Tocharians
The Tocharians were an ancient people who lived in the Tarim Basin. They spoke an Indo-European language.[1] The region they live in was closer to the Far East than that of any other Indo-European-speaking regions.
Tocharians Media
Royal family, Cave 17, Kizil (family detail, retouched)
The geographical spread of the Indo-European languages, with Tocharian in the east.
Female donor with label in Tocharian, Kizil Caves.
The Tocharian script is very similar to the Indian Brahmi script from the Kushan period, with only slight variations in calligraphy. Tocharian language inscription: Se pañäkte saṅketavattse ṣarsa papaiykau "This Buddha was painted by the hand of Sanketava", on a painting carbon dated to 245-340 AD.
Maya Cave 224, Tocharian Prince mourning the Buddha
Major oasis states of the ancient Tarim Basin
Tocharian kneeling devotees circa 300 AD, in the paintings of the Cave of the Hippocampi (Cave 118), Kizil Caves.
The Buddhist Cave with the Ring-Bearing Doves (Cave 123) at the Kizil Caves near Kucha, built circa 430-530 AD.
Monks from the Cave of the Painters circa 500 AD, Kizil Caves.
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References
- ↑ Tocharian Online: Series Introduction Archived 2015-06-29 at the Wayback Machine, Todd B. Krause and Jonathan Slocum, University of Texas as Austin.
Other websites
- Tocharian alphabet
- Tocharian alphabet
- Modern studies are developing a Tocharian dictionary
- Mark Dickens, 'Everything you always wanted to know about Tocharian' Archived 2003-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
- Mysterious Mummies of China Archived 2012-02-06 at the Wayback Machine by Nova on Google Video
