Codex Cumanicus

Turkish textbook

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Last updated

June 24, 2026

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The Codex Cumanicus is a late 13th-century dictionary that provides a valuable record of the Kipchak Turkic language. The Kipchak were a confederation of Turkic tribes who inhabited a vast territory in the Eurasian Steppe from the mid-11th century until the Mongol invasions in the 13th century. The western branch of this confederation was known as the Cumans, or Polovtsy.1

The Codex Cumanicus contains words in Kipchak, Latin, and Persian, making it a crucial resource for understanding this historical Turkic language. The presence of Kipchak slaves, known as Mamluks, in the Islamic world also led to the creation of Kipchak-Arabic dictionaries and grammars, which are important for the study of old Turkic languages.1

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Kipchak
…important surviving record is the Codex Cumanicus, a late 13th-century dictionary of words in Kipchak, Latin, and Persian. The presence in Egypt of Turkic-speaking Mamlūks also stimulated the compilation of Kipchak-Arabic dictionaries and grammars that are important in the study of several old Turkic languages.
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…important surviving record is the Codex Cumanicus, a late 13th-century dictionary of words in Kipchak, Latin, and Persian. The presence in Egypt of Turkic-speaking Mamlūks also stimulated the compilation of Kipchak-Arabic dictionaries and grammars that are important in the study of several old Turkic languages.
Read More