Uighur: Private Collection, Erdal IV (Turki No. 3)
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Details

Details

Erdal IV (Turki No. 3)
Private Collection
The Yārkand Documents
Gold (given following external peer review through journal/book publication)
Uighur (Uighur script)
Legal
Legal: Sale (bayʿ)
Rabul

Physical Description

paper
The document displays a dozen fold lines, and the the second fold from the top down has led to a tear. The document is clerly legible despite this.
12
horizontal
Twelve horizontal fold lines are clearly visible.

Content

The land sale contracts of the late eleventh century published here are important for several reasons. First, they are the oldest known legal documents written in Turkish. Very many Uighur-Turkish civil documents were found in the more eastern parts of the Tarim basin, but none of those appear to be older than the thirteenth century. the Persian text of A.D. 1107 published by Minorsky (1942 shows a rather similar form, which may simply have been borrowed by th Turks. Formally, our documents differ from the non-Muslim deeds of land sale in Turkish, which appear to follow Chinese models; this also speaks against common Turkish tradition. What we have here are also the oldest specimens of Muslim-Turkish writing. Our documents throw some light on th introduction of Arabic writing customs and lexical material into Turkish.

Dates

  • The Gregorian calendar: September-October 1090 (Estimated date range: 1090-09-05-1090-09-04)
  • The Hijri calendar: Rajab 483 (Estimated date range: 0483-07-01-0483-07-30)

People

  • ʿUthmān b. Bäk Tüzün
  • ʿAlī b. Bäk Tüzün (commander 'Alī)
  • Isḥaq b. Ḥusayn (Master İsḥaq b. Ḥusayn)
  • Yūsuf (councellor Yūsuf)
  • Kächmish
  • Athigh
  • Dāʾūd
  • Yūsuf
  • Yaʿqūb b. Yūsuf "the Ferry-Man" (Ya'qūb the son of the ferry-man)
  • ʿAlī "the Persian" (ʿAlī the Persian)

Publications

  • Erdal, Marcel. "The Turkish Yarkand Documents." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 47/2, 1984. pp. 260-310 (Pages: 281-286)
    The IEDC translation and transcription have been taken from this publication

Related Shelfmarks

IEDC Data

156
24/06/2024
08/08/2024

Citations

Ofir Haim
The transcription and translation have been taken from a previous publication (see Publications)
See 'How to Cite'
https://www.invisible-east.org/corpus/156/

Contact

invisible_east@ames.ox.ac.uk (Please include the above permalink when contacting the editorial team about this Text)
Folios
1. recto
Tags
Transcription
Translation
Transcription
Folio:
bu ol khaṭ(ṭ) turur tanuq boldı-lar. tanuq-lar atı bu khṭ(ṭ) 1
akhrında bitilmish turur. män Bäk tuzün subashı 2
oghli, 'Ali subashı inisi 'Uthman (?) og athigh igsiz 3
toghasız tandurust arkän Rabul-da Sokmän bäg botı- 4
qında(?) bir käsäk yer sat(t)ım. Ḥusen oghlı İsḥaq 5
jal(l)ab-qa tort ḥad(d)i birlä sat(t)am, bir yash borkkä. 6
bu bork bahası yuz al(l)ig yarmaq; bahanı tukäl buldum. 7
yer uspar-lathim: milk İsḥaq jal(l)ab-nı(n)g turur. bu yer- 8
ni(n)g av(v)al ḥad(d)i Yusuf ınal yeri, uch ḥad(d)i İsḥaq jal(l)ab 9
yer. kim da'va qılsar, da'vası baṭıl turur. 10
yıl tort yuz säksön uch-dä bu khṭ(ṭ) bitildi, 11
qutlugh rajab ayın. 12
13 män Kächmish tanuq män.  män Athigh (?) tanuq män.
14 män Davud tanuq män. män Yusuf taäknächi tanuq män.
15 män Täknächi oghli Ya'qub tanuq män. män 'Ali Täzhik
16   tanuq män.
Translation
Folio:
1 This is that document for which they were the witnesses. The names of the witnesses have been written down at
2 the end of this document. I, 'Uthmān, the son of
3 commander Bäk Tüzün and the younger brother of commander 'Alī, have, being clear in mind and in
4 perfect health, sold a piece of land in Rabul, in the
5 depression (?) of Sökmän bäg. I sold it to Master Isḥaq,
6 the son of Ḥusayn, with its four boundaries, for a grove of fresh (trees).
7 The value of this grove is 150 yarmaqs. I have completely received its (i.e. my land's) worth. I have
8 handed over the plot: The property is master Isḥaq's.
9 As boundaries of the plot there are, on the first side counsellor Yusuf's land, (and) on the (other) three sides,
10 Master Isḥaq's land. Whoever makes a claim on it, may his claim be void
11 This document was written in the year 483,
12 in the blessed month of Rajab.
13 I, Kachmish, am witness. I, Athigh, am witness.
14 I, Dā'ūd, am witness.  I, Yfusuf the ferry-man, am witness.
15 I, Ya'qub, the son of the ferry-man, am witness I, 'Alī
16   the Persian, am witness.