These coins are believed to have been issued by Ukh–Watamuk, king of the Sogdian city-state of Kang, one of the principal polities of Sogdiana.

The coins are cast in the traditional Chinese style of a round form with a central square hole. The obverses bear inscriptions in Sogdian, read counter-clockwise from the top of the central hole: “𐼴𐽀𐽂 𐽀𐼺𐼰𐼴𐼸 𐼺𐽄𐼸𐼰” (wrt rm’wk MLK’), translated as “Ukh–Watamuk Ikhshid,” meaning “King Ukh–Watamuk.” On the reverses, to the left of the square holes, appear the tamgas (dynastic emblems) of Samarkand, consisting of central circles with two short outwardly curved lines above and longer hooked curves below. To the right are clan emblems, possibly those of the Unash dynasty, formed by central circles or triangles extending into curved lines ending in spiral motifs.

The Sogdian city-states were situated in the region historically known as Transoxiana—encompassing present-day eastern Uzbekistan, north-western Tajikistan, and south-eastern Kazakhstan. In Tang China they were collectively known as the “Nine Surnames of Zhaowu” (昭武九姓) or “Nine Surnamed Hu.” When Sogdians travelled or settled in Chinese territory, they often adopted their city-state name as a surname; the most famous example is An Lushan, whose surname “An” derived from the polity of Bukhara (Anguo). Although referred to as “nine,” the number of Sogdian polities was not fixed, nor were they ethnically uniform. The Sogdians are generally thought to have descended from remnants of the Yuezhi who, after their defeat by the Xiongnu, merged with Turkic and other local groups in Central Asia.

In AD 630, during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, the Tang generals Li Jing and Li Ji destroyed the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, thereby extending Tang influence westwards. During the Zhenguan era, the Sogdian city-states began sending tributary missions to the Tang court. In AD 659, Emperor Gaozong conquered the Western Turkic Khaganate, placing the Nine Surnamed States under the jurisdiction of the Anxi Protectorate. Taking advantage of their geographic position and commercial acumen, the Sogdians prospered as merchants along the Silk Road and established diasporic communities in Chang’an, Luoyang, and other Chinese cities, where they gradually attained prominence in the Tang military and administrative systems.

The Kingdom of Kang, also known in earlier Chinese sources as Kangju, was a Central Asian polity situated roughly between the lower and middle reaches of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers, corresponding to parts of modern Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. According to ancient Chinese records, Kangju was a semi-nomadic, semi-sedentary polity located north of the Yuezhi and Wusun. Modern scholarship considers the Kangju to have been an Iranian-speaking people, perhaps of Tokharian or Sogdian affinity, whose language and culture exhibited features of the Eastern Iranian branch. Kangju rose to prominence between the first century BC and the third century AD, being mentioned as early as the mission of Zhang Qian to the Western Regions. At its height, it is said to have controlled Sogdiana and Dayuan (Ferghana) and to have exercised significant influence across Central Asia. Its interactions with the Wusun, Yuezhi, and Qiangqu were complex—alternating between subordination, alliance, and rivalry. By the late third to early fourth centuries AD, however, Kangju declined; as recorded in the Book of the Later Han and Weilüe, it was gradually subsumed by the rising powers of the Yuezhi, Kushans, and Hephthalites.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, Chinese sources refer to Kangju as the Kingdom of Kang, which by then stood as the foremost of the Nine Surnamed States. When the kingdom submitted to either the Turks or the Tang, the other Sogdian polities tended to follow. Around the first half of the seventh century AD, Datou Khagan of the Western Turkic Khaganate married his daughter to the king of Kang, Daishibi, who subsequently conquered Samarkand and founded the Unash dynasty, a line possibly connected to the Xiongnu. Following the defeat of the Western Turks, Emperor Gaozong of Tang (r. AD 650–655) established the Kangju Commandery (Kangju dudufu), appointing the local king, Fuhuman, as governor under Tang suzerainty.

In the eighth century AD, the Tang empire and the Arab Caliphate contended for dominance in Transoxiana. The rivalry persisted until AD 755, when the An Lushan Rebellion erupted, severing the Silk Road and collapsing Tang frontier control. The Tang empire consequently lost all effective influence in Central Asia, and the region underwent gradual Islamisation. In AD 892, during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang (era name Jingfu), the Sunni Muslim Samanid dynasty finally absorbed the Eastern Cao kingdom, marking the extinction of the last Sogdian polity.

這是一些應為粟特城邦(Sogdiana)之康國，其國王烏克－瓦塔穆克所鑄之錢。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統之方孔圓錢。正面錢文自錢穿上方逆時針讀為粟特文「𐼴𐽀𐽂 𐽀𐼺𐼰𐼴𐼸 𐼺𐽄𐼸𐼰」(wrt rm’wk MLK’)，譯為「烏克－瓦塔穆克 伊赫什德」，即「烏克－瓦塔穆克王」。背面錢穿左側為撒馬爾罕城徽(Tamga)，形式為一中央的圓，上方突出兩道向外彎的短曲線，下方為一較長帶勾的曲線。右側為氏族族徽，可能代表烏納什王朝(Unash)。形式為一中央的圓或三角，延伸出曲線，末端盤成渦卷狀。

粟特城邦主要位於河中地區(今烏茲別克東部、塔吉克西北部、哈薩克東南部等區域)，於唐代時人稱為「昭武九姓」或「九姓胡」，其國人於漢境行走時常以國名為姓，著名者如安祿山，便以｢安國｣為姓。雖名「九姓」，但並非僅有九個政權，也大概並非單一民族組成。粟特人源流可能可以上溯至大月氏被匈奴擊滅後的殘部，於當地逐漸與突厥等民族相融。唐太宗貞觀四年(公元630年)，唐軍將領李靖、李勣攻滅東突厥汗國，唐廷對西域影響力漸增。貞觀年間諸城邦紛紛開始入貢。唐高宗顯慶四年(公元659年)，唐滅西突厥，羈縻昭武九姓，統歸安西大都護府管理。粟特人藉地利與商貿之便，往來於絲綢之路沿線，並於長安、洛陽等地建立社群，並逐漸於唐帝國的軍、政系統中取得一定地位。

康國(又稱康居)為中國古代文獻中記載的一個中亞政權，其地理位置大致落在今烏茲別克與塔吉克斯坦一帶的錫爾河—阿姆河中下游區域。根據漢籍史料，康居當時為月氏與烏孫以北的遊牧-定居混合型政體。根據當代學者的研究，康居被視為吐火羅人、伊朗語族或與粟特人相關的族群，其語言文化帶有東伊朗語系的特徵。康居興起之時代大致在公元前一世紀至三世紀，張騫出使西域時就曾被提及康居。作為西域諸國之一。康居的勢力在其鼎盛時期，據說控制了粟特、大宛(Dayuan)等地，並在中亞具有相當影響力。它與烏孫、月氏、羌渠等民族政權互動複雜，偶為附庸、有時結盟、有時抗衡。但此後康居逐漸衰落。據《後漢書》、《魏略》等史料，約在三世紀晚期至四世紀初，月氏、貴霜、嚈噠先後崛起，康居可能被吞併或融入新興部族體系。在隋唐時期，中國史書稱康居為康國。其時康國為昭武九姓之首，歸附突厥或唐朝時，諸國大都影從。

西突厥汗國達頭可汗的女婿，康國國王代失畢，約於公元七世紀前半葉征服撒馬爾罕，建烏納什王朝，可能與匈奴有緊密連繫。唐高宗李治永徽年間(公元650-655)，在西突厥汗國被擊敗後，唐廷於康居國設康居都督府，任國王拂呼縵為都督，以作羈縻。

公元八世紀，唐朝與大食於河中地區彼此爭鋒，直至天寶十四年(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，河中地區至此逐漸伊斯蘭化。唐哀帝景福元年(公元892年)，遜尼派穆斯林主導的薩曼王朝徹底吞併東曹國，最後一個粟特政權滅亡。