AVARS OR KHAZARS. Uncertain Kings. 9th-10th centuries. 'Runic Dirham' (Silver, 25 mm, 2.63 g), uncertain mint in eastern Europe, circa 813/4-944/5. In inner field, 'Blessing to Uzbek' (in Kufic) below word in runic consisting of three letters; in outer margin, heart-shaped tamgha and legend containing seventeen runic letters with four pellets possibly seperating individual words. Rev. In inner field, legend in runic containing thirteen letters; in outer margin, fourteen runic letters with four pellets possibly seperating individual words. R. Göbl/ A. Róna-Tas: Die Inschriften des Schatzes von Nagy-Szentmiklós. Vienna 1995, pl. XIV, type A. Hermitage Museum, Inv. Kh 3184, Inv. No. 3763. J. Oravisjärvi: Runic Dirhams from Karelia, in: Kalmistopiiri Archaeological online publications, 2022 (same dies). L. Welin: The Kufic coins in the hoard from Hägvalds in Gerum, Gotland. Nordisk Numismatik Årsskrift 1966, p. 107, no. 1192. Róna-Tas, type A. Exceedingly rare and of great historical and linguistic interest. Light doubling, otherwise, good very fine.



The runic inscriptions on this highly significant issue represent a previously undeciphered script, believed to be of Avaric or Khazaric origin. I. L. Kyzlasov identified it as an Eastern European Turkic script from the Kuban region, positing its use either within the ancient Volga-Bulgar Empire or by the Khazars sometime between the 8th and 12th centuries. Based on the distribution of hoards, however, the evidence clearly favors an Avar or Khazar context - especially given their known practice of minting dirhams modeled after Abbasid coinage (cf. I. L. Kyzlasov: Writings of Eurasian Steppes, Russian Academy of Sciences, Eastern Literature, Moscow 1994).

Comprising 48 characters, the script was first published by C. M. J. Fraehn in 1832 (cf. C. M. J. Fraehn: Die Münzen der Chane vom Ulus Dschutschi’s oder von der Goldenen Horde, St. Petersburg 1832), and was subsequently studied by R. Göbl and A. Róna-Tas. Comparable inscriptions appear on various objects from the famous Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós - an assemblage linked to the Avar Khaganate - including four Runic Dirhams of this very type (R. Göbl / A. Róna-Tas: Die Inschriften des Schatzes von Nagy-Szentmiklós, Vienna 1995, pl. XIV, type A). Particularly striking is the heart-shaped tamgha at 12 o’clock on the obverse, which closely resembles a tamgha found on the Sedyarsky jug discovered in Perm in 1884.

A related variant discussed by A. Róna-Tas (pl. XV, type B), featuring a similar runic inscription, allows for more precise dating: the Kufic legend in the obverse’s inner field cites ‘Dhu’l Riyasatayn’ (Holder of the Two Ministries), referring to al-Fadl ibn Sahl al-Sarakhsi (c. AD 770-818), vizier to Caliph al-Ma'mun. This reference establishes a terminus post quem of AH 198 = AD 813/4 for type B. A terminus ante quem is provided by the Kozyankovsko hoard, unearthed near Polotsk in Belarus, which included an example of type A and was deposited after AH 333 = AD 944/5, coinciding with the latest dated Abbasid dirham found within the hoard.

Most recently, J. Oravisjärvi has turned his attention to these enigmatic coins. His conclusion is telling: although their provenance and chronology are now largely established, the meaning of the runic inscriptions continues to elude decipherment - even after nearly two centuries of scholarly inquiry (J. Oravisjärvi: Runic Dirhams from Karelia, Kalmistopiiri Archaeological Online Publications, 2022).

Beyond their numismatic rarity, these coins hold profound historical and linguistic significance. They testify to a complex web of cultural exchange at the crossroads of the Islamic world and the steppe civilizations of Inner Eurasia. The coexistence of Kufic legends and runic scripts on the same coins exemplifies a remarkable synthesis of traditions: on the one hand, the administrative and religious authority of the Abbasid Caliphate; on the other, the indigenous scripts, symbols, and political structures of nomadic polities. Our example, in particular, embodies this confluence in striking clarity - its hybrid iconography and epigraphy offering rare insight into how Islamic monetary forms were adopted, localized, and reinterpreted by the Khazars or Avars. As such, it is not only a material witness to the diffusion of Islam beyond its core territories but also a linguistic relic from a largely vanished tradition of steppe literacy.