This essay looks at the national history of the Tajiks of Central Asia that was created in the twentieth century and has continued to develop into the twenty-first century. It traces the notion of Tajik nationalism, which arose in the 1920s under the Soviet Union, largely in response to Uzbek nationalism. Soviet intellectuals and scholars thereafter attempted to construct a new history for the Tajiks. The most important effort in that area was Bobojon Ghafurov’s study Tadzhiki (Tajiks, 1972), which gave them primacy among the Central Asian peoples. The essay examines the policies of independent Tajikistan’s government, such as its focus on the Samanid dynasty and the replacement Soviet monuments and names with nationalist ones. Finally, it looks at the challenges that contemporary Islamic movements in the country pose to the earlier secular interpretations.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
K. Arman, “President Attempts to Give Tajikistan a Cultural Makeover,” Eurasianet, 10 April 2007; online: https://eurasianet.org/president-attempts-to-give-tajikistan-a-cultural-makeover (accessed: 13 August 2018).
M. S. Asimov and C. E. Bosworth, eds., History of Civilizations of Central Asia, vol. 4, The Age of Achievement: A.D. 750 to the End of the Fifteenth Century (Part One: The Historical, Social and Economic Setting), Paris, 1998.
M. Atkin, “Tajikistan’s Relations with Iran and Afghanistan,” in A. Banuazizi and M. Weiner, eds., The New Geopolitics of Central Asia and Its Borderland, Bloomington, 1994, pp. 91–117.
L. Baimatov, “Formation of National Historiography,” in I. Bashiri, ed., The Samanids and the Revival of the Civilization of Iranian Peoples, Dushanbe, 1998, pp. 92–100.
A. Banuazizi and M. Weiner, eds., The New Geopolitics of Central Asia and Its Borderland, Bloomington, 1994.
I. Bashiri, “Samanid Renaissance and Establishment of Tajik Identity,” in I. Bashiri, ed., The Samanids and the Revival of the Civilization of Iranian Peoples, Dushanbe, 1998a, pp. 1–28.
I. Bashiri, ed., The Samanids and the Revival of the Civilization of Iranian Peoples, Dushanbe, 1998b.
Kh. Fayz, “Tajikistan Begins Central Asia’s Biggest Mosque,” BBC Central Asia Service, 23 October 2009; online: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/8304970.stm (accessed: 19 August 2018).
B. Fragner, “Soviet Nationalism: An Ideological Legacy to the Independent Republics of Central Asia,” in W. van Schendel and E. J. Zürcher, eds., Identity Politics in Central Asia and the Muslim World: Nationalism, Ethnicity and Labour in the Twentieth Century, London/New York, 2001, pp. 13–33.
D. Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East, New York, 1989.
R. N. Frye, The Golden Age of Persia: The Arabs in the East, London, 1975.
M. Haghayeghi, Islam and Politics in Central Asia, New York, 1996.
M. Isamatov, “Formation of National Historiography,” in I. Bashiri, ed., The Samanids and the Revival of the Civilization of Iranian Peoples, Dushanbe, 1998, pp. 78–84.
L. Jonson, Tajikistan in the New Central Asia: Geopolitics, Great Power Rivalry and Radical Islam, London/New York, 2006.
F. Najibullah, “Tajikistan: Soviet-Era Monuments Quietly Disappearing,” RadioFreeEurope/Radio Liberty, 16 May 2007; online: https://www.rferl.org/a/1076513.html (accessed: 13 August 2018).
F. Najibullah and Z. Navruzshoh, “In Tajikistan, Islamic Names are the New Fashion,” RadioFreeEurope/Radio Liberty, 06 October 2010, online: https://www.rferl.org/a/In_Tajikistan_Islamic_Names_Are_The_New_Fashion/2182689.html (accessed: 13 August 2018).
N. Negmatov, “The Samanid State,” in M. S. Asimov and C. E. Bosworth, eds., History of Civilizations of Central Asia. vol. 4, The Age of Achievement: A.D. 750 to the End of the Fifteenth Century (Part One: The Historical, Social and Economic Setting), Paris, 1998, pp. 77–94.
N. Neʿmatov, “Ehyā-ye Tājikān,” Shāhnāma-ye Ferdowsi padida-ye bozorg-e farhangi dar tamaddon-e jahān, Dushanbe/Tehran, 1994.
T. Rakowska-Harmstone, Russia and Nationalism in Central Asia: The Case of Tadzhikistan, Baltimore, 1970.
G. Saidazimova, “Tajikistan: Officials Say Swastika Part of Their Aryan Heritage,” RadioFreeEurope/Radio Liberty, 23 December 2005, online: https://www.rferl.org/a/1064129.html (accessed: 13 August 2018).
M. Schwirtz, “On the Rise in Tajikistan, Islam Worries an Authoritarian Government,” New York Times, 16 July 2011, p. A6; online: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/world/asia/17tajikistan.html (accessed: 13 August 2018).
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 692 | 173 | 16 |
Full Text Views | 71 | 1 | 0 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 118 | 4 | 0 |
This essay looks at the national history of the Tajiks of Central Asia that was created in the twentieth century and has continued to develop into the twenty-first century. It traces the notion of Tajik nationalism, which arose in the 1920s under the Soviet Union, largely in response to Uzbek nationalism. Soviet intellectuals and scholars thereafter attempted to construct a new history for the Tajiks. The most important effort in that area was Bobojon Ghafurov’s study Tadzhiki (Tajiks, 1972), which gave them primacy among the Central Asian peoples. The essay examines the policies of independent Tajikistan’s government, such as its focus on the Samanid dynasty and the replacement Soviet monuments and names with nationalist ones. Finally, it looks at the challenges that contemporary Islamic movements in the country pose to the earlier secular interpretations.
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 692 | 173 | 16 |
Full Text Views | 71 | 1 | 0 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 118 | 4 | 0 |