The Sogdians: Unsung Architects of the Silk Road

While the Silk Road is often associated with Chinese and Roman traders, it was the Sogdians—a people from central Asia's Zerafshan Valley—who did the heavy lifting. Lucas and Luna explore how these merchants, diplomats, and translators created an information network from Byzantium to Chang'an. Learn about their language as the lingua franca of trade, their role in spreading Buddhism and Manichaeism into China, and the devastating impact of the Arab conquest. Discover figures like An Jia, a Sogdian who became a Chinese official, and the ancient letters found in a watchtower that reveal their daily lives. This episode uncovers the unsung middlemen who made the Silk Road work. #Sogdians #SilkRoad #CentralAsia #AnJia #Samarkand #Zerafshan #Manichaeism #Buddhism #TangDynasty #SasanianEmpire #SogdianLetters #SogdianLanguage #History #FexingoHistory #TradeRoutes #AncientHistory #Karakorum #Mercantilism #HanDynasty #RomanEmpire Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo