Origins of Kilij

Kayahan · 10th September 2007, 02:34 PM

I asked that to Dr. Oztopcu, who is a lecturer at UCLA as a respected authority on Turkic languages. He says he doesn't know any Turkic word similiar to "çori". Instead, he connects the term "Karaçori" to the other menitoned sword type in the same context, "Bilgatekini". Just like the "Tekin" of the latter, he suggest that it may come from "Çor", which is a high social rank amongst the middle-Asian Turkic tribes.

As you might have known, Bilge Tekin is a Gaznavid Emperor. The suffix "-i" gives a relation, so, the word "Bilgatekini" means "of Bilge Tekin". Dr. Oztopcu suggests the same explanation for the word "Karaçori"; "Kara Çor" may be the name (or nickname, just like "the Dark Knight") of a once-famous person, and the word "Karaçori" then means "of Kara Çor", that is, "Kara Çor style" for our subject-matter.

This is Dr. Oztopcu's approach. Unfortunately it just confuses me some more, because there is no mention of a person named "Kara Çor" in the known Turkic history. It seems like the whole area needs a lot deeper research.

10th September 2007, 02:34 PM	#23
Kayahan Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 8	I asked that to Dr. Oztopcu, who is a lecturer at UCLA as a respected authority on Turkic languages. He says he doesn't know any Turkic word similiar to "çori". Instead, he connects the term "Karaçori" to the other menitoned sword type in the same context, "Bilgatekini". Just like the "Tekin" of the latter, he suggest that it may come from "Çor", which is a high social rank amongst the middle-Asian Turkic tribes. As you might have known, Bilge Tekin is a Gaznavid Emperor. The suffix "-i" gives a relation, so, the word "Bilgatekini" means "of Bilge Tekin". Dr. Oztopcu suggests the same explanation for the word "Karaçori"; "Kara Çor" may be the name (or nickname, just like "the Dark Knight") of a once-famous person, and the word "Karaçori" then means "of Kara Çor", that is, "Kara Çor style" for our subject-matter. This is Dr. Oztopcu's approach. Unfortunately it just confuses me some more, because there is no mention of a person named "Kara Çor" in the known Turkic history. It seems like the whole area needs a lot deeper research.