From: Guven.Guzeldere%STANFORD.BitNet@pucc.PRINCETON.EDU (hq.ggg)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.turkish
Subject: The Words of Ancestors
Date: 10 Jan 1993 23:16:14 -0600
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                   THE WORDS OF ANCESTORS

                      ALTAY AMANJOLOV
 Professor, Turcologist, Alma Ata, Kazakhstan. This article
was published in the journal Bilim Jane Engbek in Alma Ata
in 1982.


The history of the emergence of alphabetic writing, and the
origin of its appearance, is both very complex and full of
unresolved riddles. Even so, alphabetic writing -as the very
great success achieved by world culture, and adding to this
cultural legacy our ancestors own share- is the inheritance
left to the coming generations. One branch of the first
letter writing is found to be the ancient Turkic runic
alphabet. The monuments written with this alphabet are the
indications of the high language culture and level of
knowledge of the ancient Turkic people, and are worth
mentioning more fully.

The territories where these monuments are presently known
are: the Yenisei and Lena river valleys in Siberia, and the
river basins of the Orkhon, Ongin, and Selenga in Mongolia.
The fact of their existence in Central Asia and Kazakhstan
along the Talas and the Syr, and in the canyons of the
Irtish and Ili rivers, is becoming more and more evident.
Scientists called the script of these inscriptions "Orkhon-
Yenisei script" by the names of the rivers where they were
first found. Or, because from the point of view of external
appearance they were somewhat similar to the runes of
Scandinavia, and comparing them to their "secret" signatures
they called them "runic" .

Below we offer for your view the material of Doctor of
philological science, professor Altay Amanzholov who is
carrying out research in the area of this issue, in
connection with the first reading of the Orkhon-Yenisei
script ninety years ago, concerning questions of the reading
public, related to this matter.

Along with the many different conjectures proposed by those
pursuing the solution to the mystery of the Orkhon-Yenisei
script, the actual in key to resolving it became known just
go years ago, that is, at the end of the year 1893. The one
who made the new discovery, who correctly classified the
sound values of the Orkhon-Yenisei symbols was the Danish
scholar, professor Wilhelm Tomsen.

   W. Tomsen dispatched his materials and his hypothesis
about this script by means of a letter to the noted
Turcologist V.V. Radloff. The experienced master of Turkic
languages, Academician V.V. Radloff carefully weighed the
previous researches and the thoughts of his contemporary,
scholars, and, as the result of a long search, in January
1894 made his first translation of the runic writing found
on the monument to Kultegin which was written in the ancient
Turkic language. Thus it was known that one of the monuments
found by Russian researcher N.M. Iudrintsev along the Orkhon
river in in 1889 was placed for Bilge Qaghan (735 a.d.) and
the second for Kultegin (732 a.d.), and their contents were
made completely clear. This news, when it was revealed to
the field of science defined the historical comparative
direction of linguistics, and became a lasting guide post in
the realization of the science of Turcology. Beginning
there, the basis of the science of Turcology was
established, and a new stage in its dissemination began.

   The fact has also become quite evident that the runic
writings found in the ancient Turkic language were written
not only by means of chiseling into stones, but also were
engraved into household goods and various other manufactured
articles. Several runic writings which were displayed on
vessels, dishes, and pots made from clay were found in
Ferghana and by the mouth of the Don River. During the
excavation of old grave barrows in Altai and Khakasia the
archeologists were witnesses to the runic writing engraved
into Large gold and silver dishes, pitchers, small bow and
even into one silver belt buckle. While we say that the
archeological expeditions which were organized at the
beginning of the Twentieth century brought to light
widespread samples of runic writing from East Turkistan
written on paper in the 8th and 9th centuries, a sample of
it was found in the Talas river basin in the southern
environs of Alatau which was carved into a small wooden
stick.

   In the composition of the ancient Turkic runic alphabet
there are 35 letters. In addition to these, four SPecial
written signs (lt, nt, nch, rt) were made use of to give
some voiceless combinations. The script is read from right
to left. This alphabet is found in the graphical system in
which it was consolidated, and corresponds fundamentally to
the phonetic system of the ancient Turkic language. Eight
voiced phonemes (a, e, I with i, o u, oe and ue) (1) with
just four polyphonic letters, sixteen voiceless phonemes
(and phoneme variants) were represented with 31 letters.
Eleven voiceless phonemes (b, d, g, k, l, n, r, s, t, y,
ok/oek) (2) are distinguished along with the symbols of
their thick and thin (back and front) variants. But
sometimes the thin (front) letter is used in place of the
thick (back) letter. Beyond these, five phonemes ((1)q, ich,
ch, m, ny, ng, sh, z) (3) are denoted with just five signs.

   The origin of the runic alphabet, which was the first
alphabetic writing of the Turkic speaking peoples, is a
riddle which will remain unresolved until a day yet to come.
Professor W. Tomsen who found the key to this writing
suggested a hypothesis which says that the ancient Turkic
alphabet emerged from the influence of Aramaic (Perso-
Aramaic and Aramaic-Sogdian) lettered script. A few of the
Turcologists support this opinion. But a second group of
scholars (V. Aristov, A.T. Emre, 1. A. Batmanov) supposed
that it was created independently without any influence of
foreign alphabets at all, that the subsequent script was
borrowed from Turkic brand signs. Only just in the most
recent times are we encountering unexpectedly facts which
supplement the opinion of U. Klaproth half a century ago
which states that the runic alphabet is based on ancient
Greek (and Phoenician) writing. The result of our search in
this field has been published.

   Investigating all of this we lean heavily on the
following questions: "At which time did the ancient Turkic
script appear?, and, "What is the length of the life of the
tradition of this writing?" In reality, is the hypothesis,
which was current up until the latest times and which states
that the appearance of the Turkic alphabet came in the Vth
century, correct? The written evidence found in the last
twenty years is able to give a complete answer.

  F.K. Arslanova, one of the archeologists who decided to
make public the mystery of the ancient barrows on the left
bank of the Irtish river, began the work of digging in 1960.
While researching all of the marks and signs of the barrow
near the village of Bobrovoye of the Pavlodar oblast' which
all of the archeologists had been talking about, she
attributed the grave to the fifth to Fourth centuries
(previous to our era) [BC] , to the Saka period. Various
manufactured items which have the mystery of the age folded
inside such as the remains of a hero and his steed, his
armaments, and a bone amulet which was attached to the
bridle strap, were found at this site. The bone amulet was
carved in the shape of a deer (Maral). This we read from
right to left : "


                      - "White Maral".

   The runic writing on the amulet shows the fact that it
was the script of the distant ancestors of the early Turkic
speaking peoples, the alphabetic script of the Sakas. This
script proves the apparent incorrectness of the previous
conjecture to the effect that the runic script only appeared
in the Fifth century in South Siberia and Kazakhstan and
demonstrates that alphabetic writing had been in use one
thousand years before that. In 1970 a large barrow, put down
in the Saka period (in the V th-IV th centuries before our
era), was dug up near the city of Esik at the foot of the
mountains in the environs of the Ili river. The one who led
the excavation work was K.A. Aghyshev. Inside the tomb were
found the remains of a warrior clothed in gold, a helmet  a
gold dagger and scimitar, various dishes, and a small silver
bowl having cryptic writing resembling runes.

   The 26 rune-like symbols engraved on the outside of the
small silver bowl had been written in two ways. These signs
on the silver bowl, first, are like the ancient Turkic runic
signs, and second, correspond to the alphabetic signs of the
Mediterranean Sea region (especially to the ancient Greek
and Aramaic letters). With that, in the ancient Turkic
language we read this writing from right to left like so:


   Aga, sana ojuq ! Bez joek! Buqun ijra azuq i.

   The translation of this is:

   "Brother, may you have a hearth! May the foreigner
submit! Among the people may provisions be abundant ! "
  While this ancient Turkic writing of the Saka period first
expresses the belief that when a man goes out into the world
and lives, he needs provisions; secondly it shows the
resolution of the people to be victorious over enemies; and
third expresses the wish of the people ho strived for
prosperity and well-being.

   The great value of this writing is that it once again
concretely proves that the language of the Saka peoples, who
settled in the territory of Kazakhstan in early times, was
the ancient Turkic language. Furthermore, it makes clear the
baselessness of the traditional opinion that among the first
nomads in the land of Kazakhstan there was no from of
writing, and it testifies to the fact that Turkic speaking
peoples of 2.5oo years ago knew alphabetic writing and made
use of it widely.

   In conclusion, of the fact that ancient Turkic runic
script was the descendent writing of our distant
forefathers, and was used through i .5oo years there is no
doubt. The facts now in our hands are able to classify such
a lifespan of this alphabet (from the middle of the first
millennium before our era until the end of the first
millenium of our era), and are able to fully satisfy us.
With this, we came to the conclusion that in the early age
in the land of South Siberia and Zhetisu, that is, the
middle period of the first millenium B.C.E., the ancient
Turkic alphabet was consolidated. Not just taking into
account the new archeological facts, the results of
paleographical analysis also proves this. It causes us to
observe able to fully satisfy us. With this, we came to the
conclusion that in the early age in the land of South
Siberia and Zhetisu [yedisu, i.e. Sevenwaters], that is, the
middle period of the first millenium B.G.E., the ancient
Turkic alphabet was consolidated. Not just taking into
account the new archeological facts, the results of
paleographical analysis also proves this. It causes us to
observe the fact that this ancient alphabet is genetically
related to the first alphabets of the Mediterranean Sea
region. Thus, we fully observe the fact that it is closely
related originally to the local types of the ancient Greek
alphabet, and secondly with the Phoenician and its sequel
the early Aramaic alphabet, and furthermore with the ancient
alphabets of Arabia. (More indepth information has been
given about this in the journal "Voprosy lazykoznaniia"
1978, 2).

   The origin of the appearance of ancient Turkic runic
signs is rooted with the history of the appearance of other
ancient alphabets. The ultimate basis of this source of the
runic writing is possibly that of unknown ideographic or
alphabetic writing in the III-II millennia before our era,
but the resemblances specifically with other ancient
alphabets show that their distant origin was the same, what
is more the problem of the emergence of the ancient Turkic
alphabet most likely is unifed with the problem of the
original emergence of general alphabetic writing.


  Enticing so many  scholars, the still great pertinence of
this valuable heritage with its inherent mysteries is
indisputable. We know that the ancient Turkic runic writing,
unifed with world culture, is a remarkable and valuable
treasury whose roots lie deep.

    (1) The items e, I, u, oe and ue within these
parentheses were lacunas im the copy of the English text
given to us; they have been filled in conformity with the
Turkish translation of Mr. Mehmet Olmez.
    (2) The items b, d, g, k, l, n, r, s, t, y,  ok, oek
within these parentheses were lacunas in the copy of the
English text given to us; they have been filled in
conformity with the Turkish translation of Mr. Mehmet Olmez.
    (3) The items q, ich, ch, m, ny, ng, sh, and z within
these parentheses were lacunas in the copy of the English
text given to us; they have been filled in conformity with
the Turkish translation of Mr. Mehmet Olmez.