Buddhist symbolic on medieval toreutics of South Siberia

Introduction . The aim of this article is to provide a historical, sociological and cultural study of the origin and semantics of the ornament on a number of bronze, copper, and silver artifacts, originating from archaeological excavations or random finds in the territory of Southern Siberia. There are archaeological collections in South Siberia museums which contain decorative and applied arts made of metal, having a similar shape, functional purpose and decorated with relief ornament, the compositional center of which is the so-called “endless knot” or “knot of happiness”. This ornament in a somewhat complicated form is preserved in the decorative and applied art of some peoples (Tuvans, Buryats) of the Sayan-Altai region until the present times. The objective of this article is to reveal the semantics of this ornament based on the analysis of Buddhist and Manichaean texts and images. The direct subject of paleosociological reconstructions in this work are the migrations of medieval ethnic groups (Uigurs, Yenisei Kyrgyz) - carriers of this religious and ideological ideas. These ideas, being fixed in the objects of material culture, are the object of scientific analysis. Methods. In the work applied historical-genetic, retrospective methods and the method of art history analysis. Analysis . With the involvement of additional archaeological and historical sources, the ethnocultural context of the spread of Buddhist and Manichean beliefs is set against the backdrop of the struggle of the medieval Kyrgyz and the Uygur kaganate. The syncretism of religious representations of the population of this region (elements of Buddhism, Manichaeism, and shamanism) is proved. Traced the links with the cultural centers of Central and South Asia and the Middle East. The hypothesis of the early (VIII-IX centuries) penetration of elements of Buddhism in Southern Siberia is substantiated. Conclusion . It is proved that the Buddhist symbol “knot of happiness” was borrowed by the syncretic Manichaean religion professed by the Uygurs and Kyrgyz, and brought last to the Sayan-Altai region of Southern Siberia.