Mahmud al-Kashgari wrote his dictionary of the Turkic languages in the 1070s.[1] It is a source for the eleventh century and not for the Göktürk age. The entries below stand in the first volume of the English translation, which covers the first half of the dictionary.[2] Its words for metals and for the work of the smith are old Turkic words, and the Göktürk inscriptions use some of them, among them temir, iron, in the name of the Iron Gate.[3]

The four metals

Altun is gold.[4] Kümüş is silver. The same word means a dirham, since the coin contains silver.[5] Baqır is copper.[6] Tämür is iron.[7]

Kashgari adds sayings and uses to these entries. A proverb says bar baqır yoq altun: what is present is like copper, and what is missing is like gold in its preciousness. It is said of a man whom his near ones scorn, and whom they grieve for sorely when they lose him.[6] The entry on copper adds that copper coins are what the people of Chin buy and sell with.[6] A verse quoted under silver describes a battle. The speaker divides the enemy troops, twists the warriors’ necks and loads up the gold and silver of their treasuries.[5] The entry for iron gives a proverb and the oath that the iron oath article tells.[7]

Mining and smelting places

Kashgari names places by their metals. Tämürlük is the place where iron ore is smelted.[8] Baqırlıγ is the name of a place near Balasagun, and baqırlıγ tāγ is a mountain that has copper.[9]

Barxān is a name of Lower Chin. It is a fortress on a mountain top near Kashgar, and there are gold mines beneath it.[10] Kashgari names no output, no owner and no date for the mines.[10]

The smith’s tools

Two tools of the smith have entries of their own. Körük is the smith’s bellows.[11] Bazγān is the smith’s hammer.[12] The first volume of the translation does not describe how iron was smelted.[13]

Gold and silver on dress and harness

Üstäm is the inlay of gold and silver on the buckles of belts or on saddle straps. The Oghuz called it saxt, a Persian loanword.[14] Kimšān is gold leaf, used on caps and other things.[12] The articles on horse harness and Göktürk dress tell what the older sources say of belts and harness.

References

  1. ^ Dīvān Lughāt al-Turk
  2. ^ al-Kāshgharī 1072–1074
  3. ^ Dīvān Lughāt al-Turk; Tonyukuk inscription
  4. ^ Dīvān Lughāt al-Turk; al-Kāshgharī 1072–1074, p. 145
  5. ^ a b Dīvān Lughāt al-Turk; al-Kāshgharī 1072–1074, p. 285–286
  6. ^ a b c Dīvān Lughāt al-Turk; al-Kāshgharī 1072–1074, p. 279
  7. ^ a b Dīvān Lughāt al-Turk; al-Kāshgharī 1072–1074, p. 280
  8. ^ Dīvān Lughāt al-Turk; al-Kāshgharī 1072–1074, p. 374
  9. ^ Dīvān Lughāt al-Turk; al-Kāshgharī 1072–1074, p. 367
  10. ^ a b Dīvān Lughāt al-Turk; al-Kāshgharī 1072–1074, p. 329
  11. ^ Dīvān Lughāt al-Turk; al-Kāshgharī 1072–1074, p. 299
  12. ^ a b Dīvān Lughāt al-Turk; al-Kāshgharī 1072–1074, p. 330
  13. ^ Dīvān Lughāt al-Turk; al-Kāshgharī 1072–1074
  14. ^ Dīvān Lughāt al-Turk; al-Kāshgharī 1072–1074, p. 136

Sources

Literature

  • Maḥmūd al-Kāshgharī, Dīwān Lughat al-Turk (1072–1074)

Related

What links here1

Institutions and Titles
Felt, Cloth, Leather and Wood in Kashgari's Dictionary

Cite this article

Yavuz, Emre-E. “Metals and Metalworking in Kashgari's Dictionary.” Turkic Atlas, revised 7 November 2026. https://turkicatlas.org/institutions/metalworking-in-the-diwan/

Last revised: 7 November 2026