Turkic World

Ancient Bulgars, as writes Kul Gali, had a few methods of timekeeping. The most ancient, in his opinion, was the Turanian calendar which originated in the Bulgarian society. The Bulgarian Khan Burtas of the 7th century B.C. accepted this calendar as the official calendar of the Idel, but made some changes to it.

The main dates of this calendar were the years of the establishment of the Alp-Bika Turan state, institution by the Khan Djam-Idjik of the Idel state, and the capture by the Bulgars, during the reign of Khan Burtas, of the Samar (Near East), which wnt into the history of Bulgaria by the name of the "Burtasian War". By this Bulgarian Turanian calendar the count of years was done or from the year of the formation of the Turan Khanaate, or from the date of the Burtasian War (in that case everything that was before the war was noted: "So many years before the Burtasian War", and about everything that was after the war recorded as "So many years after the Burtasian War". We know precisely the year of the capture by the Burtasian Bulgars of the Near East (that was the Burtasian War), 653 B.C., and that means that with the use of the Kul Gali data, we can determine that the formation of the Turan Khanaate (which emerged some time after the First Ural Flood) took place about 33 millennia B.C., that the founder of the Idel state Djam-Idjik ruled for 300 years (14,953 - 14,653 B.C.), that the Second (Samar - Sumer) Flood occurred in 3,653 B.C., that Khan Burtas ruled for 50 years (30 years before the Burtasian War and 20 years after the Burtasian War) in 683 - 633 B.C., that the period of "strong rein" Khans from the Chirmysh (Sarmatian) dynasty, called the "tazbash" epoch ("shaved heads", because prior to the Burtasian War, Khan Burtas ordered all obstinate biys to shave their hair as a sign of their subordination to the Sarmatian dynasty), lasted 500 years (653 - 153 B.C.), etc.

Kul Gali noticed that the ancient Bulgarian historians described in detail the rule of Khan Burtas, who was from the Bulgarian clan Burdjan (Berendey). The writer gives the story that before Burtas, a Bulgar girl could choose herself a husband and how the Khan forbade this tradition. The Khan also tried to prohibit the kyzlar echkene, but then many women as a sign of protest left their families and occupied a fortress on a high mountain. Starterd a war of men against women, in which Burtas began to prevail. But when his favorite wife, out of the pity to her girlfriends, also left to their fortress, the terrible ruler gave up and cancelled the ban of the kyzlar echkene. According to one of the historians, Burtas introduced all over the world a fashion for the Bulgarian furs, which for a long time were referred to as "Burtasian" (the first large shipment of furs the Khan sent his Assyrian father-in-law as a bounty for a bride). Burtas also upheld the practice of installing the tombstone symbols of the mountains: the Uchags (in honor of the heroes who participated in the Burtasian War) and "balbals", the sculptural images of the spirits. Kul Gali raised an opinion that it was Burtas who introduced in the Idel the first Türkic writing, "samra", borrowed from the Near Eastern Bulgars, Ermians ("Germihions"), and the Bulgarian (Turanian) calendar.

Here is how, for example, a Bulgarian chronicler, who was using the Turanian calendar, described the events of the 3,653 B.C.: "Three millennia prior to the Burtasian War the Idelian Khan Chelbek sent to the Samar a great army ("urus chiru") to help the local Bulgars to retain the power after the Samar Flood. However near the Kap-Kash mountains the deposed Bulgarian Khan Hon-Ulan of Samar came to our commander Kuberchek and said, that his empire ceased to exist there and that he wants to build a new one in the Hin, near the Six Mountains (Altai) (Altyn-Tau - Türk. Six Mountains - Translator's Note). They went together to the east and in the land of the Serbians (Sirs), the ancestors of all Türks, establishes a big state. Hon-Ulan became the head of the state and gave it his name "Hon"...

The Kytais, who lived neerby tried to obstruct them, but were defeated by Kuberchek and the majority subordinated to Hon-Ulan...

Later was invented a story about the foundation of the Hon state by Idjik, the son of Boyan, even though everyone knows that the son of Boyan Djam-Idjik founded the Idel state. Evidently, about this story in the Hon state was learned from the Idelian Bulgars, who settled there....

The Kan Kurbat of the Bulgarian state was called after the name "Kuberchek", which meant "ferryman", when he began collecting from the merchants a big tax for the ferries across the rivers, for the benefit of our State... "

In the Bulgarian Turanian calendar used prior to the time of Khan Burtas, a century was 60 years long and consisted of four cycles of 12 years each, and the years had animal names. Here is the order and the names of the years in the Turanian calendar (numbers show the sequence of the year):

1. Sychkan - Tychkan (mouse),
2. Ud - Shegor - Syer (cow),
3. Burè (wolf),
4. Davshan - Tavysh-kan (hare),
5. Kèltè (lizard),
6. Djilan (snake),
7. Murèn - Djelky (horse),
8. Koy (sheep),
9. Kerpe (hedgehog),
10. Tagyk - Tavyk (hen),
11. Oimek - Et (dog),
12. Kylvan (moslems cannot use the meat of this animal for food) (Pig? - Translator's Note).

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Khan Burtas ordered to call
the year Sychkan the Sember year (in honor of Alp Karga (Türk. Elder, Senior - Translator's Note)),
the year Ud by Oguz (Ugez) year, a bull (in honor of Alp Samar),
the year Burè by Barys year, a leopard (in honor of the capture by the Iidelians of the Near East, which was symbolized by a leopard by the Bulgars),
the year Kèltè by Balyk year, fish (in honor of Alp-Bika Boygal),
the year Murèn by Und year (in honor of the Sky Horse, Und, whose name comes from the Bulgarian word of "And" - "mountain", as the Bulgars were saying: "The Mountain is a horse of the Sky", from the Old Bulgarian words "und", in turn, came the Hunno-Bulgarian word "undur" - "rider-men", "cavalry" (Russ. 'konnitsa' - Translator's Note), and the Russian word for "horse" (Russ. 'kon' - Translator's Note),
the year Koy by Teke year, a ram,
the year Tagyk by Etech year, a cock (in honor of Alp Mar),
the year Kylvan by Taygas year (in honor of Alp Taygas).

The Idelian Khans Honnish dynasty also changed the Turanian-Idelian calendar a little. The year Sember they ordered to call again the year Sychkan, the year Ugez by year Uger, a bull (in the Hunno-Bulgarian 'uger' means "bull" and "happy" ), the year Balyk by year Leu, a dragon, the year Und again by year Djelky, the year Kerpe by year Bichen, monkey, the year Teke again by year Koy.

Khan Kurbat (Kubrat) ordered Sychkan to be called again the Sember year, the year Uger by the Shegor - Syer year, the year Barys by the Burè year, the year Djelky by the Muren year, the year Koy by the year Teke.

However the Bulgarian people, as writes Kul Gali, preserved the calendar in this form:

1.   Tychkan,
2.   Ugez - Syer,
3.   Barys,
4.   Tavyshkam,
5.   Balyk,
6.   Djilan,
7.   Djelky,
8.   Koy,
9.   Kerpe,
10. Tavyk,
11. Et,
12. Tajgas.

To calculate in the Bulgarian 12-year cycle calendar the current year of a Gregorian calendar, deduct 3 from the last, then divide the result into 12. The remainder of the division will be a sequential number of the year in the Bulgarian cycle, and an exact division means the12-th year of a cycle.

Below are the preserved Bulgarian superstitions taken from the "Djagfar tarihy" and the worksof Ahmed ibn Fadlan, Mahmud Kashgari, G.M.Hisamutdinov, V.M.Berkutov, F.T.Valeev and G.M.Davletshin:

1. Year of the Mouse and year of the Snake should be rich on honey.

2. "Year of Bars brings riches, year of the Cow brings surfeit", in the year of Cow are also possible wars, "because cows butt with each other".

3. " In the year of Bars sow, even sow millet", " In one year of a leopard all will ascend, if not will ascend, millet will ascend ".

4. Hungry and unhappy year.

5. Rainy year.

6. Melliferous year, " the Snake will enter on all fours, and will leave, having bitten " (in sense: year begins well, promising a rich crop, and comes to an end a drought, nedorodom, contentions).

7. Not so happy year, " Year of a horse at you ahead " (in sense: ahead of you for test) wait.

8. " Year of a sheep - heavy, year of a hare - famine will be ".

9. " Put by something for rainy day " (in sense: everyone is probably either in this, or the next year).

10. " If there will come{step} year of the hen there will be a lot of a food, but quarrels (civil strife) " will increase.

11. " In one year of a dog the cattle grows, in one year of a leopard all grows ", " Year of abundance, blessing and well-being ".

12. " [this year] there will be a lot of cold, snows, revolt ".

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Bulgars' months (in the Turanian calendar) in the beginning had numeric names, but then the majority of them received the following names:

1. Nauruz - the first month of the Turanian year (March),

2. Bush ai - empty, that is the month of the end of supplies (April),

3. Saban ae - sheperd's month (May),

4. Pechen ae - month of hay, haymaking (June),

5. Bilek or Chille ai - fifth or hot month (July),

6. Djimesh ae - fruit month (August),

7. Kazan ae - month of cauldron (kazan), (September),.

8. As Keleu or Keleu ae - month of prayers (October),

9. Uchag ae - month of uchag (November), the word "uchag" meant both a home, and the ancestor memorial where the prayer ceremony was held before setting out on a war campaign,

10. Nardu-Ghana - the tenth month of the Turanian year (December),

11. Ulug or Ulug Kyrlach ae - big or big frost month (January),

12. Kichi or Kichi Kyrlach ae - small or small frosts month (February).

Bulgarian names of the days of week (in the Turanian calendar) were such:

1. Aria (Atna) Bashy or Tugai kunu - initial day (Monday),

2. Ytlar kunu - day of a heavenly horseman (Tuesday),

3. Kap kunu - family (clan) day (Wednesday),

4. Kichi Arna (Atna) or Orta kunu - short week or middle day (of the week)(Thursday),

5. Arna (Atna) kunu - (last) day of the week (Friday),

6. Ara (Arja) kunu - remnant day (Saturday),

7. Eg or Urus Atna kunu - big day of the week (Sunday).

After acceptance of Islam, the Bulgars also started using the Muslim calendars: the lunar Hidjra (Kamariya Ely), the solar Hidjra (Shamsiya), the Syrian calendar. Shamsiya was known to the people the most.

For the beginning of the Muslim calendar is accepted the day of Friday July 16, 622 AD - the day of the move of the Prophet Mohammed from Mecca to Medina (Yasrib). As the "move" in the Arabic was the word "hidjra", the Muslim calendar was also named Hidjra.

To translate the year of a Gregorian calendar to the hidjra year, it is necessary:

1) Deduct from the Gregorian year number 622,

2) the result divide by 32,

3) received result add to the remainder. Fractions need to be dropped (if they are less than half) or increased to the whole (if they more than half).

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For example we shall calculate what year of Hidjra correspondsto the 1990 of the Gregorian calendar.

1.1990 - 622 = 1368 (remainder),

2.1368 / 32 = 42.7 (result),

3. 43 (result increased by rounding off the fractional number 0.7 to one) + 1368 = 1411 Hidjra .

So, 1990 of the Gregorian calendar corresponds to 1411 year of Hidjra .

And to translate the year of Hidjra to the Gregorian calendar year, it is necessary:

1. To divide the Muslim year into 33,

2. Deduct the result from the Muslim year,

3. To the result add 622.

Let's do this translation with 1411 Hidjra .

1.1411 / 33 = 42,7 (after rounding off the fraction = 43),

2.1411 - 43 = 1368,

3.1368 + 622 = 1990 Gregorian year.

Bakhshi Iman
DJAGFAR TARIHI
(THE ANNALS OF DJAGFAR)

Volume 2 Part 3
Articles and comments
CALENDAR OF BULGARS
BULGARIAN METROLOGY

Translator's Notes

Bakhshi Iman DJAGFAR TARIHI (THE ANNALS OF DJAGFAR)

Volume 2 Part 3 Articles and comments CALENDAR OF BULGARS BULGARIAN METROLOGY

Translator's Notes

Bakhshi Iman
DJAGFAR TARIHI
(THE ANNALS OF DJAGFAR)

Volume 2 Part 3
Articles and comments
CALENDAR OF BULGARS
BULGARIAN METROLOGY