mongol art gallery berlin germany'ZURAG' film original  in German 2010 Berlin

'ZURAG' film in the Mongolian national television, 2011 Ulan Bator
(Original record from the MNB broadcast)
The Secret History of the Mongols
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Deutsch - Zweites Kapitel: Tschingis Chaans Jugend
English - 
Second Chapter: Genghis Khan's Youth

info:

Kerait

The Keraits or Kereits (Mongolian: Кэрэйд, Kereid; Kazakh: Керей) were a cluster of tribes in central Mongolia before the rise of the Mongol Empire. They lived in the area between the Orkhon and the Kherlen rivers, to the east of the Naimans.
The Kerait tribe is named both Mongolian and Turkic by different accounts, though names and titles of Kerait rulers imply that they primarily spoke a Turkic language. But as a coalition of many subtribes they seem to have included elements of both Turkic and Mongol ancestries, which makes an unambiguous categorization difficult.


Nestorianism
The Kerait were converted to Nestorianism, a sect of Christianity, early in the 11th century. Other tribes evangelized entirely or to a great extent during the 10th and 11th centuries were the Naiman and the Merkit.
An account of the conversion of the Kerait is given by the 13th century Jacobite historian Gregory Bar Hebraeus. According to Hebraeus, in early 11th century, a Kerait king lost his way while hunting in the high mountains. When he had abandoned all hope, a saint appeared in a vision and said, "If you will believe in Christ, I will lead you lest you perish." He returned home safely. When he met Christian merchants, he remembered the vision and asked them about their faith. At their suggestion, he sent a message to the Metropolitan of Merv for priests and deacons to baptize him and his tribe. As a result of the mission that followed, the king and 20000 of his people were baptized.
The legend of Prester John, otherwise set in India or Ethiopia, was also brought in connection with the Nestorian rulers of the Kerait. In some versions of the legend, Prester John was explicitly identified with Toghrul. But Mongolian sources say nothing about his religion.

Wang Khan
The Kerait khan Toghrul was granted the title of Wang Khan (King) by the Jin Emperor in 1183. Toghrul is best known as patron and one of the early allies of Temüjin (later Genghis Khan), until they fell into disagreement over Temüjins growing power.
In 1203, Temüjin defeated the Kerait, who were distracted by the collapse of their own coalition. Toghrul tried to escape to the Naimans, but was killed by a Naiman warrior who didn't happen to recognize him. The remaining Kerait submitted to Temüjins rule, but out of distrust he dispersed them among the other Mongol tribes.
Individual figures still managed to get into influential positions, sometimes through marriage. Genghis Khan's eldest daughter-in-law was the Nestorian Kerait princess Sorghaghtani Beki. Four of her sons, most prominently Kublai Khan, became Great Khans at some time, founding several dynasties. Kerait noble Rinchin protected Christians when Ghazan began to presecute them. But he was executed by Abu Said when fighting against his custodian Chupan of the Suldus clan in 1319.

Modern times
People with clan name Kerait are still found among the Ordos and the Baarin in Inner Mongolia as well as among northern Khalkha people in Mongolia. Another descendants of Kerait are the Karaylar or Kerey tribe within the Middle Juz of the Kazakh nation. According to oral tradition, the Torghuds are also thought to be the descendants of Wang Khan's bodyguards.

References
  • ^ The Mongol Century, Department of Asian Pacific Studies, San Diego State University
  • ^ a b R. Grousset, The Empire of the Steppes, New Brunswick, NJ, Rutgers University Press, 1970, p191.
  • ^ Kereys, Files about origins of Kirgiz-Kaisak(Kazak) people, Muhamedzhan Tynyshbaev
  • ^ Kereys, Genealogy of türks, kirgizes, kazakhs and ruling dynasties, Shakarim Qudayberdy-uly
  • ^ Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia pp. 400-401.
  • ^ Christopher P. Atwood-Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire, ISBN 0816046719
Naimans
The Naimans, also Naiman Turks or Naiman Mongols, (Mongolian: naiman, "eight", Kazakh: Найман) was a Mongolian name given to a group of people dwelling on the steppe of Central Asia, having diplomatic relations with the Kara-Khitai, and subservient to them until 1177. The Naimans are most often classified as a Turkic people from Sekiz Oghuz (means 'Eight Oghuz' in Turkic), but there are also sources that count them as Mongols.
Like the Khitan and the Uyghurs, many of them were Nestorian Christians and Buddhists. When last Tayan Khan was killed after a battle with Genghis Khan in 1203, his son Kuchlug with his remaining Naiman troops fled to the Kara-Khitai. Kuchlug was well received there and the Khitan King gave him his daughter in marriage. Kuchlug soon began plotting against his new father-in-law, and after executing him and taking his place, he began to persecute Muslims in the Hami Oases. But his action was opposed by local people and he was later defeated by the Mongols under Jebe and the land of the Kara-Khitai empire incorporated into Mongol Empire.
Although, the Naiman Khanlig was crushed by the Mongols, they were seen in every parts of Mongol Empire. Ogedei's great khatun Töregene might be from this tribe. Hulegu had a Naiman general, Ketbuqa, who died in the battle of Ain Jalut in 1260.
More than 400,000 of the Kazakh population are Naimans (see Modern Kazakh tribes or Middle Juz). They originate from eastern Kazakhstan. Some Naimans dissimilated with the Kyrgyz and Uzbek ethnicities and are still found among them. There is a small population of Naimans in Afghanistan. They belong to the Hazara tribe and reside in Shaikh Ali valley . They are Sunni Muslims and Shiite Muslims. The clan Naiman is rarely found in Northern Mongolia.

Religion
By the time they were conquered by Genghis Khan most of the Naimans were Christians. They remained so after the Mongol conquest and were among the second wave of Christians to enter China with Kublai Khan. Meanwhile, the Naimans who settled in Western Khanates of Mongol Empire all eventually converted to Islam.

References
  • ^ Runciman, Steven (1987). A History of the Crusades. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-5213-4770-9. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  • ^ Gibbon, Edward (1920). The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Methuen Publishing. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  • ^ Janhunen, Juha (2003). The Mongolic Languages. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7007-1133-8. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  • ^ Ratchnevsky, Paul. "Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy". 2000, pp.1-4.
  • ^ Roemer, Hans Robert; Scharlipp, Wolfgang-Ekkehard (2000). History of the Turkic Peoples in the Pre-Islamic Period. Klaus Schwarz Verlag. ISBN 3879972834. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  • ^ Halsey, William Darrach; Friedman, Emanuel (1984). Collier's Encyclopedia: With Bibliography and Index. P. F. Collier. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  • ^ a b Czaplicka, Marie Antoinette (2001). The Turks of Central Asia in History and at the Present Day. Adamant Media Corporation. ISBN 978-1402163326. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  • ^ Cary-Elwes, Columba. China and the Cross. (New York: P. J. Kenedy and Sons, 1956) p. 37

Text from Wikipedia