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Powerball Jackpot Nears $500 Million as Mega Millions Climbs to $900 Million – Zoom Bangla News

The Powerball jackpot for Monday, November 10, 2025, surged to nearly $500 million after no ticket matched all winning numbers in Saturday’s $467 million drawing. With the Mega Millions jackpot also nearing $900 million, lottery fever is sweeping across the United States once again.
Officials confirmed that the Powerball grand prize has now rolled over 25 consecutive times since resetting to $20 million on September 8. The streak began just after a pair of tickets from Texas and Missouri shared the record-setting $1.787 billion jackpot drawn on September 6.
According to Powerball.com, the prize for the Monday, November 10 drawing was estimated at $490 million, with a one-time cash option of $229.8 million. Players were eagerly awaiting the results, which were released shortly after 11 p.m. ET.
Saturday’s winning numbers were 3, 53, 60, 62, 68, and the Powerball 11, with a Power Play multiplier of 2x. No player matched all six numbers, meaning the jackpot continued to grow heading into the new week. Powerball tickets cost $2 and drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 11 p.m. ET, including holidays.
The Powerball prize pool has seen rapid increases over the past month. Starting from $400 million on November 1, it climbed to $490 million by November 10, marking one of the fastest-growing streaks in recent months. Lottery officials say the excitement is also fueled by Mega Millions’ concurrent $900 million jackpot set for Veterans Day, November 11.
powerball
Since the September 8 reset, the Powerball jackpot has climbed steadily. Weekly rollovers pushed it past several key milestones: $160 million on September 29, $304 million on October 20, and over $400 million by early November. The last winning Powerball jackpot ticket was sold in Fredericksburg, Texas, and St. Louis, Missouri, for the record $1.787 billion prize — the second-largest in game history.
As of November 10, the top ten Powerball jackpots include several billion-dollar drawings, led by the $2.04 billion record from November 2022 in California. The recent Mega Millions surge adds further anticipation for lottery players nationwide, with both games’ combined jackpots now exceeding $1.3 billion.
Lottery officials remind players that the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot remain 1 in 292.2 million. Winners have 180 days to claim their prize, though the lump-sum cash option must be chosen within 60 days. In Florida and most states, lottery winners’ names become public record, though prizes over $250,000 are granted a 90-day confidentiality period.
Powerball drawings are conducted live from the Florida Lottery studio and broadcast nationwide. Players can also check results on official lottery websites or mobile apps. Experts recommend double-checking ticket numbers and keeping tickets secure until the drawing is verified.
Both Powerball and Mega Millions continue to dominate headlines this week, with millions of Americans eyeing life-changing fortunes. Whether or not Monday produces a winner, excitement is certain to carry into the next drawing.
The next Powerball drawing is scheduled for Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at 11 p.m. ET.
The one-time cash option for the November 10 drawing was $229.8 million before taxes.
The odds of matching all six numbers and winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.
In Florida, winners cannot remain fully anonymous, though those winning $250,000 or more are granted a 90-day privacy window.
As of November 2025, U.S. lotteries have seen 13 jackpots surpass the $1 billion mark, including Powerball and Mega Millions drawings.
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Winning Pa. Lottery numbers for Nov. 10, 2025 – PennLive.com

Time to check your tickets.
Here are the latest winning lottery numbers from Monday, Nov. 10, 2025.
You can find all the lottery results, including Powerball and Mega Millions, each night on PennLive.
Pick 2 Day: 3, 0 Wild Ball: 8
Pick 2 Evening: 8, 1 Wild Ball: 2
Pick 3 Day: 5, 6, 7 Wild Ball: 8
Pick 3 Evening: 9, 8, 4 Wild Ball: 2
Pick 4 Day: 8, 7, 7, 7 Wild Ball: 8
Pick 4 Evening: 3, 2, 3, 5 Wild Ball: 2
Pick 5 Day: 5, 9, 0, 0, 3 Wild Ball: 8
Pick 5 Evening: 3, 9, 9, 6, 6 Wild Ball: 2
Treasure Hunt: 1, 3, 11, 12, 22 Next Jackpot: $12,000 Change from last: $75,000
Cash 5: 2, 11, 30, 32, 39 Next Jackpot: Pending
Match 6: 19, 25, 31, 33, 37, 38 Next Jackpot: Pending
Cash4Life (Nov. 9): 3, 8, 18, 20, 22 Cash Ball: 4
Generative AI was used to pull in the lottery results for this story, based on information from the Pennsylvania Lottery, which was reviewed and edited by Advance Media staff.
Learn more about our gaming editorial staff.
If you have a gambling problem and are located in Pennsylvania, call 1-800-GAMBLER or contact the 24-hour helpline chat at https://www.pacouncil.com/chatline.
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Whitelist’s Gone, But Presale’s On: $HUGS ICO Turns Milk Mocha’s Global Fandom Into Crypto Fanatics – Crypto Economy

HomeCrypto PresalesWhitelist’s Gone, But Presale’s On: $HUGS ICO Turns Milk Mocha’s Global Fandom Into Crypto Fanatics
Crypto has never looked this adorable. Milk Mocha ($HUGS), the beloved bear duo adored by millions across social media, has brought love, laughter, and loyalty onto the blockchain, with $HUGS token melting hearts and breaking records. The whitelist is now full and closed, and the much-anticipated presale is now live.

From comic panels to crypto portfolios, Milk Mocha’s ($HUGS) message of kindness has found its perfect place in Web3. With the whitelist now closed and the presale live, fans and traders are rushing to join one of 2025’s most heartwarming crypto stories. 
No KYC, no limits, and no long forms make it effortlessly accessible, keeping the spirit of community alive while offering real rewards. The same charm that fueled the whitelist frenzy is now powering the presale, proving that crypto built on connection can also deliver lasting value. For those who missed the whitelist, this is the moment to act before the next stage sells out.
What began as a simple whitelist has now become a global milestone. After filling up at record speed, the $HUGS whitelist has officially closed, sparking a worldwide rush into the live presale. Fans and traders from every corner of the globe are now joining one of 2025’s most talked-about crypto presales.
Getting started is refreshingly simple; just connect your wallet and buy in directly. The presale spans 40 stages, beginning at $0.0002 per token and the price increasing with each round. Every purchase helps tighten supply, while unsold tokens are permanently burned to preserve value and scarcity.
This thoughtful design rewards early buyers and ensures sustainable growth as the presale advances. Analysts note that $HUGS achieved one of the fastest whitelist sellouts of 2025, proving that Milk Mocha’s blend of charm and credibility has struck a chord well beyond traditional crypto circles. The bears may be adorable, but the numbers are anything but soft.
Don’t let the cuddly branding fool you. Beneath the surface, $HUGS is built on a strong foundation of real-world utility and smart deflationary mechanics. The project blends staking, NFTs, governance, and gamified engagement to create an ecosystem that’s as functional as it is fun.
Holders can earn up to 60% APY through flexible staking with daily compounding and instant reward withdrawals. Each transaction, whether from mini-games, NFT purchases, or marketplace trades, triggers token burns, constantly reducing supply and reinforcing scarcity.
This balance of emotional storytelling and disciplined design sets $HUGS apart from standard meme coins. Instead of relying on hype or volatility, Milk Mocha’s team has built a project that rewards loyalty, creativity, and consistency. It’s a love story with a business model, proving that even in crypto, kindness can be profitable.

If there’s one thing that makes $HUGS unstoppable, it’s the community. Milk Mocha’s global fanbase, spanning LINE, Instagram, TikTok, and beyond, already numbers in the millions. These aren’t just followers; they’re devoted fans who have spent years sharing comics, merch, and messages of positivity. Now, they’re uniting under one tokenized banner.
The 10% lifetime referral system plays a big role in this growth. Fans who invite friends to the whitelist earn bonuses for life, turning simple sharing into a revenue stream. Every referral benefits both users, reinforcing the project’s ethos that generosity multiplies value.
Meanwhile, the project’s governance feature allows token holders to influence major decisions, from NFT design drops to community-led charity initiatives. It’s decentralization with a personal touch: the same warmth that defines Milk Mocha’s art now fuels its blockchain democracy.
This emotional connection is what makes $HUGS more than a meme coin. It’s a movement powered by kindness and collaboration, proof that in 2025, community-driven projects are not just thriving; they’re rewriting the rules.
With the whitelist now officially closed, anticipation has shifted to the live $HUGS presale. Each new stage offers fewer tokens at progressively higher prices, rewarding those who join early. Analysts project potential returns of 150x–200x once $HUGS reaches exchanges later this year, reinforcing its position as one of 2025’s most promising launches.
The roadmap ahead is filled with major milestones. The release of the official NFT collection will introduce limited-edition Milk Mocha artwork that grants staking boosts and exclusive community rewards. A gamified staking dashboard is also on the horizon, allowing users to earn tokens through daily challenges and mini-games.

Every element reinforces the project’s deflationary model; more activity means more burns, and more burns mean greater long-term value. Beyond that, Milk Mocha plans to expand into merchandising and brand partnerships, bridging the physical and digital worlds in one adorable, connected economy.
The race has ended, but the excitement is just beginning. With every whitelist spot now filled, Milk Mocha’s $HUGS presale has gone live, marking one of the fastest-moving launches of 2025. Fans and traders from around the world are now joining the live sale before the next price increase sends $HUGS into its next stage.
Offering 60% APY staking, NFT integration, referral rewards, and real community governance, $HUGS blends emotion and economy like no other token. It’s accessible, authentic, and full of heart, a project that transforms affection into opportunity. 
For those who missed the whitelist, the presale is your entry point to join the bears before their big debut. One click, one presale, one unforgettable community. The cutest crypto story of the year isn’t over, it’s just getting started.
Explore Milk Mocha Now:
Website: ​​https://www.milkmocha.com/
X: https://x.com/Milkmochahugs
Telegram: https://t.me/MilkMochaHugs
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milkmochahugs/
This article contains information about a cryptocurrency presale. Crypto Economy is not associated with the project. As with any initiative within the crypto ecosystem, we encourage users to do their own research before participating, carefully considering both the potential and the risks involved. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
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Jazz's Isaiah Collier: Headed to bench – CBS Sports

If not listed, please contact your TV provider.
Collier will come off the bench for Monday’s matchup with Minnesota.
Collier logged 26 minutes as a starter in his regular-season debut Friday, so it’ll be interesting to see what his minutes look like in the reserve role Monday night. He was a DNP-CD in the previous game, so he’s a risky guy to target in daily fantasy leagues.
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The content on this site is for entertainment purposes only and CBS Sports makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event. Odds subject to change. There is no gambling offered on this site. This site contains commercial content and CBS Sports may be compensated for the links provided on this site.
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Customer tipped woman with lottery ticket, making her $500K richer | National – Daily Hive

National
For one Canadian woman, a Free Play lottery ticket handed to her by a generous customer as a tip turned into a shocking win.
Elizabeth Kielty is a Mississauga, Ont., resident who works in the transportation service industry. During an ordinary day at work, a customer gave her an unusual tip for great service: a Lotto Max Free Play ticket.
“I set the ticket aside and completely forgot about it,” Kielty said. “Several weeks later, I remembered the ticket and took it to the store to redeem my Free Play with another Lotto Max ticket.”
She then returned to the store a few days after the draw to check her tickets, including the one she got from the customer’s Free Play ticket.
“When I had my ticket that came from the ‘tip’ validated, the lottery terminal froze, and the clerk told me my ticket was a big winner. I remained calm and collected, but I was in disbelief,” she said. “A representative from OLG called the store, and I said, ‘Are you sure I won? I think you made a mistake!’”
Elizabeth Kielty of Mississauga, Ont. (OLG)
To her surprise, Kielty discovered that the “tip” ticket was a winner — she had won half of a Maxmillions prize in the Aug. 13, 2024, draw. She was now $500,000 richer, her first big win after playing the lottery for decades.
“I spent the next 24 hours trying to understand how I’d won this prize,” she recalled. “I was convinced there had been an error somewhere. I only really believed it around 2 a.m. when I found the information about the winning ticket on OLG’s website. Clearly, I’m an evidence-based person.”
While at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to claim her windfall, she said she plans to use her win to upgrade her vehicle. She’s also going to invest her winnings “in a safe place” while she thinks about what to do with her money.
“I’m happy to receive this prize and grateful for the positive impact it’ll have on my life,” she said.
The winning ticket was purchased at Petro-Canada on Burnhamthorpe Road in Mississauga.
All forms of gambling, including the lottery, involve risk and outcomes are based on chance. Individuals are strongly advised to gamble responsibly. If you are experiencing any signs of gambling-related issues, check out these resources.


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Powerball for Monday, Nov. 10, close to $500 million as Mega Millions hits $900 million – Treasure Coast News

Lottery fever is spiking.
Will a $2 ticket make you a multimillionaire? As they say in the lottery business, “it could happen to you.”
After no one matched all five numbers plus the Powerball in the Saturday, Nov. 8, Powerball drawing for $467 million, the jackpot jumped to almost $500 million for Monday, Nov. 10.
The current jackpot has since rolled over 25 times after resetting to $20 million on Sept. 8, when a pair of tickets from Fredericksburg, Texas, and St. Louis, Missouri, won the $1.787 billion Powerball drawing on Sept. 6.
And after a rollover on Friday, Nov. 7, Mega Millions rose to a whopping $900 million (from $843 million) for Tuesday, Nov. 11, or Veterans Day. The current Mega Millions jackpot rose on the all-time largest Mega Millions jackpot list, too.
But before that, there’s $490 million up for grabs with Monday’s Powerball drawing. The one-time cash option would be $229.8 million, according to Powerball online. Check back after 11 p.m. ET for Monday, Nov. 10, winning numbers. We’ll see if there’s a winner or another rollover.
In case you’re wondering, Saturday’s winning Powerball numbers were 3-53-60-62-68 and the Powerball was 11. Power Play was 2x. There were no secondary winners in that draw.
Tickets start at $2 a piece. Below is what to know about lottery odds, how long to claim the cash option if you bought a ticket in Florida, and what happens to unclaimed prize money, according to the Florida Lottery.
Good luck!
Powerball lottery drawings are at 11 p.m. ET every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, including holidays. Check back for Monday, Nov. 10, winning Powerball numbers. We’ll see if there’s a winner so soon after the historic $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot or another chance at more money for the grand prize.
The current Powerball streak started Monday, Sept. 8, after a ticket purchased in Fredericksburg, Texas, and St. Louis, Missouri, matched all five numbers plus the Powerball in the $1.787 billion drawing on Sept. 6, 2025.
Below is a recap of drawings and rollovers and how much the jackpot has increased over time.
Powerball drawings are held at 11 p.m. ET Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, including holidays. According to Powerball.com, players have a 1 in 292.2 million chance to match all six numbers whether the jackpot is $20 million or $2 billion. Prizes range from $2 to the grand prize jackpot, which varies.
The next Powerball drawing will be Wednesday, Nov. 11, the day after Veterans Day, a federal holiday.
Prizes for Florida Lottery must be claimed within 180 days (six months) from the date of the drawing. To claim a single-payment cash option, a winner has within the first 60 days after the applicable draw date to claim it.
The Florida Lottery says its scratch-off tickets and Fast Play game prizes “must be claimed within 60 days of the official end-of-game date. Once the applicable time period has elapsed, the related Florida Lottery ticket will expire.”
According to Florida Lottery’s website, winners cannot remain anonymous: “Florida law mandates that the Florida Lottery provide records containing information such as the winner’s name, city of residence; game won, date won, and amount won to any third party who requests the information.”
However, the site states, the “names of lottery winners claiming prizes of $250,000 or greater will be temporarily exempt from public disclosure for 90 days from the date the prize is claimed, unless otherwise waived by the winner.”
Lottery experts and lawyers have said there are ways to remain anonymous if you win.
Here are the Top 10 Powerball jackpots in the history of the game as of Nov. 10, 2025:
10. $754.6 million — Feb. 6, 2023; Washington
9. $758.7 million — Aug. 23, 2017; Massachusetts
8. $768.4 million — March 27, 2019; Wisconsin
7. $842.4 million — Jan. 1, 2024; Michigan
6. $1.08 billion — July 19, 2023; California
5. $1.33 billion — April 6, 2024; Oregon
4. $1.586 billion — Jan. 13, 2016; California, Florida and Tennessee
3. $1.765 billion Powerball drawing — Oct. 11, 2023; California
2. $1.787 billion — Sept. 6, 2025; Missouri and Texas
1.$2.04 billion — Nov. 7, 2022; California
As of Nov. 10, 2025, there have been 13 lottery jackpots that have reached or surpassed $1 billion. Only once has a jackpot surpassed $2 billion. These are the biggest lottery jackpots in U.S. history.
(This story will be updated to include new information.)

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MN Lottery Results: Pick 3, NORTH5 winning numbers for Nov. 9, 2025 – St. Cloud Times

The Minnesota Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 9, 2025, results for each game:
4-9-7
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
20-21-24-26-27
Check North 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Winning lottery numbers are sponsored by Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network.
Tickets can be purchased in person at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. Some airport terminals may also sell lottery tickets.
You can also order tickets online through Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network, in these U.S. states and territories: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., and West Virginia. The Jackpocket app allows you to pick your lottery game and numbers, place your order, see your ticket and collect your winnings all using your phone or home computer.
Jackpocket is the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network. Gannett may earn revenue for audience referrals to Jackpocket services. GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). 18+ (19+ in NE, 21+ in AZ). Physically present where Jackpocket operates. Jackpocket is not affiliated with any State Lottery. Eligibility Restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. Terms: jackpocket.com/tos.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a St. Cloud Times editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Fast 10: Phil McDonald Wants To See Adland Put An End To Its ‘Buzzword Bingo’ – bandt.com.au

Phil McDonald is the CEO of BCM Group, one of Australia’s most awarded indie creative and media agencies, and also one of its oldest. McDonald has continued to drive growth for BCM through highs and lows, not by cutting costs and staff, but by investing in the people who make it happen. Our very own Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham sat down with McDonald to ask him about his journey .
With over 20 years of experience leading media, creative, PR and research companies as regional CEO, managing director and owner, McDonald has earned a reputation for being one of the most forward-thinking minds in the industry. Cutting his teeth at Clemenger BBDO, Leo Burnett, and later VML, McDonald has had a hand in crafting work for some of Australia’s most innovative agencies.
1) You’ve had an outstanding career, from your early days as a suit at Clems BBDO to fast forward 20+ years as the owner/CEO of the BCM Group. If you had to pick only one, what would be your career highlight so far?
Phil McDonald: The highlight of my career so far is most definitely the people I have worked with. I met them at agencies as diverse as Leo Burnett Thailand, Mojo, Clems, GPY&R Sydney and Y&R Brisbane and many are still my mates today. We stay in touch and when possible grab a beer, or a check-in phone call. The good people in our industry know that success in media and advertising is determined by the strength and tightness of your team and that’s why so many close bonds have been formed and remain intact today.
2) Is the agency the first/oldest indie in Australia?  What’s fuelled that growth from humble beginnings to the largest in Queensland and long before indies were hot?
PM: BCM’s first incarnation was Knowles Bristow, an agency formed in the early ‘70s, so that must put it up there as close to the oldest indie in Australia. When I took ownership of the company, we launched IVY PR & Social and Veracity Insights and Consulting as part of the BCM group, and set ourselves up to be an agency for today’s media and marketing landscape. At our heart we are a media and data agency fuelled by creativity and I believe that offering is perfect for clients trying to navigate the current world.
3) I love that you look after your people and ages ago implemented a profit sharing program with your management team and continue to invest in them. Has this shown results and what else are you doing to retain, nurture and attract great talent?
PM: Our MDs are rewarded by our success. This is something I implemented when I took ownership. This is the true value of an indie – the leaders who shoulder the most responsibility should also be rewarded if we achieve success.
4) As a young  boy, what did you want to be when you grew up?
PM: When I was a kid I loved the Manly Sea Eagles (still do!). When a trip to Brookie wasn’t on I would be glued to the TV to watch whatever game was being covered. I really wanted to be a sports commentator. After leaving school I started a journalism degree but fell into advertising and the rest is history – and no one has ever crossed live to me on the sideline. That’s probably a good thing.
5) The agency prides itself on delivering an integrated offering with a media first approach.  Can you tell us a bit more about that and your data-driven suicide prevention program?
PM: “Internet-Vention” is an idea that lives at the heart of what we do. It’s a creative idea, a data idea, a media idea – grounded in real insight and smart strategy. It brings everything together to help solve a growing problem in our society today, which is suicide. The campaign is still running and I personally fund it to ensure the media buy never runs out – I’d love to get more people to help me keep it going and keep making a real difference. I’m extremely proud that my team bought that to life with our mates at LIVIN, a non-profit mental health organisation.
6) As an industry, what’s one thing you would change to make us all better?
PM: I’d really like to see an end to the ongoing obsession with Buzzword Bingo that seems to be getting even more pronounced, as the global industry pretends to have an answer to harnessing AI. Our industry really can be full of shit sometimes and the more honest we are and the more focussed we can be on solving client problems with real creative and strategic brilliance – the more effective we will all be. Leaving the BS behind would definitely make all of us better!
7) Another great homegrown initiative is the BADASS study. Can you share some of the vital findings?
PM: Veracity deployed this study for Otis, one of the top recruiters in the Queensland market. It was designed to get an updated sense check on industry sentiment and it showed that the best agencies were those with the strongest leadership – not the most doona days or pool tables. The agencies where the people with the big titles knew where the business was going and had the control to get it there were the agencies people wanted to work at. People value strong leadership, but they can sniff out compromised leadership in about 10 seconds.
8) Times are tough, how are your local clients in QLD achieving growth? Your global client Messi The Fragrance is smashing it, why?
PM: We are working with clients to truly and honestly bring everything together. Paid media in lockstep with earned media. Research that utilises media smarts. Research that fuels creativity. Media that delivers connection and effectiveness. This is getting results and it’s working for our clients.
Leo Messi, is probably the most humble person I have met and considering he might be the greatest footballer to have ever played – that is saying something. Our campaign was all about this and the many sides of the man himself. The product was also developed by Game On Product Group (our client) and what they don’t know about fragrance and retail isn’t worth knowing.
9) What’s one thing that’s not on your LinkedIn profile?
PM: My consistently solid performances at agency Christmas parties since my first Mojo Christmas party in 1991.
10) Important last question, do your parents know what you do? 
PM: They most certainly do. My old man started in the despatch room at George Patts in George Street, Sydney and carved out a successful career at Patts and Leo’s – where I also ended up working, so he definitely knew what I did. And therefore mum has a pretty good idea as well!
 
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Dancing Shiva in Samarkand: Central Asian traders spread Hinduism, Buddhism along Silk Road – ThePrint

Afghanistan, they say, is the graveyard of empires. Central Asia, if we look at the archaeology clearly, is the graveyard of unitary nationalist histories. Perhaps no people exemplify this as much as the Sogdians: arguably one of the most influential diasporas in human history, on par with or even surpassing India’s own.

In the 7th century CE, the city of Kabul was home to Hindu Turk Shahs. If you were to travel to its north, across the Oxus (Amu Darya) river, you would come across a scattering of city-states, squabbling and trading with each other and the world. Within them you would meet the Sogdians, who were Buddhists, Mazdaists, Zoroastrians, Christians, Jews; alongside them were diasporas of Central Asian, South Asian, West Asian, or East Asian descent; they spoke a babble of languages, primarily Iranic, but with many Indic loan words. These forgotten people remind us, as always, that the past was a world without borders.

In the shadow of the Kushans

To understand the Sogdians at their peak in the 7th–8thcenturies CE, we need to first see them when they were insignificant nobodies, 500 years prior. The Kushan imperial network, which we have visited in previous editions of Thinking Medieval, was a great force through much of the Gangetic Plains, Afghanistan, and parts of Xinjiang. They controlled the origin points of trade networks that stretched from the Indian Subcontinent into Persia, the Roman Empire, and into distant China. Overland trade to China was conducted by skirting the Taklamakan desert, either from the north or from the south.

Trade over the desert was a risky endeavour. Historian Valerie Hansen notes in The Silk Roads: A New History that it generally consisted of valuable commodities in small volumes. But such commodities could still generate enormous profits: as Judith A Lerner and Thomas Wilde put it in their exhibition notes for the Smithsonian Institution, they were among the most demanded items in the ancient world, such as “horses from the Ferghana Valley, gemstones from India, musk from Tibet, furs from the steppes to the north”.

The “brilliant urban civilisation” of the Kushans, according to historian Étienne de la Vassière in her magisterial Sogdian Traders: A History, quite outshone the “very mediocre situation” in Sogdiana—roughly the region corresponding to present-day southwest Uzbekistan and eastern Tajikistan. Sogdiana was somewhat of a backwater, situated off to the northeast to the trade routes that led across the Taklamakan Desert. At the time, Kushan merchants dominated the trade in horses in the 2nd century CE, appearing as far afield as China and Southeast Asia. But Sogdian traders also began to participate in the same networks, immigrating and putting down roots in Kushan cities while maintaining ties to their homeland.

de la Vassière notes that when the Karakoram Highway was built between present-day Pakistan and China, enormous amounts of Sogdian graffiti were discovered, suggesting that they were settling in the upper reaches of the Indus River by the 3rd century CE. One interesting bit of graffiti is a prayer by a Sogdian merchant to a local spirit, asking for protection so that he could visit his brother safely. Such family networks allowed Sogdians access to capital and market information and gave them a competitive advantage over other groups.

At the same time, Sogdians also began to appear in China. In A Silk Road Legacy: The Spread of Buddhism and Islam, historian Xinriu Liu points out that the earliest Buddhist monks in China were not native Indians, but Sogdians. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, they were working in China, translating texts from Sanskrit into Chinese. de la Vassière notes that Buddhism was not a major force in Sogdiana at this time, and so these Sogdian Buddhist monks were most probably members of merchant families who had settled in India, where they had absorbed both Buddhism and Sanskrit before moving to China.


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Hindu gods in Samarkand

While the concepts underlying Indian gods were quite ancient, they were never static entities. They were worshipped and patronised by diverse groups, and these impacted their evolution. We can see this process quite clearly for Buddhism, and the same phenomenon applied to its contemporary religions as well, including Hinduism.

For example, the militant Kushans preferred to represent Skanda as Mahasena, literally “Great General”. The Sogdians, as part of the Kushan milieu, were exposed to these pluralistic pantheons, and brought them back to their cities. Their religious traditions melded their local Iranic fire-worship with new imports, maintaining the distinctive Sogdian identity. To illustrate all this, consider Samarkand in present-day Uzbekistan—once the greatest of Sogdian city-states. Drawing on the testimony of the famous Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, Liu argues that in Samarkand, the Buddha was honoured with processions of torches and firebrands.

The “Sogdian Whirl”, an ancient Sogdian dance form popular in China | Wikimedia

Though the Kushan empire had been torn apart by the 4thcentury, Sogdian diaspora networks outlived it, and only continued to grow in prominence. By the 7th–8th centuries, they were the dominant foreign traders in China, and Sogdian costumes and dance forms were all the rage in the cosmopolitan cities of Tang Dynasty China. By this point, there were also significant South Asian diasporas in Sogdiana, and Indian monks had begun to have prosperous careers in China. The prosperity of Sogdiana can be seen in the mansions of wealthy merchants. Elaborate frescoes of gods, myths, and even Panchatantra stories offer a glimpse into their imaginations.

Sogdian engagement with foreign gods was, in many ways, the mirror of the imperial Kushan dynamic. While Kushan appropriation of Indian gods was driven by the imperial court, in Sogdiana it was a decentralised process, being driven by diverse merchant elites. While Kushan conceptions influenced gods worshipped in India, Indian conceptions instead influenced gods worshipped in Sogdiana.

The Zoroastrian gods of the Sogdians had many attributes, and the by now well-established Indian sculptural norm of multiple arms and faces provided a model to represent them in all their splendour. In Iranian Gods in Hindu Garb, art historian Frantz Grenet cites Buddhist Sogdian texts which mention composite deities such as “Brahmā-Zurwān, Indra-Adhvagh, Mahādeva-Wēšparkar”. Their iconography was primarily derived from Indian models: “Brahmā-Zurwān has a beard, Indra-Adhvagh a third eye, Mahādeva-Wēšparkar three faces.” This last god follows on the lines of the ancient Kushan composite deity, Oēšo-Śiva, and is similarly a composite of a cosmic wind god with the supreme Shiva. In Panjikent in present-day Tajikistan, another major Sogdian city, Mahādeva-Wēšparkar was depicted blowing a horn with one of his three faces, making the connection to wind especially clear.

These borrowings could be dizzyingly complex—not intentionally, but rather as an organic assimilation. Layers of borrowings, in all directions, built up century over century. Grenet argues that in some cases, motifs moved from Gangetic to Kushan to Persian contexts before arriving in Sogdiana.

As a result of all this, 7th century Sogdian may not have necessarily thought of these motifs, these composite deities, as “Indian” or “foreign”. From their point of view, this was just how gods were represented. To them, these models were very much local ones, native to their cosmopolitan world. It is only with modern eyes, accustomed to linking one religion with one language with one people with one region, that the Sogdian pantheon seems particularly strange to us. But the silent frescoes of the dancing Shiva in Panjikent, or elephant-riding gods battling tigers and leopards, in Varaksha challenge us to see this ancient world beyond nationalist sentiment. Connections like this, though they do not reinforce modern political notions of superiority or exclusivity, make the world of our ancestors (and by extension, our own) infinitely richer.

Anirudh Kanisetti is a public historian. He is the author of Lords Of The Deccan: Southern India From Chalukyas To Cholas, and hosts The Echoes of India and Yuddha podcasts. He tweets @AKanisetti. Views are personal.

This article is a part of the ‘Thinking Medieval’ series that takes a deep dive into India’s medieval culture, politics, and history.

(Edited by Prashant)