Issyk inscription
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 analysis in 2019 by Ball et al. disagrees 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 analysis by Bonmann et al. identifies 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.