The Sogdian Letters: Silk Road Spies and Lost Cities

Trade Routes That Changed Human History Forever — Fexingo History · May 13, 2026 · 7m · transcript

In this episode of Trade Routes That Changed Human History Forever, Lucas and Luna delve into the Sogdian Letters, a cache of 5th-century documents discovered in a ruined watchtower near Dunhuang, China. These letters, written in the forgotten Sogdian language, offer a rare glimpse into the lives of Sogdian merchants and their far-flung network from Samarkand to Chang'an. Lucas unpacks the story of Nanai-Vandak, a desperate Sogdian trader whose letter to his homeland recounts famine, rebellion, and the collapse of the Silk Road amid the Hephthalite invasions. He explains how the letters…