The History of Kazakhstan from the Earliest Period to the Present time. Volume I. Zhanat Kundakbayeva

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СКАЧАТЬ are not as united as in respect to language and script. The most important for historiographical study of runes is classification of the monuments on their regional, political and genre affiliation.

      Despite the huge territory of spreading (from the Orkhon Valley to Danube, from Yakutia to Gobi), monuments known by now are grouped in relatively limited regions cultural and political centers of ancient Turkic tribal unions; on the regional sign can be marked out of following seven groups of the Orhono-Yenisei inscriptions: Baikal, Yenisei, Mongolian, Altai, East Turkestan, Central Asian, and East European. Accordingly they belong to the breeding the union of the Kurgan, the empire of the Kirghiz, the empire of the Eastern Turks, the empire of the Western Turks, the empire of the Uigurs (in Mongolia), the state of the Uigurs (in Eastern Turkistan), Khazars (Chazars) and Pechenegs. Monuments of Northern Mongolia are mainly concentrated in the basins of the Orkhon River, Tola and Selenga. To this group belong the largest of known runic texts – monuments erected in honour of Bilge Khagan и Kultigin (Khoshoo Tsaidam Monuments), the Tonyukuk monument, the Ongin inscription, monuments erected in honour of Kuli-chur, the Selenga stone, the Karabalgasun inscription and also ten inscriptions of Hoito-Temir, two inscriptions of Ikhe-Ashete, the Kentei inscription, small inscriptions from Hangai and Gobi. Usually this group of inscriptions is called the Orkhon monuments. Monuments of the Yenisei Valley can be divided into two sub-groups-Tuva and Minusinsk. To this group belong over 70 discovered by now inscriptions on gravestones, rocks, gold and silver vessels, coins. The Baikal group of monuments numbers thirty seven short inscriptions on rocks reading of which is extremely difficult, and several inscriptions on small domestic objects (spinners). The number of rock inscriptions can be increased if to consider as a runic script the rune-like signs, registered in mainly points of the Baikal region and the upper reaches of the Lena River. The Altai monuments are not very numerous. For the present is known only one rock inscription from the Charysh river valley (the North of Altai) and several inscriptions on silver vessels, found in burial places. The Eastern Turkestan monuments include four inscriptions on the Wall of the ancient building in Turfan (also known as Turfan) and several large texts on paper from Miran and Dunhuang. The Central Asian group of monuments can be divided into two sub-groups- Semirechye, to which belong inscription on gravestones (five inscriptions from the Talas river valley), coins, domestic objects and a wooden stick. Second group of monuments consists from Fergana valley monuments, which include several short inscriptions on ceramics and metal. The Eastern Europe monuments are like the runic signs, discovered in the Northern Caucuses. To the regional group of monuments corresponds their historical and political classification. Eastern Turk khaganate monuments to which belong the largest part of inscriptions on Northern Mongolia (the Orkhon monuments) and perhaps, monuments of Altai, can be defined as proper and Fergana Turk monuments or to be precise, as monuments of the Turk tribal Union. All the dated inscriptions go to the VIII century, but it is not excluded, that some small inscriptions can be dated with the VII c. The Kyrghyz state monuments are represented with inscriptions from the Yenisei valley and the Sudzhinsk stela dated with the VII-XII c. The Kurykan tribal union monuments (VIII-X cc. include the Lena-Baikal region group of inscriptions). The Western Turk khaganate monuments include both the Semirechye and Fergana inscriptions. Through the upper date of this monuments is defined rather clearly (VIII c.), but their lower chronological border is less clear. The most probable date can be VI-VII cc. The Uighurs khaganate monuments in Mongolia, to which belong the Selenga stone and Karabalgasun inscription are dated with the second half of the VIII-the beginning of the IX c. The Uighurs State monuments in Eastern Turkestan dated with the IX-X cc. include both texts on paper and also four wall inscriptions from Turfan. The Pechenegs tribal Union monuments are spread on comparatively vast territory. To which belong the Eastern European rune, a wooden stick from Semirechye and perhaps, Northern Caucasia runes-shaped inscriptions. Genre belonging of monuments is very diverse and allows to make out not less than six groups of inscriptions: a) historical-bibliographical stone letters-both memorial and also in their lifetime praises of deads of the most eminent representatives of the Turkic, Uighur and Kyrghyz nobility, frst of all members of the Khagan clan or persons close to them, made up by their closest relatives or by them themselves. Such kind of inscriptions, to which belong the Khoshoo Tsaidam Stelae, the Tonyukuk monument, the Ongin inscription, monuments erected in honour of Kuli-chur, the Selenga stone, the Karabalgasun and Sudzhinsk stelae, combine descriptions of historical events, in which to some extent the hero of the inscription or his ancestors participated, with rendering social or political views of the author of the text, of a kind of declarations, program and to some extent, agitation meaning of which is obvious. Epitaph lyrics of the of Yenisei and Semirechye texts – gravestone inscriptions, described by the S. Malov as "cemetery poetry" of the Ancient Turk epoch. These as a rule, short inscriptions written on the certain standards and contain mentions of the hero’s name and title, his age, several the most important events of his life (without description of the environment, these events were connected with and vital good things, that deceased "had not enjoyed"). Memorable inscriptions on rocks, stones and structures marking some vent in their authors’s life (ten inscriptions of Hoito-Temir, the Kentei inscription, the Charysh inscription, the inscription Tonyukuk mausoleum). Sometimes inscriptions of such kind contain only several words, telling about the object or mentioning the author’s relation to it. Magic and religious texts (on a paper) from Eastern Turkestan, to which belong the Eastern Turkestan runes on paper – "The book of fortunetelling" – the treatise about magic properties of stones, fragments of the treatise of Manichaean content. Legal documents on paper from Dunhuan and Turfan were defined as separate group. And the last group of this classification is marks on household objects- inscriptions on metal vessels and mirrows, ceramics, coins. Such a kind of marks usually contain the owner or master’s name, good wishes or data connected with functional purpose of the object (directions on capacity of the vessel or the coin rate). It is doubtful whether ancient Turkic script was used somewhere after XII c. In Central Asia it was supplanted at first with the Uighur and then Arabic script, spreading among those Turkic peoples, who adopted Islam.

      Control questions:

      1. Prove the following statement: Turkic script rendered rather well phonetic peculiarities of the Turkic language.

      2. Who, where and when discovered Turkic inscriptions?

      3. What classifications of Turkic inscriptions are there in present science?

      4. Show the essence of the genre belonging of Turkic inscriptions.

      5. What was the history of the Turkic script deciphering?

      Task for independent study:

      Write 500 words essay on the topic: "The significance of the Ancient Turkic culture in the World history".

      Control questions for part II:

      1. Describe the traditional religious beliefs and practices of ancient Turks

      2. Define the main steps of the Old Turkic script decoder.

      3. Describe the Epigraphic memorials of the Turks.

      4. Delineate the differences among the seven groups the Orhono-Yenisei inscriptions: Baikal, Yenisei, Mongolian, Altai, Eastern Turkistan, Central Asian, and Eastern European.

      5. Prove the following statement: Ancient Turks were widely included in international relations of that time (with the Hephthalite Empire, Sasanian Iran and the Byzantium Empire).

      6. Define the main stages of the First Türkic Empire political history (553–682).

      7. Which territory did the First Turkic Empire occupy during the Muhan khagan (553-572) reign?

      8. What were the political consequences of the Battle of Talas (751) for the Qarluq tribes’ further development

      9. How was the Eurasia Steppe zone territory called in Muslim Sources in the X-XI c. Provide some explanations

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