Sogdia

Sogdiana is the name for a part of Central Asia, which was a satrapy of the Persian Empire at the same time. Derived the term of the Sogdern (also Sogdians Sogdians or written ), a historic Iranian people in Central Asia.

History

The inhabitants of Sogdia designated by the Chinese as Kang- ku. After the death of the Persian king Darius III. broke Alexander the Great in Bactria and Sogdiana. Only with difficulty Alexander could break the strong resistance of the Bactrians and Sogdians and their last stronghold, under the leadership of Oxyartes taking. Shortly afterwards he married the daughter Oxyartes ', the Bactrian princess Roxane, who was staying with her father in Sogdiana. Also from Sogdiana came the Persian commander Spitamenes.

Sogdiana was not least due to the running trade routes of importance here. After the collapse of Alexander's empire ruled various rulers in Sogdiana. From the 4th century AD developed in late antiquity here a large number of small principalities, which controlled trade on the Silk Road. With the people they met along the Silk Road have operated cultural exchange. The Uighurs have the religion of Manichaeism met, which went back to the Persian religious founder Mani, and even declares it to be its own state religion in Uighurenreich.

In the 6th century the Kok - Turks prevailed in parts of Sogdia (see also Sizabulos ). In the course of Islamic expansion Sogdiana was with the rest of Sassanidenreichs converted to Islam (see also the Arabization of place names such as Gardani Hissar ).

From the 10th century,. Sogdiana came under the influence of Turkish dynasties, and over time Turkish elements and the eastern Iranian languages ​​have more and more displaced. The cities population took over the Persian language. The last remnant of the ancient Sogdian population Jagnoben in today's Tajikistan remain which today speak a dialect that is traced back to the ancient Sogdian language.

The high level of their culture, which started western and eastern influences alike is to read especially on Pendschikent and Afrasiab. These are the capitals of principalities, whose remains were found during excavations and are particularly well preserved.