Sogdiana ("Sug`ud","Sug`diyona" -Uzbek, Sughd - Tajik, Sugdiane, Old Persian Sughuda, Persian:سغد, Chinese: Kang-Kü) ancient civilization of Iranian peoples, then was a province of the Achaemenian Empire, the eighteenth in the list in the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great (i. 16). Sogdiana at different periods of time included territories around Samarkand, Bukhara, and Kesh (Shahrisabz) in modern Uzbekistan. Persian (known variously as: فارسی Fārsi or پارسی Pārsi, local name in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, Tajik, a Central Asian dialect, or Dari, another local name in Tajikistan and Afghanistan) is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... The Persepolis Ruins The Achaemenid dynasty (Old Persian:Hakamanishiya, Persian: هخامنشیان) - was a dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire. ... The Behistun Inscription, carved into a cliffside, gives the same text in three languages, telling the story of King Darius conquests. ... Darius I of Persia Darius the Great (ca. ... Colour photograph of Ulugh Beg Madrasa taken in Samarkand ca. ... Bukhara (Bokhara in XIX century English, Buxoro or Бухоро in Uzbek (the Cyrillic alphabet was officially phased out for Uzbek after independence); بُخارا /Bukhârâ/ in Persian, Buhe/Puhe Tang Chinese, Бухара in Russian; also Boxara in Tatar) is the fifth-largest city in Uzbekistan, and capital of the Bukhara region (Bukhoro Wiloyati). ... Shahrisabz or Shahr-e Sabz (from the Persian meaning green city), also known as Kesh, is a city in Uzbekistan approximately 50 mi. ...

The Sogdian states, although never politically united, were centred around their main city of Samarkand. It lay north of Bactria between the Oxus (Amu Darya) and the Jaxartes (Syr Darya), and embraced the fertile valley of the Zarafshan (anc. Polytimetus). Sogdian territory corresponded to the modern districts of Samarkand and Bokhara in modern Uzbekistan as well as modern Tajikistan. During the High Middle Ages it was extended to the north by a policy of colonial settlements up to the Lake Issyk Kul. Colour photograph of Ulugh Beg Madrasa taken in Samarkand ca. ... It has been suggested that Ta-Hsia be merged into this article or section. ... The Amu Darya (Darya means river) rises in the Pamirs and flows mainly north-west through the Hindu Kush, Uzbekistan to join the Aral Sea in a large delta. ... Syr Darya (also known as Syrdarya or Sirdaryo) is a river in Central Asia. ... The Zeravshan or Zarafshan river, whilst smaller and less well-known than the two great rivers of Central Asia, the Oxus or Amu-Darya and the Jaxartes or Syr-Darya, is if anything more valuable as a source of irrigation in the region. ... For other uses, see Bukhara (disambiguation). ... The cathedral Notre Dame de Paris, a significant architectural contribution of the High Middle Ages. ... Issyk Kul (also Ysyk Köl) is an endorheic lake in the northern Tien Shan mountains in northwestern Kyrgyzstan. ...

Sogdian Rock or Rock of Ariamazes, a fortress in Sogdiana, was captured in 327 BC by the forces of Alexander the Great, who united Sogdiana with Bactria in to one satrapy. Subsequently it formed part of the Bactrian Greek kingdom, founded by Diodotus, until the Scythians occupied it in the middle of the 3rd century BC. Sogdian Rock or Rock of Ariamazes a fortress in Sogdiana was captured by the forces of Alexander the Great in 328 or 327 BC. Oxyartes of Bactria had sent his wife and daughters, one of whom was Roxane, to take refuge in the fortress because it was thought to be... Alexander the Great (in Greek , transliterated Megas Alexandros) (July 356 BC – June 11 323 BCE), King of Macedon (336–323 BCE), is considered one of the most successful military commanders in world history, conquering most of the world known to the ancient Greeks before his death. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... It has been suggested that Ta-Hsia be merged into this article or section. ... The founder of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, Diodotus ca. ... Scythian warriors, drawn after figures on an electrum cup from the KulOba kurgan burial near Kerch. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) // Events Teotihuacán, Mexico begun The first two Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome over dominance in western Mediterranean Rome conquers Spain Gaulish migration to Macedon, Thrace and Galatia 282-226: Colossus of Rhodes 281 BC Antiochus I Soter, on the assassination...

The Sogdians occupied a key position along the ancient Silk Road, and played a major role in facilitating trade between China and Central Asia. They started to have contacts with China following the embassy of the Chinese explorer Zhang Qian during the reign of Wudi in the former Han Dynasty, 141-87 BC. He wrote a report of his visit in Central Asia. For other uses, see Silk Road (disambiguation). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Zhang Qian leaving emperor Han Wudi, for his expedition to Central Asia from 138 to 126 BCE, Mogao Caves mural, 618-712 CE. Zhang Qian (Chinese:張騫; died 113 BCE) was a Chinese explorer and imperial envoy in the 2nd century BCE, during the time of the Han Dynasty. ... Emperor Wu of Han (156 BC–March 29, 87 BC), personal name Liu Che, was the seventh emperor of the Han Dynasty in China, ruling from 141 BC to 87 BC. Emperor Wu is best remembered for the vast territorial expansion that occurred under his reign, as well as the... The Han Dynasty (Traditional Chinese: 漢朝; Simplified Chinese: 汉朝; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Han Chau; 206 BC–AD 220) followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China. ...

Sogdian donors to the Buddha (fresco, with detail), Bezeklik, eastern Tarim Basin, China, 8th century.

Following Zhang Qian's embassy and report, commercial Chinese relations with Central Asia and Sogdiana flourished, as many Chinese missions were sent throughout the 1st century BC: "The largest of these embassies to foreign states numbered several hundred persons, while even the smaller parties included over 100 members... In the course of one year anywhere from five to six to over ten parties would be sent out." (Shiji, trans. Burton Watson). However the Sogdian traders were then still less important in the Silk Road trade than their Southern neighbours, Indian and Bactrian. They dominated the East-West trade after the 4th century AD up to the 8th century AD. Image File history File links BezeklikSogdianMerchants. ... Image File history File links BezeklikSogdianMerchants. ... Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 1st century BC started on January 1, 100 BC and ended on December 31, 1 BC. An alternative name for this century is the last century BC. The AD/BC notation does not use a year zero. ... The Records of the Grand Historian or the Records of the Grand Historian of China (Chinese: 史記; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Shih-chi; literally Historical Records), written from 109 BCE to 91 BCE, was the magnum opus of Sima Qian, in which he recounted Chinese history from the time of the mythical... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ...

The Sogdians were noted for their tolerance of different religious beliefs. Buddhism, Manichaeism, Nestorian Christianity, and Zoroastrianism all had significant followings. Sogdians were actors in the Silk Road transmission of Buddhism, until the period of Muslim invasion in the 8th century. Much of our knowledge of the Sogdians and their language comes from the numerous religious texts that they have left behind. Buddhism (Pāli Buddhadhamma or Sanskrit Buddhadharma) is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, who lived in the 5th century BCE. Buddhism spread throughout the ancient Indian sub-continent in the five centuries following his death, and propagated into Central, Southeast, and... Manichean priests, writing at their desk, with panel inscription in Sogdian. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Zoroastrianism (Persian: آيين زرتشت , Aeen-e Zartosht) was once the state religion of Sassanid Persia, and played an important role during the preceding Achaemenid and Parthian eras. ... Blue-eyed Central Asian and East-Asian Buddhist monks, Bezaklik, Eastern Tarim Basin, 9th-10th century. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) is an adherent of Islam. ...

The Sogdians spoke an East Iranian language called Sogdian -- closely related to Bactrian, another major language of the region in ancient times. Sogdian was written in a variety of scripts, all of them derived from the Aramaic alphabet. This article deals with the linguistic family of the Iranian languages, a sub-branch of the Indo-European languages. ... The Sogdian language is a Middle Iranian language spoken in Sogdiana (Zarafshan River Valley) in the modern day republics of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (chief cities: Samarkand, Panjikent, Ferghana). ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies The Bactrian language is an extinct language which was spoken in the Central Asian region of Bactria, also called Tocharistan, in northern Afghanistan. ... The Sogdian alphabet is derived from Syriac, the descendant script of Aramaic alphabet. ... The Aramaic alphabet is an abjad alphabet designed for writing the Aramaic language. ...

The valley of the Zarafshan about Samarkand retained even in the Middle Ages the name of the Soghd O Samarkand. Arabic geographers reckon it as one of the four fairest districts in the world. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Colour photograph of Ulugh Beg Madrasa taken in Samarkand ca. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ) are a large and heterogeneous ethnic group found throughout the Middle East and North Africa, originating in the Arabian Peninsula of southwest Asia. ... Map of the Earth ( Medium) ( Large 2 MB) Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Geography Table of geography, hydrography, and navigation, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ...

The great majority of the Sogdian people gradually mixed with other local groups such as the Bactrians, Chorasmians, Turkics and Persians from Achaemenid empire and came to speak Persian (modern Tajiks) or (after the Turkic conquest of Central Asia) Turkic Uzbek and are among the origins of the modern Tajik and Uzbek people. Persian (known variously as: فارسی Fārsi or پارسی Pārsi, local name in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, Tajik, a Central Asian dialect, or Dari, another local name in Tajikistan and Afghanistan) is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... The Tajiks (Persian: تاجيك) are one of the principal ethnic groups of Central Asia, and are primarily found in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan, and the Xinjiang province of China. ... The Tajiks (Persian: تاجيك) are one of the principal ethnic groups of Central Asia, and are primarily found in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan, and the Xinjiang province of China. ... The Uzbeks (Self designation – O`zbek) are a Turkic people of Central Asia and comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan and are also located in other adjacent countries in the region. ...

Historians Calum MacLeod and Bradley Mayhew in their “Uzbekistan.Golden Road to Samarkand” say “visitors come for a Sogdian culture that predates political boundaries and lies at the ethnic of both the Tajik and Uzbek peoples” (page 182). Numerous Sogdian words can be found in modern Persian and Uzbek as a result of this admixture.

See also

• Tocharians
• Iranian languages

The Tocharians were the easternmost speakers of an Indo-European language in antiquity, inhabiting the Tarim basin in what is now Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, northwestern Peoples Republic of China. ... This article deals with the linguistic family of the Iranian languages, a sub-branch of the Indo-European languages. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• Calum MacLeod, Bradley Mayhew “Uzbekistan. Golden Road to Samarkand”
• Archaeological Researches in Uzbekistan. 2001. Tashkent The edition is based on results of German-French-Uzbek co-expeditions in 2001 in Uzbekistan*
• Etienne de la Vaissière, Sogdian Traders. A History, Leiden : Brill, 2005.
• Etienne de la Vaissière, Histoire des marchands sogdiens, Paris : de Boccard, 2004.
• Babadjan Ghafurov, "Tajiks", published in USSR, Russia, Tajikistan

Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

External links

• http://www.iranianlanguages.com
• http://www.geocities.com/interlinguae/sogdian.html
• http://www.livius.org/x/xerxes/xerxes_ii.html (Xerxes II of Persia and Sogdianus)