The Inscription of Hüis Tolgoi (HT) is a monolingual inscription in a Mongolian language found in Bulgan Province, Mongolia in 1975 by D. Navaan. The 11-line text is written in vertical

Brahmi script Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' ...

running right to left with horizontal marks separating words. The language of the inscription was unknown until the joint expedition of Alexander Vovin, Étienne de la Vaissière, Dieter Maue and Mehmet Ölmez to

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 ...

in 2014 for closer imaging of the stele. Due to certain morphological peculiarities the language of the inscription was hypothesized to be Mongolic rather than Turkic. The language, "which can be conditionally termed as a variety of Para-Mongolic," is "much closer to the mainstream Mongolic languages, such as Middle Mongolian and modern extant

Mongolic languages The Mongolic languages are a language family spoken by the Mongolic peoples in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, North Asia and East Asia, mostly in Mongolia and surrounding areas and in Kalmykia and Buryatia. The best-known member of this language ...

than to Serbi-Khitan," and is beyond reasonable doubt some form of Mongolic, close to the mainstream Mongolic language. Dieter Maue, a specialist in Sanskrit and Brahmi, deciphered the Brahmi script of the inscription. It was subsequently analyzed by linguist Alexander Vovin who remarked on the similarity of the HT language to mainstream Mongolic (Middle Mongolian) as opposed to the more southern

Khitan language Khitan or Kitan ( in large script or in small, ''Khitai''; , ''Qìdānyǔ''), also known as Liao, is a now-extinct language once spoken in Northeast Asia by the Khitan people (4th to 13th century). It was the official language of the Liao E ...

. Mehmet Ölmez elaborated on the details of the expedition while Étienne de la Vaissière provided a historian's perspective. The inscription can be safely dated to between the 5th and 7th centuries, that is in the

Rouran The Rouran Khaganate, also Juan-Juan Khaganate (), was a tribal confederation and later state founded by a people of Proto-Mongolic Donghu origin.*Pulleyblank, Edwin G. (2000)"Ji 姬 and Jiang 姜: The Role of Exogamic Clans in the Organizat ...

and early Turkic period. The text mentions an Anagui (''Ańakay'', though it's unlikely that this is Yujiulü Anagui, a Rouran khagan), and a Niri qaghan, likely Qaghan Niri since this is the only Qaghan with that name that we know of—though it's unlikely that the inscription was made for him or ordered by him. If the Niri Qaghan mentioned in the inscription corresponds to the only khagan with that name that we know of, the inscription could be dated to the time of his reign (579-603/604). A Bodhi-Sattva is also mentioned, together with the title ''khagan''. This was a Buddhist

Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

, or possibly a Turkic ''qaɣan'' from the

First Turkic Khaganate The First Turkic Khaganate, also referred to as the First Turkic Empire, the Turkic Khaganate or the Göktürk Khaganate, was a Turkic khaganate established by the Ashina clan of the Göktürks in medieval Inner Asia under the leadership of B ...

. There was an Uighur chief at the time reportedly entitled Bodhisattva (藥羅葛菩薩;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

: ''Yaoluoge Pusa'') who, however, never has the title of ''khagan'' in Chinese sources, but of ''xielifa''. Further, the ''

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

'' at the time was Sogdian, and "probably the only trait that distinguished the Uighurs," whose khaganate was established in 744 and like their neighbors were a seminomadic people, "from the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...

, Xianbei and

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

, was their language," a Turkic one, as opposed to the Mongolic language of the inscription. The text might be historical, but with Buddhist overtones, a religion that was quite important to the Rouran elites and other steppe people.

Transliteration and tentative translation

This is Alexander Vovin's tentative translation.

This is Dieter Maue's transliteration.

References

{{Reflist 1975 archaeological discoveries Bulgan Province Archaeology of Mongolia Rouran Mongolia Mongolian language Göktürk inscriptions 6th-century inscriptions Buddhist sculpture

Transliteration and tentative translation

See also

References