Samarkand and Bokhara
The Sogdian states were in the region known now as western Turkestan, present-day Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Sogdia was recognised as an entity from at least the 6th century BCE until about the 11th century CE. Its language became a lingua franca across the Silk Road, and the Sogdian alphabet inspired alphabets of cultures living to the east of the area.
