ВОПРОСЫ ОНОМАСТИКИ | PROBLEMS OF ONOMASTICS

Aleksandr Vladislavovich Savelyev
Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies, National Research University “Higher School of Economics”; Institute for History and Archaeology, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow / Ekaterinburg, Russia

Yuriy Mikhailovich Svoyskiy
RSSDA Laboratory; Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies, National Research University “Higher School of Economics”, Moscow, Russia

ONOMASTICS OF THE YENISEI TURKIC RUNIFORM INSCRIPTIONS IN LIGHT OF NEW DOCUMENTATION

For citation
Savelyev, A. V., & Svoyskiy, Yu. M. (2026). Onomastics of the Yenisei Turkic Runiform Inscriptions in Light of New Documentation. Voprosy onomastiki, 23(2), 9–27. https://doi.org/10.15826/vopr_onom.2026.23.2.019

Received on 8 February 2026
Accepted on 15 April 2026

Abstract: The article presents a comprehensive analysis of onomastic material in the runiform epigraphy of the Yenisei Turks, based on newly documented materials. This documentation was carried out in 2024–2025 as part of a project aimed at developing a digital corpus of Old Turkic inscriptions, conducted at the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the RSSDA Laboratory. Using modern methods of 3D documentation and visualization, the project team processed 87 inscriptions from the territories of Khakassia and Tuva. The resulting materials have made it possible to substantially refine and, in some cases, revise the interpretation of the onomastic data contained in this corpus, as well as to verify previously proposed readings. The onomastic material can be classified into three main groups: toponyms, ethnonyms and politonyms, and anthroponyms. The total number of onyms in the current version of the Yenisei runiform corpus is estimated at approximately 120. The article pays particular attention to problematic cases of “foreign-policy” onomastics among the Yenisei Qïrqïz, as well as to rare and hapax forms that may be interpreted as tribal names. Based on the new documentation, the readings of several well-known inscriptions (Ortïdaγ-Bil / E-71, Čaa Höl VI / E-18, Kezek Hüree / E-58, Yur-Sayïr II / E-94, etc.) are revised; new interpretations of certain compound anthroponyms are proposed, and the status of a number of disputed onomastic units is clarified. The study demonstrates that the combination of objective digital documentation with formulaic and contextual analysis of the Yenisei epitaphs allows for the reconstruction of even severely damaged textual fragments, the identification of errors in earlier interpretations, and the substantial revision of existing readings. The results are of fundamental importance for Old Turkic onomastics, the textology of the Yenisei runiform inscriptions, and the reconstruction of the ethnopolitical landscape of Southern Siberia in the Early Middle Ages.

Keywords: Turkic onomastics; Old Turkic language; Yenisei runiform inscriptions; epigraphy; 3D documentation; anthroponymy; ethnonymy; toponymy; Yenisei Qïrqïz

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant No. 24-28-01042, Development of an Information System for Creating a Digital Corpus of Old Turkic Runiform Inscriptions (funding organization: Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences; URL: https://rscf.ru/project/24-28-01042/).

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