Kushan and Kushano-Sasanid coins from the Lebap region (archaeological findings in Amul)

Abstract

One of the least archaeologically studied areas in Central Asia is Lebap. Lebap – on the Middle Amu Darya River – includes areas around the medieval towns of Amul and Zemm and is part of the Lebap velayat (formerly Chardzhou Province) of Turkmenistan. The region consists of the middle Amu Darya basin and adjacent areas, and its historical center is Amul-Chardzhui (Burkhanov, 2001, 2005a, 2006). The key artery of Lebap, the Amu Darya River (also known as the Oxus or the Jeikhun) was the principal trade route of the entire western part of Central Asia. In its middle course, there are four main crossings. The easiest and most strategically important one, across which the Great Silk Road passed, is situated near Amul-Chardzhui (Burkhanov, 2001: 75; Drevniy Amul..., 1993: 7 – 14). Archaeological data suggest that three major cultural oases were present in the area of the Middle Amu Darya – the northern (Chardzhui), central (Karabek-Aul), and southern (Kerkin), separated by desert areas. In 9th – 10th-century texts, the Middle Amu Darya area is subdivided into two cultural regions: Zemm, corresponding to the southern (Kerkin) group of sites, and Amul, which included the Chardzhou and KarabekAul oases (Pilipko, 1985: 102; Burkhanov, 2005a: 6 – 10; Materyaly..., 1939: 146 – 150). While previous archaeological work in Lebap mostly included surveys and pilot excavations, expeditions conducted by V.N. Pilipko, G. Gutlyev, and A.A Burkhanov in the 1970s – 1990s yielded ample material relevant for ancient and medieval history of the region (Burkhanov, 1994, 2005a, b; Pilipko, 1985). DOI: 10.1134/S1563011007030097 A.A. Burkhanov Tatar Pedagogical University for the Humanities, Tatarstan 2, Kazan, 420111, Russia E-mail: albert_burhan@list.ru