Far East Kingdoms

Maimurgh / Māymurḡ (Sogdiana)

Medieval Sogdian Principalities Indo-Iranian/Aryan Tribes Persian & Greek Satrapies Persian Satraps Greek Satraps

Following the final termination of Greek rule in Bactria around 130 BC - and seemingly for at least some decades before it too - post-Greek 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.

There are few written accounts which cover the region in its late Classical and early medieval periods, and other records are relatively sparse. Even the idea of Sogdiana remaining under the governance of Greek Bactria is one which cannot be confirmed, simply because there is very little evidence to prove it. Sogdiana is indeed included in the list of eastern provinces to be secured by the Seleucids in the campaign of 305 BC. It may well have remained theirs for a while, but an Indo-Greek campaign into the region from Bactria in 283-281 BC and a lack of mentions afterwards paints a distinct picture of a lost region, and perhaps one which was not particularly secure beforehand.

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. New Sogdian fortifications also followed established Indo-Iranian styles, and Sogdian clothing was traditional Central Asian in style rather than Greek. The influx of barbarians into Bactria from the second century BC onwards further influenced Sogdian styles, adding many cultural elements and later mixing those with early Turkic influences.

By the seventh century Nestorian Christian crosses were appearing on coins, revealing the arrival of Orthodox Christianity. The general coinage style was a regional one which had first appeared in the late fourth century AD, albeit without the cross, replacing the previous Greek types. The multitude of regional mints strongly suggests a series of independent city states or principalities in the region. Of those, Samarkand and Bukhara dominated the rest, in terms of regional might if not directly ruling over them. Shortly after this the thriving Bukharan mint switched to the temporarily-dominant Chinese cash model and started casting coins. The trend in coinage clearly shows a series of independent city states or principalities in the region.

The principality of Maimurgh was one such independent entity, otherwise being shown as Mayamurgh or even Mi (in Chinese records) or, more correctly, as Māymurḡ. It was possibly located on the site of today's Urgut in Uzbekistan (immediately to the south-east of Samarkand) but was not, as has been claimed, the capital of Penjikent which was quite some way distant from it. That claim is due to an identification in Chinese records, but the two are separated by a gap of around sixty kilometres. By the seventh century Maimurgh was considered by a Chinese visitor - Xuan Zang - to be extensive from north to south, and rather narrow from east to west.

(Information by Peter Kessler, 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), 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 History of Civilizations of Central Asia (Volume 3), Ahmad Hasan Dani (Motilal Banarsidass, 1999), 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 The Silk Road, and Encyclopaedia Iranica, and Sogdian and other Iranian inscriptions of the Upper Indus I, (Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum, Part II, Vol III/II), Nicholas Sims-Williams (Indo-Iranian Journal Vol 36, No 3, 1993, and available from JSTOR).)

AD 3rd-6th cent

The Sassanid ruler, Shapur I, seems to conquer Sogdiana around AD 260 while subjugating a good many eastern regions as the Kushans in Bactria wane. If not then, it certainly happens not much later. Much of Sogdiana is occupied for a time (Marakanda, the capital, for instance), while part is occupied for a longer period (Bukhara especially).

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) (click or tap on image to view full sized)

In the fourth century AD, things are changing in Sogdiana. A large network exists of merchants from the cities who are trading with the Tarim Basin (home of the Tocharians) and beyond. However, the last quarter of the century sees the start of invasions of the region by the Kidarites. The style of regional coins in Sogdiana suddenly changes, with imitations of Greek types being replaced with coins of quite a different appearance. These can be linked to Bukhara right up to the seventh century.

The once shrunken and backward Sogdiana is booming again. A sudden and rapid improvement in development take place, with cities which survived the first century AD decline now growing rapidly, and new defensive lines being put up which demonstrate the gaining of significant new territories. A Kidarite influx of 441-457 appears to interrupt trade and communications with China, but an early sixth century take-over by the Hephthalites appears to return things to normal.

In 552 the Western Göktürks expand their dominions towards Chorasmia and the early principalities of Sogdiana, right up against the borders of Persia's eastern territories. They set up a viceroy in Tokharistan to manage the region. In 565 the Hephthalites are defeated by an alliance of Göktürks and Sassanids at a great battle near Bukhara. A level of Indo-Sassanid authority is re-established in the region for the next century.

By the late 400s the eastern sections of the Sassanid empire had been overrun and to an extent occupied by the Hephthalites (Xionites) after they had killed Shah Peroz (click or tap on map to view full sized)

The Western Göktürks come into conflict with their former allies, the Sassanids, between 581-590. Much of Tokharistan remains a Göktürk dependency until the end of the century. By inference, Sogdiana to the north of Tokharistan (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.

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 (click or tap on map to view full sized)

600s - 682

The earliest ruler of Maimurgh to enter the historical record is someone by the name of Pyčwtt. This poorly-recorded individual may even be two separate individuals who bear the same name - possibly as father and son or grandson. A ruler named Bil'ge in Penjikent in the late 600s may be the son of the second Pyčwtt, although this seems far from certain.

fl c.600s

Ruler of Maimurgh.

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.

fl 658

Ruler of Maimurgh. Perhaps a separate person from above.

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 which 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.

The city of Tonggusi Baxi in the Xinhe Aksu region in what is now north-western China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region provided the capital of the 'Anxi Grand Protectorate' under the Tang dynasty

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. Despite a restoration of Turkic power at the beginning of the eighth century, the Tang hold nominal power in the region, primarily from their expanded protectorate of Anxi.

c.688

Any unity between the principalities in Sogdiana vanishes around this time, perhaps due to the act of Bukhara being seized by the ruler of its chief rival in the region, the city state of Varakhsha, or perhaps prompting that very act. Alliances form and are abandoned, and inter-dynastic marriages are obtained. The picture is one of small states vying openly for superiority.

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 which delivers him and Islam a wave of submissive acknowledgements. Ferghana is also subjugated by 715.

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

722

The defeat of Dewashtich of Penjikent 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.

fl 730s

Ruler of Maimurgh.

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.

Me-chu'o is recorded as being ruler of Maimurgh in this period, pinpointing him at the death of Ḡūrak 737/738, although nothing more seems to be known about him or his city.