2006 was declared the Year of Aryan Civilization in Tajikistan. On this occasion, numerous events took place in this republic throughout the year, designed to bring to the people of the country and the whole world the truth about the deep roots of Tajik culture and its continuity from the ancient Aryans.
Back to the roots
A return to national origins was declared the basis of the state ideology of Tajikistan under President Emomali Rahmon (he himself was called Rakhmonov until 2007, but renamed himself and ordered all his subjects, whose last names also had Russified endings, to rewrite them in the Iranian manner). At the same time, Rahmon syncretically combines in this doctrine Islam and respect for the ancient religion of the Iranians - Zoroastrianism.
“During the Arab yoke,” Rahmon writes in his book “Tajiks in the Mirror of History,” “the conquerors made a lot of efforts to destroy the language of the conquered people. Avestan manuscripts, book depositories, temples were burned, ... by force of the sword they supplanted the religion of our ancestors and implanted their own... The Turks in the 11th century, trying to conquer the Tajik state, ... adopted from the Tajiks the principles of government, traditions, etiquette, the Tajik language remained the state language... Tajiks and after their conquest by nomads they continued to play the role of civilizers in relation to their conquerors.”
In September 2006, at a ceremonial meeting in Dushanbe dedicated to the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the independence of Tajikistan and the Year of Aryan civilization, Rahmon, in particular, said: “Aryan civilization laid the foundations for the history of our ancestors, the origin and formation of traditions of statehood, culture, and other national values , moreover, it played the role of a historical arena for the formation of self-awareness and knowledge of the world... Today in world science the term Aryan is mainly used as an ethnic name and the name of the language of the Indo-Iranian peoples... The Aryan civilization acquired world fame even before the 7th century, i.e. before the advent of the Islamic religion."
Since then, any solemn state event in Tajikistan is not complete without an appeal to Aryan origins. The entire history curriculum is structured accordingly, with Rahmon’s statements playing a leading role.
There is no smoke without fire
How justified are the claims of modern Tajikistan to the heritage of ancient Indo-Iranian culture? It must be recognized that ethnic continuity here is indeed direct. Tajiks are a people of the Iranian group. In modern science, the terms “Aryans”, “Aryans” are applied only to that branch of the Indo-European family, which includes the Iranian and Indo-Aryan language groups (some also distinguish the Dardic group, which includes some small peoples of the Himalayas, Karakorum and Hindu Kush).
Iranians are the ancient inhabitants of Central Asia. At the latest, from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. they laid the foundations of an agricultural civilization in this region, based on irrigation using rivers flowing from the Tien Shan and Pamir-Alai mountains. Known in historical times under the names of Massagetae, Saks, Sogdians, etc., Iranian peoples inhabited Central Asia until the beginning of the 6th century AD, when Turkic nomadic tribes began to invade there.
The Turks, settling in the fertile valleys of Central Asia, adopted the economic skills of the Iranians, and with them much of their culture. The Arab conquest affected the region only in religious terms, bringing Islam as a compulsory religion (Muslims zealously eradicated Zoroastrianism as a pagan religion; at the same time, their attitude towards Christianity and Judaism was always much more tolerant). Many Iranians were Turkified, but even at the beginning of the twentieth century, ethnographers distinguished between Uzbeks and Sarts. The first were semi-nomadic people. The Sarts were a settled population of agricultural oases, descendants of the ancient Iranian population of Central Asia, who adopted the Turkic language. In the 1920s, many Tajiks lived in the cities of what is now Uzbekistan. The formation of national Soviet republics caused a wave of resettlement of Uzbeks (Sarts) from Tajikistan and Tajiks from Uzbekistan.
Tajiks, of course, do not have a national monopoly on the historical heritage of the ancient Iranians (however, they do not talk about their exclusivity, but usually emphasize their kinship with the peoples of modern Iran and Afghanistan). But they are, of course, directly involved in their civilization and culture.
Historical and modern parallels
The Aryan ideology of modern Tajikistan carries a strong anti-Turkic orientation. When in 1996, Rakhmonov (who then still had the same surname) turned to UNESCO with a request to declare 1999 the Year of the 1100th Anniversary of Tajik statehood, this caused a protest from Uzbekistan. The fact is that this anniversary was timed to coincide with the formation of the Samanid state in Central Asia. However, the Samanid state also included the territories of modern Uzbekistan, and its capital was Bukhara. Therefore, Tashkent views all these Aryan explorations of Dushanbe as an attempt to encroach on Uzbek territories. We also saw that Rahmon places the culture of the Aryan-Tajiks incomparably higher than the culture of the Turkic peoples.
Despite this attitude of official Tashkent, Emomali Rahmon proclaimed King Ismail Samani (893-907) the founder of the first Tajik state and even named the republic’s currency, the somoni, in his honor. The paradox is that Samani pursued the same policy of eliminating Zoroastrianism and introducing Islam. However, the cult of Samani, to whom majestic monuments were erected in today’s Tajikistan on the site of the demolished monuments to Lenin, is essentially no different from the cult of Vladimir, the baptizer of Rus', in the Russian Federation - after all, his capital was also located outside of present-day Russia, and he also eradicated the religion of the ancestors of the Russian people, replacing it with monotheism.
And since the word “Aryan” has a very specific ethnographic and linguistic meaning, in no way connected with Nazi pseudoscience, it is also impossible to discern fundamental differences in the celebrations of Aryan civilization in Tajikistan from, for example, annual holidays in honor of Slavic culture and writing.
In connection with the Aryan orientation of the Tajik state ideology, one cannot help but recall that a similar experiment in the 20th century was already carried out by the Shah Pahlavi dynasty that reigned in Iran. She also very actively promoted the heritage of the ancient Persian empires of the Achaemenids, Arsacids (Parthians) and Sassanids, and fell in line with Zoroastrian spiritual sources. The official name of the country Iran itself comes from Aryan - the country of the Aryans. This is how Persia began to be called after its renaming, by decree of the Shah, only in 1935. All this return to Aryan origins, as is known, ended in Iran in 1979 with the Islamic revolution. The only, but fundamental difference between modern Tajikistan and that Iran: Iran until 1979 was a rapidly developing and modernizing country, and Tajikistan diligently maintains the image of a poor country in order to receive help from international organizations.
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 Abdullaeva 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 areas 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 the southern part of 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.
On October 14, 1924, the second session of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR after the division of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and the Bukhara SSR approved a resolution on the national-territorial delimitation of Central Asia and the formation of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as part of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, the Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, the Kara-Kyrgyz and Kara-Kalpak autonomous regions within the RSFSR. And on October 16, 1929, the Tajik ASSR was transformed into the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, which voluntarily became part of the USSR.
USSR postage stamp 1957The republic was henceforth proclaimed a home for all Tajiks, its official language was declared to be the northern dialect of the Tajik-Persian language, henceforth called Tajik (zabon-i tojik), in which Soviet-style literature was created. In the 1930s, Tajik, along with other languages of the region, was first translated from the Arabic script to the Latin alphabet and then to the Cyrillic alphabet.
"Arabs"
According to the most common and almost generally accepted version, the word “Tajik” is traced back to the Middle Persian tāzīk (“Arab”, New Persian tāzi) or another related Iranian word (for example, Sogdian). When Muslim armies invaded Transoxiana in the 8th century, they included, in addition to Arabs, a large number of Iranian-speaking representatives who had recently converted to Islam. During the conquest of this region, Muslims often came into conflict with the Karluk Turks. Therefore, the Turkic population of Central Asia adopted a variant of the Iranian word täžik to refer to their Muslim opponents. The Karakhanid Turks used this term to refer to the Iranian-speaking Muslims who lived in the Amu Darya region and Khorasan.
Maverannahr, or Transoxania, Khorasan and Khorezm on the map
Persian authors of a later period (during the times of the Ghaznavids and Seljuks) used this word to designate all the Persian-speaking inhabitants of Iran, which was under the rule of the Turkic dynasties for many centuries. As historian Beykhaki reports, for example, the word “Tajik” was adopted as an ethnonym (name of a nation or people) - according to him, the expression “we, Tajiks” (mā tāzikān) was used at court. The division between Turks and Tajiks from this time on became to some extent an expression of the conflict between nomads and sedentaries, military power and civil bureaucracy.
Bureaucrats
The flag of Tajikistan uses the same colors as the flag of Iran, but in a different order
In the literature of the Ilkhanid and Timurid eras (this is also characteristic of the Safavid period), the term was usually used to refer to the entire Persian-speaking population. The name “Tajik” served to distinguish Persian subjects (government functionaries, merchants, artisans or peasants) from the ruling Turkic or Mongol elite. Thus, in the work of the Ilkhanid court historian Rashid ad-din, the expressions bitikčiān-e tāzik (“Persian secretaries”) raʿiyat-e tāzik (“Persian peasants”) are found. This word has also been found quite often in literature since the 13th century - in Saʻdi or Shah Nematullah Wali. By the mid-Safavid period, the term tājīk had become part of a clichéd formula describing the confrontation between the “men of the pen” (bureaucracy) and the “men of the sword” (military elite). It should be noted that this confrontation was somewhat far-fetched - there have been examples in history when representatives of the bureaucratic classes made a successful military career.
From profession to people
In Central Asia and Afghanistan, since about the 1400s, this word has been recorded as the name of all Persian-speaking inhabitants of these regions. Ruy González de Clavijo, envoy of the Castilian king Enrique III to Timur, writes that the people living in this territory are called tangiquis (the Castilian emissary seems to have interpreted the word tājīk this way) and speak a Persian language, which is somewhat different from the Persian that is used "in Persia". Gonzalez de Clavijo's remarks are confirmed by the writings of Uzbek authors of the 17th century. Interestingly, already at the beginning of the twentieth century, the word tājīk was recorded to denote non-standard Persian dialects in the province of Fars in order to distinguish them from the urban Persian-speaking population and the nomadic Lurs.
Khan's Palace in Kokand, Uzbekistan
When Russian troops conquered Samarkand and Bukhara in 1868, the Persian-speaking population of these cities used the term tājīk as a self-name. The same situation was recorded in the Kokand Khanate and the Fergana Valley. And only the Soviet government in 1924, when creating the Tajik Autonomous Republic, officially approved the word “Tajik” as the nationality of all people living in this territory.
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. It was they who removed that aura of mystery from the ancient people. 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 primitive people lived in this area. 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 the citizens of Tajikistan that exist today. Their history begins in the 1st millennium BC, when two large states with a slave-owning form of government were formed. 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 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 stratification between social groups. In addition, the development of culture began. Penjikent can safely be called one of the examples of the 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 and become an 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, which captured Turkestan, the eastern part of 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 using the second version of the declaration itself 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 to the state structure and branches of power 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 the Civil War of 1992-1997 put an end to this. 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 unrest 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 two 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. The indigenous population is practically unable to 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 the political map only in 1991, then it has achieved very great success with a small amount of 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 peoples in the world, tracing its history back to primitive tribes. Now the 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.
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, and 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, and 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 tribes of the Late Bronze Age and the main population of Central Asia became Iranian-speaking. 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 Ferghans) 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 the state language of the Turkic rulers. In 1868, the northern regions inhabited by Tajiks became part of Russia's possessions, while 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. The medieval history of Tajiks and Uzbeks - peoples with common ethnic elements - is especially close. 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, the largest continent on Earth was Lemuria, 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. The southern coast of 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 descendants of the asuras, began to move to the newly emerging continents - East Africa, South Asia, Australia and Guinea, and the islands of Indonesia.
1 million years ago on Earth the largest continent was the continent of Atlantis, it was located in the Atlantic Ocean, other continents had 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, the northern part of Uzbekistan, and southern Kazakhstan were under the water of a large sea, which included 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 the rivers of the 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 territory 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 the modern 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. the tribes of the ancient Aryans (ancient Iranians and Indians) began their movement from the steppes of the 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 Bactrians lived together and gradually, the Tocharians adopted the language of the Bactrians. The country was called Tokharistan, but the language remained Bactrian (perhaps some Tocharian words were included in it).
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.
