Old Turkic Unicode Block

The Old Turkic Unicode block is a collection of characters used to represent the Old Turkic script, which was employed by the Göktürks and other early Turkic khanates. This ancient writing system, also known as the Orkhon script, is one of the earliest known alphabets used by the Turkic peoples and dates back to approximately the 8th century CE. It is primarily found in historical inscriptions carved on stones and monuments across regions that are today parts of Mongolia, Russia, and Central Asia. These inscriptions hold significant linguistic and historical value, offering insights into the early Turkic language, culture, and society. The Old Turkic script is characterized by its runic appearance and was used to write various dialects of the Turkic language family.

The Unicode block for Old Turkic spans from U+10C00 to U+10C4F and encompasses 73 distinct characters, which include letters and numerals necessary for representing the script accurately. This allocation in the Unicode Standard enables digital encoding and representation of the Old Turkic script, facilitating modern research, preservation, and educational efforts related to Turkic studies. The inclusion of this script in Unicode plays a vital role in ensuring that these ancient texts can be created, displayed, and shared across digital platforms, thus preserving an essential part of the Turkic cultural heritage and providing resources for linguists and historians to study the formation and development of early Turkic societies.

View a range of fonts that support the Old Turkic block.

Below you will find all the characters that are in the Old Turkic unicode block. Currently there are 73 characters in this block.