Item number: A3515

Reference number: Smirnova#1445

Year: AD 600-800

Material: Bronze

Size: 19.6 x 18.9 x 0.9 mm

Weight: 2.35 g

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025

This specimen is a round coin with a square central hole, believed to have been cast by one of the rulers of Farghana (ancient Bakhana) in Transoxiana, bearing the title of “governor.”

Its form follows the traditional style of round coins with square holes characteristic of the Chinese cultural sphere. The obverse carries Sogdian characters, approximately reading “𐽄𐼾𐼴 𐼲𐼰𐼲𐼰𐼻 𐽂𐼴𐽂𐼴𐼲” (lpw γ’γ’n twtwγ). The sequence “𐼲𐼰𐼲𐼰𐼻” corresponds to “Khagan,” while “𐽂𐼴𐽂𐼴𐼲” signifies “Governor” or “Military Governor,” a designation possibly derived from the Chinese term. The remaining part of the inscription is uncertain. On the right side of the square hole appears the symbol “𐋁,” rotated ninety degrees clockwise, which is an Old Turkic character pronounced “äš.” According to one interpretation, this symbol represents the tamga (Old Turkic: 𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀), the tribal emblem traditionally used by Turkic peoples, specifically that of Farghana. The coin’s field is otherwise plain and without inscription.

Bakhana, corresponding to modern Ferghana, lies in a fertile basin south of the Tian Shan and along the upper Syr Darya. It has long been a crucial hub of east–west communication along the Silk Road. Due to its enclosed terrain, it frequently remained in a state of relative independence. The polity known in the Han dynasty as “Dayuan” was located here and was renowned in historical sources for producing “blood-sweating horses.” During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han, Zhang Qian’s mission to the Western Regions greatly increased knowledge of Dayuan, and the quest for fine horses prompted the Han–Dayuan War. By the Tang period, owing to geographic proximity, Bakhana maintained frequent contact with Sogdian city-states such as An and Kang, and also sustained tributary and investiture relations with the Tang court.

With the rise of Islamic power in Central Asia, in AD 712 the king of Bakhana was deposed by Qutayba ibn Muslim, governor of Khurasan under the Umayyad Caliphate, who installed another ruler in his place. The deposed king fled to Kuqa and sought assistance from the Tang court. In AD 715, Zhang Xiaosong, Protector-General of Beiting, defeated Tibetan forces and restored him to his throne. Over the subsequent 180 years, the rulers of Bakhana alternately entered into matrimonial alliances with the Tang dynasty and accepted imperial investiture, while simultaneously engaging in intermittent conflicts with the Arabs. Gradually, most of the region came under Muslim rule. In AD 819, Ghassan ibn Abbad, governor of Khurasan, appointed Ahmad ibn Asad, a prince of the Samanid dynasty, as ruler of Ferghana, marking the extinction of the indigenous royal line.

物件編號: A3515

參考書目編號: 斯米爾諾娃#1445

年代: 公元 600-800 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 19.6 x 18.9 x 0.9 mm

重量: 2.35 g

來源: 史蒂芬稀有錢幣專輯 2025

這是一枚應為河中地區拔汗那地區政權統治者之一所鑄的方孔圓錢，署名都督。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統之方孔圓錢。錢面有粟特字母，大約為「𐽄𐼾𐼴 𐼲𐼰𐼲𐼰𐼻 𐽂𐼴𐽂𐼴𐼲」(lpw γ’γ’n twtwγ)，「𐼲𐼰𐼲𐼰𐼻」即可汗，「𐽂𐼴𐽂𐼴𐼲」即都督或總督，語源可能來自漢語，其餘不明。錢穿右側有一順時針旋轉90度的「𐋁」符號，為古突厥語字符，音「äš」，有一說為拔汗那之塔木加(古突厥語：𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀, tamga，突厥部族族徽傳統)。錢幕則光平無文。

拔汗那，即今日費爾干納(Ferghanna)，位於中亞天山以南、錫爾河上游的肥沃盆地，自古為絲綢之路東西交通的重要樞紐。地形封閉，長期屬於相對獨立的狀態。漢代稱為「大宛」的政權就位於此地，史書中以出產汗血馬著稱。西漢武帝時張騫通西域，對大宛的認識大為增加，並因求得良馬而發動過漢宛之戰。至唐代，由於地理鄰近，拔汗那常與安國、康國等粟特城邦往來，亦與唐朝保持朝貢和冊封關係。隨著中亞伊斯蘭勢力的興起，公元712年，原拔汗那王被奧瑪雅王朝呼羅珊總督屈底波驅逐，另立新君，拔汗那王則逃到庫車避難，並向唐廷求援。公元715年，北庭都護張孝嵩則擊敗吐蕃駐軍助其復國。約180年間，拔汗那諸王時有與唐廷和親並接受冊封，與阿拉伯人間斷進行拉鋸。大部逐漸為穆斯林所統治。公元819年，呼羅珊總督加桑·伊本·阿布巴德(Ghassan ibn Abbad)任命薩曼王朝王子艾哈邁德·伊本·阿薩德(Ahmad ibn Asad)為費爾幹納的統治者，標誌著本地王系的滅亡。