Uzbekistan located in the basin of the Zerafshan and Kashkadarya

Sogdiana, the Wonderland
Sogdiana is the name of a historical area on the territory of present-day Uzbekistan located in the basin of the Zerafshan and Kashkadarya rivers. According to one version the very word 'Sogd' means 'country of fertile valleys'. Poetic lines of 'Avesta' composed in the 9th - 12th centuries B.C. glorify legendary origination of this land: "Then I, Ahura Mazda, created inimitable Sogdiana, the land rich in flocks of sheep".
Sogd had a remarkable, eventful history. As early as the 7th - 6th centuries B.C., in this part of the world there were a lot of fortified urban settlements and extensive network of irrigation structures. The Sogdians belonged to a group of the western Iranian nations. They cultivated wheat, rice, grapes, ranched cattle and for centuries lived in peace with their neighbours - the nomadic clans of Saks and Messagetae.
In the mid 6th century B.C., Sogdiana became part of Achaemenid Empire. However, the Sogdians put up strong resistance to the enemy. 'The Father of History' Herodotus recounted the legends about Tomiris, the queen of Messagetaes, who herself led the army and in a desperate struggle routed the Persian conquerors. This was the last war for Cyrus the Great, whose head Tomiris ordered to put into a leather-bag filled with blood, saying, "Just let him satisfy his blood lust".

Darius, his successor, also faced a strong resistance of Central Asian nations. Hellenic author Polienus narrated a story of a Saki shepherd named Shirak. Brave young man volunteered to be the guide for the Persians and, after a week's journey along the desert, deliberately led the enemies to waterless area, yet paid with his life for this daring deed.
In the northern suburbs of Samarkand there is a hilly area known as Afrasiab site. Here, under centuries-old loess layers, lie the ruins of Marakanda, ancient capital of Sogdiana. According to a Zoroastrian legend the foundation of the town is associated with Siyavush, an epic hero. The first settlements on the territory of the town appeared in the 7th - 6th centuries B.C. Yet in 329, the warriors of Alexander the Great saw a large flourishing town, enclosed with outer wall. Inside there was a citadel with residential suburbs round it.