Case file · Sacred site
The tomb of Manas, Talas
Kyrgyz tradition holds that the 14th-century gumbez near Talas is the tomb of the epic hero Manas, though its inscription names a woman, Kenizek-Khatun.
1334 CE · 42.52, 72.38 · status: legend
The account
Legend says Manas's widow Kanykei had the inscription carved to mislead enemies who would desecrate his grave. The site is a national shrine of the Kyrgyz.
The sceptical view
Manas is a figure of oral epic; the mausoleum's inscription dates it to 1334 for a different person.