Tajiks are Iranians. Religion in Tajikistan: history and modernity. Tajikistan: famous locals

History of the emergence of the Tajik people

The formation of the Tajik people was preceded by long ethnogenetic processes that began in the 1st millennium BC. The territory where the Tajiks were formed was ancient Bactria (basin of the Amu Darya river), Sogdiana (basin of the Zeravshan and Kashkadarya rivers), and the Fergana Valley. Bactrians, Sogdians, Parkans (ancient Fergana people) lived here - farmers, as well as Saka tribes who roamed the northern and eastern outskirts of this country. The modern descendants of the Sogdians are the Yagnobis, and the Saks are the Pamir Tajiks.
In the 2nd century AD. The Yuezhi (or Tocharians) penetrate into Bactria. One of the branches of the Sako-Tokhars, the Kushans, created a powerful state (Kushan Empire). Its weakening led to the 4th-5th century AD. to the invasion of Central Asia by new steppe tribes - the Hephthalites, who formed a vast state that successfully fought with Sasanian Iran. With education in the 6th century. The penetration of Turkic ethnic elements into the Turkic Khaganate increased.
By the time of the Arab conquest in the 8th century. On the territory of modern Tajikistan, three main ethnic regions were distinguished: Sogdian in the north, Fergana in the northeast and Tocharian in the south. Arab invasions slowed down the process of formation of the Tajik people. With the formation of the Samanid state in the 9th-10th centuries. The process of formation of the ethnic core of the Tajiks was completed. This process was associated with the spread of the common Tajik language, which gradually replaced the languages of the Eastern Iranian group (Sogdian, Bactrian, Saka).
From the end of the 10th century, political dominance in Central Asia passed to the Turkic-speaking peoples; more and more new waves of Turkic, and later Mongolian tribes penetrated into the areas of the settled Tajik population. The process of Turkization of Tajiks begins, especially on the plains, to a lesser extent in the mountains and big cities(Bukhara, Samarkand, Khojent).
During the Tajik SSR, the Tajik language completely completed its formation.
This is an article from the Soviet Historical Encyclopedia, published in 1973.
Now let’s write the same article from the Encyclopedia of Cyril and Methodius for 2005.
The formation of the Tajik people was preceded by long ethnogenetic processes dating back to the end of the second - beginning of the first millennium BC, when Iranian-speaking tribes came from the Eurasian steppes to Central Asia. They mixed with local Late Bronze Age tribes and the general population Central Asia became Iranian-language. In Ancient Bactria (the Amu Darya basin), Sogd (the Zeravshan and Kashkadarya basin), and the Fergana Valley, the agricultural tribes of the Bactrians, Sogdians, and Parkans (ancient Fergana people) lived; the Sakas roamed the northern and eastern outskirts of Central Asia. The descendants of the Sogdians (according to linguistic data) are considered to be the Yagnobis; Saka tribes played an important role in the formation of the Pamir Tajiks. In the second century BC, the Yuezhi, or Tocharians, which included Saka tribes, penetrated into Bactria. With the formation of the Turkic Khaganate in the 6th century, the penetration of Turkic ethnic elements into Central Asia intensified.
By the time of the Arab conquest (8th century), three main ethnic regions of the future Tajik nation had emerged: Sogdian in the north, Ferghana in the northeast and Tocharian in the south, the population of which for many centuries retained distinctive features in culture and way of life. The Arab invasion slowed down the formation of the Tajik people. But with the formation of the independent Samanid state in the 9th-10th centuries, the process of formation of the ethnic core of the Tajiks was completed, which was associated with the spread of the common Tajik language, which became dominant in the Samanid era. Tajik culture and science are developing in this language, and a rich literature is being formed. From the end of the 10th century, political dominance in Central Asia passed to the Turkic-speaking peoples, new waves of Turkic, and later Mongolian tribes penetrated into the areas of the settled Tajik population; The centuries-long process of Turkization of Tajiks began, especially on the plains, and to a lesser extent in the mountains and big cities. However, the Tajik language not only survived, but was also state language Turkic rulers. In 1868 northern regions, inhabited by Tajiks, became part of the Russian possessions, and the population of southern Tajikistan remained under the rule of the Bukhara Emirate.
The original occupation of the Tajiks was agriculture, based largely on artificial irrigation, and gardening; cattle breeding was of an auxiliary nature. Tajiks have developed crafts, including artistic ones, many of which had ancient traditions (wood and alabaster carving, decorative embroidery). The Tajik people developed in close connection with other peoples of Central Asia. Especially close medieval history Tajiks and Uzbeks - peoples with common ethnic elements. As you can see in modern encyclopedias, the history of the emergence of Tajiks
It's written almost exactly the same.

And now I will trace the history of the emergence of the Tajik people according to my historical atlas and based on the information I collected. I'll start with deep antiquity, which many modern historians do not recognize.
17 million years ago most large continent There was Lemuria on Earth, it was located on the site of the modern Indian Ocean. The western part of Lemuria included the modern island of Magadascar, the northern tip of Lemuria was modern Ceylon, the extreme eastern tip of Lemuria was the area around modern Easter Island. South coast Lemuria was the coast of Antarctica. There were no other large continents on Earth or they existed in the form of small islands. Even Tibet was an island in those days. The Pamirs and the territory of modern Tajikistan did not exist - there was an ocean in this place. Lemuria was inhabited by the first people on earth - the first human race - the Asuras. Their civilization was very highly developed. Later peoples were even called gods or demigods. These were tall people (up to 16-36 meters, and later up to 6 meters).
By 4 million years ago, the main part of Lemuria went under the waters of the Indian Ocean. By this time, the continent, which included Tibet, had expanded due to the appearance of mountains - the Himalayas and Tibet, as well as a small part of northern India. By this time, the asuras were already smaller (up to 4 meters). From the continent going under water, some of the asuras, who by this time can already be called the descendants of the asuras, began to move to the newly emerging continents - East Africa, South Asia, Australia with Guinea, to the islands of Indonesia.
1 million years ago on Earth the largest continent was the continent of Atlantis, it was located in Atlantic Ocean, other continents have not yet been fully formed. Asuras continued to move to eastern Africa, southern South Asia, Australia, Guinea, and the islands of Indonesia.
From 400 thousand years BC, and especially quickly from 199 thousand years BC, the continent of Atlantis began to sink under the waters of the ocean, by which time modern continents had already been largely formed. Therefore, the migration of peoples (descendants of the Atlanteans) to modern continents began with Atlantis. At the same time, the continent of South Asia united with the continent of North Asia, and a vast territory appeared around the Pamirs. But even in those days the territory of Turkmenistan, Northern part Uzbekistan, south Kazakhstan were under water big sea, which includes both the Caspian and Aral Seas. Most likely, the first inhabitants appeared on the territory of Tajikistan at this time - these were the descendants of the asuras. They were already short in stature (degraded, feral asuras). Their appearance was similar to modern Australian aborigines and Papuans. These were the ancient Australoids. In addition to them, ancient great apes, Pithecanthropus, also lived in these places.
By 79 thousand years BC, the territory of Central Asia was already approximately similar to the modern one, only the Caspian and Aral seas were larger. And rivers Aral Sea have already appeared. There are more inhabitants (Australoids), but still few. By this time, Pithecanthropus was replaced by a new species of ancient monkeys - Neanderthals, similar to humans because they constantly walked on two legs, but they were still monkeys.
The few tribes living in Tajikistan at that time were related to the tribes of the Soan archaeological culture that existed at that time in Northern India (Australoids).
From 38 thousand years ago, the mass settlement of the descendants of the Atlanteans throughout Eurasia began,
But the main flow (Turanian tribes) passed mainly from Europe to East Asia, to the area around the sea (in place of the Gobi Desert there was a sea). And it is unlikely that any of the Turans participated in the settlement of Tajikistan. Australoid tribes still lived there and there were few of them.
The first wave of settlers from Eastern Europe to Central Asia began around 17,500 BC. These were the tribes of the Kostenki culture, who were under pressure from other tribes in Europe. The Kostenki culture was formed from a mixture of Australoids who lived approximately in modern times. Voronezh region(Grimaldi race) and the Caucasoid Seletian culture. The tribes of the Kostenki culture were the creators of a new people - the Dravidians (a transitional people between Caucasians and Australoids).
By 14500 BC, the Dravidians populated (en masse) the entire territory of modern Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
Around 7500 BC, the archaeological culture of Ali-Kosh was formed on the vast territory of Central Asia and Iran. This is the Dravidian culture. They also engaged in hunting, gathering, and fishing.
Around 6500 BC, the Gissar culture developed on the territory of Tajikistan,
The tribes of this culture were also Dravidoid. In the rest of Central Asia, by about 5700 BC, the Jeitun culture had developed (these are also Dravidians).
By about 4100 BC, the developed culture of Anau had developed on the territory of Central Asia, this was an agricultural culture and they were also Dravidians.
By about 2800 BC, a more developed culture had developed on the territory of Central Asia - the Altyn-Depe culture, the people of this culture (also Dravidians) had already begun to build urban settlements, crafts, agriculture and livestock breeding were developing.
From about 1900 BC. tribes of the ancient Aryans (ancient Iranians and Indians) began their movement from the steppes Southern Urals and Kazakhstan to the south - to the territory of Central Asia.
Around 1500 BC, tribes of ancient Indians entered the territory of Tajikistan from the north, the Dravidians were destroyed, assimilated or fled to the south - to India (later, on the basis of unification with the ancient Indian population, they would create the Dravidian peoples, who will survive to this day in the south of India).
Around 1300 BC, ancient Iranian tribes invaded and settled on the territory of Tajikistan.
By 1100 BC, most of the territory of Tajikistan was included in the Kairakum archaeological culture (these are ancient Iranian tribes).
By 600 BC, a new Iranian-speaking people had formed on the territory of Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan - the Bactrians, who created their own state - Bactria.
I believe that the Bactrians (and the Bactrian language) became the basis for the formation of the Tajik people (and the Tajik language). To the north of the Bactrians, the Sakas (Iranian tribes) roamed; to the west of the Bactrians lived the Sogdians (an Iranian-speaking people related to the Bactrians). Around 550 BC, Bactria was subjugated to Achaemenid Persia, but this had no effect on the Bactrians or their language. Even the conquest of the territory of Bactria by Alexander the Great did not affect the Bactrians and their language.
Around 250 BC, the territory of Tajikistan was invaded by the Tochar tribes (these are Indo-European tribes who had previously lived in northwestern China and were driven out from there by the Xiongnu tribes (future Huns). One of the Tochar tribes, the Kushans, created a powerful state - the Kushan Empire. The Tocharians and the Bactrians lived together and gradually, the Tocharians adopted the language of the Bactrians. The country was called Tokharistan, but the language remained Bactrian (perhaps it included some Tocharian words).
Around 450 AD, the Hephthalite tribes invaded the territory of Tajikistan (these are Iranian-speaking tribes from Kazakhstan, displaced from there by the Huns). The Hephthalites also created a large state, which also included Afghanistan and North India. The language of the Hephthalites (especially since it is closely related to the language of the Bactrians) did not greatly change the language of the Bactrians.
From about 650, nomadic Turkic tribes began to invade the territory of Tajikistan from the north. But if by 1100 the related people Sogdians completely lost their language, and the Sogdians themselves turned into a Turkic people, the Bactrians (future Tajiks) lived together with the Turks and retained their language, especially in large cities and mountainous areas. Later this language became Tajik (perhaps several Turkic words came into it).
By 1200, the Tajik language and the Tajik people were finally formed, almost simultaneously with it the Turkic people - the Turkmens, and a related people - the Pashtuns (in Afghanistan) were formed. But I think that the Tajiks who now live in the mountainous regions speak a little differently than the valley Tajiks; the mountain Tajiks probably retained more words from the Bactrians.

China:
41,028 (trans. 2000)
Kazakhstan :
25,657 (trans. 1999) Language: Religion: Related peoples:

Total population: 18-26 million people (see below for information on countries).

Ethnos

Tajik

Tajiks speak Persian (a Western Iranian language), which, however, is enriched with the vocabulary of the Eastern Iranian group of languages (Bactrian, Sogdian, Khorezmian), creating a kind of dialectical continuum on the border of the modern states of Tajikistan-Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Iran. The term “Tajik language” is a neologism introduced into history in the 20s of the 20th century. Due to this, the term "Tajik" is widely used within the former Soviet republics, while Tajiks in Afghanistan refer to their native language as "Dari" or "Persian". Despite this, speakers of all Iranian languages of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iran understand each other to a large extent. Tajiks of the former Soviet states write in Cyrillic, while Tajiks of Afghanistan and China use the Arabic-Persian alphabet. The population of Tajikistan speaks “Tajik” and continues to write in Cyrillic, realizing that switching to another alphabet costs enormous work, time and money and is currently unprofitable.

Famous Tajiks

Abu Abdallah Rudaki (Taj. Abu Abdullohi Rudaki) - founder of Tajik-Persian literature (IX century)
Avicenna (Abu Ali ibn Sina) (Taj. Abu Ali ibni Sino) - scientist, writer, physician, (X century)
Ismail Samani (Taj. Ismoili Somoni) - founder of the first independent Tajik state (IX-X century)
Abulqasim Ferdowsi - author of the Shahnameh (10th century)
Al Beruni (Scientist)
Saadi (Taj. Sadi Sherozi)
Hafiz (Taj. Hofizi Sherozi)
Omar Khayyam (Taj. Umari Khayyom)
Mirzo Tursunzoda
Jabbar Rasulov
Loïc Sherali
Nurullo Khuvaidulloev
Bedil
Abulkosim Lohuti
Mirsaid Ali Hamadoni
Tuichi Erdzhigitov
Jura Zokir
Kamoli Khujandi
Abdurahman Jami
Ahmadi Donish
Bobojon Gafurov
Shirinsho Shotemur
Emomali Rahmon - President of Tajikistan

Number and settlement of Tajiks

Literature

Andreev M.S. On the ethnography of Tajiks // Tajikistan. Tash., 1925;
Bartold V.V. Tajiks. Historical essay // Soch., T. 2, part 1, M., 1963;
Bogoutdinov A.M. Essays on the history of Tajik philosophy. Dushanbe, 1961.
Gafurov B. G. History of the Tajik people. M., 1952.
Gafurov B. G. Tajiks. M., 1972;
History of the Tajik people. T. 1-3, M., 1963-65;
Kislyakov N. A. On the issue of the ethnogenesis of Tajiks // Soviet ethnography. T. 6-7, M., 1947;

I quote Kamil:

I can’t say anything about the beauty that is described above, but in Uzbekistan many TV show stars, actors and singers are not Uzbeks, just like the population itself is mainly not Uzbeks. I will give some examples: singer Yulduz Usmanova is a Uyghur by nationality, singer Raikhon is a Uyghur by nationality, singer Shakhzoda is a Karakalpak by nationality, singer Lola Akhmedova is a Tajik originally from Denau, Surkhandarya region, singer Nasiba Abdullayeva is an Iranian by nationality, born in Samarkand, singer Samandar Khamrokulov is a green-eyed Tajik from Namangan, actors Murod Radzhabov and his son Adiz Radzhabov are Bukhara Tajiks, etc., the list goes on and on. All these gentlemen listed are registered as Uzbeks on their passports. Further, do not confuse the Sarts with the Uzbeks; maybe some of the Sarts mixed with the Uzbeks, but some did not. And then the Sarts and the Uzbeks were never a single people; they were united only in the Soviet era. These two peoples always fought with each other and mixed marriages between them were very rare, since the Sarts are settled residents of Fergana, Tashkent, etc. but the Uzbeks are the descendants of the Dashti-Kipchak Khan.

VOLUME NINETEEN
TURKESTAN REGION

amounted to
Prince V.I. Masalsky
S. - PETERSBURG.
1913.

In the Khiva Khanate of Uzbeks there are about 336,000 souls (64.7% of the total population), and in the Bukhara Khanate there are probably at least 900,000-1,000,000. Thus, the total number of Uzbeks in Turkestan reaches at least 2,000,000 souls of both sexes, and they constitute the bulk of the population in the Samarkand region and in some localities of the Syrdarya and Fergana regions, as well as in the Khiva and Bukhara khanates, where, in addition, They are also the dominant people.

Tajiks, who make up about 7% of the inhabitants of the Russian regions of Turkestan, are descendants of the ancient Aryan population of the country, who came from Iran and occupied southern part Central Asia in prehistoric times. This population, having survived a series of invasions, wars and bloody unrest over the course of a long string of centuries, which had a particularly difficult impact on it under the rule of the Turkic-Mongols, partly mixed with the conquerors, and partly, under the pressure of the latter, was pushed into the mountainous part of Turkestan and there remained , in greater or less purity, their tribal traits. Currently, Tajiks inhabit mainly the southern mountainous part of the country; according to the 1897 census, there were: in the Fergana region - 114,081 souls of both sexes (7.25% of the total population of the region), in the Samarkand region - 230,384 (26.78%) and in the Syrdarya region - 5,557 souls (about 0 .40%). In the Fergana region, Tajiks live mainly in Skobelevsky (Margelansky), Kokand and Namangan districts, in Samarkand - in Samarkand, Khojent and Katta-Kurgan districts, and in Syrdarya - in Tashkent district. In the Trans-Caspian region there are no Tajiks at all, and in Semirechensk there are only 264 of them registered. Thus, the total number of Tajiks in the Russian regions of the region was, according to the census, 350,286 people, i.e. 6.63% of the total population. In the Khiva Khanate there are no Tajiks at all, but in Bukhara they make up the bulk of the population of the mountainous parts of the Khanate - Karategin, Darvaz, Roshan, Shugnan, Vakhan and other regions of the upper reaches of the Amu Darya, as well as partly the bekstvos - Kulyab and Valjuan. There is no exact information about the number of Tajiks in Bukhara; according to some data, they make up about 30% of the total population, according to others, apparently more reliable, there are no more than 350-400 thousand Tajiks in the Khanate; If we accept the last figure, then the number of Tajiks in all of Central Asia at the time of the census was about 750,000, i.e., about 9% of its total population.

The Turkification of the Tajiks, which occurred over a number of centuries, continues to this day, manifesting itself with particular force in cities or where the remnants of the Tajiks are scattered in islands among the Turkic population. This phenomenon is especially noticeable in the Tashkent district, where in many villages the Tajiks have undergone strong Sartization, have half-forgotten their language and in the near future will completely merge with the Sarts. The Sarts are pleased with this transformation, rejoicing that “a slave who did not previously know the human (Sart) language is now becoming a Turk,” as for the Tajiks, they treat their sartization rather indifferently and even, perhaps, go towards it, since, Having become Sarts, they get rid of the shameful nickname of slave (kul), given to them by the Turks.

The Sarts speak the Jagatai dialect, which differs from the Uzbek dialect and is known as Sart-Tili.

– one of the largest ethnic groups in terms of numbers and area of settlement in the Central Asian region. In total, there are about 18-20 million representatives of this nationality. Most of them live in the territory of modern Afghanistan (8.1 million people) and Tajikistan (6.75 million people). However, countries such as Uzbekistan and Russia are also home to 2.5 million Tajiks. The USA and Kyrgyzstan, China, Great Britain and Kazakhstan, Germany and Sweden - each of these countries has become home to more than 10 thousand Tajiks.
The following languages can be called native: Tajik, which is generally accepted as a subtype of Persian, and Dari, the language of the Tajiks of Afghanistan.

Tajik people

Origin of the people.

Tajiks are a traditional and ancient people in Central Asia. Scientists associate their origin and separation into a separate group with events that took place in the Ancient World, more than 4 thousand years ago. The common, root people for Tajiks, Hindus, Afghans and Iranians are considered to be the nomadic tribes of the legendary, ancient Aryans.
The very word “Tajik” (from the Persian “tozhi”) was used by eastern Iranians (Bactrians, Sogdians, Khorezmians) to indicate Western Iranians (Persians), who, as a result of numerous waves of Islam that rolled in and then retreated, nevertheless established themselves in it. The “policy” of aggressive wars, widely practiced at that time, led to the gradual erasure of cultural boundaries between Western and Eastern Iranians. So the designation “Tajik” migrated to all residents of the then eastern Iranian territories. The modern Tajik ethnos is rightfully the cultural heir of ancient Iranian history.

Features of national physiology.

For the most part, Tajiks have physiognomic features inherent in all representatives of the Caucasian race, and in particular its Mediterranean branch.
Usually a Tajik is dark-skinned, although the skin color may approach almost light. The hair is very dark, and the irises are also dark. At the same time, among the indigenous inhabitants of the mountainous regions and regions of Tajikistan and Afghanistan, the prevailing trend is towards lightening. Large-boned and of medium height, they have expressionless facial features.
The medieval Turkic and Mongol invasions could not help but introduce their own certain features - wide faces and enlarged eyeballs. However, this is also less common among mountain dwellers. In general, scientists note a broad phenotype of the nation, whose history is dotted with turbulent events of antiquity and the Middle Ages in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Native languages for Tajiks.

Living en masse in the territories of such very different modern states as Afghanistan and Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan, and at the same time using a large number of different dialects in their everyday life, all Tajiks are able to understand each other. The reason for this is that the founding father’s language is Persian.
It can be argued that the concept of “Tajik language” is as young as it is relatively artificial. It was introduced into linguistic use in the 1920s, by the then still young Soviet government, as part of a cultural and political program to differentiate the peoples of Central Asia. From then until now, Tajiks of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan write in Cyrillic, while their brothers in Afghanistan and Pakistan are confident that they speak Dari and Persian, using the Arabic-Persian script.
Today, we can trace the linguistic universalization of the main dialects into a single speech for Tajiks, based on Arabic-Persian grammar.

Religion of Tajiks.

Since ancient times, since the times of the Arab conquests, the people have established themselves in the Sunni direction of the religion of Magomed. The Shia communities of Tajiks are not numerous. At the same time, the beliefs contain notes of the once traditional teachings of Zoroastrianism.

Kitchen.

The cuisine is rich and varied, which is due to the passage of several Tajiks through the territory climatic zones: continental and inland subtropical, as well as mountainous.
The real ruby of Tajik cuisine is, of course, pilaf. Hot and crumbly, it is served on a traditional common platter. It is washed down with green tea, brought to the mouth with your hands, or a piece of dry flatbread.
Today, Tajiks are a people with their own independent state and language, and most importantly, a sense of historical and cultural identity with all their fellow tribesmen, regardless of their place of residence.

Since ancient times, where the territory of Tajikistan is now located, lived one of the most ancient peoples of the world, who are now universally called Tajiks. However, despite such a long history of this people, now a very small number of people not only in the world, but also in Russia perceive the ancient history and culture of the Tajik people. In particular, this happened due to the huge number of labor migrants who came to earn money. They were the ones who removed ancient people that aura of mystery. This article will reveal the picture of the origin of the Tajik people, as well as its formation to the present day.

Neolithic era

In 1980, excavations were carried out on the territory of the Kulyab region. It was they who gave the world the knowledge that the ancient history of the Tajiks begins in the Neolithic era, which was about 500 thousand years ago. At that time, some of the first people lived in this area primitive people. Gradually they began to populate the highlands, including here unique rock paintings from the early Neolithic were found - more often the images show fragments of hunting, since people in these places were mainly wandering hunters.

However, in addition to the hunters themselves, tribes that belong to the Gissar culture also lived on the territory of modern Tajikistan. Their main activity was cattle breeding, although they did not disdain agriculture. During the Bronze Age they left numerous evidence of their existence, leaving sites of pottery, metallurgical and mining activities in the north of the country.

In the south, the history of the Tajik people is associated with agriculture and the production of beautiful works of art from ceramics.

Bactria and Sogd

It was two tribes - the Bactrians and the Sogdians - that over time turned into citizens of Tajikistan who exist in this moment. Their history begins in the 1st millennium BC, when two large states with a slave-owning form of government. They were called Bactria and Sogd. However, the cities themselves were quite weak, and therefore could not resist the invasion of one people - the Persians, under the leadership of the great conquering king Cyrus, completely subjugated this people. So Tajikistan entered the huge Persian empire, which subjugated vast territories.

However, even the great nation of the Persians could not hold it for long. The greatest conqueror of all time, Alexander the Great, was born in the next century. The Macedonian king simply crushed the majestic Persian empire, and therefore the territory where the Tajik people lived became part of his kingdom. After his death, it passed to his heirs - the Seleucids.

Tocharians

Alexander's heirs, unfortunately, did not possess his military genius, and therefore they simply could not fully retain his empire. The king's generals tore it apart piece by piece. The Greco-Bactrian kingdom was also separated. However, the power of the Macedonians was completely removed from the state after the people of the country themselves rebelled against the conquerors. The Tokharian tribe had a significant influence here, who not only had a huge influence on the culture of the Tajik people, but also on their political life. Over time, the Tocharians so organically merged with the ordinary people that they became an essential part of the Tajik nation that had begun the process of its formation. The new state changed its name - instead of Bactria it began to be called Tokharistan. This happened already in the 4th century AD, so the development process took quite a long time.

Kushan Empire

In the 4th century, most of Asia, which includes modern-day Tajikistan, Afghanistan and northern India, belonged to a huge empire ruled by the Kushana dynasty. The full development of the history of the Tajik people can begin precisely from this period. It was then that the true flourishing of the economy and culture for this country began. Several cultural and historical monuments of that period have survived to this day, which fully reflect the amazing fusion of Hellenistic, Indian and Central Asian art. However, even in this form, this people could not remain under one rule for long - the period of steppe nomadic tribes began. Already in the 6th century, the territory of the country was under the rule of the Turkic Khaganate.

Arab Caliphate

Gradually, in the 5th-6th centuries, the history of the Tajik people began to move into the area of feudalization. The period of feudal relations itself lasted almost until the end of the 19th century, although it was constantly changing. The greatest economic boom began just before the Arab conquests, which caused great division between social groups. In addition, the development of culture began. Penjikent can be safely called one of the examples of culture of the early Middle Ages that exist in Central Asia - its frescoes, as well as buildings, speak of an unprecedentedly high cultural level, as well as the presence of great achievements in the field of architecture and art.

However, the country simply could not survive on its own. Although the people showed significant resistance to Arab expansion, Tajikistan eventually became part of the Arab Caliphate. The conquerors, constantly fighting the rebellious people, practically destroyed their culture and cities, and also imposed huge taxes.

Samanids

The process of completing the formation of the Tajik people ended while Tajikistan was part of the Samanid state. It was during this period that two cities began to take first place - Samarkand and Bukhara, which became famous as the greatest centers of culture and science. The fact that the Western Iranian Tajik language became dominant, displacing all others, played a major role in the history of the Tajik people. This made it possible to actively develop Tajik history, culture and art. Unfortunately, this led to the fact that the people living near the Pamirs took a slightly different path, since they were quite isolated geographically. Here, their own ethnic formations with a distinctive culture began to take shape.

The first of the rulers

It was Samani who can be considered the greatest emir of the Samanid dynasty, because he became the founder of the state. Although most of his history lies in the territory of modern Uzbekistan, he is highly revered in Tajikistan. In addition to numerous monuments, the Tajiks themselves recognize him as their first ruler. At the moment, a banknote with his image of 100 somoni is in use. In 1999, the country celebrated the 1100th anniversary of the Samanid state, where an architectural ensemble was erected in honor of Ismail Samani.

Period of conquest

Over the next few centuries, the territory of modern Tajikistan passed from one state to another, it was constantly conquered. All this did not allow Tajikistan to establish itself on the world map, to become independent country. And in the 13th century, in addition, the invasion of the troops of the commander Genghis Khan began. Despite the fact that there was strong resistance against him, the conqueror was able to subjugate Central Asia, but this was accompanied by blood and destruction. After this, the country became part of the Chagatai ulus of the vast Mongol empire.

For the Tajik people, an important event occurred during the period of conquest. Turks and Mongols began to penetrate their ethnic group, which led to the fact that Turkization began to occur in the lowland peoples, which to a lesser extent penetrated into the mountain tribes and cities.

Khanate period

After the death of Genghis Khan, transfers began again, but only between khanates. In the 14th century, it became part of the state of Timur, and later his heirs. During this period there was a development of science and art, in particular astronomy and literature. However, after two centuries they came under the protection of the Uzbek khans, who constantly formed new khanates. Basically, the Tajiks were divided between the Bukhara and Kokand khanates. But this does not mean at all that the people began to live in peace - the political situation itself was constantly under martial law. External and internal wars for power led to the decline of agriculture, exploitation of people and destruction. During this period, feudal dependence simply flourished - due to huge taxes, the people were in constant debt to their feudal lord, and therefore had to perform forced labor. Culture, art, artistic Tajik speech and language - everything was in unprecedented decline.

Joining Russia

A new round of development of the people began only in 1868. Constantly in need of new markets, the Russian Empire, fighting with England, accelerated the annexation of Central Asia. Almost the entire emirate became part of the Turkestan General Government, which automatically deprived itself of the opportunity to conduct independent trade and diplomatic relations with other countries. became a vassal territory of Russia, and later the northern part of modern Tajikistan was annexed to it in 1976. Gradually, a border was drawn between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, which were divided between England and the Russian Empire.

It is impossible not to admit that during this period the Tajiks were under double oppression, both by their rulers and by the Russian emperors. That is why there were a huge number of popular uprisings that tried to overthrow the exploiters. However, joining Russia also had its bright moments. First of all, internecine wars stopped, and capitalism gradually began to penetrate the country. Tajiks gradually became familiar with the Russian people, a mixture of Russian and Tajik words took place, and a working class began to form.

Red Revolution

After the overthrow of the empire in Russia, a period of civil war began between the Reds and the Whites. The revolution came to Bukhara precisely with the Reds, and therefore already in 1920 the Bukhara People's Soviet Republic was formed. True, it existed for a relatively short time, and the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created as part of the Uzbek SSR in 1924. Initially, it included 12 volosts that captured Turkestan, Eastern part Bukhara and part of the Pamirs. However, since the Tajik ASSR was considered subordinate, the main political centers remained within Uzbekistan. Only in 1929 did this republic get the opportunity to become independent and began to be governed according to the all-Union model. But at the same time, the traditions of numerous ethnic groups simply began to be ignored, which led to the loss of many cultural values. After this, until 1991, the country remained under the rule of the USSR, but also became completely independent of the Uzbek SSR.

Culture

Despite the fact that Tajikistan had several prominent writers and scientists during the Soviet period, none of them became as famous as Sadriddin Aini. It was this man who became the founder of Tajik Soviet literature, as well as a prominent public figure and scientist. In addition to compiling several books on the history of Central Asia, he helped create the Samarkand State University. It was Sadriddin Aini who had the honor of being called the first president of the Academy of Sciences of the Tajik SSR, as well as being among the deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. As you can see, he left his mark not only on the country’s culture, but also on its politics.

Collapse of the USSR

Tajikistan appeared on the world map as an independent state quite late. The first step towards gaining independence was the version of the declaration of the country's government, which was invented by the deputies, but at the same time formulated rather vaguely.

The second step in the struggle for independence was taken not by the government at all, but by the Rastokhez movement, which the members sent to the press for review. They wrote a different version of the declaration because they believed that they simply could not be satisfied with a government document that contained numerous ambiguities. In addition to the text itself, they also posted critical remarks. They proposed to use the second version of the declaration as the basis for a new Constitution, and therefore the text was very large-scale and contained more than 20 points that related not only to independence, but also government structure and branches of government in the country.

It was one of the last republics to declare its sovereignty, since the declaration itself was adopted only on August 24, 1990. The final text contained excerpts from both documents.

Tajikistan became fully independent only on September 9, 1991, when the resolution “On State Independence of the Republic of Tajikistan” was adopted. At the moment, it is customary to celebrate the Independence Day of the Republic of Tajikistan on September 9, which is considered an officially non-working day.

Civil War

The first year after the declaration of independence, it seemed that Tajikistan and its people were gaining momentum. Accession to the CIS and the UN confirms the fact that the country began to be accepted on the international stage, but this was put an end to the Civil War of 1992-1997. At its core, it became an intra-ethnic conflict that developed between supporters of the central government and the opposition, which united different groups. It is impossible not to recognize the fact that the start of the war was largely due to the clan worldview of the people themselves - the Tajiks, as well as their attitude towards religion. All this was superimposed on the difficult economic situation in the country. After everything was mixed, the explosion came - the Civil War. And the mass riots in Dushanbe in 1990 only worsened the situation. The most fierce fighting occurred only in the first year after the start of the war - during this period the country was simply split into 2 parts, but it was only possible to stop it completely only in 1997 with the mediation of the United Nations.

Present day

Despite the fact that the Tajik SSR was recognized as one of the smallest and most undeveloped, the republic is now considered a completely independent state. Unfortunately, the country's territory is separated by mountains, which largely impedes international trade. However, despite this, Tajiks have a rich history, considering themselves descendants of the Persians, which generally does not contradict history, since the settlement of the country began precisely from the territory of Ancient Persia.

Tajiks are the dominant nation in the country, almost 85% of all residents belong to this ethnic group. In fact, the country, which was under the rule of other peoples for so long, is even now in the first stages of its development. The low degree of urbanization, constant problems with water supply and electricity, constant migration - all this significantly undermines the country. Indigenous people practically cannot find work, which leads to young and healthy people leaving their region and going to work, often completely illegally. However, if we take into account the fact that the Republic of Tajikistan appeared on political map only in 1991, it achieved very great success with few resources.

Conclusion

As you can see, the Tajik people trace their history back to ancient times, and therefore it is impossible to completely trace their movements. Answering the question of how many Tajiks currently live in the world, scientists call the minimum figure 20 million people, including among them the Iranian people who speak various dialects related to Perso-Tajik. They not only inhabit Tajikistan itself, but also a small part of Afghanistan. They have an independent culture, culinary traditions and many other attributes. At the moment, about half a million Tajiks live and work in Russia who are in the country illegally, although this figure is gradually decreasing.

But, despite the current political and migration situation, it is impossible not to recognize that this people has a distinct identity. Even though for many years it was subordinate to other states, it was constantly transferred from empire to empire, but the population survived, preserved cultural monuments and is rightfully considered one of the most ancient nationalities in the world, tracing its history back to primitive tribes. Now Tajiks are a numerous nationality, bright enough to attract attention, but not yet developed enough to take a significant place in politics and interstate trade.

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