Introduction
An analysis of the content of the works of these scholars led Professor D. Khojaev to conclude that they "possessed comprehensive knowledge of various branches of linguistic science and were familiar with its theoretical sources," that through their works in the Middle Ages they served as a catalyst for the development and evolution of some parts of linguistics, and that they are recognized as having contributed to "the expansion and development of linguistic laws" [8, pp. 104, 122, 178].
A comparison of research materials from different periods shows that scholars gradually moved from examining general points to studying specific linguistic issues. In the development of linguistic science, besides the works of the aforementioned scholars, authors and translators of medieval chronicles, particularly from the 10th-13th centuries – such as the translations of Tarikh-i Tabari, Tarikh-i Bukhara, Tarikh-i Bayhaqi, Zayn al-Akhbar, Tarikh-i Sistan, Mujmal al-Tawarikh, the translation of Tarikh-i Yamini, and Ghurar al-Siyar (known as the prose Shahnameh of Tha'alibi) – also made valuable contributions. Analyzing within the scope of a single article all the notes pertaining to various linguistic issues found in such chronicles is impossible.
From the cited examples, it is clear that historians, while indicating the Arabic origin of one synonymous lexical element, remained silent about the origin of the other. In our opinion, the reason for such an attitude towards this issue might be related to the common knowledge of the linguistic affiliation of such lexical units. For example, the translator of Tarikh-i Tabari, regarding the two Arabic synonyms for the word kazur (fuller) – which in the past also appeared as gazur, gazar, meaning "washerman" and originating from a Semitic language – expressed an idea but made no mention of the Semitic synonym itself [9, vol. 4, p.2331]: "And fullers are called 'qassār' in Arabic and also 'havārī'..." [2, vol. 1, p. 429].
Similar explanations by 10th-13th century historians can be found regarding synonymous words like bāz and zamzama ["and this 'bāz' is called 'zamzama' in Arabic, and this comes from speaking boastfully" – 3, p. 275], Artabun and dāhī ["and Artabun in Greek means 'dāhī'" – 2, vol. 2, p. 1005], nari mardum and shiblang ["and (nari) mardum... in their language is called 'land', and they call it 'shiblang'" – 3, p. 318], Nahavand and Māh al-Basra, Dinavar and Māh al-Kufa ["and they called Nahavand 'Māh al-Basra' and Dinavar 'Māh al-Kufa'... this one was called 'Māh al-Basra' and that one 'Māh al-Kufa'. And when naming both, they said: 'Māhain'. And 'māh' in Pahlavi Persian means 'country' and 'kingdom'" – 2, vol. 2, p. 1045], Qabr al-Masih and gūr ["and there is a grave there that Christians call 'Qabr al-Masih'" – 4, p.485], Rūd-i Kirman Shah and Qarmisin ["it was the river Kirman Shah, which in Arabic they called 'Qarmisin'" – 6, p.273].
This way of presenting the subject by 10th-13th century historians is evidence that the authors of historical works were fond of boundless linguistic synonymy, making their thoughts and subjects sound better and more pleasant to the reader's ear.
Another part of the lexical elements that authors or translators of chronicles recalled when narrating events using synonymous words are those where the origin or linguistic affiliation of both synonymous words remains unmentioned. According to our count, the number of such words is 26, and they differ in meaning: some were used to express essential concepts of life, others denote the names of festivals, birds, a person's social status, etc. For example, khuttof and parasturuk, khiroji hamdostoni and malu-r-rizo, mavlo and ozodkarda are examples of such lexical elements: "Then God Almighty sent birds like pelicans (khuttof), which are called 'parasturuk'" [2, vol. 1, p. 559]. "And for that reason, they called that tax 'khiroji hamdostoni', meaning 'malu-r-rizo' (property of satisfaction)" [2, vol. 1, p. 648]. "The Prophet (peace be upon him) had seventeen mavlo - freedmen" [2, vol. 2, p. 905]. "...a piece of wood called 'guna'" [3, p.283]. "But the spring festival, which they call 'rukubi kusaj'. And in the time of the Achaemenids, this festival came in spring... and he indicated by that that the cold had passed and the heat had come" [3, p. 277]. "And a group whom they called 'nakrbityan', meaning those bound to iron" [3, p. 320].
A large part of such words comprises those denoting the names or titles of persons (anthroponyms). For example, in Ghurar al-Tawarikh, the synonymous words Qubad and Sheruya were explained thus: "From Mariam, the daughter of Caesar, was born a son for Parviz, whom he named 'Qubad', but they called him 'Sheruya'" [6, p.347]. "It is strange that we had not mentioned this inappropriate name to anyone, but at birth we whispered in his ear: 'We name you Qubad' and always called him 'Sheruya'. Who has uttered this unfamiliar name?" [6, p.348]. "...at night the guards proclaimed Qubad, who is that Sheruya, as Shahanshah" [6, p.348].
Similarly, the author of Mujmal al-Tawarikh wrote about the titles Faghfur and Qaysar: "The king of China is called 'Faghfur'" [4, p.420]. "But it is not contrary that the king of Rome is called 'Qaysar'" [4, p.424]. "And the meaning of 'Qaysar' is that he was taken out from his mother's womb" [4, p.128].
This way of interpreting synonymous words can also be observed regarding lexical elements like Adam and Kayumars ["and they say that the first person on earth was Adam (peace be upon him). And they called him 'Kayumars'" – 2, vol. 1, p. 4-5], Ashnos and Afshin ["And I read in the reports of the chiefs that Ashnos and he were called 'Afshin'..." – 1, p. 185], Shad and Tata ["and they named Shad 'Tata', meaning that when you heard a sound, he went into the water and was not afraid" – 3, p.289], Arvandasp and Toziyonshoh ["and they called Arvandasp 'Toziyonshoh'" – 3, p.59].
Among such explanations found in chronicles, the number of words denoting the names of cities, regions, villages, and mosques (macro-/micro-toponyms) is also not small. Among them are Dari Bani Asad and Dari Muhra ["when you pass 'Dari Bani Sa'd', there is 'Dari Bani Asad'. And in the Age of Ignorance, they called this gate 'Dari Muhra'" – 5, p.106], Kuyi Vazir ibn Ayyub ibn Hassan and Kuyi Koh ["And when you enter from the city gate, to the right is a quarter called 'Kuyi Vazir ibn Ayyub ibn Hassan'. And that quarter is also called 'Kuyi Koh'" – 5, p.104], Masjidi Moh and Masjidi Maghok ["and Ziyad ibn Salih descended at the gate of Masjidi Moh, which is now called 'Masjidi Maghok'" – 5, p.123], Baghdad and Madinatu-l-'atiqa ["and today it is called 'Baghdad' - 'Madinatu-l-'atiqa'" – 2, vol. 1, p. 317], Basku and Zarang ["They called Basku, which he built, 'Zarang'" – 11, p.32], Bahmansher and Ubulla ["the city of Bahmansher... is the same as the city of Ubulla" – 6, p.199], Baykand and madinatu-t-tujjar ["and they call this Baykand... 'madinatu-t-tujjar' (city of merchants)" – 2, vol. 2, p. 1260], Karakon and Qasri Mujashi ["and when he reached Kerman, to a place called 'Karakon', which is now called 'Qasri Mujashi'" – 3, p. 141], Farovez-us-sufra and Kami Daymun ["and the ninth river is called 'Farovez-us-sufra' and also 'Kami Daymun'" – 5, p.70], Jisr al-Hijar and Puli sangin ["Then he brought an army and camped in a place, set up camp, called 'Jisr al-Hijar', a stone bridge" – 2, vol. 2, p. 1387], Bahmanabad and Mansura ["and Bahmanabad, which they call Mansura" – 3, p. 68], Dizhnibisht and Darul-kutub ["and there was a place called 'Dizhnibisht', meaning Darul-kutub (House of Books)" – 3, p.70], Balashabad and Sabat ["He built a city in Sawad and named it 'Balashabad', which is the same as the city of Sabat near Ctesiphon" – 6, p.294], Taysafun and Madinatu-l-malik ["Then Nu'man ibn Munzir came with that army near Ctesiphon and Taysafun – Madinatu-l-malik (City of the King)" – 2, vol. 1, p. 509].
Some such places had more than two names, leading to an increase in the number of synonymous words. For example, the author of Tarikh-i Bukhara mentions three names for one reed-bed: Pargin-i farakh, Qarokul, Buhayra-i Samjan [5, p.47], while the author of Mujmal al-Tawarikh recalls eight names for Mecca: Baytullah al-Ka'bah, Makka, Bakka, Bashasha, Umm al-Qura, al-Masjid al-Haram, al-Balad al-Amin, al-Bayt al-'Atiq [4, p.482].
Among the collected material, five instances of synonymous words were encountered where the chronicle authors noted the linguistic affiliation of both words. In such historical works, the forms of these lexical elements – usually denoting titles or places – used in Persian and Arabic are typically indicated. It should be noted that while the Arabic forms of such words are consistent across all chronicles, differences are observed in the Persian forms mentioned by the authors. For example, the author of Mujmal al-Tawarikh mentions only the Arabic form of Shapur's title (Dhu al-Aktaf), whereas in Zayn al-Akhbar, both the Arabic variant (Dhu al-Aktaf) and its Persian form (Hubasunbon) are indicated: "(Shapur) was the son of this Hormuz and the Arabs gave him the title 'Dhu al-Aktaf' (The Broad-Shouldered) because they pierced his shoulders and pulled iron chains through them, after which he killed excessively" [4, p.34]. "And finally (Shapur Dhu al-Aktaf - D.R.) established a custom that wherever they brought an Arab, he commanded that their shoulders be pierced and rings put through them, and for this reason they gave him the title 'Dhu al-Aktaf' and in Persian 'Hubasunbon'" [3, p.74].
The synonymous lexical elements Shahi Homovaron and Dhu al-Az'ar have the same characteristic: "The name of the king of Yemen in Persian is 'Shahi Homovaran', meaning the king of Himyar, and in Arabic they called him 'Dhu al-Az'ar' son of Zumanor son of Ra'ish..." [6, p.106].
Historians of this period, when reflecting on a specific region or individual, mentioned their ancient name and the name that appeared later, thereby making the two names exhibit a synonymous relationship. The number of such words is four, most of them geographical names, but some are personal names: "And that rope, which they tied the building with, is called 'vatin' in Arabic. And Hanzala cut those ropes so that the Arabs lost heart for war at once. And Hanzala was named 'Muqatti' al-vatin' (cutter of the rope - D.R.)" [2, vol. 1, p. 634]. "Lie is called 'ifk' in Arabic" [2, vol. 1, p. 114].
From scattered references, it may be understood that the authors and translators of 10th-13th century chronicles, while providing information about cities, regions, customs of people from different lands, and their past and subsequent history, incorporated the linguistic affiliation of the names of persons, places, and various objects common among peoples, using two or more lexical elements that exhibited a synonymous relationship with each other.
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