Silk Road. Pre-Islamic Buddhist Lost Civilisation

Kingdom of Khotan. Also known as Yutian (于闐）or Hetian (和田).

Kharosthi: Maharajasa Yidirajasa Gurgamoasa.
Chinese: 重廿四铢铜钱。weight 24 Zhu copper cash.

Copper 24 zhu (grains) coin (Tetradrachm). Circa 1st to 3rd century CE (Han Dynasty period).Exceptional condition on reverse with clear Chinese characters.

Sino-Kharosthi coin with the image of a horse surrounded by Kharosthi script and 6 zhu inscribed. These coins belonged to the Buddhist Kingdom of Khotan which was located on a branch of the Silk Road lasting from the Han Dynasty. Located in Xinjiang today, these coins were unique as they displayed a melting pot of Eastern and Western culture. Greco-Bactrian influences such as the adoption of the Drachm and Tetradrachm weightage, Kharosthi script and the horse motif. The Chinese influence is highly evident with the Chinese script on reverse and the adoption of the Han Dynasty 铢 Zhu denomination. It is theorized that this conscious adoption of bilingual coinage was to facilitate trade between the east and west. Another theory was for legitimizing their status as a multicultural hub of the ancient times.

Discovered only during the turn of the 20th century by Sir Auriel Stein, coins of the Khotan Kingdom was issued for brief periods probably due to the fact that bartering and exchange of physical goods were predominantly the primary medium of exchange of the day. Smaller denominations of 6 Zhu (Drachm) were also issued in copper. However, all of these were very rare and in most cases heavily damaged.

The Khotan Kingdom was a Buddhist civilisation. Whilst they were superseded by various kingdoms, the Buddhist influence lasted through to the Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasties before it was conquered and destroyed by the Muslims around the 11th century.

Issues of these are very scarce as it was believed that approximately 300 or so were excavated. The original specimens discovered by Sir Auriel Stein is currently displayed in the British Museum. Whilst new specimens continue to be discovered, they are still regarded as very rare particularly in decent conditions.

 

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Very very nice.

I only have one Silk Road coin and only a Buddha coin struck by his father. I believe @FitzNigel has some cool Silk Roads...

 

Thanks.. I'm pretty proud of this piece. Many were of terrible conditions with work characters. The Sino-Kharosthi scripts are still very clear on this.

Can't say the same for my 6 Zhu pieces though.. haha

 

Very interesting...thanks for the informative post.

 

You're welcome.. just trying to share some oriental coinage with this group

 

Very cool!! I LOVE the historical context.

 

Thanks.. I particularly liked the multi culturalism behind the coin.

 

Fascinating post! The coin is interesting in that it’s design looks as though it incorporates both eastern and western empire characteristics.

 

Very interesting. I find the silk road and the interaction of east and west along it to be fascinating. I am sure it was an arduous journey to traverse much of its length.

 

Indeed it does. Greco elements are strong on the obverse but Chinese is the reverse

 

That part was very interesting before the onset of the Muslims. Back then Rome was known as Da Qin or great Qin to the Chinese but they never really made it that far to have ambassadorial relationships between them. 2 super powers that never met

 

Here are a few of my coins that are along the Silk Road:


Sogdiana - Hyrcodes 3rd-4thCE AR Scyphate Obol or Reduced Drachm 12mm 0.56g Bukhara mint Male-Deity BMC Bactria p118


I beleive this one is similar to yours... it is supposed to be scarce, as they are only found in "ones" and not several in a hoard or when found. Perhaps you know a lot more about it?

Sogdiana silk road 700-800 CE AE Cash Tamga Samitan RARE

This would be a Buddha Coin:

India - Shakya Janapada
AR 5-Shana
6th-5th Century BCE
25mm x 21mm, 7.05g
Obv: Central Pentagonal punch plus several banker's marks
Rev: Blank
Ref: Hirano Type I.8.29
Coinage from the Ghaghara Gandak River region.
"Prince Guatama Siddhartha 563 BCE to 483 BCE, the son of the king of the Shakya people (Republic). Siddhartha reached enlightenment, becoming a Buddha at the age of 35."
Coin struck by Buddha's father when Buddha was a Prince.
I understand there are probably 19 known.

 

Great coins @Loong Siew and @Alegandron, I would love to have coins of the ancient Silk Road kingdoms.

There is a really enjoyable book about Auriel Stein and the other western explorers/archaeologist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that explored the Taklamakan desert of Western China and the ancient Silk Road cities. It is Foreign Devils on the Silk Road by Peter Hopkirk. I would highly recommend it.

 

Beautiful specimens @Alegandron ... the Bukharan cash piece is really nice.. these were during the zenith of the Tang Dynasty where the influence of China was at its peak. The Sogdians were later Iranian people who established kingdoms along the Silk Road. These however is almost half a millennia later.. by then the Greco Bactrian influence and kharosthi has largely died out

 

Thanks @TheRed ... it is worthwhile getting some.. they are really interesting pieces

 

Dear gentleman: your publications are a continuous masterclass into the oriental world and its coins ! Thank you very much for your wonderful contributions to this community (I especially enjoy your information about japanese numismatics )!! (my wallet is going to suffer a lot if you keep rolling!!! ).

 

Wow that Khotan is fantastic! I have only seen them in catalogs, never in person.

Here is a silk road cash coin that I have managed to obtain:

Semirech'e, Turgesh, AE cash-like coin.
Obv.: Sogdian legend bgy twrkys g'g'n pny "Fen of king of Turgesh's kagan" around square hole.
Rev.: Tamgha of Turgeshs in the shape of stylized runic letter am.

 

"runic"??? has the "Vikings" new season started already? D)

 

Fascinating coin and history...thanks so much!

 

Thanks sir!.. it's my pleasure to share what I have. I don't have much from the western world so I can only share what little I know from the orient