Definition: Transoxiana (or Transoxania) is an area of ancient Central Asia that is, literally, across (trans) the Oxus River. It is a major section of the Silk road. Oxus is based on the Greek name for the Amu Darya river, while Transoxiana is the Latin name for the area corresponding with modern Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and southwest Kazakhstan. Transoxiana is a region with two deserts, the Kara Kum and Kyzyl Kum, that lies between the rivers Amu Darya and Syr Darya.


Part of the area was also part of the Persian Empire where it was known as the satrapy of Sogdiana.

Transoxiana was under the control of the Achaemenids, Seleucids, Bactrian-Greeks, Kushans, Huns, and Sasanians before Arabs took control.

Main Source:
The Glories of Sogdiana

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Also Known As: Sogdiana