Epitaph in Honor of Bars-Beg
This gravestone runic inscription in honor of the Kyrgyz khan Bars-Beg was found by a peasant from the village of Iudino (modern S. Bondarevo) Y. F. Korchakov near a small lake Altyn-Kul (in Khakassia) and is kept in the Minusinsk
Historical Museum. We present a new, corrected translation by St. Petersburg Turkologist S. G. Klyashtorny:
Ten moons bore (me), my mother! She brought (me) to my el (people). I established myself on the earth thanks to my valor. I bravely fought against numerous enemies and left my el, (leaving) it in repentance. Alas! To my younger and elder brothers, you unloaded — took off the camel loads (with gifts). With what was on the earth — my deeds and my valor — I, Bars, was not satiated! Without a father, you were a hero! When the dogs chased (the game), you rushed past the yurts! Vanish, (spirit) of death with your younger kin! Oh, Bars, do not leave (us)! Alas! Our title..., our run — Umay (var.: our title is that we are umay-runners), we are brave warriors (of our) clan-tribe (var.: we are relatives, brave warriors!) Alas! You did not take six men with you! You did not take a steed with you!
You did not take three vessels with you! Oh, my treasure! Oh, my riches! Do not leave (us)! ...we (once) rejoiced. Oh, game of the golden kin of Sunga, multiply! Give birth (to your offspring)! My Bars left horses and bulls, (this) world, he has gone! Alas! For the sake of my warrior valor, for the might of my elder brothers and my younger brothers, they erected (this) eternal monument for me.
Commentary
In this text and in the monuments in honor of Kül-tegin and Mogilyan, the name of the place — kin of Sunga and the name — Bars coincide. Based on this, S. Klyashtorny believes that the gravestone inscription was made in honor of the Kyrgyz khan Bars-Beg, who was killed in 711 during the campaign of the Eastern Turkic troops into the Minusinsk basin. In its content, it is very similar to the Kyrgyz kochok (lament for the deceased).
The scientific significance of this epitaph for the history of the Kyrgyz is hard to overestimate. It contains scant, but so far the only biographical information about an outstanding figure from the Yenisei Kyrgyz, whose name was well known in Central Asia in the late 7th - early 8th centuries.