious beliefs, it is a state entity.In the I millennium BCthe territory of modern Central Asia undergoing complex ethno-cultural processes on the earth appeared and disappeared different states, including Turk Empire.Religion initial period of this state was of confessional character, including numerous beliefs of various peoples who have been a part of this country.And the state itself has passed a difficult way, suffice it to say that the official historians distinguish two periods in the existence of the Turkish state: First Khanate, which existed 551 to 659 years, and the second - 679 - 744 years.
At a time when Turk Empire was formed, almost a religion for all peoples in the region was one - tengrizm.Supreme god was Tengri.According to scientists, the origin of this word is associated with the Scythian deity who embodies the image of the mythological hero Targitai and symbolize the supreme god of the universe.Wrong to assume that the ancient Turks in the pre-Islamic period were animists, and that their supreme deity was the wolf.It just was considered ancestor of some Turkic tribes, but not all, some in the same revered as a leopard, bull, etc.
Historical records make it possible to accurately present and describe the area of ​​residence of the peoples that are in the middle of the 6th century formed the basis of the Turkish state.This power began in what is now eastern Turkmenistan, is gradually expanding, it grew not only geographically, but also becoming more and more multicultural education.Once in the year 551 was conquered by the Avars (and their last ruler was killed), the leader of the Turks Bumyn took the title of Kagan.The state created the actual Turks, called El Turk.Thus, should the consideration of any matter, the history of these peoples to distinguish between these concepts: the union of tribes (Turkish state) and Turk (Turks state).
Turkic state - Turk Empire, religion, culture - experienced in its history, several landmark moments, one of which, of course, is the adoption of Islam, which has made the religious composition of the population is more homogeneous.Prior to that, in the country of Turks were spread wide variety of beliefs.Here are some of them.Buddhism began to spread among the Turkish population since the Chinese Turkestan.It took Uighurs also know that even at the highest level of Buddhism worshiped.So is the story of how the Chinese emperor Wong Kung (570-576) sent to one of the Khans dynasty Bumin - Tapu Khan (573-583) presents, among others, and there was a translation into the Turkic language of the holy book, "Nirvana Sutra".Among the Turkic peoples was distributed fairly widely as Mazdaism - a kind of Zoroastrianism, which recognized the existence of two deities, symbolizing good and evil.The most widely developed this religion in Iran and Bukhara region.Among the Turks were adherents of various denominations of Christianity in particular - Manichaeism, which was formed as a belief in the teachings of Zarathustra, the symbiosis with Christianity and was originally distributed by some Iranian preacher named Manichaean (some Islamic sources it is called Manes).Due to Manichaeism, Turki, for example, now has its own unique alphabet.Among the Turks were supporters of Nestorianism - the patriarch of Byzantium, which differed in their religious views from the classical dogmas and therefore was forced to abandon dignity.By the Turks penetrated theosophy Confucius as the acquisition of education in China was very common among Turkic nobility.
When Turk Empire began to disintegrate, religion has also undergone major changes, primarily at the level of individual nations, who were able to create their own national statehood.
example, arose in 567, under the rule of Khan Bayan Avar Khanate, the religion which was previously Islam in the 8th century was conquered by the troops of Charlemagne, and then the Hungarians, leading to the fact that its population has taken the classic Catholicism.Another example is the religion of the Khazar khanate, when he was a member of the Turkic was pagan.After the collapse of the Turkic khanate, the Khazars - Turkic-Mongol tribes groups, take Judaism.It happened about the year 679, the first and especially the new faith took active members of the ruling elite, which for some time was even compelled to hide this fact from the people.
Thus, the history of religion of Turkic peoples is a continuous interweaving of cultural and ethnic conflicts and political nature, which determined the mosaic of religious processes in the territory of their residence.
