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The Szarvas inscription refers to the inscription on a bone needle case found near
Szarvas Szarvas (; sk, Sarvaš; german: Sarwasch) is a town in Békés County, Hungary. Name Placename Szarvas originated from the old Hungarian word ''szarvas'', which means deer. Deer also can be found in the coat of arms of the town. Locat ...
in southeastern
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...
and dating from the second half of the 8th century, the "
Late Avar The Pannonian Avars () were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in chronicles of Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai ( el, Βαρχονίτες, Varchonítes), or Pseudo-Avars ...
" period (700-791).


The needle case and its inscription


The name of the script of the Szarvas inscription

The Hungarian archeologist, historian and linguist
Gábor Vékony Gábor Vékony (December 15, 1944, Csengőd – June 10, 2004) was a Hungarian historian, archaeologist and linguist, associate professor at Faculty of Humanities of the Eötvös Loránd University, Candidate of Sciences in History. He was an exp ...
named the script used on the needle case as ''"Kárpát-medencei rovásírás"'' ("Carpathian Basin Rovas script"). He often used this term in his book, ''A székely írás emlékei, kapcsolatai, története'', e.g. in the chapter ''"A kárpát-medencei rovásábécé korabeli feljegyzése"'' ("The contemporary record of the Carpathian Basin Rovas alphabet"). Vékony analysed the similarities and the differences between the Old Hungarian and the Carpathian Basin scripts on page 154 of his book. On page 232, Vékony wrote: ''"- Aethicus Ister jelei azonosak az egykori Kárpát-medencei rovásírás jeleivel."'' ("The symbols of Aethicus Ister are identical to the symbols of the quondam Carpathian Basin script"). Vékony also writes : ''"E jel a Szarvason azonosított Kárpát-medencei f alig torzult megfelelője..."'' ("This symbol is identical to the Carpathian Basin 'f' identified in Szarvas". (referring to the bone needle case found in Szarvas) In page 233, Vékony writes: ''"Erre utalhat az is, hogy ez a betűalak levezethető egy párthus alep formából. Feltehető tehát ennek a jelnek a megléte a Kárpát-medencei rovásírásban is (a székelybe is innen származhatott)."'' ("This could imply also that this glyph can be derived from the Parthian Aleph form. Consequently, the existence of this symbol can be supposed in the Carpathian Basin script as well (it could originate from this to the Székely)." Here the 'Szekely' refers to the ''Szekely-Hungarian Rovas'' script also known as
Old Hungarian script The Old Hungarian script or Hungarian runes ( hu, Székely-magyar rovás, 'székely-magyar runiform', or ) is an alphabetic writing system used for writing the Hungarian language. Modern Hungarian is written using the Latin-based Hungarian alph ...
. Vékony's writing suggests a proposal that a Carpathian Basin Rovas script may be one of the ancestors of the Szekely-Hungarian Rovas script.


The meaning of the inscription

Gábor Vékony Gábor Vékony (December 15, 1944, Csengőd – June 10, 2004) was a Hungarian historian, archaeologist and linguist, associate professor at Faculty of Humanities of the Eötvös Loránd University, Candidate of Sciences in History. He was an exp ...
's transcription was improved by linguist Erzsébet Zelliger. The last character of the fourth row of the inscription was reconstructed by Vékony. The edges of the bone needle case are worn, and the top and bottom edges for part of the characters are not clearly visible.


Transcription with IPA notation

The following transcription using the International Phonetic Alphabet is based on Vékony's original transcription. Superscript segments and those in brackets are reconstructed. In the inscription, the third symbol of the third row (from left) could be considered a descendant of the
ideograms An ideogram or ideograph (from Greek "idea" and "to write") is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept, independent of any particular language, and specific words or phrases. Some ideograms are comprehensible only by familiarit ...
in
Turkic languages The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic l ...
. However, their possible relationship needs further evidence.


Transcription with Hungarian phonetic notation


Critics and alternative theories

Vékony had read the Szarvas transcription as Hungarian, thus proposing it as evidence that the Hungarian-speaking people had appeared in the region by the 7th century. There are several critics of Vékony's theories and translations, most notably the Hungarian
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingui ...
and historian,
András Róna-Tas András Róna-Tas (born 30 December 1931) is a Hungarian historian and linguist. He was born in 1931 in Budapest. Róna-Tas studied under such preeminent professors as Gyula Ortutay and Lajos Ligeti, and received a degree in folklore and easter ...
. The debates were summarized by István Riba in 1999 and 2000: "many find themselves unable to accept Vékony's theory". The key point of the critics has been that in traditional Hungarian scholarship, the existence of the Hungarian-speaking population dates from 896 (when the
Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and  ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Ural ...
took over the
Carpathian Basin The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large Sedimentary basin, basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The Geomorphology, geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewh ...
), while the Szarvas needle case dates from the 8th century. Consequently, either the Szarvas inscription is not in Hungarian or Hungarians were in the Carpathian Basin much earlier than the late 9th century. Róna-Tas attempted to read the Szarvas relic in Turkic instead of Hungarian, but wrote that his transcription needed further improvement. Róna-Tas, András (1996): A honfoglaló magyar nép. Bevezetés a korai Magyar történelem ismeretébe he landtaking Hungarian nation. Introduction to the knowledge of the early Hungarian history Budapest: Balassi Kiadó, pp. 108-110 The issue remains an open question amongst Hungarian scholars.


See also

*The
Alsószentmihály inscription The Alsószentmihály inscription is an inscription on a building stone in Mihai Viteazu, Cluj (Transylvania, today Romania). The origins and translation of the inscription are uncertain. The relic The stone was an ancient Roman building stone ...
on a building stone found in
Mihai Viteazu, Cluj Mihai Viteazu (archaic: ''Sânmihaiu''; hu, Szentmihály; german: Michelsdorf) is a commune in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Cheia (''Mészkő''), Cornești (''Sinfalva''), and Mihai Viteazu. Mihai Viteaz ...
(
Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the ...
, today
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
).


Notes


References

* Juhász, Irén (1983): Ein Avarenzeitlicher Nadelbehälter mit Kerbschrift aus Szarvas. In: Acta Acheologica 35 (1983), p. 34 * Juhász, Irén (1985): A szarvasi avar rovásírásos tűtartó
he Avar need-case of Szarvas with Rovas script He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
Magyar Tudomány ournal of the Hungarian Science 85:2, pp. 92–95 * Kristó, Gyula & Makk, Ferenc (2001): A kilencedik és a tizedik század története
he history of the 9th and the 10th centuries He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
In: Magyar Századok ungarian Centuries Published by Pannonica Kiadó, Ser. ed.: Gyula Szvák, 222 p.  * Riba,István: Jöttek, honfoglaltak, fújtak. Régészvita egy rovásírásról ame, settled, blown. Archaeological debate about the runic writing In: Heti Világgazdaság eekly Word's Economy Vol. 21. 1999. N. 46. pp. 101–102, 105; * Róna-Tas, András (1999)
''Hungarians and Europe in the early Middle Ages: An introduction to early Hungarian history''
Central European University Press. * Róna-Tas, András (1996)
"The Migration and Landtaking of the Magyars"
''The Hungarian Quarterly''. Vol. XXXVII, No. 144, Winter 1996, pp. 37–41 * Vékony, Gábor (1985): Késő népvándorláskori rovásfeliratok
unic inscriptions from the Late Migration Period Unic was a French manufacturer founded in 1905, and active as an automobile producer until July 1938. After this the company continued to produce commercial vehicles, retaining its independence for a further fourteen years before being purcha ...
In: Életünk Vol. XXII, No. 1, pp. 71–84 * Vékony, Gábor (1987): Későnépvándorláskori rovásfeliratok a Kárpát-medencében
unic inscriptions from the Late Migration Period in the Carpathian Basin Unic was a French manufacturer founded in 1905, and active as an automobile producer until July 1938. After this the company continued to produce commercial vehicles, retaining its independence for a further fourteen years before being purcha ...
Szombathely-Budapest: Életünk szerkesztősége. * Vékony Gábor (2004): A székely írás emlékei, kapcsolatai, története. Budapest: Nap Kiadó.


Further reading

* Gábor Hosszú (2011)
''Heritage of Scribes. The Relation of Rovas Scripts to Eurasian Writing Systems.''
First edition. Budapest: Rovas Foundation,


External links


The Szarvas Rovas inscription on the RovasPedia
* Jenő Demeczky, Dr. Gábor Hosszú, Tamás Rumi, László Sípos, Dr. Erzsébet Zelliger
Revised proposal for encoding the Rovas in the UCS. Individual Contribution for consideration by UTC and ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2
14. October 2012.
Rovás Info News Portal
* Rovas Foundation
Code request for the Rovas script in ISO 15924 (2012-10-20)
* Jenő Demeczky, György Giczi, Dr. Gábor Hosszú, Gergely Kliha, Dr. Borbála Obrusánszky, Tamás Rumi, László Sípos, Dr. Erzsébet Zelliger
Additional information about the name of the Rovas script. Individual Contribution for consideration by UTC and ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2
2012-10-21. * Jenő Demeczky, György Giczi, Gábor Hosszú, Gergely Kliha, Borbála Obrusánszky, Tamás Rumi, László Sípos, Erzsébet Zelliger
About the consensus of the Rovas encoding - Response to N4373 (Resolutions of the 8th Hungarian World Congress on the encoding of Old Hungarian). Individual Contribution for consideration by UTC and ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2
Registered by UTC (L2/12-337), 2012-10-24 {{DEFAULTSORT:Szarvas Inscription 8th-century inscriptions History of the Hungarians Writing systems Rovas script