Central Asian coins

[Tejas]

I travelled in Uzbekistan and Tadshikistan in the last few weeks, seeing the major ancient Silk Road sites such as Sarmakand, Panshakent, Bukhara, Khiva, Tashkent and a number of ancient fortresses in the Kyslkum dessert. The trip rekindled my interest in a group of coins that I bought many years ago from a collector (Jim Farr), who was a specialist in eastern numismatics. Especially visits to sites like Afrasiob-Marakanda (at Sarmakand) or the fortress Ayaskala in Karakalpakistan remined my of this group of coins.

The coins below date to the 6-8th century. The first three coins may have been struck at Afrasiob-Marakanda (Sarmakand) or the Tashkent region. The fourth coins is probably from the region of modern Kirgistan (Semirech'e region in Russian). These coins are usually in bad condition, bt hte four exemplars below are well above average.

Edited May 18 by Tejas

[Rand]

It sounds like a fascinating adventure.

These are very interesting coins from cultures that were badly struck by the Mongol invasion centuries later. Are the legends readable, and what language was (is) it?

[Ed Snible]

Wow, @Tejas, those are in exceptional condition, especially the third.

@Rand the language is Sogdian.  However, there is academic disagreement about what some of the letters mean.  Here is another example from Cache:

Chach, Kanka domain, Unknown ruler, 7th-8th century? AE 1.53g, 18mm.  Overstruck.

The reverse inscription is supposedly "ZNH pny tkyn c'cynk xwβ" which means "This is a coin of the Tegin, Chach's ruler".  (Tegin is a title).

 

[Parthicus]

Very cool coins @Tejas, and nicer condition than usual for these.  Awesome that you got to visit the region too.  I have just one coin of Chach (in the usual poor condition) that features a snow leopard:

 

[John Conduitt]

The reverse style is the same copied by the late Mongol Horde/Giray khans 600 years later (on the other side of the Caspian).

Dawlat Berdi 2nd Reign Akche, 1428-1432

Kaffa, Crimea. Silver, 15mm, 0.63g. Name and title around Tamgha. Stylized castle; +D +M + CAFA (Album 2059C; Zeno 309887).

Edited May 18 by John Conduitt

[kirispupis]

6 hours ago, Tejas said:

I travelled in Uzbekistan and Tadshikistan in the last few weeks, seeing the major ancient Silk Road sites such as Sarmakand, Panshakent, Bukhara, Khiva, Tashkent and a number of ancient fortresses in the Kyslkum dessert. The trip rekindled my interest in a group of coins that I bought many years ago from a collector (Jim Farr), who was a specialist in eastern numismatics. Especially visits to sites like Afrasiob-Marakanda (at Sarmakand) or the fortress Ayaskala in Karakalpakistan remined my of this group of coins.

Wow! That's an interesting trip!

My wife is from Tajikistan and 13 years ago we visited her home town (Khojand) and Uzbekistan.

Here are a few coins I have that are from that area, though it's difficult to say precisely where.

Baktria, Local issues
Circa 285/3-280/78 BCE
AR Obol 8.5mm, 0.55 g, 6h
Attic standard. Uncertain mint in the Oxus region. Head of Kybele or Tyche right, wearing mural crown /
Eagle standing left, head right, with wings spread; grape bunch to lower right.
Cf. SMAK p. 70 and pl. 30 (for rev.); Bopearachchi, Sophytes –; SNG ANS –; HGC 12, –

 

Baktria, uncertain mint
 Circa 4th century BCE
AR Diobol 1.03g, 11mm, 12h
Forepart of boar to right; grape bunch on stem below /
Head of roaring lion to right; grape bunch on stem below

 

Here are several photos I took there.

 

[El Cazador]

19 hours ago, Tejas said:

I travelled in Uzbekistan and Tadshikistan in the last few weeks, seeing the major ancient Silk Road sites such as Sarmakand, Panshakent, Bukhara, Khiva, Tashkent and a number of ancient fortresses in the Kyslkum dessert. The trip rekindled my interest in a group of coins that I bought many years ago from a collector (Jim Farr), who was a specialist in eastern numismatics. Especially visits to sites like Afrasiob-Marakanda (at Sarmakand) or the fortress Ayaskala in Karakalpakistan remined my of this group of coins.

The coins below date to the 6-8th century. The first three coins may have been struck at Afrasiob-Marakanda (Sarmakand) or the Tashkent region. The fourth coins is probably from the region of modern Kirgistan (Semirech'e region in Russian). These coins are usually in bad condition, bt hte four exemplars below are well above average.

How was Samarkand, i changed my itinerary from Uzbekistan to Jordan instead…

Edited May 19 by El Cazador

[El Cazador]

11 hours ago, kirispupis said:

Wow! That's an interesting trip!

My wife is from Tajikistan and 13 years ago we visited her home town (Khojand) and Uzbekistan.

Here are a few coins I have that are from that area, though it's difficult to say precisely where.

Baktria, Local issues
Circa 285/3-280/78 BCE
AR Obol 8.5mm, 0.55 g, 6h
Attic standard. Uncertain mint in the Oxus region. Head of Kybele or Tyche right, wearing mural crown /
Eagle standing left, head right, with wings spread; grape bunch to lower right.
Cf. SMAK p. 70 and pl. 30 (for rev.); Bopearachchi, Sophytes –; SNG ANS –; HGC 12, –

 

Baktria, uncertain mint
 Circa 4th century BCE
AR Diobol 1.03g, 11mm, 12h
Forepart of boar to right; grape bunch on stem below /
Head of roaring lion to right; grape bunch on stem below

 

Here are several photos I took there.

 

 

Just now, El Cazador said:

How was Samarkand, i changed my itinerary from Uzbekistan to Jotdan instead…

Shots #3, 4 and 7 are fantastic 

[Tejas]

10 hours ago, El Cazador said:

How was Samarkand, i changed my itinerary from Uzbekistan to Jordan instead…

Sarmakand was very interesting. Personally, I prefered Bukhara and Khiva, though. 

[Tejas]

On 5/18/2024 at 9:47 AM, Rand said:

It sounds like a fascinating adventure.

These are very interesting coins from cultures that were badly struck by the Mongol invasion centuries later. Are the legends readable, and what language was (is) it?

That is very true. The Mongols flattened these cities completely. Afrasiab-Marakanda was never rebuilt, instead Sarmakand grew up next to the ruins in the centuries that followed. Bukhara was also completely destroyed by the Mongols. Only one tower remains from before 1220, everything else was completely destroyed by the Mongols. 

Interesting fact: Bukhara and Khiva were the "slave capitals" of the world. Nowhere in the world were more slaves traded than in these two cities. Muslims were forbidden to enslave fellow Muslims, so most of the slaves were Christians and people of other religions from India. In Bukhara, at times, around 100,000 slaves were sold each year and the slave trade continued for many centuries. It was the Russians who put an end to it. But as late as 1920 there were still 20,000 slaves in Bukhara. The trade in African slaves to the Americas pales in comparison to the Muslim slave trade. The Turkmen to the south of Bukhara were notorious slave traders, capturing people for sale in Khiva, Bukhara and other slave markets. 

The language is Sogdian. The regions from Sarmakand to the east were called Sogdania. 

 

 

[Rand]

Thank you. Interesting facts and quite shocking that we live not so long after slavery was commonplace. Slavery was legal in Saudi Arabia until the 1960s. Mauritania officially abolished slavery in 1981, but who knows how strictly this was implemented. Hopefully, humanity does not slip back. Somehow, I feel our generation would also be condemned in the future by the new generation that increasingly sees an employment as a kind of modern slavery.

As the the coins, they are so more valuable for learning history and learning from history.

Visiting Issyk Kul lake further to the east in the region, in Kyrgyzstan, has longed been my aim. Hopefully one day.

 

 

[Tejas]

18 hours ago, Rand said:

As the the coins, they are so more valuable for learning history and learning from history.

I agree, these coins are a valuable source to uncover the history of that region. I compared to Roman coins of the imperial era, they are also a reminder of just how advanced the Romans were. 

Kyrgyzstan with the Issyk Kul lake is also high on my agenda 🙂