THE WHITE TSAR

In the political lexicon of Russia's Turkic neighbors, the term ‘White Tsar’ appeared much earlier—in the sixteenth century. In 1519, the Ottomans referred to Grand Prince Vasily III (reigned 1505–1533) in this manner. His son, Ivan IV (reigned 1533–1584), was never called ‘the Terrible’ during his lifetime. Instead, he was often referred to as ‘White Ivan’. The title ‘White Tsar’ appears in various correspondence between the Nogais, Crimea, Siberia, Kazan, Bashkirs, Turkmen, Uzbeks, Karakalpaks, the peoples of the Caucasus, and Mongolian tribes such as the Khalka, Jungars, Buryats, and Kalmyks. In sources related to Kazakhstan, the term ‘Ak Khan’, ‘White Tsar’ or ‘White Tsarina’, appears from the eighteenth century onwards, when serious diplomatic contact began between Russia and the khans of the Kazakh Juzes.

The veneration of the color white can be found in almost all communities across the world. In Mongolian and Turkic cultures, white and blue are the colors of the god Tengri. White symbolizes purity, holiness, happiness, and other similar ideas. In the eighteenth century, Buryat lamas even declared the Russian empresses Elizabeth Petrovna (reigned 1741–62) and Catherine II (reigned 1762–96) to be incarnations of White Tara (Tsagaan Dara Ekh in Mongolian). She is considered one of Buddhism's principal bodhisattvas (enlightened beings) and is represented in twenty-one forms, one of which is white. White Tara personifies purity and wisdom, symbolized by seven eyes—one on each palm, each sole, and the forehead. It is a fact that both empresses did indeed do much for the Buddhists of the empire. Elizabeth Petrovna, in 1741, acknowledged the ‘Lamaism faith’ and established the number of datsans and lamas in the empire. In 1764, Catherine II created the position of Pandito Khambo Lama, the head of Buddhists in Eastern Siberia and Transbaikalia, thus recognizing Buddhism as one of Russia's state religions. However, other peoples hardly had enough grounds to consider Russian rulers pure and holy. The relationship between the peoples of the steppe and the Ottomans with Russia was rather tense and dramatic.

Some historians have noted that the word ‘white’ was sometimes used as a synonym for freedom and independence. In Russian, it was also used to refer to lands exempt from taxation. However, these qualities were not characteristic of the Russian ruler, who, even in the early sixteenth century, paid tribute to the heirs of the Horde and, in essence, continued to do so until much later as well. This, however, begs the question—why were the khans of the Great Horde, Crimea, or Kazan never called white?

The idea that Russia is connected to the Ak Horde, or the White Horde, does not hold up to any scrutiny. The Ak Horde was one of the two wings of the Ulus of Jochiior the Golden Horde, and some scholars believe that the Ak Horde referred to the western part of the Ulus, whose legacy the Moscow tsar supposedly claimed. However, many historians argue that the White Horde actually referred to the eastern part of the Ulus. Moreover, the tsars themselves never called themselves white. Finally, the original sources from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries of the Horde do not mention any ‘white khan’.

Some scholars propose a simpler and more plausible theory: ak and tsagaanimeaning ‘white’ in Turkic and Mongolian respectively might actually mean ‘western’ rather than ‘white’. This meaning of ‘white’ exists in the epics of the South Siberian Turks, among the Kalmyks, and even in Chinese mythology. In Old Russian, ‘white’ also meant ‘western’, which is allegedly why the westernmost part of Kievan Rus was called White Rus.

However, the mystery does not end there. In different Russian traditions, the term ‘white tsar’ first appeared in the mid-fifteenth century, a bit earlier than it entered the vernacular of the Ottomans and Russia's steppe neighbors. However, there are perhaps only two mentions of the white tsar from this period, and it is uncertain whether the peoples of the steppe influenced these mentions. Foreign observers, also curious about the origins of this strange title, noted in the early sixteenth century that the grand prince wore a white headdress (apparently different from Monomakh's Cap), his personal guards, the ryndy, were dressed in white, and his throne was made of white bone. How these details are connected to the title is, however, still unclear. In addition, mentions of the white tsar in official documents unrelated to the Turks and Mongols are extremely rare. However, in oral folklore, this is a well-established image.

In Christianity, ‘white’ is the traditional symbol of divine light, the opposite of the devil's darkness. In its iconography, white is the color of Jesus Christ. The tsar, as God's anointed ruler, was conceived as his earthly counterpart, the bearer and protector of divine light and true faith, as is clear from this excerpt from Golubinaya KnigaiGolubinaya Kniga (Book of the Dove) is a book of Russian spiritual verse dated to the late fifteenth to early sixteenth century. However, the earliest copies of its manuscript are known only from the seventeenth century.

«We have a white tsar, the tsar of tsars.
Why is the white tsar the tsar of tsars?
Because he holds the baptized faith,
The baptized faith, the devout faith …»

It is possible that the image of the white tsar traces back to the oldest Indo-European archetypes. The Russian word ‘belyi’ (‘белый’or ‘white’) is related to the ancient Indian words ‘bhalam’ (shine) and ‘bhati’ (to shine). Similarly, the word ‘svet’ (‘свет’ or ‘light’) is connected to the classical Sanskrit word ‘cvetas’ (meaning ‘light’, ‘white’; in modern Hindi, the word is ‘shvet’ meaning ‘white’). There is also a theory linking the epithet ‘white’ to the Sanskrit word ‘bala’ meaning ‘power’ (compared to ‘balaksa’ meaning ‘white’).

Power–light–white–shine–tsar: undoubtedly, all these connections sound mysterious and beautiful. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that the vivid image of the white tsar in Russian folklore came from the steppe peoples and fell upon fertile ground. What was a technical term for ‘western ruler’ to some was perceived by others as a beautiful metaphor associated with divine radiance and the mystique of power.

Жуковская Н.Л. Категории и символика традиционной культуры монголов. — М., 1988.

Трепавлов В.В. «Белый царь». Образ монарха и представления о подданстве у народов России XV–XVIII вв. — М., 2007.