The Book of Omens

The Irq Bitig or "The book of Omens" is the only Old Turkish text written in the Turkish script and in the form of a book. It was found in the deposit of manuscripts in the "Halls of the Thousand Buddhas" near Tun-huang. Like many manuscripts found in the same deposit, the Irq Bitig cannot be precisely dated, but it is very likely that it was written in the 9th century. The Irk Bitig (British Museum, Or. 8212) is a little book consisting of fifty-eight leaves or twenty-nine small sheets, about 13.6 cm. high and about 8 cm. wide.