The tomb of Pugu Yitu (), also known as the Shoroon Dov Kurgan, is a Tang dynasty-style Turkic burial structure dating to 678. It was excavated in 2009 by a joint Russian-Mongolian team in Zaamar District, Töv Province, west of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia about north-east of the banks of the Tuul River and close to the 10th-century Khitan town of Khermen Denzh on the banks of the Tuul River.
The tomb has been robbed but still contains an epitaph inscription in Classical Chinese that describes Pugu Yitu's career as a Tang-appointed ruler of the Pugu tribe in the Tiele Confederation. Pugu Yitu was given the title of Dudu (都督) or Commander-in-Chief of the Jinweizhou (金微州) protectorate under the Tang's Jimi system. The nearby tomb of Shoroon Bumbagar was never looted and therefore was found to hold far more artifacts including an intact door, many statues and wall paintings of people, dragons and temples, although there is no inscription. The tomb of Pugu Yitu is unusual in that it has an inscription. Apart from the cover inscription of Pugu Yitu measuring with 4 lines of 3 characters each, the main inscription has 28 lines with 31 characters each.
Tomb Excavation Two Tang dynasty-style tombs were excavated in central Mongolia in 2009 and 2011. Each tomb was marked by a large pounded-earth tumulus that the Mongolian herders called shoroon bumbagar, or "dirt ball". One of the tombs contains a Chinese language epitaph in the Tang-style stating that the tomb belongs to Pugu Yitu, the leader of the Pugu tribe of the Tiele Confederation. It is located in Zaamar District of Töv Province in Mongolia. The second tomb is located away in Bayannuur, Bulgan. The naming of the two tombs is inconsistent and the second tomb has been called the Shoroon Bumbagar tomb as well as the Bayannuur tomb while the tomb of Pugu Yitu has been called the Shoroon Dov tomb. Both tombs are located about west of the modern capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, and northeast of the Orkhon River valley, which served as the center of power for both the Second Turkic Khaganate and the Uyghur Khaganate.
Design Above the tomb chamber is a "dirt ball" five to tall. The walled enclosure measures . The tomb's construction displays the typical Tang shaft-tunnel method. The entrance faces the southwest and the total length from the entrance to the rear of the burial chamber measures in length. The tunnel is sloped and contains three airshafts with a pair of facing niches under the second shaft. The shafts and ramp were backfilled after the burial. The epitaph stone and cover were placed at the end of the ramp on the floor of the antechamber. The antechamber and the dome chamber were separated by a brick sealing door that was broken by tomb robbers. The chamber is nearly square shaped about long and across. The only major difference between Pugu Yitu's tomb and an elite Tang tomb is the lack of a coffin platform. Remains of a coffin or coffins were left on the floor by the robbers.
Despite lacking an epitaph, the second tomb and Pugu Yitu's tomb contain significant similarities such as their designs, figurines, and chemical composition, leading to theories that the second tomb is also the burial place of a Tiele tribal leader under Tang vassalage. Unlike Pugu Yitu's tomb, the second one has a larger perimeter. The park is larger with a rectangular earthen wall about and a "dirt ball" tall. It contains painted murals in the Tang style while Pugu Yitu's tomb does not. It is likely that other Tang-style tombs were constructed nearby due to the discovery of a fragment of a Chinese stele and more "dirt ball" structures that distinguish them from typical Turkic burials.
According to Anıl Yılmaz, the design of the two tombs is unlike traditional Turkic tombs while similar tombs can be found in China dating to the Wei, Sui, and Tang dynasties. The two tombs are situated along the north-south axis like in China and the cremated remains of the deceased are placed in a wooden box positioned on the western side of the chamber room. The Shoroon Bumbagar tomb's wall murals depict Chinese culture following the same tradition as the Han dynasty and are nearly identical to the ones in the Tang dynasty. Yılmaz argues that the second tomb appears more Chinese and may have been the burial place of a Chinese person, possibly a princess who had been married to a Turkic ruler. According to the accompanying epitaph, the Tang government paid for the funerary expenses and assigned Qu Zhao as part of the condolence delegation, which might explain the Chinese designs of the two tombs.
Artifacts
Aside from the epitaph, the tomb contained at least 75 terracotta figurines and remains of over 40 wooden ones, all of which were painted. The painted wooden figurines of humans, animals, and mythical beasts were preserved due to the arid climate. There were 54 standing honor guards and 16 horsemen made of clay. In the tomb chamber there were three standing terracotta guardian kings and two squatting guardian beasts. All the terracotta figurines are in the same style as objects found in Chang'an and the artisans were likely trained there.
Epitaph Context The epitaph is the earliest securely dated text discovered in Mongolia and contains information on diplomatic and military relations between the Tang and Turkic leaders in Mongolia from the 640s through the late 670s. During this period, the Tang vassalized the Pugu and other Tiele tribes, although both gained advantages from this relationship. The Tiele cavalry forces aided the Tang in their military campaigns while the Tiele were given gifts and Tang military support against their nomadic enemies.
The inscription was laid flat on the ground in front of the brick-faced main chamber where a number of painted statuettes were found. It reflects the perspective of the Tang state and details the service which Pugu Yitu, his father, and his grandfather rendered to the Tang. There is little information about local history and no signs that the Pugu contributed to its contents. The epitaph was likely created by a Tang official based on Pugu Yitu's record at the Ministry of Personnel (libu). This is seen in the style of the epitaph, its straightforward references to the Confucian classics and official Chinese histories, and stereotypical depiction of the Pugu as northern natives who were loyal to the Tang.
The craftsmanship of the epitaph as well as the Chinese inscription at Bilge Qaghan's memorial is noticeably inferior to the examples found at the Tang capital. The subpar workmanship likely points to difficulty in finding skilled artisans to travel to Mongolia and the epitaph was probably too heavy to transport from China and had to be made locally. In contrast, the calligraphy of the Kul Tigin stele is relatively good.
Inscription The cover inscription has the following text: 大唐金/微都督/仆固府/君墓志 (Memorial inscription of the Gentlemanly Lord of Pugu Prefecture of Jinweizhou of the Great Tang)
The main inscription has the following text:
Pugu Yitu
Background The Pugu people belonged to the Tiele Confederation that rebelled against the First Turkic Khaganate in 627. After the Eastern Turks were defeated by the Tang in May 630, the Pugu clan were subsumed by the Xueyantuo, a Turkic people who filled the power vacuum in northern Mongolia. The Pugu, Tongluo, and Xueyantuo each sent separate embassies to the Tang in 629 and the Uyghurs later sent one in 638 as well. The Tang supported rebellions among their subordinate tribes and together they defeated the Xueyantuo in August 646. The multi-pronged attack involving Tang infantry, Mohe troops, Uyghur, Tongluo, and Pugu cavalry destroyed the Xueyantuo. Among the Tang expeditionary army were other Turks in the Tang military such as Ashina She'er, the brother-in-law of Tang Taizong, and Zhishi Sili and Qibi Heli, also in-laws, who commanded an assortment of Turkic, foreign, and regular Tang troops.
The continued alliance between the Tiele and the Tang was sealed in a series of rituals following their victory over the Xueyantuo. The tribal leaders requested a visit to the Tang court. In response, Taizong travelled to Lingzhou for a preliminary meeting. The envoys of eleven tribes, including the Uyghurs, Pugu, and Qibi offered submission and tribute while the emperor treated them to a banquet. A Tang ambassador was sent to bestow imperial investiture on the tribal leaders. Several thousand Tiele dignitaries met with Taizong at Lingzhou in late October 464 to offer a ritual request to serve him: "Your slaves [subordinate vassals] beseech Heaven's Most August to serve as our Heavenly Qaghan (Tian Kehan 天可汗)".
In December, Taizong hosted a banquet in Chang'an for the 11 Tiele chiefs including Eltabar Tumidu of the Uyghurs and Eltabar Gelan Bayan, the grandfather of Pugu Yitu. Taizong gifted them valuable items, including silk robes, gold and silver, and precious swords. In February 647, the Tiele chiefs were appointed as imperial officials governing Jimi "bridle" counties, prefectures, and area commands. They were given the credentials of Tang officials in the form of bronze fish tallies to signify their status and identity. In practice, they retained their traditional leadership structure. Following the bestowal of credentials, there was a drinking party and finally, a ritual request from the chiefs for the creation of a postal relay system from central Mongolia to Shanyu Plateau.
The Tiele were divided into six area commands and seven prefectures under the Yanran Protectorate (later renamed to Hanhai and Anbei), located at the Shanyu Plateau north of Wuyuan and west of Baotou. The Uyghurs were organized into the Hanhai Area Command ("Hanhai" referring to the Gobi Desert) covering Mongolia. The Uyghur elteber Tumidu was named Hanhai commander-in-chief. Their administration was indirect. However a road with 68 relay stations linking Uyghur territory to Chang'an was built for them to send tribute missions. According to Jonathan Karam Skaff, the Tiele were "self-governing vassals of the Tang".
Pugu Yitu's career Pugu Yitu, his father Sifu (Si beg), and grandfather Gelan Bayan, were Turkic rulers who had gained Tang recognition under the Jimi loose reign system. The Pugu were one of the most important constituents of the Tiele Confederation under the Xueyantuo and comprised 30,000 tents and 10,000 soldiers. Their leaders held high ranking Turkic titles such as irkin or eltabar. In 647, the Pugu clan accepted the Tang as their suzerain and received the title of dudu (commander-in-chief). Gelan Bayan was succeeded by his son, Sifu, who governed until 657, and his son Pugu Yitu succeeded him, ruling as dudu until 678. Pugu Yitu was 44 years old when he died, making him 22 or 23 years old when he succeeded his father.
After his father's death, Sifu had an audience with the Tang emperor sometime in the 650s and paid obeisance to him. The epitaph then shifts the focus to Pugu Yitu, who is described as brave and skilled at riding and shooting. As a young boy he practiced with the bow while riding on sheep. Unlike his father and grandfather, Pugu Yitu was raised in the Tang palace during his youth. Pugu Yitu was appointed to rule the Pugu after his father's death. According to the records, he was a confident leader who aligned himself with Tang foreign policy and aided them several times in military expeditions. He participated in the Tang campaigns against the Western Turks in 658 as well as Tang wars against the Tibetan Empire in 666 and 670. The epitaph describes the Pugu forces as an "army of fierce bears" that suppressed the Western Turks and claims that Pugu Yitu attacked the camp of the Western Turks, capturing their banner.