Histoire Des Marchands Sogdiens (Book Review‪)‬

Histoire des marchands sogdiens. By ETIENNE DE LA VAISSIERE. Bibliotheque de l'Institut des Hautes Etudes Chinoises, vol. 32. Paris: COLLEGE DE FRANCE, BIBLIOTHEQUE DE L'INSTITUT DES HAUTES ETUDES CHINOISES, 2002. Pp. 413, plates, maps. From their homeland in what is today Uzbekistan, Sogdian merchants established colonies that dotted the Silk Road from Gansu to the Crimea. Constituting one of the most extraordinary trading diasporas in world history, they were bearers of goods (silks and precious stones in particular), cultures, and religions across Eurasia. In addition to their local Mazdaism, Sogdian devotees of Manichaeanism, Nestorian Christianity, and Buddhism spread these faiths to the Turkic peoples and China. In return, their own culture was enriched by influences stemming from other Iranian peoples, the Indic world, China, and the Turks.