Item number: A3516

Reference Number: Smirnova#1428

Year: AD 500-700

Material: Bronze

Size: 19.6 x 18.9 x 0.9 mm

Weight: 2.35 g

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025

This coin is believed to have been issued by Satachai, ruler of the Eastern Cao Kingdom in the Transoxiana region.

The obverse depicts the left-facing figure of an elephant with its trunk and tail hanging down, all four legs firmly on the ground. Inscriptions flank the head and tail of the elephant. Beside the head, the inscription is in Sogdian script, “𐼼𐽂𐼿𐽀‎𐼷” (stcry), which may be read as “Satachai”, meaning “teacher”. It is uncertain whether this represents a royal name or merely a title. Beside the elephant’s tail, the inscription reads “𐼺𐽀𐼰𐼷”, meaning “lord” or “sovereign”. The reverse bears at the centre the characters “𐰽𐰭”, resembling the symbol “YS”. The significance remains unclear, but as the “𐰭” symbol was employed by successive rulers, it may represent the city emblem or tribal insignia of Sutrishna, while “𐰽” may have served as a royal emblem. This reflects the Turkic tradition whereby subordinate tribes adopted tamgas (Old Turkic: 𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀, tamga) as identifying marks. Both obverse and reverse central motifs, together with the inscriptions, are surrounded by a border of sparse dots. The flan is irregular, suggesting that the piece was struck by impressing a die upon a cast blank, following a technique in use since the Hellenistic period.

The Sogdian city-states were situated primarily in Transoxiana (present-day eastern Uzbekistan, north-western Tajikistan, and south-eastern Kazakhstan). In the Tang period they were collectively known as the “Nine Surnames of Zhaowu” or the “Nine Hu Surnames”. When Sogdians travelled within the Chinese empire, they often adopted their state’s name as a surname; the most famous example is An Lushan, whose surname derived from the state of An. Despite the title “Nine Surnames”, there were in fact more than nine polities, and their population was not ethnically uniform. The origins of the Sogdians may be traced to remnants of the Yuezhi after their destruction by the Xiongnu, who gradually merged with Turkic and other peoples. In AD 630 (the fourth year of the Zhenguan reign of Emperor Taizong), Tang generals Li Jing and Li Ji destroyed the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, thereby expanding Tang influence in the Western Regions. During the Zhenguan era, the city-states began to send tribute. In AD 659 (the fourth year of the Xianqing reign of Emperor Gaozong), the Tang defeated the Western Turks and placed the “Nine Surnames of Zhaowu” under the nominal authority of the Anxi Protectorate. Taking advantage of their geographical position and commercial acumen, the Sogdians were active along the Silk Road, establishing communities in Chang’an, Luoyang, and elsewhere, and gradually gaining positions within the Tang military and administrative systems.

In Tang times the Cao state was divided into Western, Central, and Eastern Cao. It lay to the east of Kang, in the north-eastern part of Transoxiana, and its royal line is said to have been a branch of Kang. Historical records indicate that as early as AD 624 (the seventh year of the Wude reign of Emperor Gaozu), the state of Cao sent envoys to pay tribute. In Chinese sources, Eastern Cao was also rendered as Xidulisenna, Suduoshana, Shuiduoshana, Jiebudan, Sudushini, Sudushana, and Wushrusana; Western sources referred to it as Sutrishna, Ustrushana, or Usrushna. Its rulers bore the title “Afshin”. The capital was located at Panjakent (also rendered Bunijkat or Penzhikan) in northern Tajikistan, though other traditions identify Ura-Tyube or Shahristan as the capital. This was the site of the former Han-era Ershi city, which in Tang times was designated as Ershi Prefecture.

From AD 705 (the first year of the Shenlong reign of Empress Wu Zetian), Qutayba ibn Muslim, governor of Khurasan under the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I, expanded into Transoxiana. This brought him into conflict with the principal powers of the region, including the Türgesh Khaganate, Tokharistan, the Sogdian city-states, and Tang forces. By AD 713 (the first year of the Kaiyuan reign of Emperor Xuanzong), the Umayyad armies threatened the north-east of Transoxiana and began fighting with Eastern Cao. In AD 715 (the third year of Kaiyuan), Qutayba had brought almost the whole of Cao under control and advanced into the Fergana Valley to the east, but, falling out with the new caliph, he rose in rebellion. In the same year, Zhang Xiaosong, Protector-General of Beiting, expelled the Tibetan garrison from the region, enabling Fergana to regain independence. In AD 717 (the fifth year of Kaiyuan), Tang Protector-General Tang Jiahuai, allied with the Karluks, defeated the combined forces of the Umayyads, Türgesh, and Tibetans at the Battle of Bohuan, thereby consolidating Tang influence. From AD 720 onwards, the Khurasan governors attacked Eastern Cao repeatedly and demanded tribute, though they never established permanent control. In AD 721 (the ninth year of Kaiyuan), Suluk Qaghan of the Türgesh inflicted a major defeat upon Muslim ibn Saʿid al-Kilabi, deputy governor of Iraq, at the Battle of the Day of Kharistan, compelling the Arabs to withdraw from most of Transoxiana, though hostilities continued.

In AD 751 (the tenth year of the Tianbao reign of Emperor Xuanzong), the Tang were defeated at the Battle of Talas by the combined forces of the Abbasids, Tibetans, and Karluks, marking the decline of Tang influence. In AD 755 (the fourteenth year of Tianbao), the An Lushan Rebellion broke out, severing the Silk Road and collapsing the frontier defence system. The Tang thereafter lost their influence in the Western Regions, and Transoxiana underwent gradual Islamisation. Finally, in AD 892 (the first year of the Jingfu reign of Emperor Zhaozong), the Sunni Muslim Samanid dynasty annexed Eastern Cao in its entirety, bringing the kingdom to an end.

物件編號: A3516

參考文獻編號: 斯米爾諾娃#1428

年代: 公元 500-700 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東曹國的君主薩塔恰雷所造錢幣。

錢幣正面為一隻大象的左側立像，四腳著地，象鼻、象尾下垂。大象頭尾兩側各有錢文。左側象首旁錢文應為粟特文「𐼼𐽂𐼿𐽀‎𐼷」(stcry)，譯為「薩塔恰雷(Satachai)」，有「導師」之意，或非王名而是稱號。右側象尾旁有錢文「𐼺𐽀𐼰𐼷」，意為「主人」，或可譯為「君主」。錢背中央「𐰽𐰭」為形似「YS」之符號。其意義待考，但「𐰭」符號從前後諸王都曾使用來看，可能是蘇都沙那之城徽或族徽，「𐰽」則可能是王徽，為突厥轄下諸部族使用塔木加(古突厥語：𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀, tamga)以做徽記的傳統。錢幣正背面中央圖案、錢文周圍皆有稀疏的點圈圍繞。幣緣不成正圓，當為鑄餅壓印圖案打製而成，為希臘化時代以來傳統。

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。