In Which Group Do the Orkhon Inscriptions Belong from a Diplomatic Point of View?

Absztrakt

The Orkhon Inscriptions were written in the period of Second Turkic Khaganate (682–745). The Inscriptions of Bilge Kaghan’s brother Kül Tigin and himself are from 732 and 735 respectively. Bilge Kagan personally speaks in both inscriptions. Yollugh Tigin wrote both inscriptions with his nickname "atïsï". It suggested that Orkhon Inscriptions have a type of “commemorative” character and the Kagan conveyed some information regarding the history of the Turkic Kaghanate and gave some advices to his “Türk People”. However, I prefer the idea that both inscriptions a r e a kind of “order, edict, and decree” on the basis of later inscriptions, or edicts (firmans) of several Turkish states. In the Orkhon Inscriptions, the term is the word sabïm (lit. ‘my word’, that is ‘my command’), in the firmans of the later Turkish rulers, for instance in the letters / edicts of Uzun Hasan Beg of Akkoyunlu, sözümüz (lit. ‘our words’, that is, ‘our order’) and finally buyurdum ki (lit. ‘I ordered that’) in t h e edicts of the sultans of Ottoman Empire. Likewise, the word üge manu (lit. ‘my word’) is mentioned with the same meaning but in Mongolian in the edicts of the rulers of Chinggisid and Timurid periods.