Volume 04 Issue 02-2024
130
American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
(ISSN
–
2771-2141)
VOLUME
04
ISSUE
02
P
AGES
:
130-134
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2021:
5.
993
)
(2022:
6.
015
)
(2023:
7.
164
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
ABSTRACT
In the research, under this relative term in the context of the early medieval Samarkand-centered Sugdian
confederation - "Sugdian Union", the principalities of Samarkand, Panch, Maymurg, Ishti Khan, Kabudon, Kushania in
the Zarafshan river basin, and Kesh and Nakhabal principalities in the Kashkadarya river basin are included in the study.
the development history of literature is studied.
KEYWORDS
Samarkand, Panch, Maimurg, Ishti Khan, Kabudon, Kushania.
INTRODUCTION
The early medieval Samarkand-centered Sughd
confederation - under this relative term in the context
of the "Sughd Union" included the principalities of
Samarkand, Panch, Maymurg, Ishti Khan, Kabudon,
Kushania in the Zarafshan river basin, as well as the
Kesh and Nakhab principalities in the Kashkadarya river
basin. a specific political union was understood, and
these principalities within it were independent in their
internal administration. Each of them had its own
administrative center - capital, ruling dynasty, symbols
of power (coins, stamps, etc.), army. In turn, their
joining into a single political union - confederation was
based on factors such as the subordination of these
principalities to each other's leading principality (or
dynasty), the fact that the ruling dynasties go back to
a single family in terms of origin, or fulfill certain socio-
political and cultural-ideological obligations. In
particular, in Samarkand, the Zhjaovu (Jamuk) dynasty
Research Article
SOGDIIAN LITERATURE IN THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES
Submission Date:
February 17, 2024,
Accepted Date:
February 22, 2024,
Published Date:
February 27, 2024
Crossref doi:
https://doi.org/10.37547/ajsshr/Volume04Issue02-19
J. Turdialiev
Researcher Of SAMSU, Uzbekistan
Journal
Website:
https://theusajournals.
com/index.php/ajsshr
Copyright:
Original
content from this work
may be used under the
terms of the creative
commons
attributes
4.0 licence.
Volume 04 Issue 02-2024
131
American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
(ISSN
–
2771-2141)
VOLUME
04
ISSUE
02
P
AGES
:
130-134
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2021:
5.
993
)
(2022:
6.
015
)
(2023:
7.
164
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
ruled, and most of the remaining dominions were ruled
by the dynasties belonging to this dynasty, and the
dynasty in Samarkand was the leader among them. The
representatives of the dominions, which are obliged to
fight together against external enemies, gathered in
one place at certain times of the year they performed
religious practices, in particular, Zoroastrian practices
in cooperation [10.20].
Specialists of the field lived in the historical areas of
Sughd. avv. It began to be organized from the 9th-12th
centuries [14.257-279]. The information about this
migratory movement is further advanced by
archaeological research, and the written information
about the Sogdians dates back to mil. avv. It is found
since the VI century. Further information about the
Sugdians is significant in that they are presented in the
works of Greco-Roman historians, during which the
Sugdians began to play an important role in the life of
the region. Also, the Avesta, dating back to a long
historical period, contains information about the
Sugdians and Sugd. For example, in the "Vendidat"
part of the book, it is mentioned that one of the
beautiful lands created by Ahura is Gava, and the
Sugdians live there [12.33].
It should also be recognized that the Sugdians were
the inventors of the writing culture in the region, along
with the economic development of the Great Silk Road
network, the development of states, and their activity
in diplomatic relations. Mil. avv. By the 2nd century,
along with the Parthian, Khorezmian, and Bakhtarian
writings, the Sugdian script was created on the basis of
the Aramaic script and left an important mark on the
statehood of the region [13.10-22].
The analysis of Sugdian writing samples known to
science and other series of sources shows that the
Sugdians existed until the 10th-11th centuries AD.
During its existence, the Sugdians left a deep mark on
the cultural life of the region. In particular, the
Sugdians surpassed other ethnic groups in the
reflection of their worldview in literature and the
development of book culture.
During the rule of the Arab caliphate, many Sugdians
were forced to move out of Sughd, and this situation
encouraged the spread of Sugdian literature and
literature to Eastern Turkestan, China and neighboring
regions. It should be noted that the decoration of
manuscript books in Central Asia (including Central
Asia) was formed in connection with the stages of
development of local culture from a long time ago. The
work "Vessantaraka jataka" created in Sugdian
language (its pages are kept in different countries -
Russia, France, England) is an example of Kitabat art
samples based on Sugdian language manuscript
traditions [5.121].
Among the Sugdian written monuments, the weight of
Buddhist books and literature is quite large, and one of
the main reasons for this is that among the Sugdians,
Volume 04 Issue 02-2024
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American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
(ISSN
–
2771-2141)
VOLUME
04
ISSUE
02
P
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:
130-134
SJIF
I
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FACTOR
(2021:
5.
993
)
(2022:
6.
015
)
(2023:
7.
164
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
the main tenets of the Buddhist religion, treatises on
ethics, literature dedicated to the lives of Buddhist
saints - Buddhists, and a number of examples of the
Buddha's sutras (the main sacred books) have reached
us. was Books, scrolls, folded sheets have come down
to us. In them, the beliefs, trust, hopes and dreams of
our ancestors before Islam, examples of glorifying
goodness and condemning evil, philosophical and
moral observations are expressed [12.35].
Sogdian literature has not yet been fully studied, and
the main materials about it are kept in European
museums in German and French. The analysis of
available materials indicates the following:
the main part of the sources of Sugdian literature is
from the III-IV centuries to the XI centuries, and
includes texts related to Buddhism, monism,
documents
related
to
daily
life,
various
correspondences, decrees and labels, the Sugdian
astronomical calendar, epics of the peoples of Central
Asia; these monuments, written in different alphabets,
written in Aramaic script, were found in Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Republic, as well as in Mount
Mugh; Although not a complete literary-artistic work
has been preserved from the Sugdian monuments,
letters and labels composed of colorful plots, letters
and labels full of wise expressions show that there was
a rich literature and literature in the Sugdians [6.203-
206].
Among the monuments of Sugdian literature,
fragments of the epic about Rustam (V-VII) have a
great literary value, which describe Rustam's battle
with the giants. The image of Rustam was first created
in folklore, then in written literature [7.25-83]. Among
the Sugdian texts related to monism, there are stories
and parables similar in content to the parables of "The
Merchant and the Pearl Piercer", "About the Three
Fishes", "The Fox and the Monkey" in "Kalila and
Dimna" [9.38-39]. The Sugdian document entitled "List
of Peoples" dates back to the 8th century, and it
contains the names of 21 peoples and ethnic groups
that lived in Central Asia at that time [4.8-12]. There is
also information that these unique examples of
Sugdian literature were translated by the Sugdians in
the early Middle Ages and spread to different regions.
In particular, the Sugdians translated and distributed
religious texts to other regions.
At this point, it should be noted that the Sugdians paid
serious attention to the literacy level of their children.
The existence of a school of calligraphers here is
known to science through the practice on a pottery
fragment found at Panjikent. This can also be
supplemented by information from written sources.
Chinese ambassador Wei Tze, whose center was in
Sughd in the 6th century, notes that the Sughds taught
their children to write from the age of five [1.133].
Let's return to the issue of Sogdian literature. One of
the factors that encouraged the development of
Volume 04 Issue 02-2024
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American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
(ISSN
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VOLUME
04
ISSUE
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P
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:
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SJIF
I
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FACTOR
(2021:
5.
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(2022:
6.
015
)
(2023:
7.
164
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
literature in Sughd was that it was located in a region
where international roads crossed, and different
cultures met in Sughd. Especially the early Middle Ages
was an important factor for the development of
literature in the region. The fact is that religious
tolerance prevailed in Sughd during the early Middle
Ages, and the state did not have a stable state religion.
Although Zoroastrians are the majority in the region.
Therefore, religious literature developed. This
literature can be divided into Sugdian-Christian
(Christian),
Sugdian-Moni,
Sugdian-Buddhist,
Zoroastrian and local branches depending on the
nature of the content.
Christian religious texts based on the Sugdian script are
considered a branch of literature. These samples of
literature, which are kept in the Berlin Museum today,
were found by representatives of the Prussian
expedition Albert Grünwedel (1902-1903, 1905-1907)
and Albert von Lecoq (1907-1909) from the Buloyik
temple in the Turfon oasis [2.98].
These texts are one of the four books of the Bible - the
book of psalms, written in the Sugdian and Syriac
languages, in the Sugdian script. Also, the teachings of
Saint Paul (5-67) from the leaders of the Christian
religion have been preserved. Stories of Christian
saints and fragments of Christian theology were also
found in the temple. Unfortunately, only some pages
of specific codices written on this paper have been
completely preserved. Among the finds, the Book of
Saints of Bar Shabba, about the Christian saints of Marv
IV AD, is important. This book of saints is still popular in
Iranian Christianity [3.105-106].
Sugdian-Christian monuments were found not only in
the Turfan oasis, but also in the regions of Dunhuan
region of Eastern Turkestan, and they are dated to the
9th-10th centuries AD. In addition, Christian
monuments were found in Ladakh (border of Kashmir
and Tibet), which was recorded by Noshfarn, a
Christian leader from Samarkand, and its exact date
was written as 841-842 AD [15.361-362]. The names of
Christian temple servants such as Srkys (Sergey) and
Yw'rks (George) have also been preserved in the texts
found in Dunhuang dating back to the 10th century
[8.18].
So, as a result of the split in the Christian religion, the
followers of the patriarch Nestor moved from Rome to
the East and spread widely in the territories of today's
Zarafshan oasis. They used the local language Sugdi
and its script to gather supporters. As a result, the
propaganda carried out by the Nestorians entered the
science as Sugdian-Christian literature. The fact that
the books, teachings and other characteristics of
Christian saints are widely read in Sughd is explained by
the fact that this place was the center of Nestorianism.
Various archaeological findings found in the central
and eastern parts of Sughd, including today's Urgut
region, confirm this. In particular, in the Vazkerd village
Volume 04 Issue 02-2024
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American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
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VOLUME
04
ISSUE
02
P
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:
130-134
SJIF
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FACTOR
(2021:
5.
993
)
(2022:
6.
015
)
(2023:
7.
164
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
of Shavdar in the south of Samarkand, Christians were
active until the 10th century.
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