One of the "New city" (Shahr al-jadid) copper coin types: reading the obverse legend

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Kostiantyn Khromov, Bachelor of History, Independed Researcher, Numismatist, Member of Oriental Numismatic Society (UK-based international), Central Asia Numismatic Institute

The article deals with two particular topics of Juchid numismatics. The author examines the legend written in Arabic letters on the obverse of copper coins struck at Shahr al-Jadid, a town once located on the site of nowadays' Old Orhei settlement (Moldova). Researchers use to attribute the coinage of this type to the final stage of Juchid presence in the region (second half of the 1360s). Silver coins of that period, save for the latest issues (AH 769-770), bear the name of Khan Abdallah (1363-1370). As for copper coins, all belonging to the same undated type, those were long considered anonymous. Early in the 2000s the Romanian numismatist Eugen Nicolae suggested to see on them the Turkic name Lijjiiia Kutlugboga, implying certain graphic errors in the coin inscriptions. On the basis of written sources researchers use to associate this name with one of the Juchid Khan's regional governors, a dignitary who took part in negotiations with Venice in the middle of 1340-1350 and later also in the battle against the Lithuanian prince Olgerd's army at Sinie Vody ('Blue Waters') in 1362.

Two completely different reading versions of the same coin inscription have induced the author to carry out a study aimed at clarifying the real spelling and translation of the obverse legend. In the course of joint work with colleagues (Vladimir Nastich), the author has come to the conclusion that Eugen Nicolae's reading of the obverse legend on the copper coins in question is critically erroneous and the proposed reading of the legend as the name Kutlugboga is impossible, which is confirmed by a detailed analysis of the arabographic legend, accompanying with high quality photos of clearer samples. The author has succeeded to reaffirm the reading of the legend proposed by Svetlana Yanina in 1977. Vladimir Nastich offered a refined translation of the cited expression as "glorious [is] who is moderate". Other types of Juchid copper coins of the late 14th century containing the same legend were also found. A similar dictum was detected as part of a more complete saying on a copper coin of the Qajar dynasty (Rasht, AH 1229 / 1813-1814 (Zeno numismatic database, #9077). All this has led the author to transferring his search from numismatics to Islamic texts. As a result, the cited saying has been found among the Hadith ascribed to Prophet Muhammad. Spelling, transcription and translation of the expression look like this: " t> J^j t> j* / azza man qana'a wa-dalla man tama'a "glorious [is] who is moderate, and despicable [is] who is greedy".

1. The legend on the Shahr al-Jadid copper coin obverse is not Turkic as per Eugen Nicolae, just Arabic. Instead of whatever name, it contains the first part of the sayingj* / azza man qana'a "glorious [is] who is moderate".

2. The cited saying is present within the set ofHadith allegedly uttered by Prophet Muhammad. Thus, the question of correctness of its reading and translation can be considered settled and closed.

3. The text ofHadith has been fixed on a Juchid coin for the first time. The use of part of the Hadith in the design of a mass coin issued in Eastern Europe before the withdrawal of the Juchids requires special attention and further study.

Keywords: Golden Horde, Juchids, Juchi Ulus, Moldova, 14th century, Shahr al-Jadid, Kutlugboga, copper pul, coin legends, Hadith.

Один з типів мідних монет 'Нового міста' (Шехр ал-Джадід): до читання легенди аверсу

Костянтин Хромов, незалежний дослідник, нумізмат, член Товариства східної нумізматики Oriental Numismatic Society (UK-based international), Інституту нумізматики Центральної Азії Central Asia Numismatic Institute

У запропонованому дослідженні вирішено декілька питань, що мають безпосереднє відношення до монетної справи 'Нового міста' Шехр ал-Джадід) часів правління там ханської адміністрації хана Абдал- лаха у другій половині 60-х років XIV ст. Більшість сучасних дослідників локалізує цей центр карбування на місці городища Старий Орхей (Молдова). Дослідження стосується остаточного читання легенди аверсу єдиного типу мідної монети з арабографічною легендою. На сьогодні відомо два варіанти читання та три варіанти її перекладу.

Була проведена ревізія цих визначень, виявлені помилки та запропоновано читання та варіант його перекладу.

Питання перекладу та атрибуції фрази з легенди врешті вийшло за межі суто нумізматичного дослідження. Висновки з цього питання виявилися дуже цікавими та тими, що стосуються окремих питань ісламської теології в нумізматиці Улусу Джучи.

Потреба уточнення читання та перекладу легенди аверсу пов'язана з існуючими варіантами читання та перекладу. Ці варіанти дуже різняться між собою за змістом. Так, два варіанти містять однакове читання та переклади, що трохи відрізняються за змістом. Вони містять фразу з благим побажанням. Це дозволяє віднести тип мідної монети до анонімного карбування. Проте інший варіант додає в науковий обіг тюркське ім'я Кутлугбога (Кутлугбуга). Це ім'я пов'язується з намісником однієї з західних частин Улуса Джучі, що був розташований між річками Дністер та Дунай.

Останнім часом частина істориків і нумізматів Румунії та Молдови почали використовувати у своїх дослідженнях саме другий варіант його читання та перекладу, а саме називати цей тип монет емісіями Кутлугбоги без згадки його титулу.

Вважаємо, що таке читання легенди ( Kutlugboga / Кутлугбога, та будь-які інші варіанти читання цього імені), запропоноване румунським дослідником Eugen Nicolaeу 2002 році мають критичні помилки та не можуть бути використані у подальших дослідженнях. Ми розглянули доводи, що були наведені Eugen Nicolae й навели свої контраргументи проти них.

Інший варіант читання та існуючи два варіанти перекладу, що навели Світлана Яніна та Євген Гончаров, передають одну й ту ж фразу - благе побажання: "слава тому, хто задовольняється малим" чи "кому вистачає малого, той великий". За нашою думкою ця фраза не є самостійною. В результаті пошуків ми дійшли висновку про те, що цей текст є частиною хадису пророка Мухаммеда: славен, хто помірний, та мерзенний, хто жадібний.

Нами були наведені приклади використання цього самого фрагменту хадису на джучидських монетах більш пізнішого часу (80-ті роки XIV ст., карбування ал-Джадид), повного тексту хадису на іранській мідній монеті "цивільного" карбування початку XIXст. (місто Решт) та надані посилання на використовування хадису на чисельних виробах прикрас та інших предметах, що датовані від кінця XVIII ст. та й до сучасності.

В дослідженні є зауваження про те, що будь-який популярний текст хадису має безліч смислових відтінків. Тож ми не можемо наполягати

на якомусь єдиному варіанті його перекладу. Проте, запропонований нами переклад, на нашу думку, є найбільш реальним та таким, що відповідає однаковій кількості слів у арабському та українському варіанті написання.

Слід відзначити високохудожнє виконання деяких (напевно перших) штемпелів монет з цією легендою. Є думка, що вони були виконані на замовлення у майстернях традиційного ісламського світу (Крим, Мала Азія) та привезені на монетний двір Шехр ал-Джадід. В подальшому їх копіювали місцеві майстри та, згодом, довели рівень виконання цієї роботи до рівня імітацій.

Використання тексту будь-якого хадису в легенді джучидських монет є новиною для джучидської нумізматики. А в додатку з місцем карбування на західному кордоні ісламського світу в Європі та часом карбування напередодні створення на тих землях Молдавського князівства факт використання хадису в оформлені тамтешніх мідних монет додає особливе значення.

Ключові слова: іслам, хадіс, Джучиди, легенди на монетах, Молдова, Золота Орда, XIV ст, карбування Шехр ал-Джадід, пул.

shahr al-jadid copper pul

The background and formation process of the Moldavian principality, still revealing many "blank spots", are of great importance for scholars studying the history of Juchi Ulus, especially its parts located within the boundaries of modern Ukraine and Moldova. The formation of the Moldavian principality coincides with the time of transition of the borders of Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) to Dniester and the Black Sea through the territory of the western uluses. It also was the time of movement of Khan Abdallah's hordes from Transnistria to the East, along the Black Sea coast. For historians dealing with GDL, the moment of emergence of the Moldavian principality is associated with the legendary battle on the Blue Waters, where Grand prince Olgerd defeated the Tatar hordes of three "tsars". One of those "tsars" was Kutlugboga. Some sources call him a viceroy of the area of Juchi Ulus between Prut and Seret rivers. Since recently the name Kutlugboga has become important for numismatists: it suddenly comes into sight in scholarly works on the coinage of the Shahr al-Jadid, as though because this name is allegedly presented on the copper coins of the given series (Table 1.1) (Nicolae, 2003: 169, Fig.1).

Some historians note the strict Christian way of life in the Moldavian principality since the very beginning of its existence, i.e. almost since the middle of the 14^th century, which seems very strange after a century of domination of Juchi Ulus in these lands and a half-century process of establishing Islam as a state religion in the Ulus.

The phenomenon of sudden economic upsurge in the Juchid Shahr al- Jadid belongs to the same time, which is recognized by experts. According to many of them, the town was located on the site of Old Orhei ancient settlement on the bank of the Reut River, 60 km north-east of modern Chi§ina u (Moldova). The mentioned rise of economic activity in the Shahr al-Jadid, observed within a short period from 1365 to 1370, was evidently reflected in numismatics, first of all in the annual emission of silver dangs in the name of Abdallah (1363-1370) and the mass production of anonymous copper puls. These coins have become widespread not only in the region but also along the entire Northern Black Sea coast. We associate this development with an attempt of establishing a new trade route along the right bank of the Dniester River towards Lviv and other trading cities of Eastern Europe. This route would eventually be called the 'Moldavian way' and become a successful rival of the 'Tatar way'. It is also obvious that at the same time a certain renaissance of Islamic ideas in the Juchid nomadic society of the region was taking place.

The task of our humble research was to resolve a couple of questions.

The first of them is the need to clarify the reading of the obverse legend on copper puls minted at the Shahr al-Jadid in the second half of the 1360 s.

The second question goes beyond actual numismatics and concerns the problem of unambiguous reading and adequate translation of the benevolent invocation on the coin obverse of this type. Both goals can be considered achieved.

In addition, the unexpected solution of the second task allows us in prospect to revise, clarify and restructure the entire volume of phrases (expressions, benevolent invocations and quotes) presented in the design of Juchid coins. It becomes the immediate task.

As it has already been noted above, most researchers associate the localization of Shahr al-Jadid with the ancient settlement of Old Orhei (Moldova) The analysis of all options for localization of the mint center with this name is not part of this research tasks.. Copper coins of the type in question with the indication of this minting place are undated (photo 1); according to indirect data, their emission began in the second half of the 1360 s.

The reverse legend (photo 2) has two options for the location of parts of the last word. It is no mystery and reads unambiguously: "struck at Shahr al-Jadid". On silver dangs with the name of Abdallah such form of mint indication first appears in AH 766 (photo 3). We regard the same date as the starting point for copper coinage of the type under consideration. However, the stylistic features of the dies designed for silver and copper coins allow us to believe that both were made by completely different masters. A large number of imitations is known among copper coins of this type.

The need to clarify the content of the obverse legend is associated with the existing reading and translation options, actually differing significantly from each other. If two known versions of the translation make this type of copper coins anonymous, then another one assumes in the same inscription the presence of the name Kutlugboga, a person known from several documents of that time as the viceroy of certain western parts of Juchi Ulus.

The obverse inscription, as well as the very coin type, has been known to researchers since the 19^th century, but the first version of its reading and translation was only proposed in 1977 by Svetlana Yanina: man qana'a "Glory to the one who is content with little" (Yanina, 1977: 204). The legend contains a phrase in Arabic consisting of three words, each located either in two lines as 1 / 2+3 (photo 4.2) or in three lines with a sequence of 1 / 3 / 2 top-to-bottom (photo 4.3). The variability of the order of words is explained by an attempt to fit the phrase into the circle and as such is not the subject of this article.

In 2002 a Romanian numismatist Eugen Nicolae proposed the reading of the obverse legend as Kutlugboga (Nicolae, 2003: 169, fig 1; 178). (Here we should note that in the Arabic writing the Turkic vowels [o] and [u], and hence the phonemic variants of the name Kutlugbuga and Kutlugboga are ambivalent, and further on we will no longer denote this difference). The researcher made an attempt to connect this name with "the great dignitary of the Golden Horde, who participated in negotiations with the Venetians in 1347 and 1358 and was defeated by the Lithuanians in 1362 or 1363, yielding Podillia to them" (Nicolae, 2003: 179). Eugen Nicolae consolidated his version of reading and translation in the report presented at the 13^th International Numismatic Congress in Madrid in 2003 (Nicolae, 2005: 1367-1373).

The third translation version of this legend, based on the 1977 Yanina's reading and analyzed anew by Vladimir Nastich (Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow), was proposed by Eugeny Goncharov: "Who is content with little is great". In other words, within the meaning, the latter author returns to the 'anonymous' version of Svetlana Yanina, in which the name Kutlugbuga is definitely absent. This translation has taken root in the Russian-language scientific segment but not issued as yet in a separate publication.

Two such different versions of the semantic interpretation of the obverse legend coexisted peacefully for some time, perhaps because no one else would have turned to these coins of the Shahr al-Jadid in printed works.

Today we can see that some historians and numismatists began to accept the obviously erroneous reading of this invocation, proposed by Eugen Nicolae: respective definitions of numismatic material have been already encountered in several works:

"Кутлубуга, Шехр-ал-Джедид Ae; 2,2 г; 16 мм; 767-768 г.Х. / 13651367, отчеканена в Новом Городе (Шехр-ал-Джедид), с именем эмитента Кутлубуга" (Чокану, 2009: 355);

"Kutlubuga, Shahr-al-Jadid Ae; 2.2 g; 16 mm; 767-768 AH / 13651367, minted in the 'New City' (Shehr-al-Jedid), with the name of the issuer Kutlubuga" (Chokanu, 2009: 355);

"Kutlugboga. §ehr al-Cedid. 6. Av. [bo] / Kutlug / ga. Rv. Duri be / [§ehr] al-Cedid" (Boldureanu, Bacumenco-Pirnau, 2010: 228, № 6).

A reference to the work by Eugen Nicolae on the monetary economy of the Moldavian principality during the Golden Horde era also appeared in the collection "Golden Horde Review" (Spiney, 2016: 752). The author of this publication did not give any definitions of coins, but the very fact of reference to this publication suggests that he agreed with the attributions given in it.

The tendency to quote numismatic works with critically incorrect definition for one of the main copper coins types in the region, in our opinion, contributes to further spread of the grave error.

In view of the obvious absurdity of the considered reading of the cited legend as Kutlugboga, we decided to turn once again to the graphic and content analysis of this inscription. Significant assistance in our research was provided by a specialist in medieval oriental languages, source expert Vladimir Nastich (Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow), to whom the author expresses sincere gratitude.

We have chosen several methods as tools for research. They should be understandable for numismatists with different levels of ability to read the arabographic legends on medieval coins, be it a visual comparative analysis of the coin legend elements in the form, number and style of graphic signs, or a detailed reconstruction and full-fledged translation of the legend.

The essence of the problem of visual comparison of the inscription images and attempts at layman unprofessional reading of arabographic legends is described with sufficient details in the article "Amateur collector, `independent researcher' and oriental academic source studies (as evidenced by the Islamic numismatics)" (Nastich, 2018). With this kind of approach to coin legend reading, the researcher does not see them as the text consisting of specific alphabet letters, but a certain set of "lines, convolutions and worm-like squiggles" that can be "read out" and put into words for translation in any direction and location in the legend field. Herewith any permutations, errors, lack of necessary or presence of unnecessary signs are "allowed". Due to such attitude to the arabographic texts of coins legends, the catch phrase: "... the Arabic legend of coins can only be read if you know what it says..." (Ponomarev, 2012: 76). What may follow from the above attempts of the given quotation's author to substitute incomprehensible "worms and squiggles" in the word he knows he wittingly needs, we also know from the just mentioned article by Vladimir Nastich.

Now let's do a cursory grammatical analysis of Eugen Nicolae's conclusions.

Immediately it is worth noting that the Turkic name Kutlugbuga can be written orthographically correct both jointly and separately. In fact, the hypothetical choice of the die carver could stop at any of these versions without violating the rules of spelling. The closest analogue of merged writing of a similar name is known in Juchi Ulus numismatics: it is the name of the khan iMj / Tulabu- ga (photo 5) on silver yarmaqs of the Crimean Ulus (Khromov, 2007: 29; No 111). It is valid to compare the legend on the coin with the spelling of this name, structurally similar to Kutlugbuga, but definitely not the separate formant / qutlug, with which Eugen Nicolae compares this legend.

According to him, the obverse legend consists of a word divided into three syllables "Kutlug-bo-ga" and placed on the coin in three lines: 2 / 3 / 1 (photo 4.1). At the same time it is noted that the syllable j bo (?) is allegedly written in a retrograde way (Nicolae, 2003: 171).

Let's take a look at the proposed spelling of the word according to grammar rules. The name Kutlugbuga consists of two words - *12 / qutlug + l^jj / buga, which means `happy bull' in Turkic. However, as we have shown above, this name can be written both together and separately. In the legend of the copper coin of Shahr al-Jadid, the letter is most often seen that can be read as final Ј / 'ayn or Ј / gayn, placed at the end of the word.

The supposed first word in the coin legend ( *Ј2 qutlug) ends as well with the letter Ј / gayn, which only can stand at the end of the word. Therefore, the full name should not be written merged in one piece as Eugen Nicolae suggests, just as two separate words.

At the same time the author doesn't seem to notice the absence of the letter J / lam in the word at all. "Reading the beginning (qutlug) and the end (ga) does not cause problems, it is obvious that [there is] a similarity of the first component with that one in the quoted formula ... ( u--j i^² - Auth.)" (Nicolae, 2003: 171). We see that the first part of the Turkic name Kutlug declared by the author is written with an error (photo 1; 4), namely without one of the middle letters; so, accepting the author's reading, we would have to read it as *2 / qutug, which is basically wrong.

We have conducted a comparative analysis for images of the word / qutlug how it spells on several well-known types of copper coins minted in Juchi Ulus, in particular in the Crimea and the Transnistrian region between the last quarter of the 13^th and first half of the 14^th century. A very similar word is known here in the copper coins legends of several types:

1. A pul with the mint name shown as "Qutlug Kend", Crimea, AH 686690 (photo 6), published: (Khromov, 2018). On the reverse there is the legend ^ <*Ј2 / qutlug kand, instead of the traditional mint name Qrim;

2. A pul of the `New City' from the first third of the 14^th century (photo 7), published: (Goncharov, Krivenko, 2019: 60, fig. 1.2). On the reverse, the invocation и--j <*Ј2 / qutlug bulsun is placed on the copper pul of the 'New City' with Juchid tamgha dating back to the reign of Uzbek (713-739 AD);

3. Coste§ti type pul with central legend bo cin in Mongolian script (photo 8), published: (Krivenko, Goncharov, 2020: 94, fig. 1(II.1) ). On the reverse, the invocation u--J <*Ј2 / qutlug bulsun is placed on the copper pul of the 'New City' with Juchid tamgha dating back to the reign of Uzbek (713-739 AD);

4. Coste§ti type pul with the same legend u--J ^ / qutlug bulsun on both sides (photo 9), (Krivenko, Goncharov, 2020: 94, fig. 1 (III-IV) ).

Based on the visual study of the written form in the legends of copper and silver Juchid coins, we can well conclude that in all these legends the character J / lam in the word <*Ј2 / qutlug is present as an independent, visually expressed element of the image in the form of a high vertical line. Not a single case of absence of this or any other letter, even on rough imitations of puls like Coste§ti (photo 9) has been detected.

On the contrary, there is no trace of this character on all known copper coin specimens of the Shahr al-Jadid mint, as well as any other later Juchi Ulus coin issues (and not only those). Could this be a carver's mistake? Theoretically, it would be possible perhaps once or twice on occasional separate species, but definitely not on the scale of the entire long and abundant coinage, including imitations, taking moreover into account the continued use of such spelling up to nowadays.

The second part of the name written in a merged manner, according to Eugen Nicolae, consists of a 'retrograde' л bo (?) at the bottom of the obverse legend. This is the most confusing part of his reconstruction. In accordance with the orthography rules, when writing the name Kutlugbuga in a joint way, the letter v ba in the middle of the word should look like -f . With a separately written name this letter appears at the beginning of the word, thus looking like -j . What we see in the legend of the copper coin can theoretically be called the letter ba, written as it should be at the end of the word, namely v . And at the commencement of this syllable is set... the letter j waw? But the letter waw never connects with ensuing letters! So maybe it isn't the waw? But the author places it there in the final arabographic reconstruction of the name. In other words, we can witness here at least two (if not more) spelling errors.

Some three pages above we have quoted a passage from A.L. Ponomarev's work: "... the Arabic legend of coins can only be read if you know what it says..." (Ponomarev, 2012: 76). It is not unlikely that this very principle was used by Eugen Nicolae when reconstructing the writing and reading of the obverse legend on the Shahr al-Jadid copper pul. However, on comparing the legend reading proposed by Svetlana Yanina and Eugen Nicolae, it becomes obvious that the reconstruction of the legend as the name limits Kutlugboga, proposed by the Romanian researcher, is devoid of any evidence-based reasoning, while his references to the graphic degradation, retrograde script, etc. simply don't stand up to criticism.

The study of coin images accessible for us among the copper coin issues of the 'Shahr al-Jadid' have revealed the simple fact that the Turkic word qutlug, be it a separate word or a component of the name Kutlugbuga, is absent from any die varieties of this issue, and what is more, it certainly cannot be but the Arabic ^ qana'a. Again, the only grapheme in which one could discern the proposed reading of the syllable li ga (the top line of the legend), for an incomparably stronger reason reads as Arabic `azza, if only because on all known coins of this type the middle part of the grapheme has a marked prong, and its left part never rises above the line level. The fallacy of attempt to read the grapheme a* in the bottom line as `retrograde' л bo (?) or bu, merely impossible both graphically or by meaning, has already been pointed out before.

In view of the above, the only proper reading version of the legend question remains to be ^ a* j^: despite the altered order of words allowed by the designers of the coin type (quite a typical phenomenon in the coinage of that time), this phrase is written in strict compliance with the basic norms of spelling, it is easily recognized and reads with full confidence. Several examples of coins of the type we are studying here, both genuine (minted in the Shahr al-Jadid) and their later imitations, are shown in photo 10. The same can be said about the patently accentuated word ^ qana'a, placed in the centre of the graphic composition and quite recognizable even on imitations (photo 10.5).

One more Eugen Nicolae's argument, according to him, was the absence of similar benevolent exclamations on the coins of other issues known to him. It seems needless to say that there is hardly any reason to specifically object to such a feeble argument.

Eugeny Goncharov devoted some of his articles to the study of coin legends containing benevolent exclamations and other sayings irrelated to the defining aspects of the coinage (ruler's names, mint names, dates) on the 13th century Juchid coins of Khwarizm, Bulghar, Saray and the Crimea (Goncharov, 2005; 2011). Analyzing in particular the legends on the coins of Saray containing the expressions like "eternal glory and honor enduring", "the kingdom of one God, the Almighty" et sim., he noted that "The brevity of the phrase carrying any idea of Islam on the subjects of our consideration differs from the Creed, quotations from the Koran or Hadith which are characteristic for the previous as well as contemporary (i.e. 13th century) periods of Muslim numismatics. Central Asian and Persian" (Goncharov, 2005:80). In his later work Evgeny Goncharov wrote: "First of all, the attention in the represented phrases is attracted to their non-religiousness, i.e., the legends are written with Arabic script, in Arabic or Persian, which both have come from the Muslim cultural environment, but at the same time they have neither the name of God nor of his Envoy, whereas according to the Islamic tradition going back to the mandatory rule in the 8th century, these attributes ought to be present on money samples" (Goncharov, 2011: 7). From this quotation we can see that the use of various invocations, both religious and secular, has been known in Juchid numismatics since the 13th century and generally is not however extraordinary.

Among the later types of Juchid copper coins, two more types with exactly the same legend have become known thanks to Viktor Pivorovich's research (Pivorovich, 2008). All of them are dated about AH 780-808 and exhibit a tamga in the form of a recumbent figure 'eight' (от) The dating of 808 A.D. is disputed by some numismatists. However, the question of clarifying the upper date of such coins is not in the focus of this work. The obvious rudeness of execution, up to the type degradation, clearly indicates their long-term fabrication that has begun in 780 A.D.. We have presented a detailed classification of coins with the tamga in the form of от in 2013 (Khromov, Khromova, 2013: 16-33). Among the numerous types of copper coins with such tamga, minted during the reign of Toqtamysh, two types of copper puls have been identified, one of which comprising several variants. We showed 3 variants of this type (photo 11), on which the obverse legend consists of the same already familiar phrase ^ with the addition of a от-like tamga between the lines. The second type, showing the same legend located on both sides of copper coins, is still known to us in a single version (photo 12). At the same time the reverse legend, partially engraved mirrorwise, consists of 5 lines, the 4^th of which contains an unread two-letter word.

Another example of the expression used as obverse coin legend is found among the Iranian 'civic' coinage of the Qajar dynasty (Iran). This type of anonymous copper coins (photo 13) has been issued at the city of Rasht in AH 1229 / 1813-1814 (Zeno, #9077). While studying the obverse legend, it turned out that the expression placed on the coins of the Shahr al-Jadid is not an independent invocation, but only the first part of a widespread popular phrase, otherwise reproduced in full (drawing of the phrase elements on the coin of Rasht see in photo 13.3).

As a result of our search, the geography of this invocation encountered on coins has expanded from modern Moldova to Iran, and its chronology of use is respectively since the second half of the 14^th and at least up to the early 18^th century. Many examples of its use in the design of applied art objects and samples of calligraphy dated by the recent and modern times are also revealed In order to save space, we shall not add the images of these items. Everyone wishing to get acquainted with them can easily use the Internet search for the full expression in Arabic.. So eventually, is it possible to see in these examples the spelling of any names, either Kutlugbuga or any other, performed 'normally' or 'retrograde', competently or with errors, repeated since the 14^th century over a vast territory? Of course not!

What can the expression ^ a*jc mean in the coin legend? Our answers to the two questions posed in the first part of this article are as follows.

The translation of the obverse legend on this type of copper coins with the place of issue shown as (Shahr al-Jadid), proposed by SvetlanaYanina in 1977, and its clarification made by Vladimir Nastich and Eugeny Goncharov, turned out to be perfect from a linguistic point of view, but solely based on the assumption of "self-sufficiency" of the very expression.

We decided to disbelieve Eugeny Goncharov's conclusion about the complete "non-religiosity" of brief benevolent exclamations, in which "there is neither the name of God nor His envoy"; having undertaken a search for them in the theological literature, particularly the Hadith collections, we eventually found ourselves on the right track.

The legend of the copper coin in nquestion is in fact the first part of a popular Muslim saying: “glorious [is] who is moderate, and despicable [is] who is greedy” The translation was kindly proposed by V.N. Nastich in private correspondence.. According to different Muslim theologians A nice example of this Hadith used in a sample of Arabic calligraphy can be seen by the link, this phrase represents a Hadith, viz. one of the statements once uttered by the Prophet. In other words, this invocation, long-known in Juchid numismatics, placed on a copper coin minted in the second half of the 14 ^th century at one of the westernmost corners of Juchi Ulus in Eastern Europe (Moldova), turned out to be part of the Hadith ascribed to Prophet Muhammad. As far as we may know, the proposed definition, apparently introduced into the Juchid numismatics for the first time, definitely requires a further careful study of similar legends on Juchid coins, hence it would obviously result in a revision of the opinion about their secular (non-religious) meaning. As for the accuracy of their translation, we evidently chose, following V.N. Nastich, the most suitable option, both in semantic and quantitative terms. Considering the enormous number of available translations of this and other popular Hadith, we would not insist on the perfection of our version, still believing that it completely reflects the meaning of the Hadith both as a whole and as part of it, placed as a coin legend on the Juchid pul.

The final observation. Some obverse dies of the Shahr al-Jadid copper coins are fabricated on rather high artistic level. Most researchers consider them to be original samples of the initial stage of minting, which would often serve as a standard for subsequent coin issues. It also should be noted that both the content and the careful study of coin legends and general design of the working surface of the dies make us assume that the originals of die samples were imported. They could be purposefully ordered and manufactured at the workshops of certain traditional Islamic centers (Crimea, Asia Minor, etc.); upon the delivery to the mint of the Shahr al-Jadid, working copies were taken from them by local craftsmen to be used for mass coin minting. Later on, due to the general decline of Islamic culture and literacy in the region, copies from those copies gradually deteriorated to the level of crude imitation.

Photo 1. UlusJuchi: Shahr al-Jadid, АЕ puls, 60sXIVcentury. 1.1 - Photo (Nicolae E., 2003:169, Fig. 1); 1.2 - Photo from the author's archive

Photo 3. Ulus Juchi: Abdallah, Shahr al-Jadid, dang, AH 766

Photo 4. Variants of the arrangement of the legend lines when reconstructing the obverse: 4.1 - the arrangement of syllables in the name Kutlug-bo-ga (Nicolae E., 2003:171); 4.2,4.3 - word arrangement of a phrase: azza man qana'a (Yanina; Goncharov)

Photo 5. 5.1 - UlusJuchi: Tulabuga, Qrim mint, ARyarmaq AH 686; 5.2. - drawing of name Tulabuga

Photo 6. Ulus Juchi: Crimea, Qutlug Kend, anonymous pul AH 686-690. The legend "Qutlug Kend" on the reverse and drawing of the word jS/ qutlug

Photo 7. Ulus Juchi: Shahr al-Jadid, the anonymous pul of the first third of the XIVcentury. The legend "Qutlug bulsun" on the reverse and drawing of the word / qutlug

Photo 8. Ulus Juchi: The anonymous pul of "Costesti" type, early XIVcentury. The legend: "qutlug bulsunyangipul" on the reverse and drawing of the word j-h* / qutlug

Photo 9. Ulus Juchi: The anonymous pul of "Coste?ti" type, early XIV century. The legend: "qutlug bulsun" at both sides and drawing of the word ЮКбЫ / qutluр

Photo 10. Ulus Juchi: Shahr al-Jadid, The anonymous puls 60s XIV century (7.1-7.4), imitating them (7.5-7.6) and drawing of the word

Photo 11. UlusJuchi: "al-Jadid mint", The anonymous puis. The legend j-a // jc and tamga in the form of a symbol x, drawing of the word ja/ qana'a (11.1 with date of AH 780; 11.2 no date; 11.3. with date of AH 808)

Photo 12. Ulus Juchi: pul without mint name and date j-a / j^ / jc; tamga in the form of a symbol x

Photo 13. Iran. Qajar dynasty. AE anonymous coin ("civic" coinage). Rast. AH 1229/1813-1814 Zeno #9077

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