The instruments of Sogd, Bactria, Tokharistan, Chach, Ferghana and Khwarezm all have their own unique aspects of design expressed in a variety of forms, detailing and types of performance. Instruments were used in rituals and ancient cult rites, secular performances at courts, private events and in official ceremonies.
The female and male characters holding musical instruments (seen most frequently on smaller terracotta dishes) expressed the more ancient cultic beliefs of local goddesses and deified patrons. Two main types of affined lute-like instruments take the form of “short-neck lutes” (prototypes of the ‘ud a nd European lute) a nd “longneck lutes” (analogous to the tanbur).
The largest center of instrumental culture in Uzbekistan in ancient times and the Early Middle Ages was the historical and cultural region of Sogd (Sogdiana), the capital of which was in Samarkand (the settlement of Afrasiab). A lot of archaeological material comes from this area, such as smaller terracotta tems, toreutics, and murals depicting various percussion, string and horn instruments. The technical perfection and complexity of Sogdian instruments indicates that they belonged to an ancient, highly-developed urban civilization.
You can learn more about the topic in the book-album "The Musical Legacy of Uzbekistan in Collections of the Russian Federation" (Volume VI) from the series "Cultural legacy of Uzbekistan in the world collections".
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Local centers of instrumental development
Local centers of instrumental development also came into being thanks to these distinct historical and cultural areas.