Orkhon Inscriptions: Earliest Substantial Turkic Texts

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 to 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.

Empires active in 732 CE

• Umayyad Caliphate
  661 CE to 750 CE
• Tang Dynasty
  618 CE to 907 CE
• Byzantine Empire
  330 CE to 1453 CE
• Kanem-Bornu Empire
  700 CE to 1900 CE
• Tibetan Empire
  618 CE to 842 CE
• Khazar Khaganate
  650 CE to 969 CE

Related culture, arts & philosophy events

• House of Wisdom and the Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement under al-Ma'mun
  c. 830 CE
• High Tang flowering of Chinese poetry: Li Bai and Du Fu
  c. 750 CE (High Tang, fl. 744-770)
• Construction of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem
  691 CE
• Construction of Borobudur by the Sailendra dynasty
  c. 780 to 840 CE
• The Carolingian Renaissance revives classical learning
  c. 787 to 820 CE
• Uthman's standardisation of the Quran
  c. 650 CE

Essential reading

• Brahmagupta codifies zero and arithmetic of negatives (Brahmasphutasiddhanta)
  628 CE
• Official Introduction of Buddhism to Japan
  552 CE (traditional date; 538 CE in some sources)
• Volcanic Winter of 536 and Onset of the Late Antique Little Ice Age
  536 to 537 CE
• Banu Hilal Migration Arabises the Maghreb
  c. 1050 onward (11th century)

Further reading

The Story of Art

The wider story

The Story of Art

E. H. Gombrich

The best-selling art history ever written, from cave paintings to the modern age.

Get it on Amazon →

As an Amazon Associate, Human Saga earns from qualifying purchases.