The Sogdian Trade Diaspora in East Turkestan During the Seventh and Eighth Centuries

Abstract

Evidence from Chinese documents supports the hypothesis that Sogdians dominated Silk Road trade in East Turkestan during the seventh and eighth centuries. The merchants lived and/or traveled among a diaspora of Sogdians who settled in the oasis cities of the region and also practiced farming and handicraft making. Some traders traveled the entire distance between China and West Asia, but others operated along circumscribed routes that connected to the broader commercial network. Residents of the diaspora facilitated trade by acting as cultural intermediaries for unassimilated merchants.Le t moignage des documents chinois soutient lÕhypoth se selon laquelle les Sogdiens domin rent le commerce sur la route de la soie pendant les VII e et VIII e si cles. Les marchands habit rent et/ou voyag rent parmi une diaspora de Sogdiens qui sÕ tablit autour des villesoasis de la r gion et exerc rent lÕagriculture ainsi que lÕartisanat. Certaines marchands voyag rent sur toute la distance entre la Chine et lÕAsie occidentale, tandis que dÕautres travaill rent sur des chemins courts les reliant ˆ un r seau commercial plus large. Les habitants de la diaspora facilit rent ce commerce en leur qualit dÕinterm diaire culturels au service des marchands trangers.