Catalog
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| Issuer | Ustrushana, Principality of |
|---|---|
| Year | 601-725 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 1.83 g |
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| Obverse description | Facing bust of a ruler depicted frontally in the field, wearing an elaborate stepped crown or headdress adorned with a crescent and pellet ornament at the apex. The face is rendered in a schematic but expressive style characteristic of Central Asian coinage of the early medieval period, with large almond-shaped eyes, a broad nose, and a prominent chin. The bust is framed by a beaded border around the coin's periphery. The overall style reflects the Sogdian artistic tradition prevalent in the Ustrushana principality during the 7th–early 8th century. |
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| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Sogdian |
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| Additional information |
Ustrushana occupied the Zeravshan valley north of Sogdia, a minor but strategically positioned principality that maintained its own bronze coinage well into the Islamic period. The Rakhanch type — named for the local rulers' title rather than a place — belongs to a poorly documented sequence that Smirnova catalogued only partially; Zeimal left this specific variant unnumbered, meaning it fell outside even his systematic attempt to impose order on the chaotic pre-Islamic bronzes of Central Asia. The absence of a cross distinguishes it from the commoner variant and likely signals a different phase of production or a separate issuing authority within the principality's fractured administrative structure.