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Coins from the Taskeshu Caravanserai

https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2026.54.1.091-097

Abstract

This study focuses on Jochid coins excavated in 2023 at the Taskeshu caravanserai on the left bank of the Sagyz River, Kzylkoginsky District, Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan. This medieval site is located on one of the main stretches of the Great Silk Road, connecting the Lower Volga and Ural regions with Khorezm. The site has been known from written sources since the 19th century, but coins (two silver and 12 copper) were discovered there only in the 21st century. Most of the coins date to the reign of the Golden Horde khans Uzbek (1313–1341, 3 spec.) and Janibek (1341–1357, 10 spec.), i.e., to the heyday of the Jochi Ulus. Ten coins were minted in the Lower Volga region (Sarai and Sarai al-Jedid), and the remaining four in Khorezm. The sample suggests that even after the disastrous outbreak of plague in the 1340s, trade contacts along the northern section of the Great Silk Road continued no less intensely through the 1350s, while the disruption of trade links between Eastern Europe and China was most likely caused by internal wars in the second half of the 14th century.

About the Author

A. V. Pachkalov
Maxim Gorky Institute of Literature and Creative Writing
Russian Federation

Associate Professor, Maxim Gorky Institute of Literature and Creative Writing.

Tverskoy Bulvar 25, Moscow, 123104



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Review

For citations:


Pachkalov A.V. Coins from the Taskeshu Caravanserai. Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia. 2026;54(1):91-97. https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2026.54.1.091-097

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