Cuman Chief ’s Trophy from Chunhul Barrow: Reuse, Ritual Functions and Symbolism

  • Oleksandr Halеnko Institute of History, the National Academy of Science of Ukraine
  • Yurii Rassamakin Institute of Archaeology, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
  • Warren T. Woodfin Queens College of the City University of New York
  • Renata Holod University of Pennsylvania
Keywords: Chungul Kurgan, Cumans, Trophies, Belts, 11th-13th centuries, Reconstruction, burial ritual, Bulgarian tsar Kaloyan.

Abstract

This article interprets as trophies many of the grave goods excavated from the burial of a steppe leader — likely a Polovtsian ‘prince’ — within the Chungul Kurgan in southern Ukraine. The current study focuses on three kinds of objects: those embellishing horses, embroideries on vestments, and belts. Written sources about the culture of the Eurasian steppe of the 11th—13th centuries CE, comparative study of items in European collections, and the archaeological details of the exact manner of deposition have allowed reconstructions of the meanings of these finds in daily life. Moreover, it is now possible to propose their distinctive role in the burial ritual. Two items found among the horse trappings can be shown to have originated as disassembled parts of objects made in northwest Europe for Christian ritual use. A similar re-purposing can be observed in the embroidery on one of the caftans. Originally embroidered as part of church furnishings, a fragmentary Deesis scene showing an archangel with a donor figure was attached to a caftan — cutting off the hands of the donor — and was rearranged into a new composition that presented the originally secondary winged figure as a victory or a Turkic divinity. Finally, three of the five belts found in the burial can be definitively attributed to northwestern European production. Their dispositions on and around the body allow them to be interpreted as symbols of Turkic charisma in their new location. The electrum belt around the neck, likely of Anatolian manufacture, marks the submission of the deceased before the divinities and spirits of the Turkic afterlife. The grave goods discussed here, as well as the total burial inventory, allow us to propose a possible identity for the deceased. He could likely have been a Polovtsian leader allied to the Bulgarian tsar Kaloyan. The joined Polovtsian and Bulgarian forces defeated the Crusader army at Adrianople in 1205 and led Baldwin I of Flanders, first Emperor of Constantinople, into captivity.

References

Bezusko L.H., Otroshchenko V.V., Arap R.Ya., Kostylov O.V., Ilinska A.P., Rassamakin Yu.Ya. Paleobotanichnyi analiz orhanichnykh zalyshkiv z kurylnytsi Chynhulskoho kurhanu. Ukrainskyi botanichnyi zhurnal. 1989. 46, no. 1, pp. 30-32.
Halenko O., Rassamakin Yu., Vudfin V., Holod R. Trofei polovetskoho vozhdia z Chunhulskoho kurhanu: pereuzhytok, rytualni funktsii ta symvolika (part I). Arkheolohiia. 2016, no. 3, pp. 28-48.
Herodot. Istoriia v deviaty knyhakh (pereklad A.O. Biletskoho). Kyiv, 1993.
Gorelik M.V. Polovetskaia znat na zolotoordynskoi voennoi sluzhbe. Rol nomadov evraziiskikh stepei v razvitii mirovogo voennogo iskusstva. Nauchnyie chteniia pamiati N.E. Masanova. Almaty, 2010, pp. 127-146.
Grezy rozovogo sada. Iz srednevekovoi krymsko-tatarskoi klassicheskoi poezii. Simferopol, 1999.
Dode Z.V. Tkani s khristianskoi simvolikoi v kostiume zolotoordynskoi elity. Rossiiskaia Arkheologiia. 2014, no. 1, pp. 54-66.
Drevnetiurkskii slovar. Leningrad, 1969.
Ipatevskaia letopis. PSRL. St.-Peterburg, 1908, vol. II.
Kliashtornyi S.G. Stepnyie imperii: rozhdenie, triumf, hibel. Stepnyie imperii drevnei Evrazii: Istoricheskie issledovaniia. St.-Peterburg, 2005, pp. 7-180.
Kniga Akhmeda Ibn Fadlana o ego puteshestvii na Volgu v 921-922 gg. Kharkov, 1956.
Kormushin I.V. Tiurkskie eniseiskie epitafii: Grammatika. Tekstologiia. Moskva, 2008.
Krymskii A. Literatura krymskikh tatar. Studii z Krymu. I-X. Kyiv, 1930, pp. 165-191.
Malov S.E. Pamiatniki drevnetiurkskoi pismennosti. Teksty i issledovaniia. Moskva; Leningrad, 1951.
Makhmud al-Kashhari. Divan luhat at-Turk. Almaty, 2005.
Minzhulin O. Svitskyi posud Davnoi Rusi. Visnyk yuvelira Ukrainy. 2006, iss. 6, pp. 35-43.
Minzhulin A. Osnovy ekspertizy proizvedenii iz metalla. Antikvar. 2006, no. 1, pp. 60-63.
Mongolskie istochniki o Daian-khane. Moskva, 1986.
Nimchuk V. Znakhidka z Chynhulskoi mohyly. Nauka i kultura. 1989, iss. 23, pp. 280-84.
Novitskaia M.A. Zolotnaia vyshivka Kievskoi Rusi. Bizantinoslavica. 1972. 33, pp. 42-50.
Otroshchenko V.V., Rassamakin Yu.Ya. Polovetskii kompleks Chinhulskoho kurhanu. Arkheolohiia. 1986. 53, pp. 14-36.
Pavlova V. Sheinyie grivny ili poiasa. Slaviano-russkoe yuvelirnoe delo i ego istoki. Mat-ly mezhdunar. nauch. konf. k 100-letiiu G.F. Korzukhynoi. St.-Peterburg, 2010, pp. 245-248.
Petrov A.S. Tkan s shytym obrazom Vozneseniia iz pogrebeniia kochevnika v Kalmykii: problemy atributsii. Rossiiskaia Arkheologiia. 2014, no. 1, pp. 67-74.
Pletneva S.A. Polovetskie kamennye izvaianiia. Svod arkheologicheskikh istochnikov. 1974, iss. E 4-2.
Pustovalov S.Zh. Polovetskoe sviatilishche u sela Vyvodovo. Stepy Evropy v epokhu srednevekovia. Donetsk, 2012. 10, pp. 85-94.
Rabinovich M.G. Drevnerusskie znamena (X-XV vv.) po izobrazheniiam na miniatiurakh. Novoe v arkheologii. Moskva, 1972, pp. 170-181.
Rashyd-ad-Dyn. Sbornyk letopisei (perevod O.I. Smirnovoi, ed. A.A. Semenova). Moskva; Leningrad, 1952, vol. 1, book 2.
Rudenko S.I. Gornoaltaiskie nakhodki i skify. Moskva, 1952.
Skobelev S.G. Podveski s izobrazheniem drevnetiurkskoi bohini Uma. Sovetskaia Arkheologiia. 1990, no. 2, pp. 226-233.
Skrinnikova T.D. Kharizma i vlast v epokhu Chynhys-khana., 1997.
Slovnyk ukrainskoi movy v 11 tomakh. Kyiv, 1974, vol. 5.
Tolkovyi slovar zhivogo velikorusskogo yazyka Vladimira Dalia. St.-Peterburg, 1905, vol. II.
Firdousi. Shakhname. Moskva. 1957, vol. 1.
Khautala R. Istoricheskii kontekst osnovaniia katolicheskoi eparkhii Kumanii 1227 g. Zolotoordynskaia tsyvilizatsiia. 2014, no. 7, pp. 111-139.
Ayres L.M. A Medieval Miscellany: Romanesque and Early Gothic Metalwork. Santa Barbara, 1974.
Barnet P and Wu N. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. NY, 2005.
Beaulieu M. L’Europe gothique: XIIe XIVe siecles, Musee du Louvre. Pavillion de Flore. Paris, 1968.
Blair S. ACompendium of Chronicles: Rashid al- Din’s Illustrated History of the World. Oxford, 1995.
Bock Fr. Geschichte der liturgischen Gewander des Mittelalters oder Entstehung und Entwicklung der kirchlichen Ornate und Paramente. Zweiter Band. Unveranderter Nachdruck der 1859-1871 bei Cohen & Sohn in Bonn erschienenen Ausgabe. Graz, 1970.
Broderick H. Solomon and Sheba Revisited. Gesta. 1977, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 45-48. https://doi.org/10.2307/766868
Cherry J.F. Recent medieval finds from Lincoln: a Romanesque cast copper alloy buckle plate with figural scenes and a bronze buckle. The Antiquaries Journal. 1987, no. 67, pp. 367-368.
Choniates N. Historia (ed. J.-L. van Dieten). Berlin; NY: Walter de Gruyter, 1975; English version from OCity of Byzantium. Annals of Niketas Choniates (transl. H.J. Magoulias ). Detroit, 1984.
Clauson G. Etymological Dictionary of Pre-Thirteenth Century Turkish. Oxford, 1972.
Cutler A. Under the Sign of the Deesis: On the Question of Representativeness in Medieval Art and Literature. Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 1987, 41, pp. 145-154. https://doi.org/10.2307/1291552
Dean B. ACrusaders’ Fortress in Palestine: A Report of the Explorations Made by the Museum in 1926. Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1927, vol 22, no. 9, part 2, pp. 5-46. https://doi.org/10.2307/3255835
Dvorakova V., Kraus J., Stejskal K. Středověka nastěnna malba na Slovensku. Praha; Bratislava, 1978.
Fingerlin I. Gurtel des hohen und spaten Mittelalters. Munich; Berlin, 1971.
Flury-Lemberg M. Textil-Konservierung im Dienste der Forschung. Bern, 1988.
Gabriel I. Hof- und Sakralkultur sowie Gebrauchs- und Handelsgut im Spiegel der Kleinfunde von Starigard; Oldenburg. Berichte Rom.-German. Kommission. 1988, 69.
Hahnloser H.R., Brugger-Koch S. Corpus der Hartsteinschliffe des 12.-15. Jahrhunderts. Berlin, 1985.
Harva U. Les representations religieuses des peuples altaiques, coll. “L’espece humaine”. Paris, 1959, XV.
Hacib Yusuf Has. Kutadgu Biliğ I (Metin) (haz. R. Rahmeti Arat). Istanbul, 1947.
Hacib Yusuf Has. Kutadgu biliğ: Metin (http://ekitap.kulturturizm.gov.tr/belge/1-75546/yusuf-has-hacib-kutadgu-bilig.html).
Heindel I. Riemen- und Gurtelteile im westslawischen Siedlungsgebiet. Berlin, 1990.
Holmquist W. Sveriges forntid och medeltid. Kulturhistorisk bildatlas pa grundval av Statens historiska museums publikation “Tiotusen ar i Sverige”. Malmo Ljustrycksanstalt, 1949.
Holod R. Event and Memory: The Freer Gallery’s Siege Scene Plate. Ars Orientalis. 2012, 42, pp. 194-219.
Holod R., Rassamakin Yu. Imported and Native Remedies for a Wounded “Prince”: Grave Goods from the Chungul Kurgan in the Black Sea Steppe of the Thirteenth Century. Medieval Encounters 18: Mechanisms of Exchange: Transmission in Medieval Art and Architecture of the Mediterranean, ca. 1000-1500. 2013, 4-5, pp. 339-381. https://doi.org/10.1163/15700674-12342116
Johns C.N. Excavations at Pilgrims’ Castle, ’Atlit (1932): The Ancient Tell and the Outer Defences of the Castle. Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities in Palestine 3 (1934). Aldershot, 1997.
Katanoff N.Th. Uber die Bestattungsgebrauche bei den Turkstammen Central-und Ostasiens. Keleti Szemle. 1900, I.
Keen M. Chivalry. New-Haven; London, 1984.
Koch R. Der Glasbecher der heiligen Elisabeth in Coburg. Sankt Elisabeth: Furstin, Dienerin, Heilige. Sigmaringen, 1981, pp. 272-284.
Lasko P. Ars Sacra 800-1200. New Haven, 1995.
Mahmūd al-Kāšgarī. Compendium of the Turkic Dialects (Dīwān Luγāt at-Turk). Part I. Duxburi. Mass, 1982.
Malinowska-Łazarczyk H. Cmentarzysko średniowieczne w Cedyni. Szczecin, 1982.
Millet G. Broderies religieuses de style byzantin. Paris, 1939-1947.
Neşri Mevlana Mehmed. Cihannuma [Osmanlı Tarihi (1288-1485)]. Istanbul, 2008 (online версія: http://www.theeuropeanlibrari.org/tel4/record/3000079077705).
Panofsky E. Abbot Suger on the Abbey Church of St.-Denis and Its Art Treasures (2nd ed.). Princeton, 1979. https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr/52.2.310
Paloczi-Horvath A. Pechenegs, Cumans, Iasians: Steppe Peoples in Medieval Hungary. Budapest, 1989.
Pritsak O. Turkology and the comparative study of Altaic languages: the system of Old Turkic Runic script. Jouranl of Turkish Studies. 1980, vol. 4, pp. 83-100.
Redhouse J.W. A Turkish and English lexicon, shewing in English the significations of the Turkish terms. Konstantinople, 1890.
Rhein und Maas: Kunst und Kultur, 800-1400. Koln, 1973.
Riesch H. Mongolische Pfeilkocher des Mittelalters. Waffen-und Kostumkunde. 2010. Bd. 52. Heft 2, pp. 113-148.
Roux J.-P. La mort chez les peuples altaiques anciens et medievaux d’apres les documents ecrits. Paris, 1963.
Roux J.-P. Etudes d’iconographie islamique: Quelques objets numineux des Turcs et des Mongols. Leuven, 1982.
Sauerlander W. “The Year 1200”, a Centennial Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art February 12 May 10, 1970. The Art Bulletin. 1971, vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 506-516. https://doi.org/10.1080/00043079.1971.10790547
Schulze-Dorrlamm M. Das Reichsschwert: ein Herrschaftszeichen des Saliers Heinrich IV. und des Welfen Otto IV: mit dem Exkurs der Verschollene Gurtel Kaiser Ottos IV. Sigmaringen, 1995.
Selmeczi L. Ajaszok es kunok tortenet. “Szolnok megye a nepek orszagutjan”. Szolnok megye tortenete a regeszeti leletek tukreben. Szolnok, 1982, pp. 77-82.
Ševčenko N.P. Close Encounters: Contact between Holy Figures and the Faithful as Represented in Byzantine Works of Art. Byzance et les images (ed. A. Guillou). Paris: Musee du Louvre Editions, 1994, pp. 257-285.
Simonenko A. Eine sarmatische Bestattung von sudlichen Bug. Eurasia Antiqua. 1997, no. 3, pp. 389-407.
Schmid A.A. Le saint Crucifix de Belfaux. Le saint Crucifix de Belfaux: son histoire: Les pelerinages, les eglises et les chapels de la paroisse (1920-1986). Fribourg, 1986.
Stark S. Die Altturkenzeit in Mittel-und Zentralasien. Archaologische und historische Studien (Nomaden und Sesshafte, Band 6). Wiesbanden, 2008.
Taralon J. Les tresors des eglises de France. Paris, 1965.
Tarih-i Na’ima: Ravzatu’l-Huseyn fi hulasati ahbari’l-hafikayn (Hazırlayan M. İpşirli). Ankara, 2007.
The Secret History of the Mongols: AMongolian Epic Chronicle of the Thirteenth Centuri. 2015 (http://cedar.wwu.edu/cedarbooks/4/).
“The Year 1200”. ACentennial Exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1970.
Tryjarski E. Zwyczaje pogrzebowe ludow tureckich na tle ich wierzeń. Warszawa, 1991.
Ugglas af C.R. Gotlandska silverskatter fran Valdermarstagets tid. Stockholm, 1936.
Ugglas af C.R. Det stora baltespasspannet i Duneskatten jamte en omprovning av den gotlandska Tingstade-mastarens kronologi. Fornvannen. 1937, pp. 257-274.
Vasary I. Cumans and Tatars. Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans, 1186-1365. Cambridge, 2005. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511496622
Wachowski K. Profilierte Schnallen in Mittelosteuropa. Zeitschrift fur Archaologie des Mittelalters. 1994. Jahrgang 22, pp. 181-186.
Wehr H. A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic. NY, 1976.
Woodfin W.T. Liturgical Textiles. Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261-1557). NY, 2004, pp. 294-299.
Woodfin W.T. The Embodied Icon: Liturgical Vestments and Sacramental Power in Byzantium. Oxford, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199592098.001.0001
Woodfin W.T. Within a Budding Grove: Dancers, Gardens, and the Enamel Cup from the Chungul Kurgan. The Art Bulletin. 2016, vol. 98, 2, pp. 151-180. https://doi.org/10.1080/00043079.2016.1108148
Woodfin W.T., Rassamakin Yu., Holod R. Foreign Vesture and Nomadic Identity on the Black Sea Littoral in the Early Thirteenth Centuri. Costume from the Chungul Kurgan. Ars Orientalis. 2010, vol. 38, pp. 155-186.
Zudulo sasok. Uj honfoglalok besenyok, kunok, jaszok a kozepkori Alfoldon es a Mezőföldon. Gyula, 1996.

Abstract views: 557
PDF Downloads: 418
Published
2016-12-22
Section
Articles

Most read articles by the same author(s)