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Tajik People

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This article is about the Central Asian Persians known as Tajiks. Refer to Persian people regarding Persians in Iran.

Tājik (UniPers: Tâjik; Cyrillic: Тоҷик) is a term generally applied to Persian-speaking peoples of Persian origin living east and northeast of present-day Iran. The traditional Tajik homelands are in present-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan, southern Uzbekistan and south western China.

Alternative names for the Tajiks are Fārsī (Persian), Fārsīwān (Persian-speaking), and Dīhgān (literally "village settlers", in a wider sense "urban"; in contrast to "nomadic").

History

Like all Iranic peoples, and also the Indic, Dard, and Nuristani peoples, the Tajiks trace their origins to the ancient Aryan nomads who settled in Central Asia as early as 4000 years ago.

The Tajiks trace their more immediate ancestry to the East Iranian-speaking Bactrians, Sogdians, and Parthians, which means that the historical ancestors of the Tajiks did not speak Persian - the southwestern Iranian language, today known as 'Farsi' in Iran and Afghanistan. The 'Tajiks' adoption of the now dominant southwestern branch Persian language is believed to have as its root cause, the Islamic conquest of Central Asia by the Arabs. This conquest sent large numbers of Persians fleeing into Central Asia, South Asia (Pakistan) and even into southwestern China. Subsequently, many Persians, after conversion to Islam, entered Central Asia as military forces and settled in the conquered lands. As a result of these waves of Persian migration (Zoroastrian and Muslim) over the course of more than 200 years, the Tajiks have ethnic Persian ancestry in addition to their original East-Iranian ancestry. Cultural dissemination through Persian literature also helped to establish the new language, as well as intermittent military dominance. According to Iranologist Richard Nelson Frye, the Persian migration to Central Asia may be considered the beginning of the "modern" Tajik nation, and ethnic Persians along with East-Iranian Bactrians and Sogdians, as the main ancestors of "modern" Tajiks.

Sir George Abraham Grierson holds that the Tajiks of Badakshan belong to the same Aryan race as do the other Ghalcha speakers of the Tajikstan “. George Grierson also records that the speech of Badakshan was a Ghalcha till about three centuries ago when it was supplanted by a form of Persian. It has been shown that the modern Ghalcha dialects, Valkhi, Shigali, Sriqoli, Jebaka (also called Sanglichi or Ishkashim), Munjani and Yidga , mainly spoken in Pamirs and countries on the headwaters of the Oxus, still use terms derived from ancient Kamboja verb Śavati in the sense "to go". Furthermore, the Yagnobi dialect spoken in Yagnobi province around the headwaters of Zeravshan valley in Sogdiana, also still contains a relic "Śu" from the ancient Kamboja Śavati in the sense "to go". The ancient Kambojas, were originally located in the Badakshan, Pamirs and northern territories including Yagnobi province in the doab of the Oxus and Jaxartes. On the east they were bounded roughly by Yarkand and/or Kashgar, on the west by Bahlika (Uttaramadra), on the northwest by Sogdiana, on the north by Uttarakuru, on the southeast by Darada, and on the south by Gandhara. Numerous Indologists have located Kamboja in Pamirs and Badakshan and the Parama Kamboja, in the Trans-Pamirian territories, comprising Zeravshan valley and north up the parts of Sogdiana/Fargana—in the Sakadvipa or Scythia of the classical writers. The Ghalcha speaking Tajik population occupy, more or less, the same territories, which in ancient time, were held by east Iranian Kambojas and the Parama Kambojas. This people are stated to have held their own in spite of centuries of Hunic, Turkish and Mongol invasions. Based on George Grierson's Sociolinguistics researches in India, eminent scholars like Dr J. C. Vidyalankara, Dr Moti Chandra, Dr S. K. Chatterjee, Dr J. L. Kamboj etc write that the Tajiks are the modern representatives of the ancient Kambojas/Parama Kambojas. Some scholars hold that the Ghalcha Tajiks are descendants both of the Kambojas as well as the Tukharas

The geographical division between the eastern and western Iranians is often considered historically and currently to be the desert Dasht-e Kavir, situated in the center of the Iranian plateau.

Other groups

The Mountain Tajiks or Pamiris of the Badakhshan region in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, as well as the smaller group usually known as "Tajik" in China's western Xinjiang region are descendants of the original East-Iranian tribes.

Origin of the term

"Tājik" is a word of Turko-Mongol origin and means (literally) Non-Turk. It has the same root as the word Tat which is used by Turkic-speakers for the Persian-speaking population of the Caucasus. In a historical context, it is synonymous with Iranian and particularly with Persian. Since the Turko-Mongol conquest of Central Asia, Persian-speakers in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iran and all the way to Pakistan and Kashmir have been identified as Tājiks. The term is mainly used as opposed to "Turk" and "Mongol". "Tajik" is just another word for "Persian". In the past 1400 years, Persians had to face 2 important foreign invasions: Arabs and Turks. These two peoples (although Turks were divided into many different tribes) influenced Persian culture and identity. Although the Iranian people have always called themselvs and their lands "Iran", "Irani" or "Aryana", the foreign invaders never called them that way. The Greeks called them "Persians", the Arabs called them "Ajam", and Turks called them "Tajik". The word "Tajik" is a Turkish word and refers to all Persian-speaking people of Central-Asia. Since the Seljuk-invasion 1000 years ago, the Persians of Central-Asia are being ruled by Turks. In those 1000 years, Persians have adopted many Turkish expressions. And one of them is "Tajik". But still, the word "Tajik" was quite unknown until the Soviet rule. In the early 20th century, the Persians of Central-Asia (Samarqand and Bukhara) revolted against Stalin. For this, Stalin punished them by taking away their lands and giving them to Turks who cooperated with the new rulers in Moscow. That's how the "Uzbek SSR" was created. And at the same time, the Turkish word "Tajik" was forced on them, to alienate them from their people in Iran and Afghanistan, and to push Pan-Turkism on them. Today's Tajikistan is not even 1/5 of what used to be Persian lands in Central-Asia.

In Afghanistan, the word "Tajik" was forced on the Persians by the nationalist Pashtun kings who wanted to prevent a Pan-Iranism and Persian nationalism in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has always had good relation with Turkey, most of all because both countries are Non-Arab Sunni nations, while Iran is predominantly Shia. Turkey (after Attatürks revolutions) was training Afghanistan's army, and Afghanistan's kings were copying the Turkish militarism and the way to govern their nation. Both Pashtuns and Turks are traditional cultural enemies of Iran and Iranians. And that's why in both regions, in the Turkish dominated Central-Asia and in Pashtun-dominated Afghanistan, the word "Tajik" was forced on the Persians.

History of the name

First mentioned by the Uyghur historian Mahmoud Al-Kāshgharī, Tājik is an old Turkic expression referring to all Persian-speaking peoples of Central Asia. From the 11th century on, it came to be applied principally to all East-Iranians, and later specifically to Persian-speakers. It is hard to establish the use of the word before the Turkic- and Mongol conquest of Central Asia, and since at least the 15th century it has been used by the region's Iranian population to distinguish themselves from the Turks. Persians in modern Iran who live in the Turkic-speaking areas of the country, also call themselves Tājik, something remarked upon in the 15th century by the poet Mīr Alī Šer Navā'ī. In addition, Tibetans call all Persian-speakers (including those in Iran) Tājik.

The word "Tājik" in medieval literature

The word Tājik is extensively used in Persian literature and poetry, always as a synonym for Persian. The Persian poet Sa'adi, for example, writes:

شاید که به پادشه بگویند
ترک تو بریخت خون تاجیک '
It's appropriate to tell the King,
Your Turk shed the blood of Tājik

It is clear that he, too, uses the word as opposed to Turk. The oldest known reference of the word Tajik in Persian literature, however, can be found in the writings of Djalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, himself being an Persian-speaker - and thus a "Tājik" - from Central Asia.

Other meanings of the word

At certain periods of history, the word Tājik also referred to Persian-speaking scholars and clerks of early Islamic time who were schooled in Arabic. In the Safavid Empire, Tājik referred to the Iranian administrators and nobles of the kingdom, linked to the so-called Qezelbâš movement.

According to some old Tājik folktales, as well as old Persian books, the word "Tājik" literally refers to the "people having the crown" ("Tāj" means crown in Persian). It is believed that it initially refers to the East-Iranian people who ruled over the Bactrian, Soghdian and Badakhshan highlands and later over other areas of Central Asia and beyond - a region traditionally known as the "crown of the world".

Alternative names

As an alternative, the term Sart was also used as a synonym for Tājik and Persian in the medieval - post Genghis Khan - period. Turkic people named by this word the local East-Iranian population. However, the term was abolished by the Soviet government of the Central Asian states.

Location

Tājik are the principal ethnic group in most of Tajikistan, as well as in northern and western Afghanistan. Tajiks are a substantial minority in Uzbekistan, whilst and a few are found in Xinjiang, China, as well as in overseas communities. Historically, the ancestors of the Tajiks lived in a larger territory in Central Asia than now.

Afghanistan

Tajiks comprise between 27-34% of the population of Afghanistan. They predominate three of the largest cities in Afghanistan (Kabul, Mazar-e Sharif, and Ghazni) and the northern and western provinces of Balkh, Parwan, Kapisa, Panjshir, Baghlan, Takhar, Badakhshan, and Ghor, large parts of Konduz Province, and they predominate in the city of Herat and large parts of Farah Province. In addition, Tajiks live in all other cities and provinces in Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan, the Tajiks do not organize themselves by tribes and refer to themselves by they region, province, city, town, or village they are from; such as Badakhshani, Baghlani, Mazari, Panjsheri, Kabuli, Herati, etc.

Tajikistan

Today, Tajiks comprise around 79.9% of the population of Tajikistan.

Uzbekistan

In Uzbekistan the Tājik are the largest part of the population of the ancient cities of Bukhara and Samarqand, and are found in large numbers in the Surxondaryo Province in the south and along Uzbekistan's eastern border with Tajikistan.

Official statistics in Uzbekistan state that the Tajik community comprises 5% of the nation's total population. However, these numbers do not include ethnic Tajiks, who for a variety of reasons, declare themselves to be ethnic Uzbeks. During the Soviet 'Uzbekization' supervised by Sharof Rashidov, the head of the Uzbek Communist Party, Tajiks had to choose either stay in Uzbekistan and get registered as Uzbek in their passports or leave the republic for a less developed agricultural mountainous Tajikistan. Tajiks may make up closer to 15 to 45 percent of Uzbekistan's population.

Pakistan

Prior to 1980, Tajiks made up less than .5% of the population of Pakistan. Today (2008) there are an estimated 700,000 to 1 million Tajiks found in the North-West Frontier Province), most being refugees from the Soviet war in Afghanistan while others who are often included as Tajiks are native to various regions such as Chitral (see Wakhi language) and the Gilgit Agency. In the last decade, many Tajik economic and migrant workers from Tajikistan have settled in Pakistan's Northern Areas, particularly in the city of Ishkuman where they are active in business as well as trade; there is also a sizeable community further south in Islamabad and Lahore.

China

There is a population of approximately 41,000 (est. 2000) Iranian language speakers in China's western Xinjiang region with 60% of them living in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County. This number includes the Iranian speaking Sarikolis and Wakhis who are often considered Tajiks.

Russia

The population of Tajiks in Russia is around 500,000. Most Tajiks came to Russia during the Soviet Union.

Physical characteristics

On the whole, Tajiks are a genetically eclectic population, displaying a wide range of phenotypes. Physically, most Tajiks resemble the Mediterranean-caucasian stock. The typical Tajik has dark hair and eyes, and medium to fair skin. Light hair and eyes are relatively common, particularly in northern regions such as Badakhshan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, western China and Kashmir. A small minority of Tajiks in Central Asia show a Turko-Mongol admixture derived from the Uzbeks and Hazaras. Remote mountain Tajiks more closely resemble the Indo-European Soghdian, Bactrian, Parthian, Persian, and Scythian (Tocharian, Sacae...) populations present before the Turko-Mongol invasions and migrations. Pashtun nationalists and their government distinguish Tajiks from their Farsiwan (Persian), or the Persian variety of the Chahar Aimak subgroup, by religion and not appearance, as the ethnic Persians of Chahar Aimaks are Sunni Muslims. Nowadays, the Tajiks of Panjsher, known for their bravery against the Taliban, are often counted by the Pashtuns and their government as an ethnos of own. The Pashtun government has done this in order to weaken the Tajiks and to settle their lands with Pashtun nomads.

Culture

Language

The language of the Tajiks, as of their Persian brothers in Iran, is Persian, also called Parsi-e Darbari (Persian of royal courts/Language of royal court). The cyrillic variety written in Tajikistan is called Tajiki. Persian is an Indo-European language that is part of the Iranian language group. Tajiks speak an eastern dialect of Persian, historically called Parsi-e Palavi or also Parsi-e Khorasani (see also the Persian population of eastern Iran´s dialect). Historically, it was considered the local dialect of Persian spoken by the Tajik/Persian ethnic group in Central Asia, from where it spread westward only to drive the Arabic language out as the mothertongue of ethnic Persians. In Afghanistan, unlike in Tajikistan, Tajiks continue to use the Perso-Arabic script. However, when the Soviet Union introduced the Latin script in 1928, and later the cyrillic script, the Persian dialect of Tajikistan (soghdi dialect) came to be considered a separate (Persian) language. This dialect remains greatly influenced by Russian for historical reasons.

A transcribed Tajik text can, in general, be easily read and understood by Persians outside Tajikistan, and vice versa, and both groups can converse with each other. The languages of the Persians of Iran and of the Tajiks of central Asia have a common origin. This is underscored by the Tajiks' claim to such famous writers as Omar Khayyám, Firdausi, Anwari, Rumi, other famous Persian poets. (Most Persians of Iran do not think of the Tajiks as being fellow Persians.) Russian is widely used in government and business in Tajikistan as well, but the government ofTajikistan is trying to replace it gradually with full Persian.

Religion

The great majority of Tajiks follow the Sunni Islam, although small Twelver and Ismaili Shia minorities also exist in scattered pockets. Some of Sunni's famous scholars were from East-Iranian regions and therefore can arguably viewed as Tajik. They include Abu Hanifa, Al-Ghazali, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood, and Imam Bukhari amongst many others.

In Afghanistan, Tajiks who follow Twelver Shiism are called Farsiwan. Additionally, small Tajik Jewish communities (known as Bukharian Jews) have existed since ancient times in the cities of Bukhara, Samarqand, Dushanbe, and other Tajik populated centers. Over the 20th century, the majority of these Tajik-speaking Jews emigrated to Israel and the United States. Most of these Jewish emigrants have negative views towards Tajikistan especially because of the destruction of the Dushanbe synagogue.

Recent developments

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the civil war in Afghanistan both gave rise to a resurgence in Tajik nationalism across the region. Tajikistan in particular has been a focal point for this movement, and the government there has made a conscious effort to revive the legacy of the Samanid empire, the first Tajik-dominated state in the region after the Arab advance. For instance, the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, dropped the "-ov" from his surname and directed others to adopt Tajik names when registering births. Furthermore, once conditions are fulfilled, Tajikistan will switch its alphabet from Soviet influenced Cyrillic script to Persian script thereby forging closer cultural ties with the Persian speaking nations of Iran and Afghanistan.