Item number: A3510／A3603

Reference Number: Kamyshev #10 (A3510)

Year: AD 659-751

Material: Bronze

Size: 24.6 x 24.5 x 1.4 mm (A3510)／22.8 x 22.8 x 2.7 mm (A3603)

Weight: 4.15 g (A3510)／8.95 g (A3603)

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025

These are Kaiyuan tongbao coins, probably imitations produced by Sogdians in the Semirechye region.

Their general form follows the Han cultural tradition of round coins with central square holes; however, although the inner rims are square, the perforations have been drilled as circles, a characteristic frequently observed in Kaiyuan tongbao from Semirechye. The obverses bear the four-character inscription “Kaiyuan tongbao,” written in a hybrid of clerical and seal scripts, to be read top–bottom, right–left. The raised inscriptions lack angular definition where they meet the surrounding fields, causing the characters to appear blurred, as if veiled in mist. Above the central perforations, there appear casting scars, most likely traces left when the coins were remoulded from earlier circulating pieces.

The principal Sogdian city-states were situated in Transoxiana, in present-day south-western Uzbekistan, and were referred to in Tang sources as the “Nine Surnames of Zhaowu” or “Nine Hu Surnames.” When travelling in Chinese territory, their inhabitants often adopted their polity’s name as a surname; the most famous case is An Lushan, who took his surname from the state of An. Although described as “nine surnames,” the number of polities was not fixed, nor were the inhabitants necessarily of a single ethnicity. The Sogdians may trace their origins to remnants of the Great Yuezhi after their defeat by the Xiongnu, gradually merging with Turkic and other peoples. In AD 630, during the fourth year of the Zhenguan reign of Emperor Taizong, Tang generals Li Jing and Li Ji destroyed the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, thereby increasing Tang influence in Central Asia. From the Zhenguan period onwards, the city-states began sending tribute. In AD 659, the fourth year of the Xianqing reign of Emperor Gaozong, the Tang annihilated the Western Turkic Khaganate and placed the Zhaowu polities under the suzerainty of the Anxi Protectorate. Benefiting from their strategic location and mercantile traditions, the Sogdians travelled widely along the Silk Road, establishing communities in Chang’an, Luoyang, and other centres, and gradually obtained positions within the Tang Empire’s military and administrative systems.

North of Shiguo (Tashkent), one of the Zhaowu polities, lay the Semirechye region, corresponding to modern south-eastern Kazakhstan and eastern Kyrgyzstan. “Semirechye,” meaning “seven rivers,” refers collectively to the seven main rivers and numerous tributaries flowing into Lake Balkhash. In the Sui period, the area was subject to the Western Turkic Khaganate. In AD 679, the first year of the Tiaolu reign of Emperor Gaozong, the Tang general Wang Fangyi established the city of Suyab in this territory. In AD 751, in the tenth year of the Tianbao reign of Emperor Xuanzong, Tang forces suffered defeat at the Battle of Talas, after which their power in Semirechye rapidly declined. The region subsequently came under the control of the Turgesh and Karluk khanates. Historically, Semirechye was a crucial section of the northern Silk Road, by which merchants and travellers could proceed to the Levant and even to Constantinople (modern Istanbul). In the 9th century AD, the Kara-Khanid Khanate expanded into the area, which gradually underwent Islamisation. From this point onwards, round coins with square perforations effectively ceased to circulate.

物件編號: A3510／A3603

參考文獻編號: Kamyshev #10 (A3510)

年代: 公元 659-751 年

材料: 青銅

尺寸: 24.6 x 24.5 x 1.4 mm (A3510)／22.8 x 22.8 x 2.7 mm (A3603)

重量: 4.15 g (A3510)／8.95 g (A3603)

來源: 史蒂芬稀有錢幣專輯 2025

這是一些應為七河地區的粟特人所仿鑄的開元通寶。

錢幣形制大致為漢文化圈傳統之方孔圓錢，惟內廓雖為方形，穿鑿時卻鑿為圓穿，七河地區之開元通寶常見此特徵。錢面有錢文「開元通寶」四字，兼隸兼篆，由上至下由右至左對讀。錢文陽刻與地章之間沒有折角，使錢文如霧罩般模糊漫漶。錢幕之錢穿上方似乎有一甲痕，大概是原行用錢翻鑄時，所留下之特徵。

粟特城邦主要位於河中地區(今烏茲別克西南部)，於唐代時人稱為「昭武九姓」或「九姓胡」，其國人於漢境行走時常以國名為姓，著名者如安祿山，便以｢安國｣為姓。雖名「九姓」，但並非僅有九個政權，也大概並非單一民族組成。粟特人源流可能可以上溯至大月氏被匈奴擊滅後的殘部，於當地逐漸與突厥等民族相融。唐太宗貞觀四年(公元630年)，唐軍將領李靖、李勣攻滅東突厥汗國，唐廷對西域影響力漸增。貞觀年間諸城邦紛紛開始入貢。唐高宗顯慶四年(公元659年)，唐滅西突厥，羈縻昭武九姓，統歸安西大都護府管理。粟特人藉地利與商貿之便，往來於絲綢之路沿線，並於長安、洛陽等地建立社群，並逐漸於唐帝國的軍、政系統中取得一定地位。

以「昭武九姓」中的石國(今塔什干)為北界，北部便是七河地區(今哈薩克東南部與吉爾吉斯東部)。七河為流向巴爾喀什湖的七條主要河流與無數支流的統稱。隋代此地原為西突厥統屬。唐高宗調露元年(公元679年)，唐將王方翼在此地區設碎葉城。唐玄宗天寶十年(公元751年)，唐軍於怛羅斯戰役中戰敗，勢力逐漸退出七河地區。本地先後由突騎施汗國、葛邏祿汗國所領。於歷史上，七河地區為絲路北線的重要路段，商民可途經此地區，前往黎凡特等地，甚或前往君士坦丁堡(今伊斯坦堡)。公元九世紀中，喀喇汗國擴張至該地區，並逐漸伊斯蘭化。至此方孔圓錢大約難再通行。