The Sogdian Whispers That Built the Silk Road

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The Sogdian Whispers That Built the Silk Road

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Before the Mongols and the Tang, the Sogdians were the unseen engine of the Silk Road. This episode follows a single 4th-century letter from a Sogdian merchant named Miwnay, stranded in Dunhuang, writing to her husband about a world in collapse. We trace the Sogdian Ancient Letters—discovered by Aurel Stein in a watchtower near Dunhuang—and what they reveal about trade, family, and faith across Eurasia. From the Sogdian heartland of Samarkand to the Chinese capital Luoyang, we explore how these merchants not only moved silk and spices but also carried Buddhism, Manichaeism, and Nestorian Christianity. We also discuss the Sogdian language itself, a middle Iranian tongue written in Aramaic script, and how their diaspora communities shaped every major empire from the Kushans to the Tang. Includes the story of the Sogdian 'sabers'—merchants turned warlords like Kang Chuhui—and the eventual decline of Sogdian dominance after the Arab conquests and the rise of the Uyghurs. #Sogdians #SilkRoad #SogdianAncientLetters #Miwnay #Dunhuang #AurelStein #Samarkand #Manichaeism #NestorianChristianity #TangDynasty #Luoyang #KangChuhui #FexingoHistory #History #Eurasia #Merchants #Buddhism #AncientTrade Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

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