Item number: A165

Year: AD 1469-1506

Material: Gold

Size: 20.0 x 19.9 mm

Weight: 1.50 g

Manufactured by: Herat, Afghanistan

Provenance: Heritage Auctions 2023

After the 15th century, the Islamic world began to refer to gold coins as “Ashrafi”. This Ashrafi gold coin was minted under the rule of Husayn Bayqara, the great-grandson of Timur, who ruled from AD 1469 to AD 1506. Husayn Bayqara controlled only a portion of the Timurid Empire, which included present-day northern Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan, known as the “Khorasan” region. The remaining territories of the empire were controlled by other descendants of Timur.

The obverse of the gold coin features a design influenced by Persian art, with decorative motifs resembling a rhombus-shaped bergamot flower. In the central square space, Quranic verses are inscribed in Kufic Arabic calligraphy, characterized by angular and geometric forms. The most prominent feature is the square shape with angular edges. At each petal of the bergamot motif, the names of the four Orthodox Caliphs: Abu Bakr (ابو بكر), Umar (عمر), Uthman (عثمان), and Ali (على) are delicately inscribed in Naskh script, with a softer touch than Kufic script.

On the reverse side of the gold coin, besides indicating the minting time, place, and sovereign information in Naskh script, there is a small four-petal lotus flower motif at the center as a decorative element. During the ancient Persian Achaemenid Empire, the lotus flower symbolized the sun and life in Persian culture due to its characteristic of opening and closing with the sunlight. Its significance and motif persisted into the Islamic era, influencing regions beyond Persia, including Central Asia and India.

Husayn Bayqara was a wise and talented ruler, as well as a great poet. Despite the significant contraction of the empire under his rule, the region of Khurasan enjoyed forty years of peace, making the city of Herat the foremost center of art, culture, craftsmanship, and commerce in Central Asia. However, towards the end of his reign, he faced harassment from the newly emerged Uzbeks in the north. Upon Husayn Bayqara’s death in AD 1506, the Uzbeks, led by Muhammad Shaybani, took advantage of the internal strife within the Timurid Empire. In AD 1507, they captured the capital city of Herat, marking the demise of the Timurid Empire.

物件編號: A165

年代: 公元 1469-1506 年

材料: 黃金

尺寸: 20.0 x 19.9 mm

重量: 1.50 g

製造地: 赫拉特，阿富汗

來源: 海瑞得拍賣行 2023

公元15世紀後，伊斯蘭世界開始以「阿什拉菲」作為對金幣的稱呼。該枚阿什拉菲金幣是以今阿富汗西北部的赫拉特為據點，帖木兒的玄孫：忽辛·拜哈拉(統治:公元1469-公元1506年)所鑄造。忽辛·拜哈拉僅控制帖木兒帝國中，涵蓋今日的北伊朗、土庫曼、阿富汗和烏茲別克，稱作「呼羅珊」的部分。帝國其餘的領土，為其他帖木兒的後裔控制。

金幣正面，其外觀設計受到波斯藝術影響，以菱形的佛手柑花紋作裝飾。中央的方形空間內，是以阿拉伯書法的庫法字體刻寫的古蘭經文，方形和帶有稜角為最大特色。佛手柑花紋的花瓣處，各自以較柔和的謄抄字體刻上四位正統哈里發：阿布·巴克爾(ابو بكر)、歐瑪爾(عمر)、奥斯曼(عثمان)和阿里(على)的名字。

金幣背面，以謄抄字體標示鑄造時間、地點和君王等資訊。正中央以一朵小型的四瓣蓮花紋作為裝飾。古波斯的阿契美尼德王國時期，蓮花就因其外觀跟隨著日光綻放閉合的特性，在波斯文化象徵太陽和生命，其意涵和花紋直到伊斯蘭時代仍為沿襲，甚至隨之影響到中亞和印度等地區。

忽辛·拜哈拉是一位聰明又有才華的統治者，同時也是一位偉大的詩人。即便帝國在他手中已經大幅縮水，但相比其他宗室控制的地區，呼羅珊地區在他治理下得到四十年的和平，首都赫拉特成為中亞首屈一指的藝術、文化、手工業和商業中心。然而在他統治末期，開始面臨北部新崛起的烏茲別克人騷擾。公元1506年，忽辛·拜哈拉駕崩後，烏茲別克人在穆罕默德·昔班尼領導下，趁勢攻擊陷入內戰的帖木兒帝國。公元1507年，首都赫拉特被烏茲別克人攻克，宣告帖木兒帝國的滅亡。