Item number: A3518

Reference number: Zeimal#fig. 2, no. 17

Year: AD 640-708

Material: Bronze

Size: 15.2 x 15.2 x 0.6 mm

Weight: 0.8 g

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025

This coin is believed to have been cast by an unknown ruler of An Kingdom in the region of Sogdiana.

The form of the coin is that of the traditional Chinese round coin with a square central hole.Beneath the hole on the obverse is the Chinese character “元” (yuan), imitating the character as it appears in the inscription “Kaiyuan tongbao” and giving the coin its name. Above the hole appears a symbol resembling “⊃○⊂”, which represents a tamga of Bukhara (Old Turkic: 𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀, tamga, a traditional tribal emblem of the Turkic peoples), probably serving as a civic emblem. This may indicate the political authority or minting location, although some scholars have suggested that the place of minting was Paikend (also spelled Peikend or Peykent), a frontier city located to the southwest of the Bukhara oasis. On the left and right are Sogdian inscriptions, though worn and indistinct. The reverse is plain and uninscribed.

An Kingdom was one of the Sogdian city-states situated in the western part of Sogdiana (in modern-day southwestern Uzbekistan). In Tang sources it was considered one of the “Nine Surnames of Zhaowu” or “Nine Surnames of the Hu,” and its people, when travelling in China, often adopted the name of their state as a surname. The most famous such figure was An Lushan. Despite the designation “Nine Surnames,” there were not only nine political entities, nor were they likely a single ethnic group. The origins of the Sogdians may be traced back to remnants of the Great Yuezhi who survived after their defeat by the Xiongnu, gradually intermingling with the Turks and other peoples of the region. In AD 630, during the fourth year of the Zhenguan reign of Emperor Taizong, the Tang generals Li Jing and Li Ji destroyed the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, thereby extending Tang influence into Central Asia. In AD 638, An Kingdom made its first tribute submission. In AD 659, during the fourth year of the Xianqing reign of Emperor Gaozong, the Tang conquered the Western Turkic Khaganate and established a protectorate system over the Nine Surnames of Zhaowu, appointing the ruler of An Kingdom as Prefect of Anxi Province, subject to the Anxi Protectorate. Making use of their geographical position and commercial acumen, the Sogdians became prominent merchants along the Silk Road and established communities in Chang’an, Luoyang, and other cities, while also gaining positions within the Tang military and administrative systems. In AD 709, in the third year of the Jinglong reign of Emperor Zhongzong, the Umayyad general Qutayba ibn Muslim, Governor of Khurasan, conquered the An Kingdom capital of Puhe (the ancient name for Bukhara), bringing about the kingdom’s downfall.

物件編號: A3518

參考書目編號: 澤馬爾#圖2，項17

年代: 公元 640-708 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 15.2 x 15.2 x 0.6 mm

重量: 0.8 g

製造地: 布哈拉

來源: 史蒂芬稀有錢幣專輯 2025

這是一枚應為河中地區安國的不知名統治者所鑄的方孔圓錢。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統之方孔圓錢。錢面錢穿下方有漢字「元」，仿「開元通寶」之「元」字，因此得名。錢穿上方有一形似「⊃○⊂」組成的符號，為布哈拉之塔木加(古突厥語：𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀, tamga，突厥部族族徽傳統)，當為城徽。可能標示所屬政權或鑄造地，但另有一說鑄地為沛肯(Paikend/Peikend/Peykent)，為布哈拉綠洲西南之邊境城市。左右為粟特文，漫漶不明。錢幕光背無文。

安國為粟特城邦之一，位於河中西部地區(今烏茲別克西南部)，於唐代時人認為是「昭武九姓」或「九姓胡」的一支，其國人於漢境行走時常以國名為姓，著名者如安祿山。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。貞觀十二年(公元638年)時安國首次入貢。唐高宗顯慶四年(公元659年)，唐滅西突厥，羈縻昭武九姓，封安國君主為安息州刺史，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。唐中宗景隆三年(公元709年)，伍麥亞王朝(時稱白衣大食)將領，呼羅珊總督屈底波·本·穆斯林征服安國都城捕喝(即布哈拉Bukhara古譯)，安國覆亡。