Tomb of An Jia

The Tomb of Ān Jiā, also sometimes read Ān Qié, is a Northern Zhou period (557–581 CE) funeral monument to a Sogdian nobleman named "An Jia" in the Chinese epitaph. The tomb was excavated in the city of Xi'an. It is now located in the collections of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology. An Jia (安伽) died in the founding year of the Daxiang (大象) era (579 CE), during the reign of Emperor Jing.

The tomb
The tomb was composed of a stone gate and a stone couch located at the bottom of a ramped passageway, a structure which is typical of tombs built for Chinese nobility. The stone gate is decorated by two lions and an horizontal tablet where a Zoroastrian sacrificial scene is depicted. This stone couch is composed of 11 stone blocks, decorated with a total of 56 pictures. These pictures are not Chinese in style, and show vivid scenes from the life of An Jia: out-going, feast, hunting, and entertainment.

The tomb was undisturbed and excavated intact in 2001, and was designated as one of the top ten archeological discoveries of that year. Other famous Chinese Sogdian tombs of the period are the Tomb of Yu Hong and the Tomb of Wirkak.

The Sogdian An Jia (518–579 CE)
An Jia (518–579 CE, died at the age of 62) was from a Sogdian noble family from Bukhara. According to his epitaph, he was the son of An Tujian (安突建), a governor of Mei Prefecture in Sichuan, and Lady Du (杜氏) of Changsong (a former county in Wuwei, Gansu). He was in charge of commercial affairs for foreign merchants from Middle Asia doing businesses in China, as well as Zoroastrian affairs, for the Tong Prefecture of the Northern Zhou dynasty. He held the official Chinese title "Sàbǎo" (薩保, "Protector, Guardian", derived from the Sogdian word s’rtp’w, "caravan leader"), used for government-appointed leaders of the Sogdian immigrant-merchant community. Anjia was based in Xi'an, and was buried there.

Sogdian tombs in China are among the most lavish of the period in this country, and are only slightly inferior to Imperial tombs, suggesting that the Sogdian Sabao were among the wealthiest members of the population.

Ethnographical aspects
The depictions in the tomb show the omnipresence of the Turks (at the time of the First Turkic Khaganate), who were probably the main trading partners of the Sogdian An Jia. The Hephthalites are essentially absent, or possibly showed once as a vassal ruler outside of the yurt of the Turk Qaghan, as they probably had been replaced by Turk hegemony by that time (they were destroyed by the alliance of the Sasanians and the Turks between 556 and 560 CE). In contrast, the Hephthalites are omnipresent in the Tomb of Wirkak, who, although he died at the same time of An Jia was much older at 85: Wirkak may therefore have primarily dealt with the Hephthalites during his younger years.

Epitaph
The epitaph of An Jia is as follows:

Text in traditional Chinese "Epitaph of An Jia, with transcription.jpg大周大都督同州薩保安君墓誌銘／君諱伽，字大伽，姑臧昌松人. 其先黃帝之苗裔，分／族因居命氏，世濟門風，代增家慶. 父突建，冠軍／將軍，眉州㓨史，幼擅家聲，長標望實，履仁蹈義，忠／君信友. 母杜氏，昌松縣君，婉茲四德，弘此三從，粛／穆閨闈，師儀鄉邑. 君誕之宿祉，蔚其早令，不同流／俗，不雜嚻塵，績宣朝野，見推里閈. 遂除同州薩保. ／君政撫閑合，遠迩祇恩，德盛位隆，於義斯在. 俄除／大都督. 董茲戎政，粛是軍容，志效雞鳴，身期馬革. ／而芒芒天道，杳杳神祗，福善之言，一何無驗周大／像元年五月，遘疾終於家，春秋六十二. 其秊嵗次／己亥十月己未朔，厝於長安之東，距／城七里. 但陵谷易徙，居諸難徙，佳城有斁，鎸勒□／無虧. 其詞曰：／基遥轉固，泒久弥清. 光踰照廡，價重連城. 方鴻節／鶩，譬驥齊征. 如何天道，奄塈泉扃. 寒原寂寞，曠野／䔥條. 岱山終礪，拱木俄撨. 佳城欝，隴月昭昭，嫌□／易，金石難銷."

Text in simplified Chinese "大周大都督同州萨保安君墓志铭／君讳伽，字大伽，姑臧昌松人. 其先黄帝之苗裔，分／族因居命氏，世济门风，代增家庆. 父突建，冠军／将军，眉州刺史，幼擅家声，长标望实，履仁蹈义，忠／君信友. 母杜氏，昌松县君，婉兹四德，弘此三从，肃／穆闺闱，师仪乡邑. 君诞之宿祉，蔚其早令，不同流／俗，不杂嚣尘，绩宣朝野，见推里闬. 遂除同州萨保. ／君政抚闲合，远迩祇恩，德盛位隆，于义斯在. 俄除／大都督. 董兹戎政，肃是军容，志效鸡鸣，身期马革. ／而芒芒天道，杳杳神祗，福善之言，一何无验周大／象元年五月，遘疾终于家，春秋六十二. 其年岁次／己亥十月己未朔，厝于长安之东，距／城七里. 但陵谷易徙，居诸难徙，佳城有斁，镌勒□／无亏. 其词曰：／基遥转固，泒久弥清. 光踰照庑，价重连城. 方鸿节／鹜，譬骥齐征. 如何天道，奄塈泉扃. 寒原寂寞，旷野／萧条. 岱山终砺，拱木俄撨. 佳城郁，陇月昭昭，嫌□／易，金石难销. "Epitaph of An, Sabao and Grand Governor of Tong Prefecture. His first name was Jia, also called "Dajia", and came from Guzangchangsong...""

- Epitaph of An Jia (translation upcoming)