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DeutschIssyk 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 3th 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 was likely used to record a previously unknown Middle Iranian language spoken in the Kushan Empire.[2] While some have hypothesized the script was used to record a Turkic or Mongolic language, these hypothesis can be reasonably excluded due to the lack of linguistic evidence for such languages in the area. Various possible identifications of the script have been proposed.
In 1992, János Harmatta, using the Kharoṣṭhī script, identified the language as a Khotanese Saka dialect spoken by the Kushans, tentatively translating:[3]
| 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 |
Altay Sarsenuly Amanzholov, using a variation of the Orkhon-Yenisei Alphabet, identifies the language as Proto-Turkic, translating it as :[4]
| Line | Transliteration | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | аγа sаηa očuq | Senior brother, (this) hearth is for you! |
| 2 | bäz čök boqun ičr(?)ä uzuq | Stranger, kneel! Progenies [shall have] food! |
A 2023 analysis by Bonmann et al. identifies the Issyk inscription's language with a new sub-branch of Eastern Iranian languages, particularly a language "situated in between Bactrian-, Sogdian-, Saka- and Old Steppe Iranian". They also propose referring to the now-identified script as the "(Issyk-)Kushan script".[1] Additionally, they hypothesize that the Kushan script was derived from the Aramaic alphabet without the Kharoṣṭhī script as an intermediary, functioning like an Indic alphasyllabary in which each letter has a basic vocalic value; the vowel quality or quantity can then be changed with added strokes. The similarities between Aramaic and the unknown Kushan script are summarized in the right table.
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
- Undeciphered writing systems
- Kushan Script
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.
- ^ 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. ISSN 1467-968X.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Amanzholov, Altay Sersenuly (2003). История и теория древнетюркского письма [History and Theory of the Old Turkic script]. Almaty, Kazakhstan: Mektep. ISBN 9965-16-204-2.