Which languages are used by many of the earliest written sources about Central Asia?

The earliest written sources concerning the history of Central Asia are characterized by a notable scarcity of indigenous records, as the first aboriginal sources—written in a Turkic language—do not appear until the 8th century CE.1

Because of this paucity of local documentation, historians rely heavily on accounts from surrounding sedentary civilizations. These external sources, which are often biased against the nomadic peoples of the region, were primarily written in the following languages:

• Chinese1
• Greek1
• Latin1
• Arabic1
• Persian1

While indigenous inscriptional monuments, such as those from the Turk dynasty, provide valuable historical insights, they were eventually supplemented or replaced by manuscript records in various languages, including Sanskrit, Sogdian, and Tocharian, particularly in areas like Chinese Turkistan.2