Juchi Khan Mausoleum: realities, legends and rituals

Abstract

Lore and folk legends designate the burial of Jochi Khan, the eldest son of Genghis Khan, in the eponymous mausoleum in Ulytau, Kazakhstan. The mausoleum was built according to Islamic architecture of the 14th-15th centuries. A.Kh. Margulan, the author of archeological excavations, relying mostly on the folk legends designated the mausoleum’s burial to Jochi Khan. Radiocarbon dating of mausoleum determines two stages of its construction throughout the 14th century and the burial box age later than the death of Jochi Khan in 1225. New evidence from the mausoleum architecture and artifacts suggests that Jochi's burial is not in the mausoleum but a secret place prescribed by the Chinggisid canon. The assembly of Islamic and pre-Islamic traditions and the camel skull found in the burial indicates that the burial was made for a person of Islamic faith from the Golden Horde. Whereas the mausoleum was named in the honor of Jochi Khan.

Keywords

• islamic mausoleum
• jochi khan
• golden horde
• radiocarbon dating
• camel cult
• pre-islamic rituals
• secret burial