Lands of Asia layouts (Eng) 26.11.21

part iii | cultural and spiritual development
1. [It was] King Huvishka’s fourth year of reign, when …a city /land…
The king presented(?) this sangha and (??) city…
2. …this [that is, the sangha] was established by Shodiya and… …who
put the temple in order/decorated.
3. …The sanctuary(???) which the king named after Kanishka(?) and in
addition Shodiya(?) had erected a large gate in the acropolis for the
gods(?).
4. …The flowing water/ was waterless(?) that is why Shodiya dug in (??).
5. …Shodiya dug and both(?) deities(?) were brought/came.
6. …And this was written by Mirozado on Shodiya’s orders.
This is the first and most extensive monumental Bactrian inscription to have been
discovered in Central Asia, and the first Bactrian inscription accompanying a
sculpture. It is of major importance for understanding the creation and dating of the
Airtam religious complex, and contributes to our knowledge of the Bactrian lexicon
and its dialects. For example, a number of Bactrian words ending in an omicron in the
Surkh-Kotal inscriptions are rendered with a final alpha in the Airtam inscription. It
is possible that this is indicative of different Bactrian dialects spoken by people on
the left and right banks of the Oxus river. Fragments of papyrus manuscripts found
during excavations of Kampyrtepa, in a structure located in the eastern part of the
site, are of particular interest for the study of the history of Bactrian written language.
Fragments of manuscripts were unearthed from almost the entire area of the
structure both under and in the rubble. Altogether about 30 fragments of various
sizes (2.8×6 cm; 2.8×1 cm; 1.8×1.2 cm) were found, as well as several intact, thin
sheets, stuck together and rolled up into a tube, which disintegrated into several
fragments when they were removed. The sheets are approximately 15.0 cm wide and
0.1–0.2 cm thick, with left margins of up to 1.5 cm. There are inscriptions on both
sides in black ink, in straight lines of three to four or even more lines, with a line
spacing of 2.0–2.5 cm and a letter height of 3.0–5.0 mm.
The inscriptions are in cursive Bactrian script and the language is Bactrian. The
word ABO appears on two fragments. This is either the preposition ‘in’, ‘on’, ‘at’ or
the noun ‘water’. One fragment bears the word BIΔO ‘chief ’ (cf. the Bactrian word
asbarobido for ‘chief of the cavalry’, which was found on a gemstone). The other
fragment has remnants of words and prepositions but, on the whole, none of the
fragments provides a coherent text. The fragments of manuscripts found here date
from the reign of Kanishka, i.e. the first half of the 2nd century AD.
Bactrian manuscripts from Kushan times were unknown in Central Asia before
the Kampyrtepa excavations. Palaeographic and archaeological data indicate that
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