Item number: A1821-2

Year: AD 717-738

Material: Bronze

Size: 23.6 x 23.7 x 1.4 mm

Weight: 5.4 g

Manufactured by: Suyab, Taraz mint

Provenance:

1. Spink 2022

2. Dr. Werner Burger Collection

This coin is believed to have been minted by the Türgesh Khaganate under Suluk Qaghan, one of the subgroups of the Turkic tribes. Its design emulates the coinage of the Sogdians, also known as the Nine Surnames of Zhaowu, who inhabited the Western Regions. Sogdian coins, in turn, were modelled after the Kaiyuan Tongbao of the Tang dynasty, which was a classic example of a round coin with a square hole.

The obverse bears a Sogdian inscription, which may be transliterated as “βγу twrkyš γ’γ’n pny” or “bgy twrkys x’g’n pny”, translating to “Sacred Türgesh Qaghan Coin.”

On the reverse, a bow-shaped totem is ingeniously integrated with the coin’s square hole, forming the ancient Turkic character 𐱃 (ät), meaning “horse.” This design is identical to that found on another type of Türgesh coin unearthed in the ancient city of Otrar, which lacks a central hole.

The Türgesh were one of the constituent tribes of the Western Turkic Khaganate, historically recorded in Tang sources as a member of a tribal confederation. In its early stages, the Türgesh were a minor tribe residing along the Turuhe Lake and were possibly descendants of the Xiongnu. The various steppe tribes dispersed across the region were collectively known as the Tiele. In the 5th century AD, as the Northern Wei and the Rouran engaged in warfare, the Tiele, who were then subjugated by the Rouran and were also referred to as the Gaoche, resisted further oppression and led a westward migration, retreating into the Western Regions as the Rouran expanded. By the late 6th century AD, the Western Turks took control of the Western Regions, and the Türgesh submitted to them.

In the second year of the Xianqing reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang (AD 657), the Tang dynasty suppressed the Western Turkic rebellion and established the Dudu Fu (Protectorate-General) in the Western Regions. Later, it also established tributary prefectures in the Hezhong region (also known as Ten Arrows), dividing the tribal confederations to weaken Turkic power. As the Western Turkic Khaganate declined, the Türgesh chieftain Wuzhile occupied Suyab in the Anxi Four Garrisons and established his administrative headquarters, thereby founding the First Türgesh Khaganate. The Tang court, having no alternative, granted him the title of Commandery Prince.

In the second year of the Jingyun reign of Emperor Ruizong of Tang (AD 711), Wuzhile’s son, Soge, engaged in battle with the resurgent Eastern Turkic Khaganate and perished, leading to the collapse of the First Türgesh Khaganate. In the fourth year of the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong (AD 716), following the death of Qapaghan Qaghan of the Eastern Turks, the tribal confederation disintegrated, and the Eastern Turks sought reconciliation with the Tang, leading to their decline. West of the Eastern Turks, the Chebi tribe, subordinate to the Türgesh, saw its chieftain Suluk proclaim himself the Türgesh Qaghan, thereby establishing the Second Türgesh Khaganate.

Suluk skillfully navigated between the Eastern Turks, the Tibetan Empire, and the Tang dynasty, maintaining a delicate balance. He successively married noblewomen from the Eastern Turks and Tibetans, who assumed the title of Katun (Khatun, Queen Consort). In the fifth year of the Kaiyuan era (AD 717), the Tang court conferred upon Suluk the title Zhongshun Qaghan (Loyal and Obedient Qaghan). In the tenth year of Kaiyuan (AD 722), the Tang also arranged a political marriage between a Han Chinese princess of the Ashina clan, a sinicised branch of the Western Turks, and the Türgesh, conferring upon her the title of Princess of Jiaohe.

Suluk maintained close relations with the Tang dynasty and acted as a proxy ruler in the Western Regions. He repeatedly resisted the Umayyad Caliphate and engaged in battles with the Arab governor of Khorasan. In AD 738, suffering from paralysis, Suluk was assassinated by Baga Tarkhan, a leader of the Yellow Türgesh faction, who subsequently succeeded him as Türgesh Qaghan.

Both the First and Second Türgesh Khaganates established their political center in Suyab, one of the Anxi Four Garrisons of the Tang dynasty in the Western Regions, along with Kucha, Kashgar, and Khotan. After the Tang withdrew from the Four Garrisons in its later years, Suyab declined, and its precise location remained unknown for centuries.

Xuanzang’s “Great Tang Records on the Western Regions” and Du Huan’s “Jingxing Ji” describe Suyab as being east of Lake Rehai (modern Issyk-Kul) and west of the Talas River. In AD 1961, British scholar Gerard Clauson, in his article “Ak Beshim—Suyab”, identified the ruins of Ak-Beshim as the site of Suyab. That same year, French orientalist Jean-Pierre Hambis reached a similar conclusion in his article “Ak-Besim et ses sanctuaires”.

In AD 1979, Zhang Guangda conducted a comprehensive analysis based on historical records, including the “New Book of Tang” and the “Book of Roads and Kingdoms” by the Muslim geographer Ibn Khordadbeh, as well as archaeological findings, confirming that Suyab was indeed located at Ak-Beshim. Subsequently, in AD 1982, archaeologists discovered a fragmented stelae at the site, inscribed in Chinese, bearing the characters “Suyab”.

The Türgesh coinage originated from collaborations with the Sogdian city-states of Transoxiana. During the Northern Dynasties period in China, Sogdians became prominent in commerce, particularly in silk trade between China and the Eastern Roman Empire. However, the region of Transoxiana was under the influence of the Sasanian Persian Empire (also known as the Eran Shahr Empire), necessitating compliance with Persian trade regulations.

With the rise of the Western Turkic Khaganate, Byzantine Emperor Justin II sought an alliance with the Western Turks, leveraging their military power to challenge Sasanian Persia’s monopoly over Silk Road trade routes. His efforts were rebuffed by King Khosrow I of Persia, prompting an alternative northern trade route to be established along the midsection of the Silk Road, directly connecting to the Roman world.

As trade flourished along the Silk Road, numerous Sogdian settlements emerged. The Türgesh Khaganate, which ruled over these regions, could no longer be classified purely as a nomadic empire. The issuance of currency facilitated commerce and reinforced the Khaganate’s political control over the region, marking a strategic departure from traditional nomadic economic structures.

物件編號: A1821-2

年代: 公元 717-738 年

材料: 青銅

尺寸: 23.6 x 23.7 x 1.4 mm

重量: 5.4 g

製造地: 碎葉城，塔拉茲造幣廠

來源:

1. 斯賓克拍賣行 2022

2. 布威納博士舊藏

這是一枚可能由突厥別部，突騎施汗國蘇祿可汗所鑄行之突騎施錢。形制模仿西域粟特人(Sogdian ，亦稱昭武九姓)之錢幣，而粟特錢幣又是模仿大唐「開元通寶」，為經典的方孔圓錢。

正面幣文為粟特文，可轉寫為「βγу twrkyš γ’γ’n pny」或「bgy twrkys x’g’n pny」，應譯為「天神突騎施可汗錢」。

背面為一弓形圖騰，與錢幣的方孔巧妙的結合為古突厥文「𐱃」(ät)，意為馬，同時也是突騎施部的族徽，與另一種奧特拉爾古城出土的突騎施無孔錢，其錢背圖樣相同。

突騎施為西突厥諸咄陸部之一，唐史載為部落聯盟的一員，早期為吐如紇湖畔的一小部落，可能為匈奴後裔。散居該地區的漠北各部落共名為鐵勒諸部。公元5世紀，北魏與柔然相互征伐，當時臣服柔然的鐵勒諸部(或稱高車)，不願再受驅使，率眾西遷，隨著柔然的擴張退往西域。公元6世紀晚期，西突厥入主西域，突騎施臣服突厥。唐高宗顯慶二年(公元657年)，唐朝平西突厥叛，始於西域設都督府，後又於河中(亦稱十箭)地區設羈縻府州，眾建諸部以解體突厥。西突厥勢弱後，突騎施部酋長烏質勒陷安西四鎮之碎葉，設為牙帳，建突騎施第一汗國，唐廷無可奈何，封為郡王。唐睿宗景雲二年(公元711年)，烏質勒子娑葛與復興東突厥的後突厥汗國交戰，身死國滅。唐玄宗開元四年(公元716年)，東突厥可汗默啜逝世，諸部離散，東突厥轉與唐謀和，其勢轉衰。東突厥以西，突騎施部統屬之車鼻施部，其酋長蘇祿自號突騎施可汗，是為突騎施第二汗國。蘇祿周旋於東突厥、吐蕃以及大唐之間，左右逢源。蘇祿先後娶東突厥、吐蕃之貴女為可敦。開元五年(公元717年)，大唐冊蘇祿為忠順可汗。開元十年(公元722年)亦冊西突厥漢化部族，阿史那氏之女為交河公主，和親突騎施。蘇祿與大唐關係密切，為大唐遙控西域，多次抵禦奧瑪亞王朝，與呼羅珊總督交戰。公元738年，患癱病之蘇祿被突騎施黃姓首領莫賀達干襲殺，莫賀達干繼任為突騎施可汗。

突騎施第一、第二汗國皆以碎葉城為政治中心，碎葉是唐朝於西域所設的重鎮之一，與龜茲、疏勒、于闐並稱「安西四鎮」，於唐末撤離四鎮後沒落，長期位置不明。玄奘《大唐西域記》，杜環《經行記》，指出碎葉城東臨熱海（今伊塞克湖），西接塔拉斯。公元1961年，英國學者傑拉德．克勞森在其文章《阿克．貝希姆——碎葉城》(Ak Beshim-Suyab)指出阿克．貝希姆遺址即碎葉城。同年，法國東方學者韓百詩在文章《阿克．貝希姆及其寺院》(Ak-Besim et ses sanctuaires)亦作出相似的結論。公元1979年，張廣達結合文獻資料，如《新唐書》及由穆斯林地理學家伊本．胡爾達茲比赫所撰之《道里邦國志》以及考古發現，論證碎葉城應位於現今的阿克．貝希姆遺址。公元1982年，考古學家於該遺址發現一塊刻有漢文的殘碑，其中包括「碎葉」。

突騎施的鑄幣，來源於與河中粟特諸城邦的合作。中國北朝時期，粟特人開始進入中國經商，以販運絲綢一路至東羅馬為主。但當時河中地區為波斯薩珊王朝(或稱埃蘭沙赫爾帝國)之勢力範圍，需仰鼻息。後西突厥崛起，東羅馬皇帝查士丁二士聯絡西突厥，倚突厥兵威嘗試打破波斯壟斷的商道，遭波斯王霍斯勞一世拒絕，於是另於絲路中段開闢北道，直接連絡羅馬。絲路沿途貿易興盛，粟特聚居點眾多，統治此處的突騎施汗國，已難稱為單純的遊牧帝國，是故鑄行貨幣以便民、取利，也強調了突騎施汗國對當地的統治。