Item number: A3604

Year: circa AD 738-766

Material: Bronze

Size: 22.1 x 22.2 x 1.3 mm

Weight: 2.8 g

Manufactured by: Panjakent Mint

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025

This coin is likely a Tukish coin issued by a subordinate branch of the Türks, specifically the Turgesh Khaganate.

Its form imitates the coinage of the Sogdians (also known as the “Nine Surnames of Zhaowu”), who inhabited the Western Regions. The Sogdian coins themselves were modelled after the Tang dynasty’s Kaiyuan tongbao, following the classical East Asian form of a round coin with a square hole. The obverse bears a Sogdian inscription “𐼰𐼷𐼻𐼰𐽄 𐽂𐼸𐼷𐼻 𐼶𐼴𐼱𐼴 𐼾𐼻𐼷” (ʾynʾl tkyn xwβw pny). The first term “𐼰𐼷𐼻𐼰𐽄” (ʾynʾl) can be transliterated as Inal, which may refer to a royal title or personal name. The following word “𐽂𐼸𐼷𐼻” (tkyn) represents tegin, meaning “prince” or “noble”. The third group, “𐼶𐼴𐼱𐼴” (xwβw), denotes “ruler” or “sovereign”, while “𐼾𐼻𐼷” (pny) means “money” or “coin”.

Above the square hole on the reverse appears an inverted Turgesh tribal tamga (emblem). On the left is said to be an inverted letter “𐰯” in Old Turkic script, while on the right stands the tamga of the Karluk tribe. At the lower right is the inscription “𐼾𐽀𐼻” (prn), meaning “auspicious”, which functions as a benedictory phrase.

The Turgesh were one of the Dulu tribal confederations of the Western Türks. Chinese historical sources describe them as a member of a broader tribal alliance. Originally a small tribe living near Lake Issyk-Kul, possibly of Xiongnu descent, they belonged to the confederation known as the Tiele. In the fifth century AD, amid warfare between the Northern Wei and the Rouran, the Tiele—also known as the Gaoche—refused further subjugation to the Rouran and migrated westward into Central Asia. By the late sixth century, the Western Türks had gained dominance in the region, and the Turgesh became their vassals. In AD 657, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang defeated a Western Turkic rebellion, establishing protectorates throughout the Western Regions and creating indirect administrative units (jimi prefectures) in the area known as “Ten Arrows” (the tribes of the Syr Darya and Chu regions), thereby dissolving the former Western Turkic unity.

As Western Turkic power declined, the Turgesh chieftain Wuzhile seized Suyab, one of the Tang garrisons known as the Four Garrisons of Anxi, and established his headquarters there, founding the First Turgesh Khaganate. The Tang court, unable to suppress him, granted him the title of Commandery King. In AD 711, Wuzhile’s son Soge (Saqal) fought against the resurgent Eastern Türks and was killed, leading to the fall of his state. After the death of the Eastern Turkic khagan Mochuo (Qapaghan) in AD 716, the eastern tribes dispersed and turned toward reconciliation with the Tang, resulting in their gradual decline. West of the Eastern Türks, the Chebishi tribes under Turgesh authority rose to prominence; their chieftain Suluk declared himself Khagan of the Turgesh, founding the Second Turgesh Khaganate. Suluk skilfully manoeuvred among the Tang, the Eastern Türks, and the Tibetan Empire, maintaining a balance of power. He married princesses from both the Eastern Türks and Tibet. In AD 717, the Tang court conferred upon him the title “Zhongshun Khagan” (the Loyal and Obedient Khagan), and in AD 722 arranged the marriage of a Tang-affiliated princess of the Ashina clan to the Turgesh. Maintaining close ties with the Tang, Suluk became a crucial Tang ally in controlling Central Asia and repeatedly fought against the Umayyads and the governor of Khurasan. In AD 738, while paralysed by illness, Suluk was assassinated by Baga Tarkhan, leader of the Yellow Turgesh, who succeeded him as khagan.

After Suluk’s death in AD 738, the Turgesh Khaganate quickly disintegrated into eastern and western factions, losing its political unity. The Eastern Turgesh centred on the cities of Chach (modern Tashkent) and Talas, extending their influence over the eastern Zhetysu region; nominally they retained the khaganal title but were effectively dominated by the Karluks and Basmyls. The Western Turgesh, based in Suyab and the upper Chu valley, gradually came under the influence of the Arabs. After the Battle of Talas in AD 751, the Abbasid Caliphate gained temporary supremacy in Central Asia, while the Turgesh tribes, weakened by internal strife, fought among themselves. By the mid-eighth century, the Karluks rose to power, invaded Turgesh territory, and in AD 766 captured Suyab, founding the Karluk Khaganate. Thus the Turgesh ceased to exist as an independent state, their remnants absorbed by the Karluks and later the Uyghurs.

Both the First and Second Turgesh Khaganates had their political centre in Suyab, one of the Tang dynasty’s four garrisons in the Western Regions, along with Kucha, Kashgar, and Khotan. After the Tang withdrew from the Western Regions, Suyab declined and its location was long uncertain. According to The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions by Xuanzang and Jingxingji by Du Huan, Suyab lay east of the “Hot Sea” (modern Lake Issyk-Kul) and west of Talas. In AD 1961, the British scholar Gerard Clauson, in his paper Ak Beshim – Suyab, identified the Ak-Beshim site as the remains of Suyab; in the same year, the French orientalist Paul Pelliot reached a similar conclusion in Ak-Besim et ses sanctuaires. In AD 1979, the Chinese historian Zhang Guangda, combining literary sources such as the New Book of Tang and Ibn Khordadbeh’s Book of Roads and Kingdoms, together with archaeological evidence, argued that the Suyab of the Tang period corresponds to the present-day Ak-Beshim site. In AD 1982, archaeologists discovered a Chinese-inscribed fragmentary stele at the site bearing the characters “Suyab”.

The coinage of the Turgesh likely developed in cooperation with the Sogdian city-states of Transoxiana. During the Northern Dynasties in China, Sogdian merchants began to engage in extensive trade within China, conveying silk westward to the Byzantine Empire. At that time, Transoxiana was under the influence of the Sasanian Empire (also known as Ērānshahr) and dependent upon it. When the Western Türks rose to prominence, Emperor Justin II of Byzantium sought alliance with them to break the Persian monopoly on Silk Road trade, but was refused by Khosrow I of Persia. Consequently, a northern route through the steppes was opened, linking Byzantium directly to Central Asia. With the flourishing of this trade, Sogdian settlements multiplied along the Silk Road. The Turgesh Khaganate, ruling these territories, was no longer merely a nomadic polity. Its minting of coins served both practical and fiscal purposes, and symbolised its assertion of authority over the settled and commercial populations of Central Asia.

物件編號: A3604

年代: 約公元 738-766 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 22.1 x 22.2 x 1.3 mm

重量: 2.8 g

製造地: 噴赤干

來源: 史蒂芬稀有錢幣專輯 2025

這是一枚可能由突厥別部，突騎施汗國所鑄行之突騎施錢。

錢幣形制模仿西域粟特人(Sogdian ，亦稱昭武九姓)之錢幣，而粟特錢幣又是模仿大唐「開元通寶」，為經典的方孔圓錢。正面為粟特文「𐼰𐼷𐼻𐼰𐽄 𐽂𐼸𐼷𐼻 𐼶𐼴𐼱𐼴 𐼾𐼻𐼷」(‘yn’l tkyn xwβw pny)。「𐼰𐼷𐼻𐼰𐽄」(‘yn’l)，可音譯為伊納爾，可能為王號或王名。「𐽂𐼸𐼷𐼻」(tkyn)即為「特勤」，為貴族或長官之意。「𐼶𐼴𐼱𐼴」(xwβw)為「統治者」，「𐼾𐼻𐼷」(pny)則為「錢」。

背面錢穿上方是倒置的突騎施族徽(tamga)。左側據稱為倒置的古突厥文字母「𐰯」，右側為葛邏祿部族族徽(tamga)。右下為「𐼾𐽀𐼻」(prn)，意即「吉祥」，應為頌語。

突騎施為西突厥諸咄陸部之一，唐史載為部落聯盟的一員，早期為吐如紇湖畔的一小部落，可能為匈奴後裔。散居該地區的漠北各部落共名為鐵勒諸部。公元5世紀，北魏與柔然相互征伐，當時臣服柔然的鐵勒諸部(或稱高車)，不願再受驅使，率眾西遷，隨著柔然的擴張退往西域。公元6世紀晚期，西突厥入主西域，突騎施臣服突厥。唐高宗顯慶二年(公元657年)，唐朝平西突厥叛，始於西域設都督府，後又於河中(亦稱十箭)地區設羈縻府州，眾建諸部以解體突厥。西突厥勢弱後，突騎施部酋長烏質勒陷安西四鎮之碎葉，設為牙帳，建突騎施第一汗國，唐廷無可奈何，封為郡王。唐睿宗景雲二年(公元711年)，烏質勒子娑葛與復興東突厥的後突厥汗國交戰，身死國滅。唐玄宗開元四年(公元716年)，東突厥可汗默啜逝世，諸部離散，東突厥轉與唐謀和，其勢轉衰。東突厥以西，突騎施部統屬之車鼻施部，其酋長蘇祿自號突騎施可汗，是為突騎施第二汗國。蘇祿周旋於東突厥、吐蕃以及大唐之間，左右逢源。蘇祿先後娶東突厥、吐蕃之貴女為可敦。開元五年(公元717年)，大唐冊蘇祿為忠順可汗。開元十年(公元722年)亦冊西突厥漢化部族，阿史那氏之女為交河公主，和親突騎施。蘇祿與大唐關係密切，為大唐遙控西域，多次抵禦伍麥亞王朝，與呼羅珊總督交戰。公元738年，患癱病之蘇祿被突騎施黃姓首領莫賀達干襲殺，莫賀達干繼任為突騎施可汗。

蘇祿可汗被拔曳固部殺害於公元738年後，突騎施汗國迅速分裂為東、西兩部，失去原有的政治統一。東突騎施以石國（今塔什干）與怛邏斯為中心，勢力延及七河流域東部，名義上仍承襲可汗號位，但實際上受控於葛邏祿與拔曳固等部；西突騎施則以碎葉與楚河上游地區為據點，逐漸臣屬於大食勢力。公元751年怛邏斯之戰後，阿拔斯王朝暫時取得西域影響力，而突騎施諸部亦因內亂而相互攻伐。至八世紀中葉，葛邏祿趁機興起，侵據突騎施領土，並於公元766年奪取碎葉城，建立新的葛邏祿汗國，突騎施作為一獨立政權遂告終結，其部眾多被葛邏祿與回鶻吸收。

突騎施第一、第二汗國皆以碎葉城為政治中心，碎葉是唐朝於西域所設的重鎮之一，與龜茲、疏勒、于闐並稱「安西四鎮」，於唐末撤離四鎮後沒落，長期位置不明。玄奘《大唐西域記》，杜環《經行記》，指出碎葉城東臨熱海（今伊塞克湖），西接塔拉斯。公元1961年，英國學者傑拉德．克勞森在其文章《阿克．貝希姆——碎葉城》(Ak Beshim-Suyab)指出阿克．貝希姆遺址即碎葉城。同年，法國東方學者韓百詩在文章《阿克．貝希姆及其寺院》(Ak-Besim et ses sanctuaires)亦作出相似的結論。公元1979年，張廣達結合文獻資料，如《新唐書》及由穆斯林地理學家伊本．胡爾達茲比赫所撰之《道里邦國志》以及考古發現，論證碎葉城應位於現今的阿克．貝希姆遺址。公元1982年，考古學家於該遺址發現一塊刻有漢文的殘碑，其中包括「碎葉」。

突騎施的鑄幣，來源於與河中粟特諸城邦的合作。中國北朝時期，粟特人開始進入中國經商，以販運絲綢一路至東羅馬為主。但當時河中地區為波斯薩珊王朝(或稱埃蘭沙赫爾帝國)之勢力範圍，需仰鼻息。後西突厥崛起，東羅馬皇帝查士丁二士聯絡西突厥，倚突厥兵威嘗試打破波斯壟斷的商道，遭波斯王霍斯勞一世拒絕，於是另於絲路中段開闢北道，直接連絡羅馬。絲路沿途貿易興盛，粟特聚居點眾多，統治此處的突騎施汗國，已難稱為單純的遊牧帝國，是故鑄行貨幣以便民、取利，也強調了突騎施汗國對當地的統治。