Political Concepts in the Traditional Turkic Worldview

Abstract

The article examines political concepts in the traditional Turkic worldview. The choice of the traditional Turkic worldview in the context of the main objects of analysis is justified: the Tuvan heroic epic “Hunan Kara” and the ethical and political treatise of Zhusup Balasaguni “Kutadgu Bilig”. The basic political concept of the Turkic worldview — “El”, which is often used as denoting “country”, “state”, and “people”, is analyzed. It is concluded that the concept of “country” was important in the early stages of Turkic history, which was reflected in the Turkic heroic epic. In the poem “Kutadgu Bilig” this concept acts as a consequence of state power. The concept of “people” is conveyed in Turkic sources by the terms “budun”, “bodun”, “ara-albytyzy”. It is very significant in “Kutadgu Bilig” as a criterion for the success of the beck's power and also has two original semantic shades in the Turkic worldview. The multifaceted concept of “state” in the classical Turkic worldview is mainly conveyed by the term “Tȍrȕ” and includes such semantic units as “ruler”, “power”, “law”. During the era of the Turkic heroic epic, concepts such as “hereditary power” and “government of the state” gained significance . The concept of “state” was most developed in the poem “Kutadgu Bilig”. There, the term's versatility increased through the addition of such concepts as “law”, “justice”, “personal qualities of the ruler”, “political positions”, all key to the political understanding of the world.