(عربي) The largest part of Orkhon inscriptions is a speech of the Khagan, or the ruling power, represented by the prince Kul Tigin, his brother the Khagan Bilge, or Tonyukuk the Wise. There are many repeated sentences that represent the thinking of the Khagan; what he wants the people to know or to say about him; or both. While it is not possible to know how the Khagan thought or how did he behave, it is possible to know what he thought was his duty or at least what makes him appear good for his people.
Hunger and Fullness
One of the main duties of the Khagan is supporting the weaker people and transforming their situation into a better one: “I brought the dying people back to life; for the naked people I found clothing, the poor people I made rich, the scanty people I made numerous”. Similar sentences are repeated about Kul Tigin’s uncle or his brother: “The poor he made rich, the few he made numerous”.
The mention of hunger is also frequent, without a focus on higher concepts such as poorness or richness, when he wants to tell his people to stay within Otikan forest and mountains: “If thou stay on in the mountain forest of Otiikan, thou shalt ever hold an everlasting kingdom, Turkish nation, and thou shalt be full-fed.” In another location, it says: “When thou art hungry, thou dost not remember what fullness is ; but once thou I S 9 art full-fed, thou hast no thought of what hunger is.” Tonyukuk says about the period of Elitrish Khagan reign: “We lived there, nourishing ourselves on big game and hares, and the people’s mouth was filled” Then in a very interesting way he assumes that the family bonds naturally breaks in cases of abundance in resources, and he doesn’t consider that as a bad situation: “the younger brother knew nought of the elder brother, the sons knew nought of their father. So great was the kingdom and the dominion”.
Relationship with Heaven
As many kings do in the old ages, it is essential to find a relationship between deities and the ruling dynasty, the Khagan here connects the creation of the universe with the establishment of his kingdom: “When the blue sky above and the dark earth below were made, then were made between them both the sons of men. Over the sons of men set themselves [as rulers] my forbears Bumin Khagan and Istami Khagan, and having set themselves [as rulers] they governed and kept in order the Turkish peoples”
While the text doesn’t show a direct relation with the heavens, the Khagan makes his obedience obligatory by the orders of the heavens and he talks on behalf of God who addresses the Turksish people: ‘Then Heaven may well have spoken as follows: “I had given thee a khan; but thou hast forsaken thy khan, and again submitted.” As a punishment for this submission Heaven caused them to die ; the Turkish people perished or languished and fell to ruin.’ Then he talks how the heaven gave his father the power: “As Heaven gave them strength, my father, the Khagan’s army was as wolves, and their foes as sheep”. He also attributes his father’s marriage to the blessing of the heaven: “But the Turks’ Heaven above, and the Turks holy I E ll Yer-sub did as follows : to the end that the Turkish people should not perish but that it should [again] become a people, they raised up my father Elterish Khagan and my mother Elbilga katun, supporting them from the heights of Heaven”.
Maybe there was a different life where the dead go to the heaven according to the Gokturks beliefs, as the inscriptions talk about Kul Tigin’s death “Now are ye dead. [Be in ?] Heaven just as [ye were then] amongst the living.”
The heaven also appoints the Khagan, not only blesses his appointment: “the godlike Turkish Wise [Bilga] II E l Khagan appointed by Heaven”.
Relations with other nations
As we showed previously the peoples and the groups that Orkhon valley Turks understood in the world, we find that they barely know about Tibet, China and few tribes and tribal considerations of Turks and Mongols around them. The Chinese is the richest, and the smartest in their view. They also know the Sogds and the Persians. Even if they knew more about the world, then their interactions, battles and trade, are limited by this map.
But how did they see these nations? Initially, it seems that the Khagan assumes that his main duty is to bring peace, however, that doesn’t seem to be the case when mentioning the encounters with others which often seem hostile. For some reason the world is consisted of four parts, and the Khagan simply brought peace to these parts by defeating them all so that they “bow their head and bend their knee”, a sentence that is frequently mentioned in the text. Khagan’s wars result into peace, “but they waged wars against them and overcame all the peoples in the four quarters of the world, made them keep the peace and bow their head and bend their knee”. In another location he says: “All the peoples in the four quarters of the world I have brought to keeping the peace and making an end of hostilities”
The Khagan is proud of the gifts that he receives from other nations, he repeated four times the story when he asked the Chinese emperor to send him artists:
I (have had) the memorial stone (hewn ?). From the Chinese Emperor I have had artists to come, and have set them to work. I S 12 My request has not been refused (?). They have sent the Chinese Emperor’s court painters. I have bidden them set up a separate [or excelling ?] hall, and inside and out I have had them to make various (?) [remarkable ?] paintings. I have had the stone hewn ; that which lay in my heart to utter I have (had written . .).
In another occasion he talked about groups of ambassadors bringing gifts to him:
“Came at the head of 500 men ; they brought sweet-scented things, (. .) gold and silver in quantity beyond reckoning ; they brought corpse candles (?) and set them up ; they brought sandal-wood II S 12 (. . . .). All these people cut their hair and slashed their ears and cheeks. They brought their good riding-horses, their black sables, their blue squirrels in quantity beyond reckoning, and all this they offered up.”