Old Turkic Inscriptions as a Source for Understanding the Categories of Social Status, Social Inequality, and Memory among Early Medieval Turks in Central Asia

Abstract

In the early medieval, the Turks emerged as a political and military
force, forming a political elite that consolidated the essential components
of resources and governance under their control, paving the way for
the establishment of large empires. The political elite, along with the
military stratum under their command, played a crucial role. They not  only utilized military power but also engaged with local elites, creating a
complex administrative system by actively involving the middle stratum
aristocracy in resource allocation and management. This system gathered
the best experiences of nomadic empires and provided the possibility of
integrating local elites into the Turkic elite.
During the process of building empires, the ancient Turks,
firstly, assimilated some traditions and social values, forming new social
realities through interactions with conquered folks. As a result, there was
a significant divergence between the political elite, the middle aristocracy,
and the common people. Simultaneously, positive changes occurred in the
spiritual sphere, contributing to cultural development – new religions,
forms of art, civilizations, writings, and writing traditions emerged. While
in ancient Turkish society, writing primarily served individual, family, and
ceremonial memory preservation, during the imperial period, it began
to play a role in legitimization, settling in sedentary areas, aligning with
settled peoples, and initiating relations based on writing in administrative
governance, monetary transactions, economic management, legal
codification, and cultural and religious life