The Karakhanid poet and thinker Yūsuf Balasaghūnī and his era

Abstract

Various academic institutions in the in the post-Soviet republics of the region as well as other international research centers, actively study the cultural history and intellectual traditions of the medieval Turkestani peoples. A significant advantage is the absence of the ideological censorship imposed by former Soviet communism. Considerable attention is also given to the cultural history of the Karakhanid Khaganate and the study of eminent figures such as Yūsuf Balasaghūnī and Mahmud Kashgari Barskani. Notably, the 1010th anniversary of Yūsuf Balasaghūnī’s birth will be celebrated in 2025.
This article provides a summary of key information regarding the life and work of Yūsuf Balasaghūnī, the author of a unique philosophical-didactic poem written in the Karakhanid- Turkic language in 1069-1070. In addition to the ancient script found at the Issyk Kurgan, which remains undeciphered, the Turkic peoples developed their own alphabet, Bitig. One of the rock inscriptions in the Sogdian alphabet from the 11th century has been preserved in the Talas Valley (at Qulan-Sai) in Jeti-Suu.The Sogdian alphabet was known to the Turks during the early Khaganate and Karakhanid periods.
The so-called ‘Uighur alphabet’ evolved from Sogdian, which Uighurs and Mahmud Kashgari referred to as the general ‘Turkic’ alphabet. Christian Turks also adopted the Syriac alphabet, modifying it for their native language. Many Turkic scholars were multilingual, they were fluent in more than three languages. In the Tarim Basin, which was partially conquered by the Karakhanids, the local Turkic population was familiar with ancient Tocharian and Sanskrit scripts.
The authors argue that Turks were literate before Islam. It is natural that Yusuf Balasaghuni became a follower of the Shu’ubiyya cultural movement. It is also crucial to understand how this poem, which was written during the Golden Age of Islamic culture and scholarship in Europe and North Africa, was conceptualized. Yusuf Balasaghuni urged his contemporaries to pursue knowledge for the state’s prosperity. He condemned corruption and arrogance. His work also advocates studying the theories of Euclid, the ancient Greek mathematician.
His intellectual legacy remains a landmark in the development of culture and science among the Turkic peoples of Karakhanid Khaganate and neighbouring regions.