Gurvan Mandal (Moğolistan) Yazıtları - Yeni Bir Okuma ve Anlamlandırma
Türk runik harfli eski Türk yazıtları üzerinde; ilk bulunduğu günden bu yana binlerce çalışma yapıldı. Bu çalışmaların bir bölümü, yeni bulunan yazıtlar hakkında yapılan okuma ve anlamlandırmaları içeriyorken bir bölümü ise önceki yazıtlar hakkında yeni okuma ve anlamlandırmalardır. Bu çalışmalar bir yandan Eski Türkçenin ses, şekil, cümle, anlam ve sözlük bilgisine yeni katkılar sunmakta, öte yandan Türklerin yedi ve sekizinci yüzyıldaki yaşamları hakkında yeni bilgilere ulaşmaya imkân vermektedir. Eski Türk yazıtlarının en ünlülerini barındıran Moğolistan coğrafyasında her geçen gün yeni yazıtlar bulunmaktadır. Bu yazıtlardan biri de Bayanhongor ili sınırları içerisinde 1987 yılında keşfedilen Gurvan Mandal yazıtlarıdır. Kaynaklarda iki kaya üzerinde toplam altı satırdan oluştuğu belirtilmiş; ilkine Dund Mandal ya da A Kayası, ikincisine ise Adag Mandal ya da B kayası adı verilmiştir. Yazıtların bulunduğu iki kayanın yeni ve yüksek çözünürlüklü fotoğraflarından Dund Mandal (A Kayası)’ın arka bölümünde yer alan kayada da üç satırlık, ancak öndeki kaya üzerindeki satırlardaki işaretlerle birebir aynısının bulunduğu tespit edilmiştir. Arka arkaya duran her iki kaya üzerinde, aynı metin bulunsa da yazı karakterleri ve kayaya oyma sisteminin farklı olduğu anlaşılmıştır. Öndeki kayada arkadakinden farklı olarak fazladan bir l 1 işareti tespit edilmiştir. Makalede bu üç yazıt yeniden sınıflandırılmış; bilinen iki kaya üzerindeki okuma ve anlamlandırmalardan söz edilmiş; ardından hem bilinen iki kayadaki hem de yeni tespit edilen kaya üzerindeki üç satır okunup anlamlandırılmıştır.
The Gurvan Mandal Inscriptions (Mongolia) - A New Reading and Interpretation
Thousands of studies have been conducted on the ancient Turkic runic inscriptions since they were first discovered. Some of these studies include readings and interpretations of newly found inscriptions, while others are new readings and interpretations of previous inscriptions. On one hand, these studies have made new contributions to the phonology, morphology, sentences, meaning, and lexicon of Old Turkic while on the other, they have provided new information about the life of Turks in the 7th and 8th centuries. New inscriptions are being discovered every day in Mongolia, site of the most famous ancient Turkic inscriptions. One of these inscriptions is the Gurvan Mandal inscriptions, which were discovered in 1987 within the borders of Bayankhongor Province. Sources state these inscriptions to consist of a total of six lines on two rocks, the first being called Dund Mandal (i.e., Rock A) and the second being called Adag Mandal (i.e., Rock B). New high-resolution photographs of the two rocks and their inscriptions have identified the rock behind Dund Mandal (Rock A) to also have a three-line inscription that are identical to the inscriptions on the front rock. Although the same text is found on both rocks that stand back to-back, the characters and the carving system are different. An extra l1 symbols were found on the rock in front, that differ from the one in the back. This article, -reclassifies these three rocks-, discusses; the readings and interpretations on the two known rocks; and then reads and interprets the three lines on both the two known rocks as well as the newly discovered rock.
Thousands of studies have been conducted on the ancient Turkic runic inscriptions since they were first discovered. Some of these studies include readings and interpretations of newly found inscriptions, while others are new readings and interpretations of previous inscriptions. On one hand, these studies have made new contributions to the phonology, morphology, sentences, meaning, and lexicon of Old Turkic, providing new information about the life of Turks in the 7th and 8th centuries on the other.
Old Turkic inscriptions with Turkic runic letters are found in various parts of Asian geography such as Mongolia, Tuva, Khakassia, Mountainous Altai region, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Work on these inscriptions has continued uninterruptedly until today, starting when Vilhelm Thomsen deciphered the letters in 1893. While some of these studies have involved rereading and making sense of the problematic lines in previous inscriptions, others involve reading and interpretations regarding newly found inscriptions.
New inscriptions are being discovered every day in Mongolia, which hosts the most famous ancient Turkic inscriptions. One of these inscriptions is the Gurvan Mandal inscriptions, which were discovered in 1987 within the borders of Bayankhongor Province. Sources state these inscriptions to consist of a total of six lines on two rocks, the first being called the Dund Mandal (i.e., Rock A) and the second one being called Adag Mandal (i.e., Rock B).
New high-resolution photographs of the two rocks and their inscriptions have identified the rock behind Dund Mandal (Rock A) to also have a three-line inscription that is identical to the inscriptions on the front rock. Although the same text is found on both rocks that stand back to-back, they have different characters and carving systems. An extra l1 sign was found on the rock in front and differ from the one in back. This article reclassifies these three rocks, discusses the readings and interpretations of the two known rocks; and then reads and interprets the three lines on both the two known rocks and the newly discovered one.
Not many studies have occurred on the Gurvan Mandal inscriptions, which consist of three rock inscriptions. One reason for this is that the inscriptions were found recently, and another reason is that the first two lines of the three lines on the Dund Mandal Front Rock (Rock A) contain letters that are difficult to read. The Dund Mandal Back Rock has exactly the same letters as the Dund Mandal Front Rock (Rock A). However, the letters were carved on to the rocks using different styles. Drawing anything meaningful from the letters in the first two lines of either rock is difficult. This is probably because they are both personal names. The third line on the Dund Mandal Front Rock (Rock A) and the Dund Mandal Back Rock has been completely reread and interpreted.
The Adag Mandal (Rock B) inscription is located near the Dund Mandal Front Rock (A Rock) and the Dund Mandal Back Rock. The Adag Mandal (Rock B) inscription is the third at the Gurvan Mandal inscription complex and has a total of three lines. Adag Mandal (B Rock) consists of three lines with very distinctive letters and carved in a different place than those on the two back-to-back rocks at Dund Mandal. This inscription was engraved on the rock on the southeast slope of Adag Mandal Mountain, which also has petroglyphs and marks. Those who’we worked on the inscription also mentioned the marks in the inscription and were of the opinion that they might belong to the Karluk and Basmıl tribes. The firts line reads Ak at altun ederlig “The white horse is saddled with gold.” This sentence is exactly the same as the first part of the third line of the Yabogan inscription (A 84), one of Mountainous Altai region inscriptions. Since the line containing this sentence is dissimilar to the two lines below it in terms of font and letter size, one can argue different people to have written it. However, a similar subject is understood to be mentioned in all three lines.
Due to the Gurvan Mandal inscription complex have been discovered recently, studies on it are scarce. Therefore, new studies and evaluations of the inscription will enable new readings and interpretations, especially for the word at the end of the third line of the threeline inscription on Adag Mandal (Rock B). The fact that the expression in the first line of Adag Mandal (Rock B) is the same as that in the third line of the Yabogan (A 84) inscription from the Mountainous Altai region, as well as the semantic similarity (i.e., similarity of what is described in the inscriptions), is very valuable for the vocabulary of the Old Turkic period.
