Ötüken or Otuken (Bilge kagan's Memorial Complex, TÜRIK BITIG or , , 'land of Ötüken'; ; ) was the capital of the First Turkic Khaganate, the Second Turkic Khaganate and the Uyghur Khaganate. It has an important place in Turkic mythology and Tengrism.
Ötüken is located within the borders of the Arkhangai Province and Övörkhangai Province of present-day Mongolia.
Mountain The word was used to describe the sacred mountain of the ancient Turks. It was mentioned by Bilge Khagan in the Orkhon inscriptions as "the place from where the tribes can be controlled". A force called qut was believed to emanate from this mountain, granting the local potentate the divine right to rule all the Turkic tribes.Franke, Herbert. The Cambridge History of China. Cambridge University Press, 1994. . Page 347.
Although never identified precisely, Ötüken probably stretched "from the Khangai Range of Central Mongolia to the Sayan Mountains of Tuva, at the centre of which is the Orkhon Valley",Jarich G. Oosten, Henri J. M. Claessen. Ideology and the Formation of Early States. Brill Academic Publishers, 1996. . Pages 124-125. which for centuries was regarded as the seat of imperial power on the steppes.
Primary sources Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk Ötüken () in Mahmud al-Kashgari's Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk:
Tonyukuk inscriptions
The Tonyukuk inscriptions show the sacred importance of the region, as evidenced by the statement of Tonyukuk:
Qocho manuscripts It can still be seen in post-imperial Uyghur Manichaean documents from Qocho, in which the Ötükän continues to be recognized as a spiritual, power-granting center, even after a change in religion from the Tängri faith:
See also Etugen Eke Otgontenger Karakorum
References
Bibliography C. E. Bosworth: Artikel "ÖTÜKEN" in: Encyclopaedia of Islam; Leiden. Digitale Edition