Item number: A164

Year: AD 943-954

Material: Gold

Size: 21.2 x 21.2 mm

Weight: 4.09 g

Manufactured by: Nishapur, Iran

Provenance: Heritage Auctions 2023

This gold coin was minted during the reign of Nuh I (r. AD 943-954), the tenth Emir of the Samanid dynasty. The Arabic legend in the centre of the coin’s obverse reads: “There is no god but Allah.” The outermost circle of legends contains verses from the Quran, while the inner circle indicates the date and location of the coin’s minting: Nishapur. Nishapur, located in northeastern Iran, was known for producing the highest quality gold dinars of the Samanid dynasty.

On the reverse side of the coin, from top to bottom, there are five inscriptions in the centre. They are: “For Allah”, “Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”, “Title of the Abbasid Caliphate”, “Title of the Samanid Emir”, and the full name of the Emir “Nuh ibn Nasr”. The outer circle contains a verse from the Quran (61:9): “He is the One Who has sent His Messenger with ‘true’ guidance and the religion of truth, making it prevail over all others, even to the dismay of the polytheists.”

The Samanid Dynasty was a Sunni Muslim dynasty that emerged in the 9th century in the northeastern part of the Iranian plateau. They recognised the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad as their suzerain, which explains why titles of the caliphate appear on Samanid coinage. During their rule, the Samanids facilitated a revival of Persian culture and identity on the Iranian plateau after the adoption of Islam. Moreover, they expanded into Transoxiana, in present-day Central Asia, as vassals of the Abbasid Empire. They established Samarkand and Bukhara as their capitals therefore integrated Central Asia into the Islamic world. This expansion contributed to the formation of a “Turko-Persian culture,” where Persian became as significant as Arabic, if not dominant, particularly in Central Asia.

The Samanid Dynasty also controlled crucial overland trade routes connecting Europe and Asia during the medieval period. Archaeologists have discovered a large number of Samanid Dirham silver coins in Eastern Europe and even Scandinavia, reflecting the significant role played by the Samanids in facilitating Eurasian trade. Interestingly, Arab geographers of the 10th century, such as Istakhri and Ibn Hawqal, observed that Dirham silver coins served as the primary medium of exchange in the daily trade of the Samanid Empire. On the other hand, the gold Dinar coins were mainly used for luxury goods or as gifts. This observation indicated that the minting of Dinar coins was intermittent, unlike Dirham coins, which were consistently circulated. Additionally, archaeological findings suggest that Dinars have better preservation conditions compared to Dirhams.

物件編號: A164

年代: 公元 943-954 年

材料: 黃金

尺寸: 21.2 x 21.2 mm

重量: 4.09 g

製造地: 內沙布爾，伊朗

來源: 海瑞得拍賣行 2023

該枚金幣是薩曼王朝第十任埃米爾：努阿一世(統治：公元943-954年)在位期間鑄造，硬幣正面中央的阿拉伯銘文是清真言：「萬物非主 唯有真主」。外圍的兩圈銘文，最外環是寫上古蘭經的篇章，內環則寫有硬幣鑄造日期和地點：內沙布爾。內沙布爾位處伊朗的東北方，其生產的第納爾金幣純度是薩曼王朝最為優質的。

硬幣背面，由上而下，中央依序刻有五句銘文，分別是「為了阿拉」、「穆罕默德是真主的使者」、「阿拔斯帝國哈里發的頭銜」、「薩曼王朝埃米爾的頭銜」和埃米爾的全名「努阿·伊本·納斯爾」。外圍圓環則是古蘭經篇章(61:9)：「他曾以正道和真教的使命委託他的使者，以便他使真教勝過一切宗教，即使以物配主的人不願意」。

薩曼王朝是公元9世紀，興起於伊朗高原東北部的遜尼派王朝，尊奉巴格達的阿拔斯帝國哈里發為宗主國，這也是薩曼王朝鑄造的錢幣上會有哈里發頭銜的原因。薩曼王朝在統治期間，促成了伊朗高原歸依伊斯蘭信仰後，本土的波斯文化和認同復興運動。更重要的是，薩曼王朝以阿拔斯帝國的附庸國身分，向中亞的河中地區進行擴張，先後以撒馬爾罕和布哈拉為首都，將中亞融入伊斯蘭世界的一部分，並且促成「突厥-波斯文化」的成形，使得波斯語在中亞成為不亞於阿拉伯語的重要角色，甚至是扮演主導的地位。

同時薩曼王朝掌控了中世紀連接歐洲和亞洲的重要陸地商路，後世的考古學家在東歐乃至北歐的斯堪地那維亞地區，曾發現大量來自薩曼王朝的第爾汗銀幣，反映薩曼王朝對於東西交流扮演的重要角色。有趣的是，公元10世紀的阿拉伯地理家：伊斯塔赫里、伊本·豪卡爾觀察到，第爾汗銀幣是薩曼王朝日常貿易的重要媒介，第納爾金幣僅扮演商品或賞賜的禮品，反映在第納爾的鑄造時間總是斷斷續續，和考古學家發掘的金第納爾相比銀第爾汗的保存狀態較為完整。