Gurg (Гург) is Tajik word for wolf. This animal more than any other played an important role in formation of a number of ancient societies. The earliest written record with reference to wolves dates from about 3000 BCE. In the extinct language of the Luwians who settled in what is now Anatolia (Turkey), the word Lulakhi referred to the "wolfish" deities of the people. The Hittite cuneiform Lu-um-na-as, also rendered Lu-Ur-Bar-Ra in the hieroglyphs in Bogazköy, meant "men-dog-wild" in reference to the Luwians.
From the Luwians, the myth of wolfish origin went westward to Italy via Greek coastline settlements. The Oscan speaking people of Italy included such tribes as the Lucani (Greek Lykaioi), the Hirpini (from hirpus, "wolf" in Hirpini language), the Marsi (named after god Mars whose sacred animal was wolf), and the Sabini, who gave the Latins their word for wolf, lupus. The myth of founding of Rome becomes clear when one learns about the pre-Roman tribes in Italy.
Mount Ararat is situated in the eastern edge of Anatolia, in modern day Armenia; the word comes from Assyrian Urartu. In this mountainous region, during the reign of Ashurbanipal, there was a province of Lu-ub-di settled by one branch of Luwians. This region was called Loubion by ancient Greeks, also spelled Louvion, and the medieval sources spelled it Luponissa. The Latin suffix -issa indicates "feminine likeness" as in "priestess, goddess, etc." and with Lupon (clearly derived from lupus) it forms "like a female wolf" or "she-wolf," progenitor of the Luwians.
Parallel to the Indo-European Luwians in Anatolia, a number of Turkic people in Central Asian region have wolfish myths of origin. In ancient times, they included the Hsiung-nu, the Wu-san, the Ting-ling, and the T'u-chüeh. During the first millennium of common era (when the Oghuz Confederation was extant), they were the Onogur (whose descendants include the modern Chuvash of Siberia), the Hu-chieh, and the Seljuks (who first appeared on the banks of Sirdarya, from whence they moved to the territory of modern Iran, and finally settled in Anatolia). The Osmanli tribe followed the Seljuks in the same path and founded an empire which would later become Turkey. Interestingly, when the Turkish wolves arrived in Anatolia, the Luwian wolves were nowhere to be found. One of the early tribes of Kyrghyz called themselves Bölik (wolfish), which has the same etymology as the name of modern Mongolian Buryats (wolves) of Siberia. The last people to trace their ancestry from a wolf were Mongols.
The Secret History of Mongols, which was written by the heirs of Chingizkhan, begins with the genealogy of the Mongol ruler. Chino is Mongolian word for wolf, and it has a close connection with the word chin, which means "strong, firm, unshakable, and fearless." It is no accident that the title received by the young Temujin upon his consolidation of various Mongolian tribes should be associated with his ancestral animal: Chingizkhan from chingiz and qa'an (ruler, king, emperor).
When Mongolian army marched through Central Asia, sacking one city after another, they were stopped at Urgench, as this city proved difficult to be conquered. Eventually, Mongols prevailed and turned the ancient city into ruins, but this is not an account of the march of nomads against the settled people. The reason I mention Urgench is because it hides a clue in its name to the Iranian origin of its founders.
Urgench is a city that lies on the right bank of Amudarya within the borders of Uzbekistan. This modern city takes its name from the one across the waters of Amu, in the territory of Turkmenistan, which is known as Kunya-Urgench. The word kunya is a local corruption of Tajik кўҳна (pronounced kuh-na, where "u" has the sound of "ea" as in early), meaning "old." It was Old Urgench that was leveled to the ground by the Mongols. The city in Uzbekistan is located in the viloyat of Khorazm,* one of the smallest provinces in the republic. The province is named after earliest inhabitants of the region between the Caspian Sea and Amudarya.
From the Luwians, the myth of wolfish origin went westward to Italy via Greek coastline settlements. The Oscan speaking people of Italy included such tribes as the Lucani (Greek Lykaioi), the Hirpini (from hirpus, "wolf" in Hirpini language), the Marsi (named after god Mars whose sacred animal was wolf), and the Sabini, who gave the Latins their word for wolf, lupus. The myth of founding of Rome becomes clear when one learns about the pre-Roman tribes in Italy.
Mount Ararat is situated in the eastern edge of Anatolia, in modern day Armenia; the word comes from Assyrian Urartu. In this mountainous region, during the reign of Ashurbanipal, there was a province of Lu-ub-di settled by one branch of Luwians. This region was called Loubion by ancient Greeks, also spelled Louvion, and the medieval sources spelled it Luponissa. The Latin suffix -issa indicates "feminine likeness" as in "priestess, goddess, etc." and with Lupon (clearly derived from lupus) it forms "like a female wolf" or "she-wolf," progenitor of the Luwians.
Parallel to the Indo-European Luwians in Anatolia, a number of Turkic people in Central Asian region have wolfish myths of origin. In ancient times, they included the Hsiung-nu, the Wu-san, the Ting-ling, and the T'u-chüeh. During the first millennium of common era (when the Oghuz Confederation was extant), they were the Onogur (whose descendants include the modern Chuvash of Siberia), the Hu-chieh, and the Seljuks (who first appeared on the banks of Sirdarya, from whence they moved to the territory of modern Iran, and finally settled in Anatolia). The Osmanli tribe followed the Seljuks in the same path and founded an empire which would later become Turkey. Interestingly, when the Turkish wolves arrived in Anatolia, the Luwian wolves were nowhere to be found. One of the early tribes of Kyrghyz called themselves Bölik (wolfish), which has the same etymology as the name of modern Mongolian Buryats (wolves) of Siberia. The last people to trace their ancestry from a wolf were Mongols.
The Secret History of Mongols, which was written by the heirs of Chingizkhan, begins with the genealogy of the Mongol ruler. Chino is Mongolian word for wolf, and it has a close connection with the word chin, which means "strong, firm, unshakable, and fearless." It is no accident that the title received by the young Temujin upon his consolidation of various Mongolian tribes should be associated with his ancestral animal: Chingizkhan from chingiz and qa'an (ruler, king, emperor).
When Mongolian army marched through Central Asia, sacking one city after another, they were stopped at Urgench, as this city proved difficult to be conquered. Eventually, Mongols prevailed and turned the ancient city into ruins, but this is not an account of the march of nomads against the settled people. The reason I mention Urgench is because it hides a clue in its name to the Iranian origin of its founders.
Urgench is a city that lies on the right bank of Amudarya within the borders of Uzbekistan. This modern city takes its name from the one across the waters of Amu, in the territory of Turkmenistan, which is known as Kunya-Urgench. The word kunya is a local corruption of Tajik кўҳна (pronounced kuh-na, where "u" has the sound of "ea" as in early), meaning "old." It was Old Urgench that was leveled to the ground by the Mongols. The city in Uzbekistan is located in the viloyat of Khorazm,* one of the smallest provinces in the republic. The province is named after earliest inhabitants of the region between the Caspian Sea and Amudarya.
Uvarazamiya was one of the satrapies of the Achaemenid Empire. It was listed next to Bactria and Sogdia, as inhabitants of these three areas were related to each other since their arrival to Central Asia, and all three spoke languages that belonged to the Eastern Iranian branch. Originally the Khorezmians were actually settled on the southern shores of Caspian Sea. By the time of Chingizkhan, the region was part of the Khorezmian Empire, ruled by the infamous Muhammad II, and included the territory of modern Iran, all of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and parts of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Thus, the name of the empire derived from the name of a province, whence the ancestors of Muhammad II originally established their rule, and which includes the entirety of modern Turkmenistan.
The Caspian Sea was known to the Greeks as the Hyrcanian Sea, and the region inhabited by the Hyrcanioi (Khorezmians) was known as Hyrcania. The Russians, referring only to the capital of the Khorezmian Empire, called it Гургандж (Gourgandzh) or Гурганч (Gourganch), betraying its origin which is lost in the modern pronunciation of the word. The suffix -andzh/-anch comes from Proto-Eastern-Iranian "settlement, town, city," which can be seen in other forms, such as -qand (Samarqand), -jand (Khojand), -kant or -kath (Numijkant or Numijkath, both are renderings of the old name of Bukhara), or -kent (Panjikent, Tashkent). Thus Urgench means "City of Wolves" and Hyrcania, which meant "Land of the Wolves," actually corresponds to modern Gurgan, Iran.
Since Khorezmians spoke a language which belonged to the Indo-Iranian family, and since Luwians spoke an Anatolian language, both of which belong to the larger Indo-European languages, it is possible that the myth of wolfish origins traveled from the Luwians to Central Asia with the ancestors of Khorezmians. It is important to note that for Luwians wolfish ancestry was a matter of pride, but for the Hittites, who ruled over them later on, the matter had a criminal aspect to it. "Texts found in the Bogazköy archives suggests that by the middle of the second millennium BC the Luwians were only employed in lowly positions in the Hittite empire and may also have been regarded as social outcasts."* In an ironic twist, in Turkey, there is an ultranationalist party, whose name Bozkurtlar, means "Grey Wolves." Their activities turned the image of wolf into a very negative one, on par with swastika in Europe, or so I've heard. But much more interesting to me is what I once heard from a friend, who told me that there is a statue of she-wolf feeding a child, somewhere in the mountains of Tajikistan. He told me he had seen this statue himself, and I hope to investigate it on my next trip home.
*Khorazm has various spellings, among them Chorasm, Khwarazm, Khorezm, etc. The region has been known as "the land of the sun," from khor "sun" and zamin "land, earth." The first syllable of the name also forms first part of a personal masculine name Khurshed, "rays of sun" or "as bright as the sun."
*Torday's "Grandson of Raven, Son of Wolf" chapter
