Tarkhun

Coin of Tarkhun

Tarkhun (died 710) was a Sogdian ruler (Sogdian: ikhshid) of Samarkand from an unknown date to 710. After receiving the news of the capture of Bukhara by the Umayyad general Qutayba ibn Muslim in 709, Tarkhun sent envoys to the latter and acknowledged the authority of the Umayyad Caliphate. However, one year later, Tarkhun was overthrown by a local rebellion because of his pro-Muslim policy, and was succeeded by another Sogdian prince named Gurak, who had Tarkhun imprisoned. Tarkhun shortly after committed suicide. His two sons, however, managed to flee to the court of another Sogdian ruler named Divashtich at Panjikant, where they were treated honorably.

Sources

• Al-Tabari, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir. The History of al-Tabari. Ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater. 40 vols. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1985-2007.
• Gibb, H. A. R. (1923). The Arab Conquests in Central Asia. The Royal Asiatic Society.
• Wellhausen, Julius (1927). The Arab Kingdom and Its Fall. University of Calcutta.