Sogdian city-states
The Sogdian city-states refers to a number of independent or autonomous city-states in the Iranian region of Sogdia in late antiquity and the medieval period.Marshak, B. I. 1996. ‘Sughd and Adjacent Regions’. In B. A. Litvinsky (ed.), Co-editors: Zhang Guang-da and R. Shabani Samghabadi. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. The Crossroads of Civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. Volume III. Paris: UNESCO. p.242 Most of the city-states were ruled by a king or queen, who was called "first among equals".De la Vaissière, E. 2005. Sogdian Traders: a History. Translated by James Ward. Leiden; Boston: Brill. p.167 However, the succession of rule was not stable, and the people could influence who would become the new ruler. The period, which experienced its peak in the 7th century, ended with the conquest of Transoxiana by the Islamic Caliphate.
Bukhara and Samarkand – the famous cities of Persian literature – were the largest and wealthiest Sogdian states.
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