Sogdians originated in the area where presently Ukraine is located. According to linguistic history they are the originators of Indo-European languages. After Alexander the Great invaded the area, many of them moved South-East, and settled around present Southern Uzbekistan and Western Tajikistan. Their capital was the city of Samarkand. During that time it considered the Chinese territory.
Sogdians adapted quickly to Chinese customs. Some of them even changed their last name to Chinese "An", the most common one. They played an important role in commerce on the Silk Road between the fourth and ninths centuries CE. Sogdians merchants travelled across Eurasia to do business of making and selling things. As well, Sogdians played a major role in transmitting religions such as Manicheism, Zoroastrianism, and Buddhism eastwards along the Silk Road.
It was very florishing culture, even though they never invented their own empire. The impressive architecture, art sculptures and paintings were found in the area many centuries later can tell us about Sogdian cultural sophistication. They also invented many things, such as paper printing machine, which did not exist in Europe before then.
Below is the link to the article about Sogdian art:
http://weecheng.com/silk/tajik/sogdian.htm
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