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History of Sogdiana
The Sogdians were an Iranian people whose homeland, Sogdiana, was located at the center of several of those routes, in present-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. First recorded in the 5th century BCE as a province of the Achaemenid Persian Empire Fig.
Are Sogdians Persians?
Sogdia (/?s??di?/) (Sogdian: *s{??}????kstan ??????????? or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Where is modern day Sogdiana?
Sogdiana, ancient country of Central Asia centring on the fertile valley of the Zeravshan River, in modern Uzbekistan. Excavations have shown that Sogdiana was probably settled between 1000 and 500 bc and that it then passed under Achaemenian rule.
When did the Sogdians exist?
Sogdiana, also known as Sogdia, was an ancient Iranian civilization in Asia that existed from 6th century BC to 11th century AD. It was located between Amu Darya and Syr Darya, in present-day Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Who conquered the Sogdians?
Sogdiana, was captured in 327 B.C.E. by the forces of Alexander the Great, who united Sogdiana with Bactria into one satrapy. It formed part of the Hellenistic Greco-Bactrian kingdom, founded in 248 B.C.E.
Who are the descendants of the Sogdians?
The Yaghnobis are considered to be descendants of the Sogdian-speaking peoples who once inhabited most of Central Asia beyond the Amu Darya River in what was ancient Sogdia. They speak the Yaghnobi language, a living Eastern Iranian language (the other living members being Pashto, Ossetic and the Pamir languages).
What language did Sogdians speak?
The Sogdian language was an Eastern Iranian language spoken mainly in the Central Asian region of Sogdia (capital: Samarkand; other chief cities: Panjakent, Fergana, Khujand, and Bukhara), located in modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan; it was also spoken by some Sogdian immigrant communities …
How do you pronounce Sogdiana?
Are Tajiks Sogdian?
Contemporary Tajiks are the descendants of ancient Eastern Iranian inhabitants of Central Asia, in particular, the Sogdians and the Bactrians, and possibly other groups, with an admixture of Western Iranian Persians and non-Iranian peoples.
What was the most centrally located city of Sogdiana?
In 1875, excavation began on the mound known as Afrasiab , the name given to the ruins of ancient and early medieval Samarkand (Marakanda in the 4th century BCE, known from Alexander’s Sogdian expedition)the chief city of Sogdiana.
Where did the Sogdians come from?
The Sogdians were an Iranian people whose homeland, Sogdiana, was located at the center of several of those routes, in present-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. First recorded in the 5th century BCE as a province of the Achaemenid Persian Empire Fig.
How did the Sogdians become part of China?
Due to the disaster which befell Sogdiana during his campaigns there in 329-328 BCE, the Sogdians would have been forced to emigrate as far east as China. The creation of the Sogdian trading network between Samarkand and China thus was a by-product of the Greek conquest of the Achaemenid Empire.
What did the Sogdians trade on the Silk Road?
The Sogdians traded silk from China, horses from Uzbekistan, gemstones from India, musk from Tibet, and furs from the northern steppes. Skilled artisans, they made and sold luxurious objects, particularly metalwork and textiles, across the Asian steppe and into China.
How did the Sogdians arrive in Central Asia?
Where did they come from? The Sogdians came to Sogdiana probably about 1500 BC. (That’s modern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.) They were part of the wave of Yamnaya migration to the south-east.
What did trade bring between the Roman and Han empires?
Both the Han Chinese and Roman Empires controlled vast territories and kept them relatively peaceful. The Han conquered their way into central Asia. From there, nomadic traders carried goods farther west or south. Trade brought new faiths, new ideas, and new goods to places they had not previously been.
What was so great about reaching the city of Turfan?
It has long been the centre of a fertile oasis and an important trade centre on the main northern branch of the Silk Road from Hami to Kashgar (Kashi), with an alternative northern route, via rmqi, running into the Junggar Basin, the Ili River valley, and Central Asia.
What language is spoken in Tajikistan?
Does Tajikistan exist?
Tajikistan, officially Republic of Tajikistan, Tajik Tojikiston or Jumhurii Tojikiston, Tajikistan also spelled Tadzhikistan, country lying in the heart of Central Asia. It is bordered by Kyrgyzstan on the north, China on the east, Afghanistan on the south, and Uzbekistan on the west and northwest.
What is a Sogdian noblewoman?
ASHIDE LUSHAN. It is 695 C.E., you are a Sogdian noblewoman, Sogdiana was a territory of the Persian Achaemenid Dynasty, you believe in Zoroastrianism, and are a renowned horseback archer living in the Ferghana Valley. You will be going to Chang’an (X’ian) the capital city of the Tang Dynasty in China with your father.
Where is the Sogdian rock?
Where was Bactria located?
Bactria, also called Bactriana or Zariaspa, ancient country lying between the mountains of the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya (ancient Oxus River) in what is now part of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.
What did the Chinese government send to Central Asia under the Han and Tang dynasties?
The Silk Road derives its name from the highly lucrative trade of silk textiles that were produced almost exclusively in China. The network began with the Han dynasty’s expansion into Central Asia around 114 BCE, which largely pacified the once untamed region.
What do Tajiks look like?
Tajiks are perhaps the most non-Central Asian-looking people in Central Asia. They have copper-colored skin, round eyes and Caucasian and Mediterranean features such as Roman noses. Some have blue eyes, green eyes. freckles and red hair.
Is Tajikistan a Turkic country?
Tajikistan is not a turkic country. They speak a dialect of Persian. Turks originated in Altai and expanded Westwards Central Asia, Siberia, North of Caucasus, Crimea and some groups migrated to South Caucasus, Persia and Anatolian peninsula.
Are Tajiks Aryans?
Most Tajik historians now maintain that Tajiks are of Aryan origin, and argue that Aryan or Indo-European civilization must therefore be studied and promoted.
Who built Samarkand?
In 1370 the conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), the founder and ruler of the Timurid Empire, made Samarkand his capital. Over the next 35 years, he rebuilt most of the city and populated it with great artisans and craftsmen from across the empire.
Who were the Sogdian merchants?
The Sogdian Traders were crucial to the passage of trade across Central Asia in the early Middle Ages. Originally from the regions around Samarkand, Bukhara and Tashkent, their presence as traders across the expanse of Central Asia is attested by texts, inscriptions and archaeology from China to Turkey.
Why was Samarkand important to the Silk Road?
Samarkand derived its commercial importance in ancient and medieval times from its location at the junction of trade routes from China and India. With the arrival of the railway in 1888, Samarkand became an important centre for the export of wine, dried and fresh fruits, cotton, rice, silk, and leather.
Who obliterated Samarkand in the 13th century?
Just as Alexander the Great expanded his empire throughout West, Central, and South Asia, so too did the Mongol emperor Genghis (Chinghis) Khan in the 13th century. In 1220 he conquered Central Asia and destroyed Samarkand.
What did Sogdian merchants trade?
8th century Sogdian silk Once traveled by camels and merchants carrying silk, porcelain and spices, the 2000-year-old Silk Road was an important corridor for trade and cultural exchanges between Asia and Europe.
What items were merchants from Samarkand known to trade?
Sogdian colonies were established all along the trade routes and Sogdian letters have been discovered from 313-314 AD, providing evidence about a network of merchants from Samarkand, reaching various places as far as China, in order to trade precious metals, spices and cloth.
Where is the Tarim Basin?
The Tarim Basin is China’s largest inland basin located in south of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region between the Tianshan Mountains, Kunlun Mountains and Arjin Mountain. Stretching 1,500 kilometers from east to west and 600 kilometers from south to north, it covers an area of 530,000 square kilometers.
Where did olives and glass come from on the Silk Road?
However, Silk Roads trade also left many traces of glassware across China and the South East that predates the eventual production of glass locally. Glass was first produced more than 3500 years ago probably somewhere in Mesopotamia or Egypt.
Where did ivory and salt come from on the Silk Road?
Camel caravans from North Africa carried bars of salt as well as cloth, tobacco, and metal tools across the Sahara to trading centers like Djenne and Timbuktu on the Niger River. Some items for which the salt was traded include gold, ivory, slaves, skins, kola nuts, pepper, and sugar.
Who traded ivory on the Silk Road?
Ivory came from India and East Africa and was sold on the Silk Road for a high price.
What language does Central Asia speak?
The five big ethnic groups in Central Asia are the Uzbek, Kazakh, Tajik, Turkmen, and Kyrgyz. Linguistically all of these groups, with the exception of the Tajiks whose language is more similar to modern-day Persian, speak languages that are from Turkic language family and resemble Turkish.
Why did the Ottoman Empire boycott trade with China?
Many sources state that the Ottoman Empire blocked the Silk Road. This meant that while Europeans could trade through Constantinople and other Muslim countries, they had to pay high taxes.
What did Emperor Wu Ti think of those horses?
One of the things that Chang Ch’ien informed Emperor Wu-ti about was the astonishingly large and high-quality horses found in Kokand. Ch’ien called them heavenly horses (celestial horses), since he believed that they were descendants of supernatural sky horses.
Did the Romans take over the Silk Road?
The east-west trade routes between Greece and China began to open during the first and second centuries B.C. The Roman Empire and the Kushan Empire (which ruled territory in what is now northern India) also benefitted from the commerce created by the route along the Silk Road.
What is Turfan known for?
Turpan has long been the centre of a fertile oasis (with water provided by the karez canal system) and an important trade centre. It was historically located along the Silk Road. At that time, other kingdoms of the region included Korla and Yanqi.
Why was Turfan important to the Silk Road?
The hot, dry climate is especially beneficial to sugar crops. Fruit trees, melons, and particularly grapes grow very well in the Turpan Depression. Every year, more than a thousand tons of grapes are exported to foreign countries. Turpan used to be an important strategic point on the Silk Road.
What was traded in Turfan?
The world’s most famous trade route did not only witness the transfer of silks, spice, and various other commodities, but also humans.
