Tengrinews.kz - UNESCO Headquarters in Paris will host an international conference on December 13, organized by the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation and dedicated to the 950th anniversary of "Diwan Lughat al-Turk" Mahmud al-Kashgari.
Scientists, researchers, representatives of Turkic states and international organizations will gather to discuss the contribution of Mahmud al-Kashgari's encyclopedia to world culture and lexicography.
What is "Diwan Lughat al-Turk"?
"Diwan Lughat al-Turk" is a unique work of the 11th century, created by the outstanding scholar and thinker Mahmud al-Kashgari. This is the first encyclopedic dictionary of the Turkic languages, representing about 9 000 words with Arabic equivalents, and also containing rich material on the culture, life, linguistics and literature of the Turkic peoples.
The work is not only lexicographic, but also cultural: the book includes the first known map of the Turkic world, which shows the geographical location of the Turkic tribes, their cultural and linguistic ties. The map created by al-Kashgari is unique in that it coincides with the modern territories of the Turkic states.
It should be noted that "Diwan Lughat al-Turk" is called the second most important monument of Turkic writing after the "Orkhon inscriptions."
The text of this valuable manuscript contains geographical references (50 provinces, 63 cities, 22 lands and villages and 49 settlements), cultural and everyday references (106 utensils and kitchen utensils, 62 types of clothing, 53 items related to weaving, 58 weapons of war and 38 references to animal husbandry), literary elements (758 poems, 266 proverbs, each of which is accompanied by a unique vocabulary).
History of creation and loss
Work on "Diwan Lughat al-Turk" began on January 25, 1072 and was completed on February 10, 1074. The book quickly gained popularity in medieval scholarly circles, but was later lost. At the beginning of the 20th century, the manuscript was accidentally discovered by librarian Burhan Efendi in an Istanbul second-hand bookstore among waste paper. Realizing the historical value of the find, he contacted local officials, but the book was bought only thanks to the enthusiasm of another scholar, Ali Emiri Efendi, who later founded the National Library in Istanbul.
During the 20th century, "Diwan Lughat al-Turk" was translated into various languages. It was translated into Kazakh by poet and scholar Askar Egeubaev in 1994. The Russian translation was completed in 2003 by the orientalist and Arabist Zifa-Alua Auezova from a facsimile of the manuscript in the original Arabic language.
Modern recognition
"Diwan Lughat al-Turk" is recognized as a world heritage: in 2017, UNESCO included the book in the "Memory of Humanity" program, and the celebration of the 950th anniversary was included in the list of anniversary events of the organization for 2024-2025.
The international conference in Paris will bring together scientists from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Hungary and other countries. The event will present the translations of the book by Said Khodjayev in Azerbaijani and Zifa-Alua Auezova in Russian. There will also be a screening of a documentary film and an exhibition dedicated to the rich legacy of al-Kashgari's work.
"The conference will become an important scientific and educational platform in the field of Turkology and cultural studies, promoting an in-depth study of this great work and its impact on the development of Turkic languages and cultures," emphasized the president of the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, professor, doctor of art history Aktoty Raimkulova.
The encyclopedia continues to inspire new generations of scientists, remaining a source of knowledge of universal significance.
Photos courtesy of the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation
