The Majmū‘at ul-tawārih: A Sūfī Chronicle from the Farghāna Valley and the Kirghiz Epic Tradition
(65th Meeting of the PIAC, Astana 2023)
The Majmū‘at ul-tawārih is a Fārsī manuscript written during the 16th century in the Farghāna Valley about the history of the local Sūfī tariqa that played an important role in the Islamization of nomadic clans of Moghulistān. Sons of the nomadic clans went to study to the religious education system but their cultural activity and nomadic culture intermingled for centuries. Local Sūfī leaders, the xwājas probably ordered the text to be supplemented by the Manas epic tradition of the Muslim Kirghiz nomads and their involvement in the Holy War (ghazāt) against the Kalmaks (infidels) to attract them to Sūfī activity.
Keywords: Manas, Moghulistan, Kirghiz, Sufi, Nomadic, Kalmak