Tata-tonga
Yigur scribe who served Genghis Khan
About Tata-tonga
Lived 1150 – 1300. Tata-tonga was a Mongolian and Chinese scribe.
Tata-tonga or Tatatunga (; ) was a 13th-century Uyghur scribe captured by Genghis Khan from the Naimans. He was involved in bringing the Old Uyghur alphabet to the Mongolian Plateau and adapting it to the form of the Mongolian script (Mongol bichig or hudum bichig). After his capture, he was invited to teach the Old Uyghur alphabet to members of the court, including the Khan's sons.
The Uyghur script was used until 1946, when Cyrillic script was introduced to replace it. It is still used mainly in Inner Mongolia, China. In present-day Mongolia, Cyrillic is one of the two official scripts for the Mongolian language; the other one is the traditional script, which is referred to as the old Mongol script . Today, an estimated six million Mongol people in China can still read the traditional Mongolian script.
The Manchu alphabet was derived since the very end of the 16th century from this Mongolian script.
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Important facts
People in Tata-tonga's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Tata-tonga's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Tata-tonga?
Yigur scribe who served Genghis Khan
When was Tata-tonga born?
Tata-tonga was born in 1150.
When did Tata-tonga die?
Tata-tonga died in 1300.
What was Tata-tonga's occupation?
Tata-tonga was a scribe.
What nationality was Tata-tonga?
Tata-tonga was Mongolian and Chinese.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Tata-tonga. https://biography.guide/tata-tonga/
MLA: "Tata-tonga." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/tata-tonga/.
Chicago: "Tata-tonga." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/tata-tonga/.
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