Many of the greatest rulers of the world of all times and peoples, in order to come to power and hold the reins of government, used every opportunity, including the help of sorcerers, magicians, witches. The French soothsayer Nostradamus was a physician and advisor to Queen Catherine de 'Medici and her son, King Charles IX. Soothsayers and wise men were kept at his court by Ivan the Terrible. Peter the Great also had a personal sorcerer - the warlock Jacob Bruce. Joseph Stalin received consultations from the "hereditary witch" Natalia Lvova and the "seer" Wolf Messing. And the first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, was given recommendations (including of a political nature) by the clairvoyant from Bulgaria Vanga.
But perhaps one of the most mysterious sorcerers was Tab Tengri - the personal shaman of Genghis Khan (named at birth Temuchin), the founder (1206) and the first Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which included the Great Eurasian steppe from the Danube to the Pacific Ocean and the most extended space from Novgorod to Indochina.
Few people know that it was the sorcerer Tab Tengri who proclaimed Temuchin Genghis Khan (Chin. Cheng-sze - the true ruler) and played a legendary role in his formation.
Looking for a firm hand
There are many versions about the participation of the shaman Tab Tengri (real name Kohechu) in the life of the "Lord of the Steppe Ocean". Some historians claim that the sorcerer did not have a significant impact on the activities of the great conqueror, others are sure that the merits of Tab Tengri in the growth of Genghis Khan's glory are undeniable. And some researchers believe that the shaman by his actions only harmed the ruler.
The veil of mystery over the life story of the sorcerer, Tab Tengri, helped us to reveal the question of Valentin Khagdaev, who has been studying this issue for several decades, the Supreme Shaman of Olkhon, Vice President of the Association of Buryat Shamans "Boo Murgel", member of the Council of Shamans of the Irkutsk Region, author of the monograph "Shamanism and World Religions" …
… Genghis Khan's associate sorcerer Tab Tengri, according to historical chronicles, lived in the middle of the 12th - early 13th centuries. He was one of the nine sons of the shaman Munlik, who always helped the family of Genghis Khan's mother, Oelun-Khatun, in trouble.
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There is information that Tab Tengri was a truly extraordinary person, besides, he possessed miraculous abilities. For example, when he sat on the ice, steam was coming from the ice, the energy of this person was so hot. Also, historical chronicles say that he inspired superstitious fear on people when he rose into the sky on a gray horse with apples.
At that time, there was no single community among the nomads, they consisted of separate clans, each of which was ruled by a khan (tribal leader).
The shaman traveled a lot in the Steppe. Everywhere he faced the suffering of the nomads from the fact that khans and noyons (princes) raided each other. And he felt the hopes of the people for a firm hand that would unite the entire Great Steppe.
The shaman saw a candidate for the role of ruler in the young Temuchin, who, meanwhile, was rapidly gaining popularity among the nomadic tribes. Of course, the sorcerer realized that with the rise of the young man up the ladder of power, his own importance among his fellow tribesmen would noticeably increase. Indeed, much of what the shaman foresaw soon came true.
Climbing Temuchin
In 1189, 27-year-old Temuchin began an active struggle with other contenders for power in order to obtain the title of Great Khan and unite all the Mongol tribes under his rule.
At the kurultai (meeting of the nobility to resolve important state issues), where the future ruler of the Mongol Empire summoned all clans, representatives of the aristocratic elite recognized him as the Great Khan. But the struggle for power did not end there …
Khan carried out a series of reforms that brought him fame among the nomads. He forbade his soldiers to engage in plunder, in addition, he gave part of the booty to the families of those who died in battle. He carried out reforms not only in the military, but also in the civil sphere, thereby conquering the hearts of ordinary people.
Meanwhile, the shrewd shaman Tab Tengri spread rumors everywhere about the imminent appearance of the Great Warrior, who would unite the entire Steppe, all nomads. With this news, he bypassed many of the nomad camps of the Mongol peoples. And the land of nomads was then very vast, almost up to the current Chinese Wall.
Since the Borjigin clan (the Khan's clan) was considered a "second-rate black bone" (of an ordinary origin), the sorcerer announced that the Eternal Blue Sky made Temuchin its representative on earth. The Borjigin clan is now considered "Altan Uruk", that is, the "Golden Clan". From that day on, the subjects of the Great Khan began to be called Mongols.
As a result, thanks to the merits of the Mongol Khan and his consistent popularization through the efforts of Tab Tengri, the authority of the former was rapidly growing.
And in 1206, at a general kurultai of representatives of the nobility in Karakorum, where it was decided to change the name of the Mongols from the People of the Felt Walls to the Great People of Mongols (Hamag Mongol Ulus), Temuchin received the title-name "Genghis Khan" (meaning "Strong, fearless, unshakable" and is similar to the word "wolf" (chino) - the ancestor of the Mongols).
Shamans at the ceremony knocked on drums and offered prayers to Heaven to bless the accession to the throne of the Great Khan.
Valentin Khagdaev:
- It was Tab Tengri that on that day publicly announced Temuchin as Genghis Khan and placed a fur and gold crown on his head. At the same time, he made a speech that the valiant Mongols defeated many sultans, padishahs, khans and kings, and the title-name of Genghis Khan best corresponds to the ruler of all nomads.
The murder of the sorcerer
The history of the rise of Genghis Khan continued rapidly. He gained more and more popularity among his people. At the same time, he showed all kinds of honors to his trusted shaman Tab Tengri, who provided him, as he believed, with the support of the Blue Sky.
But over time, the glory and power of the sorcerer began to indirectly threaten the ruler himself, as many noble and powerful noyons (princes) began to gather in the shaman's yurt, as did the khan himself. Moreover, the shaman and his seven brothers openly boasted that they had more power than Genghis Khan.
Probably, Tab Tengri believed that his magical abilities would provide him with absolute immunity, so he allowed himself such daring actions.
Once, having quarreled with Genghis Khan's brother Khasar, the shaman predicted that both brothers would rule the khanate in turn (perhaps with this prophecy he wanted to cause discord in relations between relatives). The enraged ruler arrested Hasar and began to elicit these intentions from him. It was only thanks to the intervention of the mother that fratricide did not occur.
Genghis Khan later admitted that he was very ashamed of maternal tears, appeals to conscience, his suspicions of an innocent brother and the fact that he almost killed him.
Although this conflict was peacefully settled, the shaman soon again tried to influence the imperial family. He lured to himself the servants of Genghis Khan's brothers. Khan's half-brother Temuge could not stand such impudence and demanded to return the people back. Then the shaman forced him to kneel down and apologize to him.
Genghis Khan could not forgive the sorcerer for this humiliation towards his brother. Together with close people, he drew up and implemented a plan to get rid of the ambitious sorcerer. The great khan invited Tab Tengri to the imperial tent for a council, and his brother Temuge summoned the shaman to allegedly a controversial struggle (according to Mongol tradition). But he did not have time to leave the tent, as he was killed.
Valentin Khagdaev:
- Tab Tengri was truly a great shaman of his time, and under him shamanism almost became the state religion. He is worthy of respect only for the fact that he boldly spoke the truth to Genghis Khan himself and was one of his companions in the reconstruction of the unified state of nomads "Hamag Mongol ulus". What happened to him in recent years is the result of his and the khan's ambitions, as well as the intrigues of his relatives …
New shaman
The sorcerer Tab Tengri, who crossed the path of the "Lord of the Steppe Ocean" himself, ended his life so sadly. A rumor spread among the people that Heaven took him to itself for bad deeds. After this murder, ordinary people began to call Genghis Khan the Great Shaman.
Shamanism really remained of serious importance in the life of the Mongol Empire and of Genghis Khan himself. In the most difficult periods, he prayed at the top of the sacred mountain Burkhan Khaldun, and there he received an insight. Once he spent three days in prayer on the mountain until he received an answer from Above.
In his last campaigns, besieging cities, the ruler called himself the "Messenger of Heaven", who was entrusted by the gods to establish a single and general order on earth. And those who do not want to obey this order will be destroyed!
In 1227, Genghis Khan died, according to historical chronicles, falling ill with a fever in the Asian campaign. The body of the great conqueror was taken to Mongolia and, according to tradition, was buried in a secret grave near the sacred mountain Burkhan Khaldun, from which the "Conqueror of the Universe" Genghis Khan many times turned to the Eternal Blue Sky for help.
Anna Akulich