Wikipedia

Aurel Stein

Hungarian-British archaeologist (1862-1943)

Sir Mark Aurel Stein or Aurel Stein (1862-1943), FRAS, was a British-Hungarian archaeologist and explorer.[1] He traveled to many parts of South Asia and Central Asia to discover ancient cultures and their remains.[2]

Aurel Stein discovered 5 letters written in Sogdian known as the "Ancient Letters" in an abandoned watchtower near Dunhuang in 1907. One of them was written by a Sogdian woman named Miwnay who had a daughters named Shayn and she wrote to her mother Chatis in Sogdia. Miwnay and her daughter were abandoned in China by Nanai-dhat, her husband who was also Sogdian like her. Nanai-dhat refused to help Miwnay and their daughter after forcing them to come with him to Dunhuang and then abandoning them, telling them they should serve the Han Chinese. Miwnay asked one of her husband's relative Artivan and then asked another Sogdian man, Farnkhund to help them but they also abandoned them. Miwnay and her daughter Shayn were then forced to became servants of Han Chinese after living on charity from a priest. Miwnay cursed her Sogdian husband for leaving her, saying she would rather have been married to a pig or dog.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Another letter in the collection was written by the Sogdian Nanai-vandak addressed to Sogdians back home in Samarkand informing them about a mass rebellion by Xiongnu Hun rebels against their Han Chinese rulers of the Western Jin dynasty informing his people that every single one of the diaspora Sogdians and Indians in the Chinese Western Jin capital Luoyang died of starvation due to the uprising by the rebellious Xiongnu, who were formerly subjects of the Han Chinese. The Han Chinese emperor abandoned Luoyang when it came under siege by the Xiongnu rebels and his palace was burned down.[13][14][15][16] Han Chinese men frequently bought Sogdian slave girls for sexual relations.[17]

Aurel Stein discovered 5 letters written in Sogdian known as the "Ancient Letters" in an abandoned watchtower near Dunhuang in 1907. One of them was written by a Sogdian woman named Miwnay who had a daughters named Shayn and she wrote to her mother Chatis in Sogdia. Miwnay and her daughter were abandoned in China by Nanai-dhat, her husband who was also Sogdian like her. Nanai-dhat refused to help Miwnay and their daughter after forcing them to come with him to Dunhuang and then abandoning them, telling them they should serve the Han Chinese. Miwnay asked one of her husband's relative Artivan and then asked another Sogdian man, Farnkhund to help them but they also abandoned them. Miwnay and her daughter Shayn were then forced to became servants of Han Chinese after living on charity from a priest. Miwnay cursed her Sogdian husband for leaving her, saying she would rather have been married to a pig or dog.[3][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][18] Another letter in the collection was written by the Sogdian Nanai-vandak addressed to Sogdians back home in Samarkand informing them about a mass rebellion by Xiongnu Hun rebels against their Han Chinese rulers of the Western Jin dynasty informing his people that every single one of the diaspora Sogdians and Indians in the Chinese Western Jin capital Luoyang died of starvation due to the uprising by the rebellious Xiongnu, who were formerly subjects of the Han Chinese. The Han Chinese emperor abandoned Luoyang when it came under siege by the Xiongnu rebels and his palace was burned down.[13][16][19][20] Han Chinese men frequently bought Sogdian slave girls for sexual relations.[21]

He died and was buried in Kabul, Afghanistan.[22]

References

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  1. ↑ J. Mirsky 'Sir Aurel Stein: Archaeological Explorer', Chicago, USA, 1977
  2. ↑ Mirsky, aa
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The Sogdian Ancient Letters 1, 2, 3, and 5". Silk Road Seattle - University of Washington. translated by Prof. Nicholas Sims-Williams.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. ↑ OLIVER, MARK (17 August 2018). "Heart Wrenching Letters Reveal the Traumatic Life of Miwnay, A Sogdian Woman in China 1,700 Years Ago". Ancient Origins.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Norman, Jeremy. "Aurel Stein Discovers the Sogdian "Ancient Letters" 313 CE to 314 CE". History of Information.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sogdian Ancient Letter No. 3. Reproduced from Susan Whitfield (ed.), The Silk Road: Trade, Travel, War and Faith (2004) p. 248.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Ancient Letters". THE SOGDIANS Influencers on the Silk Roads. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Keramidas, Kimon. "SOGDIAN ANCIENT LETTER III: LETTER TO NANAIDHAT". NYU. Telling the Sogdian Story: A Freer/Sackler Digital Exhibition Project. Archived from the original on 2023-10-19. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Sogdian letters". ringmar.net. History of International Relations. Archived from the original on 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Vaissière, Étienne de la (2005). "CHAPTER TWO ABOUT THE ANCIENT LETTERS". Sogdian Traders: A History. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 8 Uralic & Central Asian Studies. Vol. 10. Brill. p. 43–70. doi:10.1163/9789047406990_005. ISBN 978-90-47-40699-0.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 https://brill.com/display/book/9789047406990/BP000005.xml
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Livšic, Vladimir A. editor1-last=Orlov (2009). "SOGDIAN "ANCIENT LETTERS" (II, IV, V)". In Lourie, Basil (ed.). Symbola Caelestis: Le symbolisme liturgique et paraliturgique dans le monde chrétien. Piscataway: Gorgias Press. p. 344-352. ISBN 9781463222543. {{cite book}}: |editor1-first= missing |editor1-last= (help); |first= has generic name (help); Missing pipe in: |first= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Sims-Williams, N. "ANCIENT LETTERS". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. II. Encyclopædia Iranica. pp. 7–9.
  14. ↑ SULLIVAN, KERRY (24 October 2016). "Words from the Ancient Past: The Sogdian Ancient Letters". Ancient Origins.
  15. ↑ Wu, Mingren (4 July 2014). "The ancient manuscripts of Dunhuang". Ancient Origins.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Keramidas, Kimon. "SOGDIAN ANCIENT LETTER II". NYU. Telling the Sogdian Story: A Freer/Sackler Digital Exhibition Project. Archived from the original on 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  17. ↑ Hansen, Valerie (2005). "The Impact of the Silk Road Trade on a Local Community: The Turfan Oasis, 500-800". In Trombert, Eric; Vaissière, Étienne de la (eds.). Les sogdiens en Chine (PDF). École française d'Extrême-Orient. p. 295-300. ISBN 9782855396538. {{cite book}}: Text "chapter" ignored (help)
  18. ↑ OLIVER, MARK (17 August 2018). "Heart Wrenching Letters Reveal the Traumatic Life of Miwnay, A Sogdian Woman in China 1,700 Years Ago". Ancient Origins. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. ↑ SULLIVAN, KERRY (24 October 2016). "Words from the Ancient Past: The Sogdian Ancient Letters". Ancient Origins. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  20. ↑ Wu, Mingren (4 July 2014). "The ancient manuscripts of Dunhuang". Ancient Origins. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  21. ↑ Hansen, Valerie (2005). "The Impact of the Silk Road Trade on a Local Community: The Turfan Oasis, 500-800". In Trombert, Eric; Vaissière, Étienne de la (eds.). Les sogdiens en Chine (PDF). École française d'Extrême-Orient. p. 295-300. ISBN 9782855396538. {{cite book}}: Text "chapter" ignored (help)
  22. ↑ BBC News 2012 report about foreigners buried in Kabul
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