Principality of Farghana
before 712–819
Map ofKhurasan,Transoxiana andTokharistan
Status	Autonomous principality, at times client of theUmayyads and theTurgesh orTang Dynasty
Capital	Akhsikath
Common languages	Sogdian
Government	Monarchy
Ikhshid
Historical era	Middle Ages
• Established	before 712
• Samanid conquest	819
Succeeded by Samanid Empire

ThePrincipality of Farghana (also spelledFerghana,Fergana, andFargana) was a localIranian dynasty ofSogdian origin, which ruled theFarghana region from an unknown date to 819. The rulers of the region were known by their titles of "ikhshid" and "dehqan". The capital of the principality wasAkhsikath.

The principality of Farghana was under Western Turk rule until it was destroyed by Tang China in 657 and after that under the Anxi Protectorate. It was conquered fromMajusis by theUmayyad Arab generalQutayba ibn Muslim during theMuslim conquest of Transoxiana. Farghana, along withKhujand, was shortly raided after Qutayba's victory over Gurak.

In 715, Qutayba completely subdued Farghana, and made it a vassal state of the Umayyad Caliphate. During the reign of the UmayyadcaliphSulayman ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 715–717), theikhshid ("king") of Farghana revolted against Umayyad authority, but was shortly defeated and killed. He was buried inAndijan. After the death of Qutayba (also in 715), Ferghana was taken back by Chinese general Zhang Xiaosong (張孝嵩).

In cities such asPanjikant andPai, the Sogdians revolted; the most dangerous being the rebellion of 720-722 underDivashtich andKarzanj, who gained the support of the ikhshid of Ferghana, known asat-Tar (also spelled Alutar). At-tar promised to give them protection in case their rebellion turned into a failure. While the army of Karzanj was staying at Khujand, at-Tar betrayed him, and told the Umayyad generalSa'id ibn Amr al-Harashi where Karzanj and his army was stationing. Al-Harashi quickly marched towards Khujand, where he defeated the army of Karzanj, brutally massacring over 3,000 Sogdian inhabitants in the city.^[2] He then marched towardsZarafshan, where he defeated and captured Divashtich, who was later executed. Sa'id thus managed to restore Umayyad control over Transoxiana, except Ferghana.^[3][4]

In 723, a Umayyad army underMuslim ibn Sa'id al-Kilabi invaded Ferghana, and devastated the countryside. However, an army under the TurgeshkhaganSuluk came to the rescue for their Ferghanian allies, and won a crushing victory over the Arabs in the so-called "Day of Thirst". In 726, Farghana became divided between two ikhshids, one ruling in the north and as a vassal of the Turgesh. In 729, an ikhshid of Farghana aided the Turgesh during theSiege of Kamarja, and two years later the Turgesh was aided by Ferghana during theBattle of the Defile. In 739, a Turk^{[citation needed]} named Arslan Dehqan, conquered Ferghana. However, at the same time Ferghana was invaded by the Umayyad generalMuhammad ibn Khalid Azdi.^[5] Nevertheless, the ikhshids of Ferghana are still mentioned in sources. Ferghana was in 740 ravaged by another Umayyad general namedNasr ibn Sayyar. Chinese sources, however, recorded that Arslan Dehqan assisted the Tang in defeating the Turgesh KhaganKut Chor in 739, married a Tang princess in 744, and received a granted last name Dou from emperor Xuanzong's mother.^[6] In 750, the Umayyad Caliphate fell, and was replaced by theAbbasid Caliphate. Farghana joined the Chinese side in the battle of Talas in 751. Nevertheless, Farghana remained out of Arab control from 715 until late 700s.

In 819, the governor ofKhurasan, Ghassan ibn 'Abbad, appointed theSamanid princeAhmad ibn Asad as the ruler of Farghana, thus marking the end of the ancient dynasty which ruled Farghana.^[5]

• Principality of Khuttal
• Principality of Chaghaniyan
• Bukhar Khudahs
• Principality of Ushrusana

• Hansen, Valerie (2012).The Silk Road. Oxford University Press. pp. 1–304.ISBN 9780195159318.Diwashini.
• Bosworth, C. Edmund (1999). "FARḠĀNA".Encyclopaedia Iranica. London et al.: C. Edmund Bosworth.
• Gibb, H. A. R. (1923).The Arab Conquests in Central Asia. London: The Royal Asiatic Society.OCLC 685253133.
• Litvinsky, B. A.; Dani, Ahmad Hasan (1996).History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The crossroads of civilizations, A.D. 250 to 750. UNESCO. pp. 1–569.ISBN 9789231032110.
• Blankinship, Khalid Yahya (1994).The End of the Jihâd State: The Reign of Hishām ibn ʻAbd al-Malik and the Collapse of the Umayyads. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.ISBN 978-0-7914-1827-7.

• States and territories disestablished in the 9th century
• Sogdians
• Zoroastrian dynasties
• States and territories established in the 8th century
• 810s disestablishments
• 8th-century establishments in Asia
• Former monarchies of Central Asia

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• Short description matches Wikidata
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• Articles with unsourced statements from February 2025