Personal Names Witnessed in Old Turkic (Runic) Inscriptions and an Overview on Names in Ancient Turks

Abstract

The written sources left behind by the Turks in the historical process, starting from the Old Turkic texts, have a greater value today than the subjects and messages they contain. Each written text sheds light on the socio-cultural life of the ancient Turks. After the decline of the Turkic Khanate, the Uyghur Khanate, which was founded by Kutlug Bilge Kol Khan and also terminated by the Kyrgyz, the Turkish tribes entered into a different course. Islam also began to find a place among the Turks with the Karakhanids’ emergence in the West. Works written in the Islamic environment such as Divanu Lugati’t Turk, Kutadgu Bilig, Atebetu’l Hakayik and Divan-ı Hikmet have an invaluable value for Turkic languages and literatures. The close relationship of these works, considered by some to be in the Middle Turkish period, with the Old Turkish works draws attention. Regardless of the period in which the works created during the Karakhanids are evaluated, it is extremely important in terms of philological, sociological and many other fields to consider the texts with Turkic (runic) letters and the works created by the Turks in different religious environments and with different alphabets. In this study, a list of people’s names seen in Turkic (runic) letter inscriptions will be given, expressions related to the name in Kutadgu Bilig and Atebetu’l Hakayik will be emphasized, and the works witnessing the transfer of culture will be evaluated together.