1897.] 
259 
Central Asian Manuscripts. 
Uigliur. This adoption by them of a species of Syriac characters is 
significant, in view of the fact that there was at tbe time already in 
use among them a Sanskritic alphabet, the Central Asian Brahmi (not 
to mention at all the artificial Northern Indian). Probably that circum¬ 
stance shows (1) that the Central Asian Brahmi was the peculiar 
property of the Buddhists among them, and (2) that Buddhism was 
limited among them to a minority, consisting of monks, but that the 
bulk of the nation had adopted Christianity, which accounts for their being 
so frequently designated as Tarsi (or Christian). 62 Later on, the bulk 
of them adopted Muhammadanism, and with it the alphabet peculiar to 
it. From this it would follow that as Buddhism gradually dwindled 
among them, the knowledge and use of the Central Asian Brahmi died 
out. How soon this was the case, I do not know ; but it seems certain 
that the knowledge of that alphabet had entirely died out by the time 
of the rise of the Mongol power in the 12th century A.D. ; otherwise 
it is difficult to account for the fact of the Uighur characters being 
selected by a Tibetan Buddhist for the purpose of forming a Mongol 
alphabet. 63 If the Central Asian Brahmi had still survived at that 
time, one would have expected a Buddhist to choose that peculiarly 
Buddhist alphabet in preference to the Uighur. I am disposed to 
believe that it had already died out some centuries previous to the 
elaboration of the Mongol characters. 
Arranged chronologically, the manuscripts in the Central Asian 
Brahmi may be placed thus: Fragments IIIcZ, IV and IX are the 
earliest and may belong to the 5th century A.D. Next come Parts 
IV, V, VI, VII of the Weber MSS., which may belong to the 6th 
century. Thenji follow Part VI of the Weber MSS. and Fragment X, 
which may be assigned to the 6th or 7th centuries. Lastly come Part 
IX of the Weber MSS. and Fragment XII, which may be as late as the 
8th century. The Godfrey MSS., Nos. 6-15, which are written in the 
cursive Central Asian, are difficult to adjudge, aud I will not attempt 
to estimate their exact age. 
With regard to the language in which the Central Asian manus¬ 
cripts are written, it may be noted that the following are written in 
Turk! (Uighur ? ). First: the Godfrey MSS. Nos. 4 and 5 (Plate IV), 
which are written in Northern Indian Brahmi; and secondly, Part IX 
of the Weber MSS. and the Kashgar MS., which are written in Central 
Asian Brahmi. To the latter may be added the Godfrey MSS. Nos. 6-15, 
which are in an unknown (Turki or Chinese) language, and in cursive 
62 See N. Elias’ TdriJch-i-Rashidi, p. 96. 
83 See Koeppen’s Religion des Buddha, Yol, II, pp. 99, 100. 
