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1.2<br />
century BC and the 3rd century AD Chaganian was part <strong>of</strong> the Kushan state. During<br />
this period, the region’s economy and culture evolved considerably, and many cities<br />
and settlements emerged, along with the development <strong>of</strong> commodity and money<br />
relations and irrigated agriculture, while many different kinds <strong>of</strong> crafts, and fine and<br />
applied arts, especially applied monumental clay and plaster sculpture (for example<br />
in Khalchayan and Dalverzintepa), flourished. Towards the end <strong>of</strong> the 3rd and in<br />
the 4th century AD, Chaganian came under the rule <strong>of</strong> the Sassanid Kushanshahs.<br />
In the second half <strong>of</strong> the 5th and the first half <strong>of</strong> the 6th century AD, this area was<br />
alternately ruled by the Hephthalites and the Sassanids. From the second half <strong>of</strong> the<br />
6th to the second half <strong>of</strong> the 8th century AD, Chaghanian was governed by a local<br />
dynasty <strong>of</strong> East Iranian origin, who were only nominally subordinate to the supreme<br />
rulers <strong>of</strong> Tokharistan, the Turkic Yabghus. The names <strong>of</strong> some Chaganian Hidevs or<br />
Chagankhudats (rulers) have been determined on the basis <strong>of</strong> written, epigraphic<br />
and numismatic data, i.e. Faganish, Sashr, Zarin, Turantash, Tish and Hnar. In the<br />
second half <strong>of</strong> the 7th century AD, Arabs raided Chaganian and they overthrew the<br />
local dynasty at the end <strong>of</strong> the 8th century AD. From the middle or second half <strong>of</strong><br />
the 9th century until the beginning <strong>of</strong> the 11th century AD, Chaganian became the<br />
hereditary domain <strong>of</strong> rulers from the Muhtajid dynasty, who were among the most<br />
powerful semi-independent vassals <strong>of</strong> the Samanids. The Amirs <strong>of</strong> this dynasty,<br />
Abu Bakr Muhammad Bin Muzaffar (died AD 940/41) and especially Ahmad Bin<br />
Abu Bakr Muhammad, also known as Abu Ali Chagani (died AD 955/56), played<br />
a prominent role in the Samanid state, holding the most important administrative<br />
positions as deputies <strong>of</strong> Khorasan and the Sipahsalars. Under the Muhtajids, in<br />
addition to the territory that corresponds to the present-day Surkhan Darya region,<br />
Chaganian also comprised the Shuman and Akharun regions in north-west Tajikistan.<br />
The capital city <strong>of</strong> Chaganian had the same name and was located at the site <strong>of</strong> the<br />
ancient settlement <strong>of</strong> Budrach, 6 km southeast <strong>of</strong> Denau at the confluence <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Kyzylsu and Syr Darya rivers. At the time, the city <strong>of</strong> Chaganian (or Saganian) was<br />
one <strong>of</strong> the most significant economic and cultural centres in Central <strong>Asia</strong>, with an area<br />
<strong>of</strong> about 6 hectares. The Chaganian amir Ahmad Bin Muhammad became famous in<br />
the East as the patron (mamduh) <strong>of</strong> many renowned poets, such as Dakiki, Farruki<br />
and Manjuki. In the first half <strong>of</strong> the 11th century AD, Chaganian depended to some<br />
degree on the Qarakhanids, at times becoming a short-lived sovereign domain. In the<br />
second half <strong>of</strong> the 11th to the first half <strong>of</strong> the 12th century, Chaganian was absorbed<br />
into the Seljukid state. During the period from the second half <strong>of</strong> the 12th to the<br />
early 13th century it was ruled at different times by the Qarakhanids, Karluks, Gurids<br />
and Khorezmshahs. After the Mongol conquest in the mid-13th century, Chaganian<br />
became the hereditary possession <strong>of</strong> Chagatai’s grandson Yesun-Tuva and then his<br />
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