Mahmūd ibn Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Kāshgharī (Arabic: محمود بن الحسين بن محمد الكاشغري; Uyghur: Mehmud Qeshqeri), commonly known as Mahmud al-Kashgari (1008–1102), was an 11th-century lexicographer renowned for his studies of the Turkic languages. He was born in the town of Opal, 45 km southwest of Kashgar. According to some sources, he was born in Bars Kul near Lake Issyk.
Birth
Mahmud al-Kashgari was born in Kashgar in 1008. He mentions that his family was called "Hamirler," this arising from the Oghuz saying "hemîr" (Arabic: حَمِر) instead of "emîr" (Arabic: أمير). From this information he himself provides, it is understood that he belonged to the ruling dynasty of the Karakhanid State, one of the important states of Turkic history.
According to other research, he was the grandson of Bughra Khan Muhammad Yaghan Tekin (Bogra Yagan Tégin), one of the Western Karakhanid khagans, and the son of Prince Husayn Amir Tekin. After a short reign of eighteen months, Yaghan Tekin sought of his own will to transfer the throne to Mahmud al-Kashgari's father, Husayn Amir Tekin (Husayn Chaghri Tégin).
Great feasts were prepared and drums beaten for this handover. During this banquet, Hanısı, one of Yaghan Tekin's wives, poisoned the other princes in order to place her own son Ibrahim on the throne. Mahmud al-Kashgari's father was among those poisoned.
Lineage
He was the son of Muhammad ibn Husayn (Husayn Chaghri Tegin), a member of a noble family of Karakhanid descent. His mother's name was Bibi Rābiʿa al-Basrī.
While his father was living in the city of Barsgan, for an unknown reason he came and settled in the city of Kashgar. At that time Kashgar was an important centre of science and culture.
After this palace coup, Ibrahim became khagan of the Western Karakhanids in 1057. Mahmud al-Kashgari, saving himself from this trap, fled the lands of the Western Karakhanid State. However, since Ibrahim Khan's men searched for him everywhere, he was forced to move frequently, presenting himself under such titles as traveller or scholar.
It is certain that Mahmud al-Kashgari studied all the classical sciences of his era. He learned Arabic and Persian. After studying at the Saciye and Hamidiye madrasas, he devoted himself to the investigation of the Turkic language. To this end he traversed Central Asia from end to end, going to Anatolia and from there to Baghdad. For fifteen years he travelled through all the provinces, cities, encampments, mountains, and deserts where the Turks lived.
These journeys were for the purpose of research. He studied the customs and traditions of the Turks on the spot. During his travels he also learned the Khaqani, Oghuz, Kipchak, Argu, Chigil, and Kepenek dialects of his native Turkic. Well educated, he closely followed the scholarly work concerning Islam. He also learned Arabic and Persian very well. He travelled the regions inhabited by the Turks, learned all the dialects of his native Turkic in their own places, and closely observed their customs and traditions.
Departure from Kashgar and Settlement in Baghdad
Mahmud al-Kashgari left Kashgar in 1057 and settled in Baghdad. According to what he states in his book, his family had migrated from Kashgar to Iraq. In this period many people of Kashgar came to Iraq in the retinue of Terken Hatun, wife of Malik-Shah (1072–1092). It may be supposed that Mahmud's family also came together with them. At that time Iraq was one of the most important cultural centres of the Islamic world. It was therefore natural that those engaged in scholarship wished to come here. Moreover, in this period Baghdad had come under Turkic influence, and it was the Turks here who sustained the caliphs.
Scholarly and Literary Aspect
He is the author of the world-renowned work titled Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk. He began writing the work in Baghdad in 1072 and completed it on 12 February 1074. Within the two years after its completion, he reviewed the work from beginning to end four times, giving it its final form in 1076. The work was finished in January 1077 and presented to Abū al-Qāsim Abdullah, son of the Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadī bi-Amr Allah. The manuscript, the sole copy of the book, is today preserved in the Millet Manuscript Library in Istanbul.
It is known that Mahmud al-Kashgari also wrote another work titled Kitāb Jawāhir al-Nahw fī Lughāt al-Turk. Where and how this first grammar book of the Turkic language was lost has not been determined. This work has not survived to the present day.
Return to Kashgar
Mahmud al-Kashgari returned to Kashgar in 1080. He was by now a leading scholar of his country. He began teaching in the building named the Mahmudiye Madrasa after him. He trained thousands of students.
Mahmud died in 1105 at the age of 97. His body was buried in the Mahmudiye cemetery where he had taught. This is a hill surrounded by poplar, plane, and willow trees in the village of Opal, 45 kilometres from the city of Kashgar (latitude: 39°18'51.19" north, longitude: 75°30'35.82" east). The mausoleum built by his students after his death has been renovated four times up to the present.
The mausoleum contains a room holding Mahmud al-Kashgari's cenotaph, a hall for reciting the Quran, and a museum section. The museum holds the esteemed scholar's books and articles, manuscript and printed Qurans, and some of his belongings. On the museum wall is a large representational painting made by an East Turkestani artist showing Mahmud al-Kashgari at work. The museum also features objects from the periods when the Uyghurs practised Buddhism. These objects are said to have been obtained in archaeological excavations. Various coins and ornamental objects from the Karakhanid period stand out among the materials displayed in the museum. The inner and outer walls of the mausoleum and the ceilings of the rooms and halls are adorned with the decorative elements of Uyghur art. The decorations form a unique splendour on the wooden ceiling.
Sources
- Turkish Wikipedia: tr.wikipedia.org
- English Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org