The Sogdians became the leading merchants of the Silk Road during late antiquity.
Sogdiana lay around the Zeravshan and Kashka-Darya river valleys in Central Asia, especially near Samarkand and Panjakent. Sogdian traders established commercial communities far beyond their homeland, carrying silk, spices, precious metals, textiles, and other goods between China, India, Iran, and the Mediterranean world.
Their importance is documented by Sogdian letters found near Dunhuang and by inscriptions, coins, and manuscripts from Central Asian settlements. Sogdian was also widely used as a commercial and diplomatic language along parts of the route.
Sogdians were not a single empire controlling the entire Silk Road. They were a network of merchants, settlers, translators, and administrators who operated across many states. Their influence declined after the Arab conquest of Transoxiana and the changing political economy of Central Asia, but Sogdian cultural traces remained influential in the region.