Ikhshids of Sogdia Unash | |||||||||||||
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642–755 CE | |||||||||||||
Capital | Samarkand | ||||||||||||
Common languages | Sogdian | ||||||||||||
Religion | Zoroastrianism | ||||||||||||
Historical era | Late antiquity | ||||||||||||
• Established | 642 | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 755 CE | ||||||||||||
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The Ikhshids of Sogdia, or Ikhshids of Samarkand, were a series of rulers of Soghdia in Transoxiana, with their capital at Samarkand, during the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods. [3]
The princely title "Ikhshid" (from Sogdian : xšyδ, xšēδ "Ruler") is of Iranian origin; scholars have derived it variously from the Old Iranian root khshaeta, "shining, brilliant", or from khshāyathiya, "ruler, king" (which is also the origin of the title shah ). [3] The Ikhshids of Soghdia, with their capital at Samarkand, are well attested during and after the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana. The rulers of the Principality of Farghana were also called "Ikhshids".
Shishpir, originally ruler of Kish, conquered Samarkand in 631-642 CE and founded the Ikhshid dynasty. [4] His rule in Samarkand followed that of the Hunnic tribes who had taken control of the city since around 437 CE. The founder Shishpir was succeeded by several generations of kings, who are recorded in Chinese chronicles and known through their coinage. [4]
The Hunnic legacy appears in the coinage of Shishpir, as he adopted the Hunnic Y-shaped tamgha ( ) on the reverse of his coins. [4] The symbol of the Hephthalites thus appears on the residual coinage of Samarkand, probably as a consequence of the Hephthalite control of Sogdia, and becomes prominent in Sogdian coinage until the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana. [5]
Inscriptions found in the ruins of the Ikhshid palace at Samarkand and the legends of coins suggest that the Ikhsids called their own dynasty "Unash", i.e. "Hunnish". [6] The paintings of the Afrasiab murals, made in the early Ikhshid period, contain an inscription mentioning King "Varkhuman Unash"
When King Varkhuman Unash came to him [the ambassador] opened his mouth [and said thus]: "I am Pukarzate, the dapirpat (chancellor) of Chaganian. I arrived here from Turantash, the lord of Chaganian, to Samarkand, to the king, and with respect [to] the king [now] I am [here]. And with regard to me do not have any misgivings: About the gods of Samarkand, as well as about the writing of Samarkand I am keenly aware, and I also have not done any harm to the king. Let you be quite fortunate!" And King Varkhuman Unash took leave [of him]. And [then] the dapirpat (chancellor) of Chach opened his mouth.
The paintings of Afrasiab in Samarkand date back to the middle of the 7th century CE at the early stage of the Ilkhshid period, showing a reception of foreign dignitaries by Ikhshid king Varkhuman. They were probably painted circa 655 CE, as the Western Turkic Khaganate, members of which appear abundantly in the mural, was in its last days before its fall in 657 CE, and the Tang dynasty was increasing its territory in Central Asia. [8] [9] [10] On the four walls of the room of a private house, three or four countries in neighbouring Central Asia are depicted. On the northern wall China (a Chinese festival, with the Empress on a boat, and the Emperor hunting), on the Southern Wall Samarkand (i.e.; the Iranian world: a religious funerary procession in honor of the ancestors during the Nowruz festival), on the eastern wall India (as the land of the astrologers and of the pygmies, but the painting is much destroyed there).
The Ikhshids became nominal vassals of the Chinese Tang dynasty. The Chinese asserted their political power in Central Asia at the expense of the Western Turks, through the establishment of the Anxi Protectorate and the formal appointment of local rulers to Governor positions in the provinces established by the Chinese. [18] As soon as 650-655 CE, Varkhuman was recognized by the Chinese as "King of Kangju" (Sogdia), and Governor, as reported by Chinese chronicles: [11] [19]
During the Yonghui (永徽) era (650-655 CE), emperor Gaozong made this territory the Government of Kangju, and gave the title of Governor to the King of the country, Varkhuman (拂呼缦, Fúhūmàn).
The Western Turks, who had been the main power for about a century in the region, disintegrated following the Tang Conquest of the Western Turks and the demise of their ruler Ashina Helu in 658 CE, becoming vassals of the Chinese thereafter. [18] [21] The Tang dynasty would establish more or less nominal Protectorates and military garrisons throughout the area, but this control only lasted for a few years. [16] By 662 rebellions broke out throughout the area, and the Western Turks were able to reestablish preeminence, with the Tangs only retaining sporadic and indirect control. [16]
During this period, the Ikhshids and other Central Asian polities repeatedly requested Chinese military aid, especially against Muslim conquests, but these requests were generally met with empty promises, as the Chinese army, led by general Gao Xianzhi, was busy with the war against Tibet. [22]
The line survived into Abbasid times, although by then its seat was in Istikhan. [3]
Among the most notable and energetic of the Soghdian kings was Ghurak, who in 710 overthrew his predecessor Tarkhun and for almost thirty years, through shifting alliances, managed to preserve a precarious autonomy between the expanding Umayyad Caliphate and the Türgesh khaganate. [23]
In 718, Ghurak is known to have sent an embassy to the China court, asking for support against the Arabs, but military help was denied, probably because of the huge cost and distances involved: [24] [25]
"Then King Ghurak couldn't win in war against the Arabs. He came to plead for help, but the Emperor refused."
In retaliation, the Arab governor may have appointed Divashtich, the ruler of nearby Panjikent, as ruler of Samarkand in order to replace Ghurak. [24] Some of the coinage of Samarkand may have been issued by Divashtich, and may correspond to this period. [24] The power of the Arabs in the region continued to increase, as they defeated the rebellion of Divastich in 722 CE. [18]
The reign of the last Ikhshid ruler Turgar seems to have enjoyed a relative period of prosperity, under the rather benevolent supervision of the Muslim Umayyad Governor Nasr ibn Sayyar. This continued until the revolt of Abu Muslim and the establishment of the Abbasid Caliphate in 750 CE, after which Sogdians had to convert to Islam. [27]
Turgar sent an embassy to China in 750 CE, probably asking for support. [28] Hopes of Chinese support for the Ikhshids soon evaporated, with their strategic defeat against the Arabs at the Battle of Talas and the dissolution of the Anxi Protectorate in 751 CE. [18] With the domestic An Lushan Rebellion in 755 CE, the Chinese had to removed all of their remaining forces from Central Asia, depriving the Ikhshids of any kind of diplomatic support against the Arabs. [22]
Turgar was probably deposed circa 755-757 CE, and stopped minting coinage. [28] Coins of Arabo-Sogdian style were now being minted in Samarkand in the name of the Governor of Khurasan Abu Dawud Khalid ibn Ibrahim. [28] The only Sogdian resistance now took the form of internal social or religious rebellions, within the framework of the Muslim Caliphate. [22]
Ruler | Date | Coinage | Coin legends [24] [29] | Chinese name | Transcription |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shishpir | 642-655 CE | 沙瑟毕 | Shāsèbì [30] | ||
Varkhuman | 655-696 CE | <(ʾ)βrγwmʾn MLKA> /(ə)warxumān xšēδ/ | 拂呼缦 | Fúhūmàn [31] [32] | |
Urk Wartramuk | 675-696 CE | <ʾwrk wrtrmwk MLKA> /Urk Wartramuk xšēδ/ | |||
Tukaspadak | 696-698 CE | <twkʾspʾδk MLKA> /Tōkəspāδak xšēδ/ /Tōkəspāδē xšēδ/ | 笃娑钵提 | Dǔsuōbōtí [31] [32] | |
Mastich-Unash | 698-700 CE | <mʾstn-nʾwyʾn MLKA> <mʾstc ʾwnš MLKA> /Mastič Unaš xšēδ/ | 泥涅师师 | Nínièshīshī [31] [32] [6] | |
Tarkhun | 700-710 CE | <trγwn MLKA> /Tarxūn xšēδ/ | 突昏 | Tūhūn [31] [32] | |
Ghurak | 710-738 CE | <ʾwγrk MLKA> /Uγrak xšēδ/ | 乌勒伽和 | Wǔlèkāhé [31] | |
Turgar | 738-755 CE | <twrγʾr MLKA> /Turγar xšēδ/ | 咄曷 | Duōhé [31] |
The Ikhshids issues mostly copper coins on the Chinese model (Kaiyuan Tongbao type, round with a central square hole), with legends in Aramaic and Sogdian giving the name and title of the ruler. [33] The Aramaic legend uses the title MLKA "King", the Sogdian legend uses the title xšēδ (Ikhshid, "Ruler"). [33] The Ikhshids also issued a few silver coin on the Sasanian model, with face of the ruler on the obverse, and fire altar on the reverse. [24] [34] The Hunnic Y-shaped tamgha of the Hephthalites ( ) appears on the reverse of these coins. [4] The second symbol (to the right) is the triskelion, symbol of Kish, from where Shishpir, the founder of the Ikhshids, originated. [4]
The Arab authors report that the title was also used by the ruler of Ferghana during the same period: Ibn al-Athir reports that it was the ikhshid of Ferghana who called upon the Chinese for aid against the Arabs, resulting in the Battle of Talas. [3]
The title's prestige in Central Asia remained high as late as the 10th century, when it was adopted by the Turkic commander and ruler of Egypt Muhammad ibn Tughj, whose grandfather had come from Ferghana. After his title the short-lived dynasty founded by Muhammad al-Ikhshid is known as the Ikhshidid dynasty. [3] [35]
Sogdia or Sogdiana was an ancient East Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemenid Empire, and listed on the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great. Sogdiana was first conquered by Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, and then was annexed by the Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great in 328 BC. It would continue to change hands under the Seleucid Empire, the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, the Kushan Empire, the Sasanian Empire, the Hephthalite Empire, the Western Turkic Khaganate and the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana.
Sri Mara was the founder of the kingdom of Champa.
The Afrasiab murals, also called the Paintings of the Ambassadors, is a rare example of Sogdian art. It was discovered in 1965 when the local authorities decided to construct a road in the middle of Afrāsiāb mound, the old site of pre-Mongol Samarkand. It is now preserved in a special museum on the Afrāsiāb mound.
Zunbil, also written as Zhunbil, or Rutbils of Zabulistan, was a royal dynasty south of the Hindu Kush in present southern Afghanistan region. They ruled from circa 680 AD until the Saffarid conquest in 870 AD. The Zunbil dynasty was founded by Rutbil, the elder brother of the Turk Shahi ruler, who ruled over Hephthalite kingdom from his capital in Kabul. The Zunbils are described as having Turkish troops in their service by Arabic sources like Tarikh al-Tabari and Tarikh-i Sistan.
Afrasiyab ,(Persian: افراسيابafrāsiyāb) is an ancient site of Northern Samarkand, present day Uzbekistan, that was occupied from c. 500 BC to 1220 AD prior to the Mongol invasion in the 13th century. The oldest layers date from the middle of the first millennium BC. Today, it is a hilly grass mound located near the Bibi Khanaum Mosque. Excavations uncovered the now famous Afrasiab frescoes exposed in the Afrasiab Museum of Samarkand, located next to the archaeological site.
The Muslim conquest of Transoxiana or Arab conquest of Transoxiana were the 7th and 8th century conquests, by Umayyad and Abbasid Arabs, of Transoxiana, the land between the Oxus and Jaxartes rivers, a part of Central Asia that today includes all or parts of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Gurak or Ghurak was a medieval Sogdian ruler in Central Asia during the period of the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana. In 710, he was installed as king of Samarkand after the populace overthrew his predecessor, Tarkhun, due to his pro-Muslim stance. The Umayyad governor, Qutayba ibn Muslim, campaigned against Samarkand but in the end confirmed Gurak as its ruler. Gurak was a cautious and intelligent ruler, and managed, through shifting alliance between the Muslims and the Turgesh, to remain on his throne. Some time after the Muslim Pyrrhic victory Battle of the Defile in 731, he managed to recover his capital, Samarkand, and achieve a quasi-independence which he maintained until his death in 737 or 738. His realm was then divided among his relatives : Turgar, formerly prince of Kabudhan, received Samarkand, Me-chu'o was king of Mayamurgh, while a certain Ko-lopu-lo who was king of Ishtikhan in 742 may perhaps be identified with Gurak's brother Afarun.
Tarkhun was a Sogdian ruler of Samarkand from somewhere 705–707 to 710. After receiving the news of the capture of Bukhara by the Umayyad general Qutayba ibn Muslim in 709, Tarkhun sent envoys to the latter and acknowledged the authority of the Umayyad Caliphate. His two sons had to be kept at the Umayyad court as hostages.
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Afrasiab Museum of Samarkand is a museum located at the historical site of Afrasiyab, one of the largest archaeological sites in the world and the ancient city that was destroyed by the Mongols in the early 13th century. Museum building and the archaeological site are located in the north-eastern part of the city of Samarkand in the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan. It bears the name of Afrasiab, mythical king and hero of Turan. Permanent exhibition of the Afrasiab Museum of Samarkand is focused on the history of the city itself as well as the surrounding region. The museum building was designed by Armenian architect Bagdasar Arzumanyan in 1970, at the time when Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic was still part of the Soviet Union. The opening of the museum was dedicated to the 2500th anniversary of the founding of the city of Samarkand. Thematically, the museum is divided into five rooms dedicated to different periods of life in the fort of Afrasiyab.
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The Kaiyuan Tongbao, sometimes romanised as Kai Yuan Tong Bao or using the archaic Wade-Giles spelling K'ai Yuan T'ung Pao, was a Tang dynasty cash coin that was produced from 621 under the reign of Emperor Gaozu and remained in production for most of the Tang dynasty until 907. The Kaiyuan Tongbao was notably the first cash coin to use the inscription tōng bǎo (通寶) and an era title as opposed to have an inscription based on the weight of the coin as was the case with Ban Liang, Wu Zhu and many other earlier types of Chinese cash coins. The Kaiyuan Tongbao's calligraphy and inscription inspired subsequent Central Asian, Japanese, Korean, Ryūkyūan, and Vietnamese cash coins and became the standard until the last cash coin to use the inscription "通寶" was cast until the early 1940s in French Indochina.
Varkhuman, also Vargoman was an Ikhshid (King) of Sogdia, residing in the city of Samarkand in the 7th century CE. He succeeded King Shishpin. He is known from the Afrasiab murals of Afrasiyab in Samarkand, where is seen being visited by embassies from numerous countries, including China. There is also an inscription in the murals directly mentioning him. His name is also known from Chinese histories.
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Tūrgār, also Thurgar was a medieval Sogdian ruler in Transoxiana and successor to his father Ghurak during the period of the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana. He was the last ruler of Samarkand and its surroundings from ca. 738 until no later than 755/57, until the Arabs took full control of the region. He was an Ikhshid, a princely title of the Iranian rulers of Soghdia and the Ferghana Valley in Transoxiana during the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods.
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