Kashgari ibn Husayn ibn Muhammad was born in Kashi, China (short for
Kashgar). His father, Husayn was the mayor of Barsgan, his mother,
Bubi Rabiya Basri, was an intelligent woman. He studied Turkic
dialects and wrote about them in Divanü Lügat-it-Türk in
1072. It was intended for use by the Caliphs of Baghdad, the
new, Arabic allies of the Turks. He included the first known Turkish
map in his book.
The map is a map of the world,
centered on the Turkish-speaking areas of Central Asia, the area on
the border between Kyrghizstan and Xinjang province in China. The map is
preserved in the Millet Genel Kütüphanesi
(the General National Library), Istanbul.
The colors are blue for rivers, green for
seas, light yellow for deserts, red for mountains, and yellow for
cities, countries, lands and peoples. The map is oriented with East at
the top. The scale is reduced as one gets nearer the edge of the
map. A key to some of the places on the maps follows below. The key-map
has been oriented with North at the top
A Key to some of the locations in the map
1. Bulgaria 2. Caspian Sea 3. Rus 4. Alexandria
5. Egypt 6. Tashkent 7. Japan (surrounded by water-the
green semicircle 8. China-with water to the west 9.
Balasaghun-the center of the world 10. Kashgar-Mahmud's
birthplace 11. Samarkand 12. Iraq 13. Azerbaijan
14. Yemen (15-18 Africa) 15. East Somalia 16. East
Sahara 17. Ethiopia 18. North Somalia (19-22 Indian
subcontinent) 19. Indus 20. Hindustan 21. Ceylon and
Adam's footprint 22. Kashmir 23. God and Magog 24.
the world-encircling sea.
These and other locations and given in Albert Herrmann,
"Die älteste türkische Weltkarte (1076 n. Chr.)," Imago Mundi
The red mark on the south side of
the map (21) identifies the location of the "footprint of Adam," Jebel
Serandib, Adam's Peak, on the island of Ceylon, to which Adam was
exiled after he was exiled from Paradise. Gog and Magog (23) are a
nation and its ruler which represent an apocalyptic evil power, walled
off from the world by a range of mountains.
A more complete English key is available at:
http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=406414956&size=o . Copy the
url and paste it into your browser.