Sogdia lay south of Bactria.
=== Achaemenid period (546-327 BC) ===Achaemenid ruler Cyrus the Great conquered Sogdiana while campaigning in Central Asia in 546539 BC, a fact mentioned by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus in his Histories
 During the Middle Ages, the valley of the Zarafshan around Samarkand retained its Sogdian name, Samarkand

