The Choito-Tamir inscriptions (also called Hoyt Tamir texts or Taihar Rock writings) are inscriptions erected during
Uyghur Khaganate
The Uyghur Khaganate (also Uyghur Empire or Uighur Khaganate, self defined as Toquz-Oghuz country; otk, 𐱃𐰆𐰴𐰕:𐰆𐰍𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Toquz Oγuz budun, Tang-era names, with modern Hanyu Pinyin: or ) was a Turkic empire that e ...
period. According Louis Bazin, the inscriptions were erected between 753 and 756. There are over 200 inscriptions in the region, written in
Old Uyghur
Old Uyghur () was a Turkic language which was spoken in Qocho from the 9th–14th centuries and in Gansu.
History
The Old Uyghur language evolved from Old Turkic after the Uyghur Khaganate broke up and remnants of it migrated to Turfan, Qomu ...
and
Chinese alphabet There have been Chinese alphabets, that are pre-existing alphabets adapted to write down the Chinese language. However, the standard Chinese writing system uses a non-alphabetic script with an alphabet for supplementary use. There is no original alp ...
s. The texts were found on Taihar rock. The rock is 39 meters high and located southeast from Hoyt Tamir river in
Arkhangai Province
The Arkhangai Province or Arkhangai Aimag ( mn, Архангай аймаг, Arhangai aimag, ; "North Khangai") is one of the 21 aimags of Mongolia. It is located slightly west of the country's center, on the northern slopes of the Khangai Moun ...
of
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
. The inscriptions were first translated by
Vasily Radlov
Vasily Vasilievich Radlov or Friedrich Wilhelm Radloff (russian: Васи́лий Васи́льевич Ра́длов; in Berlin – 12 May 1918 in Petrograd) was a German-born Russian founder of Turkology, a scientific study of Turkic peoples. ...
.
Complete text
:erimen qut berti
:at yïl... : t.ay : eki : ...a : ay :
:Teŋirde : qut bolm... : qan : elinde :
:....... : qan : atïγ : .... öntürti : öŋre :
:.....m : atïγ..üz : ......
:Teŋirken : alïp qutluγ : bilge qan
:ögürig : begler bilig ün...iz
:Alïpïtïm : .........qan beg q...bir
:bir yeg...bir ay er...qaγan
:ot...ay erim
:teg...kü.....
:Yünlüg qunčuy
:...duš qunčuy
:....
:....
:.... čur
:... qa barïr
:... qutluγ
:bolzun
:bičin yïl : yiti...nč : bir yegirmi
:iki : gičig bačïγqa : baytaγ :
:beš uy qara bašïγ : yaylatïm :
:küzti : taňïn taš : sisyetim :
:mun erimiŋ eli barïrmin
:küŋlik bu yorïq
References
Further reading
*Radloff, W. (1987), "Die alttürkischen inschriften der Mongolei, Osnabrück"
*Sertkaya, O.F, Harcavbay, S. (2001), "Hoyto-Tamir (Moğolistan)’dan yeni yazıtlar"
{{Turkic inscriptions
Archaeological sites in Mongolia
8th-century inscriptions
Uyghur inscriptions