Item number: A3511

Reference Number: Lang & Lin #4-165

Year: AD 659-737

Material: Bronze

Size: 21.6 x 21.6 x 0.9 mm

Weight: 1.35 g

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025

This coin is believed to struck under the authority of the Sogdian ruler Saminata of the Eastern Cao kingdom (Sutrishna) in the Zhetysu region. Some scholars, however, attribute it to Kangguo.

Its form broadly follows the Han cultural tradition of the round coin with a square hole. The inscription appears to be a cursive rendering of the Sogdian letters “𐼼𐽂𐽂𐼿𐼷” or “𐼑𐼚𐼚𐼕𐼊” (sttcy), interpreted as “Samitana”. On each side of the central hole, the coin bears a crescent-and-star device, consisting of two concentric circles, with an aperture at the upper arc of the outer circle forming a crescent shape, and a downward-pointing “T” attached at the lower arc. Its significance remains to be determined; however, since neither his predecessors nor successors employed it, it may be regarded as the royal emblem of King Saminata, continuing the tradition among tribes under Turkic rule of using the tamga (Old Turkic: 𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀, tamga). The upper part of the reverse field is perforated, resembling in appearance the slightly later so-called “lotus-root coins”; however, unlike those intentionally designed issues, this feature seems to result from the excessive thinness of the flan which caused the field to break away.

The Sogdian city-states were located primarily in the region of Transoxiana (present-day eastern Uzbekistan, north-western Tajikistan, and south-eastern Kazakhstan). During the Tang dynasty they were collectively known as the “Nine surnames of Zhaowu” or “Nine Hu surnames”. When their people travelled in Chinese territory, they often used the name of their native polity as a surname. A well-known example is An Lushan, whose surname derived from “An state”. Despite the designation “nine surnames”, the number of polities was not strictly nine, nor were they necessarily composed of a single ethnicity. The Sogdians may have originated in remnants of the Great Yuezhi destroyed by the Xiongnu, later merging with Turkic and other neighbouring peoples. In AD 630, during the reign of Emperor Taizong, Tang forces under Li Jing and Li Ji destroyed the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, and Tang influence in Central Asia increased. In the following years, the Sogdian polities began to send tribute. In AD 659, under Emperor Gaozong, the Tang defeated the Western Turks, brought the Zhaowu states into submission, and placed them under the jurisdiction of the Anxi Protectorate. Owing to their advantageous location and commercial skill, the Sogdians played a central role along the Silk Road, establishing communities in Chang’an, Luoyang, and elsewhere, and gradually securing positions within the military and administrative structures of the Tang empire.

During the Tang period, the Cao kingdom was divided into three branches: Western, Central, and Eastern. The Eastern Cao, situated east of Kangguo in the north-eastern Transoxiana, was said to descend from a collateral line of Kangguo rulers. According to the sources, it first sent tribute as early as AD 624, under Emperor Gaozu. In Chinese texts, Eastern Cao appears under various transcriptions such as Xidulisena, Suduishana, Shuidushana, Jiebutanna, Sudushini, Sudushana, and Wushrusana. In Western sources it is recorded as Sutrishna, Ustrushana, or Usrushna. The ruler bore the title “Afshin”. The capital was at Panjakent (also rendered Bunjiqat or Penjikent) in present-day northern Tajikistan, though some accounts place it at Ura-Tyube or Shahristan, formerly the site of Han Dynasty Ershi, which under the Tang was made Ershi prefecture.

From AD 705, under Caliph al-Walid I of the Umayyad dynasty, the governor of Khurasan, Qutayba ibn Muslim, expanded into Transoxiana. This led to a series of conflicts involving the principal military powers of the region: the Turgesh Khaganate, Tokharistan, the Sogdian city-states, and Tang forces. By AD 713, Umayyad troops had reached the north-east of Transoxiana and engaged in warfare with Eastern Cao. In AD 715, having nearly subdued the entire realm of Cao and advanced into the eastern neighbour of Balkhanna (modern Ferghana Valley), Qutayba rebelled against the newly enthroned caliph owing to personal enmity. In the same year, Zhang Xiaosong, protector of Beiting, expelled Tibetan forces from the region, assisting the restoration of Balkhanna. In AD 717, during the battle of Bohuan, Tang commander Tang Jiahuai, allied with the Karluks, repelled the combined forces of the Umayyads, Turgesh, and Tibetans, thereby consolidating Tang influence. From AD 720 onwards, successive governors of Khurasan launched repeated attacks against Eastern Cao and demanded tribute, though they never achieved complete control. In AD 721, Su Lu, the Turgesh khan, inflicted a crushing defeat upon the deputy governor of Iraq, Muslim ibn Sa‘id al-Kilabi, at the battle of the Day of Thirst, forcing Arab withdrawal from most of Transoxiana, though hostilities continued intermittently. In AD 751, the Tang suffered defeat at the battle of Talas against the combined forces of the Abbasid caliphate, Tibetans, and Karluks, marking the decline of Chinese influence. In AD 755, the An Lushan rebellion erupted, severing the Silk Road and collapsing the frontier defences. From this time, the Tang empire irretrievably lost its sway in Central Asia, and Transoxiana entered a gradual process of Islamisation. Finally, in AD 892, the Sunni Samanid dynasty fully annexed Eastern Cao, bringing its existence to an end.

物件編號: A3511

參考文獻編號: 郎、林 #4-165

年代: 公元 659-737 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 21.6 x 21.6 x 0.9 mm

重量: 1.35 g

來源: 史蒂芬稀有錢幣專輯 2025

這是一枚應為河中地區東曹國的沙米塔那土王所鑄之錢。亦有學者認為其出自康國。

錢幣形制大致為漢文化圈傳統之方孔圓錢。錢文應為粟特字母草書「𐼼𐽂𐽂𐼿𐼷 」或「𐼑𐼚𐼚𐼕𐼊」(sttcy)，譯為「沙米塔那(Samitana)」。錢幕錢穿兩側各有一新月孕星徽記，具體為兩個同心圓，外圓上方圓周開口似月形，外圓下方接一倒「T」型。其意義待考，但從前後諸王都未曾使用來看，可能是沙米塔那王之王徽，延續突厥轄下諸部族使用塔木加(古突厥語：𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀, tamga)的傳統。上方地章簍空，型態類似稍晚的「藕根錢」，但不同於「藕根錢」的有意設計，應為錢體過薄所致地章脫落。

粟特城邦主要位於河中地區(今烏茲別克東部、塔吉克西北部、哈薩克東南部等區域)，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。

唐時曹國分西曹國、中曹國、東曹國三部。位於康國以東，河中地區東北部。據稱其王系為康國支脈。史籍所見，曹國最早於唐高祖武德七年(公元624年)便曾遣使入貢。東曹國於漢籍中亦譯為窸堵利瑟那、蘇對沙那、率都沙那、劫布呾那、蘇都識匿、蘇都沙那、烏什魯薩納等，西方文獻曾用名Sutrishna、Ustrushana、Usrushna。王號「阿夫新」或「阿夫申」(Afshin)。都城位於今塔吉克北部的彭吉肯特(Panjakent，或譯布恩吉卡特、噴赤干)，另有他說為今烏勒提尤別或沙赫里斯坦，為漢貳師城舊地，唐時封為貳師州。武則天神龍元年(公元705年)起，伍麥亞王朝哈里發瓦利德一世治下的呼羅珊總督屈底波·本·穆斯林(Qutayba ibn Muslim)擴張至河中地區，與當地的主要軍事力量突騎施汗國、吐火羅、粟特城邦政權及唐軍發生一系列衝突。唐玄宗開元元年(公元713年)，奧瑪雅軍已威脅至河中地區東北，開始與東曹國交戰。開元三年(公元715年)，幾乎控制曹國全境，並進佔曹國以東的拔汗那地區(今費爾干納谷地)的屈底波因與新任哈里發有隙，起兵叛亂。同年，北庭都護張孝嵩擊退當地吐蕃駐軍，助拔汗那復國，並在開元五年(公元717年)的撥換城之戰中，安西都護湯嘉惠聯合葛邏祿，擊退伍麥亞、突騎施與吐蕃聯軍，鞏固了唐帝國在當地的影響力。開元八年(公元720年)起，呼羅珊總督數度攻擊東曹國並索貢，但未完全控制本地區。開元九年(公元721年)，突騎施汗國蘇逯可汗於渴水日之戰中大敗伊拉克副總督穆斯林·伊本·薩伊迪·阿酗-卡拉比(Muslim ibn Sa’id al-Kilabi)，阿拉伯勢力幾乎撤出河中地區，但仍征伐不斷。唐玄宗天寶十年(公元751年)，怛羅斯之役，唐軍敗於阿拔斯王朝、吐蕃與葛邏祿聯軍，唐帝國影響力衰減。天寶十四年(公元755年)，安史之亂爆發，絲路隔斷，邊防崩潰，唐帝國徹底喪失對西域的影響力，河中地區至此逐漸伊斯蘭化。唐哀帝景福元年(公元892年)，遜尼派穆斯林主導的薩曼王朝徹底吞併東曹國，東曹國滅亡。