Kim H. Veltman
“Bridges, Languages and Cultures,” GENÇLİK VE KÜLTÜREL MİRASIMIZ, International
Congress on Youth and Culture, Sansun, Turkey, 15-18 May, 2014, pp. 773-788, Ceylan
Ofset , Samsun, 2014.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Abstract
Physically, Turkey is a country with a bridge across the Bosporus with Europe on the West
side and Asia on the East side. Metaphysically, Turkey is one of the keys to understanding
connections between East and West. Already in the 2nd millennium B.C. there was a Tin Road
linking Kültepe and the Indus Valley. By the 5th c. B.C., there was a royal road linking Susa
in Elam (Iran) with Sardis (Turkey).
This paper explores how Turkey offers bridges to Europe, Asia and Eurasia in terms of
religions, languages and city plans. It suggests that research into old Turkic traditions might
hold a key to understanding common roots of Altaic and Indo-European languages. Turkey’s
understanding of its roots would help Europe and the world to recognize their debt to Turkic
traditions.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
0. Introduction
1. Bridges to Europe
1.1. Celtic, Greek, Roman Influences
2.2. Christianity
3.3. Early European Languages
2. Bridges to Asia
2.1 Zoroastrianism
2.2 City Plans
2.3 Country Plans
3. Bridges to Eurasia
3.1 Tengrism
3.2 Allah
3.3 Ur Tamgas and Letters
3.4 Chinese and Turkic Tribes and Tamgas
4. Cradles of Civilization
5. Conclusions
1
0. Introduction
Physically, Turkey is a country with a bridge across the Bosporus with Europe on the West
side and Asia on the East side. Accordingly, many Europeans tend to perceive Turkey as
distant and on the other side of a divide. Metaphysically and historically, however, Turkey is
one of the keys to understanding connections between East and West. Already in the 2nd
millennium B.C. there was a Tin Road, later linked with the Silk Road, connecting Kültepe
via Ashur with the Indus Valley.1 There was also an Assyrian Trade Road2 and the Ebla
Caravan Trading.3 By the 5th c. B.C., there was a royal road linking Susa in Elam (Iran) with
Sardis (Turkey).4
The location of this conference has a role in this bridging. In the latter half of the 2nd
millennium B.C., Sansun was part of the Hittite Empire, which some link to the Pala5 people
of India or to peoples from the Balkans.6 This central Northern part of Turkey was known as
Paphlagonia. According to Wiki, it was a state from the 5th century to 183 B.C., but already in
the 8th century B.C., Homer (Iliad, ii. 851-857) knew of it as: “one of the most ancient nations
of Anatolia.”7 Subsequently, Paphlagonia was ruled by Lydian and Macedonian kings, was
part of the Roman Empire and became a Venetian colony, serving as a key for trade routes to
the East. One theory claims that Venetians (Veneti, Heneti, Eneti), who have links with the
Trojans, have their roots in Paphlagonia.8 Detailed examination of such local connections
would lead beyond the scope of this essay which seeks to outline areas for future research.
This paper explores bridges between Turkey, Europe, Asia and Eurasia. Section one provides
a lightning view of the past 3,500 years of Turkish history to show how Turkey has a special
relation to Christianity, the Holy Land and early European languages. Section two explores
older roots linking Turkey with Asia in terms of Zoroastrianism and city architecture. Section
three includes Turkic lands beyond Turkey proper to suggest that Turkic heritage in this larger
sense affects the whole of Eurasia via Tengrism and may offer insights into the prehistory of
Allah and early branching of Indo-European languages. Section four touches on cradles of
civilization, leading to conclusions.
1. Bridges to Europe
The history of Turkey is about much more than a country now defined by Asia Minor. It is
inseparably linked with at least 6 great empires: Hittite, Achaemenid, Greek, Roman,
Byzantine and Ottoman. Its boundaries change immensely. In 1450 B.C., the Hittites are in
the Eastern half of what is now Turkey with connections to the Mitanni and the Egyptian
Empire. By 1285 B.C. the Hittite Empire includes almost all of Asia Minor and much of
present day Syria. By 600 B.C., Cappadocia had become part of the Median Empire. From
550 to 330 B.C. the Achaemenid Empire dominated the whole of present Turkey, the Holy
Land and Egypt. The rise of Greek civilization and Greek empires epitomized by Alexander
the Great brought new changes.
1.1. Celtic, Greek, Roman Influences
Greek colonies spread around the coasts of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. By 300
2
B.C., eastern and southern Turkey were under Greek influence. By 277 B.C., an influx of
Celtic settlers had come to Galatia in central Turkey. Meanwhile, the Roman Empire was
rising. By 100 B.C., it extended into the western part of Asia Minor. Under Augustus (27 B.C.
-14 A.D.), the first Roman Emperor, Rome expanded across Galicia and Cappadocia to
include the whole of Turkey, the Holy Land and Egypt. By 117 A.D., when the Roman
Empire arrived at its maximum reach, it included Armenia, Assyria, Mesopotamia, Judaea,
and Arabica Petraea.
In 285 A.D., the emperor Diocletian partitioned Rome into western and eastern halves. By
330 A.D., Emperor Constantine moved the main capital from Rome to Byzantium
(Constantinople, Istanbul).9 In 395, partition of the empire into a Pars occidentalis and Pars
orientis was formalized. By 500, the Eastern Roman Empire remained intact while much of
the Western part was in the hands of “barbarians.” When Justinian gained accession in 527,
the Byzantine Empire flourished. By the end of his reign, Italy, which had become the
Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, had become formally added to Byzantium’s territories.
Through the Muslim Conquests of 635-640, the Holy Land, traditionally under Byzantium,
now came under Arabic control. The next centuries saw a gradual diminution of Byzantine
realms. Notwithstanding four crusades from 1096 to 1204, Arabic influence in the Holy Land
remained important and it was not until the flourishing of the Ottoman Empire in 1520 that
the Holy Land came fully under Turkish influence once more and remained so until 1917.
Stated dramatically the Holy Land was formally linked with Rome and/or Constantinople
from 6 B.C.- 634 A.D., partially linked until 1519 and again fully linked from 1520-1917.
Figure 1. Wiki map of History of Turkey.10
3
1.2. Christianity
A Wiki map showing the history of Turkey is more significant for the mind-set it implies,
than the accuracy that it conveys. One could easily be forgiven for an impression that
Christianity arrived mainly with the Byzantine Empire in the latter 400s. Our mini chronology
points to a very different picture, beginning with one of the 12 apostles: Saint Paul.
1.2.1. Letters of Saint Paul
Paul of Tarsus was the author of many letters addressed to various groups of first-century Christians.
They comprise most of the New Testament, and as such are very influential in modern Christianity.
Paul, also known as "Saul," was a first-century Pharisee Jew who was fiercely opposed to the new sect
of Judaism founded by Jesus Christ called the "Way" until his conversion following a vision on the road
to Damascus, Syria. Paul modified the Way by stripping it of most of its original Jewish character,
including temple worship and observance of Mosaic law, e.g., the prohibition against consuming pork.
He took a major role in spreading this sect's theology throughout the northeastern Mediterranean world
from Antioch (where it was first called Christianity) through Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy.
According to Wiki, “Paul could be considered the founder of Christianity.”11 Since Saint Paul
was originally a citizen of Tarsus from Turkey, one could claim that a Turkish person played
a key role in the founding of Christianity. In any case, Saint Paul’s written contributions
include a series of Epistles (Letters) to the Cappadocians, Corinthians, Colossians, Ephesians,
Galacians, and Thessalonians, reflecting major cities and places connected with his churches
in Turkey.12
1.2.2. Seven Churches of the East
His missionary journeys spread the word of Christianity throughout Turkey.13 In the western
part of Turkey, Asia (Minor), which had been annexed to the Roman Empire c. 100 B.C., he
built Seven Churches of Asia (also called Seven Churches of Revelation and Seven Churches
of the Apocalypse), namely: Ephesus, Smyrna (Izmir), Pergamon, Thyatira, Sardis,
Philadelphia, Laodicea.14 Saint John the Evangelist, author of the New Testament Book of
Revelation, included messages for each of the seven churches.15 Thus Turkey became the first
country where the new form of Christianity for Gentiles became established. In the fourth
century, the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity began not in Rome but in
Byzantium with Constantine. Turkey made Christianity a world religion. At the time of the
Muslim Conquests, the Christian churches of Cappadoccia continued to keep alive the flame
of Christian faith.
1.2.3. Seven Ecumenical Councils
These early connections through Saint Paul in the first half of the first century establish a
profound link between Turkey, the New Testament and early Christianity. They were,
however, only the beginning of a long series of interconnections. As the (Western Orthodox)
Catholic Church became established in Rome, the Eastern Orthodox Church became rooted in
Byzantium and later Constantinople. The Eastern Church was much more than a branch
which gradually became the head office. For instance, the Roman Church had a chronology
linked with creation in 4,004 B.C. The Byzantine Church had its own chronology linked with
5,009 B.C. earlier than both the Catholic and the Jewish calendars. The roots of this
4
Council
1. 1st Council of Nicea
2. 1st Council of Constantinople
3. Council of Ephesus
Second Council of Ephesus
4. Council of Chalcedon
5. 2nd Council of Constantinople
6. 3rd Council of Constantinople
Quinsext Council in Trullo (Constantinople)
7. 2nd Council of Nicea
Year
325 A.D.
381
431
449
451
553
680-681
692
787
Figure 2. Ecumenical Councils.16
alternative chronology and different versions of creation stories is one area that deserves
further research.
In the first millennium of Christianity, there were seven councils recognized as ecumenical by
the Catholic Church (figure 2). All of them occurred in four cities: Nicea, Constantinople,
Ephesus and Chalcedon, all of them in Western Turkey. These councils served further to
define the beliefs and sacraments of Christianity. They also explored relations between
western, eastern and Oriental Christianity, declaring as heretical some views of Manichaeism,
the Monophysites (Jacobites) and Dyophysites (Nestorians). Hence, if Turkey was the place
where Gentile Christianity began, it was also the country in which the main outlines of the
new faith were established, beginning with fundamentals such as the Nicean Creed.
As a result Constantinople became much more than a head office within the Catholic Church.
It served to mediate among different orthodoxies in Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem,
Georgia, Armenia, Mesopotamia, even Ethiopia, and India. Notwithstanding some attempts at
comparative religion, the history of religion has been largely in terms of histories of
individual religions. The histories of Western, Eastern and Oriental Christian traditions have
largely been studied in isolation. Needed is more comparative research that helps us to
understand differences in branches of Christianity.
1.2.4. Holy Land
As noted above, one of the unexpected dimensions of Turkey is that it was linked with and
controlled the Holy Land for well over a millennium in the past 3,000 years through the
empires with which it was connected (Achaemenid, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman). By
contrast, Israel, which claims historical right over the area, had a Kingdom of Israel as a
combined monarchy for 89 years (1,020 B.C. - 931 B.C.). Prior to this they point to a period
of the 12 tribes (1200 B.C. - 1050 B.C.).17 That Egypt controlled this same land for the four
centuries from 1600 B.C. - 1200 B.C. is seldom mentioned.18
Today we hear constantly of the 12 Tribes of Israel: 10 linked with the Northern Tribe of
Israel and 2 linked with the Southern Tribe of Judah.19 After the dispersal of the kingdom of
Israel in 722 B.C., there is talk of their dispersal and the so-called 10 Lost Tribes. In the West,
5
there is less discussion of the 12 tribes of Ishmael and even less of the 12 Tribes of Canaan,
which included the Hittites and Palestinians.
In the Christian tradition, the 12 tribes of Israel in the Old Testament are obviously studied
seriously. At the same time, this account replaced the earlier 12 tribes of Canaan. Needed are
comparative studies that help us to understand how the Old Testament was once a new
version of a much older tradition. Comparative studies with the 12 tribes of Ishmael could
make contributions to understanding of Judaism, and Christianity as well as Islam.
1.2.5. Early European Languages
There are great debates about the classification of Turkic languages among the language
families. One group classes Anatolian languages as one of ten major branches of IndoEuropean languages.20 Another favours their inclusion among Altaic languages.21 Yet a third
has classed them among the Tatar class of languages.22 In the 72 Sacred Alphabets of the
Virga Aurea (Rome, 1617), Turcicum is one of four languages using Arabic script along with
Aphricanum, Arabicum and Persicum. In this alignment, Turkic (Turcicum) is linked with
both the Afro-Asiatic Languages and Indo-European languages.
Given the extraordinary history of Turkey, which links directly with the Persian
(Achaemenid) Empire and indirectly with Arabic and African empires, deeper research into
the exact chronology of these major languages is needed. For instance, is it possible that
Turcicum acquired its letters via the Persians in the period 550 -330 B.C.? In which case, this
form of Turkic would have come from the Aryan Indo-European tradition and might have
served as a bridge to Aphricanum and Arabicum. Possible older connections will be explored
in § 3.3. below.
Turkey may well be the key to understanding other dimensions of early European alphabets.
The textbook version we learned at school was that the Phoenicians invented the alphabet
which was then copied by the Aramaeans, the Hebrews, and the Greeks. Older sources show
that the first Phoenician alphabet had 25 letters, while the second Phoenician alphabet was 24
letters. This first Phoenician alphabet (also called Phenician 1) is identical with Assyrium in
the 72 sacred alphabets. Hence, it was imported from Assyria and not invented along the
shores of the Mediterranean.23
The second Phoenician alphabet, or Ionic, corresponds to Saracenum (cf. Saracen 1) in the 72
sacred alphabets. The Saracens formed the equites (heavy cavalry) from Phoenicia and
Thamud. Originally they were a people who came from “desert areas in and near the Roman
province of Arabia, and who were specifically distinguished from Arabs.” 24 This second
Phoenician alphabet was also called the Ionian Alphabet. This is the more significant because
it was from Miletus in Turkey that a 22 letter, Greek Ionic ABC version of the alphabet was
first imported to Athens Greece in 403 B.C.25 Hence, a Saracen alphabet from Arabia went to
Phoenicia and Turkey, was modified, and became an ABC version of the Greek alphabet.
The textbook version of the origins of Latin is that it came from the Etruscans. Some claim it
derived from a version of Greek. Even a cursory comparison between ancient Phrygian and
6
ancient Latin shows that a number of the letters are nearly identical. Italy was certainly aware
of Phrygia. For instance, the museum of Brescello still has Phrygian artefacts. Precisely how
these alphabets interacted is another area for research.
2. Bridges to Asia
Turkey’s bridges to the west were complemented by bridges to the East. Sardis (Sart), the
location of one of the 7 Christian Churches of Saint Paul, was also the westernmost post of
the Royal Road that led via Ashur to Susa in Elam, the winter capital of the Achaemenid
Empire. Later this same city was part of the Silk Roads that led to Persia, India and China. Tin
and caravan roads were mentioned earlier. The importance of these roads for trade is well
known. Here, our interest is in their importance in spreading architectural features, religion
and ideas.
2.1. City Plans
Ebla, now in Syria, was once part of Hittite Empire. The city was built on a limestone
outcrop, which has been used to explain its name (Ebla, meaning White Rock).26 Its acropolis
has the form of a raised, fortified city. It is surrounded by a circular wall. A very similar
pattern is found in Erk Kala in Turkmenistan. Indeed it is an example of a type of city-plan
found at Kültepe and Gaziantep in Turkey, at Erbil (Arbila) in Iraq, Nisa in Iran, Mehrgarh
and Kot Diji in Pakistan. A simple, pragmatic explanation would state that elevated hills are
useful for defence and that the idea was copied throughout Asia and the Near East. To
understand why there is probably more to the story, requires a brief detour via Zoroastrianism.
2.1.1. Zoroastrianism
Today Turkey is most commonly associated with Islam and with Christianity, as noted above.
In an earlier period, Eastern Turkey was also associated with Zoroastrianism. Indeed,
Ranghaya/Rangha situated at the Upper Tigris River was the 16th Vendidad Nation.27 As a
result, Turkey was linked with one of the oldest world religions linked with a sacred text. This
brought it in contact with a wide range of cultural centres in Middle Asia including
Azerbaijan, Iran, Uzbekhistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Vendidad Nation 15. Hapta
Hindu (Sapta Sindu) in the Upper Indus Valley.
Zoroastrianism was much more than a belief system. It had advanced cosmology, astronomy,
and astrology. It also introduced new architectural forms such as fire temples (fire houses),
typically called 4 doors (čahārqāpū) or 4 arches (Chatar Taq, Čahārṭāq , Chahar-Taqi). The
Chahar Taqi at Ani in Turkey is an excellent example. These fire temples are of interest in
their own right because they introduce grid patterns to architecture, variations on a Greek
cross pattern and are related to diaphragm arches and ribbed vaults.28
More importantly, the fourth Vendidad Nation, Bakhdhi (Bactria) was a centre of
Zoroastrianism with its capital in Balkh. Founded in the 4th millennium B.C., Balkh was
called the Mother of all Cities and Shamis en Balkh, 'Sams-i-Bala‘ (cf. Shambala). It was a
7
Depe
Höyük
Tall
Tel
Tell
Tapa
Tappa
Tappeh
Tepe
Terp
Teppe
Turkmenistan
Turkey
Iraq
Israel
Israel
Afghanistan, India
Iran
Iran
Turkey, Turkmenistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekhistan
Netherlands
Iran
Figure 3. Some terms for (man-made) hills and mounds and related countries.
city in a special form of a circle: both Old Balkh and New Balkh. In Zoroastrianism, the circle
was a symbol of the world of matter.29
Arkaim in Russia, also built in the 4th millennium B.C., has the same basic form as do Mari
(Iraq) built a millennium later (c. 2,900 B.C.); Kültepe in the 3rd millennium B.C. and
Zincirli Höyük in the 2nd millennium B.C. This circular shape was repeated more accurately
in Gur (8th c. B.C.), said to be the first geometrically circular city in Iran. Alexander the Great
destroyed it in the 4th c. B.C. Ardashir rebuilt it in the 3rd c. A.D. adding a fire temple at the
centre. Meanwhile, Ecbatana (715 B.C.) was built as a perfect six spoke wheel. It also had
seven circles corresponding to 7 levels of status with the king living in the centre. 30 Each of
circles had coloured walls aligned with the 7 planets. This circular city form was also used by
Darius at Darabgerd and later became the model of the Muslim city of Babylon. Hence, what
began as circular cities with cosmological associations, become circular cities which are
models of the cosmos.
This lightning tour of Middle Asian architecture makes it clear that we cannot understand
major Turkish sites such as Kültepe and Gaziantep in isolation. Needed is international,
comparative research that studies how these models evolved and shared their principles.
Initially, we suggest that this might proceed along at least three lines. One would be
geological, archaeological and architectural comparing the physical nature of the mounds, and
techniques used.
A second line would be philological and linguistic with attention to toponymy. Early sites are
sometimes on high places (e.g. acroprolis). Often they are on man-made hills or mounds.
Their names vary considerably.Sometimes they are called Kaya and Kaya (rock). In Turkey,
they are typically called Höyük or Tepe. Elsewhere they are called Depe, Tall, Tel, Tell, Tapa,
Tappa, Tappeh, Tepe, Teppe. In some cases these variants are simply alternative forms of
spelling. In other cases, a particular variant is linked with a country, region (figure 3) and
occasionally seem to be linked with a specific chronological timeframe. We need a
compendium of these sites, which can be searched chronologically as well as geographically.
8
Connected with this is a third line which would be more in terms of cultural history. It would
reach back into pre-history and link circular models of the cosmos with circular cities and
structures. Starting points would be Mount Meru (India), Atlantis (Greece) and Belovodje
(Russia). Part of this story lies in understanding how mythological forms become intertwined
with utopian, idealised versions and then become historical sites such as Hamedan (Ecbatana)
and Firuzabad.
Another part of the story lies in tracing how metaphysical concepts become physical and then
return to depicted mental realms. For instance, the rebuilt city of Gur (Iran) contained a fire
temple at its centre. In Iraq, a similar structure becomes the Malwiya Minaret, Abu Duluf
Mosque, Samarra. In Iraq also, ziggurats were erected, “as an imitation or artificial
reproduction of the mythical mountain of the assembly of the stars' (Ararat and Eden).”31
Accordingly, the seven floors of the ziggurat in Babylon were aligned with 7 colours and 7
planets, thus providing a 3-D cosmological version which Ecbatana had evoked though its
circular city walls: a city as cosmos was now replaced by a building as cosmos.
In India, there had also been a concept of 7 Jain hells. In Sumeria, these became 7 gates of the
underworld (Kur). In the Koran, these seven floors became 7 earths of the underworld,
balanced by 7 heavens above. Meanwhile, in Armenia, the 7 physical floors of ziggurats
became 7 metaphysical layers of a mythical central mountain reminiscent of Mount Meru. In
the Christian tradition, Dante produced an amalgam of these traditions. The 7 hells of the
East, became the 7 upper hells of a more complex structure with 9 hells. The ziggurat and
mythical mountain became a 7 corniced moral mountain culminating in a terrestrial paradise,
while the 7 heavens were now re-linked with planets without the ziggurat imagery. Such a
cultural history of metaphysical and physical cosmological models would help to reveal the
interconnectedness of early cultures qua their theories and their structures.
The above sketch suggesting a mini-history that begins in Balkh in the 4th millennium B.C.
and spreads to Kültepe by the 3rd millennium B.C. is fully plausible but it can hardly be the
full story. For instance, the Turkish site of Göbeckli Tepe is also based on a circular city
model. While its scale is much smaller than Balkh, it predates Balkh by 6 millennia, going
back to the 10th millennium B.C. In popular articles, Göbeckli has been described as the
world’s oldest temple32 and the beginning of civilization. This is very unlikely. The
Zharkutanskie runes from Sungir near Orel in Russia go back to 68,000 B.C.33 Wiki claims
that Arbila goes back to the 5th millennium B.C. But new archaeological studies date the
origins of Arbil back to 148,000 B.C.34 Such examples confirm the need for long term
research in the area currently considered as pre-history, an area in which Turkey can play an
important role.
2.2.Country Plans
A fourth line of research would extend the study of circular models to include China and
specifically their alignment of peoples and colours with the cardinal directions. As in the city
of Ecbatana (Hamedan), China had a system of aligning concentric circles with different
groups of people, except that they applied the concept to the whole country. 35 The central
circle was for the Emperor. The subsequent circles were for inner subjects, outer subjects, and
tributary states. Beyond these were Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Barbarians.
Beyond China this mental ordering was applied to colours and the Huns: Black Huns in the
9
West South
North
ak
hara
kara
ak
kizil
hara
ak
al
kara
Turkish:
ak
kırmızı
siyah
Kyrgz:
ak
qyzyl
qara
Croatian
bijela crvena
crna
Russian
Bela Cherven
Chorna
Belo Krasno
Cherno
белый красный
черный
Figure 4. White, red, black directions and colours.
Mongolian
Turkic
North, Celestial (Blue) Huns in the East, Red Huns in the South, and White Huns in the West.
The cardinal directions were now colour coded as black, blue, red and white, Turkish kara,
gök, kizil (cf. kirmizi, hara, al), ak.
In Balkh (Belh, now Afghanistan), the birthplace of the Turkish mystic Rumi, this colour
coding of directions was applied to city gates (doors), quarters and peoples: i.e. North,
South, West, East became Black Door, Red Door, White Door, Blue Door (Kara Kapi, Kizil
Kapi, Ak Kapi, Gok Kapi) linked with Turkish, Indian, Jewish and Chinese peoples in the
respective quarters of the city.36 This principle was used in other Turkish cities. It also applies
to four major Eurasian seas: Black Sea, Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Aral Sea.37
In cosmic contexts, the four directions were often reduced to three, namely West, South,
North, which were variously aligned with creation, preservation, destruction; sky, atmosphere,
earth; sky, space, earth and solid, liquid, vaporous. They were also linked with three colours,
white, red, black; acquired metaphysical and physical associations in a number of cultures and
were applied to a range of topics including candles, cities, countries, gods,38 hills, mosques,
mountains, peoples, sands, tantras, threads, and waters. In the Hittite Zodiac, a white horse,
red horse and black horse became the three world horses associated with Scorpio.39
Here, a main concern is to point to a future research theme. Even a quick glance at colour
terms in a few Asian countries (figure 4) reveals that there are parallels between Turkish
terms, Turkic terms, those in Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. A new kind of international research
would need to co-ordinate such comparative study.
3. Bridges to Eurasia
A third kind of bridge entails links with the whole of Eurasia. Here the focus is on Turkic
languages rather than Turkey as a country per se. The fundamental work of Amanjolov40 has
revealed that this tradition is also connected with the history of runes. Turkic languages span
“a vast area from Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western
China.”41 A basic map illustrates 25 Turkic languages ranging from Karaim in the West to
Yakut in the East.42 Wiki lists 35 Turkic languages with five main divisions: Northwestern
Common Turkic (Kipchak); Northeastern Common Turkic (Siberian), Southwestern Common
Turkic (Oghuz), Southeastern Common Turkic (Karluk) and Oghur.43
Oghur is further subdivided into: Chuvash, Khazar, Turkic Avar, Bulgar, Hunnic. Some
aspects of this tree are fairly clear. The Bulgarians claim that Balkh (Afghanistan), discussed
earlier, is their original homeland. There are 132 Scytho-Sarmatian runes.44 Of these, the first
10
75 are accompanied by letter terms. The final 57 (i.e. 75 reversed) are runes without
accompanying letter terms. The 132 Scytho-Sarmatian runes are copied almost perfectly as
132 Old Bulgarian Runes. The old Chuvash Alphabet in turn copies the first 75 runes changes
the letter terms to a Latin script and drops the final 57 runes. A further subset with some
reshuffling leads towards the Early Cyrillic alphabet. So the same, Balkh linked with the
home of Zoroastrianism, circular city planning and hometown of Rumi, is a key to
understanding one of the five branches of Turkic languages as well as Cyrillic languages.
If the Oghur branch links with proto-Slavic languages, the Oghuz and Kipchak branches link
to various Caspian languages which, according to Indian sources go back millions of years.
No analysis of these is possible within the limits of this paper. Instead, four almost anecdotal
cases will point to dimensions of this vast field: Tengrism, Ur Tamgas, Allah as well as tribes
and tamgas. Rather than providing conclusive answers, these examples are intended to raise
questions and point to further study.
3.1.Tengrism
On the Wiki map of Turkish History (figure 1), there is no sign of Tengrism in the B.C.
period. This is almost certainly an omission. In the Slavic Zharkutanskie runes (68,000 B.C.),
rune 10 is a Mara rune. The form of the Mara rune and the rune connected with the god
Tengri are almost identical. The same basic shape serves as a matrix for aligning (and
generating?) the 24 futhark runes. The Tengri rune recurs throughout Turkic and other
languages. It is tamga 28 in the Abkhaz tamgas. One of its four axes in isolation produces the
Orkhon letter “ič, či.” In Europe, this is the Algiz rune. A slight variant produces the Turkish
letter š, which is also the Yuan and Yen symbol. Rotating the Tengri rune as a whole by 45
degrees, provides the cross-diagonal axes found on the Latvian wheel of the year.
Early Turkic letters are linked with body movements as in the runic tradition. They are also
linked with tribes and tamgas and reflect principles that have been traced back to China.
Indeed, some have claimed that this tradition provided a model for 22 letter alphabets used in
most early European languages.
The individual letters of the word Tengri derive from body movements (mudras). For
instance, the letter r in Tengri is based on a Y like stance. Such stances, called Tamganin,
underly all the old Turkic letters. These are part of a long tradition. For instance, they relate to
Runic Yoga. In Scandinavia, there is a corresponding tradition of Stav, where individual body
positions combined with staves define 18 basic runes as well as positions in the martial arts.
It is claimed that such martial arts body stances were originally also a source for the 28 letters
of Arabic, and that this tradition (tantuinine) was exported to China to become the Shaolin
martial arts.
The old Turkic runes/letters were linked with body stances. Were they also linked with yogic
stances and martial arts as elsewhere in the Arabic world? Zoroastrianism and Sufism both
linked letters with creation and the dance of life. Were there once whirling stances long before
the dances of the whirling dervishes? Turkey which was linked with Achaemenid and later
with the Ottoman Empire is perfectly positioned to explore such questions. An unlikely
combination of history of alphabets, religions and martial arts is needed.
11
33,000 -24,000 B.C.
7,000 B.C.
6,500 B.C.
4,500 B.C.
2,000 B.C.
2,000 - 1,400 B.C.
1,500 B.C.
Proto-Indo-European
Slavic Mother Language
Armenian
Chechen
Udi Language (Caucasian Albanian);Germanic Languages; Indo-Aryan-Indo-Iranian
Balto-Slavic Languages
Vedic (Old Indic, Sanskrit)
Figure 5. Some dates connected with Indo-European Languages and split into individual
subgroups.
3.2. Ur Tamgas and Letters
Turkey could also be a key to gaining a better understanding of the roots of Indo-European
languages. Wiki offers one summary of standard views. It lists 10 subgroups of which
Anatolian is the oldest (1,650 B.C.),45 Indo-Iranian (1,400 B.C.) is third and Armenian is
seventh (5th c. A.D.). Another chart links the roots with 3,500 B.C.46 Proponents of ProtoIndio-European associate the roots with Gravettian Culture47 and dates from 33,000 – 24,000
B.C.48 Some speak of a Slavic Mother tongue going back to 7,000 B.C.49 In this model,
Armenian was the first branch to split off c. 6,500 B.C.50 (cf. figure 5).
Debates about precise dates or possible names (e.g. Primordial Alphabet, Ur Language, Slavic
Mother Language, or Proto-Indo European) do not affect the underlying claims. There was
originally a single language in Eurasia, which at some point between the 10th and 1st
millennium B.C. split into a series of subgroups. In the case of old Armenian (c.6,500 B.C.),
the principles that inspired the letters are fairly obvious. The imagery is solar. As in the case
of the Tengri symbol, fourfold symbols aligned along the four cardinal axes were a starting
point. One of these axes was then separated to form individual letters. In the case of Chechen,
the moon was a source, and various segments were arranged axially. In this case, the symbols
at the each of the extremities of the four axes, if combined, would produce a Mara/Tengri
symbol. When the complete set is realigned with letters it results in Old Chechen.
Armenia also has a series of signs known as the Generative Force which, it is claimed,
generate all the letters of their alphabet. It begins right and left pointing swastikas. In an
ancient Slavic alphabet these are letters called Swastika and Posolon respectively. Several of
these shapes recur in Abkhaz tamgas, Glagolitic, Armenian, Chechen, Tifinagh. A series of
144 Bukovi shows the swastika as a matrix for generating forms as in Armenia. Such
examples suggest that basic 4 axis symbols such as Tengri and the swastika were probably
part of an original primordial alphabet. We have ISO codes for the modern alphabets. This
needs to extended to letters of ancient alphabets, runes, kuni, and tamga in order to trace
routes of transmission and influences. Turkic languages, linked with Caucasian languages
around the Caspian Sea, which Indian sources cite as the oldest source of languages, could
have a particular role to play in this story.
3.3.Allah
The name Allah is now associated mainly with Islam, although it is used by other religions
such as Christian Arabs, Mizrahi Jews, and Sikhs. It was used by pagans in Mecca prior to the
12
Prophet Mohammed. It was used by the Nabaraeans as early as the 5th century B.C. Indeed
“The name Allah or Alla was found in the Epic of Atrahasis engraved on several tablets dating
back to around 1700 BC in Babylon.”51 Thus far, the official story reflected in Wiki.
The symbol may be much older. In the Slavic tradition there was an Allah Swastika
(СВАСТИКА АЛЛАХА). There was also an ancient Slavic alphabet called the
VseYaSvetnaya Charter (Грамота ВсеЯсветная). There are claims that it was originally a
three dimensional alphabet with 1,234 letters, with roots going back to c. 11,000 B.C.; that it
was then simplified around 5,500 B.C. into a two-dimensional subset of 147 letters. A version
of this alphabet52 is still in use by a small group of old believers (Ingleists). This alphabet is of
interest here because it contains another letter aligned along four axes called АЛЛАХ (Allah).
This letter is close to the shape of the Sign system of paradise squared53 and recalls the basic
form of Tengri. It recurs in various versions. In one case, it is part of a series of which depicts
the letters Ya, YaYa, Al, La, Alo, Ale and Alla. Here, Ya is more than a letter. It is also the
symbol for Slovo, the word for letter, word, speech. In other contexts, ya has an upward and a
downward form: upward as great breath, the runes Ар and Othala; downward as essence, the
runes Орея and Erda.
In the Pliske runes associated with Tengrism, the downward form is Sarakt (Holy Heritage,
the State Itself). To the left is a symbol IYI. In proto-Bulgarian it is JuJi linked with the names
of God.54 This downward form recurs as letter 63, IO, of the Bulgarian Runes; as a framework
for a scheme of the three worlds (Yav, Prav and Nav) and as a matrix for the whole of the
Ukrainian and Cyrillic alphabets. So the pre-Islamic form of Allah is etymologically
connected with the term for word, which recurs as letter 63 of Old Bulgarian and the final
letter of modern Cyrillic. The pre-Mohammadan Allah is connected with primal forces of
creation. It is a pre-history that deserves separate study.
3.4. Chinese and Turkic Tribes and Tamgas
In the Turkish tradition, the IYI symbol has other connotations. It occurs as a tamga
associated with the Kayi tribe. Amongst the Oguz, it is the beginning of a classification into 2
Branches, 6 Clans (each linked with a particular kind of hawk), 24 Tribes. The fascinating
work of Oimoçu and Bitikçi (2010)55 has suggested that the Chinese tradition of trigrams and
hexagrams provides a model for understanding Kyrgz and Turkic cosmology. Indeed, they
claim that the principles of Turkic letters also have their origins in the hexagrams of Chinese
cosmology: that the 8 trigrams underly the shapes of 8 basic Turkic letters. In some schemes
the 24 clans became 22 clans. Hence, China, which introduced an ordering of a country and
society in terms of circular symbolism, may also have provided a framework for organizing
clans/tribes and 22 letter alphabets. The Turkic languages, spanning the whole of Eurasia
were a natural context for dissemination of such macro-concepts.
4. Cradles of Civilization
A standard Western view still claims that the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia was the cradle
of civilization: i.e. Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and later Babylon.56 Geographically it is a story of
the South.57 The story of Turkey outlined in this paper is one that happened North of the
official story. It dovetails with Armenian stories linked with Urartu and Mount Ararat. The
13
Turkic story is further East58 and dovetails with claims of a Central Asian ethnogenesis. We
need to respect both histories and understand how they are related.
5. Conclusions
In terms of size, Turkey is number 37. In terms of population, it is number 18. In terms of
world history its direct connection with 6 major empires (Hittite, Greek, Achaemenid, Roman,
Byzantine and Ottoman) makes it one of the most important cultural traditions of the world.
This paper has offered examples of how it has created bridges with Europe, Asia and Eurasia.
Some of these connections have been forgotten, many have never been studied properly. New
research is needed to put Turkey’s places on the maps of old into the mental maps of today’s
youth and tomorrow’s leaders.
Bibliography
A.S.Amanjolov, History of Ancient Türkic Script, Almaty, "Mektep", 2003, ISBN 9965-16204-2. http://s155239215.onlinehome.us/turkic/31Alphabet/Amanjolov/AmanjolovAlphabetTableEn.htm
Kim H. Veltman, Alphabets of Life, Smolensk: Twinscorp, 2014. http://www.alphabetsoflife.com/
Notes
1
Tin Road: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.nl/2013/12/tin-road-between-ashur-kultepe-and.html
Assyrian Trade Road: http://www.turkishhan.org/trade.htm
3
Ebla Caravan Trading: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/MPm3FKvhyRc/T54XCEFIQUI/AAAAAAAAF14/yOkfPcsKFGo/s1600/ebla_trade_lljy3414.jpeg
4
Royal Road: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Map_achaemenid_empire_en.png
5
Pala from India: http://chandrakantmarwadi.com/aisa-bhi-hota-hai/anatolia-total-facts-and-not-fiction-at-all3/ :
The Indo-European migrations, which took place over a vast territory extending from Western Europe
to India, brought some peoples over the Caucasus into Anatolia. The Nesi people settled in Central
Anatolia, the Pala in Paphlygonia, and the Luwians in Southern Anatolia.
6
Hittites from Balkans: http://cranetraveltours.com/tag/hittite-empire/
7
Homer (Iliad, ii. 851—857) re: Paphlagonia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paphlagonia
8
Venice: http://venice2point0.blogspot.nl/2010/07/venetian-dna.html; Venetian DNA Investigation:
http://www.click2map.com/maps/ecarlson/Venetian_DNA_investigation. Cf. Miozzi, Eugenio. Venezia nei
Secoli-La Città. Casa Editrice. Venezia. 1957. Page 31.
9
Byzantium: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire
10
History of Turkey: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cilicia
11
Paul of Tarsus: http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Paul_of_Tarsus
12
Saint Paul, Letters: http://eoc.dolf.org.hk/livingev/stpaul.htm#lett
13
Missionary Journeys: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Augusto_30aC__6dC_55%25CS_jpg.JPG
14
Seven Churches: http://bleon1.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/38-seven-churches-of-asia.png
15
Book of Revelation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Revelation
16
Ecumenical Councils: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecumenical_council
17
12 Tribes: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/12_Tribes_of_Israel_Map.svg
18
Egyptian Empire: http://www.bible-history.com/maps/01-empire-egyptian.jpg
19
Tribes: http://www.magyarmegmaradas.eoldal.hu/cikkek/our-beliefs/ak23
Salomon, becomes the king of the 12 tribes. After his death, the Kingdom of Israel splits into two; the
10 northern tribes constituting Israel, and the 2 southern tribes, Judea. However, these accounts appear
to be, at best, historical fabrications written up retroactively, since no evidence of such kingdoms exist
(Yigael Shiloh [Hebrew University]). Even during the so-called King Solomon's time, the region later
called Galilee and Samaria separates the two supposed kingdoms.
2
14
Other versions link 3 Southern Tribes with 9 Northern Tribes:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Map_Israel_Judea_926_BC-fr.svg/554pxMap_Israel_Judea_926_BC-fr.svg.png
20
Indo-European Languages: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languages
21
Altaic Languages: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altaic_languages
22
Tatar Languages: http://www.british-israel.us/israel/Europe-Map---Goths,-Huns232.jpg
23
These connections are discussed in detail in the author’s Alphabets of Life which will soon be available at
www.alphabetsoflife.com
24
Saracens: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saracen
25
403 B.C.: http://www.arapacana.com/glossary/misc/letters.html
26
Ebla: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebla
27
Vendidad Nations: http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/images/maps/vendidadnations.jpg
28
Diaphragm Arches: http://gilbert.aq.upm.es/sedhc/biblioteca_digital/Congresos/CIHC1/CIHC1_023.pdf
29
Circle: http://bahai-library.com/wttp/PDF/Zoroaster%20-%20Baha'u'llah's%20Ancestor.pdf
Faravahar: http://zoroastriansnet.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/faravahar-or-farohar-zoroastrian-symbol.pdf
This symbol indicates that our spirit is immortal, having neither a beginning, nor an end.
In Zoroastrianism there is also the ring symbol:
Some interpreters consider that as the ring of covenant, representing loyalty and faithfulness which is
the basis of Zarathustra’s philosophy.
30
Ecbatana: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecbatana
It is alleged that he surrounded his palace in Ecbatana with seven concentric walls of different colours.
In the 5th century BC, Herodotus wrote of Ecbatana:
"The Medes built the city now called Ecbatana, the walls of which are of great size and strength, rising
in circles one within the other. The plan of the place is, that each of the walls should out-top the one
beyond it by the battlements. The nature of the ground, which is a gentle hill, favors this arrangements
in some degree but it is mainly effected by art. The number of the circles is seven, the royal palace and
the treasuries standing within the last. The circuit of the outer wall is very nearly the same with that of
Athens. On this wall the battlements are white, of the next black, of the third scarlet, of the fourth blue,
the fifth orange; all these colors with paint. The last two have their battlements coated respectively with
silver and gold. All these fortifications Deioces had caused to be raised for himself and his own palace."
31
Ziggurats: http://www.sacred-texts.com/earth/amm/amm09.htm
32
Göbeckli: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/gobekli-tepe-the-worlds-first-temple-83613665/?no-ist
33
Sungir: http://www.liveinternet.ru/users/1758119/post86244228/
34
Arbil: http://www.radio.cz/en/section/czechstoday/czech-archaeologists-uncover-stone-age-tools-in-arbil-iraq
35
China map: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Tianxia_en-zh-hans.svg
36
Belh (Balkh) http://www.forumbiodiversity.com/archive/index.php/t-31568.html:
In Turkish cities some quarters are denoted with color as in Belh: Kara Door (Northern quarter) is Turkish,
Red Door (Kizil Kapi) is Indian, Ak Kapi or White Door is Jewish and Blue Door or Gok Kapi in the east is
the Chinese quarter.
Karadeniz, Kizildeniz, Akdeniz, and Gökdeniz. In Turkey, Blue Sea is associated with the Aral Sea. Cf. below. I
am grateful to Doc.Dr. Fahri Sahal for confirming this point. In old Russian texts, the Blue sea is associated with
the Caspian Sea:
http://books.google.nl/books?id=fvqYSoRvAI4C&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127&dq=caspian+sea+blue+sea&source=bl&ots
=JmQSzp4D07&sig=TGxz7mR4u744_PZiNH9bDKnJcg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=EyeQU8jBFsfxygP00YDACQ&sqi=2&ved=0CFIQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=caspian%
20sea%20blue%20sea&f=false
37
38
e.g. Manannan, Danu, Dagda among the Celts.
3 World Horses: http://cura.free.fr/xv/14boutet.html
40
Amanjolov: http://s155239215.onlinehome.us/turkic/31Alphabet/Amanjolov/AmanjolovAlphabetTableEn.htm
41
Turkic Languages: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkic_languages
42
Turkic Languages Map: http://www.umich.edu/~turkish/langres_turkic.html
43
Turkic Languages: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkic_languages
44
A more detailed discussion is again found in the author’s Alphabets of Life.
45
Anatolian: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languages
Isolated terms in Luwian/Hittite mentioned in Semitic Old Assyrian texts from the 20th and 19th
centuries BC, Hittite texts from about 1650 BC
46
3,500 B.C.: http://www.linguatics.com/images/indoeuro02c.jpg
47
Gravettian: http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=185434&page=41
48
Gravettian: http://www.panshin.com/trogholm/wonder/indoeuropean/indoeuropean4.html
39
15
49
Indo-Aryan: http://www.polishforums.com/poland-history-34/slavs-populated-europe-around-vistula-dnieperbalkan-along-46944/2/
"Indo-Germanic" is a neologism which should be abandoned. Since Indo-Aryans branched off from the
"Slavic Mother Tongue" (and "Slavic Mitochondrial and Y chromosome genes") some 9,000 years ago
[8], and since Germanic Languages branched off from the "Balto-Slavic" source only perhaps 4,000
years ago.
50
Armenian: http://narinnamkn.wordpress.com/page/3/:
Quentin Atkinson and Russell Gray have proved that Armenian language already split from the Mother
Tongue in the Indo-European Homeland in Armenian Highland some 8,500 years ago.
51
Allah: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allah
52
VseYaSvetnaya Charter: http://st.free-lance.ru/users/IceTeam/upload/f_4804c30e36ebe.gif
53
Kuken Sign system of paradise squared (Знаковая Система Рая в квадрате): http://gramota.org/fr-trad.html
54
JuJi: http://www.kroraina.com/pb_lang/pbl_2_11.html
55
Oimoçu and Eleri Bitikçi, The Origin of Türkic Script, 2010: http://7buruk.blogspot.nl/2010/04/origin-ofturkic-script_13.html
56
Fertile Crescent: http://www.kenney-mencher.com/pic_old/fertile_crescent_egypt/map_fertile_crescent2.jpg;
http://www.kenney-mencher.com/pic_old/fertile_crescent_egypt/lesson_5_historic_era_fertile_crescent.htm
57
Seen from a viewpoint of the Northern Hemisphere.
58
Turkish Migrations: http://www.egyptologie.be/images/tukicmigration.jpg
16