The article is devoted to the reading and interpretation of two new runic inscriptions introduced into scientific use, as well as Uyghur inscriptions found on a rock surface in the Urkosh area in the Central Altai. The black-painted Uyghur inscription is the only find of its kind in the region. It was written no earlier than the tenth century. The runic inscriptions under consideration can be dated within the VIII-IX centuries. Inscriptions from Urkosh mention the titles of the highest holders of state power or the leader of the tribe, which is not so common in the corpus of early Medieval runic inscriptions in Altai.

Keywords: Central Altai, runic inscriptions, black-painted Uyghur script inscription, titles "erkin", "tengriken".

Introduction

In the field season of 2013, the Chui team of the North Asian Integrated Expedition of the Institute of Electric Power Engineering of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences continued systematic archaeological exploration in the valley of the Chui River in the Altai Republic. Among other things, petroglyphs of the so-called sanctuary of Bolshoy Yaloman III, located in the Urkosh tract, near the confluence of the Bolshoy Yaloman River with the Katun River (Ongudai district of the Altai Republic), became the object of research. This sanctuary has been known since the 1980s. O. V. Larin pointed it out to A. S. Surazakov, who in the mid-1990s laid an exploration pit under a rock outcrop with petroglyphs, and also copied and published some rock carvings [Surazakov, 1996, p. 82, Fig. 1]. In 2004-2005, the Yaloman expedition of the Altai University conducted exploration work in the Urkosh tract [Tishkin, Matrenin, and Gorbunov, 2006, pp. 156-157; Tishkin and Seregin, 2013]. The sanctuary of Bolshoy Yaloman III, where petroglyphs were copied, was also studied. At the same time, the following inscription was found in black paint (Tishkin, Matrenin, and Gorbunov, 2006, p. 157; Tishkin, 2006, p.6; 2009).

While examining the petroglyphs of this locality, we found two new runic inscriptions, unnoticed by our predecessors. They are located on the same rock surface as the previously found one, applied with black paint. The dimensions of this plane are approx. 110 * 70 cm. It is a vertical rock surface of shale rock, which has a slight negative slope

The study was funded by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (project N 14 - 28 - 00045).

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Figure 1. Drawing of inscriptions and images made in black and red paints on the rock surface in the Urkosh tract.

Figure 2. Drawing runic inscriptions.

and forming a kind of canopy. Runic signs are made with thin cut lines, their size is 4-5 cm. The first inscription is carved in the upper part of the rock plane in two almost vertical lines (Figs. 1, 2). Some signs are not very clear, which is partly due to the uneven texture of the stone in this place. The second runic inscription is located to the right and below the first one, about 25 cm from it.

The first line of the upper inscription, as well as the lower part of the second one, is overlaid with a large schematic figure of a goat (?) with long horns (see Fig. 1). It is made with a thin line of red-yellow paint and is barely distinguishable. Only the outline of the animal is shown. This image is applied on top of runic inscriptions and, therefore, is more recent in comparison with them, but it is difficult to say with certainty how much.

To the left and right of the runic inscriptions are an inscription in Uyghur script and images made in black paint. Undoubtedly, they were applied later than the runic inscriptions and their author saw the signs carved before him. To the right and above the runic inscriptions, at the very edge of the rock surface, there is an inscription in Uyghur script (see Figures 1, 3), which was discovered earlier by Barnaul archaeologists (Tishkin, 2006, p. 6; Tishkin, Matrenin, and Gorbunov, 2006, p.157). Its lower part falls on an unfinished embossed contour figure of an animal. To the left of the runic inscriptions there is an image that is vertically positioned-

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Figure 3. An inscription made in Uyghur script in black paint and its drawing.

Figure 4. Images of copies (?) and a separate sign made in black paint, and their drawing.

1,4), on the right-several poorly distinguishable signs (see Figs. 1, 5), which are made in wide lines and most of all resemble test brush strokes (traces of unevenly colored bundles are clearly visible).

Another rock surface, separated from the one already described by a ledge and located above it, is marked with images and signs in black paint (Fig. 6). The dimensions of this plane are 50 * 70 cm. Individual signs resemble tamgas, and the central image is a deer figure (?).

Due to the negative slope of the rock surface (like a small canopy that protects from rain and snow), inscriptions, as well as other signs and images applied in black and red paint, have been preserved to this day.

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Figure 5. Test smears (?) using a brush and drawing them.

Figure 6. Drawing images and signs applied with black paint on another, separate surface.

Transcription, translation and interpretation of the inscription in Uyghur script*

The inscription in Uyghur script is compact and consists of five vertical lines (see Figures 1, 3). The signs are clearly distinguishable. It seems that in some places it was later erased. Transcription of the inscription:

1 q(a)gan birlaki

2 yaguqї-da erkin

3 oz bildgarip o[z?]

4 elinga y(a)na bicig

5 bicidi

Translation: Erkin, when he and the Khagan, on their way back to their el, came close to announce themselves, did (lit. 2) an inscription.

The spelling of the inscription is consistent with the norms adopted in early medieval Uyghuographic written monuments from East Turkestan. The character of writing according to the existing classification [Moriyasu, 2004] can be defined as an early type of italics, which is observed in East Turkestan texts created in the pre-Mongol period, but not earlier than the tenth century.

* Transcription, translation and interpretation of the inscription in Uyghur script were performed by L. Y. Tugusheva, runic inscriptions-by S. G. Klyashtorny.

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From the content of the inscription, it follows that it was written by Erkin, who was returning to his el with the kagan, being already close to the place where they were supposed to arrive. The title erkin appears repeatedly in early medieval Turkic written monuments. The monument in honor of Kyul-tegin (hereinafter - KT) mentions Ulug-erkin from the Bayyrku tribe, with whose army the Turkic army led by Kyul-tegin fought at the lake. Turgi Yargun: (a) nta kisray(e) r b (a)y(i) rqu ul((u) g erk(i) ny(a)gi bolti y (a)n (i)p turgi y(a) rgun kolta buzd(i)m(i) z - "After that, Ulug-erkin from Yer Bayyrku became [our] enemy. When we returned, we defeated him [the army] at Lake Turgi Yargun" (KT, B, stk. 47). It is also known that the Karluk leaders (chiefs) were called kol erkin [Mahmud Qasyari, s.67]. Such examples of the use of this term quite definitely indicate that the title erkin belongs to the leaders of the Turkic tribes subject to the khagan.

The territory of Altai, according to sources, at the end of IX - X centuries. it was under the rule of the Kyrgyz Kagan. In the Turkic runic monuments, it is said that Kul-tegin, whose residence was located on the Khangai, entered the battle with his army, having crossed the Sayan Mountains with his detachment: kogm(a) n y (y) s (y)y toya uogir qirq(y)z bod(u)n (* ) g uda basd ( * ) m ( * ) z - " After crossing the Kegmen Mountains*, we suddenly (lit. during sleep) attacked the Kyrgyz " (CT, B, stk. 48). It is also known that after the collapse of the Uyghur Khaganate in the middle of the 9th century (Hamilton, 1955, p. 6), only the ruler of the Kyrgyz political entity had the title of khagan in the Khangai and Sayan-Altai Highlands. Therefore, with a high degree of probability, it can be assumed that the inscription mentions one of the Kyrgyz kagans.

Linguistically, one of the features of the inscription is the use of the verb base biti- "write", which is widely represented in early medieval Turkic written monuments, and the name bitig - "letter: inscription" formed from it in the phonetic form bici -, bicig. This verb stem is derived from the Chinese word pi < piet - "writing brush"; therefore, we can assume that its primary phonetic form is biti-. The form observed in this inscription may have emerged later under the influence of local dialects belonging to the Sayan-Altai group of Turkic languages (in some of them, a similar-sounding form is preserved to this day; cf. Tuv. bizhi - "to write" [Tuvan-Russian dictionary, 1968, p. 101]). Such a change, which requires a certain amount of time, confirms the assumption that the inscription appeared no earlier than the tenth century.

According to Erkin, he made the inscription in order to inform about himself. This suggests that it was addressed to those who had been to the area and could have read and taken note of the message it contained. Therefore, the inscription can serve as one of the indicators that the Uyghur script, which was formed in East Turkestan and became widespread there, was already in use in the early Middle Ages in the Turkic-speaking environment far beyond the borders of this region.

Transcription, translation and interpretation of ancient Turkic runic inscriptions

One of the runic inscriptions found is short, one - line, and the other is two-line. They are made in the same technique (weakly scratched on stone), the same version of the ancient Turkic runic script, characteristic of the runes of Northwestern Mongolia, by the same performer and, most likely, at the same time. Unfortunately, the shallowly scratched signs are poorly distinguishable and are not fully preserved. Therefore, some of them cannot be identified, and some are determined only hypothetically.

A single-line label consists of eight characters, the initial one (far right) is somewhat separated from the rest. Two end signs are not fully recorded, and the last one is not identified.

Transliteration: l2t2nr2ikn(m?)

Transcription: el tefrikenim

Translation: (my) el, my tengriken

The first (right) line of a two-line label consists of eight characters, the last of which is not fully recorded. In the second (left) line 18 (19 ?) characters; of these, only nine can be identified, making it extremely unreliable to read most of the line. Then, when transliterating dots, they replace unidentified characters.

Transliteration of the first line: t2nriknm.

Transcription: techrikenim

Translation: my tengriken

Transliteration of the second line: ks/sl2...and l1... l1ad2..n'r2.

So, both inscriptions are dedicated to one person, called "my tengriken". The title tengriken is also found in the runic script of the Turkic Khaganate (Onga inscription, pages 5, 6, 8), and more often in Uyghur Manichaean and Buddhist texts from East Turkestan. In all cases, the term is included in the title of the highest holders of state power or is the only designation of the state.-

* Kogmen, geogr. - Sayan Mountains (Radloff, 1889, p. 50; Barthold, 1968, p. 316).

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compare, for example: bogu hap teenriken, bogu tenrikenimiz in Manichaean texts (cit. according to [Clauson, 1972, p. 525], s. v. tefriken). In the Onga inscription, the title ba ya tehriken refers to the highest person in the state.

This term, however, is interpreted ambiguously. S. E. Malov in his translation of the Onga inscription suggests the meaning "divine, august" [1959, p. 9-10]. L. Yu. Tugusheva quotes the interpretation of "wise, pious (person)" given by Mahmud Kashgarsky and notes that "this term is more often used in Russian literature." the meaning of the ruler's title" [2008, p. 91]. In the" Old Turkic Dictionary "tanriken -" divine " [1969, p. 544]. On the contrary, J. Clauson, relying, obviously, on the explanation of Mahmud of Kashgar, believes that the meaning of sacredness in this word is absent and it should be translated as "pious, pious" (Clauson, 1972, p.525). In the Onga inscription (stk. 5) the term is used in combination baya tehriken [Old Turkic Dictionary, 1969, p. 77 (s. v. baya)], which can be considered as a paired expression with the same meaning of both words: Sogdian baya, adapted in the old Turkic language, means "divine", and therefore we consider it the most preferable for texts. B. S. E. Malov's interpretation of "divine, august" with a later reinterpretation of the term in the Muslim community (Mahmud of Kashgar, XI century). The runic inscriptions interpreted here can be dated back to the 8th-9th centuries.

Conclusion

Judging by the paleographic features of the Urkosh inscriptions, the runic ones were made earlier than the Uyghur one. The author of the latter could not help noticing the signs drawn earlier. This is indirectly evidenced by the fact that the Uyghur inscription, other signs and images applied in black paint by the same person do not overlap the runic inscriptions, but seem to border them on all sides.

The discovery of each new runic inscription in Altai is a great scientific discovery. An inscription in Uyghur script, made in black paint on a rock, is the only find of its kind in the region. Attention is drawn to the fact that in all three inscriptions considered from Urkosh there are titles of the highest holders of state power or the leader of the tribe. Early Medieval runic inscriptions, which mention the titles of rulers and certain political events, are not so common in Altai. This can be judged by the Altai corpus of runic inscriptions, which currently numbers approx. 90 laconic texts and lines [Tybykova, Nevskaya, Erdal, 2012, p. 16].

List of literature

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Malov S. E. Pamyatniki drevnetyurkskoy pismennosti Monoglii i Kirghizii [Monuments of ancient Turkic writing in Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan].

Surazakov A. S. The Big Yaloman III Sanctuary //Actual problems of Siberian archeology. Barnaul: Alt. State University Publ., 1996, pp. 82-84.

Tishkin A. A. Historical and cultural heritage of Altai: antiquities of the Ongudai district. Barnaul: Azbuka Publ., 2006, issue 1, 12 p.

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Tishkin A. A., Matrenin S. S., Gorbunov V. V. Archaeological sites in the Urkosh tract // Study of the historical and cultural heritage of the peoples of Southern Siberia. Gorno-Altaisk: AKIN Publ., 2006, issue 3/4, pp. 156-164.

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Tuvan-Russian dictionary / ed. by E. R. Tenishev. - Moscow: Sov. annikl., 1968. -647 p.

Tyurkskie runicheskie pis'nye pamyatniki iz Mongolii [Turkic runic written monuments from Mongolia]. Moscow: Pisan Publ., 2008, 192 p.

Tybykova L. N., Nevskaya N. A., Erdal M. Catalog of ancient Turkic runic monuments of Gorny Altai. Gorno-Altaisk: Publishing House of Gorno-Altaisk State University, 2012, 152 p.

Clauson G. An etymological dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish. - Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972. - XPVUI, 989 p.

Hamilton J. -R. Pes ouighours a l'epoque des cinq dynasties. - P.: Imprimerienationale, 1955. -201 p.

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Moriyasu T. From silk, cotton and copper coin to silver: Transition of the currency used by the Uighurs during the period from the 8th to the 14th centuries // Turfan Revisited: The first century of research into the arts and cultures of the Silk Road. - В.: Dietrich Reimer Verlag, 2004. - P. 228 - 229.

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The article was submitted to the Editorial Board on 03.09.14, in the final version-on 09.09.14.

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