Appendix I 

 IRANIAN ELEMENTS IN MONGOL 



On the preceding pages, as well as in my "Loan-Words in Tibetan," 

 I had occasion to point out a number of Mongol words traceable to 

 Iranian; and, as this subject has evoked some interest since the dis- 

 coveries made in Turkistan, I deem it useful to treat it here in a coherent 

 notice and to sum up our present knowledge of the matter. 



i. Certain relations of the Mongol language to Iranian were known 

 about a century ago to I. J. Schmidt, 1 the real founder of Mongol phil- 

 ology. It was Schmidt who, as far back as 1824, first recognized in the 

 Mongol name Xormusda (Khormusda) the Iranian Ormuzd or Ahura- 

 mazdah of the Avesta. Even Schmidt's adversary, J. Klaproth, was 

 obliged to admit that this theory was justified. 2 Remusat's objections 

 were refuted by Schmidt himself. 3 At present we know that the name 

 in question was propagated over Central Asia by the Sogdians in the 

 forms Xurmazta (Wurmazt) and Oharmlzd. 4 What we are still ignorant 

 of is how the transformation of the supreme Iranian god into the 

 supreme Indian god was effected; for in the Buddhist literature of the 

 Mongols the name Xormusda strictly refers to the god Indra. Also 

 in the polyglot Buddhist dictionaries the corresponding terms of 

 Chinese, Tibetan, etc., relate to Indra. 



2. Esroa, Esrua, or Esrun, is in the Buddhist literature of the 

 Mongols the designation of the Indian god Brahma. The Iranian 

 origin of this word has been advocated by A. Schiefner. 5 Although 

 taken for a corruption of Sanskrit iqvara ("lord"), it seems, according 

 to Schiefner, to be in closer relation to Avestan graosha (srao$a) or 

 qravanh. Certain it is that the Mongol word is derived from the Uigur 



1 Forschungen im Gebiete der Bildungsgeschichte der Volker Mittel-Asiens, 

 p. 148. 



2 "Cette hypo these mente d'fitre soigneusement examinee et nous invitons 

 M. Schmidt a recueillir d'autres faits propres a lui donner plus de certitude" (Nou- 

 veau Journal asiatique, Vol. VII, 1831, p. 180). 



8 Geschichte der Ost-Mongolen, p. 353. 



4 F. W. K. Muller, Die "persischen" Kalenderausdrucke, pp. 6, 7; Hand- 

 schriftenreste, II, pp. 20, 94. 



6 In his introduction to W. Radloff's Proben der Volkslitteratur der turki- 

 schen Stamme, Vol. II, p. xi. Schiefner derives also Kurbustu of the Soyon from 

 Ormuzd. 



572 



