Sulda

It was believed that the Sulda ruler is the guardian spirit of the people and is embodied in the banner ( Mong. Tagh ). Therefore, the banner of the ruler itself became the object of a cult , and the words Suld and Tug became synonymous . In wartime, bloody sacrifices , sometimes human , were offered to the Sulde banners to raise the spirit of the army ^[1] .

A special place was occupied by the cult of the military spirit-sulde of Genghis Khan , which was an integral part of the cult of Chinggis himself, established by his grandson Kubilai , the kaan . The banners of Genghis Khan Har Suld (“Black Sulde”) and Tsagaan Sold (“White Sulde”) used veneration. It is assumed that Black Sulda and White Sulda are fictitious names of the real approximate of Genghis Khan.

The white banner consisted of nine parts: the main banner was erected in the center, around it from four sides - eight small ones. When the banner consisted of nine standard-bearers. All his device was associated with the symbolism of the sacred Mongolian number 9 . The white flag was made from the manes of white stallions, the black one - from the manes of black stallions. To the point of the spear, which played the role of a hoist, the manes were tied with long tassels. Sanctuaries were arranged for the banners, and a ritual of sacrifices was developed.

Honored banner-sulda and some other khans . The character of the shaman pantheon of the Mongols, Sulde-Tengri, the patron of the people, is apparently connected with the Sulde of Genghis Khan.

In the historical trilogy of Vasily Yana “The Invasion of the Mongols ”, the concept takes on a slightly different interpretation. Jan Sulde is the great and fierce god of war, giving victory to the most valiant, the patron of the Mongols. It was Sulda who brings victories to Genghis Khan, and "for this god, Genghis Khan was followed everywhere by a milk-white stallion with black eyes who never knew the saddle . " The grandson of Chingiz Guyuk also keeps an unfinished stallion near his tent, who is looked after by two shamans. The god Sulde is depicted on the black pentagonal banner of Guyuk, on which a “horseman with a brutal face” is embroidered with gold threads. ^[2] At the same time, Jan puts the words of the leader of the western expedition Batu : “The god of war is only one - our greatest god Sulde. He is invisible, and no idols should be put to him . ” ^[3]

Sulde conveys his will through the shamans with whom he “talks.” Giving the Mongols another victory, he demands bloody sacrifices. Russian princes and military leaders were sacrificed to Sulde, crushed by boards after the battle of Kalka . ^[four]

• Dmitriev S. V. Sulda: to the problem of the history of the formation of military-political terminology of medieval nomads of Eurasia // Mongolica-V: Coll. st .. - SPb. : Petersburg Orientalism, 2001. - p . 21-30 .
• Zhukovskaya N. L. Sulda // Myths of the Nations of the World: Encyclopedia. - M .: Russian encyclopedia, 1994. - T. 2 . - p . 475 . - ISBN 5-85270-072-X .
• Zhukovskaya N. L. Genghis Khan // Myths of the Worlds: Encyclopedia. - M .: Russian encyclopedia, 1994. - T. 2 . - p . 629 . - ISBN 5-85270-072-X .
• Men-da Bay-lu ("Full description of the Mongol-Tatars"). Note 524 . - M .: Science, 1975.
• Skrynnikova T. D. Charisma and power in the era of Genghis Khan. - M .: Oriental Literature Publishing Company of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 1997. - 216 p. - 1000 copies - ISBN 5-02-017987-6 .