Who Were the Sogdians

Here is a hyperdoc about the Sogdians who played a critical role in the trade of goods and ideas on the Silk Road.  It's based on an excellent online exhibit about the Sogdians from the National Museum of Asian Art.

The exhibit has four chapters: the Sogdians at Home: Believers, Proselytizers & Translators; the Sogdians Abroad; and the Rediscovery of the Sogdians.

The Sogdians were an Iranian people whose homeland, Sogdiana, was between present-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, right on the Silk Road. They rose to prominence between the 4th and 5th centuries, capitalizing on their location. 

They developed a merchant society and made money on the trade between China and other parts of Asia. According to Judith Lerner  and Thomas Wide, writing for the National Museum of Asian Art, "mobile, multilingual, and highly skilled, the Sogdians were able to connect disparate regions, transfer goods and ideas across long distances, and oil the wheels of global trade and exchange."