Did Steppe Empires Keep Written Records?
In search for the origins of writing in the Eurasian Steppes
When I first started reading about Eurasian Steppe Empires, such as the Xiongnu, Huns, Göktürks, and Mongols, I noticed something unusual. The primary historical sources about these powers were almost always from their rival civilizations. We rarely hear the narrative from the nomads’ point of view. This made me question if ancient Steppe people practiced writing and record-keeping.
What were their scripts like?
After the Russian Empire captured most of Central Asia in the nineteenth century, Cyrillic, used to write Russian, became the default script in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. During this period of upheaval, several records about the past were lost. However, this era also sparked a curiosity about ancient Steppe empires.
In 1889, Nikolai Mikhailovich Yadrintsev, a Russian archaeologist, discovered Genghis Khan’s capital, Karakorum, in Mongolia. But one of his other finds is vital for our story. In Mongolia’s Orkhon Valley, Yadrintsev unearthed two gigantic monoliths containing the earliest undisputed proof of a written language in the Steppes.
The script discovered by Yadrintsev was Old Turkic. Its roots lay in an even older writing…
