Sogdians: Religion and Trade in Central Asia 450 950 CE

Francesca Monteith: 223102

Independent study project in the study of religions

Course code: 157400023

INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 Abstract
This essay focuses on the spread and development of trade and religion within the Sogdian homeland and the diaspora.1 It provides a summary of the religions in Central Asia and China during the second half of the first millennium CE. This essay argues the symbiotic relationship between religion and trade. Although the focus is on the religions and trade of the Sogdian Diaspora, the geopolitical context of Sogdiana in Asia is also addressed.

Geopolitical Context
The varied nature of the climate and typography that a traveller must face in order to traverse the Asian continent continues to prove a challenge even in the modern age of cars, radios and GPS. It seems incredible that in times gone by, people would choose to travel within this region, given its high mountains split only with treacherous passes, arid deserts with no guarantee that the next well would contain water suitable for human consumption, or that they could survive the extreme weather conditions which could kill instantly, if the tales told to Chinese travellers by merchants are to be believed. In spite of these obstacles, there is evidence of contact between East and West Asia before the Common Era. The transcontinental trade served to connect three great centres of civilisation, with traders carrying goods from the Chinese and Persian empires as well as trading with the Indian Kingdoms. The Sogdians were preceded in their mercantile control of the Silk Road by merchants from the Kushan Empire which controlled the region between 60 and 229 CE. The Kushan, who were part of the Yuezhi, who were originally settled to the West of China in the Gansu Corridor and maintained diplomatic relations with both China and the Xiognu (who were the barbarians the Great Wall of China was built keep out). The Xiongnu expelled the Yuezhi from the Gansu Corridor in 173 BCE. After which they established themselves in the Hexi Corridor in 160 BCE from whence they were driven south by Wu-sun in 158 BCE. The Yuezhi settled Central Asia in the southern reaches of the

It should be noted that the term diaspora when employed in this essay should be taken to refer to people of the ascribed nationality who are resident outside of their country of origin.

INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 Amu Darya. From this location they spread south into North Western India and west into Scythian
territory. Once established the Kushan Empire spanned a vast area. It included present day Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as most of north-western India. As a result the Kushan Empire was able to control trade between India, China, Parthia and the Roman Empire. The regime provided peace and stability within the region and under Kushan husbandry the trade routes were maintained and kept free of banditry and thus trade flourished in the region. As a state within Kushan suzerainty, although not directly controlled by them, Sogdiana would have benefited from the prosperity of its neighbour. The first references Sogdian merchants in China are dated to the first century CE. However since there in no way to be certain that the term used refers to the Sogdians as opposed the Kushanas this date is not secure.2

Sources
Study of the Sogdians is frequently frustrated by the fragmentary nature of the sources available to modern scholarship. Aside from the murals and ossaries excavated in Panjikent and Afrosaib one , must rely upon secondary and allegorical sources in order to build a more comple picture of the te Sogdians. The lack of data is caused in part by the acidic nature of the soil in the region. This fertile loess has served to remove most of the areas archaeological information. The Mount Mugh documents are the only documents in Sogdian relating to the group that have been found in Sogdiana. By contrast the desert locations from which most of the primary sources were recovered provided an almost perfect environ for the preservation of manuscripts being as they were of low humidity. There are also four key sources located outside Sogdiana which provide useful information as regards the Sogdian Diaspora. These are the Ancient Letters, the manuscripts in Sogdian excavated at Dunhuang, the information learned from excavations in Turfan and the commentary on the presence of the Sogdians in China provided by Chinese scholars of the time. The Mount Mugh documents were found in a castle in Mount Mugh in 1933. Mount Mugh is located forty miles east of Panjikent on the Zerafshan River. The documents are the archive of the last
2

De la Vaissiere Sogdian Traders : A History (2005) p. 24

INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 indigenous ruler of Panjikent, Dewastic, who took shelter in the castle in the face of the Arab invasion
of the region. These documents allow extensive historical insight into the function and development of Sogdian society.3 The Ancient Letters were excavated by Stein in 1907. They were found in a Han Era watch tower situated to the west of the Jade Gate some fifty six miles west of Dunhuang and three hundred and forty two miles east of Loulan. It is assumed that they were confiscated by the Chinese garrison posted at the watch tower.4 There are five letters which have remained intact, normally labelled one to five. The first and third letters were sent by a lady who had been abandoned by her husband in Dunhuang and was relying on the charity of a priest to survive. The second letter which is a report on the Sogdian diaspora in China enables us to date the letters since it mentions the predations of the Huns within China and their destruction of the capital Luoyang which allows for a postquem dating of 311 CE. Sims-Williams dates the letters to 313-4 CE. They are important in that they allow a glimpse of both the social construction of the expatriate communities (letters one and three) as well as providing information on the commercial activities of the merchants (letters two and five). The caves at Dunhuang were also found during Steins 1907 expedition. Although these caves are undoubtedly important for their art work, the real treasure of Dunhuang was the library found in cave 17. These manuscripts provide an important insight into the cultural background of the people who chose to worship and donate at the site. Most of the documents are in Chinese with Khotanese, Sogdian and Sanskrit forming the secondary majorities. The documents in the cave are both secular and religious. It has been theorised that the cave was sealed in the ninth century; a theory backed by the absence of Tangut documents within the collection. The excavations at Turfan covered fragmentary remains of contracts and tax records which had been used as waste paper in order to create grave goods of the Han elite in the region. These finds have provided two sources of information on the Sogdians. The first are tax records, the second

3 4

Azarpay, G Sogdian Paintings (1981) p. 2 Waugh, DThe Sogdian Ancient Letters http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/sogdlet.html (accessed: 27/04/2010)

INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 commercial contracts. Through statistical analysis of these documents scholars have been able to draw
conclusions on the nature and social structure of the Sogdian community in Turfan. These records are dated from the fifth century CE. The commercial contracts are mostly in Chinese, although there is a seventh century slave contract which is written in Sogdian. In addition to the fruits of excavations carried out in Central Asia over the last hundred years, there is a further source of information as regards the activities of the Sogdians. The traditional Chinese histories contain many anecdotal references to the co mmercial acumen of the Sogdian traders. Additionally the accounts of Chinese Buddhist pilgrims contain information as regards the
5 nature of the Sogdians, both at home and abroad. As previously mentioned Rongs recent publication

on the Sogdians contains a thorough survey of their appearance within contemporary Chinese texts, which will hopefully soon be available in a western language. It is possible to identify Sogdians within Chinese writings since it was standard practice when transliterating a foreigners name into Chinese to use the native country as the surname.6 There are seven Surnames known to have been used by Sogdians in China. Each of which denotes the city state from which the person came. Thus the surname Kang indicates that the person, or their predecessors, hailed from Samarkand. However caution is required since only the surname Mi used to indicate persons from Maimargh is the only so-called Sogdian surname which was not also used by Han Chinese.7

Sogdian Society
There are few sources which can tell scholars much about the social order of ancient Central Asia. However, the ancient letters and the Mount Mugh documents do provide valuable information from which we can sketch a brief outline. Sogdian society appears to have functioned on three levels. The first was the urban population which included the aristocracy and craftsmen; the second was the
Rong Xinjiang Zhonggu Zhongguo yu wailai wenming [Middle Period China and Outside Cultures] (2001) De la Vaissiere Sogdian Traders : A History (2005) p. 120 7 Skaff, J The Sogdian Trade Diaspora in East Turkestan during the Seventh and Eighth Centuries Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient Vol.46, No. 4 (2003) p. 478 following Ikeda, O Ba shiji zhongye Dunhuang de Stueren juluo [A Sogdian colony at Dunhuang in the mid-eighth century] Riben xuezhe yanjiu Zhongguo Shi Lunzhu xuan yi: di Juan, minzu jiaotong (1993) p. 155
6 5

INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 sedentary agrarian population with Sogdiana and the third was the mobile and outward looking
mercantile class who are thought to have been responsible for Sogdianas prosperity. Although scholars on the subject have compared the Sogdian state to the Greek city states or accredited it with a feudal system, often within the same publication, the nature of Sogdian society is not so easily defined. For example the so-called Sogdian aristocracy which mainly resided in the cities, does not appear to have been highly organised or even distinctly hierarchical with the same title being employed to describe both the heads of villages and the rulers of whole districts. This lack of distinctive titles within the Sogdian system indicates the absence of the feudal system which was prevalent in Europe at the time. Examination of the leadership within Sogdiana shows also that there was little to no hereditary succession in the Sogdian leadership system. Indeed, there is evidence that two of the leaders of Samarkand were put in office by the people of the city. The Sogdian state appears to have been characterised by a highly developed economy and culture complemented by a weak and dispersed state system.8 The excavations carried out at Panjikent have uncovered a large number of shops and craftsmens workshops along the main streets and in specialised bazaars. It seems that they were built as part of the homes to which they were attached and subsequently let out to craftsmen and merchants who lacked the necessary wealth to build their own premises. This hypothesis is supported by lease terms found in Sogdian written sources.9 Of the agrarian population of Sogdiana we have little evidence save their depiction in the murals discovered at Panjikent and the remains of ancient irrigation systems some of which are still in use to this day. The rural population was required to make payments to the owners of the land they

Azarpay, G Sogdian Paintings (1981) p. 20-26 Ibid. p. 22 on Raspopova Odin iz bazarov Pendzhikenta VII-VII vv., Strany i narody Vostoka X (1971) p. 7274
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INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 worked. Where the domiciles within the cities have been found to be richly decorated and the
woodwork ornamented with carving their rural equivalents are more soberly attired.10 The mercantile class of Sogdiana has left more evidence of their activities. Thus there are more sources from which scholars can extrapolate their understanding of the Sogdian Diaspora and its merchants. As a primary source there are the ancient letters which serve to provide scholars with an understanding of the construction of the diaspora as well as the goods they were carrying. Secondary sources include the writings of Chinese historians whose works provide allegorical references to the traders and the documents uncovered in the tombs of Turfan. The latter of these sources include tax records which, when subjected to statistical analysis, can provide an interesting picture off the nature of the Sogdian community in the regions for which we have available data. One such study has been carried out by Skaff. His investigation into the nature of the Sogdian Trade Diaspora during the seventh and eighth centuries is based on the documents excavated at Turfan. Although he has succeed in providing an in depth analysis of the documents in question, there are some issues with his approach. The first of these is the assumption that all persons with the characteristic Sogdian surnames were in fact Sogdian and that those with names not immediately recognisable as Sogdian have been labelled as non-Han. This poses a problem since it serves to over simplify the ethnic composition of the population. The second issue is the numbers of families involved in this analysis. The size of the sample is too small for any slight anomalies not to skew the resulting calculations and thus present the interesting statistical evidence here presented. Skaffs analysis of documents relating the taxes of Chongua shows that the Sogdian community tended to reside in the same neighbourhood. His breakdown also indicated that the families in the Sogdian community were larger averaging 5.5 people per house hold compared to 3.8 in those families he identifies as not being Sogdian. His analysis also shows that there are more Sogdian females than males. There are an equal number of male and female babes within the Sogdian community thus Skaff assumes that the male children were returned to Sogdiana in order to learn

10

Ibid. p. 23 following Akubov Gardani-Khisor Arkheologichekie otkrytiia 1974 Goda (1974) p. 546

INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 trade at the hands of their elders. The Sogdian households are also noted as being supplied with less
land per family member that their Han neighbours. In spite of this they appear to have been more affluent. Skaff suggests that this was probably because they were supported by mercantile relatives. This would suggest that the trade networks the Sogdians formed were based around the locations of a Sogdian clan as opposed to a centralised Sogdian authority in Samarkand. This theory is in part backed by the Sogdian ancient letters. It is of note that four out of five of these missives were unaddressed. This would serve to indicate that the person charged with their delivery was known to or knew the recipients. Indeed it is likely that the messenger was well known to all parties which supports the clan hypothesis.11 It seems likely that, although authors of the letters were from a variety of locations in the Gansu corridor, the recipients for the four unaddressed missives were situated in Kroriana.12 The letter for Samarkand appears to have been addressed in a manner which required an intermediary in Loulan to transmit the letter to Samarkand. This indicates that the merchant charged with the delivery of the messages did not plan to travel all the way to Samarkand. This backs up the theory that most of the merchants tended to work short sections of the route, with only a few choosing to travel the whole length on a regular basis. Ancient letters one and three both provide insight into the social nature of the Sogdian Diaspora as well as the position of women within Sogdian society. They are both written by a woman called Miwnay. Letter three contains a postscript attached to the letter by her daughter, Shayn. The postscript is written in a different hand to that of the main body of the text. This either serves to indicate that the postscript was added by a different scribe or that there was a degree of female literacy within Sogdian society.13 The letters indicate that the writer has been left in Dunhuang by her husband and is unable to travel to a more secure location without the company of a member of either her husbands or her own family. This indicates that the woman had little independence. She was also

11 12

Ibid. p. 46-7 Whitfield, S & Simms Williams, U The Silk Road: trade, travel, war and faith(2004) p. 248 13 Azarpay, G Sogdian Paintings (1981) p.56

INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 left without money and had to rely on charity from the priest before being taken into service with a
Chinese family. Letters one and five refer to a family council. In letter one Miwnay complains about a decision which has been made by a member of the family council called Farnxunt. The author of the fifth letter is also called Farnxunt and thus could have been the man to whom Miwnay way referring. However the name Farnxunt was a very popular Sogdian name and thus it may not have been.14 The second ancient letter provides the backbone of the centralised trading network hypothesis. The letter refers to the various states of the regions in China; the report covers several years worth of news. It is addressed to a person of authority. The letter was probably a response to a previous enquiry from the intended recipient Varzakk enquiring whether trade with China was still viable.15 The recipient could also be head of the writers clan and thus the letter was reporting on how the different branches of the family were faring at the time. Such familial connections would provide accommodation, contacts and linguistic knowledge which would allow the merchant to trade with greater ease. Letters two, three and five make reference the money systems employed by the Sogdian merchants. It seems that the writer had left his fortune in Samarkand and fearing that he would not be returning there due to the troubles in China at the time laid out provisions for its dispersal. He mentions that the recipient should take one or two thousand staters from his deposit should he require the money. Letters three and five are concerned with smaller quantities. In letter three the daughter states in her postscript she declares that her father should not lack the twenty staters to send. Letter five is mentions the weighing of the silver which proved to light to repay a loan.16 There are many reports of Sogdians involved in money lending in both in China and along the Silk Road. By law they were not permitted to lend money to indigenous Chinese when in China, but it seems likely that they did so anyway.17

De la Vaissiere Sogdian Traders : A History (2005) p. 55 Ibid. p. 49 16 Waugh, D The Sogdian Ancient Letters http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/sogdlet.html (accessed: 27/04/2010) 17 Inferred in Whitfield, S Life Along the Silk Road (1999) p. 50-3
15

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INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 Thus staters were units of value made of silver carried by merchants and used to assure
purchase of goods and currency in the different countries through which the merchants were trading . On arrival in China for instance some of these staters would be converted into bales of silk which were a secondary currency in China at the time. There is a notable disparity in the number of staters mentioned in the second letter when compared to the third and fifth. This could be due to the fact that the writer of letter two is dividing his entire holdings or that the he is far wealthier and involved in better trade than the writer of letter five. This is evidenced by the report of thirty two vesicles of musk which would have been worth four to five times its weight in gold once purified.18 The nature of the Sogdian trade networks is still a matter which provokes intense scholastic debate. Some scholars are of the opinion that all trade on the silk route was co -ordinated and controlled by central authorities in Samarkand. Other scholars have hypothesised that the trade networks were formed of several merchants plying the routes. Although they may have formed caravans together they were not a single centrally controlled enterprise. In addition to this it seems unlikely that many of the merchants plying the trade routes would have travelled its entire length. It seems more likely that trade was carried out both in short and long haul terms with some merchants preferring the stability and reliability of short haul trade and others preferring the greater profits which could be expected from the transportation of rare and valuable goods over great distances.19 If the trade networks were based along the lines of many individual merchants conducting their own enterprises then the development of the Sogdian Diaspora would have been vital to the Sogdians ability to trade as during the Sogdian domination of the trade routes there were Sogdian communities in every market town along the Silk Route.20 The Sogdians within these communities would have served as translators and contacts for the travelling merchants and in the case of China there was an official post created to deal with the affairs of Persian merchants. This official was called sabao. The title of sabao appears to have evolved from the Sogdian term sartapao, itself a Sogdian

18
19

De la Vaissiere Sogdian Traders : A History (2005) p.53 Ibid. p. 165 20 Whitfield, S The Silk Road : Trade, Travel, War and Faith (2004) p. 14

INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 transcription of the Indian srthavha, chief-caravaneer.21 It is interesting to note however that
although the Chinese meaning of the word came to be that of a similar status to the mandarins within the Sogdian understanding of the word it seems that the term still retained its original meaning of the person who is in charge of the caravans. Although the routes which connected east and west are commonly referred to as the Silk Road or Route, silk was not the only produce traded along the trade routes. There were a multitude of goods traded, such as musk from Nepal, precious stones and jewels from India, scents from Arabia and furs from the Steppes. Trade on the Silk Road provided an ideal artery for the passage of religion between Central Asia and China. In many cases this expansion was supported by local governments and states who wished to extend their trading links. Thus trade and religion formed a symbiotic relationship during this era.

Sogdian Trade
From 450 to 950 CE the trade on the Silk Roads spanning Asia was dominated by Sogdian merchants. The Sogdians were an Iranian people whose historical identity can be traced for fifteen hundred years from the sixth century BCE to the tenth century CE. The earliest references to the Sogdians are Acaemenid. These are few in number and do not relate to trade. They date to the sixth to fourth centuries BCE. Sogdiana was conquered by Cyrus in 640 BCE. Although the Acaemenid Empire appears to have introduced writing and coinage to Sogdiana, the land conquered by Cyrus already had urban populations. Excavations executed at Afrosaib and Kok Tepe indicate that the Sogdians were well developed by the eighth and seventh centuries BCE.22 One Acaemenid source which refers to the State of Sogdiana is the Charters of Susa, which describe the construction of a palace for Darius I (550-486) at Susa, contain a reference to the tribute presented by the Sogdians. The Charters indicate that:

21 De la Vaissiere Sogdians in China: A short history and some new discoveries The Silk Road Foundation Newletter (2003) Vol. 1 no. 2 22 De la Vaissiere Sogdian Traders : A History (2005) p. 17

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INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 The rare stones which (were) of lapis lazuli and also of carnelian, which
were worked here were brought from Sogdiana.23 This is of interest as, although lapis lazuli is known to have been mined in south eastern Sogdiana during antiquity, carnelian was only mined in Gujarat. Thus if it was indeed carnelian which the Sogdians gave as a tribute then this would indicate that they were already involved in long distance trade by the fifth century BCE. However it seems unlikely that Sogdians would chose to send as a tribute a material which would first have to be brought through several Achaemenid provinces before being sent to Susa. It is perhaps more likely that either the word carnelian has been mistranslated or that the incorrect word was written by the scribe of the original source. Although there is evidence of the Sogdian trade in Gujarat in the third and fourth centuries there is no other evidence that the Sogdians were involved in mercantile operations in India at this time. Although there are Greek sources which mention the Sogdians they are not particularly useful to their study since Sogdians their focus concerns the conquests of Alexander. These sources date from the fourth and third centuries BCE. Thus the only true value of these sources is to indicate that the Sogdians were resident in Sogdiana during the time of Alexanders campaigns. The first certain reference we have to Sogdian participation in long distance trade is the Ancient letters, excavated by Aurel Stein in 1907. These documents provide an insight into the social and economic status of the Sogdians in China. The origins of Sogdian trade on the Silk Roads are currently beyond our ken due to the lacunae existent within this field of study. Linguistic analysis of the Sogdian terms used to refer to China, the Chinese and their cities allows scholars to garner an understanding of the era in which these two cultures interacted. Sogdians did not have contact with China until the Qin Dynasty which ruled from 221-206 BCE.24 The Silk Roads were dominated by the Kushan Empire from 60 BCE until 225 CE. The decline of the Kushan Empire during the second century CE reduced its range as a trading nation and this would have caused a vacuum in

23 24

Ibid. p. 18 Ibid. p. 23-5

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INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 transcontinental trade. Thus the Sogdians are likely to have started long distance commercial
enterprises during this time. The Sogdian homeland, Sogdiana, lies to the north of Ancient Bactria in the fertile valleys of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya.25 This means it straddled the border of the current day states of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Despite the existence of city states and established urban populations half of Sogdianas wealth was accrued via agrarian means. Most of the agricultural production took place in the regions river valleys since the rest of the land although fertile was, and still is, arid to the point of desert. The area of land which was viable for farming was extended through advanced irrigation systems. The other half of the nations wealth was based in trade, which was able to flourish due to the states location at the nexus of the Asian trade routes. Sogdiana was not a centralised state, but rather a coalition of city states that allied themselves in order to protect against the predations of the nomads to the north. Each of these city states was more or less an independent political unit. Thus, the structure of Sogdiana was closer to that of the Greek civilisation than that of the Roman Empire. Although Sogdiana retained its independence until the arrival of the Islamic Empire the state was subject to subjugation at the hands of neighbouring empires throughout history. Sogdianas great historical importance was undoubtedly in its dominance of the trade on the Silk routes rather than hegemony. This dominance in trade was reliant on the expatriate Sogdian communities in the market towns along the Silk Road. Although this diaspora was of critical importance to Sogdianas involvement in transcontinental trade, it is uncertain how these communities originally came to exist. De la Vaissiere posited that the fallout from Alexanders campaigns in Central Asia led to a Sogdian emigration as far east as China. These settlers provided an ideal network of contacts and translators to aid the transactions of the merchants travelling from the west. This hypothesis, although plausible and of some interest, is not supported by any currently available sources.26 Additionally although

The Jaxartes and the Oxus De la Vaissiere Sogdians in China: A short history and some new discoveries The Silk Road Foundation Newletter (2003) Vol. 1 no. 2
26

25

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INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 Alexanders campaigns would have caused some upheaval within the population of Sogdiana those ,
refugees need only have move into the neighbouring states of Cach and Ferghana, which would have placed them beyond the reach of Alexanders armies. Despite their dominance of the Silk Roads and their apparent contribution to the Sogdian economy, the social importance of merchants within Sogdiana itself appears to have been marginal. Of the four social classes within Sogdiana, the mercantile class was the second, ranking below the aristocracy and above the workers and slaves. The murals found during excavations at Panjikent and Afrosaib contain no references to trade, with the closest depiction being that of a tributary caravan in which some of the figures have been interpreted as merchants. The main themes depicted in these murals are those of hunting and fighting. Historical sources indicate that the Sogdian aristocracy was particularly warlike and bellicose; however the limit of their authority seems to have been within Sogdiana, possibly due to the lack of unified and strong leadership. Further investigation into the nature of Sogdian society will occur later in the essay. This period of trade and travel also saw the Silk Route facilitating the development and extension of cultural expressions such as art, literature and language. The greatest change that seems to have been effected by this strong cultural and social mobility is the spread of religion, which appears to have travelled the furthest, had the greatest impact and left the most evidence of its effects in terms of both archaeological and documentary sources. The fourth through to the tenth centuries CE saw the Asian trade routes veritably bustling with religions. Key to the study of Sogdians were the excavations carried out by European explorers such as Le Coq, Pelliot and Stein at the beginning of the twentieth century. The efforts of these adventurers brought to light many of the documents written in Sogdian which are central to our understanding of their culture and society. Several scholars have worked on the analysis of these documents. The earliest to achieve success were Pelliot, Gauthiot and Benveniste, who carried on from Gauthiots work. These scholars translated the texts into modern languages and proposed that Sogdian had been the Lingua franca of the silk roads. This idea has since been developed by scholars such as Sims-

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INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 Williams, Whitfield, De La Vaissiere and Rong. The current consensus is that not only was Sogdian
indeed said Lingua franca, but that the Sogdian merchants served as the lynchpin of trade and other activity on the Silk Road. If the consensus is correct, the potential to influence the development of nations along the Silk Route would have been considerable; one has only to consider the advantages gained from English in the current day commerce. Over the last century much has been done to further our understanding the Sogdians. Scholars initially focused on deciphering the Sogdian language and publishing translations of preserved documents. In modern times they focused on developing our historical understanding of the Sogdians. The most recent works on the group, by de la Vassiere and Rong, provide both a history of Sogdians in Sogdiana and a comprehensive survey of Chinese materials in which Sogdians are mentioned.27 Thus, little work done on the importance of the Sogdian people as far as the spread of religion and their own religions are concerned- although articles have been made in the direction of such investigation by Walter and Foltz. Most of the published texts focus on the Sogdianss historical or linguistic significance. The Sogdians were responsible for much of the cross-pollination of culture which occurred during this era, yet little to no work appears to have been done on this subject.

The Spread of Religion on the Silk Route

Religions which flourished along the Silk Route during this period include but are not limited to Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Nestorian Christianity, Manichaeism, Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism.28 These religions fall into two categories: those which were practiced by people who were indigenous or settled along the silk route and those which were brought to the region by people wishing to proselytise to the local populace. The pattern of their adherence and spread between these two groups differ. Those of the first category include Confucianism, Daoism, Zoroastrianism and Judaism, with Nestorian Christianity, Manichaeism and Buddhism fulfilling the second category. Buddhism was the religion of the Silk Roads and gained many adherents within the Sogdian diaspora.
27 Hansen, V New work on the Sogdians, the most important traders on the Silk Road, A.D. 500 -1000 Toung Pao (2003) p. 150 28 Grotenhuis, E Introduction: The Silk Road, Ancient and Contemporary Along the Silk Road (2001) p. 21

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INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 The other religions played a minor role, however Manichaeism gained many Sogdian converts As .
the Sogdians were the lynchpin of activity on the Silk Route and the consensus is their language was the lingua franca, it is very likely that Sogdians contributed significantly to the spread of Buddhism and Manichaeism over much of Central Asia. Before the arrival of proselytising religions on the world historical stage it was accepted that people from another region would have a different faith. Thus each religion was attached to a particular region and in short as a cultural expression of that region. Adopting a religion from a different region to ones own would be akin to claiming to originate from that region. This would be seen as unusual even peculiar behaviour.29Thus the religions which fall under the first category were established during these ancient times. Confucianism and Daoism are both Chinese Religions. They form two of the three religions which are considered to be the national religions of China. The third of these is Buddhism which will discussed further a later point. Daoism and Confucianism are both native to China and they originated in the fifth and sixth centuries BCE respectively. Throughout history they have served to provide the Chinese people two almost polar opposite doctrines with Confucianism providing an authority on the ways in which a Chinese citizen must behave in order to ensure that society functions and Daoism presenting an occasionally anarchistic view of life. Each of these religions grew from the teaching of a great sage, Confucianism from Confucius and Daoism from Laozi. They grew from philosophical doctrines into religions through the adoption of popular religious beliefs and gods. The presence of these religions on the Silk Road was concentrated at the Eastern end. These religions were practiced by the government officials and soldiers who were placed in the region by the Chinese Empire whose control extended as far as Turfan during the heydays of the Tang Dynasty. There is little to no evidence of Chinese merchants on the Silk Roads, although the embassies which were sent by the Chinese into the west often formed a similar function. The most common Chinese travellers on the Silk Roads were Buddhist monks who sought to visit India with the intention of

29

Foltz Religions of the Silk Road (1999) p. 35

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INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 returning to China with more of the original canon. The most famous of these monks are the
previously mentioned Faxian who travelled in the fourth century and Xuanzang whose exploits occurred in the seventh. Zoroastrianism is a religion centres around the worship of fire and the rejection of devas. Its founder, Zoroaster is thought to have lived in the twelfth century BCE amongst the ancient Iranian tribes. They were settled pastoralists who resided on the Inner Asian Steppes.30 Zoroastrianism rose to become the state religion of the Persian Empire, although it seems to have been present throughout the Iranian peoples albeit with local dialects of the religion. In particular the Sogdian practice of Zoroastrianism appears to have preserved several features which the magi of the Persian Empire did not approve, such as the continued worship of Devs31 and the practice of mourning the dead with lavish feasts and ceremony. Thus although the Sogdians has absorbed the religion of its Persian neighbour they adapted it to fit with their pre existing beliefs and culture Judaism has its roots in the Fertile Crescent. The presence of Judaism was due to the destruction of the second temple which led to the dispersion of the Jewish community with many of them travelling east into Persia and on into Central Asia. There is evidence of Jewish traders also operating on the Silk Route; they were one of the Sogdians main rivals in terms of trade. The Judaic Diaspora also formed a communal network in Asia. In the same manner as the Sogdians, they were linked by a common cultural background which is likely to have been the root of their success in trading on the Silk Road, as is evident commerce today.

The Nestorian Church separated from the Holy Roman See in 431 after the teachings of Nestorius the then Patriarch of Antioch were denounced as heresy at the first Council of Ephesus. Nestorius was excommunicated and exiled. This decision led to his followers being seen as heretics and thus persecuted in the Roman Empire. Many of the Antiochene School chose to take sanctuary in the then more tolerant Persian Empire. They formed small
Boyce, M The Teaching of Zoroaster A Zoroastrianism Tapestry : Art, Religion & Culture (2002) p. 19 Devs or Deva are also present within Hindu mythology however although in Hinduism they are considered to be worthy of worship within mainstream Zoroastrianism they are considered to be malign influences.
31 30

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INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102

communities in the market towns of the trade routes and proceeded to proselytise to the indigenous community. 32 Sogdian translations of miaphysite Christian canon were found amongst the documents uncovered at both Turfan and Dunhuang. This indicates that there was some conversion to Christianity within the Sogdian diaspora. Manichaeism followed the prophet Mani (216-276). His teachings involved an elaborate cosmology in which the forces of light which was representative of good and spirituality were being removed from the world by the dark, which is representative of evil and materialism. As successive generations occur the light contained within each person decreases until the matter all but overcomes the light. Thus in order to prevent the loss of the light Mani taught that his adherents should not procreate or kill any living thing.33 Despite the severity of Manis teachings he is held to have converted the Persian King Shahpur I to Manichaeism. He was later persecuted by Shahpurs successor Vahram I who had Mani arrested under the influence of the Magi of the Zoroastrian clergy.34In many ways much of the story of Mani is after the events of the New Testament. Early accounts of the death of Mani indicated that he had been crucified on the orders of a leader whose judgement was influenced by the leaders of the religion he had tried to change.35 The death of Mani did not seem to affect the growth of his religion despite the persecution which appears to have followed his death. The Manicheans took refuge in Sogdiana and soon formed a large community therein.36 Manichaeism was extremely adaptable presenting itself as a sect of Buddhism at one end of the Silk Route and a variation on the teachings of Christianity at the other end.37 Through these means, it came to be almost as wide spread as Buddhism in the

Hastings A World History of Christianity (1999) p. 67 Whitfield, S Life Along the Silk Road (1999) p. 19 34 Klimkeit, H Gnosis on the Silk Road (1993) p. 3 35 Ibid. p. 214 36 Whitfield, S Life Along the Silk Road (1999) p. 19 37 Foltz Religions of the Silk Road (1999) p. 78
33

32

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INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102

heydays of the third through to seventh centuries.38 Recent examination of the cave temples at Turfan have found that seventy of the caves there were dedicated to Manichean deities. This constitutes a third of all the caves which have been discovered at Turfan thus far.39 However by the fourteenth century Manichaeism was all but extinct within Asia on account of the lack of powerful support following the fall of the Uigher Empire and persecution by the Qajar Khanate. Buddhism was the most extensively practiced religion on the Silk Road with evidence of Buddhist influence stretching as far west as Merv and as far east as Korea and Japan . Buddhism as it exists in China, Japan and Korea today was as much created by the Silk Road as it was carried by it. Although Buddhism originated in India it is wrong to label it as an Indian religion and thus dismiss completely the contributions made by other Asian cultures to its development. As Buddhism spread it adapted or was adapted to the cultures with which it came into contact. Buddhism is akin to a snowball which when rolled along the ground collects the snow and detritus it passes over, in much the same manner Buddhism grew as it expanded out of India and east to China. Thus Buddhism appears in many different forms, a variety which can be observed both in a geographical and chronological manner.40 Buddhism is based on the teachings of the Buddha. Modern scholastic consensus places the dates of his lifetime between 480 and 380 CE. This places the death of the Buddha two hundred years before the reign of the Emperor Asoka (274-236) of the Maurya Dynasty, this in keeping with the Indian tradition that the Buddha died a hundred years before his reign. Asoka ruled the Magdan Empire which controlled all of India apart from the far

Skaff, J The Sogdian Trade Diaspora in East Turkestan during the Seventh and Eighth Centuries Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient Vol.46, No. 4 (2003) p. 47 39 Liu, Xinru Silk and religion : an exploration of material life and the thought of people, A.D. 600-1200 (1996) p. 182 40 Faure, B Unmasking Buddhism (2009) p. 18, 20

38

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INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102

south.41 The reign of Asoka is the first fixed date within Buddhism and all other dates are extrapolated based on the dates of his reign.42 The Buddha discovered fourth noble truths. These are that life is suffering (1), suffering is caused by craving (2), suffering can have an end (3) and there is a path which leads to the end of suffering (4).43 Suffering is caused by three evils were violence, self and death which can be counteracted through moral restraint, secluded meditation and philosophical reflection. The Buddha did not create any definite doctrines or creed. Indeed he advised his followers that they should seek to question his wisdom and thus work out their own salvation with diligence.44 He also did not assign a leader to replace him once he passed on. Thus the fledgling religion was devoid of a central figure to provide authority and ensure the unity of the sangha. After the Buddhas death Buddhism split into many sects. The traditional figure is eighteen but history has carried down to us at least thirty named sects. It is of interest however that unlike Christianity the manifold sects within Buddhism lived in harmony with their actions proceeding no further than the religious debates for which there was already precedent within the Indian philosophic community. Declarations of anathema and heresy fall far outside the realm of Buddhist religious practice.45 Each of these sects probably had its own canon and organisation. Unfortunately most of this scripture has not survived to the present day. This is either because they were not written down or the materials on which they were written have been destroyed over time. Only those items which were brought out of India in the hands of missionaries and pilgrims

Harvey, P An Introduction to Buddhism (1990) p. 75 Conze, E Buddhism: An Introduction (2000) p. 8 43 Keown, D Buddhism: A very short introduction (1996) p. 4 44 Prebish, C Buddhist Councils and Divisions in the Order Buddhism: A modern perspective (1975) p. 21 45 Conze, E Buddhism: An Introduction (2000) p. 8,26
42

41

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INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102

before 1200 CE have come down to us. This provides scholars with a selection of scripture which survived by chance and may not even be representative of the beliefs which existed at the time.46 Buddhism was contained within the Indian sub-continent until the beginning of the Common Era. Its expansion in was aided by two factors, the first being an evolution with Buddhism, the second the rise of the Kushan Empire. The Mahayana or great vehicle school of Buddhism started to develop at the beginning of the Common Era. The exact dates are still a matter of scholastic debate with some scholars arguing that it grew from the Masamghika School at the turn of the millennium and others citing the origins to be amongst sarvastivadin communities in north western India during the second and third centuries.47 Although Hinayana school partook of missionary activity they were less successful than their Mahayana rivals. The Mahayanan success lay in the study medicine by sections of the sangha; a practice which was frowned upon by Hinayana monks. Another difference between the two schools was the position of Bodhisattvas within the Buddhist cosmology. In the Mahayana school the Bodhisattvas were looked upon as compassionate protectors who could aid in the passage to Nirvana. The Mahayana school also expanded upon the lives of the Buddhas, teaching that there was a succession of Buddhas who had received enlightenment before Sakyamuni (the historical Buddha). Each of these Buddhas, including Sakyamuni was presented alongside an account of their previous lives. 48 This era also saw a movement away from commemorative stupa worship towards ritualistic worship of aniconic images. It was not until the development of the Kushan Empire
Ibid. p. 9 Gomez, L Buddhism: Buddhism in India Encyclopaedia of Religion (2005) p. 1113 48 Ibid. p. 1111
47 46

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that Buddha images appeared in Buddhist Art. The tradition of depicting the Buddha in human form, as opposed to his footprints or a chakra, appears to have originated in Gandhara or Muthra in the first Century CE. This move towards iconic representation appears to have been a reaction to interaction with Greco-Roman culture. The earliest Buddhist statues are based on gods of the Greek and Roman pantheons.49 Buddhism was contained within the Indian sub-continent until the beginning of the Common Era. The development of the Kushan Empire provided the political and economical stability and promotion required for the development and expansion of Buddhism north into Gandhara and hence across the Hindu Kush into Central Asia. As a social entity Buddhist communities require the support of the laity in order to function. This is a symbiotic relationship with the laity supporting the sangha in return for spiritual merit. During periods of stability the support of the laity waxes strong, but is likely to wane during times of suffering. Although Buddhism was wide spread amongst the leadership of Central Asia the Kushan Empire was the only state which saw a profound number of converts from within the non ruling classes. Those areas of Central Asia which were either never a part of or only briefly ruled by the Kushan Empire show few if any signs of adherence to Buddhism. Sogdiana provides a classic example of this as it was part of the Kushan Empire for long enough that it inherited some of the artistic influences which formed the last wave of Indian iconographic evolution, but not for long enough that the Buddhist religion formed any noticeable communities therein. It was in the Kushan Empire that Sogdian merchants first came into contact with Buddhism. It seems that many of the Diaspora must have converted given dichotomy

49

McArthur, M Reading Buddhist Art (2002) p. 13

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INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102

between the absence of Buddhist architecture and iconography in Sogdiana itself and the considerable number of Sogdian monks recorded in Chinese and Buddhist histories. Indeed many early scholars assumed that Sogdiana must have been a great Buddhist kingdom, in the same manner as Khotan, given the quantity of Buddhist documents in Sogdian which were excavated at Dunhuang. However there is no contemporary evidence as such. The Chinese monk Xuanzangs account indicates that there were no Buddhist monasteries in Samarkand and that prior to his arrival a couple of monks had been forced out of an empty temple in which they had attempted to meditate.50 There are many plausible explanations of the conversion of Sogdian merchants from Zoroastrianism to Nestorian Christianity, Manichaeism and Buddhism. These reasons fall into two broad categories, opportunistic and spiritual. There are several plausible motivations for the conversion of Sogdian merchants which are purely opportunistic. Conversion to religions which were widely practiced and often subject to state sponsorship was likely to have been both commercially and politically expedient. Naturally they could also have converted for religious reasons. The merchants transporting monks across long passages of the Taklimakan Desert would have been in close contact with them for extended periods of time. Thus would have had ample opportunity to listen to the religious arguments of the Monks. The distance from the Sogdian homeland was also likely to have affected the degree of religiosity the Sogdians of the diaspora felt towards Zoroastrianism. As the merchants travelled further east it is likely that they would have been proselytised to not only by monks and but also their peers and families who had settled in China and the Oasis towns on the Silk Road.

50

Wriggins, S The Silk Road Journey with Xuanzang (1996) p. 38

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INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102

Conclusion
The principal sources of information on the Sogdians are the Ancient Letters, the manuscripts in Sogdian excavated at Dunhuang, the information learned from excavations in Turfan and the contemporary commentary on the presence of the Sogdians in China . It is a testimony to the

destruction wrought by both the Arab invasion and by the elements that more evidence of such an important trading nation that existed until comparatively recently does not survive.

Sogdiana was not a unified country with a strong central government but a group of city states. Although urbanised, agriculture was the dominant industry. The existence of a diaspora throughout Asia hints at a lack of opportunity within Sogdiana; the aristocracy were pre-eminent and the opportunity to seek fortune elsewhere was evident. Although the Sogdians were not the first people to ply the trade routes they do appear to have been the first to dominate it. Their success appears to have lain in their diaspora which spread throughout Central Asia and into China. Although many of these communities are thought to have been reliant upon trade there are recorded instances of Sogdians rising through the military ranks to positions of some authority. The most famous of these is An Lushan who rose to be a general in the Chinese Army and was viceroy over three border commands.51 His rebellion in 755 CE led both to the decline of the Tang Dyansty and an increase in trade on the Silk Route.52 The Sogdians appear to have appreciated the necessity of superior education, better
training and expectations of achievement in the education of children. Xuanzang reported that the children of Sogdiana were taught how to read by the age of five. Other Chinese sources also report that the hands of young boys were covered in honey in order that they might be better traders when they were adults. Both Xuanzang and Faxian make note of the diligence paid to the accumulation of

51 52

Hookham, H A Short History of China (1969) p. 106 Whitfield, S Life Along the Silk Road (1999) p. 6-7

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INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 profit by Sogdian merchants. Their industrious nature and wealth is noted by scholars as disparate as
seventh century Armenia and third through to tenth century China 53 The importance of Sogdian as the Lingua franca of the Silk Road should not be overlooked. It is likely that it was this language which served to unite the diaspora and allow the familial connections to stay strong. An interesting parallel can be drawn between the nature of the Sogdian diaspora of the fourth through to tenth centuries and the Jewish and Chinese diasporas which exist in the twenty first century. Although there is a strong attempt made to maintain cultural identity this becomes more ritualised. There is a focus on the betterment of self within the community and a keen eye for profit. This attitude is perhaps inherent in peoples who are settled without of their country of origin.

The first millennium CE saw a period of relative political stability in Central Asia. This encouraged cultural, linguistic and religious development within Asia as well as promoting affluence from trade between China, Persia and India. However, the journey across the Tamlimakan desert became more difficult with the passing of time. At the beginning of the Common Era both the southern and northern Silk Roads were passable. However during the fifth century, a period of political instability in the region led to the southern route falling into disuse and thus the decline of the trading towns and Buddhist centres which surrounded it. This demise demonstrates the importance political stability to the preservation or destruction of viable markets. The decline of populations and religion in these areas could not be reversed by affluence in such adverse trading environments. Although it is tempting to think of religion as spreading organically with the seeds flourishing wherever they land this is rarely the case. Religions grow in strength in cultural centres where they have powerful political and financial backing of many adherents and the state leadership. It is unlikely that Buddhism would have spread through Asia as rapidly as it did, nor gained

53

De la Vassiere Sogdian Traders (2005) p. 160

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the dominance it held in China before spreading to Korea and Japan, without the trade routes and the acquiescence of nations to provide the transportation across the heart of Asia. Through their domination of the Silk Route the Sogdians were of great importance to the spread of both trade and religion in Asia. Sogdiana was not a significant religious centre, however the Sogdian diaspora seems to have been significant in the spread of Buddhism and played a lesser role in the spread of Manichaeism and Nestorian Chritianity. The role of the merchants was threefold, they transported monks across the wastelands, often converted to the religions themselves (either through coercion, opportunism or voluntarily) and they
proselytised, even if only by the translation of religious text. Thus the presence of Sogdians on

the Silk Road was vital to the spread of religion in Asia during the first millennium CE. There was not a single currency on the Silk Road and thus the Sogdians relied of staters of silver in order to transfer value across the continent. This lack of a single currency in the region was due both to the lack of political stability within the region and the strongly defined cultures which surrounded it. The currency of one empire would not be seen as acceptable tender in another. Thus it was important that the merchants carried their wealth in a form which would allow them credit where they wished to trade. As previously stated this study is not intended to be exhaustive. There is room for further study on the religious and political development of the desert kingdoms such as Loulan and Khotan. Indeed this essay serves only to present a basic outline of relig in ion Central Asia and its connections with trade. Further research could be carried out on the Kushan merchants and their position in Central Asia before the Sogdians took the trade routes from them.

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INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECT IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS : 157400023 Sogdians : Trade and Religion Francesca Monteith : 223102 Klimkeit, H Gnosis on the Silk Road (1993) HarperSanFrancisco/ San Francisco Krader, L Peoples of Central Asia (1966) Liu, Xinru Silk and religion : an exploration of material life and the thought of people, A.D. 6001200 (1996) Oxford University Press/ Oxford McArthur, M Reading Buddhist Art (2002) Thames and Hudson/London Prebish, C Buddhism: A modern perspective (1975) Pennsylvania State University/ Pennsylvania Pulleybank, E The Background of the An Lushan Rebellion (1955) Oxford University Press/London Rrye, R The heritage of Central Asian from antiquity to the Turkish expansion (1996) Markus Wiener Publishers/ Princeton Simms-Williams The Sogdian Merchants in China and India. Cina e Iran da Alessandro Magno alla Dinastia Tang (1996) Olschki/ Firenze Sinor, D Inner Asia and its contacts with Medieval Europe (1977) Variorum Reprints/London Skaff, J The Sogdian Trade Diaspora in East Turkestan during the Seventh and Eighth Centuries Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient Vol.46, No. 4 (2003) p. 475-524 Smith, S and Novak, P Buddhism: Francisco
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