Editing Sogdia (section)

=== Art ===
{{main article|Sogdian art}}{{see also|Art of Central Asia}}
The [[Afrasiab painting]]s of the 6th to 7th centuries in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, offer a rare surviving example of Sogdian art. The paintings, showing scenes of daily life and events such as the arrival of foreign ambassadors, are located within the ruins of aristocratic homes. It is unclear if any of these palatial residences served as the official palace of the rulers of Samarkand.<ref>A. M. Belenitskii and B. I. Marshak (1981), "Part One: the Paintings of Sogdiana" in Guitty Azarpay, ''Sogdian Painting: the Pictorial Epic in Oriental Art'', Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, p. 47, {{ISBN|0-520-03765-0}}.</ref> The oldest surviving Sogdian monumental wall murals date to the 5th century and are located at Panjakent, Tajikistan.<ref>A. M. Belenitskii and B. I. Marshak (1981), "Part One: the Paintings of Sogdiana" in Guitty Azarpay, ''Sogdian Painting: the Pictorial Epic in Oriental Art'', Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, p. 13, {{ISBN|0-520-03765-0}}.</ref> In addition to revealing aspects of their social and political lives, Sogdian art has also been instrumental in aiding historians' understanding of their religious beliefs. For instance, it is clear that Buddhist Sogdians incorporated some of their own [[Persian mythology|Iranian deities]] into their version of the [[Buddhist Pantheon]]. At [[Zhetysu]], Sogdian [[gilded]] bronze plaques on a [[Buddhist temple]] show a pairing of a male and female deity with outstretched hands holding a miniature [[camel]], a common non-Buddhist image similarly found in the paintings of Samarkand and Panjakent.<ref>A. M. Belenitskii and B. I. Marshak (1981), "Part One: the Paintings of Sogdiana" in Guitty Azarpay, ''Sogdian Painting: the Pictorial Epic in Oriental Art'', Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, pp 34–35, {{ISBN|0-520-03765-0}}.</ref>