STUDY OF TURKIC TOPONYMS OF CENTRAL ASIA AND KAZAKHSTAN ON MEDIEVAL HISTORICAL MAPS

Abstract

The historical maps of Central Asia and Kazakhstan's territory serve as a vital source for examining the region's political, ethnographic, and cultural development dynamics. Beginning in the early 20th century, mapping studies have primarily concentrated on the northern and central regions of Eurasia, as well as on Central Asia, where nomadic peoples and city-states reside. Nevertheless, a thorough examination of Turkic place names on historical maps, and the investigation of their origins, development, and geographical spread, remains an urgent concern. The purpose of the study was to examine Turkic place names in Central Asia and Kazakhstan as depicted on historical maps. As research methods, cartographic analysis, historical-geographical comparative study, and correlation of hydronymic and oronymic data with historical sources were utilized. The study also examined the historical significance and usage of place names by analysing changes in political, ethnic and administrative features on maps. As a result of the study, 11 historical maps were analysed, from which many Turkic place names were identified on the maps below: ‘ASIA noviter delineata’, ‘La Grande Tartarie’, ‘Imperium Timuri Begi vel Tamerlanis’, “Tartariae Sive Magni Chami Regni tÿpus’ and ‘Nieuwe Caart van de Caspische Zee, met alle desselfs Riviere, Eylanden en Dieptens’. Especially, maps most commonly display such vital Turkic place names as ‘Turkestan’, ‘Desht-Kipchak’, ‘Syrdarya’, ‘Amudarya’, ‘Samarkand’, ‘Bukhara’, ‘Balashagun’, ‘Kazakh Steppe’ and further entries. Furthermore, we have ensured that the maps clearly show watercourses, mountain ranges, rivers and trade routes, as well as the locations of towns and fortifications. Therefore, the medieval maps selected for this study constitute valuable material for the study of Turkic place-names in Central Asia and Kazakhstan, and their use is of great significance in contemporary cartographic, ethnographic and historical research, as well as in the field of education. Consequently, an analysis of the evolution of geographical names serves to demonstrate the historical continuity and geographical influence of Turkic civilisation.