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[© Wolfgang Schulze 2003.
No parts of the present text may be copied,
reproduced or distributed or without prior permission by the author.]
01.08.2001 / Revised Version 07.09.2003
[FONT: ARIAL UNICODE MS]
A
tentative interpretation of 2 Cor 11,25-27 (specimen of the Caucasian Albanian
(Aluan) Lectionary) and of the Aluan inscriptions
[Based on the
transliteration by Zaza Aleksidze, re-read and
corrected by © Wolfgang Schulze and © Jost Gippert 2003]
[Select
UNICODE!] Comments: Please mail to W. Schulze
Addendum: The ‘Caucasian Albanian’ (Aluan) inscriptions
__________________________________________________
See http://titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de/armazi/sinai/2kor.htm#start
for the documentation of the original text, Zaza Aleksidze’s interpretation,
and for background information. |
See /Uog.html
for a description of Udi as the descendant of
the language of the Caucasian ‘Albanians’
(or: Aluans). http://www.lrz.uni-muenchen.de/FGU.htm
for details on the Udi |
Udi represents
an endangered language of the Southeast Caucasian (Lezgian) language family.
Currently, it is spoken by some 4.000 people in the
A famous passage
in the Armenian patmowt`iwn (ašxarhi) ałowanic (History of the Albanians) by Movsēs Kałankatuac`i
(or Dasxowranc`i; 7th century (?)) tells us that the Armenian
scribe, monk and (later) missionary Mesrob Mašt`oc` (362-440) has “created with the help [of the bischop
Ananian and the translator Benjamin] an alphabet for the guttural, harsh,
barbarious, and rough language of the Gargarac`ik`“ (Pat.Ał. Book II, 3, compare Dowsett 1961:69). The Gargarac`ik`
represented one of the peoples of the kingdom of Albania the name of which is
already attested in Strabo XI,5,1 and which can be associated to the Armenian
toponym daštn Gargarac`owc`, a region
southeast of the central part of the Kura river (compare the contemporary river
name Gargar, a tributary to the Araxes).
Most likely, the Gargarac`ik` whose habitat was located to the east of the
Aluan province Utik` played a crucial role in the state’s administration at
least by the time of conversion to the Christian faith. Although the ‘Albanian’
state started to disintegrate soon after 705, the Aluan script seemed to have
been in continuous use until at least the 12th century. For instance, the
Kilikean historian Haython (Hethum), a nephew of the Kilikean king Hethum I
(1226-1269), reported in 1307: “Literas habent Armenicas, et alias etiam, quae
dicuntur Haloën” (Haythoni Armenii historia
orientalis, quae eadem et De Tartaris inscribitur, Coloniae Brand.
1671:9). The existence of an Aluan alphabet has been confirmed by two
(re-copied, in parts corrupt) alphabet lists that have survived in medieval
manuscripts (now kept in the Matenadaran museum,
Until 1996,
little had been known about the language used in connection with the Aluan
alphabet. The earliest word said to be ‘Albanian’ or Aluan documented so far
stems from the fragment of a lexical list ascribed to a certain Heracleides.
This list is included in the so-called Oxyrhynchis Papyri (100-200 AD). The
relevant passage reads: μιληχ γενειον
υπο Αλβανιων των
ομορουντω[ν] (‚milēkh – beard according to the neighboring
Albanians’, Pap. Oxy. 180265 (Grenfell & Hunt 1922:158), I thank
Bill Judge for this reference). Although the word at issue has a Lezgian ‘look’ (compare Archi muz^ur,
Tabasaran (Dübek) midz^ri, Rutul me^c^’ri, Lezgi c^iri (> Kryts dz^iri),
Tsakhur muc ’ri,
Budukh mic^’er,
Khinalug mic^:äs^), it is difficult to
relate it to any of the candidate languages (in Udi, the Lezgian term has been
replaced by k’adz^ux). A list of
so-called Albanian month names surviving in a number of medieval manuscripts
gave the first clue to the language of the Aluan. Basically, we have to deal
with the manuscript ‘Paris Arm 114’ (Brosset 1832), a list of month names
compiled by par Anania Širakac`i, variants which occur for instance in
manuscripts by Hovhannēs Imastaser (~ 12th century, Armenian)
et Sulxan Saba Orbeliani (18th century, Georgian), see Schulze
1982:284-5 and (more importantly) Gippert 1987 for details. Obviously, at least
parts of the month names are clearly related to Udi. As a result, the
long-standing hypothesis has emerged according to which the language of the
Aluan people represents an older variant of Udi.
This hypothesis
has been supported by a number of co-arguments. For instance, the Udi are the
only Christian group in
It should be
noted, however, that none of the three names (Udini ~ Οὐίτιοι ~ Owtik`;
’Αλβανία ~
Ałowank`; Γαργαροί ~ Gargar(ac`i)k`) can be safely etymologized with the help of
contemporary Udi. There is a slight chance to relate the term udi (also used as a self-denomination of the
contemporary Udis) to the ethnonym qūtīm
which labels a gentile group having ruled over Central and Southern Mesopotamia
(2200-2100) and said to stem from the northern regions of the Zagros mountains.
Urartian sources mention a river Uduri
said to be located at the border of the land Etiu
(e.g. Meščaninov 1978:319), and it may well be that one of the two
ethnonyms can be equaled to the term udi.
The term ’Αλβανία ~ Ałowank` probably
reflects a form *aluan which is sometimes
paralleled to both the name of a village in the Shah-Dagh mountains (Alpan) and to the name of a pre-Islamic deity in
Lezgistan (Alpan). However, this proposal
neglects important historical facts and should be taken with great caution.
In sum, both
direct and indirect evidence suggest that the ‘major’ language of Aluan (i.e.
the language of the Gargar(ac`i)k`) must have been an early variant of Udi.
This assumption saw confirmation in 1987, when the Georgian scientist Zaza
Aleksidze discovered a palimspest stored in the
In 1996, the
Georgian scientist Zaza Aleksidze – while doing documentary work in the St.
Catherine monastery on Mt. Sinai – discovered two Georgian palimpsest
manuscripts (conventionally labelled N/Sin-13 or M13 and N/Sin-55 or M55) that
contain in their lower, heavily washed layer texts in Albanian script (see Aleksidze & Mahé 1997, 2002 for a detailed
presentation of the manuscripts and a preliminary discussion of the language of
the lower layers, http://armazi.uni-frankfurt.de/armaz3.htm
for a presentation of the Sinai project). Meanwhile, the pioneering work
of Aleksidze has been continued by Jost Gippert (
In sum, the two
manuscripts consist of roughly 180 folios (recto/verso), in parts heavily
distorted and only fragmentary. They show the Aluan text in horizontal lines
crossed by the upper layer of Georgian text in vertical lines (see http://armazi.uni-frankfurt.de/sinai/albanica/m13.htm
for images). The Aluan text is strongly washed out. Its characters have (in
major parts) merged with the Georgian letters of the upper layer. The original
Albanian text was written in two columns (22 to 23 lines per page) which 15 to
20 characters per line. In addition, smaller characters were used to add
commentaries relevant for the use of the lectionary in the Holy Service. At the
end of M13 n63, the scribe seems to have added a ‘personal note’.
The bulk of the lectionary is preserved in M13,
whereas M55 is much smaller and more fragmentary in nature. It is not quite
clear whether both manuscripts had been written at the same time. Perhaps, M13
is older stemming from the 5th or 6th century, whereas
M55 has been written in the 8th century (see Aleksidze 2002).
Nevertheless, it comes clear that both manuscripts originally represented a
single ‘book’ which contained passages from the New Testament as well as at
least one passage from the Old Testament.
The following
passage from Sinai M13 n75 (Folio 76r-77v, column B) helps to illustrate the
language of the Palimpsest (original reading of lines 6-22 by Zaza Aleksidze;
re-read and corrected by W. Schulze and J. Gippert):
|
(1) |
owq’abiyayza(x) : Xib |
|
(2) |
omn%az^iz^acEhE |
|
(3) |
zowg^iowns^owbAwg^a |
|
(4) |
(y)~ig^oxmarg^(i)zowhE |
|
(5) |
Laq’mox avelomc^ar |
|
(6) |
marak’esownowxt’owr |
|
(7) |
moxoc |
|
(8) |
Marak’esownowxaba |
|
(9) |
zak’owg^oxoc : mar |
|
(10) |
ak’esownowxC’inow |
|
(11) |
xocma(r)ak’esownowx |
|
(12) |
het’anosowg^oxoc |
|
(13) |
marak’esownowxkala |
|
(14) |
kamarak’esownowx |
|
(15) |
k’%abanamarak’e |
|
(16) |
sownxc’ayax : mar |
|
(17) |
ak’sownowxa[c/]pE |
|
(18) |
is^ebaxoc : marak’e |
|
(19) |
sownowg^onownbor |
|
(20) |
zownowg^[on]nowg^owr |
|
(21) |
bowres[ownenav]elom |
|
(22) |
c^ar : bowsinown(i)g^i |
This passage
contains a translation of 2 Cor 11,[2]5-2[7]. A linguistic interpretation of
(16) is given below. Note that the glosses are derived from the system applied
to Udi by Schulze (forthcoming). A preliminary translation of 2 Cor 11,26-27
had been prepared by Zaza Aleksidze. Here, a revised interpretation is given on
the basis of the corrections and additions proposed by W. Schulze and J. Gippert):
<25>
[…1] xib-[2]om n%az^iz^-ac-E h-E
three-coll shipwreck-lv:pass-perf lv-perf
‘Thrice I suffered shipwreck’
[3] zow g^i own
s^ow bAwg^a [4] (y)~i-g^-ox
marg^(i)-zow-h-E
I day and night middle-dat
depth(?):dat2 suffering-1sg-lv-perf2
‘A night and a day I have been in the deep.’
<26>
[5] Laq’-m-ox
avel-om c^ar
way-pl-dat2 much-coll fold
‘Often on the roads’
[6] marak’esown-owx
t’(=k ?)owr-[7]m-oxoc
danger-dat2 river-pl-abl
‘in danger of rivers’
[8] marak’esown-owx
aba[9]zak’-owg^-oxoc
danger-dat2 thief-pl-abl
‘in danger of thieves’
mar[10]ak’esown-owx C’inowx-[11]oc
danger-dat2 compatriot-abl
‘in danger of the compatriots’
ma(r)ak’esown-owx [12] het’anos-owg^-oxoc
danger-dat2 gentile-pl-abl
‘in danger of the gentils’
[13] marak’esown-owx
kala[14]k-a
danger-dat2 town-dat
‘in danger in the town’
marak’esown-owx [15]
k’%aban-a
danger-dat2 desert-dat
‘in danger in the desert’
marak’e[16]sown-owx c’ayax
danger-dat2 sea:dat2
‘In danger
in the sea’
mar[17]ak’esownowx a[c/]pE [18] is^eb-axoc
danger-dat2 false
brethren-abl
‘in danger of
false brethren’
<27> marak’e[19]sown-owg^-on
own borz[20]own-owg^[-on]
danger-pl-erg and labor-pl-erg
‘with dangers and labors’
nowg^owr [21] bowr-es[own-en av]el-om [22] c^ar
wake stand-masd-erg much-coll fold
‘in watches often’
bowsin own ig^(e)
hungry and
thirs[ty]
‘in hunger and thirst…’
|
(y)~ig^-ox |
‘depth, deep’, dat2 |
Udi dat2 -ox |
|
a[c/]pE |
‘false’ |
Udi apc^i ‘liar’ |
|
abazak’-owg^-oxoc |
‘thief’ (pl., abl.) |
Armenian abazak, Udi pl. -ux, abl. -oxo |
|
avel-om |
‘much’ (ordinal form) |
Udi ordinal -un < *-um |
|
bAwg^-a |
‘in the middle’ |
Udi be^%g^, dat. -a |
|
borz-own-owg^-on |
‘load’ (pl., erg.) |
Udi plural -ux, erg. –on |
|
bowsi-n |
‘hunger’ (instr.) |
Udi busa ‘hungry’, erg./instr. -in |
|
bowr-es-own-en |
‘stand’ (masd., erg.) |
Udi masd. -esun, erg. –en |
|
c’ay-ax |
‘sea’ (dat2) |
Arm. cov ‘sea’ (?), Udi dat2 -ax |
|
c^ar |
‘fold’ |
? |
|
C’in-owxoc |
‘compatriot’ |
Udi abl. -uxo |
|
g^i |
‘day’ |
Udi g^i ‘day’ |
|
h-E |
‘be’ (perf2) |
Udi perf2 –ey |
|
het’anos-owg^-oxoc |
‘gentile’ (pl., abl.) |
(Greek >) Arm. hetanos ‘gentile’, Udi pl. -ux, abl. –oxo |
|
ig^(e)[…] |
‘thirst’ |
? |
|
is^e-b-axoc |
‘brethren’ (pl. tant., abl.) |
Udi abl. –axo |
|
k’%aban-a |
‘open field, desert’
(dat.) |
Udi k’%ava%n ‘wilderness, open field’, dat. -a |
|
kalak-a |
‘city’ (dat.) |
Arm. k`alak` , Udi dat. –a |
|
Laq’-m-ox |
‘way’ (pl, dat2) |
Udi yaq’, pl. -m-, dat2 –ox |
|
marak’-es-own-owx |
‘suffer-see’ (masd., dat2) |
Udi ak’sun ‘to see’, dat2 –ux |
|
marak’-esown-owg^-on |
‘suffer-see’ (masd., pl. erg.) |
Udi ak’sun ‘to see’, pl. -ug^-, erg. -on |
|
marg^(i)-zow-h-E |
‘suffering’ (1sg, perf2) |
Udi 1sg -zu, perf2 -ey |
|
n%az^iz^-ac-E |
‘shipwreck’ (mp, perf2) |
Udi mp:past -ac-, perf2 –ey |
|
nowg^owr |
‘awake’ |
Udi mog^or ‘awake’ |
|
own |
‘and’ |
Udi q’a-n ‘and’ |
|
s^ow |
‘night’ |
Udi s^u |
|
t’(=k?)owr-m-oxoc |
‘river’ (pl, abl) |
Udi kur, pl. -m-, abl. –oxoc |
|
xib-om |
‘three’ (coll., ord.) |
Udi xib, ord. -un < *-um |
|
zow |
‘I’ |
Udi zu ‘I’ |
The
‘Caucasian
Albanian’ (Aluan) Inscriptions
(© Wolfgang Schulze 2003)
There exists a
small corpus of so-called Caucasian Albanian or Aluan inscriptions the most
famous of which is the Mingečaur inscription found in 1949 during excavations
in the Mingečaur region in
T 1 (= Mingec^aur Pedestal, serving
to carry a cross (Schulze) or throne (Gippert)) [ca. 60 x 60 cm]; Probably 7th
century AD.
See Gippert (in press) for the most recent and most
detailed analysis.
1 (q’)iyas BE be(s)(i)(n)?o(l)o arah/c^Ene ei/n
?:dat3 God:gen
?:gen LOC verb:lv:perf2:3sg ?
‘For the X of God LOC X placed(?)’
2 h/c^Al yE owsena
xosroo(w)_
? 27 year:dat
Khosrow[:gen]
‘[…] in the year 27 of Khosrow’
3 _________serb[aun]_______
firs[t]
‘[……]
firs[t……….]’
4a __Aw/s. h/c^os/b/%
(i)(n=p’?)isk’ap’osen bi
PN bischop:erg make:past
4b yayn
part:past:3sg
The present
reading deviates in minor parts from the up to now most comprehensive and most
reliable interpretation of the Mingec^aur inscription (Gippert (in press))
which also aims at situating the contents of the inscription into the clerical
history of
q’iyas (Gippert: miyas) Obviously the now lost Old Udi -s-Dative (‘dat3’)
BE Abbreviation
of ‘god’ or ‘lord’ (= Palimpsest)
-hEne (?) =
Palimpsest h-E-ne (be-perf2-3sg:foc)
owsena = Udi usen-a ‘in the year’
[s]er[b]- =
Palimpsest serbaown ‘first’
-en = Udi
ergative -en
biyay =
Palimpsest biyay (do:past)
T 2 (Candleholder, Mingečaur) [8 x 5 x 5 cm]
(Trever 1959:Tabl.35, new reading © W. Schulze 2003)
|
I |
II |
III |
IV |
1 |
zayo |
|
|
|
2 |
ggo |
|
|
|
3 |
kar(x) |
Xena |
ibow |
b~E et’ |
4a |
|
|
|
owXbe(c) |
4b |
e |
|
|
g^ahak’ |
5 |
hAwk’e |
q’a(k’).(x)bi |
yay |
|
The four sides of the candleholder are not fully
aligned. Hence, the restoration of the original lines is somewhat problematic.
Nevertheless, a possible reading is:
za yog gokar(e)XE naibow
b~E et’owX be(c)e
I:dat ?
be=ungodly:perf2 servant God:gen
this(?):dat2 beg:perf(?)
g^ahak’ hAwk’e q’a(g^).(x) biyay
? joy:3sg ? make:part:past
The following elements can be identified:
za =
Udi za ‘I:dat’
gokar(e)XE = Palimpsest gokarXE (Perf2), derived from Pal. karXesown
‘to save’, meaning of the preverbially
marked
form probably ‘ungodly’ or ‘humble’ (< ‘not saved’ ?).
naibow =
Palimpsest naibow ‘servant, slave’
b~E Abbreviation
meaning ‘god’ or ‘lord’ (genitive or ergative)
hAwk’ =
Palimpsest hAwk’ ‘joy’
biyay Palimpsest
biyay (do:past)
T 3 (Fragment of candleholder (?), Mingečaur) [16
x 4(,5) cm]
(Murav’ev 1981:275, new reading © W. Schulze 2003)
1(?) zow va ba(l)a oa[_____?]
I you:sg do:part:fut ?
2(?) ……biya(y) [_____?]
… do:part:past
3(?) ?iye bowq’ana
[____?]
…. love
Old Udi segments are:
zow = Udi zu
‚I’
va =
Udi va ‘you:sg:dat’
bala = Udi/Palimpsest b-ala ‘do-fut2’
biyay = Palimpsest biyay (do:past)
bowq’ana = Palimpsest bowq’ana ‘beloved’
T 4 (Candleholder, Mingečaur) [18 x 11 x 10
cm]
(Murav’ev 1981:279, new reading © W. Schulze 2003)
zow
ki(W)pe
I
burn(?):lv:perf
The meaning of ki(W)pe [phonetically
ki(dz)pe]
is obscure. Obviously, we have to deal with a ‘simple’ perfect (-e) added to the light verb –p-. The
initial form zow corresponds to Udi zu ‘I’.
T 5 (Roofing tile (?), Mingečaur) [10 x 10,5 cm]
(Murav’ev 1981:273, new reading © W. Schulze 2003)
1 zow m[_________]
I …
2 bAwg^a[_______ ]
in=midth …
3 h~k’e zow[______]
because I…
4 (b). hel(i)[_______]
[do] soul:gen …
(x) [_______________]
This fragment shows the following correspondences with
(Old) Udi:
zow =
Udi zu I’
bAwg^a Palimpsest bawg^a ‘in
midth’ (Udi be^%g^ ‘middle’)
h~k’e =
Palimpsest h~k’e, an abbreviation meaning
‘because’.
hel = Palimpsest hel (> Udi (pl.tant.) el-mux) ‘soul, spirit’
T 6 (Roofing tile (?), Mingečaur) [16 x 4 cm]
(Murav’ev 1981:281, new reading © W. Schulze 2003)
mana (k’)?[____]
[Personal name?]
The interpretation of this passage remains unclear.
T 7 (Candleholder, Mingečaur) [11 x 7 x 7 cm]
(Murav’ev 1981:277, new reading © W. Schulze 2003)
|
I |
II |
III |
IV |
1 |
ab |
g(d) |
ezE |
Ytč’ |
|
|
|
|
|
This inscription
contains the first 10 letters of the Aluan alphabet. In addition, two words
appear in vertical lines. i(s)i remains
unclear, whereas g&ar undoubtedly means
‘son, child’ (= Udi/Palimpsest g^ar).
T 8 [Tablet, Verxnyj Labkomaxi) [10 x 5 cm]
(Alphabet;
Murav’ev 1981:283; perhaps a fake)
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