The Sogdians: Buddhism's Silk Road Merchants

In this episode of Religion and Empire: How Faith Built Nations, Lucas and Luna explore the remarkable role of the Sogdians — the merchant people of Central Asia who became Buddhism's greatest transmitters. From their homeland in Sogdiana, around Samarkand and Bukhara, these traders carried not only silk and spices but also Buddhist scriptures, art, and ideas along the Silk Road. We delve into how the Sogdians translated Sanskrit texts into their own language, Sogdian, and how they established thriving Buddhist communities in Turfan, Dunhuang, and even Chang'an. The episode highlights the Sogdian merchant Nanai-vandak and his funding of cave temples at the Mogao Caves, the fusion of Zoroastrian and Buddhist motifs in Sogdian art, and the eventual eclipse of Sogdian Buddhism by Islam after the Arab conquest. We also touch on the Sogdian alphabet's legacy — it gave rise to the Uyghur and Mongolian scripts. A rich, specific look at how faith moves along trade routes. #Sogdians #Buddhism #SilkRoad #Sogdiana #Samarkand #Bukhara #NanaiVandak #MogaoCaves #Dunhuang #Turfan #SogdianLanguage #CentralAsia #History #FexingoHistory #AncientReligion #TradeAndFaith #UyghurScript #MongolianScript Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo