Who is This Shall? -Proposals for a Novel Reading of Dede Korkut-

Abstract

As the earliest evidence in Turkish for the presence of Turks in Anatolia, the tales of the Dede Korkut constitute the most important linguistic monument of Oghuz Turkic. In addition to critical editions and popular adaptations, the Book of Dede Korkut has been the subject of numerous essays, with nearly two thousand papers published to date. Each new study contributes to a better understanding of the text, which is beset with difficulties in reading and interpretation, yet much work remains to achieve a satisfactory understanding of it. The events narrated in the stories offer important clues that they were indeed set in Eastern Anatolia. The work contains important evidence on the life, beliefs, and customs of both the Turks and of the peoples and countries with whom they were in contact. Thus, the name Georgia appears five times and the name of the Georgian king 13 times in the Dresden manuscript. The name of the king in question has typically been interpreted as Schokli (Sokli) in studies conducted in Turkey and beyond. The interpretations Sokli, Sokeli, Sokulu, and Sukli should also be noted, although they are preferred by rather few researchers. While this word has been interpreted in various ways to date, no solid argument has yet been offered for these interpretations. This article therefore proposes a novel interpretation of the word in question.