The Sacred Topography of Juchi Ulus

Abstract

The land of Dasht-i Qipchaq, including Juchi Ulus and the ‘post-Horde’ ethno-cultural world, is almost non-investigated in the course of a sacral topography. The approximate list of sacral centres can be constructed for the present as follows: the riverside of Ana Idel (‘Mother Volga’) with its such key locuses as Bulgar in the north and the Saray urban area in the Lower Volga; the khans’ necropolis on the Yaiq river and in the Ulutau Mounts; the rivers Yaiq and Syr Darya. Continuity of sacral localities among different peoples including change of the places for capitals is to be observed in history. Somebody’s realizing of some locality as sacral one is bound up with his identity that is usually organized with several levels and reflects variously depending on circumstances.