Mongol Empire

As the largest land empire in history, the Mongol Empire (1206–1260) embraced an immense diversity of cultures and religious traditions throughout Asia and Europe. The vast religious pluralism that characterized the Mongol Empire enriched the Mongolian indigenous culture and influenced the vocabulary of the Mongolian language. Genghis (also transliterated as Chinggis) Khan, the father of the Mongol Empire, and his successors believed that his ruling lineage was given sovereignty over the earth by the mandate of Eternal Heaven (Möngke Tenggri), which destines all things. He and his successors regularly worshipped Eternal Heaven and consulted it at times of need through their chief shamans. A tent for the chief shamans always stood in front of the khan's palace, while the tents of other shamans who performed various functions stood behind his palace. Shamans had an important political role at the khan's court; they made astrological observations and predictions, presided over calendarical ceremonies, performed magic in times of war or to control the weather, and so forth.

The Mongols’ interest in religion centered primarily on the pragmatic concerns of pastoral and nomadic life and on immediate goals. This facilitated their receptivity to any religious practice that could potentially yield desired results.

Despite the fact that shamanism was a dominant religion at the court of the Mongol Empire, the Mongol rulers never imposed shamanism or any other unified religion on their empire. The religious pluralism that characterized the Mongol Empire was due to the policy of religious tolerance first espoused by Genghis Khan and later upheld by his ruling heirs. Out of respect for other religious traditions, Genghis Khan spared religious buildings from destruction during his military campaigns. His policy of religious tolerance was rooted in the Mongolian civic religion revolving around Eternal Heaven, which the Mongols considered unitary and thus the same as Allah for Muslims, God for Christians, and Heaven (tian) for the Chinese. Once the Mongols came into contact with Buddhism, they also thought of supernatural entities (deva) from the Buddhist religion as tenggris. For this reason, the Mongol rulers viewed the major religions of their empire as converging on the same God and therefore as deserving equal status and support. Starting with Genghis Khan onward, the Mongol emperors exempted the clergy and scholars of Islam, Christianity, Daoism, and Buddhism from military service and taxes, and in turn, these religious scholars were expected to serve the empire and pray for the well-being of their Mongol rulers. However, such religious egalitarianism was by no means all-inclusive or free from sectarian intrigues—the supported religious groups were limited to the major orthodox traditions and to religious authorities who held state power within the individual territories of the empire. At times, the Mongol rulers suppressed and even eliminated religious groups (e.g., Isma'illis, Dhutaists, or “heretical” Ch'an Buddhists) that were subversive to the empire or were deemed heretical by the religious authorities of the recognized traditions. Prior to 1260, the Mongol khans also denied Jewish, Zoroastrian, and Manichean priests the status and privileges of the recognized clergy; however, they never attempted to persecute these traditions.

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