Reflection of the Formation of the Western Turkic Khaganate in Numismatic Materials
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24852/2587-6112.2025.6.254.270Keywords:
archaeology, coins, 6th – 7th centuries AD, Western Turkic Kaghanate, Chach, Tashkent, Fergana, Sogd, Tokharistan, Sogdian legend, Old Turkic titles, names, tamgasAbstract
The aim of this article is to highlight the processes of the formation of the Western Turkic Khaganate based on numismatic materials and written sources. Coins with Sogdian inscriptions stand out among the pre-Islamic numismatic materials of Central Asia, which primarily consist of bronze coins and, to a lesser extent, silver ones. These coins were minted in the regions of Chach (Tashkent), Fergana, Ustrushana, Sogd (Samarkand and its surroundings), and Tokharistan (southern Uzbekistan, southern Tajikistan, and northern Afghanistan). Notably, Chach coins bearing the names and titles of several Western Turkic khagans – often referred to as the ‘domestic coins of the Western Turkic Khaganate’ play a crucial role in shedding light on the still obscure aspects of the Khaganate’s history due to their unique iconographic and paleographic features. In fact, these numismatic materials, originally intended to meet the needs of the markets, hold particular significance in clarifying a number of issues related to the history of the Khaganate. Through these coins dating from the 6th to 8th centuries, we have the opportunity to trace the stages of the formation of the Western Turkic Khaganate as a political entity. Three main periods can be distinguished: the first stage – the ‘Era of the Yabgu’ (when the western wing of the Turkic Khaganate was governed by a yabgu), the second stage – the ‘Era of the Yabgu-Khaganate’, and the third stage – the ‘Era of the Khaganate’. Fragmentary information from written sources can be clarified with the aid of coins minted in Chach (the Tashkent oasis).
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