The history of Turkic written literature begins long before Navoi — with inscriptions on stone. This topic covers monuments from the 7th to the early 15th century, their authors, dates and main ideas. Exams most often ask you to match author — work — year and to know symbolic characters, so memorise the facts below as precisely as a table.
§1. The Orkhon-Yenisei inscriptions (7th–8th centuries)
The oldest examples of Turkic writing, found by the Orkhon River in Mongolia and in the Yenisei basin in Siberia.
The script is runic (Old Turkic runes); it was deciphered in 1893 by the Danish scholar Vilhelm Thomsen.
The best known are the stelae of Tonyukuk, Kul Tegin (732) and Bilge Khagan (735). The Kul Tegin and Bilge Khagan texts were composed by Yollug Tegin (Yo‘llug‘ tegin).
Content: the deeds of khagans and commanders, the unity of the people, warnings against discord.
The inscriptions are both historical documents and literary texts: they use direct address, repetition and rhythmic prose.
§2. Mahmud Koshg‘ariy (al-Kashgari) — «Devonu lug‘otit turk» (1072–1074)
Written in Baghdad: an encyclopaedic dictionary of Turkic words explained in Arabic.
Significance: information on Turkic tribes, their language and dialects; a world map is attached.
Literary value: folk songs, proverbs and verse fragments are quoted as examples — a unique source of ancient Turkic folklore.
«Devonu lug‘otit turk» is not a literary work but a dictionary, though it preserves literary samples.
§3. Yusuf Xos Hojib (Yusuf Khass Hajib) — «Qutadg‘u bilig» (1069–1070)
Born in Balasagun, the author wrote the poem in Kashgar and presented it to the Karakhanid ruler Tabgach Bughra Khan, after which he received the title "Khass Hajib".
The title means "Knowledge that leads to happiness".
Form: masnaviy in the mutaqorib metre of aruz, with some rubais. A didactic-philosophical poem.
Four symbolic characters:
Kuntug‘di — the ruler, symbol of justice;
Oyto‘ldi — the vizier, symbol of fortune, happiness (davlat);
O‘gdulmish — Oyto‘ldi’s son, symbol of reason;
O‘zg‘urmish — a hermit, symbol of contentment (qanoat).
Idea: govern the state with justice and reason; knowledge, enlightenment, good conduct.
Worked example
Asarda hukmdorga dono maslahatlar beradigan, aql timsoli bo‘lgan qahramon kim? (Which character gives the ruler wise advice and symbolises reason?)
The work is «Qutadg‘u bilig» (the symbolic characters belong to it).
"Reason" is O‘gdulmish; he becomes vizier after his father.
Answer: O‘gdulmish.
§4. Ahmad Yugnakiy and Ahmad Yassaviy
Ahmad Yugnakiy — «Hibat ul-haqoyiq» ("The Gift of Truths"), 12th century. A didactic poem on knowledge and ignorance, guarding one’s tongue, generosity and stinginess, modesty and the transience of the world. Ahmad Yassaviy (died 1166) — founder of Sufi poetry in Turkic and head of the Yassaviya order. «Devoni hikmat» is a collection of *hikmats* — religious Sufi poems in barmoq metre, in language accessible to ordinary people. Themes: love of God, restraining the ego, humility, compassion for orphans and the poor. His mausoleum in the city of Turkestan was built on Amir Temur’s orders.
§5. Literature of the 14th — early 15th century
Rabg‘uziy — «Qissasi Rabg‘uziy» (1309–1310): stories of the prophets in mixed prose and verse.
Qutb — «Xusrav va Shirin»: a free Turkic translation of Nizami’s poem.
Xorazmiy — «Muhabbatnoma» (1353): a love work in the form of letters (noma).
Sayfi Saroyi — «Guliston bit-turkiy»: a Turkic translation of Sa’di’s Gulistan.
Durbek — «Yusuf va Zulayxo» (1409).
Lutfiy — the poem «Gul va Navro‘z» (1411), a master of the ghazal and tuyuq; Navoi called him "malik ul-kalom" (king of the word).
Atoiy, Sakkokiy, Gadoiy — ghazal poets who raised the Turkic ghazal on the eve of Navoi.
§6. The period as a whole and analysis questions
Common features of this period’s literature:
Didacticism — almost every work teaches morals, good conduct and just rule.
1409 — Durbek’s "Yusuf va Zulayxo"; 1411 — Lutfi’s "Gul va Navro‘z".
"Qutadg‘u bilig" (1069–1070) was written a few years before "Devonu lug‘otit turk" (1072–1074) — a pair that is often confused.
Both major works, "Qutadg‘u bilig" and "Devonu lug‘otit turk", belong to the Karakhanid period, the 1060s–1070s. At this time Turkic establishes itself as a language of learning and literature: Kashgari explains the richness of Turkic to Arabic readers, while Yusuf Khass Hajib composes a large philosophical poem in Turkic. Later, in "Muhokamat ul-lug‘atayn" (1499), Navoi would defend this path in theory.
When memorising, it also helps to sort the works into genre groups: the inscriptions are stone monuments; "Qutadg‘u bilig" and "Hibat ul-haqoyiq" are didactic poems; "Devoni hikmat" is Sufi poetry; "Qissasi Rabg‘uziy" is religious tales; "Muhabbatnoma", "Gul va Navro‘z" and "Yusuf va Zulayxo" are love works.
Worked example
Arrange in order of composition: "Muhabbatnoma", "Devonu lug‘otit turk", the Kultegin inscription, "Qutadg‘u bilig", "Gul va Navro‘z".
The oldest is the Kultegin inscription (732).
11th century: "Qutadg‘u bilig" (1069–1070), then "Devonu lug‘otit turk" (1072–1074).