city state · Central Asia and the Steppe
Principality of Samarkand
Origins
Samarkand, ancient Maracanda, had been the chief city of Sogdiana since Achaemenid times. After the fall of the Hephthalite Empire it emerged in the 6th century as the foremost of the Sogdian principalities under rulers with the title ikhshid, recognising the overlordship of the Western Turkic Khaganate.
Rule and society
The ikhshids presided over a merchant aristocracy rather than an absolute monarchy. Sogdian traders dominated caravan commerce across Asia, with communities in China and Mongolia. The famous murals of Afrasiab, painted for the ruler Varkhuman around 660, show embassies from China, Korea and the Turks. Religion was a local Zoroastrianism with fire temples and ossuary burial, alongside Buddhism, Manichaeism and Christianity.
Decline and legacy
Qutayba ibn Muslim took Samarkand for the Umayyad Caliphate in 712, and the ikhshid Ghurak ruled as a vassal while also courting the Turgesh Khaganate. After the Abbasid takeover around 750 the ikhshids lost power, and the city passed to the Samanid Empire in the 9th century.
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (4)
- Principality of Samarkand was a vassal of Gokturk Empire560 CE – 603 CE
- Principality of Samarkand was a vassal of Western Turkic Khaganate603 CE – 658 CE
- Principality of Samarkand paid tribute to Tang Dynasty658 CE – 712 CE
- Principality of Samarkand was conquered by Umayyad Caliphate712 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Principality of Samarkand. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-samarkand
- MLA
- “Principality of Samarkand.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-samarkand. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Principality of Samarkand.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-samarkand.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Principality of Samarkand’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-samarkand (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻