Editing Samarkand (section)

===Hephthalites and Turkic Khaganate era===
Between AD 350 and 375, Samarkand was conquered by the nomadic tribes of [[Xionites]], the origin of which remains controversial.<ref>Grenet Frantz, Regional interaction in Central Asia and northwest India in the Kidarite and Hephthalites periods in Indo-Iranian languages and peoples. Edited by Nicholas Sims-Williams. Oxford university press, 2003. Р.219–220</ref> The resettlement of nomadic groups to Samarkand confirms archaeological material from the 4th century. The culture of nomads from the Middle [[Syrdarya]] basin is spreading in the region.<ref>Buryakov Y.F. Iz istorii arkheologicheskikh rabot v zonakh oroshayemogo zemledeliya Uzbekistana // Arkheologicheskiye raboty na novostroykakh Uzbekistana. Tashkent, 1990. pp.&nbsp;9–10.</ref> Between 457 and 509, Samarkand was part of the [[Kidarite]] state.<ref>Etienne de la Vaissiere, Sogdian traders. A history. Translated by James Ward. Brill. Leiden. Boston, 2005, pp.&nbsp;108–111.</ref>
[[File:Turkish officers during a audience with king Varkhuman of Samarkand. 648-651 CE, Afrasiyab, Samarkand.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Western Turks|Turkic officers]] during an audience with king [[Varkhuman]] of Samarkand. 648–651 CE, [[Afrasiyab (Samarkand)|Afrasiyab murals]], Samarkand.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baumer |first1=Christoph |title=History of Central Asia, The: 4-volume set |date=18 April 2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-83860-868-2 |page=243 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DhiWDwAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA243}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Grenet |first1=Frantz |date=2004 |title=Maracanda/Samarkand, une métropole pré-mongole |journal=Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales |volume=5/6 |page=Fig. B |url=https://www.cairn.info/journal-annales-2004-5-page-1043.htm}}</ref>]]

After the [[Hephthalites]] ("White Huns") conquered Samarkand, they controlled it until the [[Göktürks]], in an alliance with the Sassanid Persians, won it at the [[Battle of Bukhara]], c. 560 AD.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bivar |first=A.D.H. |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hephthalites |title=Encyclopedia Iranica, Vol. XII, Fasc. 2 |publisher=London et al. |pages=198–201}}</ref>

In the middle of the 6th century, a Turkic state was formed in Altai, founded by the Ashina dynasty. The new state formation was named the [[First Turkic Khaganate|Turkic Khaganate]] after the people of the Turks, which were headed by the ruler – the Khagan. From 557 to 561, the [[Hephthalites]] empire was defeated by the joint actions of the Turks and Sassanids, which led to the establishment of a common border between the two empires.<ref>History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The crossroads of civilizations, AD 250 to 750. Vol. 3. Unesco, 1996. p.&nbsp;332</ref>

In the early Middle Ages, Samarkand was surrounded by four rows of defensive walls and had four gates.<ref>Belenitskiy A.M., Bentovich I.B., Bolshakov O.G. Srednevekovyy gorod Sredney Azii. L., 1973.</ref>

An ancient Turkic burial with a horse was investigated on the territory of Samarkand. It dates back to the 6th century.<ref>
Sprishevskiy V.I. Pogrebeniye s konem serediny I tysyacheletiya n.e., obnaruzhennoye okolo observatorii Ulugbeka. // Tr. Muzeya istorii narodov Uzbekistana. T.1.- Tashkent, 1951.</ref>

During the period of the ruler of the Western Turkic Khaganate, [[Tong Yabghu Qaghan]] (618–630), family relations were established with the ruler of Samarkand – Tong Yabghu Qaghan gave him his daughter.<ref>Klyashtornyy S. G., Savinov D. G., Stepnyye imperii drevney Yevrazii. Sankt-Peterburg: Filologicheskiy fakul'tet SPbGU, 2005 god, s. 97</ref>

Some parts of Samarkand have been Christian since the 4th century. In the 5th century, a [[Nestorian]] chair was established in Samarkand. At the beginning of the 8th century, it was transformed into a Nestorian metropolitanate.<ref>Masson M.Ye., Proiskhozhdeniye dvukh nestorianskikh namogilnykh galek Sredney Azii // Obshchestvennyye nauki v Uzbekistane, 1978, №10, p.&nbsp;53.</ref> Discussions and polemics arose between the Sogdian followers of [[Christianity]] and [[Manichaeism]], reflected in the documents.<ref>Sims-Wlliams Nicholas, A Christian sogdian polemic against the manichaens // Religious themes and texts of pre-Islamic Iran and Central Asia. Edited by Carlo G. Cereti, Mauro Maggi and Elio Provasi. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, 2003, pp.&nbsp;399–407</ref>