Writings used by the ancient turks and the history of their origin

Abstract

The article describes the writings of ancient Turks and their origin history. Data are given based on the works of foreign and domestic scientists. Historical relics of ancient Turks prove that Turks used several alphabets before Islam. Article purpose is glorifying high civilization of ancient Turks and propagating it to the next generation. Writing and drawing developed at a high level in the vast great steppe of Turks. They accepted several religions and used different scripts before Islam. Runic script (Orkhon-Yenisei written monuments), Mani script (Turpan excavation texts), Sogdian script (written monuments in the Sogdian alphabet), Uyghur script (Siberia-Yenisei, northern Mongolia, northeastern Kazakhstan, written monuments from the Volga River valley settlements, etc.), Brahmi script (about a hundred texts written mainly on Buddhism, medicine, calendar topics preserved in Berlin), Tibetan script (texts in the Tibetan alphabet), Syriac script (Zhetisu Shu River texts written in the castles belonging to the Yungut Turks in Bishkek (13th century), Hebrew script (written monuments belonging to the Karaims (Karays), who are the direct descendants of the Khazars), Greek script (used by Karaman Turks who follow the orthodox branch of Christianity in Anatolia). Most of these scripts were used between the 7th and 11th-12th centuries, while some of them (Uighur, Syriac, Hebrew scripts) were used until the 18th century. Comparison method of the scientific works of foreign and domestic scientists was used. The presentation of scientific analyzes with concrete conclusions is emphasized. The scientific and practical importance of the article is valuable for studying the Kazakh language history, the history of ancient Turkic languages, world languages and scripts. The article can be used as a teaching aid in the subjects " Kazakh Language History ", "History of Ancient Turkic Languages", "History of Turkic Languages", "History of World Languages" in higher educational institutions and scientific research institutes.

Key words: ancient Turks, ancient Turkic languages, types of writing, ancient written monuments, Turkic civilization.