News:

Sign up for the monthly zoom events by sending a PM with your email address to Hitesh

Main Menu

Eastern Sogdiana, Ikhshids of Samarqand: Imitation of Gurak (710-738) AE Cash

Started by Quant.Geek, January 12, 2014, 03:08:52 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Quant.Geek

Eastern Sogdiana, Ikhshids of Samarqand: Imitation of Gurak (710-738) AE Cash (Smirnova-400)

The last of my recent purchases from a seasoned Sogh collector.  These coins are classified differently between Smirnova and Akhunbabaev. Smirnova indicates that these are imitation coins of Gurak and hence read the inscription as "wr`kk MLK". However, Akhunbabaev attributed these coins to Divashtish, ruler of Penjikent. In this case, the inscription is read as "prykk MLK" which indicates Afrig Ikhshid. The tamgha is the same as Tukaspadak's and Tarkhun's and differing from the tamgha of Gurak.

A high-resolution image of this coin is available at FORVM Ancient Coins

A gallery of my coins can been seen at FORVM Ancient Coins

Figleaf

It will be some time before I have wrapped my mind around this one. Intuitively, I think the argument that the tamga differs from that of Gurak is important, but that's not more than speculation. Again no trace of this Samarqand coin in the books of the Uzbek national museum. Another politically incorrect coin, indicating resistance to islam?

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

ChrisHagen

I didn't see this until now.

I think it's really cool how the squares in the middle seem to imitate the square holes in Chinese cash coins, even though there are no holes in these coins. It's a design feature that was found important enough to be engraved, even if the coins were never holed, put on a square rod, and rotated inside a sanded tube to smooth the edges, like the purpose was of the holes in their Chinese counterparts.

Figleaf

See Zeno 53716 (the OP coin) comments for a discussion of this type of coin. Mine, 21mm, 2.23 gram, is more like Smirnova 436, Zeno 37215.

I am fine with the idea that it is issued by Divashtish, ruler of Panjiqand. The tamgha is different from that of Gurak and it makes sense. Around Bukhara and Samarqand there were religious communities resisting islamisation. Times were interesting. Around 700, Shagataid power was steadily weakening, owing mostly to strife between traditionalists and muslims. This gave space to local potentates. This coin is an obvious appeal to the Chinese to accept the central Asian polities as vassals and stop the Arabs. Panjiqand is around 70 km from Samarqand, 1½ day by camel in winter, a few hours on horseback in summer.

Obv: square, reminiscent of Chinese cash coins. Tamghas left and right.
Rev: square, reminiscent of Chinese cash coins. Sogdian legend prykk MLK (?).

Divastish.jpg

Ikhshids is the title of the rulers of Soghd and the Ferghana Valley in Transoxiana during the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods. The title is of Iranian origin; scholars have derived it variously from the root khshaeta, "shining, brilliant", or from khshāyathiya, "ruler, king" (which is also the origin of the title shah)
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.