wrk wrtrmwk' MLK' ("King Urk Vartramuka") // Tamgha of Samarqand to the left, an additional tamgha to the right. 28mm, 5.63 grams. Samarqand mint? Smirnova 657; Numista 197496; cf. Zeno 98315

The Ikhshids of Soghdiana were a line of local  rulers who governed the important Central Asian region of Soghdiana - centered around cities like Samarkand and Bukhara - from the 5th to the early 8th centuries CE. The title "Ikhshid" was used by these semi-independent kings who ruled under the nominal suzerainty of larger empires, such as the Hephthalites, Western Turks, and later the Tang dynasty of China.

The Ikhshids maintained urban prosperity, active trade on the Silk Road, and vibrant cultural life in Soghdiana, which became a melting pot of Zoroastrian, Buddhist, and emerging Islamic influences. The dynasty came to an end during the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana in the early 8th century, when Arab forces gradually incorporated Soghdiana into the Umayyad Caliphate, ending the rule of the last Ikhshid. Their legacy endures in the region’s rich archaeological and artistic heritage.