Research Article

The Book of Divination in Gregorian Zone Kipchak Turkish and Prophecies of Rainbow

Number: 54 November 29, 2025
TR EN

The Book of Divination in Gregorian Zone Kipchak Turkish and Prophecies of Rainbow

Abstract

In this article, the manuscript known as the Gregorian Zone Kipchak Turkish Book of Divination is examined. The manuscript is preserved in the Armenian Manuscripts section of the Manuscripts Collection of the Jagiellonian University Library in Kraków, Poland, under the catalog number 3342. It consists of a total of 170 folios (340 pages) and comprises various sections such as Calendar and Interpretations, Astral Prophecies, Zodiac Signs, Abjad Divination, and Melhemes (Natural Omens). One of the noteworthy sections of the manuscript is located between folios 112v/15 and 115r/10, in which predictions related to the appearance of the rainbow are interpreted according to the twelve zodiac signs. This study first addresses the period in which the manuscript was written, as well as the scholarly debates and differing views regarding the naming of the field and the literary language used in it. Instead of the commonly used terms Armeno-Kipchak or Kipchak Turkish in Armenian Script, this study adopts the term Gregorian Zone Kipchak Turkish, and the rationale behind this preference is explained through ethnolinguistic findings derived from period texts. Following this, the Gregorian Zone Kipchak Turkish Book of Divination is introduced, and information is provided on its structural composition and the contents of its sections. Before analyzing the rainbow prophecies found in the manuscript, the phrase “téijri bélbaġı”, used to refer to the concept of the rainbow, is examined both diachronically and synchronically. Subsequently, the rainbow-related divinatory texts within the manuscript are transliterated into Latin script and translated into English.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

TÜBİTAK Bilim İnsanı Destekleme Daire Başkanlığı

Project Number

TÜBİTAK 2219 - 1059B192301744

Ethical Statement

Bu makale, TÜBİTAK - 2219 Yurt Dışı Doktora Sonrası Araştırma Burs Programı kapsamında desteklenen ve tarafımızca Polonya’da Jagiellonian Üniversitesi bünyesinde yürütülen “Gregoryan Muhiti Kıpçak Türkçesi Edebî Dilinin Metin Çözümleme Yöntemiyle Etnolinguistik Açıdan Karşılaştırmalı Olarak İncelenmesi” başlıklı araştırma projesinde elde edilen verilerle yazılmıştır.

References

  1. ALASANİA, Giuli, The Relations Between Pre-Islamic Turks and Georgians From the Third to the Ninth Century: A History of Byzantine - Persian Politics in the Caucasus. Edwin Mellen Press, New York 2014.
  2. ALASANİA, Giuli, “Gürcistan Kıpçakları [Georgian Kipchaks]”, Türkler Ansiklopedisi. II/793-797. Yeni Türkiye Yayınları, Ankara 2002.
  3. ALTINKAYNAK, Erdoğan, “Gregoryan Kıpçakların Dil Yadigarları [Linguistic Heritage of the Gregorian Kipchaks]”, Karadeniz Araştırmaları Balkan, Kafkas, Doğu Avrupa ve Anadolu İncelemeleri Dergisi, 4/4, 2005, 21-35.
  4. ANDREASYAN, Hrant D, (trans.), Urfalı Mateos Vakâyi-nâmesi ve Papaz Grigor’un Zeyli [The Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa and the Continuation by Priest Grigor], (Notes by Edouard Dulaurier) Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları, Ankara 1987.
  5. ARIKAN, İbrahim, “Ermeni Harfli Kıpçak Türkçesi”, Modern Türklük Araştırmaları Dergisi, 4/6, 2006, 130-141.
  6. ATALAN, Soner, “Töre Bitiki Metninden Hareketle Gregoryan Muhiti Kıpçak Türkçesi Terimi [The Term of Gregorian Zone Kipchak Turkish Based On The Text Of Tore Bitiki]”, Marmara Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, 10/2, 2023, 404-425.
  7. ATALAN, Soner, Töre Bitiki: Gregoryan Muhiti Kıpçak Türkçesi Yasa Kitabı [Tore Bitiki: Gregorian Zone Kipchak Turkish Law Book]. Marmara Üniversitesi, Türkiyat Araştırmaları Enstitüsü, Doktora Tezi, 2023.
  8. BOESCHOTEN, Hendrick. A Dictionary of Early Middle Turkic, BRILL, Leiden/Boston 2022.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Old Turkic Language (Orhon, Uyghur, Karahan), Historical North East Turkish Language (Khwarezm, Kipchak, Chagatai), New Turkish Language (Turkish of Old Anatolia, Ottoman, Turkiye)

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

November 29, 2025

Submission Date

August 16, 2025

Acceptance Date

November 2, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Number: 54

APA
Atalan, S. (2025). The Book of Divination in Gregorian Zone Kipchak Turkish and Prophecies of Rainbow. Türk Kültürü İncelemeleri Dergisi, 54, 725-752. https://izlik.org/JA28HL48TS
AMA
1.Atalan S. The Book of Divination in Gregorian Zone Kipchak Turkish and Prophecies of Rainbow. TKID. 2025;(54):725-752. https://izlik.org/JA28HL48TS
Chicago
Atalan, Soner. 2025. “The Book of Divination in Gregorian Zone Kipchak Turkish and Prophecies of Rainbow”. Türk Kültürü İncelemeleri Dergisi, nos. 54: 725-52. https://izlik.org/JA28HL48TS.
EndNote
Atalan S (November 1, 2025) The Book of Divination in Gregorian Zone Kipchak Turkish and Prophecies of Rainbow. Türk Kültürü İncelemeleri Dergisi 54 725–752.
IEEE
[1]S. Atalan, “The Book of Divination in Gregorian Zone Kipchak Turkish and Prophecies of Rainbow”, TKID, no. 54, pp. 725–752, Nov. 2025, [Online]. Available: https://izlik.org/JA28HL48TS
ISNAD
Atalan, Soner. “The Book of Divination in Gregorian Zone Kipchak Turkish and Prophecies of Rainbow”. Türk Kültürü İncelemeleri Dergisi. 54 (November 1, 2025): 725-752. https://izlik.org/JA28HL48TS.
JAMA
1.Atalan S. The Book of Divination in Gregorian Zone Kipchak Turkish and Prophecies of Rainbow. TKID. 2025;:725–752.
MLA
Atalan, Soner. “The Book of Divination in Gregorian Zone Kipchak Turkish and Prophecies of Rainbow”. Türk Kültürü İncelemeleri Dergisi, no. 54, Nov. 2025, pp. 725-52, https://izlik.org/JA28HL48TS.
Vancouver
1.Soner Atalan. The Book of Divination in Gregorian Zone Kipchak Turkish and Prophecies of Rainbow. TKID [Internet]. 2025 Nov. 1;(54):725-52. Available from: https://izlik.org/JA28HL48TS