Central Asia in the Early Middle Ages,
Coins of the regions

Semirech'e
 

Coin circulation in Semirech’e (as in the Otrar oasis) started later than in the other parts of Central Asia. In the VIII c. in Semirech’e were issued the so called Tjurgesh and Tukhus coins [Smirnova, 1981. pp. 61-62, 397-412]. They have been found in the excavations of Taraz, Ak-Behsim, the ruins of Krasnorechenskoe, etc. Their relative and absolute chronology, and their historical interpretation are still developed and refined. The title "Mister Khakan of Tjurgesh" (..twrkys v’v’n) on the coins of Tjurgesh and Tukhus, was apparently of a higher rank than the title "Lord of the Tukhuses" (tvwss vw..w), and the combination of both titles of the "coins of the Tukhuses" indicates that the "Lord of the Tukhuses" was subordinated to the Tjurgesh Khakan.

Unfortunately, most of the stratified coin finds made in Semirech’e during the last decades are still unpublished. We do not have a full picture of the type of coins in circulation.

A group of coins named coins of the "Tutuks" by Smirnova [Smirnova, 1981. pp. 58-59, 338-342] is not reliably localised. The suggested localisation in the Ferghana valley (two specimens of this coins have been found in the ruins of Kuva in the Ferghana valley) need a more reliable argumentation (two more specimens have been found in Otrar, and one – in Varash).

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