Item number: A3600

Year: circa AD 731-775

Material: Bronze

Size: 25.2 x 25.0 x 1.7 mm

Weight: 7.2 g

Manufactured by: Panjakent Mint

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025

This coin was first struck by the Karluk Khaganate in the region of the Seven Rivers (Jetisu). As the ruler’s title was Arslan, it is also referred to as the Arslani coin. According to provenance records, the coin was reportedly discovered near present-day Panjakent in northern Tajikistan (also known historically as Bunjikat or Pənjikent).

The coin follows the traditional East Asian format of a round piece with a square central hole. The obverse bears a Sogdian inscription reading “𐼰𐽀𐼼𐽄𐼻𐼰 𐼸𐼴𐼷𐽄 𐼷𐽀𐼸𐼷𐼻” (‘rsln’ kwyl yrkyn). The first term, “𐼰𐽀𐼼𐽄𐼻𐼰” (‘rsln’), transliterates as Arslan, which may denote a royal title or the name of the ruler himself. The phrase “𐼸𐼴𐼷𐽄 𐼷𐽀𐼸𐼷𐼻” (kwyl yrkyn) corresponds to Kül Irkin, referring to Kül Tegin, the final tarkhan of the Second Turkic Khaganate, who conquered the Karluk tribes in AD 713. It is possible that the Karluks subsequently adopted his title as a designation for their own leader. The term Irkin itself signifies a noble or high-ranking official.

On the reverse, to the left of the square aperture are said to appear two superimposed characters resembling the Old Turkic letter “𐰯”, while on the right is the tamga (tribal emblem) of the Karluk confederation.

At the beginning of the 7th century, the Karluks were a subordinate tribe within the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, inhabiting the upper Yenisei basin and the steppe east of Lake Balkhash. When the Second Turkic Khaganate was re-established in AD 682, the Karluks again became its vassals, but by the mid-8th century they had risen to independence amid internal struggles within the Khaganate and the westward expansion of the Abbasid Caliphate. In AD 739, the Tang dynasty accepted the Karluks as tributary allies in an effort to counterbalance Turkic power. In AD 744, the Karluks allied with the Uighurs and the Basmils to overthrow the Second Turkic Khaganate. In AD 766, they defeated the remnants of the Turgesh Khaganate in the Seven Rivers region, thereby establishing their supremacy there. Subsequently, they controlled key urban centres such as Suyab and Talas, acting as intermediaries along the major trans-Asian trade routes. The Karluk polity was loosely organised, blending Turkic and Iranian cultural elements, and by the late 8th century they had embraced Islam. Their descendants later founded the Kara-Khanid Khanate in the 9th century, partly inheriting and perpetuating the Turkic political and cultural traditions of Central Asia.

物件編號: A3600

年代: 約公元 731-775 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 25.2 x 25.0 x 1.7 mm

重量: 7.2 g

製造地: 噴赤干

來源: 史蒂芬稀有錢幣專輯 2025

這是一枚葛邏祿汗國於七河地區始鑄之錢幣，因王號為阿爾斯蘭，故亦稱阿爾斯蘭尼幣。具來源稱錢幣出自今塔吉克北部的彭吉肯特(Panjakent，或譯布恩吉卡特、噴赤干)。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。正面為粟特文「𐼰𐽀𐼼𐽄𐼻𐼰 𐼸𐼴𐼷𐽄 𐼷𐽀𐼸𐼷𐼻」(‘rsln’ kwyl yrkyn)。「𐼰𐽀𐼼𐽄𐼻𐼰」(‘rsln’)，可音譯為阿爾斯蘭，可能為王號或王名。「𐼸𐼴𐼷𐽄 𐼷𐽀𐼸𐼷𐼻」(kwyl yrkyn)即為「闕特勤」，為後突厥汗國最後一任答剌罕，於公元713年征服葛邏祿諸部，可能由此葛邏祿諸部將其名作為領導者的稱謂。此外，特勤一詞本身便是貴族或長官的意思。

背面錢穿左側據稱為兩個相疊的古突厥文字母「𐰯」，右側為葛邏祿部族族徽(tamga)。

公元7世紀初，葛邏祿(Karluks)即為東突厥汗國的附屬部族之一，居於葉尼塞河上游及巴爾喀什湖東方草原。當第二突厥汗國於公元682年復興後，葛邏祿一度臣屬於其統治，但在8世紀中期，隨著汗國內部權力衝突與阿拔斯勢力的西進，他們逐漸崛起為獨立力量。公元739年，唐朝納葛邏祿為藩屬，嘗試以此制衡突厥。公元744年，葛邏祿聯合回鶻與拔悉蜜推翻後突厥汗國。公元766年，葛邏祿擊敗七河地區的突騎施汗國餘部，奠定其在當地的主導地位。此後，他們控制碎葉(Suyab)、怛邏斯(Talas)等要地，成為中亞商路的重要仲介者。葛邏祿社會結構鬆散，融合突厥與伊朗文化元素，並在8世紀後期接受了伊斯蘭教。其後裔於9世紀建立喀喇汗王朝，部分繼承並延續了突厥化的中亞政治與文化傳統。