薩寶

From Sogdian 𐼼𐼰𐽀𐽂𐼾𐼰𐼴 (sʾrtpʾw /⁠*sārtapau⁠/, “leader of caravan; caravaneer”) as attested in a bilingual epitaph, with the accompanying Chinese reading 薩保. The Sogdian term is a compound whose first part corresponds to the Sanskrit सार्थ (sārtha, “caravan”) while the latter component is a subject of debate (Yoshida, 1988; Dien, 2009). Cf. Sanskrit सार्थवाह (sārthavāha, “caravan leader”), and Old Persian 𐎱𐎠𐎮𐎹 (p-a-di-y, “to protect”) from Proto-Indo-Iranian *paH-. The component might have been influenced by Chinese or intended as Chinese phono-semantic matching, as both 保 (MC pawX, “guardian; protector”) and 甫 (MC pjuX, “honorific suffix for male names”) are meaningful in the title.

薩寶

1. (historical, Tang Dynasty) title for the leader of a Sogdian community in ancient China

   • 視正五品：薩寶。視從七品：薩寶府祆正。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     视正五品：萨宝。视从七品：萨宝府祆正。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     From: Du You, Tongdian, 766 – 801 CE

     Shì zhèng wǔpǐn: sàbǎo. Shì cóng qīpǐn: sàbǎo fǔ xiānzhèng. [Pinyin]

     Equivalent to the full fifth-rank (of civil offices): the Sat-pau. Equivalent to the junior seventh-rank: Zoroastrian cleric of the Sat-pau's office.