Sogdiana - City-States Period

  General Description   General description:
The Sogdian City States Period, also referred to by the names of the principal cities of the age, Bukhara and Samarkand dates to between 604 and 711CE. The period ends with the conquest of the region by the Umayyad Dynasty. ^[1]
A number of City States rose to prominence in the Zarafshan and surrounding valleys, they formed alliances and competed amongst each other for control of the region . ^[2] Chef amongst these City States was Samarkand, which in the seventh century extended across the plateau of Afrasiab. ^[3]
The height of this period can be considered to have occurred in mid the 7th century CE when the city of Samarkand was at the peak of its economic and culture production, symbolized by the creation of the Afrasiab paintings. ^[4]
Although the City States had achieved de facto independence after the fall of the Western Kaghanate, they were nominally allied to the Chinese T’ang dynasty, however the dynasty did not meaningfully hinder the Arab incursions. ^[1]
Population and political organization:
Each city state was ruled by a king, conceived of as ‘first among equals’ who headed the administrative system which ran the state. ^[5] While there is clear evidence of a strong merchant class their relationship to the ruling elite remains unclear. ^[6]
Although there are no precise population figures the archaeological evidence indicates that the number of settlements, and thus population, in the region reached its height during this period. ^[7]

[1]: (Marshak 1996, 242) Marshak, B. I. 1996. ‘Sughd and Adjacent Regions’. In B. A. Litvinsky (ed.), Co-editors: Zhang Guang-da and R. Shabani Samghabadi. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. The Crossroads of Civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. Volume III. Paris: UNESCO. p.242https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/5AW7RCHD

[2]: (De la Vaissière 2005, 167) De la Vaissière, E. 2005. Sogdian Traders: a History. Translated by James Ward. Leiden; Boston: Brill. p.167 https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/8P724M2D

[3]: (Marshak 1996, 244) Marshak, B. I. 1996. ‘Sughd and Adjacent Regions’. In B. A. Litvinsky (ed.), Co-editors: Zhang Guang-da and R. Shabani Samghabadi. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. The Crossroads of Civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. Volume III. Paris: UNESCO. p.244https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/5AW7RCHD

[4]: (Frumkin 1970, 124) Frumkin, G. 1970. Archaeology in Soviet Central Asia. Leiden;Koln. Brill. p.124 https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/48WCJTCC

[5]: (De la Vaissière 2005, 167) De la Vaissière, E. 2005. Sogdian Traders: a History. Translated by James Ward. Leiden; Boston: Brill.p.167 https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/8P724M2D

[6]: (De la Vaissière 2005, 168-169) De la Vaissière, E. 2005. Sogdian Traders: a History. Translated by James Ward. Leiden; Boston: Brill. pp.168-169 https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/8P724M2D

[7]: (De la Vaissière 2005, 103-4) De La Vaissiere, Etienne. 2005. Sogdian Traders: A History. [trans James Ward] Leiden: Brill.p.103-4 https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/8P724M2D