Sogdiana

Sogdiana ( /ˌsɔːɡdiˈænə/ or /ˌsɒɡdiˈænə/) or Sogdia ( /ˈsɔːɡdiə/ or /ˈsɒɡdiə/; Old Persian: Suguda-; Ancient Greek: Σογδιανή, Sogdianē; Persian: سغد‎ Soġd; Tajik: Суғд, سغد Suġd; Uzbek: Sơģd; Chinese: 粟特 Sùtè) was the ancient civilization of an Iranian people and a province of the Achaemenid Empire, eighteenth in the list on the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great (i. 16). Sogdiana is "listed" as the second of the "good lands and countries" that Ahura Mazda created. This region is listed second after Airyana Vaeja, Land of the Aryans, in the Zoroastrian book of Vendidad or "Videvdat", indicating the importance of this region from ancient times. Sogdiana, at different times, included territories around Samarkand, Bukhara, Khujand and Shahrisabz in modern Uzbekistan.