Summary
The Issyk inscription is a yet undeciphered text, possibly in the Kushan script,[1] found in 1969 on a silver bowl in Issyk kurgan in Kazakhstan, dated at approximately the 4th century BC. The context of the burial gifts indicates that it may belong to Saka tribes.
Description edit
The Issyk inscription is not yet certainly deciphered, and is probably in a Scythian dialect, constituting one of very few autochthonous epigraphic traces of that language. János Harmatta, using the Kharoṣṭhī script, identified the language as a Khotanese Saka dialect spoken by the Kushans, tentatively translating:[2]
| Line | Transliteration | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | za(ṃ)-ri ko-la(ṃ) mi(ṃ)-vaṃ vaṃ-va pa-zaṃ pa-na de-ka mi(ṃ)-ri-to | The vessel should hold wine of grapes, added cooked food, so much, to the mortal, |
| 2 | ña-ka mi pa-zaṃ vaṃ-va va-za(ṃ)-na vaṃ. | then added cooked fresh butter on |
Zaur Hasanov (2015) identifies the script as an ancient Turkic language, related or identical to the Orkhon-Yenisei script, and translates it as:[3]
| Line | Transliteration | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | *Dört *bul Küz Sïnglïyï ïr | (Of the) Four Corners (cardinal directions) (the) tribes Syngly sing (acclaim) |
| 2 | Uş yüz yïğ anta ïçïr | Three hundred mourners oath drink (give an oath) |
It contains a poetic expression of respect for the dead, which is considered significant as the Turks followed Tengrism, in which there is a cult of the ancestors.
A subsequent alayses in 2019 by Ball et al., disagree with the arguments by Hasanov et al. 2015.[4] Orçun Ünal (2019) argues that if the Issyk inscription is not an Iranian (Khotanese Saka) language, it may be a Proto-Mongolic language with strong contact to neighbouring Iranian languages, associating them with the 'Argippaei'. Ünal cautions that this does not mean that the "Issyk people" spoke a Mongolic language, but that the artifacts may have been of "foreigen" origin and given to the Saka as form of tribute.[5]
A 2023 analyses by Bonmann et al., identified the Issyk language with a new sub-branch of the Eastern Iranian languages, particularly a language "situated in between Bactrian-, Sogdian-, Saka- and Old Steppe Iranian". They also argue "since it is not an ‘unknown script’ anymore, we suggest to call the writing system ‘(Issyk-)Kushan script’ from now on".[1]
Photos of the inscription edit
See also edit
- Nestor's Cup and Duenos inscription for other ancient inscriptions on vessels that concern the vessel itself
References edit
- ^ a b Bonmann, Svenja; Halfmann, Jakob; Korobzow, Natalie; Bobomulloev, Bobomullo (2023). "A Partial Decipherment of the Unknown Kushan Script". Transactions of the Philological Society. 121 (2): 293–329. doi:10.1111/1467-968X.12269. S2CID 259851498.
- ^ Harmatta, János (1992). "Languages and Literature in the Kushan Empire" (PDF). In Dani, Ahmad Hasan; Harmatta, János; Puri, Baij Nath; Etemadi, G. F.; Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (eds.). History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Paris, France: UNESCO. pp. 407–431. ISBN 978-9-231-02846-5.
- ^ Hasanov, Zaur (2015). "Issyk Commemorative Inscription". Эпиграфика Востока. Oriental Institute, Russian Academy Of Sciences. ISSN 0131-1344.
- ^ Ball, Warwick; Bordeaux, Olivier; Dowall, David W. Mac; Sims-Williams, Nicholas; Taddei, Maurizio (5 April 2022), "CHAPTER 6 From the Kushans to the Shahis", CHAPTER 6 From the Kushans to the Shahis, Edinburgh University Press, pp. 344–459, doi:10.1515/9781474450478-015, ISBN 978-1-4744-5047-8, retrieved 6 February 2024
- ^ Ünal, Orçun (1 January 2019). "The Issyk and Ai Khanum Inscriptions Revisited". Ural-Altaische Jahrbücher N. F.