О ВРЕМЕНИ ФИКСАЦИИ ГИДРОНИМА «СЫРДАРЬЯ» В ИСТОРИЧЕСКИХ ИСТОЧНИКАХ
ABOUT THE TIME OF FIXATION OF HYDRONYM “SYRDARYA” IN HISTORICAL SOURCES

Summary/Abstract: In the presented article, the issue of the time of fixation of the well-known hydronym «Syr Darya» in written historical sources is considered. The Syr Darya River is one of the main (in length and water content) rivers of Central Asia. It flows through the territory of several post-Soviet countries — Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, but the bulk of the river is located on the territory of Kazakhstan. The Syr Darya River is one of the most frequently mentioned hydronyms in the Muslim historical and geographical literature of the late Middle Ages and the New Age. In these written works, the river is referred to under various names: Seykhun, Khojend River, Shakhrukh River, Shash River and Akhsiket River. In modern historical and geographical literature, the opinion that the name “Syr Darya” appeared only in the 19th century is firmly established. In this article, the authors criticize this established opinion. The materials for this study are information and data from written sources — medieval historical and geographical works, archival documents, and geographical maps. The work also widely uses the findings of scientific research of scientists of the preceding period. The authors conclude that the name “Syr Darya” is found in historical, mainly in Turkic-language, writings from at least the second half of the 16th century. Since the end of the 17th century, this name is recorded in Russian archival sources, and from the beginning of the 18th century in Western European maps and writings.

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