Göktürk State Philosophy — Kut (Divine Mandate)

In the Göktürk inscriptions (the later Orkhon Inscriptions) the phrase "the Türk Khagan received his kut from Tengri" recurs. If kut is lost, the khaganate forfeits its legitimacy. The concept resembles the Chinese "Mandate of Heaven", but in the Turkic context it is centred on Tengri. The idea of kut is the foundation of a Turkic political theology extending as far as Ottoman imperial legitimacy.