MAHMUD KASHGARI

MAHMUD KASHGARI, Mahmud ibn Hussayn ibn Muhammad (1029-1039 – 1101) is an outstanding scholar and linguist.

His father, Hussayn, was the mayor of Barsgan and related to the Qara-Khanid ruling dynasty. His mother, Bibi Rabiy'a al-Basri, was of Arab origin. Mahmud Kashgari was born in aristocratic family of the Karakhanid Dynasty in the eleventh century. Mahmud compiled The Complete Turkish Dictionary that was translated into 26 languages. M. Kashgari studied the Turkic dialects of his time and wrote the first comprehensive dictionary of Turkic languages, the Diwanu l-Lugat al-Turk in 1072. It was intended for use by the Caliphs of Baghdad, the new, Arabic allies of the Turks. Mahmud Kashgari's comprehensive dictionary contains specimens of old Turkic poetry in the typical form of quatrains, representing all the principal genres: epic, pastoral, didactic, lyric, and elegiac. His book also included the first known map of the areas inhabited by Turkic peoples. Mahmud Kashgari died in 1102 at the age of 97 in Upal, a small city southwest of Kashgar, and was buried there. There is now a mausoleum erected on his gravesite (opened on May 26, 2006). His tomb is highly respected by the Uygur people and many Islamic scholars have contributed their favorite books to the tombs; it has thus slowly become a kind of library, and people respectfully call it Haiziliti Maolamu, meaning the tomb of honorable scholars. Source: Kazakhstan, National Encyclopedia, vol. 3