Drachm, ca. 751-762 AD, Sawrshafan (Afrighid)

Started by Figleaf, October 25, 2021, 10:06:15 PM

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Figleaf

As the Sassanid empire imploded under attacks from all sides, the Kushan took over in Bactria and expanded into surrounding lands. Soon (around 80 AD), Khwarezm and neighbouring Sogdiana regained their independence. Khwarezm was said to be ruled by the Afrighids for centuries, until islamisation. Little is known of the rulers. Even the existence of a single dynasty in Khwarezm during this era is contested.

My coin is identified as:
Low silver content drachm, issued ca.751-762 AD, 24mm, 3.27 grams. MACW -, B. Vainberg, Coins of Ancient Khwarezm, type ГV/13.

Obv: Crowned head of beardless king right. Three dots near his face /
Rev: Horseman in center. Tamgha in the left field, Khwarezmian legend MR'Y MLK' (title) s'w/ysy/wk/r (Sawrshafan) around.

In the collection of the National bank of Uzbekistan is a very similar coin, though my horseman is slightly clearer :) This collection also has good silver drachms of the same king and other low silver content drachms, all with head facing right and horseman, but with different types of crowns.

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

THCoins

Somehow missed the posting of this coin. Shame on me  :-[
It is a very nice example you posted. I think also more scarce than the better known silver drachms. With a bit different lighting you might be able to get some more details of the horseman visible in the photo.

i was a little puzzled by your introduction:
QuoteAs the Sassanid empire imploded under attacks from all sides, the Kushan took over in Bactria and expanded into surrounding lands. Soon (around 80 AD), Khwarezm and neighbouring Sogdiana regained their independence

With the "Kushan" you surely meant the "Kushanshahs" to distinguish them from the earlier Kushans. But doubt crept in because of the "80 AD", which can not be right ?
Thanks for posting  this one !


Figleaf

Thank you for your reaction. It takes an expert to appreciate a weakly struck, very low silver content coin. My wife dislikes is heartily. :) I compare it with the coins of Chach and think it is quite neat.

The flan is uneven. There's a bit of a depression around the king's eye, stretching almost to the ear. It resulted in a weak spot on the other side, red-brown on the picture. There's no relief on that red-brown spot, no matter how you hold the coin. I consider it more important that my coin is better than the one in the collection of the National bank of Uzbekistan ;)

For the intro, I probably used a combination of publications from the National bank of Uzbekistan, Mitchiner and Wikipedia. Not sure where I got the 80 AD from, but I didn't mean the Kushanshahs. They would be Sassanian, rather than Kushan (Mitchiner, from page 198), though it is quite possible that they based their claim on a marriage with a Kushan princess. The Afrighids were Kwarezmian locals (link to Wikipedia above, Sawrshafan is number 19 in the list of rulers). The date is prolly just a typo with one digit not registering (380 AD?), but I can't reconstruct it reliably.

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