Abstract
Abstract
Sogdian was originally the language used in the Zarafshan Valley, but gradually, it became the administrative and commercial language of vast areas in Central Asia, and many peoples, from the western borders of China to the eastern borders of Iran, used it as a lingua franca. There are many religious and non-religious Sogdian texts, which date back from the second to the tenth centuries AD. A lot of these texts were found in the Turfan oasis and Don Huang in East Turkestan, which belong to the Christians, Buddhists and Manicheans. Sogdian Christian texts are mainly translations of the Syriac writings, most of which no longer exist. These include exegesis, sermons, passages from the Bible, the biography and deeds of saints and Christian martyrs, and the ideas of the church fathers. One of them is a manuscript containing a sermon on Christian monasticism. In this study, after providing a transliteration, transcription, and Persian translation of this Christian Sogdian text, its structure and content is analyzed. Translation and study of the teachings contained in this text, in order to acquiring detailed knowledge of the Sogdian language and Christian monasticism, are among the reasons that make this research necessary.
Main Subjects
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