Legends, Tales & Fables in the Art of Sogdiana

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Biennial Ehsan Yarshater Lecture Series SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF LONDON (May 10-17, 1995)

No.1

LEGENDS, TALES, AND FABLES IN THE ART OF SOGDIANA by BORIS MARSHAK with an Appendix by VLADIMIR A. LIVSHITS

Bibliotheca Persica Press New York

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Map of Pendjikent, showing sectors excavated up to 1995. 2. Plan of the main buildings in the citadel of Pendjikent. 3. Plan of Sector III. 4. Plan of Sector VI. 5. Plan of the largest house of Sector XVI.

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6. Plan of Sector XXI.

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7. Plan of the largest house in Sectors XXIII and XXV.

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8. Axonometrical plan of the largest house in Sectors XXIII and XXV.

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9. Plan of Sector XXII.

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10. The reception hall of a Pendjikent house. (Reconstruction by B. Marshak and E. Buklaeva.)

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11. The Cow and the Milkmaid. Mural in Room 41/VI (on the earliest northern wall built in the sixth century).

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12. General view of the murals from Room 41/VI exhibited in the Hermitage Museum, St.-Petersburg.

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13. The 'Rustam Cycle': The first episode. Room 41/VI.

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14. Rustam and his fighting men: 1. The first episode; 2. After the killing of the dragon; 3. After the last exploit of Rustam. Room 41/VI.

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15. The 'Rustam Cycle': Rustam and Avlad. Room 41/VI.

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16. Single combats from the 'Rustam Cycle': Rustam and Avlad, Rustam and the leader of the divs, Rustam and the aged div. Room 41/VI.

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17. Schemes of the 'scroll composition' on the northern and (partly) eastern walls of Room 41/VI.

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18. The 'Rustam Cycle': Rustam fighting against Avlad and the dragon. Room 41/VI.

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19. The 'Rustam Cycle': Rustam and the dragon. Room 41/VI.

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20. Riders fighting in difficult situations: 1. Avlad; 2. Rustam. Room 41/VI.

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21. The 'Rustam Cycle': Rustam and his fighting men after the killing of the dragon. Room 41/VI.

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22. The 'Rustam Cycle': Rustam victorious. Room 41/VI.

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23. The 'Rustam Cycle': Rustam and the leader of the divs fighting, both adversaries falling from their horses. Room 41/VI.

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24. The 'Rustam Cycle': Rustam's men and divs in combat. Room 41/VI.

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25. The northern wall of Room 41/VI.

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26. The last three episodes of the third-register cycle. Room 41/VI.

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27. Farewell and departure episodes depicted on a mural of the third-register cycle. Room 41/VI.

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28. The murals of the third register in the north-west corner of Room 41/VI.

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LEGEND S, TALES AND FABLES IN THE ART OF SOGDIANA 29. Battle scene. Third register. The eastern wall of Room 41/VI.

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30. Murals of the third and fourth registers in Room 41/VI.

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31. The Tale of the Old Man, his Daughter and the Spirit of the Ocean. First register. Room 41/VI.

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32. The Tale of the Stupid Sandalwood Seller. First register. Room 41/VI.

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33. The Tale of the Wise Judge. First register. Room 41/VI.

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34. The Tale of a Hero and Three Animals. First register. Room 41/VI. (See also Fig. 35.)

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35. Sketch of a mural, depicting The Tale of a Hero and Three Animals. (See also Fig. 34.)

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36. The Tale of the Bull, the Lion and the Jackal (sketch). (See also Figs. 37, 38.) First register. Room 41/VI.

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37. The Bull and the Jackal (detail of the panel depicted in Fig.36).

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38. Another detail of the same composition (the Lion) and a part of a neighbouring panel with the head of a crow. (See also Figs. 36 39.)

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39. The head of a crow. Detail. (See also Fig. 40.)

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40. The Tale of the Elephant and the Two Dogs. First register. Room 41/VI.

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41. The Fable of the Father and his Sons. First register. Room 41/VI.

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42. The Tale of the Witness-tree. First register. Room 41/VI.

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43. The Tale of the Fairy Inhabiting a Hollow Tree. First register. Room 41/VI.

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44. The Tale of the Wolf with Seven Heads.

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45. Present state of the mural depicting the tale of a judge who understood the language of the animals. First register. Room 41/VI.

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46. The left part of the panel with a judge and animals. (See also Fig.45.) After the sketch made in situ by P. Kostrov.

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47. The Tale of a Bird and a Lion depicted on a carpet. First register. Room 41/VI.

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48. Dying monster and three panels of the first register. Room 41/VI.

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49. The Tale of the Monkeys, the Elephants and the Woman Playing with the Ram. First register. Room 41/VI.

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50. The Tale of the Two Kings and the Witty Servant. First register. Room 41/VI.

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51. Panels with pairs of singers. First register. Room 41/VI.

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52. King fighting. Room 55/VI.

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53. Warrior pierced with a spear (or arrow). Room 55/VI.

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54. Amazon with a sword. Room 55/VI.

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55. Amazon fighting. Room 42/VI.

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56. Schematic drawing of the western wall murals. Room 50/XXIII.

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57. The first skirmish of the Hero and the Ruler of the Demons. Room 50/XXIII.

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58. The Hero struggling with his demonic adversary. Room 50/.XXIII.

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59. Representations of the Ruler of the Demons: 1. Before the single combat; 2. In the first skirmish; 3. In struggle; 4. Mortally wounded. Room 50/XXIII.

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60. Representations of the girl: I. Following the Ruler of the Demons; 2. Watching the single combat; 3. Watching the Hero reporting after his victory; 4. In the king's tent. Room 50/XXIII.

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V111

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 61. The Hero killing the Ruler of the Demons. Room 50/XXIII. 62. The Hero reporting back. Room 50/XXIII. 63. Schematic drawing of the murals on the southern wall. Room 50/XXIII. 64. Victorious army advancing. Room 50/XXIII. 65. Schematic drawing of the murals on the eastern wall. Room 50/XXIII. 66. Representations of Rustam: 1. Listening to the Hero's repon; 2. Standing behind the Hero and the girl and speaking to the king. Room 50/XXIII. 67. Representations of the Hero: 1. Pursuing the Ruler of the demons; 2. The first skirmish; 3. The struggle; 4. Killing the Ruler of the Demons; 5. Reponing back; 6. Kneeling before the king. Room 50/XXIII. 68. Battle scene {first episode?). Room 6/III { schematic drawing). 69. Battle scene. The meeting of the Sun god (in the chariot) and Nanaya (sitting on a lion). Room 6/111. 70. The battle against the divs. Room 6/III. 71. Sacrificial scene after victory. Room 6/111. 72. The feast in Paradise { last episode?). Room 6/III. 73. Two riders: male and female. Room 17/III. 74. The Tale of a Woman and her Suitor. First register. Room 7/III. {See also Fig. 75.) 75. Sketch by P. Kostov depicting the panel illustrating the Tale of a Woman and her Suitor and the left pan of the neighbouring composition {in situ). First register. Room 7/111. (See also Figs. 74, 79, 80.) 76. Illustrations to a fairy-tale in their present state {compare Fig. 75): 1. First episodes; 2. Last episodes. Room 7/III. {See also Fig. 77.) 77. 'Ponrait'. Detail of Fig. 76. 78. The Tale of the Bird's Three Pieces of Advice. First register. Room 1/XXI. 79. The Tale of the Wife, her Husband and Three Suitors. First register. Room 1/XXI. (See also Fig. 80.) 80. The Tale of the Wife, her Husband and Three Suitors. Sketch of the mural. (See also Fig. 79.) First register. Room 1/XXI 81. The Tale of the Resurrected Tiger. First register. Room 1/XXI. {See also Pl. 13.) 82. The Fable of the Blacksmith and his Ape. First register. Room 1/XXI. (See also Pl. 13.) 83. The Fable of the Merchant and the Monkeys. First register. Room 8/VI. 84. The Tale of the Monkeys, the Elephants and the Woman Playing with the Ram. First register. Room 1/XXI. {See also Fig. 85.) 85. Sketch of the mural depicting the Tale of the Monkeys, the Elephants and the Woman Playing with the Ram. First register. Room 1/XXI. (See also Fig. 84.) 86. The Fable of the Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs. First register. Room 1/XXI. (See also PL 14.) 87. Anecdote of the Red-haired Trickster and the Fowler(?). First register. Room 1/XXI. 88. The Tale of the Lion and the Hare. First register. Room 1/XXI. 89. Three panels of the first register: the Tale of the Finder (or Finders) of a Treasure; the anecdote of the Trickster and the Fool. (The subject of the third panel is not recognizable). Room I/XXL

114 114 115 115 115 116 117 118 119 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 125 127 128 129 131 132 133 134 135 135 136 137 138

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LEGENDS, TALES AND FABLES IN THE ART OF SOGDIANA 90. Two panels of the first register. One may depict a pair of singers ( compare Fig. 51 ), the other may be an illustration to the Anecdote of the Trickster and the Fool (compare Fig. 89). Room 1/XXI.

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91. Anecdote of the Trickster and the Fool. First register. Room 1/XXI.

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92. The Tale of the Trickster and his 'Clever Hare'. First register. Room 1/XXI.

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93. 'Mahabharata Cycle'. The exile of the heroes. Room 13/VI.

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94. 'Mahabharata Cycle'. The Game and neighbouring scenes. Room 13/VI. (See also Fig. 95 and Pl. 15.)

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95. 'Mahabharata Cycle'. Schematic drawing. (See also Fig. 94.)

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96. 'Romulus and Remus Cycle'. Qal'a-i Qahqaha I, Room 11. After Negmatov, 1973, Fig. 15.

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97.' "Rings and Dragons" Cycle'. The King of the 'Dragons'. Room 1/VI.

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98.' "Rings and Dragons" Cycle'. Two reception scenes: the two kings feasting in their own camps.

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99.' "Rings and Dragons" Cycle'.The battle. Room 1/VI.

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100. '"Rings and Dragons" Cycle'. The single combat. Room 1/VI.

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101. '"Rings and Dragons" Cycle'. The victors at the city-gate. Room 1/VI.

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102. '"Rings and Dragons" Cycle'. The second battle. Room 1/VI.

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103. 'Thwenak Cycle'. Sketch of two connected scenes. Room 1/XXI. (See also Figs. 103-105.) 104. 'Thwenak Cycle'. The last of the preserved scenes. Rooml/XXI. (See also Figs.102, 104, 105.)

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105. 'Thwenak Cycle'. Detail. Room 1/XXI. (See also Fig. 103.)

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106. Sogdian inscription. Room 1/XXI. (See also Figs. 103, 104.)

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107. Sogdian inscription. Room 41/VI.

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LIST OF COLOUR PLATES 1. The 'Rustam Cycle': Rustam before his first exploit, and Avlad. Room 41/VI. 2. The 'Rustam Cycle': Rustam and Avlad fighting. Room 4 I/VI.

69 70

3. The 'Rustam Cycle': Rustam and the dragon. Room 41/VI.

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4. The 'Rustam Cycle': divs. Room 41/VI.

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5. The two last episodes of the third-register cycle. Room 4 I/VI.

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6. The murals on the casterm wall of Room 4 I/VI (second and third registers). 7. The Tale of the Elephant and the Two Dogs. First register. Room 41/VI.

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8. The three-headed demon and the girl (in situ). Room 50/XXIII.

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9. Heads of the ruler of the demons and the slain demon (in situ}. Room 50/XXIII.

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10. Reception scene: the enthroned king, the hero and the girl kneeling. Rustam standing. Room 50/XXIII. I I. Male and female riders. Room I 7/III.

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12. Wounded amazon. Second register. Room 1/XXI.

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13. Armoured horseman (second register). The Fable of the Blacksmith and his Ape and the Tale of the Resurrected Tiger (first register). Room 1/XXI.

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14. The Fable of the Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs. First register. Room 1/XXI. (See also Fig. 86.)

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15. 'Mahabharata Cycle'. The Game and neighbouring scenes. Room 13/VI.

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16. "'Rings and Dragons" Cycle'. The King of the 'Dragons'. Room 1/VI.

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Xl

CHAPTER 1

Sogdian Culture as Mirrored by the Pendjikent Paintings In the Antique period and the Middle Ages, the rich culture of the Iranian peoples was so com­ plex that its totality can only be encompassed by the massive Encyclopaedia Iranica, under the direction of Professor Ehsan Yarshater. This great venture has inspired me to consider my own field of investigation, which is the study of works of art from early medieval pre-Islamic Sogdia, specifically in relation to the discoveries at Pendjikent; and, in a wider context, com­ paring the Sogdian achievements with the great tradition of Iranian (including Persian) folk­ lore and literature, and with the most famous literary works: Indian (Mahabharata• and Panchatantra1) and Greek (Aesop's Fables l ). Now my lectures have been prepared for publica­ tion, and I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Michael Rogers whose patient editing and thorough criticism could in a great extent anglicize my 'Russian English' and made my style and even my thinking much clearer than they had been before our discus­ sions. My studies have involved the very important problem of the relationships between words and visual images\ exploiting the history of murals, performance arts and book illumination. These essays are not intended to be theoretical, but the reader will be presented with various theoretical aspects of this problem in many parts of the four lectures which follow. Here I can mention only three specific aspects. First, the history of art has shown that there are several ways of illustrating texts, from story telling by means of painting to works of art that are virtually independent of the illustrated texts. In the latter case, it was impossible for the artist to illustrate directly those texts the main significance of which lay either in thoughts and speeches, or in complex tropes, rather than in events and actions. Therefore, it is necessary to determine which of these approaches were adopted in Sogdia in accordance with the poetics of the illustrated texts from different genres. Among the Sogdian illustrative murals, we find both entire narratives and isolated scenes. This brings me to my second question, how did the painters make their choice between these two kinds of pictorial interpretation?

1

LEGENDS, TALES AND FABLES IN THE ART OF SOGDIANA The third aspect is more complicated. In retelling an epic, a fairy tale or a fable, the Pend­ jikent painters were able to carry out their intention, using a restricted series of pictorial equiv­ alents for details, for whole sections and even ways of narration typical for these genres. One may, thus, 'read' the murals after learning to recognize these visual equivalents for specific fea­ tures of the literary texts. These involve the temporal and logical sequence of events, changes of pace in the narrative, the storyteller's attitudes to his characters, the relative importance of characters, epic formulae, metaphor, and so on. In the case of the Pendjikent murals, this search for such parallels seems particularly productive, because they contain no superfluous details. It is, however, important to bear in mind that identical images in different murals do not always have the same significance, because these ready-made, repeated images and schemas were not simply the visual counterparts of the textual units which they represented. They were part of the professional artistic tradition, and the artist learned them during his apprentice­ ship. He would choose those which were the most relevant for retelling stories, but there were no formal lists of equivalents to guide his choice, and while associations between the various elements of texts and pictures were often quite consistent, there was no necessity for the painter to adhere co one particular tradition. The viewers of the time were able to understand these details because they saw the entire illustrative cycle from beginning to end, so chat the meaning of every detail would have been comprehensible within its total context. Occasionally a modern researcher has the same opportunity, but the preservation of murals is frequently poor, and in such cases the meaning of the pictorial elements may be unclear. When studying the pre-Islamic culture of Sogdia, one has to remember that its historical periodization differs from that of Iran, and in Central Asia the process of islamization began considerably later than in Iran. During the sixth to eighth centuries AD, Sogdia was subordi­ nated to several neighbouring powers such as the Hephthalites (AD c. 509-c. 565), the Turks (AD c. 565-c. 650), the Tang Chinese (second half of the seventh century), and then the Arab Caliphate or its Central Asian rival, the Kaganate ( or Khaganate) of the Turkic TUrgesh tribes (first half of the eighth century). Later on, the Arabs became the effective rulers of the coun­ try. After a number of unsuccessful revolts, Sogdia was completely absorbed into the empire of the Caliphs and consequently islamized. However, until about AD 750 Sogdian city-states in the Zarafshan and Kashkada rya valleys, as well as the neighbouring principalities of Ustrushana and Chach (Tashkent) with their partly Sogdian populations and highly sogdian­ ized culture, kept their cultural, and to some extent, political independence. Although Ara­ bian military garrisons were settled at Bukhara and Samarkand - the nominal capital of entire Sogdia- and in a few fortresses after the campaigns of AD 709 and 712, local rulers and aristo­ crats were still important in the areas of Samarkand and Bukhara in the mid-eighth century. Philologists have made much progress in the study of Sogdian texts found both in Sogdia proper and along the trade routes connecting Central Asia with northern India and western China/ Short Sogdian inscriptions have been discovered even in Belgium and Japan. That is not very surprising considering that Sogdian merchants were the real masters of the Silk Road

SOGDIAN CULTURE AS MIRRORED BY THE PENDJIKENT PAINTINGS between Byzantium and China. The documents are very important, but most of them are either too short or too fragmentary to be of use. Among those manuscripts which were found in the Eastern Sogdian colonies, there are several literary texts and most of which are transla­ tions from Chinese, Sanskrit, Syriac, Parthian and Middle Persian. The translators were Sog­ dian Buddhists, Christians and Manicheans. We know that these World Religions were all widespread among those Sogdians who lived in various eastern oases along the Silk Road, but in Central Sogdia adepts of these cults formed only minority groups, Zoroastrianism, accord­ ing to the Arabian and Chinese sources, being the faith of the people. Unfortunately, in Sogdia itself the literary tradition was broken by Islam. When the Sogdian nobles became vassals of the Arabs, they found themselves to be equals of the Persians whose Western Iranian language was different from their own Eastern Iranian mother tongue, but whose culture was similar to their own. Later on, Sogdians became Muslims but did not enter into the society of Arabs. They were included in the community of the earlier islamized Per­ sians, and adopted their language and literary traditions. Gradually, the native tongue of the Sogdians was abandoned, first by the city-dwellers, then by villagers and then by inhabitants of the highlands. Only the inhabitants of a remote valley of the Yaghnob, a minor tributary of the upper Zarafshan basin, still use a Sogdian dialect to this day. Rudaki, one of the greatest Persian poets, who lived in the first half of the tenth century in Sogdia, was of Sogdian origin but historians of literature cannot find any trace of local literary tradition in his works. 6 When he wrote his versified version of the Panchatantra, his source was neither the Indian original nor its Sogdian translation, nor even its Middle Persian version, but most probably the Arabic translation from the Middle Persian. Before the beginning of our archaeological investigations at Pendjikent, we could not say which tales and fables were popular in Sogdia itself. It seemed quite possible that the tales which had been familiar to colonial Manicheans7 were not peculiar to their culture and that other Sogdians had known these stories as well. However, there was no proof that this assumption was correct. The situation has changed in the last few decades in the wake of the large-scale archaeologi­ cal excavations of the ruins of Pendjikent, a Sogdian town, situated about sixty kilometres east of Samarkand (Pendjikent lies just outside the modern Tadjik town of the same name (Fig. 1))8 and Qal'a-i-Qahqaha near Shahristan9, a village in the territory of former Ustrushana {now north-western Tadjikistan and the adjacent area in Uzbekistan), where the sixth to ninth century palace of the local rulers was discovered. Several cycles of mural paintings, illustrating literary subjects, have been discovered on both sites. My present lectures are related to these cycles, especially to those at Pendjikent. In Pendjikent we have a possibility to compare how people lived and how they expressed themselves in art and literature. In many private houses in Pendjikent, there were reception halls with mural paintings, with complex programmes. We can thus appreciate the theme which the Sogdian city patrician of the seventh or eighth century wished to present to his vis­ itors. These Pendjikent patricians were not really powerful or wealthy. Our archaeological team

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SOGDIAN CULTURE AS MIRRORED BY THE PENDJIKENT PAINTINGS under the direction by of A. Yu. Yakubovsky, M. M. Dyakonov, A. M. Belenitskii, the present author and V. I. Raspopova, during a period of fifty years excavated about half of the town which occupied (excluding its citadel, necropolis, and several suburban houses outside the city wall) only 13.5 hectares (Fig. 1 ). It was about one-fifteenth the size of Samarkand at the same period. The historical significance of Pendjikent was not great. It was not mentioned by Chi­ nese pilgrims and historians. Its ruler Dewashtich claimed to be king of Sogdia only once between AD 712 and AD 722 for between two to five years. Recent attempts to identify Pend­ jikent with the capital of Maimurg, an important Sogdian principality situated south-east of Samarkand, do not seem convincing. About one-third of the house owners in what I believe to be ordinary Sogdian town had murals and wood-carvings in one or several rooms of their dwellings. To commission such decoration would have been rather expensive. Dewashtich might easily have paid 100 drachmas for a particular portico. In his time, the price of a riding horse or an adult slave was 200 drachmas 1°. However, his wealth was incomparably greater than that of the petty merchants and landlords living in Pendjikent. It is hard to understand why these people tried to make their houses more or less similar to monarchs' palaces ( cf. Fig. 2 and Figs. 3-9). To understand the historical psychology, it is useful to look at three types of social orienta­ tion. The first is based upon commoners who realize that the difference in behaviour of upper and lower classes in their society is and has to be stable. In this case, a historian can focus on specific sub-cultures at every social stratum. The classic example is the self-isolation of the French nobles in the fourteenth century. In the second situation, the aspiration to reach the highest position is typical of social groups where upward social mobility is actually or theoretically possible. Imitation of the life­ style of the upper class is natural for these groups, as one can see in Florence of the same period. The third case is a society with active middle and lower classes, in which upward social mobility is almost impossible. Puritanical tendencies, rejecting aristocratic culture as sinful, are typical for these groups in such a society. Frequently the 'Puritans' are more or less pre­ dominant and their way of life is adopted by some part of the upper class too. In these cases, 'modest' garments and dwellings, without any conspicuous consumption, become typical even for some groups of the most powerful part of the society. In Central Asia chis became more or less typical after islamization because of the Islamic prohibition of silks, gold and silver vessels and personal ornaments. Pre-Muslim Sogdia shows a combination of the first and second cases: the first when we compare townsfolk with countrymen; and the second within the city walls. As far as we can tell, during the Arab wars the peasantry usually followed the policy of their lords without any freedom to make decisions for themselves. There are various pieces of evidence to support this. An Arab account of the revolt of AD 721-2 in al-Tabari's History stresses that peasants killed for their panicipation in the uprising were not guilty of any wrong-doing because they had had co emigrate at the orders of their lords and had left the land, now controlled by the Arabs, even after paying taxes co them. During this episode the peasants camped separatly

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SOGDIAN CULTURE AS MIRRORED BY THE PENDJIKENT PAINTINGS

Fig. 3: Plan of Sector III.

from the Sogdian nobles and merchants. 11 Among the notable Sogdian documents found in the hill fortress of Dewashtich (modern name Qal'a-i-Mug) there is a letter concerning a group of peasants who were sent by one local ruler to another. They were ordered to work day and night but eventually escaped. 12 Archaeological investigations at Gardan-i-Hisar in the upper Zarafshan valley revealed a Sogdian village which included the castle of its lord, three rows of houses divided by alleys and an outer enclosure with a corner tower. Gardan-i-Hisar was completely excavated by B. Stavisky and Yu. Y.1kubov. It is situated near a village called Madm, the name of which is men­ tioned in the Mug documents. It existed during the reign of Dewashtich and it enables us to compare a Sogdian village (Gardan-i-Hisar) with a Sogdian town (Pendjikent) of the same period. Castles of local noblemen have been excavated in different parts of Sogdia and the neigh­ bouring countries, but only in Chorasmia (in the lower Oxus valley) did archaeological inves­ tigations include the excavation of the area between the main buildings and the outer enclosures. In this area of the Chorasmian fortresses small dwellings were discovered which were very similar to the peasant houses of Gardan-i-Hisar. 13 In her recent book on Pendjikent houses, V. I. Raspopova has concluded that a great many Sogdian castles that have not yet been thoroughly investigated contained similar structures. 14 Her conclusion is based on the evidence gathered so far from partial excavations carried out on some of the inner castles with a keep, and frequently with a lord's palace at its foot, by several Uzbek and Tadjik archaeologists. As to the evidence for fortified villages within them, one can judge by untouched mounds that they conceal hidden houses and enclosing walls. Raspopova wrote that the inner castles, palaces, and fortifications were designed by professional archi­ tects and made by professional builders, but that peasant houses were built by their inhabi­ tants. The architecture of castles and houses of ancient Pendjikent is very similar, but it has almost nothing in common with ordinary dwellings in the villages. Even rulers' palaces and artisans' houses in the town had some common characteristics! 15 Thus, while there is almost no similarity between city dwellings of the late nineteenth or early twentieth century and their

7

LEGENDS, TALES AND FABLES IN THE ART OF SOGDIANA early medieval predecessors, on the ocher hand, peasants' houses from the early eighth to the early twentieth century are very similar. The short-lived brilliance of early medieval pre-Islamic urban civilization in Sogdia which was forgotten almost completely during the ninth to the eleventh centuries, was the product of a deep split in its society. One pany included the landed aristocracy and the urban popula­ tion, while the other consisted of the peasantry. This classification is an obvious, though nec­ essary simplification, for Sogdian society was much more complex. In particular, in the fields

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The composition of the neighbouring panel is very complex (Figs. 84-5). It contains four episodes of the tale of the chief of the monkeys and the woman who plays with a ram (also illustrated in the 'Rustam Room', see above p. 97, Figs. 48-9). The painters of Room 1/Sector XXI and that of the 'Rustam Room' were contemporaries and both of them illustrated the same story. There are only the two cases of this kind, since the town was not large and neither patrons nor painters liked repetitions (see also note 20 below). In Room 1/ Sector XXI the composition is in reverse order to that in the 'Rustam Room'. The sequence of episodes is also different and there are similar and dissimilar elements in each of the sets of figures. The figu re of the man who is putting the monkey into the cauldron is similar in both, and the painters placed the first scene near to the final one. Such a disposition of the two scenes stresses how different are the results of wise and careless behavior. In Room I/Sector XXI the first scene is situated in the left part of panel, where a mountain and two monkeys are placed above it. These monkeys are the king and the queen, escaping from their native land. The second scene is located in the right part, though from here onwards the development of events is from right to left. The woman by the stove and the ram running away are elements of this second scene. However, one figure shows the ram at two different moments: one when the woman hits it with her poker and the other with elephants. The next scene shows the seated king with his crown, mace, sword and dagger and the cus­ todian of the elephants kneeling before him. The fifth episode is a scene where a warrior holds a monkey over a cauldron. In the 'Rustam Room' panel there is no scene with the king in the corresponding place between the elephants and the warrior. Its absence could well be because in the Persian folk­ lore version (see Ch. 3, note 31) the people decided to catch the monkeys without any king's order. Otherwise in this panel the only space for such a scene was above the woman and the ram, if her figure was small. The version of this story in the Sindbad-nameh is more akin to the mural in Room I/Sector XXI than the main Panchatantra variant in which there are no mountains, horses are men­ tioned instead of elephants, and the chief of the monkeys has no wife. Round the south-west corner on the southern wall there is a panel with illustrations to the famous fable by Aesop about the goose which laid the golden eggs (Fig. 86. Pl. 14).is The

133

Fig. 84: The Talc of the Monkeys, the Elephants and the Woman Playing with the Ram. First register. Room 1/XXI. (Sec also Fig. 85.)

THE LITERARY SUBJECTS OF THE PENDJIKENT MURALS

Fig. 85: Sketch of the mural depicting the Tale of the Monkeys, the Elephants and the Woman Playing with the Ram. First register. Room 1/XXI. (See also Fig. 84.) development of events is from right to left. In the first episode, a man sits with a yellow (golden) egg in his hand. A goose stands before him. Other golden eggs are scattered around them. The man is shown as being full of pride. His face, like a lot of other faces in the lower register, is not idealized. Unlike the faces in the upper register, its outline is not rounded and the 'cheek-bone is clearly visible. The man wears a tall cap. There is something comical in the contrast between his well proportioned body and the enlarged, heavy figure of the goose. In the next episode he is stabbing the bird. In the final scene he is sitting once more, but now his

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posture expresses sadness. His cap has been lose in the previous scene. Similar postures for the protagonist are used in the upper registers too, but here the comparison of the stupid man with the heroic images so familiar to viewers gives a comic effect. The mood of the man has changed twice, and the painter showed these changes in as masterly a way as che artist of the 'Rustam Cycle'. This composition is an illustration co the fable by Aesop, not to the folk-tale with the same motif. In the latter case, the man who has dared co kill such a bird becomes a king, and all the folklore versions have a happy ending. 16 Motifs from folklore only reached che lower register murals of Pendjikent indirectly and via their literary modifications. The following panel on the southern wall is almost square (Fig. 87). There is only one scene where we meet the figure of the trickster again. It is of a fat, almost naked man with vivid ges­ ticulation. He has a comical grimace and red hair resembling European clowns. The late Pro­ fessor Belenitskii cold me that in the traditional comic performances of Central Asia, this character was named 'Urus-i-divana', the crazy Russian. It seems possible that chis comic char­ acter is older than the satirical interpretation of the colonial pcriod. 27 Such comic sketches could well have been performed since the pre-Islamic period.

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This figure presents the possibility that his witty sayings were the most important element of the story illustrated, which is why it is impossible to reconstruct it in detail. One can only see chat the second character who meets the trickster has three implements which arc neces­ sary for a fowler: two identical sticks in his hand, a fowling bag, and a long knife in its scabbard attached to his belt. He could use the sticks for throwing at wildfowl or for traps. The 'clown' teases the stupid fowler and by his three tricks probably gets the three implements from him. The next panel has a different format (Fig. 88). It illustrates the story of the lion and the hare which has been incorporated into the Panchatantra, but also has great many other ver­ sions. The clever hare has fooled the stupid lion by showing him his reflection in the well and celling him that it is a rival lion. The stupid lion then jumps into the well and perishes. 28 There are three later miniatures illustrating the same subject, but the iconography is similar only in the Paris early thirteenth-century Kali/ah wa Dimnah.n In che south-east part of the room, several ocher compositions of the lower register have been unearthed (Figs. 89-95). Two of chem are in a satisfactory state of preservation (Fig. 89). The left one is not elongated and it includes only two figures. Two men, one standing and one sitting, are in conversation. There is a sun disk above them and a large sack on the knees of the seated figure. In their dispute the sun and the sack must be mentioned somehow. It is easy to think of suitable dialogue similar to that common in folk-talcs about fools and tricksters. For instance, a man with a sack might say: 'I can put everything into my sack!' 'Can you put the sun there?' the other might ask. 'Oh yes, I can, but bring it here', would be the answer. Among Tadjik anecdotes there is a similar tale of a man who promises to carry away a hill which was screening a village of fools from the sunshine. When they request him to fulfil his promise, the man says:' First of all, load the hill on my back.' The people cannot do it. Then he asks chem: 'How can I carry it away if you have not loaded it on to my back?' 10 The right-hand panel contains a similar composition with two men, one standing and the other sitting (Fig. 89). The standing figure is speaking while the other man is impatiently

Fig. 89: Three panels of the first register: the Talc of the Finder (or Finders) of a Treasure; the anecdote of the Trickster and the Fool. (The subject of the third panel is not recognizable). Room 1/XXI.

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unloading jewels from his sack. Golden vessels are scattered in the background. This is an illustration to the well-known subject: two brothers or friends and a treasure. In some of the many versions of this motif the men find the treasure together, but it is too heavy to carry. One of them goes off to find a cart (or mule, or donkey). Then each decides to kill the other. The man who returns with the cart brings poisoned food or drink for his partner. However, the second man murders him and only later on dies himself after consuming the food or drink. Before they discover the treasure, a wise man (or Buddha, or Christ) warns them that there is a poisonous serpent in the place where they find the treasure, but they do not understand the significance of his words.3' A folk tale of two brothers, one good and one worthless may be mentioned too. The good­ for-nothing had left his good brother in a very dangerous place without any help, but the good brother has found the treasure there. He has brought home a part of it. The good-for-nothing decides to get the rest and goes to the place, but is killed by demons or wild beasts. 32 It is pos­ sible that this story might be illustrated in the panel, but the tale of the 'poisonous' treasure seems more appropriate because the greedy gesture of the 'good' brother betrays the painter's negative attitude towards the figure. The last five panels are badly damaged. In one of them there are two standing figures (a pair of singers?), while in the neighbouring composition one of the characters is sitting but his counterpart is standing (Fig. 90) as in the mural with the trickster and the fool (Fig. 89). In the third panel there were only three standing figures and their upper, more important parts are preserved (Fig. 91). On the right-hand side of this composition, there is a figure of a

139

LEGENDS, TALES AND FABLES IN THE ART OF SOGDIANA

Fig. 91: Anecdote of the Trickster and the Fool. First register. Room 1/XXI. man dispassionately looking away. He wears a tall cap. On the left-hand side there is another man with a similar cap on his head. He strikes a blow at a stooping man placed in the middle. This third man has lost his cap. The character of the illustrated story is clear. The insinuations of the trickster (the figure on the right) provoked the beating which was a surprise to the v1cum. There are a great many anecdotes of this type all over the world. They are popular even in our day. Such a situation one can find in the 'Decameron' by Boccaccio.n There are several Bud­ dhist stories in which one man beats another in front of some onlookers who were involved in a dispute with those characters.H However, these stories are hardly likely to be those illus­ trated here because in the mural the third man looks away, demonstrating his unconcern. In the next panel, only the upper part is preserved as in the previous one (Fig. 92). There are two figures, a young man and a hare. The young man looks quietly at the hare, which runs away. The hare is placed high up, and there is space below it for a third figure. There is nobody speaking to the man in this composition because all participants in any conversation in the Pendjikent murals look at each other, whereas here the eyes of the protagonist follow the hare. It would be illogical to draw a figure approaching the man in the empty space because there is not the slightest reaction to him. It may be more relevant to assume that some other fleeing figure was placed below the hare. It is also possible that one or two sitting figures were placed there, but then the composition would be not so well balanced.

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140

THE LITERARY SUBJECTS OF THE PENDJIKENT MURALS It is not hard to find a suitable story in the rich, but not unlimited repertoire of folk-tales. Such a sto ry may be a variant of tales of contests between a protagonist and a stupid devil. They compete in a race and the protagonist says that he will not run himself because it would be too easy for him, but his younger brother will run instead of him. This 'younger brother' is one of two hares, which the young man has hidden in his sack. The young man releases one hare and the devil and the hare race away. Later on, when the devil returns tired, the man shows him the other hare and says that his younger brother came back long ago. In the panel, there is enough space for the running demon and the sack at the man's foot. This motif is widespread in the folklore of many European countries and Turkey. 3 s The striking similarity of several motifs in the Pendjikent panels to the subjects of European literary works (see, for instance, the fable by Kry lov, p. 86) makes it possible to draw European parallels. Another relevant story is well known in Turkey and Central Asia. In this tale, a trickster pretends to have an extraor­ dinary hare which is able to be a messenger. This man releases the hare 'with a message to his wife' (who has already received his orders). Later on, those who saw the hare's departure also see the wife, who has already fulfilled her husband's commission, as if she has received the message. Then the trickster profitably sells them another hare telling that it is the 'messenger hare'. 36 In the neighbouring panel only a running fox is visible. As usual at Pendjikent, the painter has placed compositions with similar figures together. Having completed our study of the panels in the lower registers of four houses, we can com­ pare three assemblages of Sogdian talcs: that of the written fragments: and those in the illus­ trations in the lowest register of the 'Rustam Room' (15 stories) and Room I/Sector XXI ( 12 stories). There are also three well-preserved panels of this kind in two other halls. All three assemblages include Aesopic and Panchatantra subjects, but only two of them (the one in the 'Rustam Room' and the texts) contain fairy-tales. In the 'Rustam Room' there were at least three tales of judges, and an episode of a lawsuit is included in one of the Sogdian texts. 37 The stories illustrated in the lower register in Room I/Sector XXI all concern wisdom and stupidity, sagacity and improvidence. Fai ry-tales and 'detective stories' were not of interest to the owner of the house. He was one of the two men who possessed the largest houses and were probably most powerful in the town during the extremely difficult period of the 740s, when the Arab garrison lived in Pendjikent in a barracks rebuilt from the ruins of the palace of Dewashtich. In those years the Sogdians tried to remain faithful to their own cultural and moral values and their traditional way of life. The owner of the house was doubtless a politician who wished to show his compatriots that wisdom and discretion were as essential as selfless valour, the leading motif of the upper regis­ ter in the reception hall of his palace-like house. He did this discreetly and with a sense of humour in the lower-register murals of the same hall. There are three more illustrative cycles in the main halls of the Pendjikent houses. Unlike the paintings described above, these murals are illustrations to narratives containing characters which do not appear in the paintings of the house, including the 'Rustam Room'. Of course, all

141

LEGENDS, TALES AND FABLES IN THE ART OF SOGDIANA

epic compositions have some common clements, but none of these last three cycles is similar. Several illustrative fragments are preserved in some other rooms, though there are no legible scenes among them. In the 'House of the Gambler', paintings were found in several rooms, but only one frieze-like register in the reception hall (Room 13/Sector VI)38 makes it possible to interpret the subject (Figs. 93-5, Pl. 15). The cult scene with the image of Nanaya on a lion in one of the rooms shows that the owner's religion was that of the other citizens of the town. His liking for dice perhaps prompted the decision to commission (in about AD 740) the illustra­ tions to the Indian epic in which the game was one the most important themes. The supposi­ tion that this building was not a dwelling, but a public gambling house has now been abandoned. The present author's hypothesis, that the subject of the paintings of the main register is 'Virataparvan', the fourth book of the Mahabharata, was developed in Semenov's article, and it is not necessary to analyse these murals again.39 Their style is Sogdian. A building, weapons, helmets and most of the clothes depicted in them are also Sogdian. The king and one of the heroes have haloes around their heads. The king's halo is brighter, and above his shoulders rise tongues of flame which, as mentioned above, showed the presence of farn. Even the elephant in one of the episodes (Fig. 93) is not necessarily an imported Indian element in Sogdia: a Samarkand painter included this foreign animal in a procession of the ruler of Samarkand:= The Brahmanic appearance of two of the characters is the only Indian motif in the whole cycle in Room 13/Sector VI (Figs. 94-5, Pl. 15). The 'History of Romulus and Remus' is a second clearly foreign subject in the Sogdian murals of the second grade of importance (Fig. 96). The paintings with illustrations to this narrative were discovered in Qal'a-i-Qahqaha in Ustrushana, which came within the Sogdian cultural sphere. The murals in the lobby of the palace were most probably executed in the

Fig. 93: 'Mahabharata Cycle'. The exile of the heroes. Room 13/VI.

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seventh-eighth century AD. The 'Romulus and Remus' theme depicted there includes the famous group of the she-wolf suckling two infants, which ends the sequence of episodes. 41 That this motif of the she-wolf and two boys was comparatively widespread has been shown by Negmatov in his articles on the Qal'a-i-Qahqaha mural,42 but the question remains whether the painter presented the Roman legend or some local epic containing the similar motif. This is a problem related to that of the source of Aesopic motifs in Pendjikent (see above p. 86). Some of our observations provide a possibility of solving both problems. The cardinal dif­ ference in the treatment of the bird with the golden eggs motif in the Aesopean and in the folklore variants shows that the painter's version comes from the written source; but then there was no argument as to whether this source had been a book of Aesop's Fables or another literary composition which incorporated some of his fables, as had happened with those stories found in the Manichean texts. In the latter case the Sogdians could well have forgotten the Western origin of such stories.

144

THE LITERARY SUBJECTS OF THE PENDJIKENT MURALS

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However, in the case of the Romulus and Remus story, the painter clearly demonstrates its non-Sogdian origin. The characters, naked or dressed in specific performer's clothing (exotic for Central Asia), indicate that the artist intended to depict an alien land. The subject of the she-wolf and two infant boys depicted in the Qal'a-i-Qahqaha mural and on a Pendjikent gold bracteate (with an imitation of a Latin coin legend) n was derived from a Western original. The foreign and theatrical elements are quite natural in a frieze-like composition which was related to those of performers' scrolls. The group of Rustam legends mentioned above was also non-Sogdian in origin, and there are some southern elements in the iconography of this hero, but these Saka heroic tales were absorbed by the Sogdians as well as by the Parthians and the Persians. The people of Sakastan belonged to the Eastern Iranian group, and the cultural frontiers of the Iranian countries were easily penetrable. However, among the epic cycles in the Pendjikent murals there are at least two with illustra­ tions to original Sogdian heroic tales.H One of the original cycles had been already revealed in the reception hall (Room I/Sector VI) in 1951-3, when Stavisky excavated the house (Fig. 4).'s The house was built in the seventh century, though the paintings are slightly later (c. AD 700-22). The background is black, but originally it could have been bluish-grey (see above p. 109, Room SO/Sector XXIII). There is no border between the two registers, but no figure crosses their invisible boundary. It is possible that both registers illustrated the single epic that appears in Room SO/Sector XXIII. The hall is the only room with murals in this house. The cult scene with Nanaya on her recumbent lion between two caryatids supporting the arch was placed opposite the door. One of these caryatids is the famous Pendjikent harpist. The other is not preserved. The sequence of events is from right to left (Figs. 97-102, Pl. 16). The main theme is a battle between two peoples. We do not know their names, but it is necessary to give them names in order to make the description easier. The painter used special indications for each of them. The pommels of all the swords and daggers in one army are ring-shaped, but the second army has them in the form of a dragon's head. The warriors of the army with the ring-shaped pommels have armour with wavy edges to the lamellre, but their adversaries have rectangular lamellre. In this text, we will refer to the first set of warriors as 'Rings', and their foes as 'Dragons'. The narrative begins near the door. In the first episode the king of the 'Rings' holds his court

145

Fig. 97: '"Rings and Dragons" Cycle'. The King of the 'Dragons'. Room 1/VI. 146

THE LITERARY SUBJECTS OF THE PENDJIKENT MURALS

Fig. 98: '"Rings and Dragons" Cycle'. Two reception scenes: the two kings feasting in their own camps. (Fig. 98). A kneeling warrior before the king has come from the battle-field. His forefinger points backwards to where a camel stands. The camel turns its head back(?). The main part of the figure of the camel is gone, but it seems that its burden was terrible because the king drops a bowl in alarm. (Not all details are correctly done in the published drawings because these were derived from photographs of water-colour copies and not from the murals themselves.) The divine protector of this king is represented by a pheasant with fluttering ribbons. The second episode is set in the country of the other army (Figs. 97-8, Pl. 16). The camp of the 'Dragons' is shown on the western wall near the north-west corner. The king of the 'Drag­ ons' sits on a camp-stool. His divine protector is symbolized by a flying white winged bull, also with fluttering ribbons. Originally, there must have been a man standing in front of the king, speaking to him. Only the man's hand is preserved. This figure must have been the hero of the 'Dragons' (their prince?). It must also be his brother (or foster brother) who is depicted in the duel scene on the southern wall. The battle scenes occupied almost the whole of the western wall. They would have included the advance of the army, the battle of the two armies, and the first stages of the duel between the young hero of the 'Dragons' and the king of the 'Rings'. Both kings are mature men with bearded faces. On this wall the duel was shown in two or more episodes: the first on horseback and the second on foot. Of this elongated composition, only a leg in armour and a quiver of the king of the 'Rings' fighting on foot are visible, 46 and a scene of the cavalry battle is pre­ served (Fig. 99). The culmination of the battle is shown round the corner on the southern wall (Fig. 100). Two heroes of the 'Dragons' (two brothers?) and their adversary arc shown on foot. Only one of them is fighting against the king of the 'Rings' with his royal winged diadem bound around his helmet. Two axes are broken and have been thrown away. The scabbards are empty because the swords have also been broken in the previous phase of the duel. It is time to

147

LEGENDS, TALES AND FABLES IN THE ART OF SOGDIANA

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THE LITERARY SUBJECTS OF THE PENDJIKENT MURALS wrestle but the hero of the 'Dragons' is fighting with a long caval ry lance, while the king of the 'Rings' is shooting with his bow and arrows. Both of them use weapons for the very begin­ ning of the regular heroic single combat. An arrow enters deeply into the breast of the 'Dragons" hero and kills him. This particular moment is very important for the correct interpretation of the heroic tale illustrated by the painter. The same moment from the same duel is shown on the silver dish found in the Northern Urals on the early medieval 'Fur Road'. 47 This dish, now in the Her­ mitage, was made by a seventh-century Sogdian silversmith. On the dish, not only their swords and battle-axes, but also their maces are broken, which indicates that the present skir­ mish is the fourth. At this point, the question is: why is it not the wrestling match? The heroes on the plate are equal and identical in age and attributes. If the duel between two almost equal rivals is fair and all kinds of weapons are tried, the wrestling match is finally the only way to win,48 whereas the silversmith has depicted the lance against the bow, which are both used in the beginning of a single combat. Three arrows are shown, and the third must be fatal because in the mural an arrow has penetrated the breast of one of the rivals so deeply that only its feathers are still visible. The sacred number three is always very important in the epic tradi­ tions of Iran and Central Asia. However, why is this arrow fatal if the warrior has been invulnerable for so long while fight­ ing with all kinds of other weapon? The only answer is that the archer has had the support of a supernatural power. In the most developed epic traditions the hero usually must win without such help, but he has to ask for it when he cannot otherwise win, because to win is his most important duty. This a truly tragic collision between two imperatives of the heroic ethos: to win and to win honestly. In several epics, such as the Mahabharata or the Rustam and Isfandiyar tale in the Shah­ nameh, the heroes choose victory, but their conscience suffers and finally the highest justice punishes them. It is not my aim to argue that the Sogdians were influenced by these Iranian and Indian texts. The similarity of the situations can also be explained within the framework of the logical possibilities of the development of the concept of heroism. The choice made by one of two heroes enables the epic poet to show the honourable death of the other because other­ wise the most powerful character, the hero, cannot be killed. However, the heroic life is incomplete without a heroic death. Thus, the analysis of the murals demonstrates that the unknown Sogdian epic poet penetrated deeply into the tragedy of the heroic ethos. In the next episode, the king of the 'Rings' and his army come to the city of the 'Dragons' (Fig. 101). A white bull runs from the city gate. It is similar to the bull by the king of the 'Dragons' in the second episode. This event could mean that the farn of the 'Dragons' has left the conquered city. The cult scene is placed between the last two episodes. It masks a gap in the sequence of events. The following event takes place in the camp of the 'Dragons'. Their standing warriors meet a kneeling messenger whose sword is attached to his belt. The last scene of the register is the battle between the 'Dragons' and the 'Rings' (Fig. 102). Above the attacking caval ry of the 'Dragons' is a boy dressed in rich garments seated in a

149

LEGENDS, TALES AND FABLES IN THE ART OF SOGDIANA

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Fig. 101: '"Rings and Dragons" Cycle'. The victors at the city-gate. Room 1/VI.

chariot. He may be the hero's son who participates in the revenge for his father killed by the king of the 'Rings', perhaps in his turn taking revenge for his own son whose body could be the burden of the camel in the first episode. This assumption helps to explain why the king fights against an adversary of a lower status. There is no denouement in the lower register; and the narration probably continued within the upper one, only fragments of which are preserved. Among them there are the figures of dying warriors and the lower part of the scene of the king's reception. The hands of a man who has been hanged head down are visible there. This scene is situated in the middle of the upper register and, therefore, it is not the final episode. This long epic narration has no direct literary analogues. However, the murals reveal its important characteristics: a fully developed conception of the tragic aspect of heroism, and the epic objectivity of the painter who followed the poet. It seems that in this chain of revenge, the heroes of both the 'Dragons' and the 'Rings' were equally (or almost equally) interesting to the author. Epic illustrations were also discovered in a reception hall with a recess (Room I/Sector XXII) in a house built after c. AD 700 (Fig. 9). ◄ 9 The paintings could be later, although their latest possible date is c. AD 740 (Figs. 103-5). The reception hall is the only room with murals

150

THE LITERARY SUBJECTS OF THE PENDJIKENT MURALS

....

Fig. 102: '"Rings and Dragons" Cycle'. The second battle. Room I/VI.

in this house. The cult scene with the gods (Veshparkar and Apam Napat [Burz]) is located in the recess. The background here is blue, but in the main part of the hall itself it is red. Only one register of narrative paintings is preserved in the western part of this room, where several episodes of a heroic duel are depicted. The sequence of events is from left to right. In the first episodes each hero is on horseback. In an episode in the middle of the western wall there is also the figure of an archer on foot, helping a warrior who has fallen from his horse (Fig. 103). The last scene on the western wall near the north-west corner is well pre­ served. It shows the moment just before the end of the duel. The horseman in a coat of mail is thrusting a long lance through the breast of his adversary who wears a long coat covering his armour. The latter has risen to his feet and is trying to draw his sword. He has lost his helmet. Round the corner on the northern wall there is a scene depicting the final moment of the single combat. Near a castle the victor, who is already on foot, is binding his fallen enemy with a long rope (Figs. 104-5). Two women watch from the flat roof of the castle. One of them is throwing stones at the victor. This episode is not the denouement and the defeated warrior is still alive. He, and not the victor, is shown in full 'heroic' profile in both scenes, and his pos­ tures are proud even in such difficult situations. After studying all the Pcndjikent murals such an image of the unlucky but worthy warrior seems unusual. It is possible that in subsequent

151

VI

----------Fig. 103: 'Thwenak Cycle'. Sketch of two connected scenes. Room 1/XXI. (See also Figs. 103-105.)

Fig. 104: 'Thwenak Cycle'. The last of the preserved scenes. Room l/XXI. (See also Figs.102, l 04, t 05.)

153

Fig. 105: 'Thwenak Cycle'. Detail. Room 1/XXI. (See also Fig. 103.)

154

Fig. 106: Sogdian inscription. Room 1/XXI. (Sec also Figs. 103, 104.)

155

LEGENDS, TALES AND FABLES IN THE ART OF SOGDIANA episodes the role of this character would change. It is not by chance that the lady (?) of the castle is for him and against the victor. The most interesting part of this cycle is the long Sogdian inscription in a white rectangle replacing the gate of the castle (Fig. 106). There are twelve vertical lines of text in a very poor state of preservation,which, however, V. A. Livshits has partially deciphered (see Appendix). This text explains the mural and contains the names of both the characters, though these names are unknown in the Iranian epic tradition. They are Vay and Thwenak ('Vay' may mean 'Sir' but in this case it should be a personal name). This rather cryptic text suggests Vay and Thwenak had intended to enter a house, and that Vay tried unsuccessfully to tie up Thwenak. 'Pictorial language' gives us the possibility of understanding the important characteristics of this Sogdian epic. In it, the conqueror is a genuine hero because he has overcome his adver­ sary in a long, hard duel, but the latter also had the sympathy of both the painter and the author. This sympathy for both sides of the heroic conflict was typical of the two original Sog­ dian epics in the Pendjikent murals which were not borrowed from the Iranian and Indian tra­ ditions. Historians of literature have taken an interest in the same attitude in such great ancient epics as the Iliad and the Mahabharata,50 but not in the later ones like the Shah-nameh, the Song ofRoland or Russian byliny with their patriotic enthusiasm. In the temples of Pendjikent there are some images which correspond to characters in liter­ ary works, such as a figure of a king with snakes on his shoulders who probably corresponds to Zahhak of the Shah-nameh. 51 Temple murals including these figures would have been con­ nected with Sogdian rites and myths, but do not seem to be illustrated in any literary works because their genre characteristics differ from those of all other Pendjikent narrative murals. Thus these temple paintings do not have the long, logically connected rows of scenes typical of the epic cycles, and their compositions are less clear and laconic than those which illustrate folk-tales and fables.

156

'7T"

THE LITERARY SUBJECTS OF THE PENDJIKENT MURALS

NOTES 1. Belenitskii, Marshak and Raspopova, (ART,1978), 1984; (ART, 1979); Raspopova, 1990, Fig. 6. 2. Marsak, 1990,pp. 307-9, Fig. 16. 3. Negmatov, 1984, Fig. 1.3. 4. On these see: Safa, op. cit., Index: Banu-Gushasp, Zar-Banu. 5. Belenitskii and Marshak, 1981, Figs. 6, 32; Belenizki, 1980, pp. 54-6, 77. 6. Negmatov, 1973, pp. 185-203, Figs. 1-14; Sokolovskii, 1974, pp.49-51. 7. Biruni (al-Biruni), 1957, pp. 232-3, text: 222. 8. Belenitskii and Marshak, 1981, pp. 29-31, Fig. 6. 9. Ibid.,pp. 20, 37-8. 10. Propp, 1953,pp. 40-5; Zhirrnunskii,1962, pp. 106-23; Meletinskii, 1963, pp. 250-69. 11. D'yakonov, 1954, pp. 116-17, Pl. XXX. 12. In Tadjik folklore, for instance, sec: Skazki... gornykh tadzhikov, 1990,no. 1. 13. Finding the cup of a bride amidst several other vessels is a test in the Russian folk tales: Afanas'yev, 1984, vol. 2,p. 212 (no. 240). 14. Such portraits are frequent in folk tales. For instance sec: Skazki ... gornykh tadzhikov, 1990, no. I. 15. Belenizki, 1980, pp. 113-15, Pis. 41-50; Raspopova, 1990, Figs. 30-1. 16. AT150; Svod ... , 1981, Text 122;Afganskie skazki i legendy, 1972, p.2, no. 10. 17. Compare AT 1419J. 18. Bedier, 1969, pp. 454-7; Ol'denburg, 1907, pp. 46-85; Romaskevich, 1934,pp. 443-50. 19. Sindbad-nameh, second story of the seventh visier; Persidskie ... skazki (Osmanov),pp. 400-2 (text: Qi11aha yi Iran, 1973, pp. 193-6); Ai1arskie skazki, 1965, 20, etc. 20. Panchatantra, V, 3. Since finishing the text of my lectures I have written an article on Pendjikcnt illustrations to this tale because another panel illustrating the same subject was cleaned by the restorer and became legible in 1996: Marshak, 1998. 21. Panchatantra, I, 30. 22. Ben fey, op. cit., p. 1, § 106 and 538-9; Krylov, IV: 11; Kenevich, 1868, pp. 31-5. 23. Skul'pt11ra i zhivopis ', 1959, Pis. IX-X. 24. ll Novellino, 1970, no. XCVIII (Russian translation: Andreev and Sokolova, 1984, 125,302, note). 25. No. 87 (Perry). 26. AT 567, 567 A (a great many versions in different countries); Persidskie ... skazki, pp. 285-9 (text: Samandar­ i chilgis, 1973,pp. 37-40). 27. Red hair is a characteristic of various demonic and comic characters equally in Far Eastern Buddhist art and European literatures (Basni Ezopa, 1968, p. 249; Spitzer, 1949, pp. 107-12). The red-haired figure in this panel is not a demon because the identical character in the other panel is one of the men fooled by the clever woman (see above p. 129). 28. Panchatantra, l,7; AT 92. 29. Raby, 1987; 1991. 30. Skazki ... gornykh tadzhikov, 1990, no. 60; compare AT 1245; T. Mot. K562.1. 31.AT763;Cowell, 1895,v. l,p.124. 32. Persidskie ... skazki, 1987, pp. 280-1; (text: Samandar-i chilgis, 1973, pp. 15-16). 33. Day IX, Story 8. 34. Bai Yt,i Tsin, 1986,parables 3, 13; Chavannes, 191 t,nos. 238,249. 35. AT 1072.

157

LEGENDS, TALES AND FABLES IN THE ART OF SOGDIANA 36. Boratav, 1969, no. 42; Eberhard and Boratav, 35.1 (Russian translation:

Taclzhikskie narodniye skazki, 1972, pp. 287-8.

Turetskie skazki, 1986, no. 61);

37. Henning,1945, pp. 465-70; 1977, pp. 169-73. 38. Skul'ptura i zhivopis', Pis. XX-XXVI; Staviskii, 1964, pp. 136-45; Raspopova, 1990, p. 30, Fig. I 0. 39. Belenitskii and Marshak, 1981, p. 28; Semenov, 1985, pp. 216-29. 40. Al'baum, 1975, pp. 41-2, Pl. 20. 41. Negmatovand Sokolovskii, 1975, pp. 438-58; Azarpay, 1981, pp. 202-3, Fig. 59. 42. Negmatov, 1968, pp. 21-32; 1973, pp. 3-10; 1974, pp. 3-10. 43. Bclenitskii, 1958, p. 135, Fig. 33.3. Compare Masson, 1972, pp. 29-35. 44. Zhirmunsky has distinguished four main groups of cultures corresponding to their different relations to epic traditions (1962, pp. 169-94): l} with their own tradition {for example, French or Russian); 2} with their own tradition, but enricbed by some borrowed epic songs (Spanish, Kirgiz); 3) with borrowed tales only (Italian); 4) with a common heroic heritage, shared by several related cultures {Germanic or Southern Slav). If the Pendjikent narrative murals can be considered a reflection of the epic performers' art, the Sogdians may be included in the second and fourth of these groups because they illustrated their original legends, the Rustam tales, widespread in various countries of Greater Iran, together with obviously foreign stories (modifications of the Mahab!,arata or the 'History of Romulus and Remus'). 45. Zhivopis', Pis. XXXIV-XXXIX; Sk11l'pttmt i zhivopis', Pis. I., III-VIII; Staviskii, 1964, pp. 145-56; Belcnit­ skii, 1968, Pl. 142. 46. His armour and quiver are identical to the details of the figure of this king in the mural on the southern wall. 47. D'yakonov, 1954, pp. 137-8; Marschak, 1986, pp. 284-90 (with references to the previous literature), Pl. 198. 48. Orlov, 1945, pp. 104-6; Gryaz.nov, 1961, pp. 10-15; Putilov, I 981, p. 181; Smirnov, 1974, p. 49. 49. Belenizki, 1980, pp. t 16-18; Azarpay, t 981, Figs. 5, 27, 60; Marsak, 1990, pp. 307-8; Grenet, 1994, pp. 43-4, Fig. 8. 50. Chadwick, 1912, p. 229; Grintser, 1974, pp. 310-11. 51. Belenitskii and Marshak, 1981, pp. 68-9, Fig. 33.

158

CHAPTER 5

Concluding remarks

This brief survey of about forty illustrative murals is the work of an archaeologist who had originally no intention of penetrating the fields of philology or folklore studies. A specialist will find many occasions to correct or enrich the parallels drawn here. My detailed reconstruc­ tions are not the only possible interpretations and I foresee the criticism that my imagination has been too vivid at times. However, those concerned to make more scientific reconstruc­ tions and identifications should not forget the eloquent peculiarities and details of the Pend­ jikent murals, which attracted no attention before these investigations and should, I hope, follow the approach taken here, drawing conclusions only after a thorough comparative study of all the murals. Only by so doing is it possible to systematize the material correctly. The elements of such a system are still open to variation but only in some measure. For instance, it is now impossible to mistake an illustration of a tale of female cunning for a scene from an epic (compare above p. 120). My aim has been to show the concerns of literature and its folklore analogues and thus the thematic characteristics of Sogdian secular literature. If, however, the entire collection of illus­ trative murals is juxtaposed with the Sogdian texts it appears that, unlike many of the texts, the paintings had no connection with any religious Christian, Manichean or Buddhist literary works, because although these religions were influential in the East, they were not in Sogdia proper. All attempts to find scenes from the ]atakas in the Pendjikent murals of the second grade have been unsuccessful. Among the Sogdian narrative cycles there were at least two orig­ inal epics and local versions of the Indian Mahabharata and the Roman story of Romulus and Remus, both quasi-historical heroic legends. All the illustrative murals have analogues in the non-religious texts. We can compare both these assemblages with two random samples (using the statistical term) the similarity of which confirms that they correctly represent the whole, i.e. Sogdian secular literature. Now we can say that, in Sogdia, books for reading were of the same origins as the heroic tales well-known in the Sogdian colonies and the fables and parables in the Manichean Sogdian texts. However the episodes illustrated from the Panchatantra, Aesop's Fables and the Sindbad-nameh

159

LEGENDS, TALES AND FABLES IN THE ART OF SOGDIANA demonstrate that versions of the same individual stories are present only twice in both the texts and the murals ('Rustam and the Divs' and 'The Father, His Daughter and the Spirit of the Ocean'). As regards genres, we find fairy-tales of Indian origin, animal tales and stories about wise judges in the Pendjikent paintings as well as in the fragments of Sogdian texts. Thus, there is no typological difference between the fragments of Sogdian tales and the subjects of Pend­ jikent paintings, although the repertoire of the murals is much richer. Both collections are sim­ ilar to the Persian literature of the Late Sassanian period, and most of the Sogdian tales, published by Henning were translated from Middle Persian. We can thus consider that the Rustam story (including his campaign against the divs and legends of the members of his family) and his role as the greatest of heroes were as well-known in Sogdia as they were in Sas­ sanian literature and early Islamic Iran, for Aesop's Fables and the Middle Persian translations of a group of Indian texts (the prototypes of the Sindbad-nameh and Kali/ah and Dimnah) relate to a great many subjects of the Pendjikent paintings. Persian and Sogdian fables and tales, including those illustrated by the painters, borrowed from Greek and Indian sources. Sometimes it is possible to see that the Middle Persian ver­ sions of the Indian stories were nearer to the Sogdian than to the extant Indian texts, but it is not necessary to suppose that this was the result of Persian influence. The Sogdians and Per­ sians may have independently translated some otherwise unknown texts which already dif­ fered from other, also Indian, variants. Taking all this into account, we might expect to see a similarity between the visual arts of the two Iranian countries, i.e. Persia and Sogdia. In fact, however, we see a great thematic dif­ ference between Sogdian and Persian (Sassanian) works of art, notwithstanding the fact that there are several identical and complex iconographical details in both cultures. In Iran the monuments of official imperial ideology are magnificent and impressive - the rock relief rep­ resentations of the kings, silver vessels with their portraits, and so on, while in Sogdia we do not know of such monuments. The Arabic-Persian literary tradition is virtually the only evi­ dence we have that Sassanian civilization was not always as its official visual arts make it appear. In Sogdia, on the other hand, there are illustrations to a number of legends, epics, fables, etc., that were also widespread in the Sassanian empire, but which do not survive there in any illus­ trated versions. The analysis has made clear that the murals of Pendjikent are only the tip of the iceberg of Sogdian art and the main part of it has still to be discovered. So many painters worked in the houses of Pendjikent that it is hard to find a single master's style in the different halls. In the periods of building fever (after AD 711 and c. AD 740) they all had many commissions, but their bread and butter would have been performer's scrolls, book miniatures, painted shields, icons and so on. Thus the wide 'democratic' art tradition was fertile soil for so-called high art. The authors of our art history try to trace how artistic ideas have been transmitted from one creator of a masterpiece to another. In reality, their direct contacts with each other would probably have been limited, but each of the artists was connected with the 'popular art' which must not be neglected.

160

CONCLUDING REMARKS It is quite possible that Iran also had its own 'popular art', including scrolls and miniatures. The striking similarity in the treatment of riders and falling horses in early Sassanian official art and in Sogdian illustrative art of a later period (Fig. 35) leads us to suppose a missing but nec­ essary link between them. This could be virtually unknown, unofficial Sassanian art which would have used cheap and therefore unstable materials. One of the rare Sassanian art objects of this kind is a ceramic amphora from Merv, painted after firing, with hunting, feasting and funeral scenes. 1 The evidence of Chares for the Persian pictures of the Achaemenid period illustrating the epic of Zariadres indicates that in Iran illustrative art probably appeared ve ry early. 2 Illustrative reliefs on Saka gold and bronze buckles (fifth to third century BC) probably reproduce pictures of this kind. 3 There are three different scenes of two heroes, placed together on each of these buckle reliefs: 4 1) the heroic hunt with a hero pursuing a huge boar while the other cowardly participant of this hunt tries to escape by climbing a tree. This is a parallel to the expedition of the valiant Bizhan and the timid Gurgin against the dangerous wild boars in the Shah-nameh, so fre­ quently depicted by lacer Persian artists;; 2) a wrestling scene with a horse standing behind each rival. These reliefs possibly belong to a group of ancient works of art that served as pro­ totypes for a long line of compositions, the latest of which are several fourteenth-century miniatures6 ; 3) a scene with the figures of a slain hero, his wife, and his foster-brother who res­ urrected him. Gryaznov, whose interpretation of the subject is the most probable, has referred to a later Turkic version of this episode7 • Of course these compositions were not invented for these nomadic buckles, and Artamonov is quite right in his conclusion, based partly on the account by Chares, that they were derived from Achaemenid narrative art. The earliest of the medieval illustrations to the Tale of Bizhan and Manizheh are those on the twelfth-century minai beaker in the Freer Gallery, where in the hunting scene the terrified Gurgin(?) is partly screened by a hill. 8 Such narrative cycles are extremely rare among minai paintings, and it is quite possible that the painter reproduced some non-ceramic model: a mural, a set of miniatures or a performer's scroll. The last is the most probable conjecture, because there are no elements of the monumental style of wall painting in the decor of the beaker, which includes many more episodes of the tale than any illustrated manuscript of the Shah-nameh. 9 Another scene, repeated in reliefs on a pair of buckles, is similar to the composi­ tions of the miniatures, with a sleeping hero whose bow and quiver hang above him on a tree. 10 The theme of fighting camels, popular in fifteenth-seventeenth century miniature painting, 11 may also be compared with ancient and early medieval nomadic compositions. One of the latest of these is the Sulek petrogliph in Siberia, 12 but in this case the likeness is not as evident as in the previous examples. These comparisons show the existence of very ancient secular artistic traditions in Greater Iran, possibly connected with the ancient tradition of epic recitation which has been studied by Boyce.I) Simpson even considers that the early fourteenth-century small Shah-namehs were not copied from other manuscripts but were written down by scribes, who listened to profes­ sional reciters.BThe hypothetical role of such reciters' scrolls, which have not been preserved, may explain the striking similarity of several works of art belonging to periods with such long

161

LEGENDS, TALES AND FABLES IN THE ART OF SOGDIANA

intervals between them. The Pendjikent 'gallant' scenes (or duets) and fifteenth or sixteenth­ century AD miniatures with standing couples•s may be mentioned as examples, although in this case, the missing link was not the scrolls but probably the early book illustrations which have been lost. There were no direct connections between ancient metalwork and the medieval Sogdian murals or even later Persian miniatures, but these were the tips of icebergs of folk art with its enormously persistent traditions. While the roots of epic themes went very deep in the visual arts of Iranian peoples, we may conclude that, in the Sassanian period, Persia and her eastern neighbours had their own pictorial narrative art. The Sogdian murals (in spite of their evident stylistic originality) may be used therefore as basic material for the theoretical reconstruction of the early stages of the history of the narrative arts not only in Sogdia, but also over the vast territory from the Syr-Darya to the Hindu Kush and the Iranian Plateau. NOTES l. Lukonin, 1977, pp. 214-17, 219-20; (German translation: 1986, pp. 142-4, Pis. 28-9). 2. Boyce, 1955, pp. 463-77; L1tyshev, 1893-1900, vol. I, pp. 628-30 (Atheneus XIII:35). 3. Artamonov, 1973, pp. 143, 146, 148, 150-2, Figs. 189-91. 4. G ryaznov (1961, 12, 25, 3 t) has compared some of these scenes with an epic motif of foster-brotherhood, a custom probably reflected in the Pendjikent murals too (Room 41/Sector VI, third register, Fig. 27). 5. Sec below, footnote 8. 6. For instance, compare the Ordas buckles (Anamonov, 1973, Fig. 191) with fourteenth-century miniatun:s (Simpson, 1979, Figs. 25, 84; Swietochowski and Carboni, 1994, p. I 02, Fig. 26). 7. G ryaznov,1961, 25-9. 8. D'yakonov, 1939, pp. 317-26; Guest, 1943, pp. 148-53; Simpson, I 979, pp. 233-6, 238-42, 246-8; 1981, pp. 15-21, with a reference to L. Golombek' s opinion that a scroll served a model for the decor of the beaker (p. 21). 9. Shukurov, 1983, pp. 30-2, based upon Norgren and Davis, 1969. 10. Artamonov, 1973, Figs. 189-90; Shukurov, 1983, p. 89. 11. The earliest Persian drawing with such a scene has been published by Lentz and Lowry (1989) pp. 180, 32 I, 343, cat. no. 68 (see also Fig. l 02). 12. Pletneva (ed.), 1981, p. 58, Fig. 21: 12. 13. Boyce, 1954, pp. 46-51; 1957, pp. 10-45. 14.Simpson, 1979,pp.116-19. 15. Kubic kova, 1960, Pl. 2; Lentz and LowI'}� 1989, pp. 60-1, 351-2, cat. no. 17.

162

APPENDIX

Two Sogdian inscriptions by V. A. Livshits

1. Room 1/Sector XXII

The 12 vertical lines are placed in the empty upper part of the white field ( 40x20 cm) replacing the depiction of a door (Fig. 106). The previously prepared text was rather short, and the scribe probably decided to fill only two-thirds (13 cm) of the width of this field. In the process of writing he blacked out the upper halves of lines 11 and 12 and wrote the words only in the lower halves because there was not enough for the full length of these two lines. The title(?) was placed at the very end of line 12. It was painted in and then emphasized with a black-ink cartouche. The paint is totally gone; however, as Marshak noticed, the outline of the letters is still visible since the cartouche has remained well preserved. The first word of the title(?) Marshak correctly reads as pyy which in this text must be a hero's name (see Commentary). The second (and last) word is illegible. The intervals between lines are about 1.1-1.2 centimetres.The preservation of the inscription is extremely poor. There are only traces of the letters in lines 1-3. The cursive writing is similar to the script of the majority of the Mugh documents. It was impossible to distinguish y and x. The shape of s is very similar to that of y and x. The letter followingy only sometimes connects with it. The final -t has a final long oblique stroke. The inscription was evidently written by a professional scribe. Palaeographically its date can be fixed to the second half of the seventh or early eighth century. The poor state of preservation makes it impossible to reconstruct the whole text and connect its details with those of the mural.

163

LEGENDS, TALES AND FABLES IN THE ART OF SOGDIANA

Translation (1) ( ')[ ...](s/m?)[..J (k)[ (2) [ ](.)[ (3) [ ](.)[ (4) (.)[..](k) (')kw [x'n]('kh L' .)[ ...](..) ... to (or into) the house he ( they?) does not ... (5) (rty ZK b )[wynk] (2Y) [ J (w'n'kh) [mnt)wx(s)nt kt (kw) x'n'kh and Thwenak and [ ] so tried because in (into?) the house ... (6) (s'r ? ...)[ .....) (f3y?)k(p"r p...t) ... outside ... (7) (ms xw) [ .... ZYJ xw f3yy pcf3 n(t)k f3(yn) t (nt) also ...Vay tied (him) with a band (8) rty (..) owynk cw(p'r) ['b?J(w o?s?)t (6?/L?) [ ](p/k)n and .. .over (?) both arms (?) of Thwenak ... (9) rt(y.... sw pts'r.?... .....) and ... him ... then ... (10) (rt)[y ] (bwynk s)y-m'r (koc..ZKn) and ... Thwenak thought that ... him (11) [ ] (rty) xw f3yy (. )yp-y'n (xwty) and Vay ... himself (12) [ J L ' "st .... does not catch (literally take). In the black cartouche: f3yy [...](kin) Vay... . Commentary Line 5: [mnt]wx(s)nt -3 pl. imperf. of 'ntwxs-[anduxs-] 'to try, strive'. The reconstruction of the initial [mnt-] seems at least possible because the mural shows that both warriors approach the fortified house during their duel. [mnt]w(x)snt kt (kw) x'n'kh literally means: 'They tried because in the house ...' (kt 'if, therefore, because'). Line 6: (f3y?)k(p"r) 'outside, external, outward'. The form with -p"r is remarkable (cf. BSogd. f3ykp'r, CSogd. byqb'r, b qp'r). All the orthographical variants correspond to [vekpar], in CSogd. also [vekbar]. Cf. Yagn. vekpora 'external'. Line 7: Vay (f3yy) must be a personal name in this text. pcf3ntk 'band, tie' is derived from pcf3ynt- [pacf3end]. BSogd. pcf3ynt-, MSogd. pcf3ynd- ( < '�pati-banda-(ya)-) 'to tie, connect.' The original meaning of pcf3ntk probably was 'connec­ tion' (MSogd. pcf3ndyy 'connection, junction'). The variant of the stem f3ynt- [vend-] without -y- in pcbntk, pcbndyy has an analogue in BSogd.: pcf3'nty 'in succession, in turn'. Line 8 : 6wynk PN (cf. (a)[wynk], line 5, (ow, line 10). According to the Sogdian orthography

164

APPENDIX: TWO SOGDIAN INSCRIPTIONS 6w- could be read either 6w-, 0w-, or 6aw- F, 0aw-, whereas -ynk is probably the compound suffix -enak. The suffix -ynk(-yn'kk, -'ynk) is present in the several PN in the Upper Indus inscriptions (Prnyn'kk, Sprynk, Swynk, Wn'ynk). Sims-Williams has mentioned -'ynk and its variants as a hypocoristic and/or (pro)patronymic suffix. 1 PN 6wynk cannot be connected with '6w('), 'two' (c:, wynk does not mean 'twin'). The cor­ respondence to Av. advan- 'way, road' seems impossible too. If we read 6 wynk as 8wenak the literal meaning of this word would be 'terrific' (cf. Av. 0way- 'to terrify', 0waiiariha- 'danger, threat', Bwaiiahvant 'terrible, frightful').2 Sogd. PN 8wenak (Thwenak) might be one of the dreadful names designed to frighten away demons.

165

LEGENDS, TALES AND FABLES IN THE ART OF SOGDIANA

2. Room 41/Sector VI Introductory Note by V. Livshits and B. Marshak The inscription is located in the upper part of a panel in the lowest register of the murals. The painting is gone, and only the row of pearls is slightly visible. The preservation of the text is very poor, but that of the painting is much more worse (Fig. 107). The mural (datable c. AD 740, see above p. 28) is certainly much older than the inscription. The latter was probably written in the late 750s (there are no coins later than the 760s in this dwelling).

Fig. 107: Sogdian inscription. Room 41/VI.

166

APPENDIX: TWO SOGDIAN INSCRIPTIONS

The text may mirror the daily life of the inhabitants of the house if it were a memorandum of some kind, fixing an actual event, or a draft of a document composed in this room, or a quota­ tion from some letter (or legal document) which it was important to remember. In all these cases, the word xw�w 'prince' or 'master' (line 4) without being attached to any personal, ethnic, or geographic name must mean the local ruler. However the last known Sogdian ruler of Pendjikent, Dewashtich, was crucified in AD 722, i.e. more than thirty years before the text was written down on the wall. It seems unlikely that after such long time the comparatively small sum of five drachmas mentioned in line 2 was still important for people who had been given or received it before 722. Thus, we can suppose that this text docs not refer to any business transaction on the part of the inhabitant at the time it was written. On the contrary, it may be a later spectator's attempt to remember the story about a law suit which might be illustrated in the panel (several sub­ jects of this kind are attested in the murals of this room). It is obvious that this interpretation is only probable if the preservation of the mural were still satisfactory at the time the words were inscribed. The last but not least possible interpretation is that it is an exercise, written by a 'law student', copying some old document as a precedent or model text.

167

LEGENDS, TALES AND FABLES IN THE ART OF SOGDIANA

Text and Commentary by V. A. Livshits (1) [ ....] ('Y)K t(w)rks [ ... ]n/h When [ ] Turkas(?) [ ] (2) [ rty?] (�n)[ .....](xw?) 5 (ZW)[ZN?] [and(?)] to you 5 drachmes [a verbal form?] (3) (')[...] (s)yk'(p)tw[.] (&)[.] (6)[..] ... splited / cracked ... (4) '[zw] [....]'kw xw�w (Z)Kn I(?) to the prince (or master) (5) [...] t/s n/h k/W[,]xy (w)&'w wife {to the wife?) (6) ('nsp'n)' c>st'�r pr(st) the compensation (or obligation) entrusted (literally 'entrusted sent') (7) MN (x)yp6 z'tk from (via?) my (?) son. Line 1: The reading ('Y)K (= canu) for the second word is preferable. The word t(w)rks can be either the subject or object of the sentence. This is most probably a personal name. The well-known ethnonym twrkys (tiirgis) is always written with -y-. T(w)rks as well as several other Sogdian PN with twr- [Twr, Twr(')k(k)] is probably derived from Olr. ethnic name Tiira- which also served in Av. as a personal name. The Av.PN Tiira- has been compared with Skz. tura- 'strong'3 (cf. also Kurd. ture 'wild'). The second part of Twrks may be connected with the Olr. (Av.) root kas- 'to teach'.On the whole PN Twrks may mean literally 'Teacher of the (people) Tiira' or 'Teacher of the strong people'. NO TES 1. Sims-Williams, 1992, p. 81. 2.AWb,794. 3.Justi,1895, 328b.

168

List of Abbreviations Arkheologicheskie raboty v Tadzhikistane [Archaeology in Tad jikistan]. The Types of Folktale. A Classification and Bibliography, Antti Aarne's Verzeichnis der Marchentypen (FFC N 3). Translated and Enlarged by Stith Thompson, Indiana University, Second Revision, Helsinki, 1973. Chr. Bartholomae. Altiranisches Worterbuch, 2nd ed., Berlin, 1961. AWb BSOAS Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. CRAIBL Comptes rendus de l'Academie des inscriptions et bclles-lettres, Paris. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. JRAS Materialy i issledovaniya po arkheologii SSSR [Excavations and Archaeological MIA Material in the USSR]. Sovetskaya Arkheologiya [Soviet Archaeology]. SA Soobshcheniya Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha [Reports of the State Hermitage SGE Museum]. SRAA Silk Road Art and Archaeology. T. Mot. Motif-Index of Folk-Literature. Revised and enlarged by Stith Thompson, Bloom­ ington-London. Third printing, 1975. ART AT

169

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177

LEGENDS, TALES AND FABLES IN THE ART OF SOGDIANA

--, 'Bogi,