Kok-Dzhar Monument
In 1986, we became acquainted with another Nestorian monument, stored in the history classroom of the secondary school in the village of Kok-Dzhar, Alamedin district. This school is located not far from the settlement of Kara-Dzhigach, which allows us to assume that the stone was found in the same fields where similar monuments were discovered.
The small stone is gray with a greenish tint and has an irregular shape. The inscription and the cross are carved clearly, but the inscription is significantly damaged in places. Therefore, it is currently provided without translation. However, the text indicates that the monument was made in 1282. The name Shelikha can be traced. It was photographed and stamped by us in 1986. It is published for the first time (Table XIII, Figures 4, 5).
As noted earlier, many Nestorian monuments found in the 1880s are stored in the State Hermitage and museums in other cities. A few years ago, we undertook a special trip to trace these monuments, during which we familiarized ourselves with their collections in the Historical Museum of Kazakhstan in Almaty and the State Hermitage in Leningrad (113 specimens). The stones from the Hermitage were studied and published in pre-revolutionary publications; however, they remain of great interest even now. In this regard, we decided to include photographs of some of them here. These monuments are mainly reflected in two works by D. Khvolson, published in German in 1886 and 1890. The dated epitaphs of this group date back to the 13th-14th centuries (Table XIV, Figures 1-14, 19, 24), while eight epitaphs lack dates (Table XIV, Figures 15-18, 20, 21-23).
Nestorian inscriptions-epitaphs, as seen from the provided texts, are composed exclusively in the Syriac language, although among the buried were representatives of the Turkic population (8 monuments); in four cases, the years of the twelve-year animal cycle are indicated in Turkic (items 2, 10, 14, 16), and in seven — in Syriac. All epitaphs are accompanied by crosses, some of which are carved quite elegantly. The most characteristic forms of crosses on Nestorian epitaphs are presented in Table XIV, Figure 25. Judging by the epitaphs, all the deceased were believers during their lifetime, among them was a priest. One of the monuments states: "This is the grave of a believing lovely maiden, daughter of Gorgis, the commander," which suggests that the Nestorian communities had their own, possibly small, military detachments that protected their lives and peace.
Below are the proper names recorded in Nestorian monuments.
Turkic Names
Aymangku (Aymangu) (Herm., Table XIV, 12)
Aytag (Herm., Table XIV, 18)
Anysh-khata (Herm., Table XIV, 18)
Arnakuqa (?) (K.-Dzhigach, item 18)
Bichak (?) (K.-Dzhigach, items 9, 13)
Girkhan (Herm., Table XIV, 23).
Ilbilge-kutich (K.-Dzhigach, item 20)
Keyamta (Herm., Table XIV, 2)
Kutlug-Tirim (K.-Dzhigach, item 11, Herm., Table XIV, 5)
Kutluk (Herm., Table XIV, 16)
Kytyk (K.-Dzhigach, item 14)
Likta-atay (Herm., Table XIV, 6)
Muzurkan (Herm., Table XIV, 6)
Nana (Sogdian?) (Burana, item 1)
Pabrakym? (K.-Dzhigach, item 1)
Pachak (Herm., Table XIV, 19; K.-Dzhigach, item 17)
Pachak-Tigin (Herm., Table XIV, 6)
Pashe-sagun (Herm., Table XIV, 20)
Puava-Saku (?) (Herm., Table XIV, 6)
Sanda-yok (Herm., Table XIV, 6)
Sandar-Yokai (Herm., Table XIV, 7)
Sansyz (Burana, item G)
Tabitka (Herm., Table XIV, 8)
Tash-Yug (Herm., Table XIV, 21)
Tash-Tirim (Herm., Table XIV, 9)
Tegin (Herm., Table XIV, 13)
Terk (Herm., Table XIV, 3)
Tuz-Tirim-Koshtanch (Turkic-Sogdian?) (Herm., Table XIV, 1)
Turakai (K.-Dzhigach, item 2)
Tura-Puka (K.-Dzhigach, item 19)
Urug (Herm., Table XIV, Figure 22)
Cheliba-Koshtanch (Herm., Table XIV, 15)
Chuma (Shuma) (Herm., Table XIV, 14)
Shirin (Perso-Turkic) (K.-Dzhigach, item 18; Herm., Table XIV, 10)
Urug (Herm., Table XIV, 10).
Christian Names
Alexandros (Herm., Table XIV, 17)
Antun (Anthony) (K.-Dzhigach, item 4)
Barshaba (?) (Herm., Table XIV, 22)
Gorgis (K.-Dzhigach, items 4, 5, 7, 16)
Ioakhan (K.-Dzhigach, item 10; Herm., Table XIV, 4)
Mayfra (K.-Dzhigach, item 5)
Maryam (Herm., Table XIV, 6)
Nalun (Burana, item 1)
Paliya (K.-Dzhigach, item 6)
Paulus (Herm., Table XIV, 20)
Petros (K.-Dzhigach, item 10; Herm., Table XIV, 23)
Sergis (Sergius) (Herm., Table XIV, 2)
Sufi (K.-Dzhigach, items 8, 12)
Shalama (?) (Herm., Table XIV, 16)
Shamun? (Herm., Table XIV, 22)
Sheliba-Koshtanch (Syriac-Christian?) (Herm., Table XIV, 13)
Hindu (?) (Herm., Table XIV, 13)
