Abstract
This paper examines how the Turkic worldview and philosophical ideas expressed in the Orkhon inscriptions of Kültegin, the Avesta, the Qabusnama, and the works of Mönke Bi, Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, Yusuf Balasaguni, Yunus Emre, Alisher Navoi, Magtymguly, among others, continued in the 19th century with renewed vigor as a unified Turkicist movement through the legacy of Abai. In the spiritual firmament of the Turkic world, Abai’s name shines brightly alongside such eminent representatives of Eastern civilization as Al-Farabi, Yasawi, Nizami, Fuzuli, Navoi, and Magtymguly. While researching the culture and history of the Near East, Abai became familiar with the works of al-Tabari, Rabghuzi, Rashid al-Din, Babur, Abulghazi Bahadur Khan, and others. He also grasped the foundations of logic and Islamic law as interpreted by Eastern religious scholars. Abai was well-versed not only in the ancient cultural heritage of the Near East but also in its contemporary intellectual life. He was also familiar with the works of the first Tatar enlighteners.