Alsószentmihály inscription
Encyclopedia
The inscription on a building stone was found in Mihai Viteazu, Cluj
(Transylvania
, today Romania
).
existed up to the middle of the 3rd century. Dénes showed that the Khavars
(Khazar rebels joined the Hungarians in the 9th century) probably settled in this region (that time Transylvania). In some parts of Hungary, there are data of the Khavars even from the 13th century.
about the identification of the script in this inscription:
Based on the quotations above examples, it can be stated that Vékony identified the script of the Alsószentmihály relic as a Khazarian script. According to Vékony, another relic, namely the Homokmégy-Halom inscription contains Khazarian text as well.
.
The transcription of Vékony (it uses IPA symbols):
According to Vékony
, the inscription was made by a Khavar
leader, whose religion was Karaite
. The first symbol of the first row is a ligature, its transcription: atlïɣ. The first symbol (from left) in the second row is a Khazarian word separator.
In the inscription, the third symbol of the first row (from left), and the symbol in the second and last place can be considered as the descendants of the Turkic ideograms. Nevertheless, their relation needs more evidence.
and historian, András Róna-Tas
. The debates were summarized by István Riba in 1999 and 2000.
was written with Carpathian Basin Rovas script.
Mihai Viteazu, Cluj
Mihai Viteazu is a commune in Cluj County, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Cheia , Corneşti and Mihai Viteazu....
(Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, today Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
).
The relic
The stone was an ancient Roman building stone--proved by the leaf-symbol, a frequently applied ornamental element of ancient Roman inscriptions--reused in the 10th century. Alsószentmihály located on the territory of the late Province DaciaDacia Aureliana
Dacia Aureliana was a province of the Roman Empire found by Emperor Aurelian, after his retreat from Dacia Traiana in 271. Between 271/275 and 285, it occupied most of what is today Bulgaria. Its capital was in Serdica...
existed up to the middle of the 3rd century. Dénes showed that the Khavars
Kabar
The Khavars or erroneously Kabars were Khazarians, therefore Turkic people who joined to the Magyars in the 8th century.- History :...
(Khazar rebels joined the Hungarians in the 9th century) probably settled in this region (that time Transylvania). In some parts of Hungary, there are data of the Khavars even from the 13th century.
The name of the script of the Alsószentmihály inscription
Some quotations from VékonyGábor Vékony
Gábor Vékony was a Hungarian historian, archaeologist and linguist, associate professor at ELTE, Candidate of Sciences in Historiy. He was an expert of the rovás scripts and a researcher of Hungarian prehistory....
about the identification of the script in this inscription:
- Vékony wrote in page 218:"Mivel az alsószentmihályi felirat nem a székely rovásírás elterjedési területén található, s az első sorban csak magánhangzókat olvashatnánk egymás mellett a székely ábécé alapján, nyugodtan kijelenthetjük, hogy a feliratnak csak a székely íráson kívüli magyarázata lehet.", it means: Since the Alsószentmihály inscription was found not in the geographical area of the Old Hungarian script, and in the first line, only vowels could be read based on the Szekely alphabet, we can state surely that the possible transcription of the inscription is surely out of the Szekely script.
- Vékony wrote in page 230:"Összefoglalóan megállapíthatjuk, hogy az alsószentmihályfalvi felirat az Erdélybe került kavarok emléke, amely természetesen kazárul, kazár írással íródott.", it means: To summarize, we can state that the Alsószentmihály Village inscription is the relic of the Khavars settled into Transylvania, which is naturally written in Khazar with Khazarian script.
- Vékony wrote in page 280:"Hasonló jel előfordul más kazáriai rovásfeliratokon is.", it means: Similar symbol occurs in other Khazarian runic inscriptions as well.
- Vékony wrote in page 109:"Erdélyben, az alsószentmihályfalvi templomba másodlagosan beépített kő felirata egyértelműen a kazár rovásábécével íródott.", it means: In Transylvania, the inscription of the reused stone built into the wall of the church of the Alsószentmihály Village is unambiguously written with Khazarian runic alphabet.
Based on the quotations above examples, it can be stated that Vékony identified the script of the Alsószentmihály relic as a Khazarian script. According to Vékony, another relic, namely the Homokmégy-Halom inscription contains Khazarian text as well.
The meaning of the inscription
The Alsószentmihály inscription was deciphered by archaeologist Gábor VékonyGábor Vékony
Gábor Vékony was a Hungarian historian, archaeologist and linguist, associate professor at ELTE, Candidate of Sciences in Historiy. He was an expert of the rovás scripts and a researcher of Hungarian prehistory....
.
The transcription of Vékony (it uses IPA symbols):
| First Row | Second Row | |
| Inscription | ||
| Transcription (using IPA) | ɛbi atlïɣ | jyedi • kyr qaraj |
| Translating from Common Turkic | His mansion is famous. | Jüedi Kür Karaite. or Jüedi Kür (the) Karaite. |
According to Vékony
Gábor Vékony
Gábor Vékony was a Hungarian historian, archaeologist and linguist, associate professor at ELTE, Candidate of Sciences in Historiy. He was an expert of the rovás scripts and a researcher of Hungarian prehistory....
, the inscription was made by a Khavar
Kabar
The Khavars or erroneously Kabars were Khazarians, therefore Turkic people who joined to the Magyars in the 8th century.- History :...
leader, whose religion was Karaite
Karaite Judaism
Karaite Judaism or Karaism is a Jewish movement characterized by the recognition of the Tanakh alone as its supreme legal authority in Halakhah, as well as in theology...
. The first symbol of the first row is a ligature, its transcription: atlïɣ. The first symbol (from left) in the second row is a Khazarian word separator.
In the inscription, the third symbol of the first row (from left), and the symbol in the second and last place can be considered as the descendants of the Turkic ideograms. Nevertheless, their relation needs more evidence.
Critics, alternative theories
There are several critics of Vékony's theories and translations, most notably the Hungarian linguistLinguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and historian, András Róna-Tas
András Róna-Tas
András Róna-Tas is a Hungarian historian and linguist. He was born in 1931 in Budapest. Róna-Tas studied under such preeminent professors as Gyula Ortutay, István Tálasi, Gyula Németh and Lajos Ligeti and received a degree in folklore and eastern linguistics In 1957 and 1958 he conducted...
. The debates were summarized by István Riba in 1999 and 2000.
Other related inscriptions
Oppositely to the Alsószentmihály inscription, which was written in Khazarian Rovas script, the Szarvas inscriptionSzarvas inscription
A bone needle case near Szarvas has an inscription from the second half of the 8th century. This belongs to the Late Avar Period .- The photo and the drawing of the inscription :...
was written with Carpathian Basin Rovas script.