Item number: A3629／A3630

Year: circa AD 650-800

Material: Copper

Size: 20.0 x 19.4 x 1.1 mm (A3629)／18.9 x 18.7 x 0.7 mm (A3630)

Weight: 2.6 g (A3629)／1.9 g (A3630)

Manufactured by: Tashkent

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025

These coins were most likely issued by King Tatnavch of the Shih Kingdom (Chach) in the Transoxiana region, although their denominations remain unknown.

The obverse depicts a lion striding proudly with its head held high; in certain variants, the animal stands upon a defined ground line, its left forepaw raised, and its tail lifted upward and curving forward. The reverse bears a tamgha (Old Turkic: 𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀, tamga), that is, a royal emblem—or possibly the civic or tribal emblem of the period—shaped like the upper portion of a trident, with a triangular base at the junction of the three prongs. Around the emblem appears the Sogdian legend “𐼶𐼴𐼱𐼴 𐽂𐽀𐼻𐼱‎𐼿” (xwβw trnβc), which may be interpreted as “Lord Tatnavch.” No corresponding record of this ruler is found in Chinese historical sources. Both the obverse and reverse are bordered by circular rims.

The Shih Kingdom, corresponding to present-day Tashkent—the capital of Uzbekistan—derives its name from linguistic fusion: tash in Turkic means “stone,” and kent in Persian denotes “city.” In Tang sources, it was also known as “Zheshi” or “Zhezhi,” both transcriptions of Chach; alternative forms include “Tizhach” and “Zhezhe.” As one of the “Nine Surnames of Zhaowu,” the polity was located in the region of modern Tashkent, near the mouth of the Fergana Valley. This area served as a key corridor between Transoxiana and Semirechye, forming one of the principal hubs along the northern route of the Silk Road.

Chinese historical sources first mention the Shih Kingdom in the Book of Wei (Wei shu), where it is referred to as the “Stone City” or “Stone Settlement,” indicating that Chinese chroniclers were already aware of Turkic and Persian cultures and thus adopted a semantic translation. The History of the Northern Dynasties (Bei shi) records that the region was rich in mulberries, rice, grapes, and horses, and that its commerce was prosperous. The New History of the Tang (Xin Tang shu), in its section on the Western Regions, further notes that the Shih Kingdom was a Sogdian offshoot, abundant in resources, flourishing in urban life, and maintaining tributary relations with the Tang court over a long period.

The Buddhist monk Xuanzang (AD 602–664), during his westward pilgrimage to India, passed through this region and referred to it as the “Stone Kingdom” in his Records of the Western Regions of the Great Tang (Da Tang Xiyu ji). In the second year of the Xianqing era (AD 657), following the Tang campaign that subdued the Western Turkic Khaganate, the Tang Empire incorporated the “Nine Surnames of Zhaowu,” including the Shih Kingdom, under the jurisdiction of the Anxi Protectorate. In the following year (AD 658), the Tang established the Great Yuan Commandery at the city of Kanjie (modern Chirchik, Uzbekistan), appointing King Kantu Tudun as its governor (dudu), thereby making it one of the Tang Empire’s key bases of governance in Central Asia. Thereafter, diplomatic and commercial exchanges between the Shih Kingdom and the Tang court became increasingly frequent.

In AD 712, Muslim forces advanced into the Fergana Valley, and the neighbouring Shih Kingdom could hardly have escaped involvement. The ruler of Fergana was expelled by Qutayba ibn Muslim, governor of Khurasan under the Umayyad Caliphate, and replaced by another monarch. The deposed king fled to Kucha (Gaochang) to seek refuge and requested military aid from the Tang court. In the third year of the Kaiyuan era (AD 715), Zhang Xiaosong, Protector-General of Beiting, defeated the Tibetan garrison and restored the Fergana kingdom. Later, the rise of the Turgesh Khaganate led to prolonged conflict with the Arabs. In the ninth year of the Tianbao era (AD 750), Gao Xianzhi feigned peace with the Shih Kingdom and then launched a surprise attack, capturing the king of Shih, the Turgesh khagan surnamed Huang, a Tibetan chieftain, and the ruler of Jieshi. The king of Shih was taken to Chang’an and executed, provoking resentment among the “Nine Surnames of Zhaowu.” The prince of Shih subsequently allied with the “Black-robed Arabs,” that is, the Abbasid Caliphate, and brought their forces into Transoxiana.

In the tenth year of Tianbao (AD 751), Gao Xianzhi, learning of this alliance, struck pre-emptively but was defeated at the Battle of Talas. By the fourteenth year of Tianbao (AD 755), the An Lushan Rebellion had erupted; the Silk Road was severed, frontier defences collapsed, and the Tang Empire permanently lost its influence over the Western Regions. The power of the Karluk Khaganate subsequently rose, and the Shih Kingdom, through frequent contact with the Abbasid Caliphate, gradually came under its political and cultural sphere.

Although considered one of the Sogdian polities of the “Nine Surnames of Zhaowu,” pre-Islamic Tashkent exhibited a dual cultural structure: Turkic language and culture dominated the ruling elite, while Sogdian culture prevailed among the lower classes engaged in agriculture, trade, and craftsmanship. With the decline of Tang authority and the eastward expansion of Islam, the Shih Kingdom was ultimately absorbed into the Islamic world. By the Ming and Qing periods, Chinese sources referred to it as “Dashigan,” a transliteration of “Tashkent.”

物件編號: A3629／A3630

年代: 約公元 650-800 年

材料: 銅

尺寸: 20.0 x 19.4 x 1.1 mm (A3629)／18.9 x 18.7 x 0.7 mm (A3630)

重量: 2.6 g (A3629)／1.9 g (A3630)

製造地: 塔什干

來源: 史蒂芬稀有錢幣專輯 2025

這是一些應為河中地區石國的塔爾納夫齊(Tatnavch)王所鑄的錢幣，幣值不明。

錢幣正面應為一昂首闊步行走之獅子，有些版式腳踩地面，左前足抬起，尾巴高抬並前指。錢幣背面則為塔木加(古突厥語：𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀, tamga)，即王徽，或當時的城徽、族徽。形式為三叉戟的戟首部分，戟叉根部基座為三角形。徽記周圍應有粟特文「𐼶𐼴𐼱𐼴 𐽂𐽀𐼻𐼱‎𐼿」(xwβw trnβc)，可能意為「君主塔爾納夫齊」。漢籍無載。正背面幣緣皆有環。

石國(Tashkent)，即今塔什干，今烏茲別克首府。「tash」為突厥語中「石頭」之意，「kent」則為波斯語中「城」之意。唐人亦稱赭時、柘枝，多為「Chach」的音譯，另名提察赤、柘折等，為昭武九姓之一，約在今日烏茲別克塔什干一帶，大致位於費爾干納谷地的出口，此地位居河中地區與七河地區間的要道，也是陸上絲路北段的交通樞紐之一。中國史籍中最早見於《魏書·西域》，稱石國為石城或石邑，可見當時中原政權已對突厥、波斯文化有所了解，才會採用意譯。北史記載其地多桑樹、水稻、葡萄與馬匹，並且商業發達。唐代《新唐書·西域傳》則進一步描述，石國屬粟特支系，地廣物豐，城邑繁盛，並長期與唐朝保持朝貢往來。

唐玄奘(公元602–664年)西行求法時曾經過此地，在《大唐西域記》中稱其為「石國」。唐高宗顯慶二年(公元657年)，唐朝因平定西突厥汗國，將其從屬昭武九姓，以及其中之一的石國納入安西都護府的管轄，顯慶三年，以瞰羯城(今烏茲別克奇爾奇克)為大宛都督府，授其王瞰土屯為都督，成為唐在中亞經略的重要據點。此後，石國與唐朝的往來日益頻繁。公元712年，穆斯林進軍至費爾干那谷地，毗鄰的石國大約難以倖免，原統治費爾干納谷地的拔汗那王則被伍麥亞王朝呼羅珊總督屈底波驅逐，另立新君，拔汗那王則逃到庫車(高昌)避難，並向唐廷求援。唐玄宗開元三年(公元715年)，北庭都護張孝嵩則擊敗吐蕃駐軍助其復國。其後突騎施汗國崛起，與阿拉伯人展開拉鋸。天寶九年(公元750年)，高仙芝與石國偽和而偷襲，擒得石國王、黃姓突騎施可汗、吐蕃酋長、揭師王。石國王並獻俘長安處斬，引發昭武九姓不滿。石國王子聯絡黑衣大食(即阿拔斯王朝)，引兵入河中。天寶十年(公元751年)，高仙芝知此，決定先發制人，進兵怛羅斯，大敗而回。天寶十四年(公元755年)，安史之亂爆發，絲路隔斷，邊防崩潰，唐帝國徹底喪失對西域的影響力，葛邏祿汗國勢力漸起。此後石國與大食(阿拔斯王朝)勢力接觸頻繁，逐漸轉入其勢力範圍。

雖被認為是昭武九姓的粟特政權之一，但其實塔什干在伊斯蘭化前，上層以突厥文化及文字為主，下層商民才以粟特文化為主，從事農業、商業與手工業。隨著唐朝勢力衰退與伊斯蘭勢力東進，石國最終納入伊斯蘭世界的版圖。至明清時期，漢文典籍中多以「達失干」稱之。