Some New Readings of Chorasmian Inscriptions on Silver Vessels and Their Relevance to the Chorasmian Era

Abstract

Abstract The article represents an attempt to read and analyze five of eleven inscriptions in Old Chorasmian language written in cursive Chorasmian script. These inscriptions are incised on silver vessels which were mostly found in the Kama region of the district of Perm in Russia. The article is divided into sections. Its first section presents a list of the material discussed and the status quaestionis of the article, introduces the variations of the Chorasmian script throughout time. The second section is devoted to the analysis of the words which are recurrent in the inscriptions and to the definition of the formularies used in the inscriptions under scrutiny. The third section provides tentative reading of inscriptions on five vessels kept in the Hermitage museum. It is here assumed that some of the Chorasmian inscriptions indicate that the vessels were votive offerings to Nanaia and probably to other deities. The fourth and last section of the paper focuses on the indications of weight attested on silver vessels and on the related chronology. It is shown that the value of the unit of weight (ZWZN /stēr/) on most of the vessels (c. 3,6-3,7 grams) corresponds to the silver standard weight used in the coinage of the Chorasmian king Shaushfarn and his less prominent predecessor Shyat. Consequently, it is assumed that the Chorasmian silver vessels were labeled and probably produced during Shaushfarn’s reign about the mid-8th century AD. Since four inscriptions with indication of weight are dated according to the Chorasmian Era (years from 700 to 723(?) of this era), this observation supports the author’s opinion that this indigenous era started towards the mid-1st century AD.