"Nemzethalál" vagy kereskedelmi érdek? : az Ïduq Ötükän yïš ('Szent Ötükán erdő') az orchoni feliratokon

Abstract

The paper deals with the role and importance of the Old Turkic sacred mountain, the Otukan (contemporary Mt. Khangai) in the context of the Sino-Turkic relations. Along with its sacrality Otiikdn was an ideal place to conduct trade and tribute relations with the Chinese. The Orkhon Inscriptions parallelly point out the sacrality of this place and its importance from the point of view of the trade relations with the Chinese (I S5-8, II N 3-6). The Turkic description of these relations is nearly the same that Barfield called 'outer frontier strategy' in connection with the old Hsiung-nu-Chinese relations. As for the name of Otiikdn, there are several places, stony grasslands among the mountains called Odugen or Odugen-tayya in Tuva.