SILK ROAD: SOGDIAN A BRIDGE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST

SILK ROAD: SOGDIAN A BRIDGE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST

From ancient times to the early twentieth century, the legendary Silk Road united to the Mediterranean and China, where the caravans went in at the gate of jade, a voyage of 11,000 km through steppes, mountains and deserts. For 700 years a nomadic people, the Sogdians had the monopoly of the crossing of these hostile regions and became his specialty organize and guide the caravans between east and west.

The Sogdians are known mostly by Chinese chronicles, in them over a thousand years old describe their customs; chronicle tells us that the Sogdians learned to read and write when they turned five. With twenty years men were not for agriculture, were encouraged to leave the village to start a commercial apprenticeship, the Sogdians were not warriors; merchants were half and half farmers. This ancient commercial tradition was a result of the geographic position of Sogdians, spent most of the caravans going from India to Russia and from the Mediterranean to China.

This trade route was used as any other in the history of humanity. The chroniclers describe a wild region where the Huns pillage and massacre caravan travelers, Chinese emperors sent military expeditions to pacify the region. In the V century AD are built fortified towns along the route, but not become less dangerous. The Sogdians were a specialty organize and guide the caravans throughout Central Asia, had a monopoly when it comes to cross these hostile regions. A pilgrim crosses towards the year 620 Sogdian relates that it does with a caravan of 600 camels led by 240 Sogdians and carrying more than 10,000 pieces of silk.

Pendjikent Sogdian in the heart of a western village on the banks of Sharakshan Tajikistan, today the region is populated by Tajiks, descendants of the Sogdians, at the exit of the village, the ruins occupy an entire hill where the Sogdians had built one of the Sogdians used little stone and wood was scarce in these arid regions, houses and walls were built of mud bricks stamped with the sun, the houses were on the ground floor, with many small rooms that were no more than two meters wide, the ceilings were vaulted, walled city occupied thirteen hectares and had a high density of homes, farms were built outside the house. When a family home rose growing one or two stories and sometimes ruthlessly dealt Street, was the only way to respond to the city's inability to expand beyond a wall that protected the next hostility. Among the S. X and XII had Pendjikent 7000 census to bed. Living confined within their walls (Marshak, 2002)

With the discovery of fifty beautiful frescoes, some of which have just been damaged by the weather, have been restored with the participation of the University of Tokyo who has entrusted the task to specialists desgatados by brightening their thousand years old. Pendjikent was the city that caravans discovered at the end of a long journey, were traversing the door to go to the market situated in the city center, a market where products offered for sale from across Eurasia, silverware Persian Indian pepper tea and Chinese brocades. (Levinson & Christensen, 2002)

The Chinese came here to acquire the famous Sogdian celestial horses who legend sweated blood.(De la Vaissière, 2004) Sogdian mints its own currency; this bronze piece imitates the Chinese sapeque because Sogdians traded mainly with China. The Sogdians were not empire builders, was above all great travelers, who won as the great merchants of the Silk Road. Their culture was unique because all cultures merge achievement of Eurasia (Boris Marshak).

A Pendjikent image, other cities had Sogdian merchant caravan. Oasis towns were organized in city-states like Samarkand and Bukhara, were competitors because there was no central power Sogdian. The Sogdians were not a political and military power, had only small city-states, as Pendjikent therefore tried to grow through trade, commerce opened the world, from central Asia to China itself. (Marshak, 2002).

With their caravans were over four thousand meters peaks of the Tian Shan Mountains, crossing the fearsome Taklamakan Desert, reaching the markets of the Chinese empire.

Turfan, between the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts, is the first Chinese outpost on land nomad was the first, the oldest and one of the most important stages of the commercial Silk Road, in fact was inevitable. (China Radio International.CRI)

After Turfan caravans for several weeks had to face the Gobi desert before finally reaching the famous jade gate that marked the entrance to the Middle Kingdom. If they arrived safely with all their goods, it is because they paid a tribute to the nomads of each region crossed, only way to ensure their protection. The safest way to travel was to join the caravan, was what they did Buddhist monks and pilgrims, Christian priests from Persia and Zoroastrians of Bactria.

The business of the Sogdians relied heavily on solidarity, organized in clans in most Chinese cities where they lived grouped.. (Cervera, 2005)

The first objective of a clan controlled by a Sabao (Sogdian language word originally meaning "head" the "guide" of a caravan) is to trade, the imports and exports, in regions where trade was especially prosperous, could create new colonies. After Turfan, Tuenjan next to the desert was one of the last major steps before reaching the Chinese capital. For millennia the oasis resists sand attacks. In the rock wall that protects the city's many caves excavated Buddhist monks in the sixth century of our era; Greco-Buddhist heads housed in stucco and countless fresh product crossroads of civilizations, Chinese, Indian and Greco-Roman.(Hansen, 1998)

The political and commercial information circulated throughout the Sogdian network covering all of China, the Sogdian success was to a large extent on their ability to obtain and benefit from this information. Colonies developed from stage to stage, from west to east; the Sogdians had a huge sales network, not only traded between China and Central Asia, but also in North Asia, with India and Persia, are the pillars of Asian trade the Middle Ages. (Sims-Williams)

Xiang then capital of successive dynasties that originated in China, the Hang and Tang, was the ultimate goal of the caravans. These flowed into Xiang through the main road, to the Silk Road. It was the end of a tour of Eurasia 11,000 km from Byzantium to China a unique journey, one of the most unique in the history of humanity. (Zhou, 1998)

The Sogdians came to China brought with them a culture enriched by all his meetings with all the other peoples of Central Asia, the West had collected all the Chinese appreciate, especially music, dance, fashion, and cuisine vines. Buddhism also unveiled the Persian Zoroastrianism and Christianity and contributed to its spread, it was they who carried the imperial court of colored crystals, pearls, coral, and blue makeup Persian appreciated by Chinese empresses.  (Luo & Lerner, 2010)

The Sogdians as traders had a good knowledge of fashion were well aware of what the demand and what is sold easily. Legend Sogdians the Chinese stole the secret of silk manufacture, which they so jealously guarded, because it would floss west. (Sheng)

In the eighth century the Tang Empire was at its peak at the height of his power, in the arts is the classicism sumun Chinese-Wei Wang founded the school of Chinese painting, poetry and Li Po Tofu produce their best work. China has become Buddhist and Taoist confusionist, the rule extends to Quin-Yang and this pacified and unified after four centuries of problems. But suddenly one ambitious Sogdian provoke a confrontation with the Chinese, centuries of cohabitation happy now questioned. Your name An Lushan this man drives a plot against the old Chinese emperor's civil war is so bloody that is still present in the collective memory and even Chinese opera was dedicated. An Lushan was a military man who reached the highest level of the Chinese army of Great General of Cavalry, had amassed a considerable fortune by trading on the Silk Road, this wealth allowed him to buy arms, build a fortified city and an army recruit. To convey his orders, use the communications network Sogdian. He earned the favor of Princess Yang Kwei Fei, concubine of Emperor Xuanzong first who overthrew and replaced to take his place are in 756 AD sacked the palace and seized the imperial treasury, overwhelming the people with taxes and ends up being killed by his own son, against the backdrop of famine and floods, civil war settles for eight years and his term is restored Tang dynasty. The reprisals whose victims were primarily Sogdian be bloody.. (Lewis, 2009)

Emperor Xuanzong

Princess Yang Kwei Fei

In the year 674 the Sogdian city states were conquered by the Arabs arrived from the Middle East, the vanquished retain their language, Farsi, but must convert to Islam, its culture will not disappear however, is so rich that the invaders will eventually adopt and appropriate knowledge. Until early S. XX many of his descendants occupied important positions in the different powers that ruled the region. The successors of the Sogdians separated by modern borders of Central Asian States, they living today in several countries of the former Soviet Union. As much as we go back in history we find few towns that no empire or military powers that have contributed as much as these guides caravan encounter between Eastern and Western cultures.

Bibliografía

Cervera, I. (19 de Diciembre de 2005). Acerca de nosotros: ARTEHISTORIA PROYECTOS DIGITALES, S. L. Recuperado el 25 de Febrero de 2013, de sitio web de ARTEHISTORIA PROYECTOS DIGITALES, S. L.: WWW.ARTEHISTORIA.JCYL.ES

China Radio International.CRI. (s.f.). Acerca de nosotros: CRI Online. Recuperado el 27 de Febrero de 2013, de sitio web de CRI Online: http://espanol.cri.cn/chinaabc/chapter20/chapter200301.htm

De la Vaissière, É. (14 de Octubre de 2004). Acerca de nosotros: The silkroad Foudation Newsletter. Recuperado el 4 de Marzo de 2013, de sitio web de: The silkroad Foudation Newsletter: http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/newsletter/december/new_discoveries.htm

Hansen, V. (1998). The Impact of the Silk Road Tradeon a Local Community: The Turfan Oasis, 500-800. University of Yale.

Levinson, D., & Christensen, K. (2002). Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. New York: Berkshire Publishing Group.

Lewis, M. E. (2009). China´s Cosmopolitan Empire. Boston: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Luo, F., & Lerner, J. (29 de Noviembre de 2010). Acerca de nosotros: VIKACHU'S SILKY TRIP, A JOURNEY ON THE SILK ROAD…. Recuperado el 1 de Marzo de 2013, de sitios web de VIKACHU'S SILKY TRIP, A JOURNEY ON THE SILK ROAD…: http://vikachuimagine.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/the-trading-successes-and-the-cultural-exchange-of-the-sogdians/

Marshak, B. (2002). The archaeology of Sogdiana. Recuperado el 28 de Febrero de 2013, de The silkroad foudation Newsletter : http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/newsletter/december/archaeology.htm

Sheng, A. (s.f.). Textiles from the Silk Road: Intercultural Exchanges among Nomads. Recuperado el 1 de Marzo de 2013, de Textiles from the Silk Road: Intercultural Exchanges among Nomads:http://sota.mcmaster.ca/~sheng/images/pdf/2010DEC7%20Expedition%20sheng.pdf

Sims-Williams, N. (s.f.). Letters of the Sogdians: 1, 2, 3, and 5. Recuperado el 1 de Marzo de 2013, de Letters of the Sogdians: 1, 2, 3, and 5: http://www29.homepage.villanova.edu/christopher.haas/sogdian_letters.htm

Zhou, R. (1998). China Highlights. Recuperado el 1 de Marzo de 2013, de China Highlights: http://www.chinahighlights.com/silkroad/history.htm