Tajikistan is an independent nation in Central Asia. With the capital city of Dushanbe, Tajikistan 2020 population is estimated at 9,537,656 according to countryaah. Iranian people have been in the areas around today’s Tajikistan for millennia, as have a number of other ethnic groups. From the 7th century, Arabs came and the population turned to Islam. After Mongol and Uzbek rule, Russia came to dominate the area from the 19th century. When the Soviet Union was established after 1917, the Russians created the new nation states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. A large part of the Tajik population ended up outside Tajikistan.
- AbbreviationFinder.org: Comprehensive guide to and popular abbreviations of Tajikistan, covering history, economy, and social conditions.
During the millennium immediately preceding our era, the area between the Caspian Sea and the Pamir Mountains was dominated by Iranian people. Samarkand eventually became the leading city in the kingdom of Sogdiana. For Tajikistan political system, please check carswers.
Sogdiana covered what is today southeastern Uzbekistan and western Tajikistan. The country became a hub of caravan traffic between Europe and China along the so-called Silk Road. The Persian New Year, nouruz, is still celebrated today in Tajikistan at the end of March.
In 329 BC, Samarkand fell for the Greek conqueror Alexander the Great, but after his death his kingdom was quickly divided. The next powerful state formation in the area was called Kushana. It had its capital in Kabul and extended into what is today Tajikistan. Kushana’s dominion was replaced by the Turks.
Arab conquest
From the 7th century AD the Arabs entered the area. Unlike previous conquerors, they did not accept that the indigenous peoples stuck to their old religions. The palaces and shrines that could bring thoughts away from Islam were destroyed.
In 875, the Caliph in Baghdad provided the province of Transoxania (today the area around Buchara, Samarkand and western Tajikistan) as a loan to Nasr ibn Ahmad. This belonged to the family of the Ancient times, which is considered a Tajik dynasty. With the capital of Buchara (in present-day Uzbekistan), the Sami rulers came to rule independently until the year 999. They stimulated the development of a Tajik literature that today is also considered the cultural heritage of Afghanistan and Iran.
The Arab regiment’s tough regiment was met in the area with firmer resistance and more insurgency than before. The Arabs soon disappeared as an ethnic group, but the Arabs remained alive, not only as the religious language of Islam, but also as a written language in administration and science. In contrast, it was Persian and Turkish dialects that were widely spoken.
The Mongols who ruled during the 13th, 1300s, and 1400s did not have any bearing on linguistic development. From the 16th century until the Russian colonization, Uzbek, ie originally Turkish-speaking dynasties ruled. However, Tajik remained for a long time the language that the upper class formed was expected to use.
Today’s national identities, which mainly combine an original Persian culture with Turkish, were previously not decisive for where the state borders were drawn. There are many areas of mixed population in today’s Central Asian countries, such as around Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent with both Uzbek, Kazakh and Kyrgyz villages.
Soviet sub-republic
In 1868, the Khanate (Kingdom) of Buchara was forced to resign, including the important city of Samarkand to Russia. The Khanate, including most of what today constitutes Tajikistan, was in practice transformed into a Russian vassal state. Several revolts against the Russian colonial power occurred during the second half of the 19th century. The largest scale was raised in 1916, when all over Russian Central Asia turned to the fact that the male population had been ordered to work in Russia’s war industry. The rebellion, during which many Russians were murdered, was defeated by hard methods, and about 450,000 nomads fled across the border into China.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Tajikistan became part of the Soviet Union. The contradictions between Russians and Muslims were among the first problems the new government in Moscow was forced to address. By creating new nation states within the borders of the Soviet Union, the Communists sought to win the support of the Central Asian peoples for Soviet society. In many areas, however, more than one people was represented, so it became a delicate task to decide exactly where the boundaries would be drawn. The new Tajikistan became a unit of regions isolated from one another by high mountains.
The last nominally sovereign kingdoms of Central Asia, Chorezm south of the Aral Sea and Bukhara (present-day eastern Uzbekistan and neighboring parts of Tajikistan) were first joined to the Soviet Union in 1921, and the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand with a large Tajik population ended up in Uzbekistan.
2012
December
Opposition politicians are arrested abroad
Opposition leader Umarali Quvvatov is arrested in Dubai at the request of the Tajik authorities, accused of fraud. Quvvatov, who formed the opposition movement Group 24, claims that the charges against him are a result of his fight against the regime. Quvvatov was previously a business advisor to President Rahmon’s abilities.
Internet sites are blocked
The authorities are ordering that 131 websites be blocked. This applies to most music and video sites, but also to social forums such as Twitter.
October
Human rights organization is prohibited
A court in Chudzhand bans the human rights group Amparo, formed by young lawyers. Amparo, often quoted by the UN, is investigating abuse, torture charges and the treatment of soldiers.
Foreign study organizations are boycotted
The Ministry of Education instructs the country’s universities to prohibit students from participating in seminars and courses organized by foreign organizations.
Military agreement with Russia is extended
Tajikistan and Russia agree to extend the agreement for the Russian military base by 30 years, until 2042. This will happen at a meeting in Dushanbe between Rahmon and his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin.
August
Rebel leaders are killed
A rebel leader is said to have been killed in Köhistoni Badachsjon, leading to protests from thousands of people accusing the government of breaking the ceasefire.
July
Struggles in the border province
Special forces enter the province of Köhistoni Badachsjon in the east at the border with Afghanistan after a regional security chief was killed. Around 70 people are killed in the fighting, which is followed by a ceasefire agreement.
April
Export stop for Uzbek gas
Uzbekistan ceases all natural gas exports to Tajikistan.
January
Murder attempt on journalist in exile
Dodojon Atovulloyev, a Tajik journalist in exile in Moscow, is subjected to a murder trial. Atovulloyev says the attack is a “political warning”. The government of Dushanbe has long been trying to get him extradited from Russia.
