Bactrian (Bactrian: Αριαο , romanized: ariao , [arjaː] , meaning "Iranian") is an extinct Eastern Iranian language formerly spoken in the Central Asian region of Bactria (present-day Afghanistan) and used as the official language of the Kushan and the Hephthalite empires.
88-885: The Hephthalites ( Bactrian : ηβοδαλο , romanized: Ebodalo ), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas , in Iranian as the Spet Xyon and in Prakrit as the Sveta-huna ), were a people who lived in Central Asia during the 5th to 8th centuries CE, part of the larger group of Eastern Iranian Huns . They formed an empire, the Imperial Hephthalites , and were militarily important from 450 CE, when they defeated
176-512: A group of people named Havitaras but it is unclear whether the term denotes Hephthalites. The Indians also used the expression "White Huns" ( Sveta Huna ) for the Hephthalites. According to recent scholarship, the stronghold of the Hephthalites was always Tokharistan on the northern slopes of the Hindu Kush , in what is present-day southern Uzbekistan and northern Afghanistan . Their capital
264-513: A local tribe of the Tokharistan ( Bactria ) region, with their origin in the nearby Western Himalayas . He also used as an argument the presence of numerous Bactrian names among the Hephthalites, and the fact that the Chinese reported that they practiced polyandry , a well-known West Himalayan cultural trait. According to a recent reappraisal of the Chinese sources by de la Vaissière (2003), only
352-615: A recent reappraisal of the Chinese sources, suggest that the Hephthalites were initially of Turkic origin, and later adopted the Bactrian language, first for administrative purposes, and possibly later as a native language — according to Rezakhani (2017) , this thesis is seemingly the "most prominent at present". In effect, the Hephthalites may have been a confederation of various people, speaking different languages. According to Richard Nelson Frye : Just as later nomadic empires were confederations of many peoples, we may tentatively propose that
440-707: A single massive wave of nomadic migrations around 350–360 CE, the "Great Invasion", triggered by climate change and the onset of aridity in the grazing grounds of the Altay region, and that these nomadic tribes vied for supremacy thereafter in their new territories in Southern Central Asia. As they rose to prominence, the Hephthalites displaced the Kidarites and then the Alchon Huns , who expanded into Gandhara and Northern India. The Hephthalites also entered into conflict with
528-452: Is from Lou-lan and seven from Toyoq, where they were discovered by the second and third Turpan expeditions under Albert von Le Coq . One of these may be a Buddhist text. One other manuscript, in Manichaean script , was found at Qočo by Mary Boyce in 1958. Over 150 legal documents, accounts, letters and Buddhist texts have surfaced since the 1990s, the largest collection of which is
616-400: Is from Lou-lan and seven from Toyoq, where they were discovered by the second and third Turpan expeditions under Albert von Le Coq . One of these may be a Buddhist text. One other manuscript, in Manichaean script , was found at Qočo by Mary Boyce in 1958. Over 150 legal documents, accounts, letters and Buddhist texts have surfaced since the 1990s, the largest collection of which is
704-481: Is inserted before word-initial consonant clusters . Original word-final vowels and word-initial vowels in open syllables were generally lost. A word-final ο is normally written, but this was probably silent, and it is appended even after retained word-final vowels: e.g. *aštā > αταο 'eight', likely pronounced /ataː/ . The Proto-Iranian syllabic rhotic *r̥ is lost in Bactrian, and is reflected as ορ adjacent to labial consonants, ιρ elsewhere; this agrees with
792-481: Is inserted before word-initial consonant clusters . Original word-final vowels and word-initial vowels in open syllables were generally lost. A word-final ο is normally written, but this was probably silent, and it is appended even after retained word-final vowels: e.g. *aštā > αταο 'eight', likely pronounced /ataː/ . The Proto-Iranian syllabic rhotic *r̥ is lost in Bactrian, and is reflected as ορ adjacent to labial consonants, ιρ elsewhere; this agrees with
880-686: Is unclear. According to another source, the present-day speakers of Munji, the modern Eastern Iranian language of the Munjan Valley in the Kuran wa Munjan district of the Badakhshan province in northeast Afghanistan , display the closest possible linguistic affinity with the Bactrian language. Bactrian became the lingua franca of the Kushan Empire and the region of Bactria, replacing the Greek language. Bactrian
968-427: Is unclear. According to another source, the present-day speakers of Munji, the modern Eastern Iranian language of the Munjan Valley in the Kuran wa Munjan district of the Badakhshan province in northeast Afghanistan , display the closest possible linguistic affinity with the Bactrian language. Bactrian became the lingua franca of the Kushan Empire and the region of Bactria, replacing the Greek language. Bactrian
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#17330558296911056-517: Is unlike that of their kinsmen, nor do they live a savage life as they do; but they are ruled by one king, and since they possess a lawful constitution, they observe right and justice in their dealings both with one another and with their neighbors, in no degree less than the Romans and the Persians The Hephthalites were first known to the Chinese in 456 CE, when a Hephthalite embassy arrived at
1144-583: The Beishi , describing the situation in the first half of the 6th century CE around the time Song Yun visited Central Asia, the language of the Hephthalites was different from that of the Rouran, Gaoju or other tribes of Central Asia, but that probably reflects their acculturation and adoption of the Bactrian language since their arrival in Bactria in the 4th century CE. The Liangshu and Liang Zhigongtu do explain that
1232-510: The Altai region, among the waves of invading Huns. Following their westward or southward expansion, the Hephthalites settled in Bactria , and displaced the Alchon Huns , who expanded into Northern India. The Hephthalites came into contact with the Sasanian Empire , and were involved in helping militarily Peroz I seize the throne from his brother Hormizd III . Later, in the late 5th century,
1320-467: The Khalili Collection of Aramaic Documents . These have greatly increased the detail in which Bactrian is currently known. The phonology of Bactrian is not known with certainty, owing to the limitations of the native scripts, and also its status as an extinct language. A major difficulty in determining Bactrian phonology is that affricates and voiced stops were not consistently distinguished from
1408-407: The Khalili Collection of Aramaic Documents . These have greatly increased the detail in which Bactrian is currently known. The phonology of Bactrian is not known with certainty, owing to the limitations of the native scripts, and also its status as an extinct language. A major difficulty in determining Bactrian phonology is that affricates and voiced stops were not consistently distinguished from
1496-675: The Kidarites and by the Alkhon , and succeeded by the Nezak Huns and by the First Turkic Khaganate. All of these Hunnic peoples have often been controversially linked to the Huns who invaded Eastern Europe during the same period, and/or have been referred to as "Huns", but scholars have reached no consensus about any such connection. The stronghold of the Hephthalites was Tokharistan (present-day southern Uzbekistan and northern Afghanistan ) on
1584-514: The Kidarites with Persian help but soon took from Persia the area of Balkh and eastern Kushanshahr . In the second half of the fifth century they controlled the deserts of Turkmenistan as far as the Caspian Sea and possibly Merv . By 500 they held the whole of Bactria and the Pamirs and parts of Afghanistan . In 509, they captured Sogdia and they took 'Sughd' (the capital of Sogdiana ). To
1672-687: The Kidarites , to 560 CE, when combined forces from the First Turkic Khaganate and the Sasanian Empire defeated them. After 560 CE, they established "principalities" in the area of Tokharistan , under the suzerainty of the Western Turks (in the areas north of the Oxus ) and of the Sasanian Empire (in the areas south of the Oxus ), before the Tokhara Yabghus took over in 625. The Imperial Hephthalites, based in Bactria , expanded eastwards to
1760-849: The Middle Chinese pronunciation ( IPA [ʔjɛpdɑt] ) better than the modern Mandarin pronunciation, are more consistent with the Greek Hephthalite . Some Chinese chroniclers suggest that the root Hephtha- (as in Yàndàiyílìtuó or Yèdā ) was technically a title equivalent to "emperor", while Huá was the name of the dominant tribe. In ancient India , names such as Hephthalite were unknown. The Hephthalites were part of, or offshoots of, people known in India as Hunas or Turushkas , although these names may have referred to broader groups or neighbouring peoples. Ancient Sanskrit text Pravishyasutra mentions
1848-670: The Northern Wei (i.e. circa 360 CE) 嚈噠國 ，或云 高車 之別種，或云 大月氏 之別種。其原出於塞北。自金山而南。[...] 至 後魏 文帝 時已八九十年矣 The Gaoju (高車 lit. "High Cart"), also known as Tiele , were early Turkic speakers related to the earlier Dingling , who were once conquered by the Xiongnu . Weishu also mentioned the linguistic and ethnic proximity between the Gaoju and the Xiongnu. De la Vaissière proposes that the Hephthalites had originally been one Oghuric-speaking tribe who belonged
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#17330558296911936-578: The Tarim Basin of China, during the early 20th century, they were linked circumstantially to Tokharistan, and Bactrian was sometimes referred to as "Eteo-Tocharian" (i.e. "true" or "original" Tocharian). By the 1970s, however, it became clear that there was little evidence for such a connection. For instance, the Tarim "Tocharian" languages were " centum " languages within the Indo-European family, whereas Bactrian
2024-421: The Tarim Basin of China, during the early 20th century, they were linked circumstantially to Tokharistan, and Bactrian was sometimes referred to as "Eteo-Tocharian" (i.e. "true" or "original" Tocharian). By the 1970s, however, it became clear that there was little evidence for such a connection. For instance, the Tarim "Tocharian" languages were " centum " languages within the Indo-European family, whereas Bactrian
2112-481: The Tarim Basin , westwards to Sogdia and southwards through Afghanistan , but they never went beyond the Hindu-Kush , which was occupied by the Alchon Huns , previously thought to be an extension of the Hephthalites. They were a tribal confederation and included both nomadic and settled urban communities. They formed part of the four major states known collectively as Xyon (Xionites) or Huna , being preceded by
2200-466: The Xiongnu ". This massive migration was apparently triggered by climate change , with aridity affecting the mountain grazing grounds of the Altay Mountains during the 4th century CE. According to Amanda Lomazoff and Aaron Ralby, there is a high synchronicity between the "reign of terror" of Attila in the west and the southern expansion of the Hephthalites, with extensive territorial overlap between
2288-868: The ks and ps sequences did not occur in Bactrian. They were, however, probably used to represent numbers (just as other Greek letters were). The Bactrian language is known from inscriptions, coins, seals, manuscripts, and other documents. Sites at which Bactrian language inscriptions have been found are (in north–south order) Afrasiyab in Uzbekistan ; Kara-Tepe , Airtam, Delbarjin , Balkh , Kunduz , Baglan , Ratabak/Surkh Kotal , Oruzgan , Kabul , Dasht-e Navur, Ghazni , Jagatu in Afghanistan ; and Islamabad , Shatial Bridge and Tochi Valley in Pakistan . Of eight known manuscript fragments in Greco-Bactrian script, one
2376-656: The ks and ps sequences did not occur in Bactrian. They were, however, probably used to represent numbers (just as other Greek letters were). The Bactrian language is known from inscriptions, coins, seals, manuscripts, and other documents. Sites at which Bactrian language inscriptions have been found are (in north–south order) Afrasiyab in Uzbekistan ; Kara-Tepe , Airtam, Delbarjin , Balkh , Kunduz , Baglan , Ratabak/Surkh Kotal , Oruzgan , Kabul , Dasht-e Navur, Ghazni , Jagatu in Afghanistan ; and Islamabad , Shatial Bridge and Tochi Valley in Pakistan . Of eight known manuscript fragments in Greco-Bactrian script, one
2464-500: The official language of the Hephthalite elite was East Iranian. In 1959, Kazuo Enoki proposed that the Hephthalites were probably Indo-European (East) Iranians who originated in Bactria / Tokharistan , based on the fact that ancient sources generally located them in the area between Sogdia and the Hindu-Kush , and the Hephthalites had some Iranian characteristics. Richard Nelson Frye cautiously accepted Enoki's hypothesis, while at
2552-786: The siege of Edessa in September 503. Bactrian language It was long thought that Avestan represented "Old Bactrian", but this notion had "rightly fallen into discredit by the end of the 19th century". Bactrian, which was written predominantly in an alphabet based on the Greek script , was known natively as αριαο [arjaː] (" Arya "; an endonym common amongst Indo-Iranian peoples). It has also been known by names such as Greco-Bactrian or Kushan or Kushano-Bactrian. Under Kushan rule, Bactria became known as Tukhara or Tokhara , and later as Tokharistan . When texts in two extinct and previously unknown Indo-European languages were discovered in
2640-509: The "Hephthalite stage in the History of Central Asia Art". The paintings of Tavka Kurgan , of very high quality, also belong to this school of art, and are closely related to other paintings of the Tokharistan school such as Balalyk tepe , in the depiction of clothes, and especially in the treatment of the faces. This "Hephthalite period" in art, with the caftans with a triangular collar folded on
2728-861: The 3rd century, the Kushan territories west of the Indus River fell to the Sasanians , and Bactrian began to be influenced by Middle Persian . The eastern extent of the Kushan Empire in Northwestern India, was conquered by the Gupta Empire . Besides the Pahlavi script and the Brahmi script , some coinage of this period is still in the Aryo (Bactrian) script. From the mid-4th century, Bactria and northwestern India gradually fell under
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2816-449: The 3rd century, the Kushan territories west of the Indus River fell to the Sasanians , and Bactrian began to be influenced by Middle Persian . The eastern extent of the Kushan Empire in Northwestern India, was conquered by the Gupta Empire . Besides the Pahlavi script and the Brahmi script , some coinage of this period is still in the Aryo (Bactrian) script. From the mid-4th century, Bactria and northwestern India gradually fell under
2904-478: The Chinese court of the Northern Wei . The Chinese used various names for the Hephthalites, such as Hua (滑), Ye-tha-i-li-to (simp. 厌带夷栗陁, trad. 厭帶夷粟陁) or more briefly Ye-da (嚈噠). Ancient imperial Chinese chronicles give various explanations about the origins of the Hephthalites: Kazuo Enoki made a first groundbreaking analysis of the Chinese sources in 1959, suggesting that the Hephthalites were
2992-581: The European Huns , but may have been causally related with their movement. The tribes in question deliberately called themselves "Huns" in order to frighten their enemies. On the contrary, de la Vaissière considers that the Hepthalites were part of the great Hunnic migrations of the 4th century CE from the Altai region that also reached Europe, and that these Huns "were the political, and partly cultural, heirs of
3080-548: The Gaoju/Tiele confederation. This and several later Chinese chronicles also report that the Hephthalites may have originated from the Da Yuezhi , probably because of their settlement in the former Da Yuezhi territory of Bactria . Later Chinese sources become quite confused about the origins of the Hephthalites, and this may be due to their progressive assimilation of Bactrian culture and language once they settled there. According to
3168-643: The Hephthalite rulers. The reason for the migration of the Hephthalites southeast was to avoid a pressure of the Rourans. The Hephthalites became a significant political entity in Bactria around 450 CE, or sometime before. It has been commonly assumed that the Hephthalites formed a third wave of migrations into Central Asia, after the Chionites (who arrived circa 350 CE) and the Kidarites (who arrived from around 380 CE), but recent studies suggest that instead there may have been
3256-537: The Hephthalites expanded into vast areas of Central Asia , and occupied the Tarim Basin as far as Turfan , taking control of the area from the Rourans , who had been collecting heavy tribute from the oasis cities, but were now weakening under the assaults of the Chinese Northern Wei dynasty . There have been several theories regarding the origins of the Hephthalites, with the Iranian and Altaic theories being
3344-646: The Hephthalites or related groups. In 458, a Hephthalite king called Akhshunwar helped the Sasanian Emperor Peroz I (458–484) gain the Persian throne from his brother. Before his accession to the throne, Peroz had been the Sasanian for Sistan in the far east of the Empire, and therefore had been one of the first to enter into contact with the Hephthalites and request their help. The Hephthalites may have also helped
3432-506: The Hephthalites originally had no written language and adopted the hu (local, "Barbarian") alphabet, in this case, the Bactrian script . Overall, de la Vaissière considers that the Hephthalites were part of the great Hunnic migrations of the 4th century CE from the Altai region that also reached Europe and that these Huns "were the political, and partly cultural, heirs, of the Xiongnu ". The Hepthalites appear in several mural paintings in
3520-463: The Hephthalites over the local population: a contract in the Bactrian language from the archive of the Kingdom of Rob , has been found, which mentions taxes from the Hephthalites, requiring the sale of land in order to pay these taxes. It is dated to 483/484 CE. With the Sasanian Empire paying a heavy tribute, from 474, the Hephthalites themselves adopted the winged, triple-crescent crowned Peroz I as
3608-516: The Hephthalites were Hephthal , Hep't'al & Tetal and sometimes identified with the Kushans . To the Persians, Hephthalites are Hephtal, Hephtel, & Hēvtāls. To Arabs, Hephthalites were Haital , Hetal , Heithal , Haiethal , Heyâthelites , (al-)Hayaṭila ( هياطلة ), and sometimes identified as Turks . According to Zeki Velidi Togan (1985), the form Ha y tal in Persian and Arabic sources in
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3696-452: The Hephthalites"). The seal is dated to the end 5th century- early 6th century CE. The ethnic name "Ebodalo", and title "Ebodalo Yabghu", have also been discovered in contemporary Bactrian documents of the Kingdom of Rob describing administrative functions under the Hephthalites. Byzantine Greek sources referred to them as Hephthalitae ( Ἐφθαλῖται ), Abdel or Avdel . To the Armenians,
3784-461: The Hephthalites. The Hephthalites were a vassal state to the Rouran Khaganate until the beginning of the 5th century. There were close contacts between them, although they had different languages and cultures, and the Hephthalites borrowed much of their political organization from Rourans. In particular, the title " Khan ", which according to McGovern was original to the Rourans, was borrowed by
3872-736: The Huns and the Hephthalites in Central Asia. The 6th-century Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea (History of the Wars, Book I. ch. 3), related them to the Huns in Europe, but insisted on cultural and sociological differences, highlighting the sophistication of the Hephthalites: The Ephthalitae Huns, who are called White Huns [...] The Ephthalitae are of the stock of the Huns in fact as well as in name, however, they do not mingle with any of
3960-412: The Huns known to us, for they occupy a land neither adjoining nor even very near to them; but their territory lies immediately to the north of Persia [...] They are not nomads like the other Hunnic peoples, but for a long period have been established in a goodly land... They are the only ones among the Huns who have white bodies and countenances which are not ugly. It is also true that their manner of living
4048-492: The Kushan king Kanishka ( c. 127 AD ) discarded Greek ("Ionian") as the language of administration and adopted Bactrian ("Arya language"). The Greek language accordingly vanished from official use and only Bactrian was later attested. The Greek script , however, remained and was used to write Bactrian. The territorial expansion of the Kushans helped propagate Bactrian in other parts of Central Asia and North India . In
4136-442: The Kushan king Kanishka ( c. 127 AD ) discarded Greek ("Ionian") as the language of administration and adopted Bactrian ("Arya language"). The Greek language accordingly vanished from official use and only Bactrian was later attested. The Greek script , however, remained and was used to write Bactrian. The territorial expansion of the Kushans helped propagate Bactrian in other parts of Central Asia and North India . In
4224-561: The Northern Wei ( Weishu ) as quoted in the later Tongdian , reports that they migrated southward from the Altai region circa 360 CE: The Hephthalites are a branch of the Gaoju (高車, "High Carts") or the Da Yuezhi , they originated from the north of the Chinese frontier and came down south from the Jinshan ( Altai ) mountains [...] This was 80 to 90 years before Emperor Wen (r. 440–465 CE) of
4312-550: The Proto-Iranian vowel length contrast. It is not clear if ο might represent short [o] in addition to [u] , and if any contrast existed. Short [o] may have occurred at least as a reflex of *a followed by a lost *u in the next syllable, e.g. *madu > μολο 'wine', *pasu > ποσο 'sheep'. Short [e] is also rare. By contrast, long /eː/ , /oː/ are well established as reflexes of Proto-Iranian diphthongs and certain vowel-semivowel sequences: η < *ai, *aya, *iya; ω < *au, *awa. An epenthetic vowel [ə] (written α )
4400-550: The Proto-Iranian vowel length contrast. It is not clear if ο might represent short [o] in addition to [u] , and if any contrast existed. Short [o] may have occurred at least as a reflex of *a followed by a lost *u in the next syllable, e.g. *madu > μολο 'wine', *pasu > ποσο 'sheep'. Short [e] is also rare. By contrast, long /eː/ , /oː/ are well established as reflexes of Proto-Iranian diphthongs and certain vowel-semivowel sequences: η < *ai, *aya, *iya; ω < *au, *awa. An epenthetic vowel [ə] (written α )
4488-409: The Sasanian design, by showing the bust of a Hepthalite prince holding a drinking cup. Overall, the Sasanians paid "an enormous tribute" to the Hephthalites, until the 530s and the rise of Khosrow I . Following their victory over Peroz I, the Hepthalites became protectors and benefactors of his son Kavad I , as Balash , a brother of Peroz took the Sasanian throne. In 488, a Hepthalite army vanquished
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#17330558296914576-435: The Sasaniana army of Balash, and was able to put Kavad I (488–496, 498–531) on the throne. In 496–498, Kavad I was overthrown by the nobles and clergy, escaped, and restored himself with a Hephthalite army. Joshua the Stylite reports numerous instances in which Kavadh led Hepthalite ("Hun") troops, in the capture of the city of Theodosiupolis of Armenia in 501–502, in battles against the Romans in 502–503, and again during
4664-404: The Sasanians to eliminate another Hunnic tribe, the Kidarites : by 467, Peroz I, with Hephthalite aid, reportedly managed to capture Balaam and put an end to Kidarite rule in Transoxiana once and for all. The weakened Kidarites had to take refuge in the area of Gandhara . Later, however, from 474 CE, Peroz I fought three wars with his former allies the Hephthalites. In the first two, he himself
4752-519: The Sasanians. The reliefs of the Bandian complex seem to show the initial defeat of the Hephthalites against the Sasanians in 425 CE, and then their alliance with them, from the time of Bahram V (420-438 CE), until they invaded Sasanian territory and destroyed the Bandian complex in 484 CE. In 456–457 a Hephthalite embassy arrived in China, during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Northern Wei . By 458 they were strong enough to intervene in Persia . Around 466 they probably took Transoxianan lands from
4840-430: The Turkic Gaoju origin of the Hephthalites should be retained as indicative of their primary ethnicity, and the mention of the Da Yuezhi only stems from the fact that, at the time, the Hephthalites had already settled in the former Da Yuezhi territory of Bactria , where they are known to have used the Eastern Iranian Bactrian language . The earliest Chinese source on this encounter, the near-contemporary chronicles of
4928-464: The Turkic overcame their territory were: Chaganian , and Khuttal in the Vakhsh Valley . The Hephthalites were originally vassals of the Rouran Khaganate but split from their overlords in the early fifth century. The next time they were mentioned was in Persian sources as foes of Yazdegerd II (435–457), who from 442, fought 'tribes of the Hephthalites', according to the Armenian Elisee Vardaped . In 453, Yazdegerd moved his court east to deal with
5016-410: The area of Tokharistan , especially in banquet scenes at Balalyk tepe and as donors to the Buddha in the ceiling painting of the 35-meter Buddha at the Buddhas of Bamyan . Several of the figures in these paintings have a characteristic appearance, with belted jackets with a unique lapel of their tunic being folded on the right side, a style which became popular under the Hephthalites, the cropped hair,
5104-489: The clusters *sr, *str, *rst. In several cases, however, Proto-Iranian *š becomes /h/ or is lost; the distribution is unclear. E.g. *snušā > ασνωυο 'daughter-in-law', *aštā > αταο 'eight', *xšāθriya > χαρο 'ruler', *pašman- > παμανο 'wool'. The Greek script does not consistently represent vowel length. Fewer vowel contrasts yet are found in the Manichaean script, but short /a/ and long /aː/ are distinguished in it, suggesting that Bactrian generally retains
5192-489: The clusters *sr, *str, *rst. In several cases, however, Proto-Iranian *š becomes /h/ or is lost; the distribution is unclear. E.g. *snušā > ασνωυο 'daughter-in-law', *aštā > αταο 'eight', *xšāθriya > χαρο 'ruler', *pašman- > παμανο 'wool'. The Greek script does not consistently represent vowel length. Fewer vowel contrasts yet are found in the Manichaean script, but short /a/ and long /aː/ are distinguished in it, suggesting that Bactrian generally retains
5280-447: The control the Hephthalite and other Huna tribes . The Hephthalite period is marked by linguistic diversity; in addition to Bactrian, Middle Persian, Indo-Aryan and Latin vocabulary is also attested. The Hephthalites ruled these regions until the 7th century, when they were overrun by the Umayyad Caliphate , after which official use of Bactrian ceased. Although Bactrian briefly survived in other usage, that also eventually ceased, and
5368-447: The control the Hephthalite and other Huna tribes . The Hephthalite period is marked by linguistic diversity; in addition to Bactrian, Middle Persian, Indo-Aryan and Latin vocabulary is also attested. The Hephthalites ruled these regions until the 7th century, when they were overrun by the Umayyad Caliphate , after which official use of Bactrian ceased. Although Bactrian briefly survived in other usage, that also eventually ceased, and
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#17330558296915456-464: The corresponding fricatives in the Greek script. The status of θ is unclear; it only appears in the word ιθαο 'thus, also', which may be a loanword from another Iranian language. In most positions Proto-Iranian *θ becomes /h/ (written υ ), or is lost, e.g. *puθra- > πουρο 'son'. The cluster *θw, however, appears to become /lf/ , e.g. *wikāθwan > οιγαλφο 'witness'. ϸ continues, in addition to Proto-Iranian *š, also Proto-Iranian *s in
5544-464: The corresponding fricatives in the Greek script. The status of θ is unclear; it only appears in the word ιθαο 'thus, also', which may be a loanword from another Iranian language. In most positions Proto-Iranian *θ becomes /h/ (written υ ), or is lost, e.g. *puθra- > πουρο 'son'. The cluster *θw, however, appears to become /lf/ , e.g. *wikāθwan > οιγαλφο 'witness'. ϸ continues, in addition to Proto-Iranian *š, also Proto-Iranian *s in
5632-429: The design for their coinage. Benefiting from the influx of Sasanian silver coins , the Hephthalites did not develop their own coinage: they either minted coins with the same designs as the Sasanians, or simply countermarked Sasanian coins with their own symbols. They did not inscribe the name of their ruler, contrary to the habit of the Alchon Huns or the Kidarites before them. Exceptionally, one coin type deviates from
5720-417: The development in the western Iranian languages Parthian and Middle Persian . Bactrian script Bactrian (Bactrian: Αριαο , romanized: ariao , [arjaː] , meaning "Iranian") is an extinct Eastern Iranian language formerly spoken in the Central Asian region of Bactria (present-day Afghanistan) and used as the official language of the Kushan and the Hephthalite empires. It
5808-432: The east, they captured the Tarim Basin and went as far as Urumqi . Around 560 CE their empire was destroyed by an alliance of the First Turkic Khaganate and the Sasanian Empire , but some of them remained as local rulers in the region of Tokharistan for the next 150 years, under the suzerainty of the Western Turks, followed by the Tokhara Yabghus . Among the principalities which remained in Hephthalite hands even after
5896-519: The first period was a clerical error for Ha b tal , as Arabic -b - resembles -y - . In Chinese chronicles, the Hephthalites are called Yàndàiyílìtuó ( Chinese : 厭帶夷栗陀 ), or in the more usual abbreviated form, Yèdā 嚈噠 or in the 635 Book of Liang as the Huá 滑 . The latter name has been given various Latinisations , including Yeda , Ye-ta , Ye-tha ; Ye-dā and Yanda . The corresponding Cantonese and Korean names Yipdaat and Yeoptal ( Korean : 엽달 ), which preserve aspects of
5984-449: The hair accessories, their distinctive physionomy and their round beardless faces. The figures at Bamyan must represent the donors and potentates who supported the building of the monumental giant Buddha. These remarkable paintings participate "to the artistic tradition of the Hephthalite ruling classes of Tukharistan ". The paintings related to the Hephthalites have often been grouped under the appellation of "Tokharistan school of art", or
6072-449: The latest known examples of the Bactrian script, found in the Tochi Valley in Pakistan, date to the end of the 9th century. Among Indo-Iranian languages, the use of the Greek script is unique to Bactrian. Although ambiguities remain, some of the disadvantages were overcome by using heta ( Ͱ, ͱ ) for /h/ and by introducing sho ( Ϸ, ϸ ) to represent /ʃ/ . Xi ( Ξ, ξ ) and psi ( Ψ, ψ ) were not used for writing Bactrian as
6160-449: The latest known examples of the Bactrian script, found in the Tochi Valley in Pakistan, date to the end of the 9th century. Among Indo-Iranian languages, the use of the Greek script is unique to Bactrian. Although ambiguities remain, some of the disadvantages were overcome by using heta ( Ͱ, ͱ ) for /h/ and by introducing sho ( Ϸ, ϸ ) to represent /ʃ/ . Xi ( Ξ, ξ ) and psi ( Ψ, ψ ) were not used for writing Bactrian as
6248-399: The main ones. The most prominent theory at present seems to be that the Hephthalites were initially of Turkic origin, and later adopted the Bactrian language. According to most specialist scholars, the Hephthalites adopted Bactrian as their official language, just as the Kushans had done, following their settlement in Bactria / Tokharistan . Bactrian was an Eastern Iranian language , but
6336-594: The next two years the Hephthalites plundered and controlled the eastern part of the Sasanian Empire. Perozduxt, the daughter of Peroz, was captured and became a lady as the Hephtalite court, as Queen of king Kun-khi. She became pregnant and had a daughter who would later marry her uncle Kavad I . From 474 until the middle of the 6th century, the Sasanian Empire paid tribute to the Hephthalites. Bactria came under formal Hephthalite rule from that time. Taxes were levied by
6424-492: The northern slopes of the Hindu Kush , and their capital was probably at Kunduz , having come from the east, possibly from the area of Pamir . By 479 the Hephthalites had conquered Sogdia and driven the Kidarites eastwards, and by 493 they had captured parts of Dzungaria and the Tarim Basin (in present-day Northwest China ). The Alchon Huns , formerly confused with the Hephthalites, expanded into Northern India as well. The sources for Hephthalite history are sparse and
6512-787: The opinions of historians differ. There is no king-list, and historians are not sure how the group arose or what language they initially spoke. They seem to have called themselves Ebodalo (ηβοδαλο, hence Hephthal ), often abbreviated Eb (ηβ), a name they wrote in the Bactrian script on some of their coins. The origin of the name "Hephthalites" is unknown, it may stem either from a Khotanese word *Hitala meaning "Strong", from hypothetical Sogdian * Heβtalīt , plural of * Heβtalak , or from postulated Middle Persian *haft āl "the Seven Al ". The Hephthalites called themselves ēbodāl ( Bactrian : , Greek script: [ηβοδαλο] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |3= ( help ) ) in their inscriptions, which
6600-503: The right, the particular cropped hairstyle, the crowns with crescents, have been found in many of the areas historically occupied and ruled by the Hephthalites, in Sogdia , Bamyan (modern Afghanistan ), or in Kucha in the Tarim Basin (modern Xinjiang , China ). This points to a "political and cultural unification of Central Asia " with similar artistic styles and iconography, under the rule of
6688-497: The ruling groups of these invaders were, or at least included, Turkic-speaking tribesmen from the east and north, although most probably the bulk of the people in the confederation of Chionites and then Hephhtalites spoke an Iranian language. In this case, as normal, the nomads adopted the written language, institutions, and culture of the settled folks. According to Martin Schottky, the Hephthalites apparently had no direct connection with
6776-559: The same time stressing that the Hephthalites "were probably a mixed horde". According to the Encyclopaedia Iranica and Encyclopaedia of Islam , the Hephthalites possibly originated in what is today Afghanistan . A few scholars, such as Marquart and Grousset proposed Proto-Mongolic origins. Yu Taishan traced the Hephthalites' origins to the Xianbei and further to Goguryeo . Other scholars such as de la Vaissière , based on
6864-548: Was an Iranian, thus " satem " language. Bactrian is a part of the Eastern Iranian languages and shares features with the extinct Middle Iranian languages Sogdian and Khwarezmian (Eastern) and Parthian ( Western ), as well as sharing affinity with the modern Eastern Iranian languages such as Pamir subgroup of languages like Munji and Yidgha which are part of the same branch of the Pamir languages. Its genealogical position
6952-443: Was an Iranian, thus " satem " language. Bactrian is a part of the Eastern Iranian languages and shares features with the extinct Middle Iranian languages Sogdian and Khwarezmian (Eastern) and Parthian ( Western ), as well as sharing affinity with the modern Eastern Iranian languages such as Pamir subgroup of languages like Munji and Yidgha which are part of the same branch of the Pamir languages. Its genealogical position
7040-504: Was captured and ransomed. Following his second defeat, he had to offer thirty mules loaded with silver drachms to the Hephthalites, and also had to leave his son Kavad as a hostage. The coinage of Peroz I in effect flooded Tokharistan, taking precedence over all other Sasanian issues. In the third battle, at the Battle of Herat (484) , he was vanquished by the Hepthalite king Kun-khi, and for
7128-428: Was commonly abbreviated to ( ηβ , "Eb") in their coinage. An important and unique seal, held in the private collection of Professor Dr. Aman ur Rahman and published by Nicholas Sims-Williams in 2011, shows an early Hepthalite ruler with a round beardless face and slanted almond-shaped eyes, wearing a radiate crown with a single crescent, and framed by the Bactrian script legend ηβοδαλο ββγο ("The Lord [ Yabghu ] of
7216-614: Was long thought that Avestan represented "Old Bactrian", but this notion had "rightly fallen into discredit by the end of the 19th century". Bactrian, which was written predominantly in an alphabet based on the Greek script , was known natively as αριαο [arjaː] (" Arya "; an endonym common amongst Indo-Iranian peoples). It has also been known by names such as Greco-Bactrian or Kushan or Kushano-Bactrian. Under Kushan rule, Bactria became known as Tukhara or Tokhara , and later as Tokharistan . When texts in two extinct and previously unknown Indo-European languages were discovered in
7304-622: Was overrun by a confederation of tribes belonging to the Great Yuezhi and Tokhari . In the 1st century AD, the Kushana, one of the Yuezhi tribes, founded the ruling dynasty of the Kushan Empire . The Kushan Empire initially retained the Greek language for administrative purposes but soon began to use Bactrian. The Bactrian Rabatak inscription (discovered in 1993 and deciphered in 2000) records that
7392-414: Was overrun by a confederation of tribes belonging to the Great Yuezhi and Tokhari . In the 1st century AD, the Kushana, one of the Yuezhi tribes, founded the ruling dynasty of the Kushan Empire . The Kushan Empire initially retained the Greek language for administrative purposes but soon began to use Bactrian. The Bactrian Rabatak inscription (discovered in 1993 and deciphered in 2000) records that
7480-509: Was probably at Kunduz , which was known to the 11th-century scholar al-Biruni as War-Walīz , a possible origin of one of the names given by the Chinese to Hephthalites: 滑 ( Middle Chinese ( ZS ) * ɦˠuat̚ > standard Chinese : Huá ). The Hephthalites may have come from the East, through the Pamir Mountains , possibly from the area of Badakhshan . Alternatively, they may have migrated from
7568-721: Was used by successive rulers in Bactria, until the arrival of the Umayyad Caliphate . Following the conquest of Bactria by Alexander the Great in 323 BC, for about two centuries Greek was the administrative language of his Hellenistic successors, that is, the Seleucid and the Greco-Bactrian kingdoms . Eastern Scythian tribes (the Saka , or Sacaraucae of Greek sources) invaded the territory around 140 BC, and at some time after 124 BC, Bactria
7656-462: Was used by successive rulers in Bactria, until the arrival of the Umayyad Caliphate . Following the conquest of Bactria by Alexander the Great in 323 BC, for about two centuries Greek was the administrative language of his Hellenistic successors, that is, the Seleucid and the Greco-Bactrian kingdoms . Eastern Scythian tribes (the Saka , or Sacaraucae of Greek sources) invaded the territory around 140 BC, and at some time after 124 BC, Bactria
7744-572: Was written in the Greek alphabet , a remnant of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom in the 3rd–2nd century BCE. Bactrian , beyond being an official language, was also the language of the local populations ruled by the Hephthalites. The Hephthalites inscribed their coins in Bactrian , the titles they held were Bactrian, such as XOAΔHO or Šao, and of probable Chinese origin, such as Yabghu , the names of Hephthalite rulers given in Ferdowsi 's Shahnameh are Iranian, and gem inscriptions and other evidence shows that
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