Chagatai literature

Chagatai literature refers to the body of literary works written in Chagatai, a Turkic language that was heavily influenced by Persian and Islamic culture. The Turkic people who originally spoke Chagatai were conquered by the Islamic Golden Horde and adopted Islam as a primary tenet of their culture. For this reason, many of the earliest Chagatai texts are translations of significant Islamic and Persian literary works. Chagatai's grammatical structures were also influenced by Persia.

The use of the Chagatai language declined from the seventeenth century onward. Though the language had developed a reputation for being artistic or a literary form and was often used to write specialized types of poetry, its use remained geographically restricted. In the twenty-first century, Chagatai was still taught in some universities but had fallen out of common usage. Islamic scholars and historians study the language for the insight Chagatai literature provides into the historic times of its writers and the development of Turkic languages.

Brief History

The Turkic peoples share a history and culture as well as a language group. All Turkic peoples speak one of the Turkic languages, and these languages are members of the larger Altaic language group. Some subgroups of the Turkic people include the Turks, Tatars, Shor, Karakalpaks, Kazakhs, Kipchak, Bashkir, Altai, Azerbaijanis, Uighurs, Uzbeks, and Balkar.

Historians believe that the various Turkic subgroups originated from the Tujue, a nomadic people who created an empire in modern China and Mongolia. Many of these ethnic and cultural subgroups have survived into the twenty-first century. Additionally, most Turkic peoples are linked by a history of practicing Islam.

Most Turkic peoples first encountered Islam through military conquest. During the late seventh and early eighth century, Muslim armies began conquering large sections of Central Asia, including the historic homelands of the various Turkic peoples. The religion quickly spread and soon became the dominant religion in the region and remains so for many individuals in the twenty-first century.

Following the formation of the Tujue Empire, the Turkic peoples spread into the steppes, forming the Hun hordes. The Huns remained an important regional power from the fourth through sixth centuries CE. Additional steppe Turkic groups then developed, including the Göktürks, who created the famous Turkic Khaganate Empire.

During the tenth century, the Bulgar Turkic people were conquered by Islamic invaders. Over the following centuries, much of Europe was also conquered by invading Muslims. They formed the Golden Horde in Eastern Europe, making Islam the official religion and converting much of the population. Many of the religious and cultural elements of the Golden Horde's rule can be found in modern Turkic cultures. During the fifteenth century, the Golden Horde fractured, forming numerous smaller territorial governments called Khanates.

Overview

Chagatai literature refers to a specific subset of Turkic literature written in the Chagatai language. The literature was heavily influenced by the Turkic peoples' time as part of the Mongol Golden Horde, and then developed a reputation as a literary language used for artistic expression. Many of the earliest works of Chagatai literature were religious translations of Islamic Persian texts. Later works were commonly poetic compositions. Though the language survived through the twentieth century and was still taught in some universities in the twenty-first century, it is no longer in active use.

Turkic Languages

Chagatai, also known as Turki and Chagatai Turkic, is an extinct member of the Turkic language family. This grouping includes numerous languages within the Altaic language group, each showing significant similarities in morphology, syntax, and phonology. The oldest examples of the Turkic language family are found in Old Turkic inscriptions in Mongolia and Russia, most of which date to the eighth century.

Following their development in that region, the Turkic languages spread throughout Eastern Europe, North Asia, Central Asia, and parts of the modern Middle East. The Chagatai language is the easternmost language of the Eastern Turkic language group. Early Chagatai is distinguished from the latter Classical Chagatai. Scholars of the language's era considered the Chagatai language to be prestigious and pure. Because of this, foreign literary works were sometimes translated into Chagatai.

By the ninth century, scholars noted that significant Islamic influence could be found in Chagatai. This included the presence of numerous words borrowed from Persian or Arabic, which some historians argue is evidence of increasing cultural pressure from Islamic peoples. This influence continued to grow over time, with several Persian grammatical structures eventually adopted into the language. These included Persian conjunctions and postpositions.

Persian Influence on Chagatai Literature

Chagatai literature was initially composed of works translated from other languages. During the fifteenth century, the Mongol Golden Horde, the western half of the sprawling Mongol Empire, converted to Islam. At the time, many Turkic individuals were part of the Golden Horde. Though Mongols traditionally retained aristocratic power, many of the common people were ethnically Turkic and spoke Turkic languages.

Due to heavy foreign influence during this era, the first major Chagatai literary works were not the literature of the Turkic peoples. Instead, they were translations of famous Persian works of literature. In 1340, the Persian poem "Khosrow and Shīrīn" by Heẓāmī’ was translated into Chagatai by Quṭb Khorazmī, increasing the influence of Persian culture on the Turkic peoples. Numerous other works were translated into Chagatai, including Sayf-i Sarāyī's translation of Gulistān ("The Rose Garden") by Saʿdī.

Persian writers continued to inspire Turkic writers, who began to blend traditional Persian writing with Chagatai and other Turkic languages. Many of the Turkic writers of this era began composing poetry in Persian, blending some Turkic influence with the traditional Persian language. In the fifteenth century, the first major original literary works composed in Chagatai were published. The language was also officially recognized during that period. Previously it was not often distinguished from other Turkic languages of the region. Much of the original writing that Chagatai writers published in the fifteenth century was collections of poetry.

Major writers of the fifteenth century included Sakkākī, Luṭfī, and Navāʾī. The language developed a reputation for artistry and was adopted by writers who intended to create great works of literature. Some of the most famous works from this time include The Wall of Alexander (1485) and Farhād and Shīrīn (1484).

Continued Developments in Chagatai Writings

The Uzbeks took control of the regions in which Chagatai was spoken toward the end of the fifteenth century. The Uzbeks brought with them their own language, commonly known as Turki, Western Turki, or Uzbek. Because of this, Chagatai's use in literary works declined throughout the early sixteenth century, falling behind Turki in usage. During the sixteenth century, famed poet Bābur published Bābur-nāmeh, his autobiography, in Chagatai.

The use of Chagatai continued to decline throughout the seventeenth century. Though it fell out of use throughout almost all the regions in which it was originally used, Chagatai remained a notable literary language in the smaller khanate of Khiva. The khanate was ruled by an Uzbek dynasty, which continued to preserve the use of the historic language in literary works. The most famous Chagatai work of the era was Genealogical Tree of the Turkmen, which was written by Khan Abū al-Ghāzī Bahādur. Additionally, Khivan poets wrote works in Chagatai throughout the seventeenth century.

The khanate of Khiva declined in power and influence throughout the following century. It was eventually conquered by Russia, made a protectorate of the Russian government, and then absorbed into the Soviet Union. With this decline, the use of the Chagatai language for literary purposes became even more rare. The most notable Chagatai work of the eighteenth century was "Beauty and the Heart" ("Hüsn u Dil in Chagatai") by the Central Asian poet Nishātī, who continued the historic tradition of writing poetry in Chagatai.

The government of 'Umar Khan in the khanate of Kokand became a haven for Chagatai and Persian literary works during the early nineteenth century. Court poets continued to compose works in Chagatai in Kokand until 1842, when Kokand was conquered by the Bukhara. The Bukharan government associated Chagatai literature with the previous regime, making it difficult for poets and writers to openly utilize the language. However, when the region was conquered by Russia in the latter half of the century, Chagatai poetry reemerged.

Despite this re-emergence, throughout the rest of Eastern Europe, the use of Chagatai in literature continued to decline. The language slowly transitioned to a subject of academic study and artistic appreciation instead of a living language. Chagatai continued to be studied in Uzbekistan, where the language was considered culturally important. However, it is rarely taught in other parts of the world.

Bibliography

"Chaghatay Language and Literature." Iranica Online, www.iranicaonline.org/articles/chaghatay-language-and-literature. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.

"Khosrow and Shirin." Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, 2020, gulbenkian.pt/museu/en/collection-of-stories/khusraw-e-shirin. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.

Kiesling, Lydia. "Letter of Recommendation: Uzbek." New York Times, 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/magazine/letter-of-recommendation-uzbek.html. Accessed 30 Nov. 2022.

Kiziltunc, Recai. “Women Poets in Chagatai Literature.” Journal of Turkish Studies, vol. 7, issue 2, no. 7, 2012, pp. 731–59, doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.3310. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.

"Lands of the Golden Horde & the Chagatai: 1332–1333." UC Berkley, 2022, orias.berkeley.edu/resources-teachers/travels-ibn-battuta/journey/lands-golden-horde-chagatai-1332-1333. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.

Maenchen-Helfen, O. "The World of the Huns." Kororaina, www.kroraina.com/huns/mh/mh‗6.html. Accessed 30 Nov. 2022.

Mayer-Attenborough, Christina. "Islam and the Turks." ASA, 2015, www.asatours.com.au/islam-turks. Accessed 30 Nov. 2022.