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I've owned this coin for more than a decade, believing it was one thing, while all the while it was another! The image contains the bare facts of the coin, but for the full story of discovery and context, you have to read the rest:
FROM *A POCKETFUL OF HISTORIES* (a series of short pieces)
One of the things that makes managing a coin collection so delightful is that you constantly find that a coin you think is one thing, is really something else. Discovering more about it drags you into corners of the world, and times in history, you never considered.
Recently I decided to look into a coin I had bought cheaply some years ago, believing it was from the empire of Trebizond. I didn't doubt it, but was unsatisfied with the vagueness. It should be a particular coin from a particular time in the history of Trebizond. What I found was that, if it was the real thing, it was called an Asper, but while the similarity with photos on the internet was strong, my example was comparatively crude looking. I wondered if it was a barbaric imitation, which were commonplace throughout ancient times. Two things bothered me though. No amount of searching turned up an exact match of the design on the reverse. It was abstract and might represent almost anything. Turn it the right way and it might resemble a head with a squarish Byzantine crown. It wasn’t a very convincing match though. And the script looked uncannily like devanagari, though Armenian would have made far more sense (after Greek).
To my surprise I found someone who identified it as a coin from Eastern Afghanistan! Now that I've seen enough matching photos there's no doubt of it. It was struck sometimes between 870 and 1008 AD, making it a few hundred years older than I had believed. The original Shahi of Kabul had been variously identified by ancient writers as Turks or Kushans, another central Asian people. More likely they were local warlords who rose to royal status sometime in the 6th. or 7th. century BC. But because of the Brahmi inscription on this coin, it cannot be from that early time. It was struck by the succeeding Hindu dynasty. The kingdom of the Kabul Shahi would seem to have been more a part of the Indian world, altogether, stoutly resisting the encroachment of Islam. Even in that remote time they were described by Indian writers as fierce, warlike, and resentful of foreign domination.
Some things never change much, eh?
I found a lot more on Wikipedia, but it's not a part of the world that really captures my imagination, and I don't feel any need to commit to memory arguments about the identify of the original Shahi or details about the move from the first capital from Kapisa to Kabul, or the derivation of the title "Shahi".
Frankly, I would rather it had been an Asper from Trebizond, the last and final gasp of the Roman empire. Despite the complexity of the history, and its important place in central Asian trade, Afghanistan to me is about as interesting as the rancheros and empty tracts of New Mexico. Of all the details I came across while reading about the Shahi, those that intrigued me most were contemporary Chinese references. (Which appear to describe the early Shahi as Budhhists.). Evidently the Chinese reach went pretty far west -- which I knew -- but over a longer period than I had appreciated.
I suppose if they thought nobody would laugh, Beijing would claim Hungary and Austria as parts of True China that errantly "broke away", like Taiwan, and will always belong to China like Tibet.
FROM *A POCKETFUL OF HISTORIES* (a series of short pieces)
One of the things that makes managing a coin collection so delightful is that you constantly find that a coin you think is one thing, is really something else. Discovering more about it drags you into corners of the world, and times in history, you never considered.
Recently I decided to look into a coin I had bought cheaply some years ago, believing it was from the empire of Trebizond. I didn't doubt it, but was unsatisfied with the vagueness. It should be a particular coin from a particular time in the history of Trebizond. What I found was that, if it was the real thing, it was called an Asper, but while the similarity with photos on the internet was strong, my example was comparatively crude looking. I wondered if it was a barbaric imitation, which were commonplace throughout ancient times. Two things bothered me though. No amount of searching turned up an exact match of the design on the reverse. It was abstract and might represent almost anything. Turn it the right way and it might resemble a head with a squarish Byzantine crown. It wasn’t a very convincing match though. And the script looked uncannily like devanagari, though Armenian would have made far more sense (after Greek).
To my surprise I found someone who identified it as a coin from Eastern Afghanistan! Now that I've seen enough matching photos there's no doubt of it. It was struck sometimes between 870 and 1008 AD, making it a few hundred years older than I had believed. The original Shahi of Kabul had been variously identified by ancient writers as Turks or Kushans, another central Asian people. More likely they were local warlords who rose to royal status sometime in the 6th. or 7th. century BC. But because of the Brahmi inscription on this coin, it cannot be from that early time. It was struck by the succeeding Hindu dynasty. The kingdom of the Kabul Shahi would seem to have been more a part of the Indian world, altogether, stoutly resisting the encroachment of Islam. Even in that remote time they were described by Indian writers as fierce, warlike, and resentful of foreign domination.
Some things never change much, eh?
I found a lot more on Wikipedia, but it's not a part of the world that really captures my imagination, and I don't feel any need to commit to memory arguments about the identify of the original Shahi or details about the move from the first capital from Kapisa to Kabul, or the derivation of the title "Shahi".
Frankly, I would rather it had been an Asper from Trebizond, the last and final gasp of the Roman empire. Despite the complexity of the history, and its important place in central Asian trade, Afghanistan to me is about as interesting as the rancheros and empty tracts of New Mexico. Of all the details I came across while reading about the Shahi, those that intrigued me most were contemporary Chinese references. (Which appear to describe the early Shahi as Budhhists.). Evidently the Chinese reach went pretty far west -- which I knew -- but over a longer period than I had appreciated.
I suppose if they thought nobody would laugh, Beijing would claim Hungary and Austria as parts of True China that errantly "broke away", like Taiwan, and will always belong to China like Tibet.
Category All / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1000 x 898px
File Size 230.9 kB
Fascinating how much history can be behind a coin. And speaking of China's reach, I recently saw a history channel show about China. One interesting part was how the Chinese built an exploration fleet long before any of the European powers and that fleet itself was bigger than the navies of the European naval powers at that time. Combined.
Unfortunately, thanks to one short-sighted and jealous Chinese emperor, the fleet was burnt out and all its records destroyed. If that hadn't happened, then China would have colonized the world and Americans would have been from Chinese instead of European decent (interesting how one decision can change history, eh?).
Unfortunately, thanks to one short-sighted and jealous Chinese emperor, the fleet was burnt out and all its records destroyed. If that hadn't happened, then China would have colonized the world and Americans would have been from Chinese instead of European decent (interesting how one decision can change history, eh?).
The situation was a bit more complicated than just a jealous emperor. It seems more likely that Chen Ho's expeditions lost out in a palace intrigue between the "Mandarin" party and the "Palace Eunoch" party. Essentially, one group criticized the expeditions as a waste of money -- who cared what barbarian nations there were on the far side of the world. They wanted the money spent on "useful" projects to benefit the kingdom, in this case, the monstrously expensive project to build a new and far larger canal system. Profits before curiosity would be one way of putting it.
It's actually possible to project the Chinese politics into our own day. In the 20th. century we've seen one party deplore the waste of money on space exploration that might have been used to build schools and hospitals. But like most parallels, they won't hold up long. In our case, the "profit" motive is seen on the side of exploration, or curiosity, while its the do-gooders who are on the "useful" side.
In any case, rather like America at times, China turned its back on the world after that, deeming it populated by varous towel-heads and mud-people of no interest. I wonder if I don't prefer that to a China that now thinks its time for it to resume its proper place as leader of the world, and for the rest of us to step back and acknowledge their supremacy.
There probably ought to be a United Nations law that no nation-state should be larger than 75 million people.
Along with another that no corporation should be worth more than $10 billion.
I'm not an anarchist but I am very much an advocate of the small and decentralized. Such systems are in the long run more robust.
It's actually possible to project the Chinese politics into our own day. In the 20th. century we've seen one party deplore the waste of money on space exploration that might have been used to build schools and hospitals. But like most parallels, they won't hold up long. In our case, the "profit" motive is seen on the side of exploration, or curiosity, while its the do-gooders who are on the "useful" side.
In any case, rather like America at times, China turned its back on the world after that, deeming it populated by varous towel-heads and mud-people of no interest. I wonder if I don't prefer that to a China that now thinks its time for it to resume its proper place as leader of the world, and for the rest of us to step back and acknowledge their supremacy.
There probably ought to be a United Nations law that no nation-state should be larger than 75 million people.
Along with another that no corporation should be worth more than $10 billion.
I'm not an anarchist but I am very much an advocate of the small and decentralized. Such systems are in the long run more robust.
Oh, and there are two books on the subject of Cheng Ho's voyages. I recommend "When China Ruled the Seas" by Louise Levathes. (Simon & Schuster, 1994) The work is rock solid and well documented -- it's accepted by scholars everywhere.
The other book is "1421, the Year China Discovered the World" and after a good start turns into a crank work. By the end, the author, Gavin Menzies, has the Chinese discovering every corner of the world, practically, but Europe. Naturally not Europe. If they had, there would be copious written accounts in European literature. But if the Chinese discovered California, Austrailia, Antacrtica, Newfoundland, South Africa, and Hawaii, what records would there be, true or false? Other than that suspicious circumstance, the author builds supposition upon supposition, in this manner.
A current only 100 miles off the usual trade routes would naturally sweep a fleet all the way across the Inidan Ocean. If it went around the Horn of Africa just right, the fleet would enter the trade wind belt and have an almost automatic passage of the Atlantic. If they sighted land first at Manhattan, they couldhave sailed up the Hudson River and discovered the Iroquois. From there a trip up the Great Lakes would bring you to a series of portages into the prairies, where guides could take Chinese explorers to the Rockies easily. From there to founding San Francisco is a small step... etc. It's rather like building a tree house out on the furthest twig of a tree. Each step makes it more and more likely the entire structure of speculation will collapse of its own weight.
Avoid "1421" like the plague. It's a waste of reading time.
The other book is "1421, the Year China Discovered the World" and after a good start turns into a crank work. By the end, the author, Gavin Menzies, has the Chinese discovering every corner of the world, practically, but Europe. Naturally not Europe. If they had, there would be copious written accounts in European literature. But if the Chinese discovered California, Austrailia, Antacrtica, Newfoundland, South Africa, and Hawaii, what records would there be, true or false? Other than that suspicious circumstance, the author builds supposition upon supposition, in this manner.
A current only 100 miles off the usual trade routes would naturally sweep a fleet all the way across the Inidan Ocean. If it went around the Horn of Africa just right, the fleet would enter the trade wind belt and have an almost automatic passage of the Atlantic. If they sighted land first at Manhattan, they couldhave sailed up the Hudson River and discovered the Iroquois. From there a trip up the Great Lakes would bring you to a series of portages into the prairies, where guides could take Chinese explorers to the Rockies easily. From there to founding San Francisco is a small step... etc. It's rather like building a tree house out on the furthest twig of a tree. Each step makes it more and more likely the entire structure of speculation will collapse of its own weight.
Avoid "1421" like the plague. It's a waste of reading time.
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