| Seal of Khingila | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Material | Garnet cabochon gem |
| Size | 22.8 mm high, 19.4 mm wide, 5.9 mm thick[2] |
| Writing | Bactrian language |
| Created | 5th–6th century CE |
| Location | |
  Location of the region ofBactria, to which the seal belongs. | |
TheSeal of Khingila is an historicalseal from the region ofBactria, on southernCentral Asia. The seal was published recently by Pierfrancesco Callieri andNicholas Sims-Williams.[3][4] It is now in the private collection of A. Saeedi (London).[2] Kurbanov considers it as a significantHephthalite seal.[5] It has also been considered as intermediate between theKidarites and the Hephthalites.[6]
The seal has aBactrian language inscription mentioning the ruler "Eshkingil", with the titlexoadeo ("Lord", "King"), and has been dated to the 5th–6th century CE,[4] or to the first half of the 5th century CE.[2] The legend, deciphered by Nicholas Sims-Williams, reads:
.jpg)
εϸκιγγιλο
eškiggilo
(...)
(...)
(ρ)ωκανο
(r)ōkano
χοηο
xoēo
εϸκιγγιλο (...) (ρ)ωκανο χοηο
eškiggilo (...) (r)ōkano xoēo
"Eškiŋgil, Lord of (Ga)rokan"[7]
The complete reading may be "Eshkingil, lord of (the people) such-and-such" or "Eshkingil, son of so-and-so, the lord".[2]"Eshkingil" (.jpg)
, εϸκιγγιλο,Eškiŋil) may be a title consisting in the Turkic prefixEš- meaning “comrade, companion of” and "-kenglu", the sacred sword and god ("Kenglu-shen") worshipped by theXiongnu, so that "Eškiŋgil" could be a Hunnic name or title meaning “Companion of the Sword”, or even "Companion of theGod of War".[8][1]
The seal may also have belonged to theAlchon Hun rulerKhingila, who appears in his coinage with the Bactrian legend.jpg)
(χιγγιλο αλχοννο "Khiggilo Alchono"), or another ruler of the same name.[4] ATurk Shahi ruler of Kabul is also known in Arab sources as Khinkhil or Khinjil, who, according toAl-Yakubhi, gave his submission toAl-Mahdi in 775–785.[9] A ruler Khingila is also mentioned in the dedication of theGardez Ganesha. The identity of this Khingala is uncertain.[10]
It is not certain however if the title "Eshkingil" should be equated with the name "Khingila", and the linguistic evolution from "Khingila" to "Eškiŋil" is problematic.[1]
The figure in the seal wears what is called a "tulip headdress", a type of headdress well known in Bactria from the time of the Kidarites (4th century CE), to the time of the Turks (6th century) and beyond.[11]