Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire vol 4 (1897).djvu/564

540 APPENDIX (1) The Turks icere Hiv/afj-nu. A branch of the Hiung-nu, in the central l)art of the modern province of Kan-suh, was crushed hy the Tungiisic Tartars ; but Asena fled westward with 500 tents to the territory of the Geougen, and liis men were emijloyed by them as iron workers in an iron district. Nearly a hundred 3'ears after the flight of Asena, his descendant Notur (before a.d. 54:3) first intro- duced the word Turk as the name of his folk. The name Tiirk occurs in the Turkish inscription which was discovered in 1890 b}' Heikel near Lake Tsaidam in the Valley of the Upper Orchou,' and it is explained by Chinese writers to mean a helmet — referring to a mountain shaped like a casque. (2) Seat of the Turkiah povjer 'in the sixth centuri/ ; the Golden Mountains. There seems little doubt that (as Mr. Parker has shown) the residence of the Turkish Khans, when they overthrew the power of the Geougen, was near the eastern liorder of the modern Chinese province of Kan-suh, somewhat nortli of the Kok-o-nor mountains. Here was the iron district wheie they worked for the Geougen. It is always assumed that Ektiig in Menander's account of the earlier embassy of A.D. 5()8 is to be identified with Ektil in his account of the later embassy of a.d. 570 (p. 227 and 247, ed. Miiller). Of course, the two words are the same and mean ' ' the Golden (White) Mount, ' ' as Menander exjjlains. But do they designate the same mountain ? There is considerable difficulty in supposing that they do. The first embassy visits the prince Dizabul in Ektag. The second emba.ssv is also sent to Dizabul, but the envoys find on arriving that Dizabul has just died and that his son Turxanth has succeeded him. It is natural to suppose (as there is no indication to the contrary) that the meeting between Turxanth and the Roman envoj-s, and the obsequies of Dizabul, took jjlace at Mount Ektag, the residence of Dizabul and Turxanth. After the obsequies Turxanth sent the ambassadors to Turkish potentates who lived farther east or south-east (ei'SoTepw), and especially to his relative Tardu who liveil at Mount Ektel. This narrative implies that Mount Ektel is a totally different place from Mount Ektag ; and the Chinese evi- dence as to two Golden Mountains is sufficient to remove anj- scruples we might feel about interpreting Menander's statements in the most reasonable way. Having identified Ektag with Altai, and distinguished Ektel from Ektag, we can hardly refuse to go further and identify Ektel with the other Kinshan — the residence of the chief khan. At this time, however, the name of the chief khan was Tapiu-. Tardu has been identified with plausibility, by Mr. Parker, with Tat-t'ou (son of Tumen), who according to Chinese records reigned simultaneously with Shaporo. There is no difficulty in sujjposing that the residence of Tardu, who was clearly a subordinate khan, was in the neighbourhood of the Southern Golden Mountain and might be described as Kara, to 'EktcX 6po?. (3) The siu-cession of Turkish Khans. Tumen, who threw off the yoke of the Geougen, died in a.d. 553 ; was succeeded by his eldest son Isiki, who appears to have reigned only for a few months ; and then b_y his second son IMukan, who completed the annihilation of the Geougen and subdued the Ephthalites. The succession is (see Parker, op. cit.) : — Tumen a.d. 543 Isiki A.D. .553 Mukan a.d. 553 Tapur A.D. 572 Shaporo a.d. 581 Chulohou A.D. 587 Tulan A.D. 588 Durli (or Turri) a.d. 599. 1 This immensely interesting inscription was ingeniously deciphered by Prof. V. Thomsen of Copenhagen; but his decipherment must doubtless be accepted with great reserve. It belongs to the year A.n. 732, and was engraved on a stone set up by a Chinese emperor in honour of a Turkish prince. (Thomsen, Inscriptions de I'Orkhon de'chiffree;-, iSg.v ; Radlov, Arbeiten der Orchon-expedition, 1892 ; Radlov, Die alt-tiirkischen Inschriften der Mongolei, 1894-5 ; E. H. Parker, in the Academy for Dec. 21, 1895.)