The only major find of Sogdian documents within Sogdiana proper was the discovery in 1932 of documents on Mount Mugh in the mountains of Central Tajikistan Figs. 1 and 2, some eighty kilometers (about fifty miles) to the east of Panjikent; Fig. 3. These documents are our main documentary source at present for the turbulent period of the early 8th century, when Arabs, Turks, Chinese, Persians (both émigré Zoroastrians and Muslim converts), Khwarezmians, and Sogdians from different principalities fought for dominance in the region. They continually made and broke ephemeral alliances before Islam was firmly established in Sogdiana some twenty to thirty years later.

The documents were discovered when a local shepherd on a mountain overlooking the Zerafshan River happened upon a pit containing a basket. The records were originally thought to be leaves from an old Qur’an. Soon, a Soviet regional official learned of the find and had the documents transported to the Academy of Sciences in Leningrad. Most of the writings appeared to be written in Sogdian.

However, one was in Arabic, and it contained the name Diwasti (an Arabic transliteration of the Sogdian name Devashtich), who was known from Muslim histories to be a Sogdian nobleman executed by the Arabs in 722. The mention of Diwasti provided a dating and context for the archive. In the year after the initial discovery, the Russians dispatched an expedition to Mount Mugh. As a result, eighty-one Sogdian, one Arabic, one Turkic, and several Chinese documents came to light, along with a number of artifacts from the small castle where Devashtich, the last ruler of Panjikent, made his final stand.

Devashtich ruled Panjikent from around 706. We do not know how he obtained his throne, but we know he was not the son of the previous ruler. Some time before 722, Devashtich claimed to be “king of Sogdiana, ruler of Samarkand.” Most likely he was not in fact ruling Samarkand, although he controlled areas to the east, west, and southwest of his native Panjikent (as indicated by the Mount Mugh documents and the geography of numismatic finds). The political activity of Devashtich is mirrored not only in the records, but also in the mural decorations of his palace in Panjikent. Here we can see depictions of hostages, Arab ambassadors, and probably the conquest of Samarkand in 711, which was made with the help of a siege machine; Fig. 4 and 5.

From the writings we know that Devashtich, although seeking alliances with Turks and other forces, was in correspondence with the Arab Governor of the East (Amir al-Mashriq أمير المشرق) and seems to have converted to Islam (or at least pretended to convert). By late summer 722, the new Arab governor of Samarkand, Sa’id al-Harashi, organized a raid against Devashtich. Panjikent was captured and partially burned, and the ruler was forced to escape with his troops to the mountainous part of the Zerafshan Valley, where he was defeated, captured, and later crucified. Remnants of his archives, along with his followers’ possessions and arms, remained concealed for over a thousand years at this small castle on Mount Mugh; Fig. 6.