Tajik people

The word Tajik (Persian تاجيک Tajik; tdk Тоҷик. ), In earlier forms also tazik or tazik, since the Middle Ages, especially in the Iranian- and Turkic-speaking parts of the Islamic world another name for " Persian ", almost always as Unlike "Turk".

The term has its real origin in the Arabic tribal name " Ṭayyi ʿ ". This had settled after the Muslim conquest of Persia as a prominent Arab group in Central Asia. In the course of Turkic and Mongol conquest of Central Asia, the name was first on all Muslims, but later transferred specifically to the Persian language and Iranian majority of the region.

Today is meant by the term especially the Persian -speaking population of Central Asia, mainly of bears their name Tajikistan. In a broader sense, the term is extended to the political level to related neighboring peoples in Afghanistan and China, but that is not always consistent. Thus, for example, which also Persian-speaking Hazara and Aimaken not generally counted among the " Tajik ", while non- Persian speaking, however, Iranian peoples in China or Gorno-Badakhshan are considered " Tajiks ", eg Tajiks of China.

Alternative names for this group include " Fārsī " ( " Persian "), " Farsīwān " ( " Persian -speaking ") and " Dīhgān " ( wrtl. " villagers " in the sense of " urban " or "settled ").

  • 2.1 Religion
  • 2.2 Language
  • 2.3 Culture

Historical construct

The history of the Tajiks is made up of each individual history of each Iranian peoples of the region. It begins with the arrival of the Aryans in Central Asia (ca. 2000 BC), continues with the emergence of Zoroastrianism (ca. 1700 BC ), the rise of the Persian Empire (550 BC), the triumph of the Macedonians (330 BC), the kingdom of the Parthians (220 BC), the empire of the Sassanids ( 220 AD ) and the conquest of Persia by the Arabs ( 650 AD ). From here the real story begins the Tajiks.

The Tajiks trace their ancestry back to the dynasty of the Iranian Samanids (900 AD), the first native rulers after the Arab invasion and before the Turkish conquest. During the Samanid rule the Persian language and Iranian culture were revived. This " rebirth " of the Iranian Central Asia is generally considered to origin of today's Tajiks.

The modern currency of Tajikistan, Somoni, goes back to the name of that dynasty.

For a more detailed history of the Tajiks, see also:

Antiquity

  • Iranians / Aryans, the ancestors of modern Persians; Today the word "Iran " is derived from "Aryan ". Avesta, the holy book of Zoroastrianism
  • Persian Empire
  • Parthians
  • Bactrians
  • Sogdians
  • Sassanids, the last ancient empire of the Persians
  • Kushans

Middle Ages

  • Barmacides
  • Samanids, the first independent Persian dynasty after the Muslim conquest. It is regarded as the origin of the Tajik identity
  • Ghurides, a Persian sultanate in Central Asia and India

Modern Times

  • Afghanistan
  • Tajikistan
  • Uzbekistan

Language, culture and religion

Religion

The Tajiks are predominantly Muslims, of which the vast majority Sunnis. Major Shiite centers are mainly located in the Pamir - Badakhshan region ( Ismailis ) and Herat ( Imami ). There are also many followers of the Zoroastrian religion, the actual, pre-Islamic religion of the Tajiks. Also among the Tajiks include the Imami Qizelbash, the descendants of garrison troops Nadir Shah.

Language

The language of the Tajiks is Modern Persian, Tajik in Tajikistan called, which (in addition to Pashto ) is in Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, the country's official language. In contrast to Iran and Afghanistan, Tajikistan uses the Cyrillic alphabet.

Culture

The Tajiks and the Persian culture have significantly influenced the image of the Orient. The most famous work of Muslim- Persian literature in the West is the story collection 1001 (pers. Hezar -o yek Template هزار و يكشب ). This play Tajik centers such as Samarkand, Herat or Balkh, a central role.

The heart of the Persian- Tajik Culture, however, was and is the art of poetry. Nowhere else is the poetry has such a large role in the daily lives of the people, as in the Persian culture. Tajik poets have contributed significantly to the development of the New Persian language and the new Persian identity, including:

  • "Father of the New Persian language" Rudaki, the first Dari poet and the "inventor " of the New Persian poetry
  • The epic poet Abū al - Qasem Ferdowsi -e, the author of the Shahnameh ( " Book of Kings " )
  • The mystic Jami, the last of the great mystics of the Middle Ages
  • The mystic and storyteller Fariduddin Attar
  • The mystics and romantics Rumi (pers. Moulavi ), the most famous and successful poet of ancient Persia

→ Refer to the main article: Persian literature

Also Tajiks were some of the most famous scientists, scholars and artists of the Middle Ages:

  • The physician Ibn Sina ( Avicenna ), which today is considered the " father of modern medicine "
  • The mathematician Al- Khwarizmi; of his name and his works, the terms algebra and algorithm are derived
  • The poet and mathematician Omar Khayyam
  • The astronomer and historian Biruni
  • The painter Behzad

Also ( in 2001 by the Taliban ) killed Afghan war hero Ahmad Shah Massoud belonged to the people of the Tajiks.

Hadia Tajik Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province Tajiks of Xinjiang Samanid Empire Barmakids Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād Richard N. Frye
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