Item number: A3561

Reference number: Craig#95

Year: AD 1850

Material: Silver

Size: 15.5 x 15.8 x 1.6 mm

Weight: 2.9 g

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025

This is a silver tenga coin minted under Muhammad Khudayar Khan of the Kokand Khanate.

The obverse inscription, in Persian written in the Persian script, reads “محمد خضير خان” (Muhammad Khudayar Khan), encircled by vegetal scrolls and leafy ornamentation. In the upper left and centre appears the date “۱۲۶۶,” corresponding to Hijri 1266, which marks the year of issue as AD 1850. The reverse inscription “ضرب در خوقند لطیف” (zarb dar Khoqand latif) signifies “struck in graceful Khoqand.” The inscription is enclosed within two superimposed squares, rotated at 45 degrees, each square composed of double lines. In the upper left and lower right corners the same date “۱۲۶۶” is also inscribed.

The term “tenga” in the Turkic languages often denotes a balance, a scale, or a unit of measurement or weight. Its etymology may derive from the Chinese and Mongolian “等” (deng), meaning “equal.” As a monetary denomination, it may also trace its origins to the small silver coin “tangka,” first introduced by the Delhi Sultanate in the thirteenth century AD, and familiar in Central Asia through the expansion of Muslim polities. Initially struck in copper, with legally fixed exchange rates against silver or gold, it gradually became predominantly silver as political and military disorder advanced. In Central Asia, from the time of the Khanate of Bukhara, the silver tenga served as the principal circulating currency, supplemented by copper fals.

The monetary system of the Kokand Khanate (1709–1876) comprised three levels of coinage in gold, silver, and copper: gold tenga, silver dirham, silver tenga, and copper pul. Among these, the silver tenga functioned as the primary unit of currency, circulating widely in Kokand and throughout the Ferghana Valley. Its value, typically equivalent to several dozen pul, varied by time and locality. The pul were frequently struck by local mints, inscribed in Arabic or Persian, and usually bore the names of the khan or Islamic religious expressions.

The Kokand Khanate was the principal power of the Ferghana Valley in Central Asia, reputedly descended from the Timurid dynasty. With its capital at Khoqand, it gradually unified surrounding territories and stood alongside Bukhara and Khiva as one of the three great khanates of the region. Its political structure continued the Turko-Mongol tradition, with authority vested in the khan, supported by tribal nobles and religious leaders. The society was diverse, comprising Uzbeks, Tajiks, Kyrgyz, and Sogdian-Persianised groups. The khanate reached its zenith in the first half of the nineteenth century, but in seeking expansion into Kashgar it clashed with the Qing empire. To avert protracted conflict, during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor it nominally became a vassal of the Qing, receiving the title “beg” for its Turkic tribal leaders. In the nineteenth century, the southward advance of the Russian Empire steadily eroded its power, while frequent successions further weakened the state. In AD 1876 Russian forces occupied Khoqand definitively, abolished the khanate, and established the Fergana Oblast, marking the end of the Kokand Khanate.

Muhammad Khudayar Khan, son of Shir Ali Khan, ruled the Kokand Khanate from AD 1845 to 1858 and again from 1863 to 1875. During his reign, the khanate was troubled by civil wars and interference from the Emirate of Bukhara. As the Russian Empire advanced into Central Asia, Kokand gradually fell under Russian suzerainty, and in AD 1876 it was formally dissolved following Khudayar’s failure to suppress an uprising. In AD 1875, due to his pro-Russian stance, he fled into exile in Orenburg, and ultimately died in AD 1882 in Herat, Afghanistan.

物件編號: A3561

參考書目編號: 克雷格#95

年代: 公元 1850 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 15.5 x 15.8 x 1.6 mm

重量: 2.9 g

來源: 史蒂芬稀有錢幣專輯 2025

這是一枚浩罕汗國胡達亞爾汗所鑄之堅戈銀幣。

正面幣銘為以波斯體書寫的波斯文「محمد خضير خان」，即「穆罕默德·胡達亞爾汗」，周圍環繞蔓草與枝葉的紋飾。左上角與中央「۱۲۶۶」，即回曆「1266」，標示發行年為公元1850年。背面幣銘「ضرب در خوقند لطیف」(zarb dar Khoqand latif)，即「造於優美的浩罕」，幣銘以兩個相錯45度角並相疊的正方框圍繞，框線各有兩條。左上角與右下角亦標示發行年「۱۲۶۶」。

「堅戈」(tenga)於突厥語系中多表示天秤、平衡，或某種計量、計重單位。語源可能來自漢語、蒙語中的「等」(deng)，為相等之意。作為貨幣，亦可能源於流通於印度次大陸的小面額銀幣「唐卡」(tangka)，由德里蘇丹國於公元十三世紀時創用，經穆斯林的擴張而為中亞地區所熟悉。最初為銅質，以法律規定對銀或金的兌換比例，後隨著政治與軍事的混亂，逐漸改為以銀為主。在中亞地區，自布哈拉汗國時期，銀堅戈便是主要的流通貨幣，輔以銅法爾。

浩罕汗國(Kokand Khanate, 1709–1876) 的貨幣體系主要由金、銀、銅三個層級構成：堅戈(tenga)金幣、迪拉姆(dirham)銀幣、堅戈(tenga)銀幣、以及普爾銅幣(pūl)。其中「堅戈」銀幣是主要的貨幣單位，在浩罕與費爾干納谷地流通廣泛，約等於幾十枚普爾，兌換率在各時間、各地點都有所不同。浩罕的普爾多由當地鑄局製造，銘文採用阿拉伯文或波斯文，通常刻有汗王名號或伊斯蘭宗教用語。

浩罕汗國是中亞地區費爾干納谷地的主要政權，傳說為帖木兒帝國後裔。以浩罕城為都，逐漸統一周邊，與布哈拉、希瓦並列為三大汗國。汗國政體承襲突厥—蒙古傳統，由汗王主政，並依賴部落貴族與宗教領袖。社會成分多元，包括烏茲別克、塔吉克、吉爾吉斯及粟特—波斯化群體。十九世紀前半達到鼎盛，並因欲往新疆喀什地區擴張而與清帝國衝突。為迴避戰事，於乾隆年間名義上成為清朝藩屬國，受封「伯克」(beg)，為突厥部族首領之意。十九世紀俄羅斯帝國南侵，逐步侵蝕汗國勢力，加以汗位更迭頻仍，其勢愈衰。公元1876年，俄軍徹底佔領浩罕，廢除汗位，設立費爾干納州，浩罕汗國自此滅亡。

穆罕默德·胡達亞爾汗(Muhammad Khudayar Khan)是浩罕汗國的統治者，於公元1845年至1858年；1863年至1875年間在位。他為希爾阿里汗之子，在其統治時期，浩罕汗國深受內戰與布哈拉酋長國干涉所擾。隨著俄羅斯帝國進軍中亞，浩罕逐漸淪為沙俄的附庸，最終於公元1876年因鎮壓民變失敗而被正式廢除。胡達亞爾汗在公元1875年因對俄採取親善立場而於動亂中被迫逃亡至俄國奧倫堡，並終於公元1882年客死阿富汗赫拉特。