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Orkhon Inscriptions: Earliest Substantial Turkic Texts

732 CE·Culture, arts & philosophy·Central Asia (Orkhon Valley, Mongolia)·
732 CEDate
Culture, arts & philosophyCategory
18Empires active
Date
732 CE
Category
Culture, arts & philosophy
Region
Central Asia (Orkhon Valley, Mongolia)
Era
Post-Classical / Medieval
Significance

In 732 CE the rulers of the Second Turkic Khaganate (Göktürks) erected the Kül Tigin memorial stele in the Orkhon Valley of present-day central Mongolia, soon followed by a companion monument for Bilge Khagan around 735 CE and the slightly earlier Tonyukuk inscription (c. 716–725).

Carved in the Old Turkic script (also called the Orkhon or Göktürk runic alphabet) and partly in Chinese, these bilingual stelae constitute the oldest substantial written records of any Turkic language. Their texts recount the legendary origins of the Turks, their subjugation by Tang China, and their restoration of independence, addressing the Turkic people directly in a vivid political and moral voice. Rediscovered by Nikolai Yadrintsev in 1889 and deciphered in 1893 by the Danish philologist Vilhelm Thomsen, the inscriptions opened the study of early Turkic history and language. They remain a foundational source for the cultural identity of Turkic peoples and a landmark in the literacy of Inner Asia.

See the world map in 732 CE →More culture, arts & philosophyThe Post-Classical / Medieval era

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