Novye Issledovaniâ Tuvy (Sep 2017)
On the history of the origin of the Tuvan tribal group Tülüš: the dating of the Yenisei runic inscription Eerbek I (Ye 147)
Abstract
The article draws attention to the use of the term töläs ~ töläś in the Old Turkic runic writing monuments of the Yenisei basin, which is interpreted by a number of researchers as an ethnonym. Having examined data from additional (such as archeological and linguistic) sources, as well as texts by Chinese and Muslim authors, the author comes to the conclusion that in the Yenisei runic monuments this word denoted the administrative-territorial unit located in the central and southern areas of Tuva. Its formation dates back to the period of dominance of the Yenisei Qïrqïz in the region, and the use of the word in this sense is preserved, judging from the sources, during the period of at least the middle 9th — 10th centuries A.D. The location of this unit as a whole coincides with the area of settlement of the Tuvan tribal group Tülüš. This ethnonym — as it can be clear from comparing the name from the runic inscription Eerbek I (Ye 147) with the data of Chinese sources about the events of the mid-9th century — preserved, in general, the original dialectal pronunciation. Therefore, there is reason to believe that it was in this area, mainly on the left bank of the Ulug-Khem river — between the Torgalyk and Elegest rivers — as well as the territories on the right bank of the river from the Demir-Sug to Biy-Khem valley, where a number of tribal groups appeared. Later, they retained the name of the parent community and formed a part of a number of Turkic peoples (Tuvan Tülüš, Southern Altai Turkic Töölös, Tien Shan Kyrgyz Töölös / Döölös). Probably, certain additions to this suggestion can be made after a more comprehensive study is made of the Old Turkic runic writing monuments of the Yenisei river valley.
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