Abstract

The culture of Turkic peoples has developed since antiquity under the influence of religion, which was practiced at various stages of history. Central Asia, due to its geographical location, has become a region where the interpenetration of various religions took place: Tenrianism, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, Nestorian Christianity, Buddhism and Islam. When studying the issue of the influence of religion in the culture of the Turks in ancient times, publications of runic monuments published by S.E. Malov. To study the transformational processes in the culture of the Turkic peoples of Central Asia, sources of the Muslim period were attracted - the encyclopedic work of Mahmud Kashgari "Sofa meadow at-turk." The studied works of antiquity and the early Middle Ages allowed the author of the article to trace the influence of religion on the worldview of the Turkic peoples, layering in the culture of worldview of various eras of history. It was established that the elements of the traditional culture of the pre-Islamic period did not disappear without a trace, but there was a layering of archetypes on innovations. Common roots, religion contributed to the development of culture in a single line, including the distinctive features of the culture of each representative of the Turkic world. It is concluded that the Turkic peoples of the studied area are united not only by common roots of origin, but also by the dominant religion.

Key words: written sources, Turkic peoples, culture, religion, transformational processes, East Turkestan, Central Asia.