Statue found near Penjikent, possibly depicting Sogdian King Devashtish or a deity 7th-8th C. CE

November 26, 2023

Statue found near Penjikent, possibly depicting Sogdian King Devashtish or a deity 7th-8th C. CE

"Divashtich (also spelled Devashtich, Dewashtich, and Divasti), was a medieval Sogdian ruler in Transoxiana during the period of the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana. He was the ruler of Panjikant and its surroundings from ca. 706 until his downfall and execution in the autumn of 722.

Divashtich was the son of a certain Yodkhsetak, who belonged to a noble Sogdian dehqan family from Samarkand, which could trace its descent back to the Sasanian king Bahram V Gur (r. 420–438). The family bore the title of sur and began ruling parts of Sogdia during the 6th century. There were five members of the family bearing the title of sur, Divashtich being the last of them.

In 720, Divashtich, along with another Sogdian ruler named Karzanj, are mentioned as the leaders of an anti-Arab rebellion in Sogdia. They managed to earn the allegiance of at-Tar, the Sogdian ruler of Farghana, who promised to give them protection in case their rebellion turned into a failure. While the army of Karzanj was staying at Khujand, at-Tar betrayed him, and told the Umayyad general Sa'id ibn Amr al-Harashi where Karzanj and his army was stationing. Al-Harashi quickly marched towards Khujand, where he defeated the army of Karzanj, brutally massacring over 3,000 Sogdian inhabitants in the city.

Al-Harashi then left for Zarafshan, the location of Divashtich. A battle shortly took place near the city in 722, where al-Harashi managed to emerge victorious once again. Divashtich then fled to a fortress near Zarafshan, but eventually agreed to surrender to Arabs, and was taken prisoner, where he was treated well. The Arabs then began burning several houses and a temple in Panjikant.

The Umayyad governor of Iraq, including other high officials, wanted to set Divashtich free. Al-Harashi, however, had Divashtich crucified on a Zoroastrian burial building, and sent his head to Iraq.

Archaeologists have found evidence that Panjakent was founded around 400 AD. The town of Panjikent grew during the Hephthalite period, its fortifications were strengthened and temples were rebuilt. The city itself did not long outlive its last ruler. Consisting of a fortified castle of the ruler (kuhendiz, or citadel), the city itself (shahristan), surrounded by a fortress wall with numerous towers, a suburban settlement (rabad) and a large necropolis, with separate small crypts - nauses, in which there were assuaries (small clay boxes) with the remains of the dead, Penjikent ceased to exist after the death of Divashtich, and the inhabitants left it."

-taken from IranicaOnline, UNESCO, Wikipedia, and DCAT