Item number: A3544／A3545／A3546／A3547

Year: ca. AD 1300-1600

Material: Copper

Size: 19.6 x 9.6 x 5.0 mm (A3544)／16.2 x 7.2 x 3.6 mm (A3545)／18.3 x 8.2 x 4.1 mm (A3546)／17.3 x 5.8 x 3.4 mm (A3547)

Weight: 2.7 g (A3544)／1.5 g (A3545)／1.5 g (A3546)／1.3 g (A3547)

Manufactured by: Samarkand Mint (part of)

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025

This is a irregular fals coin, possibly struck at Samarkand.

The piece takes the form of a short copper rod, which may originally have been cylindrical or cubic, later stamped with dies so that the impressed surfaces appear flattened. Some impressions display the elements “سمر” (smr) and “كند” (knd), which together spell “Samarkand.” Others bear the name “Bukhara” in recoeds, while many show only indecipherable geometric designs or tamgas (Old Turkic: 𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀, tamga), that is, tribal, dynastic, or civic emblems.

The term fals derives from the Roman follis, originally a large bronze coin, at first even coated with silver, which gradually depreciated in value. Transmitted through the Byzantine Empire into the Arab Caliphate, it became the fals, usually a low-denomination copper issue. In different lands its name appeared in variant forms such as fils, falūs, or pūl. Irregularly shaped fals coins have occasionally been recovered in southern Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Bukhara, Tashkent, and neighbouring areas. A very small number of irregular fals, on account of morphological similarities in their designs or the interpretation of their inscriptions, may possibly be attributed either to the Timurid period under Shah Rukh Mirza (AD 1404–1447) or to the Shaybanid khan, Pir Muhammad I (AD 1555–1560).

At this time in the southern steppes of Kazakhstan and in the oases of Transoxiana, the three jüz of the Kazakh Khanate (Uly Jüz, Orta Jüz, Kishi Jüz) maintained relative independence by virtue of their extensive pastures and mobile cavalry, frequently launching raids into Khwarazm (i.e. the Khanate of Khiva) and the settled societies of Transoxiana, seizing wealth and livestock through conflict. Meanwhile, Khwarazm and the Khanate of Bukhara gradually consolidated authority in the oasis cities, relying on irrigated agriculture and the commerce of the Silk Road to sustain their regimes. Bukhara, under the earlier Shaybanid dynasty and subsequently the Astrakhanid dynasty (also known as the Ashtarkhanid dynasty), became a centre of Islamic culture and scholarship, attracting scholars, artisans, and merchants from Persia and more distant regions. Samarkand vied with Bukhara for regional supremacy, continually adjusting its military strategies in response to the pressure of the Kazakh jüz, producing a dynamic and shifting political landscape.

物件編號: A3544／A3545／A3546／A3547

年代: 約公元 1300-1600 年

材料: 紅銅

尺寸: 19.6 x 9.6 x 5.0 mm (A3544)／16.2 x 7.2 x 3.6 mm (A3545)／18.3 x 8.2 x 4.1 mm (A3546)／17.3 x 5.8 x 3.4 mm (A3547)

重量: 2.7 g (A3544)／1.5 g (A3545)／1.5 g (A3546)／1.3 g (A3547)

製造地: 撒馬爾罕(部分)

來源: 史蒂芬稀有錢幣專輯 2025

這是一枚可能於撒馬爾罕所造的不規則型法爾銅幣

錢幣形制為細短的銅棍，可能原為圓柱體或立方體，加押以戳印，使得戳印處較扁。戳印處有些顯出「سمر」(smr)與｢كند｣(knd)，合為｢撒馬爾罕｣(Samarkand)，其他或記載有戳「布哈拉」者，更多則為無從釋讀的幾何圖案，或為塔木加(古突厥語：𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀, tamga)，即族群、政權或城市之徽記。

「法爾」(fals)則源自羅馬帝國的貨幣「福利斯」(follis)，原為大面額銅幣，最初甚至有包銀。隨後逐漸貶值。後經東羅馬帝國傳入阿拉伯帝國，成為「法爾」(fals)，通常為小面額銅幣。在不同國家，可能還有「費爾」(fils)、「法盧斯」(falus)、「普爾」(pūl)等變體幣名。不規則形狀的法爾幣則偶爾於哈薩克南部、烏茲別克、布哈拉、塔什干等地發現。有極少數的不規則法爾幣因幣圖在型態學上的類似或錢文的解讀，可能可以歸屬到帖木兒時期的沙哈魯(Shah Rukh Mirza, AD 1404-1447)或昔班王朝的可汗，皮爾·穆罕默德一世(Pir Muhammad Khan I, AD 1555-1560)。

這個時期，在中亞的南部草原與河中綠洲地帶，哈薩克汗國的三大玉茲(Uly Jüz、Orta Jüz、Kishi Jüz)憑藉廣闊的草場與機動的騎兵，在草原地帶保持相對獨立，時常南下與花剌子模(Khwarazm，即希瓦汗國，Khanate of Khiva)以及河中地區的定居社會發生衝突，透過劫掠或征戰奪取財富與牲畜。與此同時，花剌子模與布哈拉汗國(Khanate of Bukhara)逐步在綠洲城市建立權威，依賴灌溉農業與絲路商貿支撐政權。布哈拉在早先的昔班王朝(Shaybanid dynasty)，以及隨後的阿斯特拉罕王朝(Astrakhanid dynasty，也稱阿什塔爾汗王朝，Ashtarkhanid dynasty)統治下，成為伊斯蘭文化與學術的核心，吸引了來自波斯與更遠地區的學者、工匠與商人。撒馬爾罕與布哈拉爭奪區域霸權，並在與哈薩克三大玉茲的對抗中不斷調整軍事策略，形成動態且多變的政治生態。