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Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum. Part II:

Inscriptions of the Seleucid and Parthian periods
and of Eastern Iran and Central Asia. Vol. v: Saka
documents VII: the St. Petersburg Collection. By
Ronald E. Emmerick and Margarita I. Vorob'ëva-
Desjatovskaja. 25 pp., 159 plates. London: School
of Oriental and African Studies, University of
London, 1994. £47.

Giotto Canevascini

Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies / Volume 59 / Issue 01 / February 1996,
pp 163 - 164
DOI: 10.1017/S0041977X00028871, Published online: 05 February 2009

Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0041977X00028871

How to cite this article:

Giotto Canevascini (1996). Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies,
59, pp 163-164 doi:10.1017/S0041977X00028871

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 REVIEWS 163
not the wild fundamentalists as portrayed by and other provinces inside the neighbouring
Russian sources (a lesson here, surely, for the republic of Georgia.
West's modern media which tend to take up Such is the story of how Mother Russia
any catchy sobriquet fed by the propaganda- acquired her 'historical' North Caucasian
machines of the former Soviet republics and to holdings, but, of course, that was not the end
follow Moscow in labelling the Chechens as a of the story as far as the Chechens and the
nation of criminals and drug-traffickers), for Daghestanis were concerned, as chronicled by
Shamil was always prepared to come to a contributors to Marie Bennigsen Broxup's The
1
compromise with his opponents as long as the North Caucasus barrier (London: Hurst and
mountain tribes were left in control of their Co., 1992).
own destiny; Shamil's position was not unassail- It was Ermolov who founded the fortress of
able from the start and was indeed exceedingly 'Groznaia' in his early attempt to impose
fragile at the end of 1839 after the disastrous Russian rule on Chechen lands in 1819 (p. 32).
siege of Akhulgoh, when he was forced to hand After the fall of the USSR the North Ossetians
over his eldest son as hostage to the Russians chose to rid their capital of the name of Stalin's
(to be redeemed, prior to an early death in the early Georgian Bolshevik henchman, Ord-
by then unfamiliar mountain environment, only zhonik'idze, replacing it not by the Ossetian
in 1855); but thanks to the wanton behaviour title ' Dzaudzhikau' it had borne from 1944 to
of the Russians, within a year all the tribes of 1954 but by the more suggestive appellation
Chechenia and North and Central Daghestan given to it by its Russian builders in the late
solidly backed him. Turkey's inability to give eighteenth century, namely, 'Vladikavkaz',
support was a result of her unwillingness to which translates as ' Lord of the Caucasus'. In
upset Russia, particularly in view of the latter's view of the meaning of ' Groznaia', it is
favouring of Turkey in dealings with Egypt; perhaps indicative that the Chechens have not
the career of Hajimurad, immortalized by attempted (yet) to give their capital a Chechen
Tolstoy, is described; 1843 was Shamil's most baptism, for it is a constant statement to their
successful year for offensive strikes, bringing Russian assailants that they have no right to
him to the height of his power in 1845; the expect the targets of their bombs to be anything
failure in 1846 to unite the whole North other than 'Menacing'.
Caucasus against the Russians by bringing
the North Western Caucasians (Circassians, GEORGE HEWITT
Ubykhs and Abkhazians) under Shamil's
banner was the result not merely of the coolness
of the Kabardians (western neighbours to the
Russian-supporting Ossetians) but largely Corpus Jnscriptionum Iranicarum.
thanks to the actions of General Freytag. The Part II: Inscriptions of the Seleucid
deforestation of Chechenia, begun in the and Parthian periods and of Eastern
mid-40s, permanently changed the nature of
the local terrain and paved the way for the Iran and Central Asia. Vol. v: Saka
capture of Lower Chechenia in 1850; poised documents VII: the St. Petersburg
for a final thrust, Russian troops had to be Collection. By Ronald E. Emmerick
diverted westwards when the Crimean War and Margarita I. Vorob'eva-
began in 1853. With the end of this war in Desjatovskaja. 25 pp., 159 plates.
1856, all forces could be, and were, concen-
trated in the Caucasus; the end was inevitable, London: School of Oriental and
given the limitless well of manpower upon African Studies, University of
which Russia could call, but even at this late London, 1994. £47.
stage yet another example appears of the utter
incompetence of the Russian leadership which Apart from the 191 folios belonging to the
frequently reared its head to contribute to the main manuscript of the Book of Zambasta,
lengthening of the struggle, this time, though, already published by Vorob'eva-Desjatovskaja
in a frightening portent of what would actually in collaboration with her late husband in 1965,
be effected 88 years later by the Tsars' Georgian until recently virtually none of the other
successor, Stalin—in the wake of the Paris Khotanese material in the collections of the St.
Treaty: ' it was decided that for the [complete] Petersburg Chapter of the Institute of Oriental
pacification of the Caucasus it was necessary Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences
to transfer the submitting population to has been made accessible to scholars in facsim-
Vologda Province or any other empty land and ile. Some of the material was published in
it was decided, in a council in Stavropol', to transcription and translation, but not in facsim-
send all the Chechens to Manych ...', with the ile, by E. Leumann before the formation of the
result that the Chechens, not unnaturally, USSR in 1922, after which access to the
resumed the fight (p. 278), Shamil's surrender collections was severely restricted. In 1966
coming eventually on 6 September 1859; only L. Herzenberg's dissertation based on some of
the North West Caucasus remained, and within the folios and fragments of the Saiighatasutra
five years that too had been gobbled up with was deposited in the Lenin Library in Moscow
the entire Ubykh nation, together with most of and in 1974 permission was given to R. E.
the Circassians and (Muslim) Abkhazians, Emmerick and O. von Hinuber to inspect the
abandoning their homeland in the hope of a originals of the Saiighatasutra materials in St.
better life with their co-religionists in Ottoman Petersburg (then Leningrad). On a subsequent
lands, but leaving Adyghea open to colonial visit to St. Petersburg two years later, Emmerick
expansion from central Russia, whilst Abkhazia was shown a few more fragments but was not
suffered this same fate mainly from Mingrelia able to obtain photographs or permission to
publish them. It was not possible to form any
164 REVIEWS
idea of the extent and richness of the Khotanese exception that can now be confirmed: SI P
materials in the St. Petersburg collections until 67.19, plate 48. The latter—the photograph of
at the International Congress on Turfan and which was not available when the critical
Tunhuang held in Venice in 1990 M. I. edition was completed—was already thought
Vorob'eva-Desjatovskaja gave a brief survey of to belong to another manuscript, apparently
the non-Buddhist documents. (M.I. Vorob'Sva- having the number 27, a number already found
Desjatovskaja, 'The Leningrad collection of in one of the folios of the same manuscript
the Sakish business documents and the problem (SI P 53.7, plate 35). The photograph shows
of the investigation of Central Asian texts', not only that the number is certainly 27 and
pp. 85-95, in Turfan and Tun-huang: the texts not 29, which would have perfectly fitted the
( = Orientalia venetiana, rv), ed. A. Cadonna, fragment into the main manuscript (if some-
Firenze, 1992. See now also her chapter on the what blurred, the numbers 7 and 9 can be
Khotanese Sakas in Eastern Turkestan, easily exchanged in this type of script), but
Moscow, 1992, 32-76.) On that occasion she also that the script of this fragment is slightly
showed Emmerick photographs of a number later. Concerning this fragment, a few (but
of unpublished texts and invited him to collab- inessential) differences of reading as compared
orate with her in publishing the entire material. to the critical edition will certainly be put right
With the publication of the volume under in the forthcoming text volume.
review they have realized the first part of this Since they belong to the same manuscript,
ambitious project, having succeeded in pub- the following lost folio numbers also can be
lishing in facsimile all the Khotanese manu- determined with certainty: SI P 53.13, plates
scripts and fragments known to them at the 42-3, folio (57); SI P 53.14 + 53.15, plates 44-5,
time of printing apart from the main manuscript folio (15); SI P 53.17, plates 44-5, folio (21);
of the Book of Zambasta. They have thus at SI P 53.19, plate 47, folio (14).
last fulfilled a wish expressed by no less than The reader may wonder why the series with
three generations of scholars. signature SI P 53 starts with the number 2.
The importance of the new material can This is because number 1 was reserved for the
scarcely be exaggerated, including as it does a complete folio 11 of the same manuscript, so
large number of documents of all kinds as well that there is still perhaps a chance that it will
as Buddhist texts. Among the latter, the 12 turn up again. The original was used by
new folios of a Khotanese translation of the E. Leumann, who edited it in his Buddhistische
Suvarnabhdsottamasutra are especially import- Literatur, nordarisch und deutsch (i. Teil,
ant as they contain many new Khotanese words Nebenstucke, Leipzig 1920), 6-7, but since then
and forms. By comparing the Khotanese text its whereabouts have not been discovered.
with the Sanskrit original, it will be possible in As they inform us on page 8 of the
most cases to determine their meaning, so that introduction, the editors are now preparing a
we can expect a significant increase in our text volume including transliterations, transla-
knowledge of the Khotanese language. Among tions, a glossary, lists of geographical and
the secular documents are monastic accounts personal names, and some commentary. It will
and omcial documents dated in the reign of the also contain in an appendix some additional
Khotanese King Visa'Vaham. Plate 110 illus- facsimiles of material not available in time for
trates the only Khotanese document so far the present volume. Let us hope that the
made known that is written in Chinese style considerable task they are now facing will be
from top right to bottom left. Thus the new crowned by success in the not too distant future.
material will provide new insights into such
diverse subjects as the history of Central Asia, GIOTTO CANEVASCINl
Khotanese Buddhism, and the palaeography,
grammar, and vocabulary of Khotanese.
In the facsimile volume the items are
arranged according to their signature. We thus DALE F. EICKELMAN (ed.): Russia's
have on plates 1-129 with signature SI P ( = Muslim frontiers: new directions in
Serindia Petrovsky) the folios and fragments cross-cultural analysis. (Indiana
belonging to the collection of N. F. Petrovsky, Series in Arab and Islamic Studies.)
the Russian consul in Kashgar from 1882-1904,
then on plates 130-36 with signature SI O the 206 pp. Bloomington and India-
items belonging to the collection of S. F. napolis: Indiana University Press,
Oldenburg (1863-1934), head of the Russian 1993. $29.95 (paper $12.95).
school of Central Asian studies, and finally, on
plates 137-59 with signature SI M, the material This collection of papers, the outcome of a
belonging to the collection of the Russian series of conferences/workshops held in the
Turkologist S. E. Malov (1880-1957). Soviet Union and the United States of America
Since the reviewer is the author of a critical in 1990 and 1991, examines political and
edition of the Khotanese Sanghatasutra (The religious developments in the Muslim commu-
Khotanese Sanghatasutra, a critical edition, 1993 nities that border Russia's southern flank. A
[see 'Notes and Communications', this issue, useful, and in many ways pioneering work, it
ed.] of which quite a few folios and fragments brings together views of contributors from
are now published for the first time in facsimile different cultural backgrounds (Russian,
in the work under review, it is perhaps worth American, Uzbek, Pakistani), as well as differ-
making some remarks on them. I am grateful ent professional training and experience
to the editors for having made the material (anthropologists, social historians, political sci-
available to me for my critical edition. entists and diplomats). There are three regional
All the Sanghatasutra folios with signature sections, focusing on Central Asia, Afghanistan
SI P belong to the same manuscript, with one and Iran, and Pakistan, and a section devoted