Number Systems in Ḳıṣaṣ Al-Anbiyā

Abstract

The numbers, which include abstract culture as well as concrete looks, are as old as the history of humanity. With the existence of language, each culture has placed several hidden meanings and attributes on the numbers as a result of their own life and life experiences. In this situation, folklore, literature, music, religion, belief, such as cultural elements have been influential. When the numbers or number systems used in society are examined, it is possible to see the beliefs of that society, the historical accumulation transferred from the past to the present, and traces of the cultures they formed and influenced in the geographical regions where they lived. So numbers and number systems play an important role in the lives of societies, even though they are at a certain rate within the language, and every society has a system of numbers that can express itself. Our number system, which we started to see in the Kokturk period texts, has evolved into the Uigur, Karakhanid, Khorezm-Kipchak, Chagatai, and the Ottoman period texts. The period of Khorezm Turkish has an important place in these periods. The text of this period, Ḳiṣaṣ al-Anbiyā, is a story of prophets written by Nosiruddin Burhonuddin Al-Rabghūzī. The work, which also has a prophetic biography characteristic, is an adaptation of a translation from Arabic to Persian into Turkish. The author states that he began writing his work called Ḳiṣaṣ Al-Rabghūzī in 709 (1309-10), and completed it in 710 (1310-11), working extensively day and night, and presented it to Nosiruddin Tok Buga. The work titled Ḳiṣaṣ al-Anbiyā begins with the praise of God, a poem praising the Prophet Muhammad(s), and praise Tok Buga. After the creation of the universe is explained in the work, after the stories of all the prophets from Adam to Abel, and Cain, Hārūt and Mārūt, Avac b. Annāk, Croesus, Sāmarí, Seven Sleepers, and Ām al-fīl (year of the Elephant) are given various stories. The prophetic biography of the Prophet (s) was widely described and the virtues of the four caliphs were mentioned. There are many copies of Ḳiṣaṣ al-Anbiyā. Among these copies is the one in the British Museum (London), which is the oldest of the works and best reflects the linguistic features of the period. There have been various types and quantities of works on Ḳiṣaṣ al-Anbiyā written in Khorezm Turkish, ranging from text to language studies, from literary history studies to stylistic studies. The number systems in Ḳiṣaṣ al-Anbiyā are examined under different headings and given in detail in this article, which we have written to contribute to the work done; Nosiruddin Burhonuddin Al-Rabghūzī, Ḳiṣaṣ al-Anbiyā (Stories of the Prophet) published by Aysu Ata is based on the work. The texts were also compared to the work called Al-Rabghūz ī The Stories of the Prophets Ḳiṣaṣ al-Anbiyā: An Eastern Turkish Version, with differences in reading indicated. As a result of the examination, a light was tried to be shed on the number systems mentioned in this rare work.