Science has not a few written sources on the Sakas and Scythians, a people who lived in ancient times the
the territory west to east from the
Black Sea to Mongolia, and from north to south from the Urals to Pamirs, the sources which, despite their differences, and
sometimes even muddiness, are of great value.
While the archaeological sources give us information about anthropological type of
the Sakas and Scythians, they tell little about their ethnic or linguistic identity,
but with an aid of written records their ethnonyms,
place and personal names reach to us. Studying those records, we can determine an ethnic
composition of the Sakas and Scythians.
But despite of that, in the science the question of Scythian ethnicity has not yet been
resolved, and it still remains open. Most scholars tend to believe them to be
Iranian-lingual (1). For example, B.N.Grakov believes that the personal names of Arianif, Oktamasad, and Cypher,
encountered in the sources, have Indo-Iranian base. He explains that by stating that the Scythians were
Indo-Iranian people (2).
Ming, Palakeng, and Barda
Another part of scientists is advocating their Türkic-linguality
(3). For the first time
(among the latter-day Russian scientists) such a thought
was expressed by N. Aristov, who, referring to the Chinese sources, noted the Saka
toponyms Ming, Palakeng, and Barda, which are Türkic words
(4).
In this study we attempted to elucidate the second opinion about the ethnicity of the Sakas and
Scythians, presenting, analyzing and etymologizing toponyms, encountered in ancient sources, for
example, in the writings of Herodotus, Strabon, Pliny, Ptolemy and others.
Syr Darya - Yaksart - Silis
The ancient name of the Syr Darya - Yaksart is etymologized from the material of the ancient Iranian
language as ”true pearls” (5). In the runiform inscriptions it is written Ienchu-utuz -
Pearl River (6). Another name was first recorded at the turn of our era
by Pliny the Elder: ”The river Yaksar, which the Scythians call Silis, Alexander and his
soldiers took for Tanaid” (7).
S. Klyashtorny etymologized the word ”Syr” as ”Sir ob”, a formation with a
meaning ”high waters, abundance of water”, used in many Tajik
and Uzbek dialects (8). though the etymology of K.
Omiraliev is more acceptable, he proposes to see
in the word ”Silis” a synonym with the pearls (9), based on
the lexicon of the Türkic
peoples.
A much more detailed etymology is given by Sh. Kamoliddin in his work
"Ancient Türkic Toponyms Of The Middle Asia":
The second large river of the Middle Asia, Syr-Darya, is mentioned in Avesta under the
name Ranha [Hodjaeva, 2003, p. 79-85], and in the ancient Greek sources was called
Yaksart (Yaxart); the same name had the people Yak-Sart on the northern bank of the
middle course of this river [Tabulae Georaphicae]. In the Middle Ages this river is
mentioned under the name Ashard [West, 1987, p. 80] or Hashart (Hasart) [Ibn Hordadbeh,
p. 138; Hudud al-Alam, p. 116; Biruni, 1973, p. 472; Biruni, 1976, p. 576], and in the
Chinese sources it is mentioned in the form Yo-sha (Yok-shat) [Klyashtorny, 1964, p.
75]. It is impossible to assert with confidence that this hydronym originates from an
ethnonym. The opposite sequence is also possible, when a toponym forms an ethnic name
[Murzaev, 1982, p. 38]. The etymology of name Yaksart with its medieval variants
Hashart (Hasart) is argued to come from the ancient Iranian Yaksharta (Yaxsa-arta),
which means “real pearls” [Murzaev, 1957, p. 253], yaxsa-harta is a “river of
brilliants” [Tremblay, 2004, p. 119-121], or óàõsà-rta “running (river)” [Livshits,
2003, p. 10]. The ancient Türks called this river Yenchu-okuz [Amanjolov, 2002, p.
153; Malov, 1951, p. 34, 41; DTS, p. 269], which also means “Pearl River”. In the
Chinese sources it is mentioned under the name Chjen-chju-he, which also means the
“Pearl River” and is a calque of the Turkic name [MIKK, vol. 2, p. 68; Klyashtorny,
1964, p. 72-77; Karaev, 1991, p. 39]. In antiquity the river Naryn was also called
with this name, and it is also mentioned in the sources under the names Ma-mi, Chji-he,
Hatlam, and others. These names were also used to designate the upper and middle
course of the Syr-Darya.
28 As to the lower watercourse in the Aral
area, in antiquity it had the name Sir, which subsequently was transferred to the
whole river [Murzaev, 1957, p. 253]. For the first time the name Sir is mentioned in
the 4th century BC ancient Roman sources in the form Silis [Gorbunova, 1976, p. 27;
Klyashtorny, 1964, p. 75-76]. The Chinese sources mentioned this name in the form Shi-er-he,
i. e. the river Sir. The name Sir is a derivative from the Saka word sir, which
means ‘‘plentiful’‘, ‘‘inundating river’‘ [Murzaev, 1957, p. 253; Milheev, 1961, p.
80; Klyastorny, 1961, p. 26], or from Türkic ‘‘bend of the river”. The word sir
can be formed from the verb sir ‘‘wash out‘‘, ‘‘to make a trace’‘, connected with the
root ir or irim. (Murzaev, 1984, p. 235). The name Sir could also be
connected with the Türkic ethnonym Sir, recorded in the Tonyukuk monument [Malov,
1951, p. 65, 70; Musaev, 1984, p. 192] and in the pre-Islamic Khoresmian coins [Muhammadi,
2000, p. 94]. The tribes Sir and Tardush were a part of the Tele
confederation, which formed after disintegration of the Hunnish empire, and in the 6th
century they were one of the most powerful tribes in the East Turkestan [Hodjaev,
2004, p. 7. 19, 20; Hujaev, 2001, 23-6.]. The language of the Sir tribe
belonged to the ‘‘northern‘‘ ancient Türkic language, where in the Sir dialect are
written more than 200 monuments of the ancient Türkic runiform writing’ [Klyashtorny,
2004, p. 45-46]. The origin of the name Sir/Sil is also linked with the ancient
Türkic word sel/selem, which was preserved in the Chuvash language with a
meaning ‘‘pearl(s)” [CHRS, p. 357; Shoniyozov, 1990, 22-23] (Chuvash sel/selem allows to suggest that that was n Ogur word).
Some Chinese sources call Syr-Darya Ye-ye (Yeh-yeh) or She-she (Sheh-sheh) [Beal,
1990, p. 45], which can be a hieroglyphic transcription of the Türkic word uaruar,
meaning ‘‘current’‘, ‘‘river’‘ [Malyavkin, 1989, p. 265, note 598]. Syr-Darya also was
called ‘‘river Kang” [Ptitsin, 1947, p. 303] or Kangar [Ibn Hordadbeh, p. 138], which
is homonymous with the ethnonym Kang or Kangly [Yeremeyev, 1970, p.
134].
The Arabs also called Syr-Darya Saihun, and the Persians called it Rud-i Saihan
[Baevsky, 1980, p. 87; Nadjib Bakran, p. 12à] or Gülzarriün [Ptitsin, 1947, p. 303].
In the beginning of the 20th century. Karadarya had the name Guli-shan [Valihanov,
1961, vol. 1, p. 312]. There is an opinion that the names of the rivers Djaihun and
Saihun were duplicates of the names of the two Syrian northern rivers, Djaihan and
Saihan. [Karaev, 1991, p. 81]. According to the early Arabian geographers, Syr-Darya
was also called Long (River) and al-Khazar, i. e. the river of Khazars [al-Masoudi,
vol. 2, p. 7, 8, 14, 15, 19, 20; Kalinin, 1988, p. 50, 117].
29
The Arab variations of the names of Amu Darya and Syr-Darya, Djaihun and Saihun,
like the Chinese Ie-he (Yo-sha) and Chje-she, could reflect the Nenets
(Russian derisive ‘‘Samoed’‘) or Ob-Ugrian
prototypes yohan (Khant) river, and sioha (Nenets) ‘‘flowing river”
[Yailenko, 1988, p. 133].
During the Middle Ages Syr-Darya was also called ‘‘Shash’ river”, ‘‘Uzgand river”,
‘‘Khojend river“, etc. Naming the rivers by the cities located on them is one more
distinctive feature of the Middle Asia hydronymy [Murzaev, 1962, p. 124].
The word daria (darya), widely represented in the modern hydronymy of the
Middle Asia, has not Iranian, but the Altai languages’ etymology with the meaning
‘‘the big channel of the river’‘ [Ismoilov, 1987, p. 53]. The word darya
(dare/dere) as a topoformant with the meaning ‘‘river’‘, ‘‘valley’‘ are also found
in the Crimean [Superanskaya, 1969, p. 191] and Gagauz toponyms, which indirectly
confirm the Türkic origin of the word. The ethnic history of Gagauzes passed far from
the Iranian peoples, and in their language the Iranian loanwords are almost absent.
(Dron, Kuroglo, 1989, p. 57, 64). |
Amu Darya - Oxus
The ancient name of the Amu Darya, encountered in the form of Oks or Oxus
(10), is accepted as an
ancient Türkic toponym Oguz or Okuz ”river” (11). M. Kashgari in his ”Divan” wrote: ”Okuz -
is a name for such large rivers as Djeykhun, Euphrates ... In the land of the Türks several other
rivers are also called by that name” (12).
Elucidation by Sh. Kamoliddin, p. 27: The largest river in the Middle Asia, Amu
Darya, mentioned in the ‘‘Avesta’‘, was called Vahvi Daitya [Hodjaeva, 2003, p. 67-79],
the ancient Greeks called it Oxus and identified it with the name of the river Vakhsh [Steblin-Kamensky,
1978, p. 72]. The Türks simply called it Okuz, i. e. ‘‘river’‘ because the ancient Türks
called any big river okuz [Kashgari, vol. 1, p. 91, 411, 469; vol. 3, p. 166, 260], and
this word also has a second meaning ‘‘bull’‘ [Khasanov, 1962, p. 95]. The name Amu comes
from the Ket words om - "mother" pul - "river" and means "water-mother." (See: Yaylenko,
1990, pp. 37-40). The Avestan name of the
river Vahvi Daitya, as well as the later Iranian forms of the name Vaxshu
and Vehrot, are calques of the original Yenisei word (See: Äóëüçîí, 1971, pp. 198-208).
26 |
Yaik - Jayik - Daiks
Claudius Ptolemy mentions the river Daiks, which must be understood as Jayik, a
river which in the Russian sources from 1775 was called Ural. The hydronym ”Jayik” is interesting
because it coincides with a series of originally Türkic synonyms, a most common of
which is ”wide, spread” (13). This etymology of the most true,
because it is the only
large river in the vast space where it is located. C. Ptolemy also notes the city Ausakla, equated
by the similarity of sound with the city Aksu (White Water) in Eastern
Turkestan (14). In our view, it can be suggested that Ausakla is an abbreviated form of
the word ogly
- ”son, offspring,” like in the etnotoponym ”Kanly” (15), Ausakla is
a result of
contraction of the word A-zak, it is the ethnonym ”Sak”. The etymology of the part Au
is yet undefined.
Elucidation by Sh. Kamoliddin, p. 33: Outside if the Middle Asia, many hydronyms are
also connected with the Türks, especially in the northern part of Eurasia. So, the river
Yaik (officially renamed in the 18th century by Russ. Tsarina to Ural - Translator’s
Note), flowing along the northwestern border of the Middle Asia, on the Ptolemy map is
called Daiks (Baix fluvius) [Tabulae Georaphicae], a Latin transliteration of the Türkic
word djaik (Yaik), meaning ‘‘flooding (river)’‘ [Bartold, 1963 (à), p. 180]. In the Ibn
Fadlan notes this river is called Djayikh [Ibn Fadlan ‘‘Travel’‘, p. 66]
(Ptolemy's Daiks indicates that Saka Scythian was an Ogur word). |
In line with M.Kashgary's observation about "dj" vs. "y" distinction between Ogur and
Oguz languages (djilan vs. yilan for the snake), and the historical presence of two
forms, Djaik and Yaik, for the name of the river, it is possible to conclude that
Herodotus was dealing with the Scythians belonging to the Ogur branch of the Türkic
linguistic family, and consequently he brought to us the Ogur form Djaik for the name of
the river. The oldest historically documented Türkic people in the former Scythian
territory were Ogur-speaking Bulgars, Huns, and Khazars, which is consistent with the
previous Türkic-speaking population. The Ogur-type Bulgar language remained Lingua Franca
in Eastern Europe until the 10th century, and as a mass language endured till the 15-16th
century. |
Mountains Altuntag and Mastag
In the legend, recorded by Herodotus, reported that Targitai had three sons: Urpaksai,
Kolaksai and Lipoksai (Herodotus 4.4.5 Leipoxais, Arpoxais, and
Colaxais). They lived in the Altuntag (Herodotus
?.?.?) mountains, had pasturing routs (yaylag) in the Mastag area,
etc. (Herodotus ?.?.?) (16). Here,
the toponyms Altuntag and Mastag are undoubtedly Türkic words: Altyn is ”gold”, muz
is ”ice”, tag or tau is ”mountain”. A toponym Muztau is preserved in
the name of a mountains near Almaty, and in the Altai.
Elucidation by Sh. Kamoliddin, p. 59: The greatest distribution in the Middle Asia
have oronyms with topoformant -tag (-dag) or-tau (-tuu) based on the ancient Türkic word
tag ‘‘mountain’‘ [Kashgari, vol. 3, p. 167]. In the modern geographical nomenclature this
word is used for designation of separate mountain or a mountain ridge [Baskakov, 1969, p.
67]. The toponyms belonging this group have been recorded, for the first time, in the
ancient Greek sources. Herodotus (where? - Translator’s Note) cites a legend according to
which three sons of Targitai lived in Altuntag mountains and coached in the pastures of
Mastag area [Abdurahmanov, 1962, p. 49]. The first of these toponyms comes from the
Türkic words altun and tag, and means ‘‘golden mountain’‘, and the second is formed from
muz and tag meaning ‘‘ice mountain’‘ [Karaev, 1987, p. 105]. The toponyms Altuntag and
Muztag endured until present, including the territory of the Middle Asia [Abdurahmanov,
1962, p. 49]. In the Pehlevi composition ‘‘Shahristanha-i Iran’‘ (Cities of Iran) is
mentioned mountain Ek-tag (Golden Mountain) where stood headquarters of the Türkic Kagan
[Pigulevskaya, 1956, p. 115]. The Byzantine sources mentioned oronyms Ek-tag and Qaz-tag
[Moravcsik, 1958, p. 122, 155]. In the Kyzyl Kum desert are relic mountains Djumurtau
with name formed from the ancient Türkic word djumur and topoformant -tau and means
‘‘Round Mountains’‘ [Karaev, 1987, p. 116]. In the northern Khoresm is a mountain Kubatau
with name formed from the ancient Türkic word cuba and means ‘‘Flat Mountain’‘ [Karaev,
1987, p. 118]. To the same category also belongs the oronym Ala [Kashgari, vol. 1, p.
110], which endured till now in the form Ala-tau. |
Irgis and Lik - Sirgis and Lik
To the the aforementioned Türkic toponyms, in our view, may be added such hydronyms as Irgis
(Sirgis) and Lik, mentioned by the ”Father of History” in the description of the Darius
campaign against the Scythians: ”When the Scythians crossed river Tanais, the Persians too,
crossed it
after them and continued their pursuit, until they reached the possessions of the Budines,
crossing the land of the Sauromates. On their way through Scythia and Sauromatia, the Persians
found nothing to ruin, as the country was devastated in advance; and when they invaded
the land of Budins, they found on their way there a wooden fortress, abandoned by the Boudins, and
completely cleaned by them, and burned it. After that they continued their offensive
advance following the trace of the Scythians, until they entered a desert, after passing the
country of Budini. That desert, completely uninhabited, lies above the lands of Budini and
runs for seven days' journey. Above the desert live Thyssagetae, and from their land flow four great rivers
through the land of Meotians and run into the lake called Meotida, their names are as follows: Lik,
Oar, Tanais and Sirgis (17).
Thyssagetae, describeded by Herodotus, are localized in the upper course of the rivers Pechora
and Tagil, in the lands of the later Voguls and are thought to be their ancestors. The
are,
however, also placed further south along the river White (18).
A.P.Smirnov localized Thyssagetae in the Middle Volga area (19).
B.A.Rybakov came to a conclusion that they should be identified
with urban culture (20).
In our view, the Thyssagetae lived along the river White and further south, and in the Middle
Volga area. And that is where the r.Lik and Irgis should be sought, they correspond to
the r. Elek, running
into Yaik (Kaz. Djaik), and Big Irgiz (Kaz. Ulken Yrgyz), which runs into Itil/Volga.
Earlier Irgis identified with the Donets (21), which is not very persuasive. For the Donets
flows into the Don Tanais to the north-west, where Thyssagetae can not be located. Oar and
Lick are identified with rivers Korsak and Obytichna (22),
which really fall into Meotida - Azov Sea, but they are, first, very small, and secondly, do not
flow from the Thyssagetae land, as described by Herodotus. The second indication B.N. Rybakov
understood in the sense that the sources of these rivers are in the direction of Thyssagetae
land (23),
but the river Korsak and Obytichna lie far from the Thyssagetae's habitat and Herodotus
could not use their headwaters as a landmark, that was the land of the Royal Scythians,
and the river do not even reach a mid-point of the royal Scythians' habitat.
Near the present city Volgograd the Don and Ittil/Volga come the closest, and possibly Herodotus could confuse them
at this point. Thus, describing the rivers of
Scythia, the ”father of history” mentions r.Irgis, which flows into the Tanais river, but
in the description of the Darius raid he does not say that Irgis flows into the Tanais. A
confusion
with the fact that the Lik (Elek), Oar (Itil/Volga) and Irgiz (Large. Irgiz) flow into
the Meotida, and also that Irgis flows into the Tanais, can be explained by the
fact that Herodotus has not personally been in Scythia, though he visited in Olbia to gather
information, and was misled by his informants. The latter most likely were Scythians,
and they did not want too much that a stranger, who could be a collector of information (in our
opinion about the Scythians) for the military campaigns, was well informed about the Scythia.
Herodotus also confused Don with Volga because the ancients knew very well the lower
reaches of the river Tanais, but not always were clear about the distant headwaters of the
rivers, and especially about their origins. B.N. Rybakov takes into account the
description of Strabon that ”rationalizes contradictions of the geographers
”(25): ”The origins of the Tanais are unknown ...
we know two mouths of Tanais in the northern part of the Meotida 60 stages from each
other, but only a small portion of the river is known above the mouth, because of the cold and scarcity .. . In
addition, the nomads ... blocked access to all convenient passages in the country, and
to the navigable portions of the river ”(24).
All that implies that Herodotus, like all ancient geographers, understood very vaguely
the courses of
the eastern rivers (26), but despite that, it is impossible to doubt the names of these
rivers (ie, Lik and Irgis), which the ”Father of History transmitted with maximum of phonetic
accuracy. Both names of these rivers, together with such toponyms as Ming, Palakent,
Barda, Oks, Oxus, Silis, Daiks, Ausakla, Muztag and Altyntag are undoubtedly Türkic.
It is possible that the list of names will Türkic be appended in the course of further
research. But even now, looking at the map where the above toponyms are located , we can see that
much of the Sakas and Scythians were Türkic.
LITERATURE
1. For most complete summary (of outdated opinions), see: BA Litvinsky ”Ancient Nomads
of the Roof of the World”, M.,
1972, pp.189-192.
2. Grakov B.N. Scythians. M., 1971, p.22.
3. Akynjanov M.B. Kazaktyn tep turaly. A., 1957; Abdrakhmanov A.A. Questions of
Kazakhstan toponymy. Coll. Oriental Toponymy. M., 1962.
4. See: Abdrakhmanov A.A. Questions ..., p.48.
5. Klyashtorny S.G. Yaksart-Syr-Darya. Soviet Ethnography, 1953, No 3, p.189.
6. Ibid, p.189.
7. Ancient authors on Central Asia. Tashkent, 1940, p.85.
8. Klyashtorny S.G. Yaksart-Syr-Darya, p.190.
9. Omiraliev K. ”Қàçûұðò” æàíå îíàí қàòûñû áàð òîïîíèìäåð
æàéëû. Kazakhstan Mektebi,
1967, No 4, pp. 81-82.
10. For example at Arian: ”Bess, having received the news that Alexander was not far away,
crossed the Oks. See: Ancient authors ..., p.47.
11. Karaev S.C. Ancient toponyms in Central Asia. Soviet Turkology, 1985,
12. Kashkari M. Devonu lugot-it Turk. vol. 1, Tashkent, 1960, p.91.
13. Akhmetyanov R.G., Bakhtov Sh.Z. For the etymology hydronym ”Eve yyk-Dzhayyk. Soviet
Turkology, 1986, ө3, p.18.
14. Abdrakhmanov AA Questions ..., p.51,
15. Klyashtorny S.G. Kangar ethnotoponymy in Orkhon texts. Soviet Ethnography,
1951,
16. Abdrakhmanov A.A. Questions ..., p. 49. The author refers to: History of the USSR,
part 1-2, M, 1939, pp. 220-222 (with rights of a manuscript).
This is an interesting case when both authors, A.I. Bisebaev and Sh.S.Kamoliddin refer to
the same Abdrakhmanov A.A. source, which in turn refers to a very limited publication
”with rights of a manuscript”, which may have been circulated for referrals, and which
apparently differed from the final publication. The deletions in the final publication
may have been censored out, or may have been edited out as a result of editorial
verification; but since the reasons for either one were never disclosed, and practically
the editors served as cooperating censors, all three authors demonstrated a better trust
in uncensored manuscript then the censored final publication. It appears it was a false
alarm. |
17. Latyshev V.V. Messages of the ancient Greek and Latin
writers about Scythia and
Caucasus. Journal of Ancient History, 1947,
18. Ibid, p.263. Commentator's note.
V.V.Latyshev was a 19th c. scientist, and straightforward use of his conclusions, as well
as his re-print's commentator, without corroboration of the later experts, may need
further verification. |
19. Smirnov A.P. Scythians. M., 1966, p.103.
20. Rybakov B.A. Herodotus' Scythia. M., 1979,
p.192.
21. Grakov B.N. Scythians. M., 1971, p.16.
22. Rybakov B.A. Herodotus' ..., p.59.
23. Ibid. 158.
24. Strabon, Geography, Book 1. M., 1964, p.468.
25. Rybakov B.A. Herodotus' ..., p.52.
26. ”The ancient geographers extremely vaguely envisaged the eastern rivers. They had
the following notation:
Arax - correspond to the Caucasus Arax river, Amu Darya and Syr Darya;
Tanaid
- Don, Syr-Darya,
Oks - Amu Darya, Tedjen Geri-Ru,
Ox - Tedjen; Arius Tedjen;
Yaksart, Laksat - Syr Darya”. - The ancient authors ..., p.149. Note 22.
|