BASED ON ATEBETÜ’L-HAKAYIK, TURKİSH “MORAL CONCEPTS” İN KARAKHANİDS TURKİSH TEXTS

Abstract

Morals are the collection of norms that everyone in a community must obey. Moral notions vary from civilisation to society, yet they may contain universal behaviours. Cultural and religious norms within the human community mostly shape moral conceptions. Fighting was seen as a major virtue among ancient Turks living on the steppe since it was necessary for survival in harsh surroundings. However, by the eighth century, when the Turks had accepted faiths such as Manichaeism and Buddhism, “fighting or killing living beings” was seen as one of the worst practices. The Turks got acquainted with Islam in the tenth century, but they took a cautious approach to this alien faith. As a result, authors and mystics like Ahmed Yesevî and Edib Ahmed Yüknekî emerged to teach Islam to the Turks through their writings. In these Karakhanid Turkish writings, “moral concepts” are essential. These writings communicated Islamic knowledge and incorporated didactic lessons that profoundly addressed the notion of “being a good person” that would lead the Turks daily lives. This research used ?Atebetü?l-?a?ayı? to identify Turkish “moral concepts” in Karakhanid Turkish writings.

This research used ?Atebetü?l-?a?ayı? to identify Turkish “moral concepts” in Karakhanid Turkish written works. Following a brief introduction, ?Atebetü?l-?a?ayı? was presented. In the second half, the “moral concepts” described in the book are categorised into two categories: excellent moral concepts and poor moral concepts. These are demonstrated from the works called ?Atebetü?l-?a?ayı?, Divan-ı ?ikmet, Dı·¯vanu Lugati?t-Türk, and ?uta?gu Bilig, with etymological assessments.