the ‘outside’ other 73
still a topic of discussion. D. Tikhonov claims that Manichaeism “did
not touch the nomadic periphery” remaining “a religion of the capi-
tal city and the aristocracy ruling the state”.^221 Yet another important
detail should be pointed out. Th e sermons of the founding prophet
Mani and his followers against material things, which were a product
of the “dark power” in the Universe, did not stop the Uighur elite
from increasing its wealth considerably and none of the khagans liv-
ing aft er 763 A.D. seemed to have been seriously bothered by such
developments.^222
However, these confederations tolerated the free confession of other
religions as well, especially the ones of “the Book” or “Scriptures”.
Th is fact made many specialists accept that the nomads were tolerant
towards the other religion. In this aspect, there is a lot of information
about the Khazars and it is provided by various sources (diff ering both
in origin and in genre) confi rming such a conclusion. We fi nd such
information in the “Vita” of St. Abo of Tifl is (present-day Tbilisi in
Georgia) who converted to Christianity in Khazaria since “there are
many towns and villages in the northern country [Khazaria], whose
citizens lead a care-free life, because they believe in Christ”.^223 Th e Ara-
bic sources made a topos the information about the seven supreme
judges in the Khazar khaganate—two each for the Muslims, Christians,
and Jews, and one for the pagans.^224 We have to stress the interest-
ing description of Ibn Rusta and Gardîzî mentioning the exceptional
religious tolerance of the citizens of as-Sarir: on Fridays people living
dian language the Manichaean texts written originally in Syriac, Middle Persian, and
Parthian and aft 221 er that they translated them into Turkic or Chinese dialects.
Tikhonov 1983, 186. At least as the capital Ordubaliq is regarded, no one can
deny the existence of many Manichaeans there. According to the Arab written tra-
dition (Ibn Khordâdhbeh, al-Masʿûdî, Gardîzî, or Tamîm ibn Baḥr), in Ordubaliq
there were also Christians, Buddhists, and magi, e.g. men that followed the rites and
prescriptions of the Ancient Turkic religion; in front of the khagan’s palace, and it
happened every day, there gathered 300–400 men and read the Mani’s books—details
see in, Ibn Khordâdhbeh 1986, 65 and nn. 16–18; Minorsky 1978, 275–305, esp. p. 283.
Tikhonov’s opinion is in tune with Gumilev 2004, 473. Cf. Mackerras 1990, 328; Foltz
1999, 83.
(^222) Mackerras 1990, 334.
(^223) Cited in, Biro 1977, 250 and n. 15.
(^224) Novosel’tsev 1990, 143; Zakhoder 1962, 148.