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Unknown Æ Bukhara Sogd, bust facing right
| Issuer | Bukhara Sogd (ancient) |
|---|---|
| Year | 550-601 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Smirnova#–, Zeimal#12 |
| Obverse description | Draped bust of a ruler depicted in three-quarter facing right, rendered in the schematic Central Asian artistic tradition typical of early Sogdian coinage. The effigy displays a crowned or helmeted head with stylized facial features, set within a beaded border encircling the flan. The relief is worn but the general outline of the figure and drapery folds remain discernible. The field surrounding the bust is largely plain, with surface patination obscuring finer details. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A fire altar depicted centrally in schematic form, consistent with Zoroastrian iconographic conventions found on Sogdian coinage of the Bukharan series. The tamgha of Bukhara, a distinctive dynastic emblem, appears to the right of the altar. A partially legible Sogdian inscription occupies the left field, though the legend is described as uncertain and is largely obscured by wear and patination. The whole is enclosed within a beaded border on an irregularly shaped flan. |
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| Additional information |
Bukharan bronze issues of this period were produced under the Bukhar-Khudats, a dynasty of local rulers who maintained a degree of autonomy even as successive waves of Hephthalite and then Western Türk overlordship reshaped the political order across Sogdia. The coinage functioned within a regional market economy that was deeply tied to Silk Road exchange, and these small bronzes circulated alongside Sasanian silver in the bazaars of a city that Arab geographers would later describe as among the wealthiest in Central Asia.
Zeimal's type 12 classification places this piece within a recognized sequence, though the Smirnova corpus leaves it unnumbered — a gap that reflects how inconsistently this material was documented before systematic die studies began in the late Soviet period.