Item number: A3601

Year: AD 1136-1143 (AH 530–537)

Material: Copper

Size: 22.7 x 20.5 x 0.6 mm

Weight: 2.6 g

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025

This coin is a copper dirham that was most likely issued under Yelü Dashi of the Western Liao.

All inscriptions are in Persian. The obverse begins with “لا اله الا” (lā ilāha illā…), followed by “لله وحده” (…allāh waḥdahu…) in the second line, and “لآ شريك له” (…lā sharīka lahu) in the third. These phrases combine the opening part of the shahāda with one of the six major Islamic declarations of faith: “There is no god but Allah; He is One, without partner.” At the bottom of the obverse appears a reversed line of Persian text, the beginning and end of which are unclear, though the middle part seems to read “سنه” (sanah), meaning “year,” used to indicate the date of issue.

On the reverse, the small upper inscription reads “سعد” (Saʿd), which is thought to have been the possible Muslim name of Yelü Dashi. Beneath it, the first line reads “محمد ر” (Muḥammad re-…), and the second line “سول الله ا” (…-sul Allāh e-…), forming the latter half of the shahāda: “Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah.” The third line reads “لمقتفى بالله” (…-l-Muqtafi bi-llāh), meaning “al-Muqtafi bi-llāh,” or “the one who follows the will of God.” This indicates that the coin was struck in accordance with Islamic tradition, citing the name of the thirty-first Abbasid caliph, al-Muqtafi bi-llāh (“he who follows God”), a common honorific among Muslim rulers.

In AD 840, after the Orkhon Uyghur Khaganate (also known as Huihe) was destroyed by the southward-advancing Kirghiz, groups of migrating Uyghurs established new states in the Tarim Basin and in the region of the Seven Rivers (present-day southeastern Kazakhstan and eastern Kyrgyzstan). The most prominent of these were the Kingdom of Qocho and the Qarakhanid Khanate. Both derived from the Uyghur people: the former adopted Buddhism as its state religion, established its capital at Gaochang (the ancient city of Turfan), inherited the Tang bureaucratic and documentary system, and maintained tributary relations with the Song dynasty; the latter, centred on Kashgar and Balasaghun, saw its ruler Satūq Bughra Khan convert to Islam in the tenth century, thereby founding the first Turkic Muslim polity in Central Asia. The two states engaged in military conflicts during the mid-tenth century, with the Kingdom of Qocho temporarily becoming a vassal of the Qarakhanids, regaining autonomy only after the latter’s internal fragmentation.

While the Qarakhanids and the Uyghurs of Gaochang coexisted, the Liao dynasty also began to intervene in the western regions. In AD 924, Emperor Taizu of the Khitan, Yelü Abaoji, launched a western campaign reaching as far as Beiting (Beshbalik), briefly occupying the former Tang frontier territories. By the late eleventh century, the Liao dynasty had entered decline. During the reign of Emperor Tianzuo (Yelü Yanxi), internal strife and the rise of the Jurchen severely weakened the state. In AD 1115, the Jurchen founded the Jin dynasty and soon allied with the Northern Song to attack the Liao. In AD 1120, the two powers agreed to partition Liao territory: the Song advanced from the south towards the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, while the Jin invaded from the north, successively capturing Dongjing (Liaoyang) and Shangjing (Linhuang), causing the Liao to lose more than half its lands. Emperor Tianzuo fled repeatedly; Yelü Dashi and other Khitan nobles and generals briefly established a “Northern Liao” in resistance before re-submitting to the emperor. In AD 1122, the Song army’s northern expedition ended in defeat, while Zhongjing (Dadingfu) fell to the Jin. In AD 1125, the Liao were decisively defeated at Yingzhou, Emperor Tianzuo was captured, and the Jin absorbed the entirety of Liao territory.

In AD 1124, before the final collapse of the dynasty, Prince Yelü Dashi of the imperial clan led a small group of Khitan nobles and followers westward into Central Asia, where he established the Western Liao regime. From AD 1134, its capital was set at Balasaghun, ruling a vast territory encompassing Gaochang, Yanqi, the Seven Rivers region, and the northern Tarim Basin. The Western Liao pursued a policy of cultural pluralism, protecting both Buddhism and Confucian learning, and allowing the Uyghurs of Gaochang to retain religious and administrative autonomy, forming a multi-ethnic structure under Khitan leadership. In AD 1209, the Uyghur Kingdom of Gaochang submitted to Genghis Khan, and in AD 1218, the remnants of the Western Liao were destroyed by Mongol generals led by Jebe, marking the end of the dynasty.

物件編號: A3601

年代: 公元 1136-1143 年 (回曆 530-537 年)

材質: 銅

尺寸: 22.7 x 20.5 x 0.6 mm

重量: 2.6 g

來源: 史蒂芬稀有錢幣專輯 2025

這是一枚應為西遼耶律大石所鑄的銅迪拉姆。

錢幣銘文均為波斯文，正面首行為「لااله الا 」(La ilahe ill…)，第二行為「لله وحده 」(…allah, vahdehu…)，第三行為「لآشريكله 」(…la şerike leh)，為清真言前段與六大真言之一的結合，「萬物非主，唯有真主；祂獨一無偶 」。最下方有一行倒書的波斯文，前後不明，中間看似「سنه 」(sanah)，即用以紀年的「年、年分」一字。

背面最上方小字為「سعد 」(Sa’d)，據稱可能為耶律大石的穆斯林名。其下首行為「محمد ر 」(Muhammed re-…)，第二行為「سول الله ا」(…-sulallah, e-…)，合意為清真言後段「穆罕默德是主的使者」。第三行「لمقتفى بالله」(…-l Muqtafi bi-llāh)，合意約為「穆格台菲，依循真主者」，表示此錢幣遵循伊斯蘭世界傳統，以阿拔斯王朝的第三十一代哈里發穆格台菲之名製造。「依循真主者」則為常見稱號。

公元840年，鄂爾渾回鶻汗國（即回紇）為南下的黠戛斯汗國所滅後，西遷的回鶻部眾分別在塔里木盆地與七河流域（今哈薩克東南、吉爾吉斯東部）建立政權，最具代表者為高昌回鶻汗國與喀喇汗王朝。兩者皆源自回鶻族群，前者以佛教為國教、定都西州（今吐魯番高昌故城），繼承唐制文書與官僚制度，並與宋朝維持朝貢關係；後者則以喀什噶爾與巴拉沙衮為中心，10世紀由薩圖克·布格拉汗皈依伊斯蘭教，建立中亞首個突厥穆斯林政權。雙方在10世紀中葉爆發軍事衝突，高昌回鶻一度成為喀喇汗附庸，至王朝內部分裂後方恢復自主地位。

在喀喇汗與高昌回鶻並立的同時，遼朝亦開始介入西域。公元924年，契丹太祖耶律阿保機曾派軍西征，遠至北庭地區，短暫控制原唐北庭故地。遼朝在11世紀後期逐漸衰弱，至天祚帝耶律延禧在位時，因連年內亂與女真勢力崛起，國勢日蹙。公元1115年，女真族建立金朝，旋即與北宋結盟，共同進攻遼。公元1120年，宋金聯盟約定瓜分遼土，宋軍自南攻燕雲十六州，而金軍自北南下，陸續攻陷東京遼陽府、遼都上京臨潢府，遼朝已失土過半。遼天祚帝輾轉奔逃，耶律大石等貴族及將領一時另立北遼以做抵抗，後又復歸天祚帝。公元1122年，北宋北伐大敗，相反的中京大定府在金兵圍攻下陷落；至1125年，天祚帝敗於金軍於應州之戰，遼國滅亡，金遂吞併遼之全境。

公元1124年，遼宗室耶律大石於國亡前出奔，率少部分契丹貴族與其部眾西遷至中亞，建立西遼政權。公元1134年起，都八剌沙袞，領有包括高昌、焉耆、七河與塔里木盆地北部在內的廣闊區域。西遼奉行多元文化政策，保護佛教與儒學，維持高昌回鶻的宗教與制度自主，形成契丹人統領、多族群自治的格局。公元1209年，高昌回鶻轉附成吉思汗。公元1218年，西遼餘脈為蒙古國將領哲別等所滅，西遼亡。