Item number: A3606／A3644

Year: AD 1124-1143 (AH 518–537)

Material: Bronze

Size: 24.0 x 24.3 x 1.4 mm (A3606)／23.8 x 23.2 x 1.4 mm (A3644)

Weight: 5.15 g (A3606)／5.1 g (A3644)

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025

These coins were likely issued under Yelü Dashi of the Western Liao dynasty (Qara Khitay).

The coins follow the traditional form of the Chinese cultural sphere, being round with a square central hole. Around the perforation on the obverse runs an inscription in Kufic Persian script transliterating four Turkic words, read clockwise from the top: “مالك” (Malik), “ارام” (ārām / erām / azām), “ىىنال” (yīnāl), and “قرج” (qarač / qaraj). The term Malik means “ruler” or “nobleman”; ārām, frequently used as a personal name, originally signified “peace”; yīnāl was a Turkic court title roughly equivalent to “prince” or “heir apparent”; and qarač may have denoted a “minister” or “vizier.” The reverse is plain and uninscribed.

Coins of this type were long attributed to the Qarakhanid dynasty but have more recently been identified as issues of the Western Liao under Yelü Dashi. Their precise meaning remains uncertain, though they may relate to Yelü Dashi’s personal name. Yelü Dashi’s courtesy name was Zhongde, and several scholars have suggested that “Dashi” was not his original name but a title meaning “crown prince” or “grand master,” which corresponds closely to the sense conveyed by the expression yīnāl qarač.

In AD 840, after the Orkhon Uyghur Khaganate was destroyed by the southward-moving Kirghiz, westward-migrating Uyghur groups established new polities in the Tarim Basin and the Semirechye (the Seven Rivers; in modern south-eastern Kazakhstan and eastern Kyrgyzstan). The most prominent were the Gaochang Uyghur Kingdom and the Qarakhanid dynasty. Both originated among Uyghur peoples: the former adopted Buddhism as its state religion, made its capital at Xizhou (the Gaochang walled city at modern Turfan), inherited Tang-style documentary and bureaucratic institutions, and maintained tributary relations with the Song; the latter, centred on Kashgar and Balasaghun, became the first Turkic Muslim state in Central Asia when Satuk Bughra Khan embraced Islam in the 10th century. The two powers came into military conflict in the mid-10th century; Gaochang Uyghur was at one point a Qarakhanid vassal, recovering autonomy only after internal divisions in the latter.

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.

While the Qarakhanids and the Gaochang Uyghurs coexisted, the Liao dynasty also began to intervene in the Western Regions. In AD 924, Abaoji, the Khitan Taizu, sent troops west as far as Beiting, briefly controlling the former Tang protectorate there. The Liao declined in the later 11th century. Under Emperor Tianzuo (Yelü Yanxi), incessant internal strife and the rise of the Jurchen weakened the state. In AD 1115, the Jurchen founded the Jin dynasty and soon allied with the Northern Song to attack Liao. In AD 1120, Song and Jin concluded an agreement to partition Liao territory: Song forces advanced from the south upon the Sixteen Prefectures, while Jin armies pushed south from the north, taking Dongjing (Liaoyang) and the Liao capital Shangjing (Linhuang), so that over half of Liao territory was lost. Emperor Tianzuo fled; Yelü Dashi and other nobles and generals briefly set up the “Northern Liao” to resist before reverting to Tianzuo’s cause. In AD 1122, the Northern Song’s northern expedition ended in defeat; conversely, Zhongjing (Datong) fell to the Jin. In AD 1125, Tianzuo was defeated by Jin forces at Yingzhou, whereupon the Liao state collapsed and the Jin annexed its remaining lands.

In AD 1124, shortly before the Liao’s final fall, the imperial kinsman Yelü Dashi departed east Asia, leading a portion of Khitan nobles and their followers westward into Central Asia, where he founded the Western Liao. From AD 1134, the capital was at Balasaghun, and the realm held extensive territories including Gaochang, Karashar (Yanqi), Semirechye and the northern Tarim Basin. The Western Liao pursued a policy of cultural pluralism, protecting Buddhism and Confucian learning, and preserving the Gaochang Uyghurs’ religious and institutional autonomy, thereby forming a Khitan-led, multi-ethnic system of governance. In AD 1209, the Gaochang Uyghurs transferred their allegiance to Chinggis Khan. In AD 1218, the remaining Western Liao polity was destroyed by Mongol commanders such as Jebe, and the Western Liao came to an end.

物件編號: A3606／A3644

年代: 公元 1124-1143 年 (伊曆 518–537 年)

材料: 青銅

尺寸: 24.0 x 24.3 x 1.4 mm (A3606)／23.8 x 23.2 x 1.4 mm (A3644)

重量: 5.15 g (A3606)／5.1 g (A3644)

來源: 史蒂芬稀有錢幣專輯 2025

這是一些應為西遼耶律大石所鑄的錢幣。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。錢面錢穿周圍，自上向右旋讀分別為庫法體波斯文拼寫的突厥語「مالك」(Malik)、「ارام」(ārām/erām/azām)、「ىىنال」(yīnāl)、「قرج」(qarač/qaraj)四詞。「Malik」意為統治者、權貴。「ārām」多用於人名，原意為「和平」。「yīnāl」為突厥宮廷頭銜，義近王子、嗣子。「qarač」則可能是大臣、宰相之意。背面則光素無文。

此類錢以往多被認為出自喀喇汗王朝，近年則被認為出自耶律大石治下的西遼，具體涵義仍未明，或許與耶律大石之本名有關。耶律大石字重德，常年有學者認為大石並非原名，而是「太子」、「太師」等意，恰與「yīnāl qarač」含義相符。

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。