Tamerlane's Captive Mongol Shamans: The Battle for the Steppe Soul

In this episode, we explore Tamerlane's complex relationship with Mongol shamanic traditions. Despite his public embrace of Islam, the conqueror quietly consulted shamans (böges) from the captured Qara'unas and Barlas tribes, integrating their rituals into his court's spiritual life. We trace how shamans were forcibly resettled in Samarkand, where they competed with Sufi sheikhs for influence. Key figures include the shaman Chotun-Qutlugh, who predicted the victory at the Battle of the Terek River in 1395, and the conflict with the orthodox theologian Ibn Arabshah, who condemned these practices in his chronicle. We also examine how Tamerlane used shamanic sky burials for fallen warriors and maintained a sacred grove near Kesh. The episode reveals a ruler who wielded the Yassa alongside Sharia, manipulating both to control his multi-ethnic empire. Luna asks how these traditions survived after Tamerlane's death, leading to a discussion of the Yasa-vs-Sharia tension that persisted under the Timurids. #Tamerlane #Timur #MongolShamanism #Böge #Samarkand #IbnArabshah #Yassa #SteppeReligion #Qaraunas #Barlas #BattleOfTheTerek #ChotunQutlugh #SkyBurial #SacredGrove #TimuridEmpire #CentralAsia #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo