The entry of Mongol-speaking tribes into the wider historical arena changed the linguistic situation in the Central Asian steppes, but it is unlikely that it brought any decisive changes to the balance between man and nature that developed in the territory of present-day Mongolia long before its settlement by the Mongols. It was not nature that was forced to adapt to its new masters, but, on the contrary, they themselves had to adapt their lives to new conditions. Of course, this took some time. The issues of changing the adaptive strategy, developing new ways of exploiting natural resources, and the spiritual reflection of these processes in Mongolian culture are of considerable interest, but have not yet received proper coverage. In this article, we do not claim to be the final solution to this difficult task, limiting ourselves only to a selection and initial analysis of available materials.

Keywords: Mongols before Genghis Khan, nature management, migration, adaptation, Ergune-Kun, Three Rivers, Burkhan-Khaldun.

The most important sources of knowledge about the life of the Mongol tribes before their unification under the rule of Genghis Khan are the "Secret Legend of the Mongols" by an unknown author, the" Collection of Chronicles " by Rashid ad-Din, records of Chinese historians, as well as archaeological data. He collected and commented on the materials contained in Chinese sources in the first quarter of the 20th century. Wang Guo-wei in his work " Menggu shilao jiaozhu si zhong "("Four types of historical materials about the Mongols with commentaries"). In our country, the information accumulated by world science about pre-Genghis Mongols by 1980 was summarized by E. I. Kychanov [Kychanov, 1980, pp. 136-148]. Five years earlier, an article by L. R. Kyzlasov devoted to the way of life and economy of the Mongol tribes before their unification by Genghis Khan was published (Kizlasov, 1975, pp. 170-177). The pre-Imperial period of Mongolian history is discussed in some detail in the work of N. N. Kradin and T. D. Skrynnikova. The authors justify the existence of "two Mongols", one of which - the metropolis where the ancestors of the Mongols lived, was located in the east, and the second-the habitat and further settlement of the Mongol-speaking tribes-already in the territory of present-day Mongolia [Kradin and Skrynnikova, 2006, p. 132-157]. A brief review of narrative and archaeological sources was published by B. B. Dashibalov [Dashibalov, 2008, pp. 159-161].

For obvious reasons, since the second quarter of the thirteenth century. there are relatively many works dedicated to the Mongols. They describe not only the Mongols of the time of conquest, but also their earlier history. Medieval authors try to understand the appearance of a formidable people, easily conquering neighboring states and bringing death and destruction to the settled world. When analyzing these sources, the question arises: to what extent is it permissible to use information concerning the Mongols of the 13th century in relation to the Mongols of the 9th-12th centuries and earlier? It is clear that a change of habitat can not quickly cause a rejection of ancient views and traditions and instill new customs, but something inevitably had to change during the transition

from the sedentary or semi - sedentary way of life, which was led by the alleged ancestors of the Mongols-the Shiwei tribes, to the nomadic one. Sources of the 13th-14th centuries depict the Mongols as real steppe dwellers, whose forest past has almost been erased. Nevertheless, it sometimes makes itself felt. Thus, in our opinion, the proverb put by the chronicler in the mouth of Hagan Ogedei (1229-1241) and clearly originated in the forest life of the Mongols deserves attention: "I missed the elk-elk, but chased the mouse!" [Kozin, 1941, § 255]. In general, these sources fairly accurately describe the customs inherited by the Mongols of the empire from their ancestors, and can be used to reconstruct the way of life of the latter.

To date, the most well-founded hypothesis is that the Mongol tribes migrated to the territory of modern Mongolia from the Middle Amur and Sungari, where they were known to the Chinese as Mengwu and Mengwa and led a sedentary or semi-sedentary lifestyle, hunting, growing bread and raising cattle. Their movement from forest landscapes to steppe landscapes in the eighth and ninth centuries is now recognized by most experts, although it sometimes meets with reasonable objections [Rykin, 2002, p. 48-84; Bilegt, 2003, p.25-40; Bilegt, 2007, p. 178-202]. The reasons for migration and changes in the economic and cultural type are not fully understood, although many works have been written about the reasons for the Mongol ancestors ' exit to the steppes and their adoption of nomadism, which often interpret these events in political terms.

One common view is that in those years there was a "political vacuum" on the territory of Mongolia, which they filled. L. N. Gumilyov quite categorically explains the existence of a" vacuum "by climatic reasons:" The fact that in the tenth century written sources do not mention any state on the territory of Mongolia indicates the emergence of a desert here" [Gumilyov, 1992, p.54]. The absence of a centralized state here in the specified era is confirmed by sources, but did any state necessarily have to exist on this territory? In other words, how inevitable was the process of politogenesis in Central Asia, which quickly led to the formation of a new nomadic empire in place of the disintegrated one, and is it really necessary to look for a solution in the climate? After several centuries of anarchy that followed the collapse of the Xiongnu empire, we are used to seeing in the steppes an almost instantaneous, by historical standards, change of khaganates: Ruanzhuan - the First Turkic, and then, after a relatively short subordination of the Steppe to Tang China, the rapid flourishing of the Second Turkic Khaganate and its replacement by the Uyghur Khaganate. After the fall of the latter under the blows of the Kyrgyz, an era begins that causes heated disputes among historians. Some, following V. V. Barthold, speak of a "Kyrgyz great power", while others state the absence of any centralized power until it was personified by Genghis Khan and his descendants. The second point of view seems to us more reasonable.

According to a number of researchers, which we fully share, the Mongols in Central Asia acted as the heirs of the Khitans [Lattimore, 1963, p. 3; Viktorova, 1980, p. 171; Morgan, 1990, p. 49; Khudyakov, 1993, p. 167; Nyam-Osor, 2003, p. 58]. As early as 924, the Khitani made it clear to the inhabitants of this region who was now the master, and pushed some nomadic tribes who did not want to submit to the west, and then methodically implemented a policy of weakening the nomads in the steppes, expropriating their herds and preventing the centralization of power. Although the Mongol lands sometimes united tribes under the rule of one or another talented leader, such alliances, firstly, did not cover all nomads and, secondly, did not last long: nomads who believed in their strength rebelled against the Liao, which led to punitive expeditions of the Khitan and their vassals and the subsequent defeat of the rebels. Whether the Mongols participated in such rebellions is unknown to us. More definitely, it can be said that the events that took place in Central Asia prepared the ground for the settlement of Mongol tribes. In 1084, Mongol ambassadors came to the Liao court [Wittfogel, Feng Chia-sheng, 1949, p. 361]. It is safe to assume that, not being the first hegemons of Central Asia, the Mongols were pushed back

from the sources of enrichment on the border between the Steppe and Chinese-type agricultural crops, and therefore they had to rely on their own resources and those of their nomadic neighbors, i.e., exploit the nature of the Central Asian steppes and forests. This is perhaps the most important difference between their interaction with the environment before and after unification under the iron rule of Genghis Khan.

The collapse of Khitan statehood in 1124 gave rise to a lack of beginning in the steppes, which, apparently, was taken advantage of by the Mongols, who were allies of the Liao Empire and successfully opposed the Jurchens, with whom they fought a war in 1135-1147 and from whom they obtained some concessions. But then the Jurchens refused to follow the traditional Chinese policy of appeasing nomads with gifts in response to their raids, preferring to give their restive neighbors a tough rebuff, and they were still forced to rely on the resources of Mongolia proper. Moreover, according to Zhao Hong, the South Sung ambassador, to the Mongol general Mukhali, in the 1160s and 1180s, the Jurchens regularly, once every three years, made punitive campaigns in the steppe. This was called "adult reduction". Many nomads turned into slaves (Meng-da bei-lu, 1975, p. 70). In the end, as we know, the confrontation between the Jurchens and the Mongols ended in a complete victory of the latter.

Buryat archaeologist B. B. Dashibalov concludes one of his recent articles with the words: "Thus, the origins of Mongol nomadism should be sought, on the one hand, in independent access to the steppe under the pressure of natural and economic reasons, and on the other-in close interaction with pastoralists of Iranian-Turkic origin, whose migrations were continental in nature" [Dashibalov, 2005, p. 175]. Perhaps some Turkic-speaking (but hardly Iranian-speaking) tribes actually served as "teachers" of nomadic life for the early Mongols. This, in particular, is indicated by the terminology caused by nomadism and borrowed by the Mongols from the Turkic language. Only in the "Hidden Legend" there are more than 600 common Mongolian words that have parallels in the Turkic languages [Rassadin, 1995, p.111]. The names or parts of the names of some famous figures who were at the origins of Mongolian history are Turkic, for example, Otchigin-noyon, Belgutai, Munlik, Alakum-Digitkuri, Kudus-Kalchan [Rassadin, 1995, p. 109]. The Mongolian language has its own words for wild forest animals, such as deer, some domestic animals (dog, horse, pig). Almost the entire pastoral vocabulary was borrowed from the Turkic language, including the names of sheep, bulls, mules, camels, wild steppe animals (korsak fox, wild goat, antelope), and heat-loving arthropods (tarantula, scorpion). [Kyzlasov, 1975, p. 171].

Apparently, some Mongol tribes did not change their usual way of life and remained in the taiga landscapes. It is believed that in the XI-XIII centuries. the division of the Mongols into "forest" and "steppe" was preserved. The former were engaged in hunting, fishing, raising livestock, probably primitive agriculture; the latter mastered the skills of nomadic cattle breeding, which for centuries became the basis of their livelihood. However, G. N. Rumyantsev showed that such a simplified division does not correspond to reality. The "forest people" were not always just hunters and fishermen. Their social and economic structure was characterized by heterogeneity. According to the peculiarities of the economy, two groups can be distinguished among them: 1) hunting and fishing, i.e. actually "forest", and 2) cattle-breeding and agricultural, where hunting did not occupy the main, although significant, place [Rumyantsev, 1968, p.150].

The problem of the location of the Mongols ' ancestral homeland - known from the writings of Rashid ad-Din and some other sources of the Ergune-Kun mountain valley, where they allegedly lived after a brutal defeat by their enemies, and then went free, melting, according to legend, the mountain, has attracted the attention of scientists for many years. There is reason to believe that this place belongs not only to the epic tradition, but also to the real history of the Mongols. At least, Rashid al-Din speaks of the Mongols-his contemporaries, who were brought to Iran by fate and who saw Ergune-Kun with their own eyes. By their

according to them, this place is difficult to live in, but not as much as it is rumored to be; the purpose of melting the mountain was the path to glory [Rashid ad-Din, 1952(1), p.154].

A. L. Angarkhaev proves that this is the Tunka basin in the west of Buryatia, i.e. the territory adjacent to Lake Baikal (Angarkhaev, 2003: 100-133). Sources do not confirm this point of view. According to the research of B. R. Zoriktuev, the area where the legendary ancestor of Genghis Khan Borte-Chino married a Goa-Maral is called Dzad (Dzud, Zed) in the "Altan Tobchi" of Lubsan Danzan, the anonymous "Altan Tobchi" and "Shara tuji". B. Y. Vladimirtsov also proved by numerous examples that jad means "alien" in Turkic; this was later confirmed by P. Pellot and L. Ambi. Therefore, the territory in the Baikal region occupied by Turkic-speaking tribes was alien to the medieval Mongols [Zoriktuev, 2003, p. 30]. B. R. Zoriktuev writes that the Mongolian chino clan, which was named nukuz by Rashid al-Din, lived in Ergune-Kun, from where it went to Lake Baikal, where a Turkic-speaking tribe called Nukuz lived. maral, and became related to it [Zoriktuev, 2003, p. 19-20, 22]. The idea of merging two ethnic substrates, which resulted in the emergence of the Mongolian ethnic group, finds its adherents. P. B. Konovalov, who concluded that traces of the totemic views of the Mongols connect the Turks and Mongols by historical kinship, is particularly concerned with this issue (Konovalov, 1995, p.46).

The mentioned legend about the melting of the mountain is downright oversaturated with ecophobic, i.e. hostile to nature, details. This includes cutting down trees and harvesting charcoal; slaughtering 70 heads of oxen and horses to make bellows out of their skins; and making a fire right at the foot of the slope until it melts [Rashid al-Din, 1952(1), p.154]. All this, except, of course, the slaughter of cattle, does not fit into the image of a Mongol shamanist who honors nature and its guardian spirits. However, it should be recalled that this image was formed much later and not without Buddhist influence, and it acquired its "canonical" features already in our time, being in a certain sense a product of the era when antiquity was elevated to a cult. In this legend, the slaughter of horses - the most valuable animal for the nomad-draws attention to itself. If the Mongols in ancient times really lived in mountain gorges, then they had almost nowhere to roam, and the horse was not as valuable as later, when they came to the expanses of the steppes. Analysis of the Mongolian horse breeding terminology allowed V. I. Rasadin suggests that Mongolian horse breeding may have been related to the horse breeding of the Tungus-Manchu tribes, and later experienced a strong Turkic influence [Rassadin, 2009, p. 98]. Bulls, although their presence usually indicates a sedentary rather than nomadic lifestyle of their owners, were widely used by the Mongols in the XIII century. during migrations, being harnessed to large carts. At the same time, it might seem that a whole yurt city is moving across the steppe. In the "Hidden Legend" there is an episode in which, in the dream of the elder Horchi, a cow and an ox appear as heralds of the establishment of Genghis Khan's power and the death of his rival Jamukha [Kozin, 1941, p.121]. Taking into account the natural conditions against which the early Mongolian history unfolded, it can be assumed that the percentage of cattle in the herd was higher than later.

Returning to the legend, we will ask a question that at first glance seems devoid of meaning: could there really have been an event that can be interpreted as the melting of a mountain? It is quite obvious that at that level of development of technology, man could not yet act, in the famous expression of V. I. Vernadsky, as a "geological force". He needed the help of the elements. Volcanic activity should be immediately discarded, since no volcanic eruptions have been recorded in Central Asia in historical times, although long-extinct volcanoes have been found in Mongolia, Tuva and other places. However, the underground burning of coal seams could, apparently, create the necessary temperature for iron smelting. Such underground fires are not so rare in Asia. For example, in China, in the autonomous regions of Inner Mongolia, Ningxia-Hui and Xinjiang-Uyghur, and the provinces of Gansu, Shanxi, Jilin, and Heilongjiang, up to 200 million tons of coal are burned annually [Lorenz, 2000, pp. 127-130]. A person may have tried to adapt them for metal smelting, and perhaps not without success. It is interesting that the legend about the melting of the mountain at

the help of large bonfires and access to the plain is found in the ancient Turkic family of Ashina. This motif can be considered a stable folklore stamp among various peoples of Central Asia [Zoriktuev, 2003, p. 24]. It should be added that the Mongol tribes experienced a chronic shortage of iron, necessary for the manufacture of weapons. The Khitan imposed a strict ban on the sale of iron to nomads, but when the Liao was replaced by the Jin, this ban weakened and was often ignored by those who were obligated to observe it. A large number of iron coins flowed into the steppes and there turned into weapons [Peng Da-ya, Xu Ting, 2009, pp. 63-64].

The timing of the Mongols ' departure to Ergune-Kun and their exit from there is also a matter of debate. Taking the year of Borte-Chino's birth, 758, as a starting point, the Mongolian ethnologist L. Bilegt considers the period between 308 and 358 to be the most likely date of their departure. [Bilegt, 1993, p. 112]. It should be noted that the exact dates of birth of Borte-Chino, Goa-Maral, Bodonchar, Dobun-Mergen, Yesugai and other characters of the" Secret Legend of the Mongols", which are given by X. Some experts consider Parlee, P. B. Baldanzhapov, P. B. Konovalov, and other researchers to be examples of a "new mythologization of the past" that does not take into account the peculiarities of the mythological thinking of the authors of medieval chronicles [Tugutov, 1998, p.37]. This judgment is not entirely fair, since not all of the listed scientists consider the legendary first ancestors of the Mongols to be real people. Thus, P. B. Konovalov believes that Borte-Chino and Goa-Maral are "not real historical figures, but totemic personifications of ancient ethnic communities, on the basis of which the medieval tribes of Central Asia were formed, then united into a single Mongolian state" (Konovalov, 1995, p. 46). A similar point of view is shared by a number of scientists. As for Ergune-Kun, most likely those researchers are right who suggest looking for this place on Arguni, in the area inhabited by Proto-Mongol Shiwei tribes, or connect it with the Argun ridge. Knowing the natural and climatic conditions of this region, it is possible to reconstruct the way of life of its population1 more accurately and completely.

The next milestone on the path of the Chino Mongols was the Onona Valley, where they could have lived as early as the end of the eighth century. [Zoriktuev, 2003, p. 32]. Then the so - called Three Rivers region-the territory covering the upper reaches of the Tola, Onon and Kerulen Rivers in Khentei-fell under their power. The great unifier of the Mongols himself was born there, and many important events in his life are connected with these lands. The physical and geographical conditions of the Trekhrechye region made it possible to conduct a complex economy. The mountains covered with dense forests are suitable for hunting, which is reflected in the "Hidden Legend": "For the reason that at home, in the Khori-Tumat land, there were mutual quarrels and quarrels over the use of hunting grounds, Khorilartai-Mergan decided to separate into a separate genus-obok, called Khorilar. Having heard about the famous Burkhan-Khaldun hunting grounds and beautiful lands, he now moved, it turns out, with his nomads to Shinchi-Bayan-Uryankhai, on which the deities who owned Burkhan-Khaldun were placed" [Kozin, 1941, § 9].

The Burhan Khaldun mentioned in the quote is a mountain range in northeastern Khentei, from where the Onon, Kerulen, Tola and Tungelik Rivers flow. It deserves special attention [Zhukovskaya, 1991, p. 196; Bazargur and Enkhbayar, 1997; Saruulbuyan, 2001, p. 136-143; Petrov, 2004a, p.63-71; Petrov, 2004(2), p. 99-104; Drobyshev, 2005(1), p. 520-523]. It is believed that its name could mean "god-willow", or "willow hill". Although the question of the location of Burkhan-Khaldun is still controversial, Mongolian scientists speak of two mountains with this name, located not far from each other: Burkhan-Khaldun of the Uriankhai tribe - the city of Erdeni-ula (2303 m)

¹ Ancient legends are reflected in a very peculiar way in the work of the Khiva Khan Abu-l Ghazi (1645-1663), in which Ergune-Kun turns into a kind of Garden of Eden: "In the middle of the mountains there was a boundless area where rivers and streams flowed, there were many fruit trees, various types of herbs" [Abul-Ghazi, 1906, p. 29]. It is clear that the harsh Central Asian climate would not allow fruit trees to grow, and the" boundlessness " of the valley does not fit well with the legendary information about its tightness.

and Burkhan-Khaldun of the Khamug Mongols-the city of Khentei-Khan-ula (2362 m). Burkhan-Khaldun was inextricably linked with the name of Temujin-Genghis Khan. As mentioned in the above quote, his ancestors migrated there. The mountain became sacred for the" golden family " of the Borjigins and, most likely, represented the "world axis" for its members after the loss of this function by the sacred spreading tree in Khorkhon-zhubur, near which they performed the most important rites (Kradin and Skrynnikova, 2006, p.146).

On Burhan Khaldun, young Temujin was hiding from a raid by a hostile Merkit tribe. When the Merkits came to Temujin's camp to avenge the fact that his father Yesugai had taken the girl from them and taken her as his wife, he climbed to this peak. The enemy followed his trail through thickets and swamps where "a well-fed snake cannot crawl", but they did not find him, went down, captured Temujin's beloved wife Borte-wujin and rode away. According to legend, Temujin then said: "Sparing only one life, on a single horse, wandering elk fords, resting in a hut of branches, I climbed Khaldun. Burhan-Khaldun protects my life like a swallow. I experienced a great horror. Let us worship it [i.e., the mountain] every morning and offer up prayers every day. Let the descendants of my descendants understand!" Then he turned his face to the sun, tied his belt around his neck, took off his cap, bared his chest, bowed nine times to the sun, and performed sprinkling and prayer [Kozin, 1941, § 103]. Subsequently, he severely punished his abusers, and there is reason to believe that they could have been sacrificed to Burkhan-Khaldun, since the "Hidden Legend" says that the Merkit " Haatai-Darmala was caught, put on a neck block and taken to Burkhan-Khaldun "[Kozin, 1941, § 112]. The episode of the flight of the future great conqueror to Burkhan-Khaldun gave rise to numerous legends and interpretations. In particular, the fact that he hid in a shelter made of willow branches is sometimes understood as an initiation rite, after which Temujin acquired a special sacred power [Vanchikova, 2003, p. 341-342; Skrynnikova, 2005, p.121].

Apparently, Burkhan-Khaldun became the resting place of the Mongol khans, beginning with Genghis Khan himself. According to Rashid al-Din, "Genghis Khan [himself] chose this place for his burial and ordered:' Our burial place and our uruga will be here!'... It was like this: one day Genghis Khan was out hunting; there was a lone tree growing in one of these places. He dismounted beneath it and found some comfort there. He said: "This area is suitable for my burial! Let it be celebrated!" During the mourning, the people who then heard him say these words repeated them. The princes and emirs, according to his command, chose that place [for his grave]. It is said that in the same year that he was buried there, countless trees and grass grew in that steppe. Now the forest is so dense that it is impossible to get through it, and this first tree and the place of his [Genghis Khan's] burial are not [completely] identified. Even the old forest guards who guard that place do not find their way to it " (Rashid al-Din, 1952(2), pp. 233-235). The body of Genghis Khan was taken for burial to Burkhan-Khaldun almost 1,600 km away, as he died far from his homeland during the war with the Tanguts. When Hagan Mongke (1251-1259) died, his body was also brought to Burkhan-Khaldun from far away-from Southern China. Access to the Khan's graves was strictly prohibited. They were guarded by Uriankhai warriors, who were never sent on military campaigns. Here a protected area has emerged - the so-called Their Horig, and one can think that the ban on visiting it had a positive effect on the wildlife of those places.

Over time, the necropolis on Burkhan-Khaldun turned into a sanctuary where idols stood and incense was burned. However, after the fall of the Mongol Empire and the beginning of strife among the Mongols, this place lost its consolidating role in Mongolian society, the Khan's graves were forgotten, and their protection was no longer carried out. There were rumors that Genghis Khan was buried in the town of Ejen-Horo (now located in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China), where the reliquary of Genghis Khan and his son Tului, called "Eight White Yurts", was created, and where applicants for the khanate received the blessing of the spirit of the great unifier of Mongolia itself. In Edgen-Horo, solemn rites are still held in honor of the deified Genghis Khan, attracting not only his spiritual followers, but also numerous tourists. Nevertheless, Burkhan-Khaldun firmly entered the shaman-

There were also lists of sacred sites in Mongolia, and he was sprinkled and prayed to in accordance with the will of Genghis Khan.

According to modern information on the hunting fauna of Hentei, there is a variety of game: bear, wolf, fox, wolverine, lynx, wild boar, elk, maral, roe deer, musk deer, white hare, sable, ermine, squirrel, badger, otter, marmot. Most likely, these same animals lived there in the Middle Ages and could serve as an object of fishing for the Mongols. It is known that after the Taichiut captivity, Temujin lived with his mother and brothers on the southern slopes of Burkhan-Khaldun, fishing for tarbagans and mountain rat-kuchugur (Kozin, 1941, § 89). A linguistic analysis of medieval monuments of Mongolian writing, primarily the "Hidden Legend", revealed a large number of words denoting various representatives of wild fauna that the Mongols could hunt in this and earlier eras, as well as hunting accessories. The names of fish are numerous. Ornithological terminology was also well developed (V. I. Rassadin gives 23 names of birds) [Rassadin, 1992, pp. 102-107]. However, the presence of these names can hardly be considered a sufficiently reliable basis for classifying all these birds as objects of hunting. The great role of hunting in the life of the Mongol society of that time can be judged by the words of the oath given to Temujin when he was named Genghis Khan in 1189 by the head of the Mongol clans: "When hunting mountain animals, we will allocate you half, belly to belly. We will also hand over a single animal to you belly to belly (in full), hand it over with a stegna pulled off" (Kozin, 1941, p. 123). Hunting trophies were not only used by the Mongols themselves, but also involved in international trade. The "Hidden Legend" refers to the purchase of squirrels and sables by the Turkestan Asan [Kozin, 1941, p. 182].

Some hunting customs of the pre-Genghis Mongols are reflected in the Chinese writings of the Song era. Hong Hao (1090-1155) wrote in his Songmo Jiwen: "They catch deer alive and eat their meat raw." Thanks to the raw food diet, they are very sharp-sighted, they can see for ten li (about 5 km). A similar description was given to the Mongols by Shen Ko (1030-1093) in Mengqi bitan: "... they eat only raw meat and drink blood and do not cook food" (Kychanov, 1980, p.144). Similar information can be found in the Da Jin Guozhi, which also describes marriages between Mongol men and captured Chinese and Khitan women, as a result of which their descendants became completely different from the previous Mongols and began to eat boiled food [Kychanov, 1980, p. 145; Vorob'ev, 1971, p. 32]. This information, seemingly fabulous at first glance, could actually be based on a certain reality. The Mongols still cook meat for a very short time, which is why it may seem raw to a person who is not used to Mongolian cuisine, and the blood of animals has long served as a high-calorie food for nomads. It is known that during military campaigns they satisfied their hunger with the blood of clockwork horses. The incredible farsightedness recalls the story of Dobun-Mergen's courtship to Alan-Goa, when Dobun-Mergen's brother Duva-Sohor, who, according to the "Hidden Legend", had a single eye in the middle of his forehead, saw from the heights of Burhan-Khaldun migrating people, among whom was the beautiful Alan-Goa. Legend has it that he could see at a distance of three nomads (Kozin, 1941, § 4 et al.), which is approximately 30 km. Since this is unlikely even on flat terrain, let alone in the rough terrain of Hentei, this legend has now given rise to speculation about the" spiritual vision " of Duva-Sohor, i.e., his possession of the prophetic gift.

For hunting feathered game, the Mongols preferred to use specially trained hunting birds, primarily falcons. Falconry was considered a man's entertainment and occupation. Unlike animal raids, it did not and could not serve the purpose of training military units and was therefore regarded as a form of active recreation. Sometimes it was used in case of need. Even Bodonchar, more real than the legendary hero of the "Hidden Legend", offended and left his brothers, fed on falconry. He wove snares from the hair of his horse's tail and caught a female falcon, trained her, and in the spring, after starving her, let her go on ducks and geese. The loot was rich. Bodonchar hung the bird meat to dry

on the branches of trees (Kozin, 1941, § 27). A similar method of harvesting meat for future use (bort) is also known in today's Mongolia.

Returning one day from a successful campaign against the Jurchens, Khan Khutula, the first general Mongolian ruler of the second half of the XII century, enjoyed falconry. After a skirmish with the Durban tribe, he stole a herd of mares from them and, finding a duck's nest on the way (it was in the spring), filled his boots with eggs and strapped them to the saddle [Rashid ad-Din, 1952(2), pp. 43-44]. Yesugai Baatur, the father of Genghis Khan, was hunting birds on the Onon when he met merkit Eke-Chileda, who was carrying Hoelun-wujin from the wedding. Yesugai took her away from the hapless bridegroom [Kozin, 1941, § 54]. Kokseu-Sabrah reproached the leader of the Naimans, Tayan Khan: "But you, my khan Torluk-Tayan, you are painfully effeminate. You have no other worries, no skill, except bird hunting and animal raids!" [Kozin, 1941, § 189].

In 1207, the Kyrgyz expressed their submission to the Mongols and sent a white falcon as a gift to Genghis Khan (Rashid ad-Din, 1952(2), p. 151). Researchers are almost unanimous in the opinion that the white color of the bird symbolized its sacred properties. It is known that ritualized tribute in Central Asia was often paid by white animals. If the usual tribute could consist of hundreds or thousands of horses or sheep, then the symbolic one was calculated in units, but the color of the animals was of fundamental importance, for example, "nine whites", which the Mongol princes were obliged to drive to the Manchus when they entered their citizenship. The Tangut emperor An-chuan (1206-1211) was forced in 1210 to recognize his dependence on the Mongols and promised, among other things, to deliver trained hunting birds to Genghis Khan (Kozin, 1941, § 249).

The following account of Genghis Khan's conversation with his associates and relatives shows how much importance the Mongols attached to hunting with hunting birds. Unlike the long and difficult raids on the beast, this was undoubtedly a pleasure hunt, where you could afford a lot. "One day Genghis Khan asked Boorchi-noyon, the former head of the emirs, what is the highest joy and pleasure for a husband. Boorchi said: "It is that a man should take his blue falcon, which has been tethered and has lost its plumage during the winter and is now plumed again, and sit on the good gelding that he has kept in his body, and hunt the blue-headed birds in the green of spring, and that he should be able to hunt the blue-headed birds." he wore good clothes." Genghis Khan told Boragul: "You tell me too!" Boragul said, " For a man, the [greatest] pleasure is to release [hunting] birds, like the gyrfalcon [soncur], on brown cranes, so that they knock them down in the air with their claws and grab them." Then [Genghis Khan] asked the sons of Kubilai. They said: "Human enjoyment in hunting and in launching birds" [Rashid ad-Din, 1952(2), p. 265].

It may seem that the passage quoted is dedicated to praising falconry, but this is not the case. It was included by Rashid al-Din in the narrative for a different purpose. The Great Khan did not support the general opinion and expressed the famous phrase: "You didn't say it well! [The greatest] pleasure and pleasure for a husband is to subdue the rebellious one and defeat the enemy, to uproot him and seize all that he has; to make his married women weep and shed tears, [to] sit on his good horse with the smooth rump of geldings, [to] make him run away with his wife, [to] make her husband run away with all that he has. to] turn the bellies of his beautiful-faced spouses into a night dress for sleeping and bedding, look at their rosy-cheeked lanits and kiss them, and suck their sweet berry-colored lips!" [Rashid al-Din, 1952(2), p. 265].

Some features of the exploitation of natural resources by the early Mongols are revealed by a Persian historian of the 13th century. Ata-Malik Juwayni: "Their clothing was the skins of dogs and mice, and their food was the flesh of these animals and other dead creatures; their wine was mare's milk and their dessert was the fruit of a tree shaped like a pine tree, which they call kusuk, and besides which no other fruit-bearing tree will grow in that area: it grows even on some mountains, where, due to the extreme cold, nothing else can be found" [Juvaini, 1997, p. 21-22]. Perhaps Juveini confirms the dog breeding developed by the Mongol ancestors and, in particular, the use of dog meat for food (cf. the message of Marco Polo: "They eat

horse meat and dog meat" [Marco Polo Book, 1997, p. 236]). As for mice, most likely we are talking about the Siberian groundhog - tarbagan, whose meat is still eaten by the Mongols in our time, and from the skins they sew fur coats, hats, etc. Marco Polo also speaks about their use of "Pharaoh rats" [Marco Polo's Book, 1997, p. 236], which V. V. Barthold considered tarbagans [Marco Polo Book, 1997, p. 412]. Finally, the kusuk tree is a Siberian cedar, as established by J. R. R. Tolkien. Boyle, and that, without any doubt, follows from the characteristics given in the quotation. Cedar-a taiga tree, the southernmost point where it is found today in Mongolia, is the Bogdo-Ula mountain range, along the northern foot of which Ulaanbaatar stretches. Juweini seems to be the only medieval author who mentions pine nuts as the food of the Mongols.

In addition to forest landscapes in the Three Rivers, steppe landscapes are also widely represented in the intermountain and river valleys, which allow cattle to graze. For most of the Mongol tribes, cattle breeding has played a primary role in life support throughout their known history. Livestock is constantly mentioned in the "Hidden Legend", "Collection of Chronicles" and other works dedicated to the medieval Mongols, but the details of its breeding, of course, are not disclosed as well-known. The psychology of a born nomad, for whom the main wealth is his herds, is remarkably shown in the image of Munulun-the widow of Dutum-Manen, the ancestor of Genghis Khan in the seventh generation: "Munulun had full prosperity and wealth... [Via] every few days she ordered herds to be rounded up; the horses and cattle could not be counted because of their numbers, but when so many cattle rose from the top of the mountain where she was sitting to the foot of the mountain, which was a large river, that the ground was completely covered with hooves, she would say: "Everything is completely collected!" - otherwise, she ordered to go in search of herds" (Rashid al-Din, 1952(2), p. 18). Although the quote may have been just a legend, it is impressive in its verisimilitude. It is interesting to note that in Kazakhstan, the famous researcher of the XIX century A. I. Levshin noted a similar attitude of people to their cattle: "I once asked one owner of 8,000 horses why he does not sell a certain part of his herds annually. He answered me: "Why should I sell my pleasure? I don't need the money; I must lock it in a chest where no one can see it. But now, when my herds walk on the steppes, everyone looks at them, everyone knows that they are mine, and everyone says that I am rich" [Levshin, 1996, p. 327]. The universal significance of cattle in the nomadic culture of the peoples of the Eurasian steppe belt has brought to life a special, sacral attitude towards it, which gives reason to use it as one of the most important criteria of the nomadic Eurasian civilization.

Cattle grazing took place in the process of seasonal movement along certain routes, as was practiced by all other inhabitants of the Central Asian steppes. It is known that in the period under consideration, the Mongols roamed by the smoking method. When they stopped for the night, they set up their wagons in a ring, making a protective wall out of them in case of a sudden enemy attack. At longer stops, yurts were placed in a ring, and in the middle of it the yurt of a tribal leader or military leader was placed. This method of nomadism created strong local loads on pastures, which could lead to their degradation [Dinesman and Bold, 1992, p. 176], but of course safety considerations were at the forefront.

The Three Rivers region is also quite rich in water resources, and the Mongols could use the fish reserves of the rivers, as, in particular, the "Hidden Legend" testifies. According to many researchers, the story of the fishing of Temujin and his brothers is inserted in this work in order to emphasize the plight of the future great khan. Perhaps this is true. But, firstly, it is already well shown, and, secondly, it also lists other gifts of nature that the Hoelun family collected during this difficult time for it, against which fishing is completely obscured. Hoelun fed the children plant food (the source calls wild apple, bird cherry, onion, garlic, locust lily), and they got fish (lenka, grayling, roach) and

they fed their mother. In the Hidden Legend, fish and fishing are mentioned three more times. Thus, among the Merkits there were people who were engaged in fishing [Kozin, 1941, § 109]. When Genghis Khan sent the famous general Subodei to pursue the sons of the Merkit Tokhtoa-beki in 1205, he said:: "Even if they go into the sea and turn into fish, will you not, Subeetai, catch them with a net and catch them?" [Kozin, 1941, § 199]. Finally, offering himself as a ransom to the spirits for the seriously ill Ogedei, Tului says: "I broke the spine of the Taimen, I crushed the spine of the sturgeon" [Kozin, 1941, § 272]. However, it seems that Tuluya's words contain some kind of allegory.

Many facts confirm the steady existence of fishing as a subsidiary trade among the Mongols in the Middle Ages, although it is often assumed that the Mongols never caught fish [Ru, 2006, p. 46]. After selecting and analyzing fishing terms and fish names from the text of the Hidden Legend, V. I. Rassadin came to the conclusion that "such a variety of terms indicates a fairly developed fishing industry" [Rassadin, 1992, p.106]. A similar conclusion was made by B. Z. Bazarova [Bazarova, 2003, pp. 66-67].

In Mongolian sources, later than the "Hidden Legend", you can also find references to fishing tools. In "Altan Tobchi" by Lubsan Danzan, there are numerous comparisons of certain qualities of the human personality and actions of people with fish. So, comforting Temujin, who was abandoned by his relatives, Munlik says to him:: "You tremble like a taimen fish" [Lubsan Danzan, 1973, p. 70]. In this case, it doesn't matter if the words were spoken by a real Munlik in the twelfth century; the chronicler's suggested image perfectly depicts the confusion of the young Temujin. The text of the chronicle not only confirms the observation of the Mongols, but also suggests their closer acquaintance with fish. What is worth, for example, such a statement attributed to Genghis Khan himself: "If you tell at least a little about grayling fish, then you need to catch a lot of them yourself with your own hands" [Lubsan Danzan, 1973, p. 191].

If the ancestors of the Mongols came to the steppes from forest landscapes (and forests are accumulators of moisture and the location of river sources), they most likely had a rich fishing experience, but later it turned out to be unclaimed, and later the religious factor also played a role. We fully share the point of view of the Mongolian researcher H. J. Baisakh, who wrote: "In the following centuries, fishing among the Mongols began to be forgotten due to the penetration of Lamaism into Mongolia. As is well known, Buddhism considered fish to be a sacred being, and it was one of the eight cults of veneration" (Bayasakh, 1997, p. 48) ^.2

Perhaps the medieval Mongols did not disdain lake shellfish. Misar-Uluk, the ancestor of the Kuralas tribe, was said to have collected seashells on the shore of the lake in the spring to roast and eat them [Rashid ad-Din, 1952(1), pp. 164-165].

So, we can conclude that the natural conditions of this new area of residence of the Mongolian-speaking tribes provided an opportunity both for conducting traditional farming, in which hunting for taiga game played an important role, and for mastering the skills of steppe cattle breeding, as well as for making side uses of nature's gifts: to get fish and collect wild edible plants.

In addition to the Mongols themselves, other peoples lived in the steppes of Central Asia in the IX-XII centuries: Tatars, Merkits, Kereits, Naimans, Onguts, etc. They are constantly mentioned in the sources that tell about this period. The most common view is that all of them, or at least most of them, were Mongolian-speaking. These peoples sooner or later became allies or enemies on the Earth.-

² The "eight cults of veneration" or "eight jewels" of Buddhism mentioned here include, in addition to symbolizing happiness and unity of a pair of golden fish, an umbrella that protects from evil thoughts; a vase filled with the drink of immortality; a lotus flower as a symbol of divine origin and a pledge of salvation; a shell twisted to the right-a symbol of bliss; having no beginning and end the knot is a symbol of the infinite cycle of rebirths; the standard, symbolizing the world Mount Meru, is the center of the universe; and finally, the wheel with eight spokes is a symbol of the eightfold path to perfection [Eight Jewels, 1992, pp. 93-94].

Genghis Khan, who gained power and influence, and all were eventually subordinated to his authority or, like the Tatars, almost completely destroyed. Subsequently, the inhabitants of Central Asia (and not only it), who stood under the banner of Genghis Khan, began to assign the prestigious and formidable name "Mongol"³. Relatively little is known about the nature of their nature management, and the little that sources have brought to us shows them as real nomads, whose economy hardly had any fundamental differences from the economy of the Mongols of their time.

Thus, the well-known thinker and ecclesiastical figure Abu-l Faraj (1226-1286) in the" Syrian Chronicle "(briefly) and in the" Church Chronicle " (more extensively), reporting on the fact that the Kereit Khan adopted Nestorian Christianity in 1007, gives some information about the way of life of this people, which is quite trustworthy. First of all, the miracle that prompted the nomads to convert to a new religion for them happened on the hunt. Once their leader was hunting on a certain high mountain in his lands and lost his way. Having already lost all hope, he suddenly saw a saint who promised to bring him out if he believed in Christ, otherwise he would inevitably die. Khan had no choice but to swear that he would become the lamb of Christ's flock, and the saint led him out of the mountains and into the open. When the Khan reached his horde safely, he summoned the Christian merchants who had been there and questioned them about their faith. They replied that faith would not be complete without baptism. The Khan received the Gospel from the merchants and worshipped it daily, and then asked Archbishop Merv Abd Isha to come himself or send a priest who could baptize him and his people to the number of about 200 thousand. Abd Ishu related these events in a letter to the Nestorian Patriarch in Baghdad, who wrote in reply that the archbishop should send a priest and a deacon to the Kereites with all the necessary accessories for the altar, and that they should baptize all the believers. The adoption of Christianity by the nomads required them to keep a fast, which naturally created great difficulties: how to combine church requirements with a specific diet, in which meat and dairy products played a major role? The Patriarch, through Abd Isha, allowed the Kereites to consume milk during the main fast, but abstain from meat [Dunlop, 1944, p. 277-278].

Another version of the Christianization of the Kereites is given by the 12th-century Nestorian author Mari ibn Sulaiman in the Book of the Tower. In general, it coincides with the description of Abu'l Faraj, but adds some details, for example, the saint who came to the khan's aid calls himself Mar Sergius. For us, however, such touches to the picture of the khan's worship are more important, such as the offerings of mare's milk before the Gospel and the cross, and then its ritual drinking together with its adherents. This detail seems quite plausible to us, since milk and dairy products are traditionally referred to as "white food" in Central Asia, and the white color, as mentioned above, is sacred and perfectly suitable for ritual actions. In a letter addressed to Abd Ish, the Patriarch of Baghdad ordered him to supply the nomads with bread and wine during Passover. It also refers to the requirement imposed on Kereites to abstain from meat during lent and to allow them to drink milk, and it is especially emphasized that they drink fresh milk (kumiss) instead of fermented milk "to improve their morals" (Dunlop, 1944, p. 278-279). How can we not recall Rubruk's story about Christians-Russians, Greeks, etc.the Alans he met at the court of Scat, who avoided drinking koumiss, and if they had occasion to drink it, did not consider themselves Christians after that and resorted to the help of priests to reconcile them to Christ [Guillaume de Rubroucq, 1997, p. 104].

The penetration of Christianity into Central Asia in the years preceding the consolidation of nomadic tribes into a single Mongolian state also affected the Mongols themselves. The presence of Nestorians in Mongolian society in the 13th century is well known,

³ According to Rashid al-Din, " it has now reached the point where the Khitai and Djurje peoples, the Nangyas, the Uighurs, the Kipchaks, the Turkmens, the Karluks, the Kalachs, all the captives, and the Tajik peoples who grew up among the Mongols are called Mongols. And this set of peoples, for its greatness and dignity, considers it useful to call themselves Mongols " [Rashid ad-Din, 1952(1), p. 103].

It is also well known that religion did not prevent wars of conquest and bloodshed, not to mention the traditional farming. Christianity, like later Buddhism, was forced to make some concessions to local traditions in order to win the hearts of people.

During the Southern Song Period (1127-1279), various nomadic tribes were known to the Chinese as Tatars and were divided into three groups: white, black, and wild. The Chinese called the White Tatars (bai da-da) Onguts, who in the twelfth century lived in a bend of the Yellow River and were subjects of the Jurchens. They guarded the mountain passes in northwest Shanxi that linked Northern China with Mongolia. It is believed that they professed Nestorian Christianity and may have been of Turkic origin (Meng-da bei-lu, 1975, p. 92). The Black Tatars (hei-da) were the actual Mongols of Genghis Khan. The Chinese said of the savage Tartars that they were poor, primitive, and devoid of any abilities. Sometimes white and black Tatars were united under the name of wild and contrasted with them cultural Tatars who lived near the Chinese lands and, unlike the former, hunted only (sic!), sowed millet and, apparently, even rice, as noted in the work of Li Hsin-chuan " Chien-yan i-lai si-nyan yao-lu", written in the middle of the XII century [Meng-da bei-lu, 1975, p. 45]. In this connection, let us recall that, according to the observations of L. L. Viktorova, in the Mongolian chronicle of the XVII century "Shara Tuji" the word "rice" (tuturya) is used"Mongolian, not Chinese." Hence, according to the author, it may follow that " part of the Mongol peoples were formed south of the places where they lived in the Middle Ages." One of their ancestors may have been the Xianbians led by the Muyuns [Viktorova, 1980, p. 132-133].B. B. Dashibalov admits that "the ancient stages of the Mongol cultural genesis were associated with sedentary agricultural cultures of the East Asian type" [Dashibalov, 2005, p. 173]. These assumptions seem reasonable enough and do not contradict the "migration hypothesis" about the East Asian roots of the Mongols.

The Mongols either inherited from the Turks, or brought with them (it is unlikely that it will ever be possible to establish this accurately) the practice of reserving certain lands in favor of their rulers. As is well known from the history of the ancient Turks and Mongols of the imperial period, these lands may have represented the best pastures, hunting grounds or Khan's cemeteries. From the available sources, it is not clear whether Genghis Khan himself owned such forbidden territories-khorigs, but he undoubtedly acquired them after his death, because the place of his burial became reserved. Horigs were among his contemporaries, in particular, the ruler of the Kereites, Van Khan Tooril, as is known from the report of Rashid al-Din: once noyon Buyuruk Khan ⁴ named Kokesu-Sabrak attacked the brothers of Van Khan and plundered part of his reserves [Rashid al-Din, 1952(1), with. 131]. This happened in the area of Deladu-amsare (Telagetu of the "Hidden Legend") [Rashid al-Din, 1952(2), p. 114]. The "Hidden Legend" also tells about the capture by this man of the family and the entire family of one of the sons of Wang Khan, Sangum, and half of the people and livestock of Wang Khan himself, who were in the falls of Telegetu [Kozin, 1941, § 162]. Subsequently, khorigs became widespread in the Mongol Empire and could be either permanent or temporary. Despite the fact that it is impossible to equate these categories of forbidden lands with modern nature reserves aimed at protecting wildlife, medieval khorigs should have made a certain contribution to the conservation of natural resources in Central Asia(Drobyshev, 2005 (2), pp. 30-47).

For a better understanding of the pre-Genghis Mongols ' perception of the environment and their attitude to natural resources, we will briefly consider the features of the worldview of the Mongol tribes of that era. Despite the spread of Nestorianism and other faiths in Central Asia, most Mongols remained shamanists, and many experts rightly classify shamanism as one of the ecophilic, "eco-friendly" religions. "Mongol shamanism of the 13th-14th centuries was by no means a primitive religion of a primitive people lost in the vast expanses of the world.-

⁴ Buyuruk Khan - ruler of the Naimans, brother of the famous Kuchluk, who fled from Genghis Khan to East Turkestan and usurped power there.

The greatest expert on the culture of his people, Academician B. Rinchen [Rinchen, 1975, p.189], believed that the city was located in the Great Steppe and had no written tradition. However, it should be noted that at the time indicated by him, the Mongols could not be called primitive and lost in the steppes. Otherwise, of course, the scientist is right: during the consolidation of the Mongols into a single powerful state, their religious views acquired pronounced imperial features, bringing to the fore the cult of the Eternal Blue Sky - Tengri. At the same time, the ancient and medieval Mongols were familiar with shamanism in its "classical" form, with kamlaniyami and the use of appropriate attributes such as a tambourine, shamanic vestments, etc. V. Haissig writes that much of Mongolian shamanism is borrowed from the Khitan [Heissig, 1980, p.19]. In general, it is known that the Mongolian culture absorbed some of the achievements of the Khitan culture, and through it - and some elements of the Chinese. At least Chinese titulature is not so rare in Mongolian proper names. Among the Turks, the Mongols adopted the magical practice of influencing the weather with special" rain stones " (poison), unknown to the Khitan (Boyle, 1972, p. 177-193).⁵, although it is hardly correct to consider it purely shamanic.

An integral component of shamanism is the presence of specially trained people who can interact with spirits. Sometimes these people led the tribe. About the ruler of the Naimans, Kushluk (Kuchluk), it was reported that he could enter into a rather peculiar form of contact with spirits: "The Naimans are firmly convinced that Kush-luk had such power over the divas and peris that he milked their milk and prepared koumiss, and he [had] the same power over others wild animals. Subsequently, the Naiman emirs said, " The essence of this is sinful," and forbade [milking]. For this reason, he stopped milking them" (Rashid al-Din, 1952(2), p. 112) ^.6 A strong shaman is usually considered Teb-Tengri (Kokochu), who inspired Genghis Khan with the ideas of world domination, allegedly revealed to him by Heaven itself.

Some evidence suggests that the Mongols willingly resorted to the services of foreign shamans, probably famous for their abilities. When Genghis Khan's family organized state affairs, they turned to the shamans of the Yisut tribe to correct the rules and customs [Rashid ad-Din, 1952(2), pp. 193-194]. When the brother of the wife of Kabul Khan, Sayn-tegin from the Kungirat tribe, fell ill, a Tatar shaman was called. However, kamlaniya did not lead to healing, the patient died, so the shaman was "abused" and sent home, but then the brothers of Sayn-tegin came and killed him. Since then, hostility has flared up between the Mongols and Tatars, constantly fueled by raids and betrayals [Rashid ad-Din, 1952(2), p.104].

An essential and fundamentally important component of Mongolian shamanic beliefs was the cult of"master spirits". Positively, no object in nature was complete without the protection of its spirit. There can hardly be any doubt about the ancient complex of such ideas that arose among the distant ancestors of the Mongols. Actually, there is probably nothing specifically Mongolian about it. Although the belief in" masters " was supposed to be present among the pre-Genghis Mongols and act as one of the regulators of nature management, we could not find specific indications of this in the sources. But a great example is provided by the era of the Mongol Empire. In 1231, Ogedei resumed successful military operations against the Jin Empire, but soon fell very seriously ill. Jurchen shamans, apparently considered more powerful than their own Mongol shamans, were summoned to investigate the cause. Divination pointed to the cruel fury of the spirits-the lords of the lands and waters of "Kitad", and their anger was aroused by the seizure of people and dwellings under their control, as well as the destruction of cities and villages belonging to them. Can say,

⁵ This article by a well-known Mongolian scholar is narrower in content than its title might suggest, and mainly deals with the use of the "rain stone".

⁶ It is noteworthy that the chronicler equates divas and peris-these characters of Iranian demonology - with wild animals.

the spirits reacted quite appropriately to the Mongol invasion. As "owners", they protected their "property" from uninvited guests. By means of divination from the entrails of animals, it was established that as a ransom (dzolik), the spirits-" owners " agreed to accept one of the Hagan's relatives; as is known, the ransom was his younger brother Tului, who drank the water spoken by shamans [Kozin, 1941, § 272]. The Tului case once again shows shamanism as a generic religion. Angry spirits do not care about a particular person, they willingly take the soul of another member of the same kind.⁷

Ancestral worship is immanent in the tribal religion, although it is not yet a sign of shamanism in itself. For example, it played a very large role in Chinese society until recently and was an integral part of Confucian teaching. Ancestral spirits remain members of the clan and continue to help it - protect it from dangers, give children, ensure the fertility of livestock and cultivated land, contribute to the normalization of natural phenomena, etc. Each Mongol family kept images of the spirits of their ancestors, the so-called ongons^{, 8} of which Plano Carpini wrote that "they have some idols made of felt, made in the image of a human being, and they put them on both sides of the door, and put something made of felt, made like teats, and recognize they are taken for the guardians of their flocks, giving them an abundance of milk and offspring of cattle. Other idols they make out of silk fabrics and honor them very much. Some put them on a beautiful closed cart in front of the entrance to the headquarters, and anyone who steals something from this cart, they kill without any regret " [Plano Carpini, 1997, p. 35]. Ongon could be a pet, such as a horse, which no one dared to sit on or use in any work. It was dedicated to a deity or a deified khan who had passed away and from there patronized his state. The presence of ongons makes Mongolian beliefs similar to the religious beliefs of the peoples of Siberia and the North, for which the word "shamanism" is an indisputable term.

The animistic worldview left a noticeable imprint on the way of life and customs of the people. Archaeologists have repeatedly discovered peculiar burials on the territory of Mongolia - complete skeletons of wild animals, laid in anatomical order, which, moreover, did not have a single bone broken. It is believed that this was done to make it easier for the animal to be reborn to a new life [Okladnikov, 1978, p. 203]. This ban on breaking the integrity of bones has survived to this day. The same purpose was served by the prohibition to shed the blood of the slaughtered animal, in which, according to the concepts of the medieval Mongols, his soul was located. If the blood is not spilled, the integrity of the body is not violated, then the animal is sleeping as it were [Viktorova, 1980, p. 26]. On this basis, sometimes the concepts of ecophilism, allegedly innate to the Mongolian ethnic group since ancient times, are built up, but here it is necessary to pay more attention to the motivations for such actions. Why did man need to ensure the successful rebirth of the animal? Is it not so that it may again and again replenish his flocks or serve him as a hunting prey?

Summing up, we note that when the Mongol tribes became the absolute masters of Mongolia and mastered the steppe landscapes, the basis of their life support

⁷ According to S. A. Kozin's translation, Tului's death did not follow, although the water he had been spelled out had an intoxicating effect on him. B. I. Pankratov considered this interpretation of the monument erroneous and offered his own version of the translation: "he said [and] went out, these are the true circumstances of death" [Chigrinsky, 1998, p.96]. Perhaps there is reason to see the cause of Tului's early death precisely in his penchant for alcohol. Juvaini speaks directly about Tului's predilection for "the cycle of cups from morning to evening", which ruined him [Juvaini, 1997, p. 549]. He wasn't alone in this predicament. T. Olsen's article is devoted to the problem of alcoholism among the Genghisids. The author focuses on the socio-political significance of feasts of the Mongolian nobility, during which a large number of alcoholic beverages were consumed, both traditional steppe (kumis) and imported from neighboring countries (grape and rice wine); see [Allsen, 2007, p. 3-12]. Alcohol is an element of the ethnography of nutrition, which depends not only on social demand, but also on the conditions of the natural environment, which provides an opportunity to obtain certain varieties of intoxicating drinks.

⁸ The term "ongon" refers to images of not only ancestral spirits, but also other spirits that symbolized the forces of nature, diseases, crafts, etc.

For centuries, nomadic cattle breeding has become common. The stationary or semi-stationary type of dwelling was replaced by a felt yurt, ideal for nomadic travel in the steppes. Acquiring the skills of steppe nomadism, the early Mongols lost some of the forms and methods of nature management that were relevant in the conditions of settled life. Pork disappeared from their diet, and fish became a random dish. The composition of the herd has changed in favor of more mobile animals, such as horses and sheep. Round-up hunts have begun to perform an important additional function of military exercises. Agriculture was almost forgotten.

Along with the economic development of new spaces, their spiritual development was carried out: on mountain peaks and passes, shrines were created - obo, burials contributed to the sacralization of lands, their "settlement" by the spirits of their ancestors. In this connection, we can recall the so-called ancestral land from the "Hidden Legend", which was located in the Three Rivers and, obviously, was a cemetery. Deification of the habitat, including the endowment of the land with sacred properties, recognition of it as the mother of Etugen-ehe, should have introduced the nature management of new settlers in line with the Central Asian tradition, which is characterized by a rather cautious attitude towards the nature of native nomads. Apparently, in the former places of settlement, the Shiwei, like any other people, had a concept of "their" land, which was clearly different from" other people's " land and required careful handling. Now, for their descendants, the land of north-eastern Mongolia, and later - the whole of Mongolia and even wider, became "their own".

Based on the above, it can be argued that the replacement of Turkic-speaking tribes by Mongol-speaking ones did not fundamentally change the nature of nature management and the relationship of people with nature in the lands of today's Mongolia, despite the fact that the latter had their own special experience in exploiting natural resources. The Mongols had not so much to apply their experience in new conditions as to learn a nomadic way of life. In this era, the peoples of Central Asia did not represent a significant transformative force and were forced to adapt to the existing natural and climatic conditions, so it seems that there is no need to talk about any drastic changes in the nomadic economy. The steppe economy acquired some new features later, at the beginning of the 13th century, when, thanks to successful campaigns against the Tanguts and Jurchens, and later on against other peoples, the Mongols discovered almost inexhaustible reserves of material goods, which allowed them to live to some extent at the expense of other people's natural resources. The emergence of a large number of deported farmers and artisans in Mongolia, as the country's internal situation stabilized, contributed to economic diversification, the growth of settled settlements, and a more diverse impact on the environment. At the same time, these innovations were essentially a repetition of the path already traversed by the former rulers of the steppes - the Xiongnu, the ancient Turks and Uyghurs. What really turned out to be unprecedented was the creation of a gigantic empire, more extensive than the First Turkic Khaganate, on the example of which the evolution of the perception of the conquered lands by the Mongols from unambiguously "foreign" to "their own" is well traced, and the forms of their exploitation changed accordingly.

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