К ВОПРОСУ О РАЗВИТИИ КОНЕВОДСТВА В СРЕДНЕЙ АЗИИ В СРЕДНИЕ ВЕКА

Аннотация

This article focuses on the development of horse breeding in Central Asia in the
Mediaeval Ages. As it is known, on the eve of the Arab conquest, Central Asia
was inhabited by the Sogdians, Bactrians, Khorezmians and the Turkic people.
Indeed, the Turks had a political power in the Ancient Turkic Khanate and they
inhabited whole Central Asia, from steppes to mountains, from towns to villages.
Horse was important for most of the people living in Central Asia, but it had a
special place among the Turkic people. For instance, among all people living in
Central Asia in the Middle Ages, the Turks were the only people eating horse
meat. Moreover, according to the Chinese sources, the Turks had a tradition of
sacrificing the horse. Furthermore, Arabic sources have also emphasized the
importance of horse meat in the Turkic culture. For instance, Ibn Fadlan recorded
that the Oghuzs had a tradition of burying a person together with his/her horse.
In sum, this article underlines the place of “horse cult”, that is, material and
spiritual importance of the horse in the Turkic culture, history and everyday life.