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A kurultai (/kʊrʊlˈtaɪ/, lit. 'gathering'), also called a qurultai, was a political and military council of ancient Mongol and Turkic chiefs and khans.

Etymology

The root of the term is from the hypotheticalProto-Mongolic verb *kura-, *kurija- 'to collect, to gather' whence khural 'meeting, assembly' in Mongolic languages. From this same root arises the Mongolian word хурим khurim 'feast', which originally referred to large festive gatherings on the steppe, but it is now used mainly in the sense of 'wedding'. However, according to the Old Turkic–Russian dictionary [ru], the oldest recorded pre-Ghengizid mention of the root word "Qur" is found in Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk, where it was used as a verb meaning 'to assemble, to assemble into a formation, to build'.

Mongol Empire

All Great Khans of the Mongol Empire, for example Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan, were formally elected in a Kurultai; khans of subordinate Mongol states, such as the Golden Horde, were elected by a similar regional Kurultai.

During the Kurultai, Mongol Chiefs would convene to choose the next Great Khan. The Kurultai was often, but not always, held in the capital of the Mongolian empire. They were also a time to assign all critical positions of leadership, as well as an opportunity to decide the militaristic direction to be implemented under the new Khan and aforementioned new leadership.

After the new khan has been elected, an elaborate enthronement procedure followed. Johann Schiltberger, a 15th-century German traveler, described the installation of a new Golden Horde khan as follows (quoted in):

When they choose a king, they take him and seat him on white felt, and raise him in it three times. Then they lift him up and carry him round the tent, and seat him on a throne, and put a golden sword in his hand. Then he must be sworn as is the custom.

Kurultai were imperial and tribal assemblies convened to determine, strategize and analyze military campaigns and assign individuals to leadership positions and titles. Genghis Khan was declared Khan in the Kurultai of 1206 CE. Most of the major military campaigns were first planned out at assemblies such as this and there were minor and less significant Kurultai under the Mongol Empire under political subordinate leaders and generals.

The Kurultai, however, required the presence of the senior members of the tribes participating, who were also military leaders. Thus, the deaths of Ögedei and Möngke in 1241 CE and 1259 CE, respectively, necessitated the withdrawal of Mongol leaders (and troops) from the outskirts of Vienna and Venice (in 1241) and from Syria (in 1259), hamstringing military operations against the Austrians and Mamluks that might otherwise have continued.

Although the Kurultai was a serious political event in the Mongol world, it was also a festival of sorts including great feasting and various traditional games. Many of these traditions have been carried on in the modern-day Mongolian event Naadam, which includes Mongolian wrestling, horse racing and archery competitions.

Modern usage

Politics

Various modern Mongol and Turkic peoples use it in the political or administrative sense, as a synonym for parliament, congress, conference, council, assembly, convention, gathering. Examples are: the World Qoroltai of the Bashkirs, Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar People, the National Kurultai of Kazakhstan, the People's Kurultai of Kyrgyzstan, the State Great Khural of Mongolia, the State Assembly — Kurultai of Bashkortostan, the People's Khural of Buryatia, El Kurultai of Altai Republic and Kurultáj held today in Hungary.

Language

In Mongolian, the following forms of the word are still in use today: khuraldai, khuraldaan and khural. Ulsin Deed Shuukhiin Khuraldaan means "session of the National Supreme Court".

Other spellings include: kurultay, qurultay, qurıltai, qorıltay, and qoroltay.

The word has several modern usages in the modern Turkish language as well, e.g. Yükseköğretim Kurulu "Higher Education Council", genel kurul toplantısı "general board meeting". Kurultay is also a commonly-used word in modern Turkish meaning "general assembly", such as for organisations, committees etc. Kurmak is also a verb in Turkish meaning "to set up, assemble, put together". It is also used for "extraordinary conventions" (Turkish: Olağanüstü Kurultay) of political parties.

See also

• Great Kurultáj
• Legislature
• Loya Jirga
• Naadam
• State Great Khural
• Thing (assembly)
• Veche
• Witenagemot
• World Nomad Games
• World Turks Qurultai

Notes

1. Derived from Russian хурултай [kʊrʊɫˈtaj], ultimately from Middle Mongol ᠬᠤᠷᠠᠯᠲᠠᠢ Qurŭldai [ˌq͡χʊɾʊ̆ɬˈtaɪ̯] (Modern Mongol: [ˌχʊɾə̆ɬˈtæː]), whence Chinese 忽里勒台 Hūlǐlēitái (Dungan: Хўрылтэ); Kyrgyz: Курултай / Qurultay / قۇرۇلتاي; Kazakh: Құрылтай / Qūryltai / قۇرىلتاي; Tatar: Корылтай / Qorıltay; Bashkir: Qoroltay / Ҡоролтай; Yakut: Курултаай / Kurultây; Azerbaijani: Qurultay / Гурултай / قرلتای; Turkmen: Gurultaý / Гурултай; Crimean Tatar: Qurultay / Къурултай; Turkish: Kurultay (Ottoman Turkish: قورلتای).

References

1. Starostin, Dybo, & Mudrak. (2003) Etymological Dictionary of the Altaic Languages "Proto-Mongolian root *kura-, *kurija-"
2. Наделяев, В.М. (1969). Древнетюркский словарь [Old-Turkic dictionary] (in Russian). Ленинград: Наука Ленинградское отделение. p. 467.
3. Tan, Koon San (15 August 2014). Dynastic China : an elementary history. Kuala Lumpur. ISBN 978-9839541885. OCLC 898313910.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
4. Commander J. Buchan Telfer, "The Bondage and Travels of Johann Schiltberger". (London, Hakluyt Society, 1879)
5. George Vernadsky, "The Mongols and Russia". (Yale University Press, 1953)
6. Michael., Burgan (2009). Empire of the Mongols (Rev. ed.). New York: Chelsea House. ISBN 9781604131635. OCLC 276930428.
7. Шаяхметова, Жанна (16 June 2022). "First National Kurultai Outlines Priorities, Seeks to Strengthen National Unity and Encourage Broader Public Involvement in Decision-Making". The Astana Times.
8. "National Kurultai established in Kazakhstan - Kazakh culture and traditions, Nature, Kazakh food, Nomads, Kazakhstan, Qazaqstan | Jibek Joly". 15 June 2022.
9. "КОНСТИТУЦИОННЫЙ ЗАКОН КЫРГЫЗСКОЙ РЕСПУБЛИКИ О Народном Курултае - Официальный сайт Президента Кыргызской Республики".
10. "Turkish Dictionary for Language Learners and Travelers to Turkey". www.turkishdictionary.net.

External links

• Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar people
• A video (in the Bashkir language) about the Second World Qoroltay of the Bashkirs

• Mongolian words and phrases
• Historical legislatures
• History of the Turkic peoples
• Mongol Empire
• Elective monarchy