Transoxiana

Transoxiana, known in Arabic sources as Mā Warāʾ an-Nahr (Arabic: ما وراء النهر‎, – '[what is] beyond the river [Oxus]') and in Persian as Farā-rūd (Persian: فرارود‎, [fæɾɒːˈɾuːd̪]— 'beyond the river [Amu Daria]') designates a historical region of Turkestan, in Central Asia, located between the Aral Sea and the Pamir Plateau, currently divided between the countries of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Geographically, it corresponds to the region between the Amu Darya (Oxus) and Sir Darya rivers. The area was known to the ancient Iranians as Turan, a term used in the Persian national epic, the Shāhnāmé, and as Transoxiana (land beyond the Oxus) for the Romans. The Arabic term Mā warāʼ an-Nahr (land beyond the river) passed into Persian literary usage and was retained until post-Mongol times.

The region was one of the satrapies (provinces) of the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia under the name of Sogdiana. It was defined within the classical world of Iran to distinguish it from Iran proper, especially its northeastern province of Khorasan—a term originating with the Sasanians—although early Arab historians and geographers tended to subsume the region within the loosely defined term. from "Khorasan", designating a much larger territory. The territories of Corasmia, Sogdiana, Chaghaniyan and Juttal were located in the southern part of Transoxiana; Chach, Osrushana and Ferganá were located in the northern part.

It was the center of the empire of Tamerlane and the Timurid Dynasty (14th and 15th century).^{[citation needed]}It had its capital in the city of Samarkand. It was the probable birthplace of Zoroaster.^{[citation needed]}

History

Transoxiana was the term used by the Greeks to describe the region located beyond the Oxus river. It was named Sogdiana by the Achaemenids and was united with Bactria by Alexander the Great into a single satrapy. The city of Ai Khanoum (Alexandria of Oxiana), located on the banks of the Oxus River in northern Afghanistan, remains the only Greco-Bactrian city found and extensively excavated. Once the satrapy became independent, it formed the Greco-Bactrian kingdom of Diodotus I, later invaded by the Kushan dynasty, to be finally occupied by the Arabs in the 8th century. A good part of the science that the Arabs bequeathed to Europe in the following centuries was developed there.^{[citation required]}

Chinese explorer Zhang Qian, who visited neighboring Bactria and Parthia as well as Transoxiana in 126 B.C. C., made the first Chinese story in Chinese about this region. Zhang Qian clearly identifies Parthia as an advanced urban civilization that cultivated vines and cereals in addition to minting silver coins and making leather goods. It was ruled successively by the Seleucids, the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, the Parthian Empire and the Kushan Empire before Sasanian rule, at which time the region became an important cultural center due to the wealth derived from the northern route of the silk.

Sassanian rule was interrupted by the invasion of the Hephthalites which lasted from the late fifth century until the year 565. Many Persian nobles and landowners fled the region after the Muslim conquest of Persia. It was also under köktürk rule until the Arab conquest between 705 and 715, at which time the area became known as Mā warāʼ al-Nahr (Arabic for " What is beyond the river") sometimes referred to as "Mavarannahr".

The main cities and cultural centers of Transoxiana are Samarkand and Bukhara, both in the southernmost part of the region but north of the Amu Darya River. Both cities remained Persian cultural centers after the Islamic conquest of Iran and played a crucial role in the revival of Persian culture with the arrival of the Samanid dynasty. Most of the region was arid but had fertile plains.

Part of this region was conquered by Qutaiba ibn Muslim between 706 and 715 and dominated by the Umayyads between 715 and 738. The conquest was consolidated by Nasr ibn Sayyar between 738 and 740 and continued under the control of the Umayyads until 750, when it was replaced by the Abbasids.

In the 13th century it was occupied by the Mongol Empire during the conquest of Corasmia. Before his death in 1227, Genghis Khan assigned the western territories of Central Asia to his second son, Chagatai, becoming this region known as the Chagatai Khanate. In the fourteenth century, Tamerlane settled in Samarkand, his capital, attracting people of all arts, professions, and trades: Greeks, Chinese, Egyptians, Persians, Armenians, Syrians, etc. The region was successively ruled by various independent Islamic city-states, until the 19th century, when it was invaded by the Russian Empire. Today it is mostly part of the Republic of Uzbekistan, independent since 1991. Bukhara, Samarkand and Khiva are probably the most prestigious exponents of Transoxiana's thousand-year history.

Religion

Notes by historian Mark Dickens relate: "The main pre-Islamic religion of Transoxiana was Zoroastrianism, especially in local manifestations. However, Buddhism, Christianity, Manichaeism and Mazdakism also had a large following, especially in urban areas. This initial religious diversity disappeared after the Arab conquest."