SOGDIANA
The
ancient province of Sogdiana (or Suguda to the Persians) lay largely
within the easternmost quarter of modern Uzbekistan, along with
western Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The River Tanais (otherwise known
as the Jaxartes/Iaxartes or Syr Darya), traditionally formed the
boundary between Sogdiana and Scythia. In fact, Sogdiana and its
western neighbour, Chorasmia, formed the northern edge of civilisation
in the ancient world. Beyond them was the sweeping steppeland and
marauding tribes of barbarians.
This
ancient region had also formed the northern border in Transoxiana
for one of the oldest series of states in Central Asia, the indigenous
Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex, or Oxus Civilisation, and
Indo-European tribes had soon integrated into it around the start
of the second millennium BC. Forming an Indo-Iranian group of tribes
in later centuries, it is these very same people who, within half
a millennium, were to be found entering India. Those who remained
behind appear to enter the historical record around the sixth century
BC, when they came up against their western cousins of the rapidly-expanding
Persian empire.
The
earliest-known rulers for the region are placed in the 600s BC,
with clear links being shown between them and the earliest rulers
of Persia (possibly before the latter had fully settled in Persia).
In fact, the resemblance between Old Persian and Sogdian languages
is one of the supporting pillars for the theory of Persian migration
into Iran from Central Asia. The Persians themselves were of Indo-Iranian
stock, and it is probably the case that the Sogdian tribes shared
that same origin. The large and warlike tribe or confederation of
the Massagetae were recorded as bordering the area to the north
in 530 BC, less closely-related cousins of the Sogdians and their
ilk.
Sogdiana
was conquered by the Persians in the mid-sixth century BC during
a sweeping wave of conquest by Cyrus the Great. A satrapy or governorship
was created to command it from a capital at Marakanda (modern Samarkand).
The Persian and Greek satrapy of Suguda and Sogdiana respectively
was situated with the sweeping steppeland of Central Asia to its
north which, in the Persian period, was peopled by various tribes
and groups such as the aforementioned Massagetae, plus the Scythians,
with Ferghana to the east, Bactria to the south, Margiana to the
south-west, and Chorasmia to the west.
(Information
by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Edward Dawson,
from Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus: Books
11-12, Volume 1, Marcus Junianus Justinus, John Yardley, & Waldemar
Heckel, from The Persian Empire, J M Cook (1983), from The Histories,
Herodotus (Penguin, 1996), and from External Links: the Ancient
History Encyclopaedia (dead link), and Zoroastrian Heritage, K E
Eduljee, and Talessman's Atlas (World History Maps).)
7th
century BC :
Later myth ascribes a dynasty of Indo-Iranian rulers to this period,
as described in the Shahnameh (The Book of Kings),
a poetic opus which is written down about AD 1000 but which accesses
older works and perhaps elements of an oral tradition.
![Map of Central Asia & India c.700 BC](Map_Bactria-&-India-700BC_full.jpg)
Following
the climate-change-induced collapse of indigenous civilisations
and cultures in Iran and Central Asia between about 2200-1700 BC,
Indo-Iranian groups gradually migrated southwards to form two regions
- Tūr (yellow) and Ariana (white), with westward migrants forming
the early Parsua kingdom (lime green), and Indo-Aryans entering
India (green)
The
earliest of these mythical Indo-Iranian rulers is Fereydun, king
of a 'world empire'. His subjects are the Indo-Iranian tribes of
the region while his kingdom of Turan is apparently in the land
of Tūr (or Turaj). This can be equated to territory in the
heartland of Indo-Iranian southern Central Asia and South Asia,
focused mainly on the later provinces of Bactria and Margiana. His
main opponents are the Kayanian dynasty of kings of the early Parsua.
c.546 - 540 BC :
The defeat of the Medes opens the floodgates for Cyrus the Great
with a wave of conquests, beginning in the west from 549 BC but
focussing towards the east of the Persians from about 546 BC. Eastern
Iran falls during a more drawn-out campaign between about 546-540
BC, which may be when Maka is taken (presumed to be the southern
coastal strip of the Arabian Sea).
Further eastern regions now fall, namely Arachosia, Aria, Bactria,
Carmania, Chorasmia, Drangiana, Gandhara, Gedrosia, Hyrcania, Margiana,
Parthia, Saka (at least part of the broad tribal lands of the Sakas),
and Thatagush - all added to the empire, although records for these
campaigns are characteristically sparse. The inference is very clear
- whatever control of Turan the Persians may have enjoyed following
the death of Afrasiab, it did not last and the lands now have to
be conquered properly.
![Iran's Makran Coast](Iran_MakranCoast01_full.jpg)
Modern
Iran's Makran Coast formed the southern edge of the ancient province
of Gedrosia, on what is now the border with south-western Pakistan
The
heartland of Sogdiana is also drawn into the empire as the province
of Suguda, while it is also named Huvarazmish in some Persian inscriptions.
The neighbouring region of Ferghana, which gains a defensive fort
or city of its own is administered from the Sogdian capital, Marakand.
These areas form the north-eastern corner of the Achaemenid empire,
with nothing beyond but uncharted wastes full of tribal barbarians.
Persian
Satraps of Suguda (Sogdiana / Huvarazmish) :
Incorporating the Satraps of the
Dyrbaeans
Conquered in the mid-sixth century BC by Cyrus the Great, the region
of Sogdiana (sometimes referred to as Huvarazmish) was added
to the Persian empire. Before that it was populated largely by Indo-Iranian
tribal groups, the most numerous of which in this particular area
were the Sogdians themselves. Under the Persians, the region was
formed into an official satrapy or province which, according to
the Behistun inscription of Darius the Great, was called Suguda
or Sugda (Sogdiana is a Greek mangling of the name).
These eastern regions of the new-found empire were ancestral homelands
for the Persians. They formed the Indo-Iranian melting pot from
which the Parsua had migrated west in the first place to reach Persis.
There would have been no language barriers for Cyrus' forces and
few cultural differences. Although details of his conquests are
relatively poor, he seemingly experienced few problems in uniting
the various tribes under his governance. He was the first to exert
any form of imperial control here, although his campaign may have
been driven partially by a desire to recreate the semi-mythical
kingdom of Turan in the land of Tūr, but now under Persian
control. Curiously the Persians had little knowledge of what lay
to the north of their eastern empire, with the result that Alexander
the Great was less well-informed about the region than earlier Ionian
settlers on the Black Sea coast had been.
Suguda's capital was Maracanda, although little else about Persian-era
Suguda is known for certain. The central minor satrapy of Suguda
had its southern border along the River Oxus (Amu Darya). The River
Polytimetus (the modern River Zeravshan, which feeds into the Oxus
from the north of Samarkand) presumably supplied the western border,
across which were the nomadic Massagetae. The rest of the western
border is uncertain. To the north-east, Suguda was bordered by the
territory of the Amyrgians (a Saka grouping), and part of the frontier
was marked by the River Jaxartes (Syr Darya).
In
the east of Suguda, a subordinate minor satrapy seems to have been
that of the Dyrbaeans (Ptolemy's Drybactae). Cyrus the Great
placed Spitaces, son of Spitamenes, in charge of the Dyrbaeans,
although when writing about them Ctesias mistook them for the Derbicans
to the east of the Caspian Sea who were not part of the Achaemenid
empire under Cyrus. Stephanus Byzantinus recorded that the Drybaean
territory (or Dyrbaioi, to use his phrase) bordered Bakhtrish and
Hindush - a pretty broad and vague definition. The only suitable
location for these 'eastern Derbicans', the Dyrbaeans, is the modern
Afghan province of Badakshan in the far north-eastern corner of
the country. Here, in the Monjan Valley, was the only source of
lapis lazuli to be exploited at that date. In that case, the minor
satrapy of the Dyrbaeans bordered Suguda to the north, Bakhtrish
to the west, and Gadara to the south. It lay largely within the
arc of the River Panj (or Pyandzh), which feeds into the headwaters
of the Oxus to the east of Dushanbe (and today provides part of
Afghanistan's border with Tajikistan).
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from
The Persian Empire, J M Cook (1983), from The Campaigns
of Alexander, Arrian of Nicomedia (Aubrey De Sélincourt, Ed,
Penguin, 1971), from From Democrats to Kings: The Brutal Dawn
of a New World from the Downfall of Athens to the Rise of Alexander
the Great, Michael Scott, from The Histories, Herodotus
(Penguin, 1996), from Anabasis Alexandri, Arrian of Nicomedia,
from Persica, Ctesias of Cnidus (original work lost but a
section is repeated by Photius in ninth century AD Constantinople),
and from External Links: The Geography of Strabo (Loeb Classical
Library Edition, 1932), and Encyclopaedia Iranica.)
c.546
- 540 BC :
During his campaigns in the east, Cyrus the Great initially takes
the northern route from Persis towards Bakhtrish and Suguda to reassure
or subdue the provinces. This route probably involves the 'militaris
via' by Rhagai to Parthawa. At some point Cyrus builds a line of
seven forts to defend his frontier in Suguda and the neighbouring
region of Ferghana against the tribal Massagetae to the north, the
strongest of these being Kyra or Kyreskhata (Cyropolis - the Greek
form of its name).
![Cyrus the Great](Persia_CyrusGreat_01_full.jpg)
Cyrus
the Great freed the Indo-Iranian Parsua people from Median domination
to establish a nation that is recognisable to this day, and an empire
that provided the basis for the vast territories that were later
ruled by Alexander the Great
Then
he takes the more difficult southern route, destroying Capisa along
the way (possibly Kapisa on the Koh Daman plain to the north of
Kabul - which is possibly also the Kapishakanish named at Behistun
as a fortress in Harahuwatish).
When Cyrus realises he is close to death around 530 BC (according
to the somewhat unreliable Ctesias), he appoints Cambyses as his
successor. He also makes two appointments to satrapies, placing
Spitaces in command over the Dyrbaeans and his brother Megabernes
over the Barcanians. Events concerning the Barcanians means that
a more realistic dating for this event would be about 515 BC, so
Cyrus cannot possibly be the instigator.
fl c.530 BC :
Spitaces
: Son
of Spitamenes. Satrap of the Dyrbaeans.
516
- 515 BC :
Achaemenid ruler Darius embarks on a military campaign into the
lands east of the empire. He marches through Haraiva and Bakhtrish,
and then to Gadara and Taxila. By 515 BC he is conquering lands
around the Indus Valley to incorporate into the new satrapy of Hindush
before returning via Harahuwatish and Zranka. Along the way the
Sakas are largely defeated and conquered, but probably only along
the borders.
One of the three Saka 'nations' is that of the Saka Paradraya. This
name breaks down into 'para' and 'draya', the first part meaning
'across' and the latter almost certainly being 'darya' or 'river'.
When Persian ruler Darius the Great boasts of the limits of his
empire he gives as the north-eastern corner the 'Sakaibish tyaiy
para Sugdam' - the Sakas across/beyond Sugdam (Sogdiana), on the
other side of the River Tanais (otherwise known as the Jaxartes/Iaxartes
or Syr Darya, which forms the boundary between Suguda and Scythia).
![Sakas on a frieze at Persepolis](Indo-Scythians02_full.jpg)
Saka
Tikrakhauda (otherwise known as 'Scythians' who in this case can
be more precisely identified as Sakas) depicted on a frieze at Persepolis
in Achaemenid Persia, which would have been the greatest military
power in the region at this time
fl 500 BC :
Artabanos : Brother
of Darius I. Satrap of Bakhtrish (& Suguda?).
fl 480 BC :
Masistes : Brother
of Xerxes I. Satrap of Bakhtrish (& Suguda?).
? - 464 BC :
Hystaspes : Son
of Xerxes I. Satrap of Bakhtrish (& Suguda?). Killed?
465 - 464 BC :
Artabanus the Hyrcanian kills Xerxes in collusion with the eunuch
of the bedside and subsequently takes control of the empire, ostensibly
as a regent for Xerxes' three sons. Artabanus has the murder pinned
on the eldest of these, Darius, and has him killed by the youngest
son, Artaxerxes. Artaxerxes accedes to the throne before Artabanus
attempts to murder him too. In the end, it is Artabanus who dies,
but Artaxerxes is forced to defeat the second of Xerxes' sons, Hystaspes,
satrap of Bakhtrish (and presumably Suguda too) and his own brother.
This brief civil war is ended when Artaxerxes defeats the forces
of Hystaspes in battle during a sandstorm.
360s/350s BC :
Artaxerxes II is occupied fighting the 'revolt of the satraps' in
the western part of the empire. Nothing is known of events in the
eastern half of the Persian empire at this time, but no word of
unrest is mentioned by Greek writers, however briefly. Given the
newsworthiness for Greeks of any rebellion against the Persian king,
this should be enough to show that the east remains solidly behind
the king. It seems that all of the empire's troubles hinge on the
Greeks during this period.
The
River Oxus - also known over the course of many centuries as the
Amu Darya - was used as a demarcation border throughout history
and was also a hub of activity in prehistoric times - but during
this period it flowed right through the heart of the region that
was known as Bactria while also providing a sizeable part of Suguda's
southern border
? - 329 BC :
Bessus / Artaxerxes V : Satrap
of Bakhtrish & Suguda. Murdered Achaemenid Darius III.
330 - 328 BC :
In 330-329 BC Suguda becomes part of the Greek empire despite the
efforts of Bessus, self-styled 'king of Asia', to retain at least
some of the Persian territories. His claim is legal, since Bakhtrish
is traditionally commanded by the next-in-line to the throne, but
Persia has already been lost and his loose collection of eastern
allies provides nothing more than a sideshow to the main event -
the fall of Achaemenid Persia. Still, it takes Alexander the Great
two more years to fully conquer the region. One of Bessus' allies
is Oxyartes, father to the Roxana whom Alexander marries in 327
BC.
During
his conquest of Suguda, following the fall of Bakhtrish, Alexander
focuses on the largest and best-defended of seven towns in the region,
this being Cyropolis in the Ferghana region (the Kyreskhata of Cyrus
the Great). While he takes the other towns, he sends Craterus to
pin down the defenders of Cyropolis. Following the quick fall of
the other towns, the storming of Cyropolis is led in person by Alexander.
Both he and Craterus are wounded but the town and its central fortress
are taken. Suguda and Ferghana now belong to the Greeks.
Argead
Dynasty in Sogdiana :
The Argead were the ruling family and founders of Macedonia who
reached their greatest extent under Alexander the Great and his
two successors before the kingdom broke up into several Hellenic
sections. Following Alexander's conquest of central and eastern
Persia in 331-328 BC, the Greek empire ruled the region until Alexander's
death in 323 BC and the subsequent regency period which ended in
310 BC. Alexander's successors held no real power, being mere figureheads
for the generals who really held control of Alexander's empire.
Following that latter period and during the course of several wars,
Sogdiana was left in the hands of the Seleucid empire from 305 BC.
Little seems to be known about Persian-era Suguda (Sogdiana), other
than the fact that its capital was Maracanda. Located at the north-eastern
edge of the empire, and subject to raids across its border by the
nomadic Sakas beyond, its borders are known in general terms. Its
southern border followed the line of the River Oxus (Amu Darya).
The River Polytimetus (the modern River Zeravshan, which feeds into
the Oxus from the north of Samarkand) presumably supplied the western
border, across which were the nomadic Massagetae. The rest of the
western border is uncertain. To the north-east, Sogdiana was bordered
by the territory of the Amyrgians (a Saka grouping), and part of
the frontier was marked by the River Jaxartes (Syr Darya). Once
conquered by Alexander the Great (perhaps only loosely) it was merged
in administrative terms with Bactria, while Alexander would soon
marry Roxana, the daughter of one of the region's most powerful
warlords.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from
Ancient Samarkand: Capital of Soghd, G V Shichkina (Bulletin
of the Asia Institute, 1994, 8: 83), and from A Dictionary of
Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith (London,
1873), from Alexander the Great, Krzysztof Nawotka (Cambridge
Scholars Publishing, 2009), from The Persian Empire, J M
Cook (1983), from The Histories, Herodotus (Penguin, 1996),
from The Cambridge Ancient History, John Boardman, N G L
Hammond, D M Lewis, & M Ostwald (Eds), from Sogdiana, its
Christians and Byzantium, Aleksandr Naymark (doctoral thesis,
Indiana University, 2001), and from External Links: Encyclopædia
Britannica, and Encyclopaedia Iranica.)
328
- 323 BC :
Alexander III the Great : King of Macedonia. Conquered
Persia.
323 - 317 BC :
Philip III Arrhidaeus : Feeble-minded half-brother
of Alexander the Great.
317 - 310 BC :
Alexander IV of Macedonia : Infant son of Alexander
the Great and Roxana.
328?
BC :
Orepius
: Satrap of Sogdiana at the 'gift of Alexander'.
328 BC :
Following the resignation of Artabazus, satrap of Bactria, Clitus
is given the post along with command of 16,000 Greeks who had formerly
fought under the Persians as mercenaries. He sees this posting as
a reduction of his influence and position with Alexander and, at
a banquet in the satrap's palace at Maracanda (the capital of the
satrapy of Sogdiana, modern Samarkand), the two get into a drunken
quarrel. Enduring gross insults from Clitus, in his rage Alexander
runs him through with a spear. Almost immediately he deeply regrets
the death of his former friend (the scene is well depicted in the
feature film, Alexander (2004), although the location is
transferred to India).
![Map of Central Asia & Eastern Mediterranean 334-323 BC](Map_Bactria-&-India-334-324BC_full.jpg)
The
route of Alexander's ongoing campaigns are shown in this map, with
them leading him from Europe to Egypt, into Persia, and across the
vastness of eastern Iran as far as the Pamir mountain range
328
- 323? BC :
Amyntas
Nikolaos : Greek satrap of Chorasmia, Bactria, & Sogdiana.
328
- 323? BC :
Scythaeus
: Greek satrap of Chorasmia, Bactria, & Sogdiana.
327 BC :
Against the vehemently strong opinions held by his generals, Alexander
proceeds to marry Roxana (Roshanak in her native tongue). She is
the daughter of Oxyartes, a Sogdian warlord who had supported Bessus
in his attempt to resist Alexander in the east in 329 BC. Oxyartes
himself had been one of the defeated defenders of the fortress known
as the 'Sogdian Rock' in 328 BC, close to the Sogdian capital at
Marakanda. Oxyartes himself is made satrap of Gandhara.
323
- 321 BC :
Following the death of Alexander the Great, some changes come to
Chorasmia, Sogdiana, and Bactria. The end of the term of office
for Amyntas Nikolaos and his subordinate, Scythaeus, is often given
as 325 BC, and sometimes as 321 BC. However, Philip is certainly
in place by 323 BC, so this date is used here.
323
- 321 BC :
Philip
/ Philippus : Greek satrap of Chorasmia, Bactria, &
Sogdiana, then Parthia.
321 BC :
With Philip being reassigned to Parthia, his replacement in the
east is Stasanor the Solian, former satrap of Aria and Drangiana.
This new satrap is the brother to Stasander, his replacement in
Aria and Drangiana. Perhaps he also has more of a focus towards
the Northern Indus territories than the eastern coast of the Caspian
Sea, as later suggested by events. His territory initially extends
as far north as Ferghana, which contains the city of Alexandria
Eschate ('the Furthest'), while Stasander also has ambitions.
![Eumenes of Cardia](Macedonia_Eumenes01_full.jpg)
Eumenes
of Cardia, Macedonian general and one of Alexander the Great's 'successors'
between whom a series of wars were fought
321
- 312 BC :
Stasanor
the Solian : Greek satrap of Chorasmia to Sogdiana, &
Nth Punjab (316 BC).
320s BC :
Like the Persians before them, the Greeks under Alexander place
the Amyrgian Sakas beyond Sogdiana, across the River Tanais (otherwise
known as the Iaxartes, Jaxartes, or Syr Darya, which forms the boundary
between Sogdiana and Scythia). This is thanks to their having encountered
them after crossing Sogdiana and the Syr Darya in the approximate
region of Alexandria Eschate in the Ferghana region ('Eschate' meaning
'the Furthest', possibly modern Khojend, but see the Ferghana introduction).
It is generally accepted that they control all of Ferghana (immediately
to the east of Sogdiana) and the Alai Valley. Indeed, they may have
been relocated onto the plain following their conquest by the Persians.
316
- 312 BC :
The Wars of the Diadochi decide how Alexander the Great's
empire is carved up between his generals, but the period is very
confused, especially in the east. These provinces appear to be invaded
and controlled by the Antigonids for a period, with General Antigonus
being responsible for the death of Eudamus. However, at some point
in 316 BC, Stasanor the Solian, satrap of Chorasmia, Bactria, and
Sogdiana (with Ferghana) seizes the Northern Indus while his brother
seizes Parthia. Clearly the two are either working in unison with
Seleucus of Babylonia from the beginning or are attempting to stamp
their own independent authority on much of the east. Unfortunately,
Stasander is removed from office in 315 BC.
312
- 301 BC :
?
: Unknown Greek satrap of Sogdiana.
312 - 306 BC :
Bactria is taken by the Seleucids around 312 BC. During the break-up
of the empire, it appears that parts of the area become independent,
but much of it remains under the control of the Greek satrap of
Bactria and Sogdiana. Sophytes is satrap of Bactria, so could he
possibly also govern Sogdiana too? Furthermore, given the tradition
of Sogdiana's satrap also governing Chorasmia, that too could remain
under the control of a single satrap.
![Battle of Ipsus](Macedonia_Ipsus01_full.jpg)
The
Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC ended the drawn-out and destructive Wars
of the Diadochi which decided how Alexander's empire would be divided
305 - 301 BC :
During the Fourth War of the Diadochi, the diadochi
generals proclaim themselves king of their respective domains following
a similar proclamation by Antigonus the year before (306 BC). Following
the death of Antigonus at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, his territories
are carved up by the other diadochi. All of the eastern territories,
including Sogdiana, go into forming the empire of the Seleucids.
Macedonian
Sogdiana :
During
the last of the Wars of the Diadochi, Seleucus was able to expand
his holdings with some ruthlessness, building up his stock of Alexander's
far eastern regions as far as the borders of India and the River
Indus (Sindh). Appian's work, The Syrian Wars, provides a detailed
list of these regions, which included Arabia, Arachosia, Aria, Armenia,
Bactria, 'Seleucid' Cappadocia (as it was known) by 301 BC, Carmania,
Cilicia (eventually), Drangiana, Gedrosia, Hyrcania, Media, Mesopotamia,
Paropamisadae, Parthia, Persis, Sogdiana, and Tapouria (a small
satrapy beyond Hyrcania), plus eastern areas of Phrygia.
Once
safely under Seleucid control after the conclusion of the Greek
wars, Sogdiana was supposedly governed by Macedonian satraps from
Bactria (see below). The capital was at Marakanda (later Samarkand).
The descendants of many of these satraps became independent kings,
after Bactria had been cut off from the Seleucids by Parthian incursion
into central Persia. The Bactrian kingdom consisted of the core
provinces of Bactria and Sogdiana. Located in one of the richest
and most urbanised of regions, it quickly blossomed into a large
eastern Greek empire, but continual internal discord and usurpations
saw it progressively fragmented and vulnerable to outside conquest.
The eastern section was almost permanently separated from Bactria
and came to be known as the Indo-Greek kingdom.
The
chronology of the Indo-Bactrian rulers is based largely on numismatic
evidence (coinage). There are few written accounts, and other records
are relatively sparse, while frequent internecine conflicts makes
the facts even harder to pin down, so dates are rarely reliable.
Some possible kings are known only from a few coins, and the interpretation
of these can sometimes be very uncertain. The word 'supposedly'
is used above in connection with Sogdiana being governed from Bactria
simply because there is very little evidence to prove it. Sogdiana
is indeed included in the list of eastern provinces that were secured
by the Seleucids in the campaign of 305 BC. It may well have remained
an administrative division during the early years of post-Alexandrine
governance of the east, but a campaign in 283-281 BC and a lack
of mentions afterwards paint a distinct picture of a lost region,
and perhaps one that was not particularly secure beforehand.
(Information
by Peter Kessler, with additional information by David Kelleher,
from The Impact of Seleucid Decline on the Eastern Iranian Plateau,
Jeffrey D Lerner (1999), from Sogdiana, its Christians and Byzantium,
Aleksandr Naymark (doctoral thesis, Indiana University, 2001), and
from External Links: the Ancient History Encyclopaedia (dead link),
and Encyclopædia Britannica, and Epitome of the Philippic
History of Pompeius Trogus, Marcus Junianus Justinus (Rev John Selby
Watson, Trans, 1895), via Corpus Scriptorum Latinorum, and Appian's
History of Rome: The Syrian Wars at Livius.org. Where information
conflicts regarding the Indo-Greek territories, Osmund Bopearachchi's
Monnaies Gréco-Bactriennes et Indo-Grecques, Catalogue Raisonné
(1991) has been followed.)
c.294
- 293 BC :
Demodamas : Seleucid satrap (governor-general)
of Bactria & Sogdiana.
c.294 - 293 BC :
A former general under Seleucid rulers Seleucus I Nicator and Antiochus
I Soter, Demodamas serves twice as satrap of Bactria and Sogdiana.
During this time he undertakes military expeditions across the Syr
Darya to explore the lands of the Sakas, repopulating Alexandria
Eschate ('the furthest', possibly modern Khojend) in Ferghana in
the process following its earlier destruction by barbarians.
His journeys of exploration take him farther than any other Greek,
barring perhaps Alexander himself, and his records of what he finds
provide an important platform for later Roman writers.
![Map of Bactria and India 200 BC](Map_Bactria-&-India-200BC_full.jpg)
The
kingdom of Bactria (shown in white) was at the height of its power
around 200-180 BC, with fresh conquests being made in the south-east,
encroaching into India just as the Mauryan empire was on the verge
of collapse, while around the northern and eastern borders dwelt
various tribes that would eventually contribute to the downfall
of the Greeks - the Sakas and Greater Yuezhi
c.293 - c.281 BC :
?
: One or more unknown Seleucid satraps.
283 - 281 BC :
During his time campaigning and exploring the lesser-known lands
to the north of Bactria, Demodamas directs his attentions towards
nomads who are inhabiting the lands to the north of Sogdiana. These
would be Sakas (quite possibly related to the Massagetae of Cyrus
the Great's time), often unruly and hard to govern effectively while
they occupy the sweeping steppe to the north of the Syr Darya.
Whether
Demodamas has to direct any efforts towards securing Sogdiana itself
remains unclear. It seems to fall off the historical record after
this point, at least as far as the Greeks are concerned, suggesting
that it is largely lost or abandoned while the Greeks focus on far
more lucrative and promising expansion to the south. However, some
events later in the century seem to point towards Sogdiana still
being connected to Greek events in Bactria, however loosely.
c.281 - 280 BC :
Demodamas : Seleucid satrap for the second time.
c.280 - 256 BC :
?
: Unknown Seleucid satraps.
256 - 248 BC :
Diodotus
I Soter : Seleucid satrap. Declared the Bactrian kingdom.
256 BC :
Diodotus declares independence from Seleucid Greek rule at the same
time as the satrap of Parthia. It may even be the actions of Andragoras
of Parthia which force the hand of Diodotus I Soter, since there
is little immediate chance of Seleucid retaliation. However, although
the written evidence is confused and somewhat contradictory, it
is more likely to happen the other way around. Bactria declares
independence and Parthia follows. Diodotus now rules the former
provinces of Bactria (to the south), Sogdiana, Ferghana (modern
eastern Uzbekistan), and Arachosia (modern Kandahar). It is Strabo
who confirms that Sogdiana at this time remains a Greco-Bactrian
possession.
![Antakya Mosaic Museum](Antioch_Mosaics01_full.jpg)
Although
the mosaics exhibited today in the Antakya Mosaic Museum in Turkey
generally date to the first to fifth centuries AD, Seleucid Antioch
of the third to first centuries BC would have been just as grand
a city
248 - 235 BC :
Diodotus II : Son. King in Bactria.
c.235/230 BC :
Diodotus II of Bactria is overthrown by Euthydemus, possibly the
satrap of Sogdiana. The date is uncertain and Strabo puts forward
223/221 BC as an alternative, placing it within a period of internal
Seleucid discord.
235 - 200/195 BC :
Euthydemus I Theos : Satrap of Sogdiana? Overthrew
Diodotus.
c.220 BC :
The realm of Euthydemus of Bactria is a large one, perhaps still
including Sogdiana and Ferghana to the north (although this is highly
questionable), and Margiana and Aria to the west. There are indications
that from Alexandria Eschate in Ferghana the Greco-Bactrians may
lead expeditions as far as Kashgar (a little under three hundred
and twenty kilometres due east of Ferghana), and Urumqi in Chinese
Turkestan. There they would be able to establish the first known
contacts between China and the West around 220 BC.
Even more remarkably, recent examinations of the terracotta army
have established a startling new concept - the terracotta army may
be the product of western art forms and technology. An entire terracotta
army plus imperial court are manufactured using five workshops and
a form of human representation in sculpture that has never before
been seen in China. Archaeologists today continue the process of
discovering new pits and even a fan of roads leading out from the
emperor's burial mound, one of which, heading west, may be a sort
of proto-Silk Road along which Greek craftsmen may be travelling
(Marakanda being a key location along the Silk Road from the moment
of its establishment).
![Marco Polo on the Silk Road](Tajikistan_SilkRoad01_full.jpg)
Marco
Polo's journey into China along the Silk Road made use of a network
of east-west trade routes that had been developed since the time
of Greek control of Bactria
208 - 206 BC :
Euthydemus repulses an effort at the re-conquest of Bactria by the
Seleucid ruler, Antiochus III. Following defeat at the Battle of
the Arius, Euthydemus successfully resists a two year siege in the
fortified city of Bactra before Antiochus finally decides to recognise
his rule in 206 BC. He offers one of his daughters in marriage to
Euthydemus' son, Demetrius, but it may also be at this time that
Euthydemus refers to great hordes of nomads accumulating on the
northern borders, possibly meaning that Sogdiana has been removed
from his control, and posing a threat to both their domains - Bactria
and the Seleucid empire.
fl
c.160s BC? :
Hyrcodes : Known from a few coins only. King in
Sogdiana?
167
BC :
Under Mithradates the Parthians rise from obscurity to become a
major regional power, although a precise chronology is not possible.
Their first expansion takes the former province of Aria (now northern
Afghanistan) from the Greco- Bactrian kingdom. It seems possible
that Aria (and possibly a rebellious Drangiana too) had already
been conquered once by the Arsacid Parthians, with the Greco-Bactrians
recapturing it, probably during the reign of Euthydemus I Theos.
During the reign of Eucratides I the Greco-Bactrians are also engaged
in warfare against the people of Sogdiana, showing that they have
lost control of that northern region too (and by inference Ferghana).
The last statement raises the question of who in Sogdiana is standing
against Eucratides. There exist a few coins which are minted under
the command of one Hyrcodes, an otherwise unknown individual (although
the name may not even be that of a ruler). There is much speculation
about whether 'he' is based in Bactria or in Sogdiana (possibly
at Marakanda, modern Samarkand), and whether he commands in the
second or first century BC.
![A silver tetradrachm of Eucratides I of Bactria](Indo-Greeks_Coins04_full.jpg)
The
successor to Antimachus I of Bactria was Eucratides I, with this
silver tetradrachm being minted in his image at some point during
the twenty-six years or so of his reign
Equally
unknown is whether he is an Indo-Greek himself, or possibly a Saka
with Greek influences, although Sogdiana's drift towards following
nomadic culture in this period would suggest the former - an Indo-Greek
who is opposing his peers in Bactrian from a position of relative
isolation and safety in the north. Despite another claim that he
may even be a Greater Yuezhi leader or vassal of the later decades
of the second century BC, the Indo-Greek theory makes the most sense.
The result is that Hyrcodes is unlikely to survive the imminent
Saka and Greater Yuezhi invasions of Sogdiana.
Post-Greek
Sogdiana :
Following the final termination of Greek rule in Bactria around
130 BC - and seemingly for at least some decades before it too -
Sogdiana's history becomes very hazy. Scholars have not particularly
been able to reach a consensus about what was happening in the region
even during the Greek kingdom period, let alone afterwards. Very
often the only evidence at all is primarily numismatic, with some
regional coins being produced bearing the name or likeness of minor
tyrants, usually in the Greek style which remained the one to follow
for some centuries.
In numismatic terms, very few Greco-Bactrian coins have been found
in Sogdiana. The quality of these and regional imitations gradually
reduced between the first century BC and the fourth century AD,
with the silver content worsening. Architecturally, there seems
to be very little monumental Greek architecture, despite neighbouring
Bactria enjoying a boom in construction. In fact, despite there
remaining an element of Greek influence, previously established
Indo-Iranian tradition seems to have enjoyed a revival. Sogdian
script was used in place of Greek, developed out of Achaemenid courtly
Aramaic. Sogdian fortifications which were erected during this period
also followed established Indo-Iranian styles, and Sogdian clothing
was traditional Central Asian in style rather than Greek. In fact,
while Bactria experienced a mix of these traditions along with Indo-Greek
influences, Sogdian style seemed to have been influenced only by
nomadic styles.
Two main views remain possible: that the Greco-Bactrian kingdom
included Sogdiana at least during the third century BC before barbarian
incursions removed it from their sphere of control; or that Sogdiana
was lost to the Greeks very soon after the death of Alexander, with
the Greeks in Bactria focussing on that satrapy and with close integration
with the Indo-Greek territories both during the period of Mauryan
ascendancy (from 305 BC) and during its decline (seemingly from
256 BC when the Greco-Bactrians declared independence from the Seleucid
empire). The latter view sees Sogdiana largely abandoned by Greek
control but still heavily influenced by its culture, and politically
splintered amongst several minor principalities such as those of
Bukhara and Vardana.
There is simply not enough evidence available to decide either way,
but a vague picture can be discerned. Holt suggests quite reasonably
that Alexander never really consolidated his conquest of Sogdiana,
instead relying on local concessions and the taking of a Sogdian
bride (Roxana) to settle the situation there so that he could move
on with his campaigns. After his death, the unstable situation there
simply dissuaded the Bactrian satraps from taking much of an interest
- even if their abilities were (sometimes) equal to the task. The
reign of Eucratides I in Bactria can certainly be taken as a final
cut-off point thanks to confirmation that the kingdom is engaged
in warfare against the people of Sogdiana, showing that they have
lost control of that northern region too (and by inference Ferghana).
![The developing Silk Road](Tajikistan_SilkRoad02_long.jpg)
(Information
by Peter Kessler, with additional information from Sogdiana,
its Christians and Byzantium, Aleksandr Naymark (doctoral thesis,
Indiana University, 2001), from Alexander the Great and Bactria:
The Formation of a Greek Frontier in Central Asia, Frank L Holt
(1989), from The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 3, E Yarshater
(Ed), from The Impact of Seleucid Decline on the Eastern Iranian
Plateau, Jeffrey D Lerner, and from External Links: Epitome
of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus, Marcus Junianus
Justinus (Rev John Selby Watson, Trans, 1895), via Corpus Scriptorum
Latinorum, and Kidarites (Encyclopaedia Iranica), and Turkic History,
and Iron Gates of Sogdiana (Uzbekistan Travel).)
c.165
BC :
Defeated by the Xiongnu, the Greater Yuezhi are forced to evacuate
their lands on the borders of the Chinese kingdom. They begin a
migration westwards that triggers a slow domino effect of barbarian
movement.
![Map of the Yuezhi lands and exodus route](Map_China_200BC_Tocharians_full.jpg)
The
Greater Yuezhi were defeated and forced out of the Gansu region
by the Xiongnu, and their migratory route into Central Asia is pretty
easy to deduct from the fact that they chose to try and settle in
the Ili river valley below Lake Balkhash
c.155 BC :
The Sakas (in the form of the Amyrgian branch) are displaced from
Ferghana by the Greater Yuezhi. They are undoubtedly pushed towards
neighbouring Sogdiana, where they are dominant enough to take control
of the region, displacing whichever regional tyrants may have arisen
or becoming their overlords. This is an event that is connected
with the migration of the Greater Yuezhi across Da Yuan (the Chinese
term for Ferghana), following another defeat, this time by an alliance
of the Wusun and the Xiongnu. The Greater Yuezhi are forced to move
again, causing other tribes also to be bumped out of position.
These
mass migrations of the second century BC are confused and somewhat
lacking in Greek and Chinese sources because the territory concerned
is beyond any detailed understanding of theirs. Whatever the reason,
the Saka king transfers his headquarters to the south, across the
Hanging Passage that leads to Jibin. This is part of a southwards
trend for the Sakas, and by approximately the mid-first century
BC, Saka kings appear in India.
140 - 130 BC :
Sakas have long been pressing against Bactria's borders. Now, following
a long migration from the borders of the Chinese kingdoms, the Greater
Yuezhi start to invade Bactria from Sogdiana to the north. Initially,
Saka elements who are already in Bactria become vassals to the Greater
Yuezhi.
Suvars (or Subars), a horse husbandry tribe known from the environs
of Sumerian Mesopotamia (if in fact they are the same group - doubtful
given the time span involved), now gain renewed prominence when
they join the 'Tokhars' (Tokharoi) and Ases (Asioi) in the nomadic
conquest of Sogdiana and Bactria about this time. The Ases have
been equated with the Ases of the Pontic-Caspian steppe in the sixth
century. They may be the same group, although this is debatable.
A case can be made, however, by this nomadic group returning northwards
to be swept up in early Turkic migrations towards the Caspian Sea
- the Suvars seem to follow the very same course.
![Map of Bactria and India 200 BC](Map_Bactria-&-India-200BC_full.jpg)
The
kingdom of Bactria (shown in white) was at the height of its power
around 200-180 BC, with fresh conquests being made in the south-east,
encroaching into India just as the Mauryan empire was on the verge
of collapse, while around the northern and eastern borders dwelt
various tribes that would eventually contribute to the downfall
of the Greeks - the Sakas and Greater Yuezhi
At
around the time of the death of the Indo-Greek King Menander in
130 BC, the Greater Yuezhi overrun Bactria and end Greek rule. Heliocles
may possibly invade the western part of the Indo-Greek kingdom,
as there are strong suggestions that the Eucratids continue to rule
there, especially in Heliocles' presumed son, Lysias.
Following the Greater Yuezhi invasion and conquest of Sogdiana and
Bactria, the city of Ai Khanum (its modern name) on the Amu Darya
in Bactria goes into unrecoverable decline. Founded (if the identification
is correct) as the city of Alexandria on the Oxus, its modern Uzbek
name means literally 'Lady Moon'. On the northern bank of the river
the fortress religious centre of Takht-i Sangin (now in southern
Tajikistan) survives and flourishes until the late Kushan period.
126 BC :
The Chinese envoy, Chang-kien or Zhang Qian, visits the newly-established
Greater Yuezhi capital of Kian-she in Ta-Hsia (otherwise shown as
Daxia to the Chinese, and Bactria-Tokharistan to western writers)
and the rich and fertile country of the Bukhara region of Sogdiana.
His mission is to obtain help for the Chinese emperor against the
Xiongnu, but the Greater Yuezhi leader - the son of their leader
who had been killed about 166 BC - refuses the request. Kian-she
can reasonably be equated with Lan-shih or Lanshi, but the question
of whether this is the Bactrian capital of Bactra (modern Balkh)
seems to be much more controversial. It does seem to be likely though,
despite scholarly objections.
![Map of Central Asia & India c.50 BC](Map_Bactria-&-India-50BC_full.jpg)
By
the period between 100-50 BC the Greek kingdom of Bactria had fallen
and the remaining Indo-Greek territories (shown in white) had been
squeezed towards Eastern Punjab. India was partially fragmented,
and the once tribal Sakas were coming to the end of a period of
domination of a large swathe of territory in modern Afghanistan,
Pakistan, and north-western India. The dates within their lands
(shown in yellow) show their defeats of the Greeks that had gained
them those lands, but they were very soon to be overthrown in the
north by the Kushans while still battling for survival against the
Satvahanas of India
115 - 100 BC :
With Parthian territory having been harried for years by the Sakas,
King Mithridates II is finally able to take control of the situation.
First he defeats the Greater Yuezhi in Sogdiana in 115 BC, and then
he defeats the Sakas in Parthia and around Seistan (in Drangiana)
around 100 BC. After their defeat, the Greater Yuezhi tribes concentrate
on consolidation in Bactria-Tokharistan while the Sakas are diverted
into Indo-Greek Gandhara. The western territories of Aria, Drangiana,
and Margiana would appear to remain Parthian dependencies.
c.50
BC :
Having settled in Sogdiana and Bactria, the Greater Yuezhi have
effectively rechristened these provinces as Tokharistan. Now, a
century-or-so-later they have united under a single leadership,
that of the Kushan tribe. Around this time they capture the territory
of the Sakas in what will one day become Afghanistan, and have probably
already caused the downfall of Indo-Greek King Hermaeus, conquering
Paropamisadae in the process.
fl
1st cent AD :
Phseigaharis? : Known only on coins. Local ruler
in Sogdiana. Greater Yuezhi?
1st century AD :
A few coins have been found which are minted (probably) in the first
century AD by one Phseigaharis. The coins all come from the prosperous
Kashka Darya valley of the western Pamir mountain range immediately
south of Marakanda (Samarkand, with the valley now being in the
region of Qashqadaryo in eastern Uzbekistan). Most of the coins
do not permit any especially accurate dating, or even an accurate
location, as they are generalised Greek types.
One more recent find carries an Aramaic legend behind the ruler's
head on the obverse as well as a Greek legend. This pinpoints the
mint to that at Marakanda, while the ruler's hair style and 'ethnic'
characteristics strongly suggest a first century AD date. Otherwise
unknown except for these coin finds, Phseigaharis can be classed
as a local ruler in Sogdiana, possibly a member of the Greater Yuezhi
or one of their regional vassals.
![Pamir Mountains](Modern_PamirMountains01_full.jpg)
The
Pamir Mountains in the east of modern Tajikistan became a border
region for the post-Greek regions of Sogdiana, and have produced
some interesting archaeological finds over the years
c.30 - 50 :
The unity in coinage designs across the Greater Yuezhi territories
has been relatively short-lived. The rise of the Kushan tribe and
its formation of an empire based in Bactria-Tokharistan seemingly
replaces this with its own new monetary style. As a result coinage
in Sogdiana declines steeply while that of Bactria remains prosperous.
Apparently lying outside the empire, for the next two centuries
the coinage of the Zaravshan Valley around Marakanda (Samarkand)
imitates the Alexander style used in the Ashtam group (second century
AD) and by Hyrcodes (of Macedonian Sogdiana, perhaps circa
160 BC?).
Ceramic
production and sophistication also declines, apparently quite abruptly,
leaving Sogdiana an under-developed backwater supported only by
'pre-Silk Road' trade with the Han kingdom. Cities decay in the
Zaravshan Valley, close to Marakanda, including Afrasaib-Samarkand,
Kuldor tepe, Durmen tepe, Kurgan tepe, and Varaksha. Large sections
of their territory which had previously been inhabited are now abandoned,
dwellings left empty. Only the Kashka Darya basin to the south of
Marakanda escapes the decline, probably acting as a cultural refuge
for Sogdiana as a whole.
At
the founding of the Kushan empire, a long corridor of territory
is seized by the Kushans between Bactria-Tokharistan and the middle
course of the Amu Darya. This serves to create a Kushan barrier
along the entire southern and western Sogdian border. The inference
that can be drawn from the lack of Kushan empire coinage in Sogdiana
(extremely rare), and the lack of any other apparent benefits of
empire, is that Sogdiana is isolated deliberately or otherwise by
this barrier, cut off from the Parthian empire and the west. A Kushan
fortification wall which shuts the Iron Gates would suggest that
the barrier is deliberate.
![The Iron Gates of the Baba-tag Mountains in Sogdiana](Uzbekistan_IronGates01_full.jpg)
The
Iron Gates (shown here), are part of a narrow but popular linking
route between Sogdiana and Bactria in the Baba-tag Mountains (close
to modern Derbent)
fl 2nd cent AD :
? : Unnamed ruler in Marakanda known only from
coins.
2nd century :
The coins of the Ashtam group are minted in Marakanda (Samarkand)
during this century. They continue the tradition of imitating Alexander
styles, with a representation of an archer on the reverse. Unfortunately
the identity of the local ruler shown on them cannot be ascertained.
Sogdiana's decline continues throughout this century, reaching its
lowest point in the third century.
c.260
:
The vassal kingdom of Margiana is formally annexed to the Sassanid
crown by Shapur I. The name of the vassal king here is unknown (unless
Ardashir is still alive). Now Shapur places his own son, Narseh,
as governor of the province of Hind, Sagistan, and Turgistan. Margiana
is part of this broad territory, falling within the Sagistan section
which itself is named for the Saka groups which formerly dominated
here.
This
could also be the point at which Shapur seizes Sogdiana and makes
it part of the empire. Much of it is occupied for a time (Marakanda,
for instance - modern Samarkand), while part is occupied for a longer
period (Bukhara especially). It seems that the new masters of Iran
have, at the same time as Kushan power is on the wane, broken through
a Kushan barrier that has until now isolated Sogdiana.
fl 200s/300s? :
? : Unnamed 'ruler' in south-western Sogdiana.
c.200s/300s :
In Sughd (Sogdiana) some time between the second and fourth centuries
AD, a local ruler in the south-western region mints his own coins.
They derive from imitations of early Seleucid drachms of the Alexander
type, with the derivation coming via the reverse and its highly
stylised depiction of Zeus bearing an eagle. The lettering includes
the title 'ruler', but only a handful of these coins have been discovered
and the ruler's name is not known.
![A silver tetradrachm of Eucratides I of Bactria](Indo-Greeks_Coins04_full.jpg)
The
successor to Antimachus I of Bactria was Eucratides I, with this
silver tetradrachm being minted in his image at some point during
the twenty-six years or so of his reign - such coins would remain
in circulation for several more centuries, often being overstamped
with the initials of new, more local rulers
312 - 313 :
The 'Ancient Sogdian Letters' form the first documentary evidence
to show that things are changing in Sogdiana. The recent rise of
the Sassanids in Iran and the subsequent eclipsing of the Kushans
may have something to do with this. These letters show the existence
of a large network of merchants from the cities of Sogd (Sogdiana)
now in the Tarim Basin (home of the Tocharians) and beyond. With
the removal of the Kushans, Sogdians have been able to force their
way into the trade routes which have already been established between
India and China via the Tarim Basin.
c.350/375
:
Having been subjugated by the Gupta kings, the rump eastern Kushan
state is soon conquered by the invading Kidarites. They, in turn,
claim to be the rightful successors of the Kushans and Kushanshahs
(to the south of Bactria). Any possible survivors in the west are
probably displaced by the Hephthalites.
It
is probably not coincidental that the style of regional coins in
Sogdiana suddenly changes in the second half of the fourth century,
or towards the end of it. Coins which have imitated Greek types
for over four centuries - especially the tetradrachms of Euthydemus
I, former Greek satrap of Sogdiana - are no longer issued, being
replaced with coins of quite a different appearance.
These
are small silver coins with a head-and-shoulders representation
in the Transoxianan style of a ruler in a diadem on the obverse,
and on the reverse an altar with a blazing fire and a circular legend
in Sogdian in which only the title MR'Y can be read. Similar coins
are issued in copper. Both are ancestors of a new generation of
coins which are linked to Bukhara right up to the seventh century
(possibly due to the rise there of a ruling elite which survives
until the Islamic invasion).
fl
c.350s? :
MR'Y : Initials on a coin of a ruler in Sogdiana.
With the opening of the trade routes to India and China (the latter
undoubtedly including the Tarim Basin Tocharians), the once shrunken
and backward Sogdiana is booming again. A sudden and rapid improvement
in development take place, with the surviving cities growing rapidly,
and new defensive lines being put up that demonstrate the gaining
of significant new territories.
![Tarim Basin mummies](Tocharians_TarimMummies04_full.jpg)
This
example of the Tarim Basin mummies had the usual distinctive European
features, along with a full head of red hair which had been braided
into pony tails, and items of woven material which match similar
Celtic items
441 - 457 :
A Kidarite conquest of at least part of Sogdiana seems to be safely
attested by coins from Samarkand, bearing on the obverse the schematised
portrait of a ruler with the Sogdian legend kyδr. On
typological and metrological grounds these coins can be assigned
to the fifth century. Similar coins also begin to be issued from
nearby Bukhara.
fl
c.441? :
? : Unnamed
and unrecorded Kidarite (?) ruler in Sogdiana.
fl c.450? :
? : Unnamed
and unrecorded Kidarite (?) ruler in Sogdiana.
fl c.457? :
? : Unnamed
Kidarite (?) ruler in Sogdiana.
fl c.470s? :
? : Unnamed
Kidarite (?) ruler in Sogdiana. The last (by 509)?
457 - 509 :
Hypothetically
this conquest can be connected with the interruption of Sogdian
embassies to China between 441 and 457, and with a piece of information
in the Weishu (formerly dated to 437, but actually referring
to 457) mentioning an earlier capture of Samarkand by the Xiongnu.
The ruler of this captured part of Sogdiana in 457 is the third
of the new dynasty. This (possibly) Kidarite dynasty maintains its
hold over Samarkand until 509, after which date embassies from Samarkand
are incorporated into Hephthalite ones.
Post-Greek
Principalities (Sogdiana) :
Incorporating Kish, Nasaf, &
Vardana
The view of Post-Greek Sogdiana and neighbouring post-Greek Ferghana
remains confused. It seems likely Sogdiana was largely abandoned
by the Greeks very soon after the death of Alexander the Great,
with the Greeks in Bactria focussing on that satrapy, more interested
in closer integration with the Indo-Greek territories both during
the period of Mauryan ascendancy (from 305 BC) and during its decline
(seemingly from 256 BC when the Greco-Bactrians declared independence
from the Seleucid empire). Even so, Sogdiana remained heavily influenced
by Greek culture, while being politically splintered amongst several
minor principalities such as those of Bukhara, Varakhsha, plus several
others, all of which barely enter the historical record.
The Sassanid ruler, Shapur I, seems to have conquered Sogdiana around
AD 260 while subjugating a good many eastern regions as the Kushans
in Bactria waned. If not then, it certainly happened not much later.
Much of Sogdiana was occupied for a time (Marakanda, the capital,
for instance), while part was occupied for a longer period (Bukhara
especially). How long this situation endured is unknown (around
375 and the Kidarite invasions seems likely), but Sogdiana was not
in Sassanid hands by the time the Sassanids were conquered by Islam
in the seventh century.
The principality of Vardana (or Wardana) lay in the northern
part of the Bukharan oasis, which Chinese sources sometimes referred
to as Lesser Bukhara. Vardana was independent of Bukhara in the
second quarter of the seventh century AD (part of the reason for
assuming that Sassanid power no longer held sway here). It minted
its own coins, which carried the sign of a cross on the reverse.
The cross corresponds to the Nestorian Christian cross of Central
Asia, making this principality a Christian one. The general style
was a regional one which had first appeared in the late fourth century
AD, albeit without the cross, replacing the previous Greek types.
Other independent towns included at least two separate principalities
to the east of Samarkand, those of Penjikent and Ustrushana, both
of which also became wealthy through trade with China. Then there
were Paikand and Maimurgh, while Kish (Kash, Kesh, or Keš)
and Nasaf were relatively politically minor, if prosperous,
cities on the central Sogdian plan between the Hissar Mountains
to the south of Ustrushana and the Oxus. Nasaf was the largest town
in Sogdiana at the start of the fifth century, but was soon surpassed.
Both cities were notable for being allied to Bukhara in the coalition
of 676, which was quickly defeated by the Arabs. Penjikent and Varakhsha
are relatively unusual in having been subjected to detailed archaeological
examination. Many other sites have only been surveyed, not excavated.
At the end of that period, around the middle of the seventh century,
the Bukharan mint switched to the Chinese cash model and started
casting coins. This was very close in time to China's short-lived
partial occupation of Transoxiana which ended in 665. The initial
coins were simple imitations of the Kaiyvan Tongbao coins which
were minted between 621-907, but then a Bukharan tamgha was
added to the reverse and later two types were issued carrying Sogdian
inscriptions - the Bukharan tamgha and the sign of a cross.
The latter is highly suggestive of the badge of a realm, that of
Vardana. The 'coin language' being used here suggests that the previously
independent principality was now united with Bukhara under the sway
of one ruler. Written sources plainly state that Vardan Khuda had
seized power in Bukhara by pushing aside the legitimate heir, usurping
the throne and occupying it for twenty years until Qutaiba ibn Muslim,
Umayyad governor of Greater Khorasan, expelled him in 708/9, ending
regional independence.
![The developing Silk Road](Tajikistan_SilkRoad02_long.jpg)
(Information
by Peter Kessler, with additional information from ONS No 206 (Journal
of the Oriental Numismatic Society, Winter 2011), from The Cambridge
History of Iran, Volume 3, E Yarshater (Ed), from History
of Humanity: from the seventh century BC to the seventh century
AD, Joachim Herrmann, Erik Zürcher, & Ahmad Hasan Dani (International
commission for a history of the scientific and cultural development
of mankind, History of Mankind, Unesco, 1994), from Tarik-e
Bokara, Abu Bakr Ja'far Naršaki M-T Modarres Razawi (Ed), Tehran,
1972), from History of Civilizations of Central Asia (Volume
3), Ahmad Hasan Dani (Motilal Banarsidass, 1999), and from External
Links: Bukhara History Part 5: Bukhara under the Arabian Conquest
(Advantour), and The Silk Road, and Encyclopaedia Iranica.)
552
:
The Western Göktürks expand their dominion towards Chorasmia and
Sogdiana, right up against the borders of Persia's eastern territories
(Ferghana is also taken). The Hephthalites are defeated in Kushanshah
territory in what one day will become Afghanistan by an alliance
of Göktürks and Sassanids, and a level of Indo-Sassanid authority
is re-established in the region for the next century. The western
khagans set up rival states in Bamiyan, Kabul, and Kapisa under
the authority of the viceroy in Tokharistan, strengthening their
hold on the Silk Road.
![Map of Central Asia AD 550-600](Map_CentralAsia_AD600_full.jpg)
As
was often the case with Central Asian states that had been created
by horse-borne warriors on the sweeping steppelands, the Göktürk
khaganate swiftly incorporated a vast stretch of territory in its
westwards expansion, whilst being hemmed in by the powerful Chinese
dynasties to the south-east and Siberia's uninviting tundra to the
north
581 - 590 :
The Western Göktürks are now following their own westwards expansionist
policy. As part of that policy, they are able to cross the Amu Darya,
where they come into conflict with their former allies, the Sassanids.
Much of Tokharistan (former Bactria, including Balkh) remains a
Göktürk dependency until the end of the century. By inference, Sogdiana
to the north of Bactria is also theirs.
The
western Göktürk period is of particular importance in Sogdiana and
for the Sogdians. The Göktürks destroy local dynasties such as the
dynasty of Paikand, but the integration of the Sogdians into the
Göktürk state allows for an expansion of Sogdian culture and commercial
activities. The Sogdians start to colonise regions further to the
east, including Semirech'e, thereby setting up their expansion into
China's western periphery while also enriching the Göktürk empire.
The
western extension of the same trading networks allows silk to be
exchanged with the Sassanids from China where it has been received
as tribute from the Tang due to Göktürk military successes. This
also allows for the opening of the Khurasan Road, creating an integration
of the Sogdian network into a Sassanid one.
600s
- 682 :
While Sogdians have become the high administrators of the Western
Göktürk state, the Sogdian language has also become the lingua
franca of the Göktürk empire. It expands far into the east towards
China, even lending its script to Old Turkic and many subsequent
Turkic and Mongolian languages. In turn, the Göktürk nobility has
become part of Sogdian society, with marriages between the families
of the kings of Samarkand and that of the Göktürk khagan. Penjikent
has a Turkic ruler at the beginning of the seventh century.
![Map of Central Asia AD 600-700](Map_CentralAsia_AD700_full.jpg)
By
the beginning of the seventh century AD, Göktürk power in southern
Central Asia was waning while the Sassanids had established a degree
of control over the southernmost parts of this region, and various
city states had emerged in Sogdiana
It
appears that, by now at least, there are several local lords in
the Bukhara oasis, especially in the towns of Samarkand, Paikand,
Vardana, and Varakhsha. Both Paikand and Varakhsha are mentioned
in the by Tarik-e Bokara, Abu Bakr Ja'far Naršaki as residences
of the rulers, but whether they are local rulers only or rulers
of the entire oasis is still unknown. Some form of unity in the
oasis is implied by the coinage, the extensive irrigation system,
and the long protective walls around the settled and cultivated
areas.
Samarkand
(Sogdiana) :
Samarkand was occupied (possibly) as early as the eighth century
BC, probably as a consequence of a change in the course of the River
Oxus and the abandonment of former settlements. The same circumstances,
during a period of climate change, had ended the Bactria-Margiana
Archaeological Complex along the River Oxus between 2000-1700 BC
and resulted in large-scale migrations. Following this, the region
was occupied largely by Indo-Iranian tribes which remained independent
until their sixth century BC conquest by fellow Indo-Iranians, the
Achaemenid Persians. They formed the satrapy of Sogdiana, which
was inherited by the Greeks.
The city of Samarkand gained its name from the Sogdian phrase, 'rock
town', which refers directly to a stone fort. This was probably
one of the earliest solid structures to be erected on the site,
possibly by the Persians. The original form of the name was adopted
or adapted by the Greeks of Macedonian Sogdiana as Marakanda. Subsequently,
during the gradual infringement of Turkic tribes into the region,
Marakanda became Samarkand, with the town of Maimurgh on its immediate
south-eastern flank. In Uzbek the name is shown as Samarqand, with
Samarcand as another variation. Today the city sits in a large oasis
in the valley of the River Zerafshan, within the borders of Uzbekistan.
The historical section of modern Samarkand consists of three main
parts. To the north-east there is the site of the ancient city which
was destroyed by the Mongol armies of Chingiz Khan in the thirteenth
century AD. This is preserved as an archaeological reserve with
excavations that have revealed the ancient citadel and fortifications,
the ruler's palace, and residential and craft quarters.
There
are also remains of a large mosque built between the eighth to twelfth
centuries. To the south are architectural ensembles and the medieval
city of the Timurid era, at which time Samarkand was at the height
of its achievement.
(Information by Peter Kessler, from The Impact of Seleucid Decline
on the Eastern Iranian Plateau, Jeffrey D Lerner (1999), the
Guidebook to the History of Samarkand, from Sogdiana,
its Christians and Byzantium, Aleksandr Naymark (doctoral thesis,
Indiana University, 2001), from ONS No 206 (Journal of the Oriental
Numismatic Society, Winter 2011), from Place Names of the World:
Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories,
Natural Features and Historic Sites, Adrian Room (Second Ed,
London, 2006), from The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume
3, E Yarshater (Ed), from History of Humanity: from the seventh
century BC to the seventh century AD, Joachim Herrmann, Erik
Zürcher, & Ahmad Hasan Dani (International commission for a
history of the scientific and cultural development of mankind, History
of Mankind, Unesco, 1994), and from External Links: the
Ancient History Encyclopaedia (dead link), and Encyclopædia Britannica,
and Bukhara History Part 5: Bukhara under the Arabian Conquest (Advantour),
and Unesco World Heritage Convention, and The Silk Road, and Encyclopaedia
Iranica.).
?
- c.640 :
Shishpin : Ikhsid
of Samarkand.
c.650s :
Samarkand
is certainly the largest Sogdian town at this time, and its princes
now start claiming the title of 'king' (malek, ekšid).
It remains surrounded by many independent principalities which send
their own ambassadors to the Chinese court, such as Bukhara, Estikan,
Kabudan, Kish, and Panjikent.
c.640
- 670 :
Varkhuman / Vargoman : Ikhsid
of Samarkand.
659
- 665 :
A
seemingly partial occupation of Transoxiana by Tang dynasty Chinese
is effected in 659, but is ended in 665. This is part of a Tang
effort to defend its western approaches after centuries of barbarian
incursions and also to provide buffer districts between it and the
strife that is engulfing Central Asia. The protectorate of Anxi
remains in command of the Tarim Basin and probably also the approaches
into China to the basin's immediate north.
654
:
Following the Islamic conquest of Sassanid Persia in 651, initial
raiding parties have been sent out into the eastern territories
on a regular basis. The idea is to sow disruption, force weaker
states or cities to reveal themselves as being ripe for conquest,
and to exact tribute and plunder freely. In this year one such raid
strikes the city of Maimurgh. The attack, and probably others of
the same year, prove to be the final straw for the natives. They
rise together against the invaders and virtually drive them back
into Persia proper. It may be the seemingly unnamed king of Kabul
who is amongst the leaders of the retaliation against Islam.
676
:
The
brief Umayyad governorship of Greater Khorasan by Sa'id ibn Uthman
is largely marked by one of the few major expeditions of the post-Abdallah
ibn Rabi period. He strikes into Sogdiana to defeat a coalition
of city states there, which includes Bukhara (still under the regency
leadership of the khatun), Kish, and Nasaf, plus an alliance
of nomadic Turks. The Arab general goes on to occupy Samarkand and
take fifty noble sons hostage, only later to have them executed
in Medina.
682
:
The Western Göktürk empire has disintegrated rather quickly after
gaining its initial quick successes, losing power in the middle
of the seventh century and, by 682, ceasing to exist. Even before
that, the Tang of China have started to establish a protectorate
in Central Asia, known as the protectorate of Anxi which expands
westwards out of its initial focus in the Tarim Basin from 640.
Despite a restoration of Turkic power at the beginning of the eighth
century, the Tang hold nominal power in the region until 751. However,
the region is coming under ever-increasing attacks by the Umayyad
governorate of Greater Khorasan, especially in the 670s onwards.
Bukhara is subdued in 674, although subsequent governors fail to
follow up with their own conquests.
c.688
:
Bukhara would appear to be seized at this time by the ruler of its
chief rival in the region, the city state of Varakhsha. Any unity
between the principalities in Sogdiana also vanishes around this
time, perhaps due to this act or prompting it. Alliances form and
are abandoned, and inter-dynastic marriages are obtained. The picture
is one of small states vying openly for superiority.
708/709
:
Qutaiba
ibn Muslim, Umayyad governor of Greater Khorasan, expels Vardan
Khuda from Bukhara. The same governor is also claimed as the conqueror
of Chach, Ferghana, and Khojend, presumably during this same period.
?
- 709/710 :
Tarkun
/ Tarkhun : Ruler
of Samarkand. Overthrown for being pro-Islam.
c.710 - 722 :
Qutaiba ibn Muslim, Umayyad governor of Greater Khorasan, confirms
in his position the new Sogdo-Turkic ruler of Samarkand, Ghurak.
This individual has usurped the throne after killing Tarkhun, creating
family feuds which drive Tarkhun's sons to the court of Dewashtich
(or Divasti), son of Yodkhsetak and sur or ruler of Penjikent.
Dewashtich, like other Sogdian princes, has claimed to be ruler
of Samarkand, and this makes his claim a stronger one.
Along
with Karzanj, ruler of Paikand, Dewashtich is mentioned as the leader
of an anti-Islam rebellion in Sogdiana in 720. Together the pair
liberate Samarkand, holding it in the face of relatively weak attempts
to regain it. Dewashtich has a famous last stand in 722 from his
mountain fortress of Mugh, whose details are known from the very
vivid accounts given in the Documents of Mugh Mountain.
The defeat of Dewashtich marks the beginning of the formal accession
of Transoxiana into the Islamic empire, and soon results in the
increasing Islamic control of the eastern regions as well. Among
other things, this causes the break-up of the Sogdian commercial
network, and ultimately an integration of Sogdiana into the Islamic
empire.
709/710
- c.712 :
Gurak
/ Ghurak / Ughrak : Ruler
of Samarkand. Approved by Islam. Driven out.
c.712 :
Probably frustrated by the endless bickering regarding superiority
between the Sogdian principalities, Qutaiba ibn Muslim, Umayyad
governor of Greater Khorasan, launches a pacification campaign into
Sogdiana which delivers him and Islam a wave of submissive acknowledgements.
Samarkand is occupied by Arab troops and Ghurak is temporarily driven
out.
720
:
Dewashtich of Penjikent, along with Karzanj, ruler of Paikand, are
mentioned as leaders of an anti-Islam rebellion in Sogdiana. Together
they liberate Samarkand, holding it in the face of relatively weak
attempts to regain it. Said Abd al-Aziz ibn al-Hakam, Umayyad governor
of Greater Khorasan, is removed from office for his failure to regain
the city.
722
:
Dewashtich of Penjikent has a famous last stand against Islam from
his mountain fortress of Mugh. That marks the beginning of the formal
accession of Transoxiana into the Islamic empire, and soon results
in the increasing Islamic control of the eastern regions as well.
Among other things, this causes the break-up of the Sogdian commercial
network, and ultimately an integration of Sogdiana into the empire.
729
- 731 :
The ikhshid of northern Ferghana aids his Türgish overlords
at the siege of Kamarja. Two years later the Türgish are aided again
from Ferghana during the Battle of the Defile (which allows Ḡūrak
to recover control over Samarkand). The Türgish leader, Sulu of
the Western Göktürks, enjoys over a decade of success in his battles
against the Umayyads until he is murdered in 737/738, ending any
remaining vestige of western Göktürk power.
731
- 737/8 :
Gurak
/ Ghurak / Ughrak : Restored
on a semi-independent basis. Died.
737/8 - ? :
Turgar / Tu-ho : Ruler
of Samarkand. 'King of Sogdia'.
747 - 749 :
The Abbasids under Abu Muslim begin an open revolt in Greater Khorasan
against Umayyad rule. They are supported by the vassal states of
Sogdiana, and notably by Qutayba of Bukhara. Khorasan quickly falls
under their command and an army is sent westwards. Kufa falls in
749 and in November the same year Abu al-Abbas is recognised as
caliph.
Sogdian
records seem to fade away from around this time. Even the names
of the rulers of Bukhara - one of the biggest cities - are unknown
from the fourth quarter of the century onwards.
775
- 785 :
The
Abbasids under Muhammad al Mahdi record several minor rulers across
Transoxiana who pay nominal submission to the caliph. In effect
they remain independent but largely careful not to annoy their distant
overlords. The unnamed afshin of Ustrushana is mentioned
as one of these rulers.
c.800
- 821 :
The
region is gradually absorbed into the Islamic empire as it takes
Persia. Governors, or emirs, are appointed to control the
Islamic emirate of Khorasan in the name of the caliph. A seemingly
partial occupation of Transoxiana by Tang dynasty China is effected
in 659, but is ended in 665. Previously independent Ferghana gains
a Samanid governor in 819, ending its independent existence.
Samanid
Emirate (Samarkand) :
AD 820 - 1000 :
The Samanids (or, more correctly, Sâmânids) took the Transoxiana
region from the Tahirid governors of Khorasan in 820. From there
they controlled the trade between Central Asia and the central Islamic
caliphate, and these included the trade in Turkic slaves. The state
grew to cover most of eastern Persia while the Buwayid amirs
gained control of western Persia.
Their capital was the once-independent, post-Greek Sogdian city
of Bukhara. The Persian tongue spoken by the Samanids gradually
replaced the native Sogdian of the locals even while the region's
strong traditions of mercantile independence were being supported.
It was this Persian dialect that became today's Tajik language although
some Sogdian dialects do survive, notably amongst the Yaghnobi Sogdians
who fled Islamic control of the region to live in an isolated valley.
Sogdian religions gradually vanished too, despite centuries of use
of even the latest of them - Nestorian Christianity - while Zoroastrianism,
Buddhism, and Manichaeism were also fading across all of the now-Islamic
lands to the east of Iran.
It was the Samanid lands of eastern Khorasan that were by far the
chief supplier of dirhams (Islamic silver coins) to the lands
of northern and Eastern Europe during the Viking period in the ninth
and tenth centuries. Starting around AD 900 and continuing into
the late tenth century, millions of these coins were carried north-westwards
through the Pontic-Caspian steppe by Muslim merchant caravans from
Samanid cities and mints. Initially this was via the dominant Khazars
of the Pontic steppe and then Rus merchants. After about 965, it
was via the Rus themselves (Swedish Vikings and native Slavs who
combined to form the grand principality of Kiev and several other
small Slav states around this time). The Rus were were forced out
of the lower Volga by the Volga Bulgars around 980, with them taking
over ownership of regional trade. From Volga Bulgaria, most of these
coins were subsequently exchanged in commercial transactions and
were re-exported further west or north-west by Rus merchants, and
then even further west into the Baltic basin and beyond.
(Additional information from Viking-Rus Mercenaries in the Byzantine-Arab
Wars of the 950s-960s: the Numismatic Evidence, Roman K Kovalev,
and from Global Security Watch: Central Asia, Reuel R Hanks
(Santa Barbara, Denver, Oxford, 2010).)
819
- 851 :
Saman
Khoda
819
:
Previously independent Ferghana gains a Samanid governor in the
form of Ahmad ibn Asad, ending its independent existence. The appointment
is made by the Abbasid governor of Greater Khorasan.
821
:
The eastern province which includes Persia and Khorasan has lost
Transoxiana to the Samanids, so Caliph al-Mamun appoints Tahir ibn
al-Hussein, the successful commander of the campaign which had defeated
the caliph's main rival (al Amin), as the new governor, beginning
the Tahirid period of rule in the east. Tahir effectively declares
independence in 822 in his new domains by failing to mention the
caliph during a sermon at Friday prayers.
828
- 839 :
While in office as the Tahrid governor of Khorasan, Abdullah ibn
Tahir ibn al-Hussein takes steps between 828-830 to improve the
strength of the Samanids, his vassals in Transoxiana. In his role
as governor of the east, Abdullah also claims Tabaristan as a dependency
and insists that the tribute owed by Ispahbad Mazyar ibn Qarin,
a recent convert to Islam, to the caliph should pass through him.
Mazyar disagrees, planning to expand his domains, but in 839 he
is captured and executed, securing Tahirid control over Tabaristan.
This effectively ends the career of Afshin Ḥaydar ibn Kāwūs
of Ustrushana as a supporter of Mazyar.
851
- 864 :
Ahmad
ibn Asad : Former
governor of Ferghana.
864
- 892 :
Nasr
I
865 - 873 :
Having already secured his capital of Zaranj at the heart of his
small kingdom, the Saffarid leader, Yaghub, expands eastwards to
capture al-Rukhkhadj and Zamindawar followed by Zunbil and Kabul
by 865. Some of his conquests even further east, towards Balk, encompass
non- Islamic tribal chiefdoms. Harev (Herat) is taken in 870. Then
he expands his borders greatly in 873 by ousting Emir Muhammad of
the Tahirids. Khorasan is captured, giving the Saffarids a great
swathe of new territory which may also include cities such as Ustrushana
to the north of Samarkand.
892
- 907 :
Ismail
I
900
:
The
Saffarid emirs in formerly Tahirid-controlled Khorasan are defeated
by the Samanids and reduced in territory to Seistan in Persia, where
they remain Samanid vassals. The Samanids install their own governors
in the Khorasan region, as well as in recently-captured Bukhara
and Ustrushana (both taken in the 890s).
![Samarkand coin](Samarkand_Coins01_full.jpg)
Two
sides of a typical Abbasid-era coin, with this one being nineteen
millimetres in diameter issued in Samarkand, which was soon taken
by the Samanids
907
- 914 :
Ahmad
II
914
- 943 :
As-Sa'id
Nasr II
943
- 954 :
Hamid
Nuh I
954
- 961 :
Abdül-Malik
I
961
- 976 :
Mansur
I
962
:
Zabulistan is seized by a rebellious Samanid governor and a semi-independent
Afghan kingdom is formed with its capital at Ghazni. Although the
rebel, Alptigin, establishes his independent rule of Ghazni, coins
from the era show that he nominally acknowledges Samanid overlordship,
always a useful ruse for avoiding an attack by former masters.
976
- 997 :
Nuh
II
977
:
The
Afghan city of Ghazni comes under the rule of the Yamanid dynasty,
which becomes fully independent of Samanid control as it forms its
own Ghaznavid sultanate, although it still pays lip service to its
former masters.
994
:
Nuh II faces internal uprisings, as the emirate becomes more unstable,
and the Ghaznavid ruler comes to his assistance. The rebels are
defeated at Balkh and then Nishapur.
995
:
Usually
under the influence of Persia, if not its direct control, the emirate
of Khwarazm is initially centred on Samarkand and Bukhara. At its
height, it extended to encompass almost all of modern Iran (except
the western border area), eastern Azerbaijan, modern western Afghanistan,
all of Turkmenistan, most of Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan and
Kyrgyzstan, and the southern areas of Kazakhstan.
997
- 999 :
Mansur
II : Deposed.
997 :
Mahmud of Khwarazm campaigns against the Qara-Khitaï in Central
Asia, but is ultimately defeated. His failure is a harbinger of
problems to come where the Qara-Khitaï are concerned.
999
:
The
Turkic Karakhanids depose Mansur II, allied with the Buwayids who
are supreme in south-western Persia and Mesopotamia. The Karakhanids
take possession of areas of Southern Khorasan.
999
- 1000 :
Abdül
Malik II
1000
:
Samanid
power swiftly declines in the face of Buwayid supremacy, while the
revolt of the Ghaznavids brings the emirate to an end.
1000
- 1005 :
Ismail
II al-Muntasir : Assassinated.
1005
:
Ismail
II, the last Samanid ruler, is assassinated after a five year struggle
against the Qarakhanids (Karakhanids) from the north. They, in turn,
are immediately ousted by the Ghaznavids but hold on in Bukhara.
The termination of the Samanids is almost immediately expressed
in archaeological terms by the end of Samanid coin circulation to
Eastern Europe via the Volga Bulgars.
fl
1025 :
?
: Qarakhanid
prince of Bukhara.
c.1016 - 1025 :
The military leaders of the Turkic Oğuz tribes, Alp Arslan,
Chaghrï-Beg, and Toghrïl-Beg, leave the Jand region around the Syr
Darya to enter Transoxiana shortly before 1016. In 1025 they enter
the service of the Turkish Qarakhanid prince of Bukhara. Defeated
by Maḥmūd of Ghazna in the same year, all of them take
refuge in Khwarazm.
1125
- 1218 :
In the 1120s China's Liao dynasty is ousted by the Manchurian Jurchen,
which themselves become the ruling Kin dynasty of Tartars in the
country. The Liaos, or Khitans as they are also known, are driven
west into Central Asia where, after defeating the Seljuq Turks under
Sultan Sanjar in 1141, they found the Qara-Khitaï empire with Samarkand
as its capital.
The
start of the thirteenth century spells the end of the empire. Khwarazm
rapidly expands its rule, taking Samarkand in 1210 and making the
city its capital. In 1218, Mongol Great Khan Chingiz sends his general,
Chepe, westwards to overthrow the Qara-Khitaï and annexe their remaining
territory. This defeat also opens the way towards Mongol interaction
with Khwarazm and Persia.
1220
- 1221 :
After
the shah of Khwarazm decapitates the Mongol ambassador from Chingiz
Khan, the emirate is attacked twice by the Golden Horde, along with
Ghurid Southern Khorasan. Khwarazm is reduced to its western section
covering northern Mesopotamia and western Persia. Bukhara and then
Samarkand are captured by the Mongols and chaos results, with thousands
being massacred or sold into slavery. Ala ad Deen flees west and
dies a fugitive.
The
subsequent rise of Jalal al-Din Mingburnu in Khwarazm poses a challenge
for the Mongols. The two sides come together at the Battle of the
Indus and Jalal ad-Din is defeated. Khwarazm is occupied between
Samarkand and the Indus, and Persia also falls. Jalal al-Din Mingburnu
is an exile for a time, but returns to reclaim a reduced Khwarazm
which is based around northern Mesopotamia, western Persia, and
the lower Caucuses, and is centred on modern Azerbaijan - the 'safe'
side of the Caspian Sea. From this point onwards, the bulk of Khwarazm
is ruled by the Il-Khans.
1335
:
Abu Said Ala ad Dunya wa dDin is the last of the Il-Khans to be
descended from Hulegu, the first Il-Khan ruler in 1256. His death
in 1335 (or 1336) weakens the khanate, but the same date is sometimes
used to mark the birth of a Turkic-Mongol by the name of Tîmûr-i
Lang (Tamerlane). This Chaghatayid prince will one day attempt to
reform the Mongol empire as a Timurid possession, although his birth
most likely takes place in the late 1320s.
c.1359
:
'Abdullah of Il-Khan Khwarazm retains Samarkand as his capital,
but the local Barlas and Suldus tribes are vehemently opposed to
this Qara'unas presence. The leaders of these tribes, Hajji Beg
and Buyan Suldus, revolt and drive out 'Abdullah. He dies in his
own tribal lands soon afterwards. Buyan Suldus is installed as the
amir of the ulus, giving him effective control over
the Chaghatayids.
1363
- 1370 :
Tughlugh Temur's attempts to quell the tribes of Transoxiana are
eventually unsuccessful, despite two invasions of the region. His
death ends Chaghatayid hopes of restoring control of western Mughulistan.
Instead, two tribal leaders, Amir Husayn and Tîmûr-i Lang contest
for control of Transoxiana. The latter is ultimately successful,
taking Transoxiana and Khwarazm in the name of the Chaghatayids,
but effectively forming his own Timurid khanate. Samarkand falls
in 1366, Balikh (Balkh) in 1369, and Timur is recognised as the
region's ruler in 1370. He places a figurehead Mongol on the throne
to legitimise his rule while he governs from behind the throne as
amir.
Timurid
Transoxiana (in Samarkand & Greater Khorasan) :
AD 1363 - 1505 :
The great eastern imperial lands of Persia were the location for
a long period of unrest between about 1336-1387. This was while
the surviving Il-Khans were being used as puppets by the Chobanids
and the Jalayirids for the right to claim control of all of Persia.
Chaghatayid khans attempted to quell the tribes of Transoxiana but
were eventually unsuccessful, despite two invasions of the region
in the 1360s. The death of the khan ended Chaghatayid hopes of restoring
control of western Mughulistan which included Transoxiana. Instead,
two tribal leaders, Amir Husayn and Tîmûr-i Lang, contested for
control of Transoxiana. The latter was ultimately successful.
From 1363, Timur began to conquer large areas of Transoxiana and
Khorasan, supposedly in the name of the Chaghatayid khans of Mughulistan.
Samarkand fell in 1366, and Herat (in the west of modern Afghanistan)
by 1381. Timur was recognised as the region's ruler in 1370, by
which time Khabul Shah had already been put in place by Amir Husayn,
and Timur had executed him and defeated Amir Husayn. Notably, this
puppet had been a member of the Ögedeids (descendants of the former
great khan, Ogedei), not the Chaghatayids themselves. His two successors
between 1370-1402 were of the same branch, and both were entirely
puppets of Timur's making.
From 1380, Timur extended his new-found empire by taking southern
and western Persia. He entered Persia proper in 1382, and an ambitious
attack on the Chobanids and the disputed Caucuses region by the
Golden Horde allowed Timur to fill the subsequent power vacuum and
found the Timurid dynasty. In 1405, the Timurid empire split in
two (or even three), with the western, Persian, half being ruled
from Herat, while the eastern portion was governed from Samarkand
(technically also in what was known as Greater Khorasan, but the
regional name of Transoxiana is usually used to distinguish the
two Timurid divisions). The 'rightful' ruler, Pir Mohammad, was
opposed by all of the others.
(Additional information by Abhijit Rajadhyaksha, from Timurids,
The Columbia Encyclopaedia (Sixth Ed, Columbia University), from
The Encyclopaedia of War: Timur ('the Lame') (1336-1405),
Timothy May, from The Art of War: Great Commanders of the Ancient
and Medieval World: Tamerlane, Justin Marozzi (Andrew Roberts,
Ed, Quercus Military History, 2008), and from External Link:
Encyclopaedia Britannica: Timur.)
1364
- 1370 :
Khabul
Shah : Chaghatayid
puppet for the western khanate. Executed.
1370
- 1384 :
Soyurghatmïsh
Khan / Suurgatmish : Son
of Danishmendji of the Chaghatayids. Puppet khan.
1382
- 1383 :
Having secured his conquests around Transoxiana, Timur has begun
the expansion of his territory into Southern Khorasan and Persia.
He forces the Kartid dynasty of Herat into submission and demands
a hostage from Seistan to symbolise the subservience of the Mihrabanids.
Malik Qutbuddin sends a relative named Tajuddin.
However,
in 1383, despite agreeing a hostage, Timur still turns up at Seistan
with his army. The two sides fail to come to agreement so Timur
defeats the Mihrabanids in open battle. Qutbuddin is soon captured,
imprisoned, and deported to Samarkand. He is executed three years
later. Timur appoints Shah-i Shahan as governor of Seistan and proceeds
to ravage the province.
1384
- 1402 :
Sultan
Mahmud : Son.
Chaghatayid puppet khan.
1390s
:
Khwarazm and its vast irrigation system are destroyed by Timur.
It seems to be hard to find any detail of this destruction but Timur's
ongoing battle for supremacy against Toqtamish Khan of the Golden
Horde is probably the reason.
![Map of the Timurid empire AD 1400](Map_AD1400_full.jpg)
Timur
effectively recreated the ancient Persian empire through his various
conquests over the course of almost forty years, subduing many competing
clans and khanates that would begin competing again after his death
1402
:
The death of Sultan Mahmud in Transoxiana marks the end of the puppet
(western) Chaghatayid khans here. In Mughulistan, (eastern) khans
continue to be appointed, perhaps dominated by the Timurids. Many
of them are entirely unknown, although one of them, Satuk Khan,
attempts to establish the independence of Mughulistan, without success.
The Chaghatayids survive as a minor state until they are annexed
by the Chinese Qin dynasty in the eighteenth century.
1402
- 1405 :
Tîmûr-i
Lang / Tamerlane : Mongol
conqueror of Persia from Mughulistan.
1405
:
After
Timur's death, none of the Timurid royalty accepts his successor,
Pir Muhammad, splitting the empire in two (or even three). Timur's
viceroy in Ferghana asserts his own independence and rules from
Samarkand as if he is the new ruler of the empire. Technically,
this half of the empire is also known as Greater Khorasan, but the
regional name of Transoxiana is usually used to distinguish the
two Timurid divisions. The western portion is ruled by Shah Rukh
from Herat (now in Afghanistan).
1405
- 1409 :
Khalil
Sultan : Grandson.
Former viceroy of Ferghana. Died 1411.
1409
:
Unpopular with the people and only supported by his father and brother
in Azerbaijan (on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea), Khalil
Sultan's reign ends when Shah Rukh enters the city on 13 May. Shah
Rukh gives Transoxiana and Khorasan to his son as viceroy while
he rules the reunited Timurid empire from Herat. Khalil Sultan is
given governorship of Ray, where he dies in 1411.
1409
- 1449 :
Ulugh
Beg : Son
of Shah Rukh. Viceroy, and Timurid ruler (1447-1449).
1449
:
Ulugh Beg's death at the hands of his rebel son, Abd al Latîf, leaves
a power vacuum. This is filled in central Persia by Sultan Muhammad,
while Abd al Latîf rules in Samarkand, now one of three Timurid
claimants to overall control (the third being in Herat in Southern
Khorasan).
1449
- 1450 :
Abd
al Latîf : Son.
In Transoxiana. Murdered by the princes after 6 months.
1450
- 1451 :
Abdallah
/ Abdullah : Son
of Ibrahim of Herat. In Transoxiana. Executed.
1450
- 1451 :
Abu Sa'id, nephew of Ulugh Beg, is one of the claimants for the
Timurid crown, along with Abdallah, who seizes Samarkand in 1450.
After failures in Samarkand and Bukhara, Abu Sa'id conquers much
of Turkestan in 1450, and in June 1451 takes Samarkand with the
aid of the Shaibanid Uzbeks. Abdallah is removed from power and
is executed.
1451
- 1469 :
Sultan
Abu Sa'id Gurgan : In
Transoxiana & Herat (and later in Persia too). Executed.
1454
:
Babur Ibn-Baysunkur invades Transoxiana from Herat in retaliation
for Abu Sa'id's seizure of Balkh (now in northern Afghanistan).
The two Timurid rulers agree a border on the River Oxus, with that
agreement remaining in force for the remainder of Babur's lifetime.
![River Oxus / Amu Darya](River_AmuDarya01_full.jpg)
The
River Oxus - also known over the course of many centuries as the
Amu Darya - had long been used as a demarcation border, and now
was used again to mark the border between two opposing Timurid rulers,
Babur Ibn-Baysunkur and Abu Sa'id
1457
- 1459 :
In 1457, Abu Sa'id has Queen Goharshad, the power behind the Timurid
throne, executed on 19 July. By now she is well past the age of
eighty, but had exercised control over her son, Ulugh Beg, and his
successor until Timurid control of Persia had been swept away in
1451.
In the same year, while Khorasan is locked in a power struggle,
Abu Sa'id invades. Balkh is occupied but he is unable to take Herat
until a Black Sheep invasion defeats the ruler, Ibrahim, and then
withdraws. Khorasan is taken by Abu Sa'ad, reuniting the remaining
Timurid provinces. An attempt by Ibrahim to unite with another Timurid
prince, Sultan Sanjar, is defeated at the Battle of Sarakhs in March
1459. Sanjar is executed. Ibrahim dies in 1460, and 'Ala' al-Daula
dies in 1461, ending all opposition to a sole Timurid ruler in Transoxiana.
1461
:
Abu Sa'id completes his conquest of much of Khorasan and eastern
Iran from his centre of operations in Herat, agreeing with the Black
Sheep emir, Jahan Shah, to divide Iran between the two of them.
1467
- 1469 :
Following
the death of the Black Sheep emir at the hands of the White Sheep
emir, the son of the former emir is supported by Abu Sa'id. Despite
this, in 1468, the Black Sheep emirate is conquered, and the following
year Abu Sa'id is captured in the Azerbaijan mountains whilst on
campaign against the White Sheep emirate. He is subsequently executed.
Timurid rule of Transoxiana and Khorasan again fractures.
A weakened Transoxiana is now watched over with interest by the
Shaibanid Uzbeks who are migrating into the northern regions, especially
as Transoxiana is now sub-divided into Samarkand, Badakshan, and
Ferghana by Abu Sa'id's sons. Sultan Ahmad Mirza, strong in Transoxiana,
briefly holds Herat but does not (or cannot) remain there).
1469
- 1494 :
Sultan
Ahmad Mirza : Son.
In Transoxiana (Samarkand & Bukhara). Lost Herat.
1494
:
Sultan
Ahmad is returning from an expedition to Ferghana where he has been
attempting to defeat the twelve year-old Babur, son of Sultan Ali
Murza. Ahmad dies on the journey and leaves no heir, so his brother
takes command.
1494
- 1495 :
Sultan
Mahmud Mirza : Brother.
In Transoxiana. Died due to illness.
1494
:
Far to the east of Khorasan, the Bengal sultan, Shamsuddin Muzaffar
Shah, is assassinated by his wazzir, Alauddin Husain Shah, the son
of the Afghan Sharif of Makka in Khorasan. Husain is subsequently
elected shah by the leading nobles.
1495
- 1500 :
Sultan
Baysonqur / Baysunqr : Son.
In Transoxiana.
1495
- 1500 :
Masud
: In
Transoxiana.
1495
- 1500 :
Sultan
Ali Murza / Mirza : In
Ferghana.
1495
- 1504 :
Babur
: Son.
In Ferghana. Expelled by Shaibanid conquest.
1500
- 1507 :
The
Timurids are overthrown by the Shaibanids, who conquer Transoxiana
and now threaten Southern Khorasan at Herat. The remnants of Khwarazm
become an independent Muslim Uzbek state, known as the khanate of
Khiva. The Timurid prince, Babur of Ferghana makes many attempts
to recapture Samarkand from Khorasan, without success. The Shaibanids
now hold much of former Khwarazm, effectively ending Timurid rule
of Transoxiana.
![Map of the Tartar Khanates AD 1500](Map_CentralAsia_AD1500_full.jpg)
The
Mongol empire created by Chingiz Khan gradually broke up over the
course of three hundred years until, by around AD 1500, it had fragmented
into several more-or-less stable khanates that each vied with the
others for power and influence, while having to fend off the growing
power of the Ottoman empire to the south and Moscow Sate (Muscovy)
to the north - in the end it was an unwinnable fight
1511
:
Following
the death of the Shaibanid ruler, Mohammed Shaibani, Babur is able
to recapture Samarkand with Safavid Persian help from his base in
Kabul. However, he is unable to retain it and the Persian governing
class there is largely unpopular with the city's inhabitants. Urged
on by the local population, the Shaibanids re-conquer the city just
eight months later but political control of the region as a whole
is fracturing. Towards the west, a new khanate is formed which eventually
bears the name Khiva, while Persia holds onto part of its recent
conquests from which is formed the province of Khorasan.
?
- 1534 :
Abu'l-Ghazi
Ubaidullah / Ubaydullah : Son
of Shaibanid Shah Budagh. First 'Khan of Bukhara'.
1529
:
Ubayd
Allah Sultan Khan of Bukhara (known as Ubaidullah) is at war against
Shah Tahmasp of Iran, and the Uzbeks of Khwarazm support Bukharan
attacks by advancing to Pil Kupruki. The border cities of Khodjend
(in Khorasan) and Asferain (near Astarabad) are also stormed. As
Tahmasp also has to face the Ottomans, he negotiates with the Khwarizmi
Uzbeks and effectively hands them Khwarazm.
1534
:
The
Shaibanid empire has already been divided into fiefdoms around 1510-1511,
although the senior khan has retained at least nominal command over
them. Muzzaffaruddin Abu-Sa'id is the last of them to have his capital
elsewhere other than Bukhara or not to have a permanent capital
at all. His successor, Abu'l-Ghazi Ubaidullah, very much favours
Bukhara, and it can be said that during his reign the khanate of
Bukhara truly is born.
Khanate
of Bukhara (Bukhoro) :
AD 1534 - 1785 :
The Turkic Shaibanids were Özbegs (Uzbeks or Uzbegs) who had formerly
been subsumed within the vast Mongol empire under the control of
the Golden Horde. By the fifteenth century this particular branch
of the disintegrating empire had only recently migrated from western
Siberia and the khanate of Sibir (which they had temporarily controlled)
to what would become the region of Turkestan (covering eastern Scythia,
Transoxiana, and Greater Khorasan). Today the heartland of this
region is formed by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
and Uzbekistan.
The Shaibanid (or Shaybanid) Uzbeks quickly formed a much smaller
but still powerful empire in the lands that they settled, especially
when they captured Samarkand and the Timurid crown in 1501. Another
branch of the clan captured Khwarazm in 1511, but their great leader,
Mohammed Shaibani, was now dead, and the empire began to fracture
into fiefdoms that could not always be controlled by one khan. In
fact, the khanate was more of a federation that contained a number
of minor khanates. The supreme khans listed below had theoretical
power over the entire region but in fact they were largely limited
to their own immediate domain and depended upon the solidarity of
other clan members to support them, which usually only became manifest
in cases of extreme emergency. That factionalism also led to the
occasional civil war.
There is no set date for the end of the Shaibanid empire and the
beginning of the khanate of Bukhara (once the independent medieval
principality of Bukhara). It was a gradual transition, with the
empire fading and fragmenting following the death of Mohammed Shaibani,
and his grandson, Abu'l-Ghazi Ubaidullah, shifting the capital of
the empire's core holdings to Bukhara (Bukhoro or Bokhara), his
favoured city. There it stayed, with the city blossoming under his
rule and surviving as a stronghold under the reigns of his successors.
The city was ancient, having formed part of the heartland of the
Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex, or Oxus Civilisation, of
Bactria and Margiana about 2200-1700 BC into which the more sedentary
Indo-Iranian tribes had become integrated. Since then its fortunes
had waxed and waned, one of its higher points being the capital
of a city state called Bukhara in the Post-Greek world of early
medieval Sogdiana. It later formed a key town in the old emirate
of Khwarazm from the eleventh century, before being conquered by
the Shaibanids.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from
the Encyclopaedia Britannica, from History of the Mongols:
From the 9th to the 19th Century, Henry H Howarth (1880), from
A History of Inner Asia, Svat Soucek (2000), from The
Russian Conquest of the Bukharan Emirate: Military and Diplomatic
Aspects, A Malikov (Central Asian Survey, Volume 33,
Issue 2, 2014), from A Turkic Medical Treatise from Islamic Central
Asia, László Karoly, from The 'Ancient Supremacy': Bukhara,
Afghanistan, and the Battle for Balkh, 1731-1901, Jonathan L
Lee, and from External Links: History of Khiva, and The Ashtarkhanid
Rulers of Bukhara, Iraj Bashiri.)
1534
- 1539 :
Abu'l-Ghazi Ubaidullah / Ubaydullah : Shaibanid
governor of Bukhara. Gained khanate leadership.
1539 - 1540 :
Abdullah I : Son
of Shaibanid ruler, Kochkunju Muhammad.
1540 - 1552 :
Abdul-Latif : Brother.
1552 - 1556 :
Nawruz Ahmad : Grandson
of Shaibanid ruler, Abu'l-Khayr Khan.
1552 - 1556 :
Pir Mohammed of the Jani-Begids has already attempted to clain Bukhara
for himself and his clan in 1551. This has led to the formation
of an anti-Jani-Begid confederacy amongst the other Shaibanid khans
which forces the Jani-Begids to abandon their appanage rights which
had been established by the Shaibanids under Abu'l-Khayr Khan. In
1556, Abdullah, son of Iskander, governor of Mainmana, captures
Bukhara for the clan and Pir Mohammed is appointed as khan. Abdullah
eventually rules the city himself from 1583.
![Shah Abbas I in Mashhad](Persia_ShahAbbasI_01_full.jpg)
The
reign of Shah Abbas was one that involved a restoration of Iranian
regional greatness, although he did have to wait eleven years to
be able to retake the city of Mashhad where he is pictured in this
illustration
1556 - 1561 :
Pir Mohammed I : Son
of Janibeg Sultan, former Shaibanid regent.
1561 - 1583 :
Iskander : Brother.
1564 - 1566 :
Uzbek princes who had been part of the Timurid forces which had
invaded India with Babur and who are descended from Mohammed Shaibani
himself, support a rival claimant to the Moghul throne and as a
result are defeated and killed.
1583
- 1598 :
Abdullah II : Son.
Former governor of Mainmana.
1588 - 1598 :
In the name of Abdullah, his son, Abdul-Mu'min, leads his Uzbek
forces in an attack on the important Persian city of Mashhad (Maixhad).
After four months of being besieged, the city surrenders and the
systematic looting that follows does not spare the sacred tombs.
These Uzbek Shaibanids retain the city for almost a full decade,
but Shah Abbas I regains it for the Safavids upon Abdullah's death
in Samarkand.
1593
- 1596 :
Abdullah launches an attack on Khwarazm and captures the khanate
in two swift campaigns. The second takes place in 1595 when Abdullah
has a much greater force at his disposal. However, the region is
in a near-constant state of to-and-fro battles and victories, and
Haji Muhammad recovers his domains by 1596.
1598
:
Abdul-Mu'min / Abd al-Mumin : Son.
Murdered.
1598 :
Pir Mohammed II : Usurper?
Not always included in a list of rulers.
1598 :
The Shaibanid empire of Samarkand has effectively come to an end,
but the khanate created by them at Bukhara continues under the Janid
dynasty with the support of the nobility. Otherwise known as the
Astrakhanids or Hashtarkhanids, much of this nobility are refugees
from Astrakhan who had fled when the city had fallen to the Russians.
Their titular head, Janibeg Sultan (Janibek) had quickly married
into Bukhara's ruling family, thereby cementing the claim of his
offspring to rule. The are now the last Genghisid family to govern
Bukhara.
![Bukhara](Uzbekistan_Bukhara03_full.jpg)
Bukhara
remains the most complete example in Central Asia of a medieval
city with an urban fabric that has remained largely intact, and
monuments of particular interest which include the famous tenth
century tomb of Ismail Samani of the former Samanid emirate
1599 - 1605 :
Baqi Muhammad Khan : Son
of Janibeg Sultan, former Shaibanid regent.
1605 - 1611 :
Vali Muhammad Khan : Brother.
Former governor of Balkh. Killed.
1606 - 1611 :
Vali Muhammad Khan is opposed by the merchants and the landlords
who support their own candidate for the throne, Imam Quli Khan.
Learning that the nobles have been plotting to assassinate him,
Vali Muhammad and his two sons flee to Iran to seek the support
of Shah Abbas. Recognising the gravity of the situation, Shah Abbas
equips Vali Muhammad with an army and sends him back to Bukhara.
Vali Muhammad is killed in Bukhara during the course of the conflicts
that follow.
1611 - 1642 :
Imam Quli Khan / Imomqulikhan : Son
of Din Muhammad Khan. Abdicated due to blindness.
1613 :
Imam Quli Khan captures Tashkent by defeating the restive Kazakh
tribes. He appoints his own son, Iskandar, as governor for the region.
Iskandar, however, is not accepted by his new subjects. Unable to
carry the burden of his heavy taxation, they rebel and kill him.
Angered by the murder of his son, Imam Quli Khan gathers a large
army composed primarily of Badakhshanis and Balkhis (Balkh is currently
ruled by his brother, Nadir Muhammad (Nodirmuhammad)). Tashkent
is devastated by this army, while the Oirat and Karakalpak tribes
are routed after having encroached on Transoxiana for quite some
time.
1642 - 1645 :
Nadir Muhammad Khan : Brother.
Former governor of Balkh. Deposed.
1645 - 1680 :
Abdul Aziz Khan : Son.
Proclaimed khan in father's absence. Forced abdication.
1646 - 1648 :
The unpopular Nadir Muhammad Khan is effectively replaced by his
son following a dramatic few years on the throne. Refusing to give
up without a fight, Nadir Muhammad seeks help from the Moghul emperor,
Shah Jahan. The emperor instead defeats Nadir Muhammad and annexes
Balkh for two years having already gained Ghazni in 1638. Abdul
Aziz eventually dislodges him from Balkh in the same year in which
he is ejected from Ghazni.
![The Taj Mahal](Tombs_TajMahal01_full.jpg)
The
Taj Mahal was built for Shah Jahan's beloved wife, Mumtaj Mahal,
but he was later laid there himself, in 1666
1650 - 1680 :
Very little is recorded by contemporary sources regarding Bukhara
during this period. The reign of Abdul Aziz Khan is one of relative
stagnation, with him failing to subdue the rival Khivans. His successor
brings a very different air to the court, one of intrigue. His first
major alert sees one of his troublesome sons marching against him.
He is forced to invade Balkh, put down the rebellion, and kill the
errant son. His subsequent attempts to reduce the status of the
secondary court at Balkh to a mere governorship results in a final
break by the time the new khan dies in 1702.
1680
- 1702 :
Subhan Quli Khan : Son.
Former governor of Balkh.
1702 - 1711 :
Ubaidullah Khan : Relationship
unknown. Killed by Uzbeks?
1711 - 1747 :
Abu'l-Faiz Khan / Abulfayz Khan : Last
Janid. Murdered by Ataliq Muhammad Rahim Bi.
1715 :
The Kazakhs can be divided into three clans, or hordes, and each
of these has its own territory. Now the Kazakh Lesser Horde begins
acting independently of the others within its main base of operations
in western Kazakhstan. Its leaders are descendants of Sultan Uziak,
brother to Yadik Khan, and they are mentioned for the first time
in 1717 when, together with Kaip Khan, they asked for help against
the Russian Kalmuks. Having consolidated the Lesser Horde, Tiavka
Khan is now dead. Abu l-Khayr (son of Adia, who is probably to be
identified with Atiak, a contemporary of Tiavka Khan) fights for
supremacy with Kaip Khan and wins. Abu l-Khayr becomes the first
independent khan of the Lesser Horde.
1740
- 1747 :
Khiva is occupied by Afsharid ruler Nadir Shah and Bukhara is forced
to submit. For Khiva, Bukharan dominance is replaced by even greater
Iranian dominance. Nadir Shah appoints his own ruler there but he
is almost immediately sidelined by the Kazakh Lesser Horde which
gains the support of Uzbeks and Aralians who are within the khanate.
For Bukhara the submission soon ends in the murder of the khan and
the end of Genghisid rule.
![Nadir Shah](Persia_NadirShah01_full.jpg)
Nadir
Shah rose spectacularly from his early life as the son of a maker
of sheepskin coats to the leading general and then ruler of the
Persian empire, although he showed little compassion towards the
poor people who formed part of his origins
Increasing
paranoia blights Nadir Shah's later years. His blinding of courtiers
who had witnessed his hasty and regretted decision to blind Reza
Qoli Mirza for his supposed part in the attempted assassination
of 1741 seems to have set him on a downward spiral. Now Nadir Shah
is assassinated in 1747. In Bukhara, the non-Genghisid Manghit (or
Manġit) descendant of Uzbek Emir Khudayar Bi - in the form
of Muhammad Rahim Bi - murders the Janid khan and his son and begins
to rule directly through the post of ataliq (effectively
a prime minister or governor).
1747
- 1753 :
Muhammad
Rahim Bi : Former
ataliq who usurped power from the Janid throne.
1747 - 1753 :
Muhammad Ubaidullah II : Puppet
khan under Muhammad Rahim Bi's control.
1753 - 1758 :
Muhammad Rahim Bi : Former
ataliq, now emir. Khan from 1756.
1758
- 1785 :
Daniyal
Bey : Ataliq,
and true power in Bukhara.
1758 - ? :
Shir Ghazi : Puppet
khan under Daniyal Bey's control.
? - 1785 :
Abu'l-Ghazi Khan : Puppet
khan under Daniyal Bey's control. Died.
1785 :
The new Manghit ataliq, Shah Murad, son of Daniyal Bey, assumes
complete control of Bukhara and adopts the title of emir
as he is not directly descended from Chingiz Khan (and is therefore
not a Genghisid, a vital qualification for the higher position of
khan). The former khanate now becomes the emirate of Bukhara.
Emirate
of Bukhara (Bukhoro) :
AD 1785 - 1920 :
Located in central Sogdiana, between the rivers Syr Darya and Amu
Darya, Bukhara had started out as an Achaemenid city. From around
the sixth century AD it was the heart of the independent medieval
principality of Bukhara. It had been a possession of the Mongol
empire, and then of its splinter group, the Golden Horde. By the
fifteenth century this had further splintered, with the Shaibanids
now controlling the Bukhara region as part of their own newfound
empire. As ever, even this empire fractured and became divided,
so that by the mid-sixteenth century its rulers were little more
than khans of Bukhara itself, plus some (usually) allied outlying
groups. The Shaibanid empire can be said to have ended in 1598,
by which the khanate of Bukhara was already established.
In 1740, neighbouring Khiva (to the west) was occupied by Afsharid
ruler Nadir Shah, and Bukhara was also forced to submit. However,
Iranian rule of the region was never very strong. The competing
Uzbek interests included the regionally-powerful Kazak Lesser Horde,
and it was these interested parties who were able to influence events
on Khiva and Bukhara. Following the assassination of Nadir Shah,
the Manghit (or Manġit) descendants of Uzbek Emir Khudayar
Bi ruled Bukhara through the post of ataliq (effectively
a prime minister or governor). In 1785 they were confirmed in their
position, but under the lesser title of emir as they were
not descendants of Chingiz Khan. The emirate of Bukhara survived
for less than a century and-a-half before greater external powers
took over and Bukhara suffered occupation and annexation. The Soviet
civil war immediately following the First World War saw Bukhara's
territory divided between modern Uzbekistan (for the most part),
plus Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from
History of the Civilisations of Central Asia - Towards the Contemporary
Period: From the Mid-Nineteenth to the End of the Twentieth Century,
Chahryar Adle (Ed), Chapter 9 Uzbekistan, D A Alimova &
A A Golovanov, Unesco, from The Russian Conquest of the Bukharan
Emirate: Military and Diplomatic Aspects, A Malikov (Central
Asian Survey, Volume 33, Issue 2, 2014), from History of
the Mongols: From the 9th to the 19th Century (Part 2), Sir
Henry Hoyle Howorth (1880), and from External Link: BBC Country
Profiles.)
1785
- 1800 :
Shah Murad bin Daniyal Bey : Assumed
direct control of khanate of Bukhara as emir.
1785 :
Almost as soon as Shah Murad has become emir of Bukhara,
an attempt is made on his life by one of his brothers, Toktamish.
He is left with a scar which reaches from mouth to ear and the would-be
assassin is executed, while Toktamish is exiled.
![Bukhara's Kagan Palace 1895](Uzbekistan_Bukhara02_full.jpg)
Despite
the best intentions of the emirs of Bukhara to retain their independence
in the face of Russian expansionism they succumbed to Russian money,
notably in 1888 when the Trans-Caspian railway was built through
Bukharan territory, with the emir receiving a vast cash sum and
allowing a new station to be built at Kagan, 'only' sixteen kilometres
from the capital - the new palace at Kagan (shown here) was built
using the cash
In
the same year, Shah Murad determines to capture Merv, a centre of
the hated Shias (and the former capital of the satrapy of Margiana).
Ruled by Bairim Ali Khan, a relative of the Astrakhanids, Merv's
forces are markedly inferior to those of Bukhara. However, Bairim
Ali Khan is able to harry Shah Murad's forces like 'a wolf among
a flock of sheep'. Bukhara is only able to win the day and kill
the intransigent Bairim Ali Khan by a ruse which lures him into
an unequal battle against four thousand Bukharan horsemen. The region
around Merv is laid waste as a warning to the rest of its people.
1800 - 1826 :
Haydar Tora bin Shah Murad : Son.
1824 - 1825 :
William Moorecroft, of the East India Company, arrives in Peshawar,
Afghanistan, while en route to Bukhara, east of Khiva (and now in
Uzbekistan), to trade for horses. He is killed in Balkh in 1825
while returning to India. The British in India turn an eye towards
Afghan affairs and the lack of central authority there.
1826 - 1827 :
Hussain bin Haydar Tora : Son.
Died after two months on the throne.
1827 :
Umar bin Haydar Tora : Brother.
1827 - 1860 :
Nasr-Allah bin Haydar Tora / Nasrulla : Brother.
Died.
1839 - 1840 :
Russia under Czar Nicholas I pursues a renewed policy of pressuring
the Ottoman empire and Britain for control of southern Central Asia.
He sends an expedition to Khiva, purportedly to free slaves who
had been captured from areas of the Russian frontier and sold by
Turkmen raiders. Britain is already involved in the First Anglo-Afghan
War in Afghanistan but, despite sending over five thousand infantry,
the Russian force stumbles into one of harshest winters in living
memory. It is driven back by the weather and by its losses in early
1840.
![William Moorecroft of the East India Company](British_EEC_WilliamMoorcroft01_full.jpg)
William
Moorecroft of the British East India Company is seen here on the
road to Lake Mansarowar in Tibet, dressed in native style, prior
to his death in Balkh in 1825
Britain
decides that Russian (and also Persian) intrigues pose a threat
to its control of India. To counter that perceived threat, it is
decided that Afghanistan will be used as a buffer state and the
slave situation in Khiva will be solved without military intervention.
The khan is convinced to free all Russian subjects under his control
and to outlaw any further slavery of Russians.
At the same time, in 1839, Nasr-Allah serves to weaken the defensive
situation in the region by declaring war on Kokend. The excuse is
the building of the Pishgar fort near the Bukharan border, and Kokend
is swiftly conquered, albeit briefly. It has to be conquered again
in 1842, with Bukhara securing overlordship of Kokend and executing
its khan, but Nasr-Allah's forces are expelled during a revolt in
the same year.
1842 - 1843 :
Nasr-Allah achieves an unwanted level of notoriety in early Victorian
England after he has imprisoned and now executes the British envoys,
Charles Stoddart and Arthur Conolly. He also imprisons Joseph Wolff,
who enters Bukhara in 1843 in search of the missing envoys. Amused
by Wolff openly wearing his full ecclesiastical garb, the emir
performs a rare act of leniency by allowing Wolff to leave safely.
1848 :
Undeterred by previous setbacks, Russia builds Fort Aralsk at the
mouth of the Syr Darya. From here the empire begins a steady process
of encroachment upon the lands of Bukhara, Khiva, and Kokend. Russia
meets stiff resistance all the way but its resources far exceed
those of its opponents.
![First Afghan War (1839-1842)](Afghan_FirstAfghanWar01_full.jpg)
The
First Afghan War (1839-1842) pitted British forces in India against
the multiple clans and factions of Afghanistan to the south of Bukhara,
but close enough to be of vital interest - elements of the British
forces are shown here at Urghundee
1860 - 1886 :
Muzaffar al-Din bin Nasr-Allah : Son. Russian vassal
from 1868.
1865 - 1868 :
Russia takes Bukhara, Tashkent, and Samarkand in 1865 (all of which
go into forming Uzbekistan in 1924). Tashkent is made the capital
of a new state of the same name, incorporating vast areas of Central
Asia into its territory. Following a further defeat in 1868, the
emirate at Bukhara is permitted to continue as a vassal, governing
only its immediate territory.
1873
:
Weakened by attacks from Kokend and Bukhara and losing control of
the right bank of the Syr Darya, Khiva is finally conquered by Russia
on the third attempt. Russian General von Kaufman leads 13,000 infantry
and cavalry, taking the capital, Khiva, on 28 May 1873. The city's
fall is recorded by artist Vasily Vereshchagin. A treaty of August
of the same year establishes Khiva as a Russian protectorate which
retains its own rulers but only with nominal independence. Bukhara's
remnants, too, become a Russian protectorate.
1886
- 1910 :
Abdul-Ahad bin Muzaffar al-Din : Son.
1910 - 1920 :
Muhammad Alim Khan bin Abdul-Ahad : Son.
Deposed. Emirate replaced by Soviet republic. Died 1944.
1918 - 1921 :
A reorganisation of Central Asian Soviet-controlled states along
ethnic lines means the end of the khanate of Khiva, the Turkestan
Krai, and the emirate of Bukhara (the latter being ousted by the
Tashkent Soviet in 1920). All of these formerly independent territories
are merged into the newly-formed 'Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist
Republic', which is formed as a self-governing entity of the early
Soviet Union. However, in the same year, the Islamic Council and
the Council of Intelligentsia declare the rival 'Turkestan Autonomous
Republic', and set about fighting against the Bolshevik forces who
start closing down mosques and persecuting Muslim clergy as part
of their secularisation campaign.
![Emir Muhammad Alim Khan bin Abdul-Ahad](Uzbekistan_Bukhara01_full.jpg)
Although
initially a reformer in his own right, Emir Muhammad Alim Khan bin
Abdul-Ahad eventually realised that this path would lead to the
termination of his own position, so he became increasingly reactionary,
not that it helped him remain emir in 1920
1921 - 1924 :
The Turkestan Autonomous Republic has gradually lost ground to the
Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks themselves have been divided into two
groups over the region's future, but the idea of a pan-Turkic state
is jettisoned in place of several smaller states. In 1924 the Turkestan
ASSR is divided into the Uzbek SSR, the Turkmen SSR, the Kara-Kirghiz
Autonomous Oblast (Kyrgyzstan), and the Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast
(modern Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic of Uzbekistan). Initially,
the Tajik ASSR is also adjoined to the Uzbek state.
Modern
Uzbekistan :
AD 1924 - Present Day :
Positioned on the ancient Silk Road between Europe and Asia, majestic
cities such as Bukhara and Samarkand, famed for their architectural
opulence, once flourished here as trade and cultural centres. The
former emirs of Khwarazm had their capital at Urgench (pronounced
oorgyench), and Uzbekistan inherited this city, now known
as Kunya-Urgench, as the capital of its Khorezm region. The modern
republic of Uzbekistan is the most populous Central Asian state
with the largest armed forces. Kazakhstan lies to the north, Turkmenistan
is to the south, and Tajikistan and Afghanistan lie to the east
and south-east.
Southern Uzbekistan has a long and chequered history. It once formed
part of the Persian satrapy of Bactria, with Sogdiana to its north
(now also largely within Uzbekistan's borders). These satrapies
were invaded by Alexander the Great's Greek empire, and became independent
in 256 BC. Following that, the region was occupied by Sakas and
Greater Yuezhi, and was controlled by the Kushans and then the Persian
Sassanids. With the collapse of the Samanids in the ninth century
AD the region became a battleground for vying factions of Turkic
tribes. From the end of the tenth century it was part of the emirate
of Khwarazm, before being divided between the Mongol Il-Khanate
and Mughulistan. Timurid Transoxiana claimed it next, and then it
formed part of the region of Turkestan which was ruled by the Shaibanid
empire in the sixteenth century.
Uzbekistan
in the modern sense was formed in 1924, when its Soviet masters
divided the former khanate of Khiva and its short-lived successor,
the Tashkent ASSR, and joined the Uzbek part to the former emirate
of Bukhara. The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic survived in that
form until the collapse of the Soviet empire. In 1991 Uzbekistan
became fully independent, with its capital at Tashkent. Rather than
follow its western peers down the road towards democracy, it instead
maintained a highly authoritarian one-party state in which opposition
was (and is) not at all welcome. Since independence, the country
has faced sporadic bombings and shootings, which the authorities
have been quick to blame on Islamic extremists.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from
History of the Civilisations of Central Asia - Towards the Contemporary
Period: From the Mid-Nineteenth to the End of the Twentieth Century,
Chahryar Adle (Ed), Chapter 9 Uzbekistan, D A Alimova &
A A Golovanov, Unesco, and from External Links: BBC Country
Profiles, and Ex-president's daughter sent to prison (The Guardian).)
1929
- 1930 :
In 1929 the Tajik ASSR, attached to the Uzbek SSR since 1924, is
now removed to form a separate Tajik SSR. In the following year
the Soviet-controlled Uzbek SSR suffers from Stalin's purge of independent-minded
Uzbek leaders. They are replaced by Moscow loyalists and the capital
is moved from Samarkand to Tashkent.
![Tashkent 1960s](Uzbekistan_Tashkent01_full.jpg)
This
tinted photo may date from the 1960s, but it looks in part a good
thirty years older and shows mid-twentieth century Tashkent with
its Soviet-imposed monumental building style
1937 - 1938 :
Undaunted by his failures to date, Stalin directs a massive purge
of the Bolshevik party, the armed forces (decimating the officer
class), government and intelligentsia. Millions of people, labelled
enemies of the state, are killed or imprisoned, with the notoriously
harsh gulags in Siberia being used to deposit many thousands of
his victims. In the Uzbek SSR, many alleged nationalists are arrested,
including the state's first prime minister, Faizullah Khojaev.
1940
- 1945 :
As part of the Second World War, the Soviets invade Poland
from the east on 17 September 1940. About 1,433,230 Uzbek citizens
are incorporated into the Red Army in the subsequent battles against
Nazi Germany. A certain number also fight for the Germans against
the Soviets. In 1944, around 160,000 Meskhetian Turks are deported
from Georgia to Uzbekistan by Stalin. Other ethnic groups are also
imported into the Uzbek SSR, especially Russians and Ukrainians
as the empire's industrial war efforts are moved farther east to
remove them from the threat of German attacks.
1950s :
From this decade until the 1980s, Uzbek cotton production is greatly
boosted thanks to Soviet irrigation projects that draw water from
the Amu Darya and, ultimately, from the Aral Sea. Within three decades
the sea is almost completely sucked dry, creating a semi-desert.
![Joseph Stalin](Revolution_Stalin01_full.jpg)
Joseph
Stalin, who was born in Georgia, led the Soviet Union away from
its initial idealistic concept of equal citizenship for all and
instead instituted a brutal regime of fear
1966 :
A devastating earthquake virtually destroys much of Tashkent. The
subsequent Soviet rebuilding works pays little attention to the
city's cultural heritage or its important position on the ancient
Silk Road. Instead brutalist concrete structures fill the city.
1989
- 1991 :
Islam Karimov becomes the head of the Uzbek Communist Party. In
the following year, 1990, the Party declares economic and political
sovereignty and Karimov becomes president, a position he maintains
for several decades. In 1991, Karimov initially supports the attempted
anti-Gorbachev coup by conservatives in Moscow. The Uzbek SSR declares
independence from the Soviet Union as the republic of Uzbekistan
and, following the USSR's subsequent collapse, joins the Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS). During this period, violent attacks
take place against the Meskhetian Turks and other minorities in
the Fergana Valley. As a result a nationalist political movement
called Birlik is founded (and is banned in 1992).
1989 - 2016 :
Islam Karimov : 'President',
but without observing any election rules. Died 02.16.
2001 :
Terrorist attacks take place in the USA on 11 September when four
passenger planes are hijacked. In Afghanistan, the Taliban refuse
to hand over terrorist leader and overall organiser of the attack,
Osama bin Laden, who is taking refuge there. An invasion is launched,
with some US forces being allowed the use of a base in Uzbekistan.
By November 2001 the Taliban have been pushed out of Kabul and into
the eastern fringes of the country by US and British air strikes
and a resurgent native northern alliance.
2005
:
In May 2005, troops in the eastern city of Andijan open fire on
protesters who are demonstrating against the imprisonment of people
charged with Islamic extremism. Witnesses report a bloodbath with
several hundred civilian deaths. The Uzbek authorities state that
fewer than 190 people have died. Opponents of President Karimov
blame the authorities' brutal determination to crush all dissent
while the president blames fundamentalists seeking to overthrow
the government and establish a Muslim caliphate in Central Asia.
![Uzbek army](Uzbekistan_Army01_full.jpg)
With
people protesting against President Karimov's policy of imprisoning
people on charges of Islamic extremism, the army was called out,
and with brutal effect
The
government's reaction to the Andijan unrest prompts strong criticism
from the West, and relations cool. In response, Uzbekistan expels
US forces from their base and move closer to Russia, with Karimov
at one point describing it as Tashkent's 'most reliable partner
and ally'.
2008 - 2009 :
Ties with the West begin to improve again, spurred on by the search
by European countries for alternative energy sources in Central
Asia, and Uzbekistan's strategic importance for the anti-Taliban
operation in Afghanistan. The EU eases sanctions that had been imposed
after the Andijan killings, the World Bank reverses a decision to
suspend loans to Uzbekistan, and the US is allowed limited use of
the Temez air base. In 2009 the EU lifts its arms embargo. At the
same time, relations with Moscow cool off, with Uzbekistan in 2009
criticising plans for a Russian base in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan.
2016 :
Karimov's death after more than two decades in control sees his
successor selected by the supreme assembly and rubber stamped by
an election with sees him 'pitted' against three very minor candidates.
His win of 88.6% of the vote is largely seem as resulting from a
sham election, but the Uzbek claim is that strong, authoritarian
leadership may be the only option apart from Islamic radicalism,
with some justification.
2016 - Present :
Shavkat Mirziyoyev : 'President'
following a potentially arranged election.
2017 - 2019 :
Gulnara Karimova, socialite eldest daughter of the late president
- described in 2010 by a US embassy cable as a 'robber baron' who
had considered herself above the law - is reported to fall foul
of the new regime. With no external confirmation, it is claimed
that she is now convicted of embezzlement and money-laundering charges.
It is unclear where she serves her sentence, but in 2019 she is
reported to be taken forcibly from her home after violating the
terms of her house arrest and is escorted to prison.
![Gulnara Karimova](Uzbekistan_GulnaraKarimova01_full.jpg)
Gulnara
Karimova, daughter of the late President Karimov, apparently broke
her house arrest rules by accessing the internet
Source
:
https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/
KingListsFarEast/AsiaSogdiana.htm
#Persians