Tajiks Through History
This piece has been written by Rahil (pseudonym), one of our writers in Afghanistan. The piece has been translated to English by the editors. Find the Farsi version here.
HISTORY OF TAJIKS IN AFGHANISTAN
A bit on the use of the word ‘Tajik’ and ‘Tajiki’ throughout history:
There are varied definitions of the word “تاجیک” [Tâjik], which sometimes are even contradictory. The political divisions in the world, for instance into East and West in the last century, add to the complexity of the term’s definition. Some of the definitions of this word include:
- In the book “تاریخ هرودت” [The History of Herodotus] (volume 3, p. 376), the word “دادیک” [Dâdik] was used by Herodotus to refer to Tajiks.
- Bostan Alsiya, in the 13th century AD in volume 2, p. 61 states “Tajik is the name of a people who some say are descendants of Japeth, son of Noah, while others claim are the descendants of Sam, son of Noah. Tajiks are contrasted to Turks in that they are Persian speaking”
- The dictionary of Dekhoda states: ‘Tajik’ is Pahlavi word that refers to a nation that is Iranian and is called by the name ‘تاج’ [Tâj] or crown
- In the book “فرهنگ معین” [Certain culture]: “تازیک” [Tâzik] and “تات” [Tât] Tat refer to a people, with “جیک” [jik] as their suffix, who can be contrasted to Turks.
On the issue of origin and development of the classic language and literature of Tajiks (Dari, or Farsi-Dari):
The 10th century onwards are considered the period of freedom and development of classical Tajik, i.e. Farsi-Dari, literature. Many historical and scientific pieces of literature (mainly poetry) in this period were created. These have played a major role in the daily lives of people from Transoxiana, Khorasan, Western Iran, Northern India, and many countries in the Near and Middle East.
From the year 742, knowledge of the language and writing of Arabic in the courts of Khorasan, as well as Transoxiana (which was governed by Khorasan) became mandatory. This is confirmed by the famous oldest document written in Arabic and found in Transoxiana titled “(شاه سغد حاکم سمرقند” [Shâh Sughd, Ruler of Samarqand].
However, Arabic was used as the language of writing only among the aristocracy, poets, and court scholars. Most of the people in the cities and villages of Transoxiana, Khorasan, Sistan, and Western Iran spoke in their mother tongues. The Persian language, called “پارسی”[Pârsi] or “فارسی” [Fârsi] played an important role in the historical, cultural and literary lives of the people of Iran and Central Asia.
Similarly, by the 8th century AD Persian had become the living language of the people of Balkh.
The conditions for entry of the Persian language in the wider political and civil sphere, and the embodiment of this in the Arabic script started in the eastern provinces of the Caliphate first and foremost. Namely, this process began in Transoxiana, Khorasan, and Sistan, and the first independent governments, i.e. of the Taherian (821-873 AD), the Safarian (873-903) and the Somanian (875-999), initially only emerged in this areas. The local feudal nobles and aristocrats, as well as their inner circles, promoted the use of their own language – the language of the people, Persian – as the language of the court and literary life. In this way, they emphasized and confirmed political and civil independence from the Arab Caliphate.
The literature also discusses poets in this period who wrote poetry in Persian. These poets originated from Transoxiana, Khorasan and Sistan – the provinces in which the process of the formation of the Tajik nation began and lived on and flourished. Classical Tajik – Persian – Farsi – Dari literature started in the Samanian period, the period of Rudaki at the end of the 9th century and mid 10th century, and Firdowsi (933AD or 934AD to 1020AD or 1025AD) and their contemporaries such as Daqiqi Balkhi (977AD) , Abu Al-Hassan Shahid Balkhi, Abu Shukur Balkhi, and other poets contributing valuable works written in the Persian language.
The following have to be mentioned:
- First: The introduction to the “شهنامه” [Shâhnâma] (Book of Kings) written by Abu Mansuri in 957 in the city of Toos, Khorasan
- Second: The piece on “داروشناسی” [Dârshenâsi] (Pharmacology) written by Abu Manusri Bin Ali Herawi during the reign of Mansuri Ibn Nuh in 961-976 in Bukhara
- Third: The book on “:- حدودالعالم” [Hodudol Âlam] (The Limits of the World) is a geographical piece whose writer is unknown. It was written in 982 or 983 in Goozganan (located in the present day territory of North-Western Afghanistan)
- Fourth: The geographical piece of Abu Almawi Balkhi known by the name of “عجایب البلدان” [Ajâyeb-e Baladân] (Wonders of the Familiar) or “عجایبات و بحر و بر” [Ajâybât wa Bahr wa Bar] (Wonders of the Lands and Sea).
In the mid 11th century classical Tajik-Farsi Dari literature including a series of valuable original historical works such as the “زین الاخبار” [Zain-el Akhbâr] (Zain News) of Abu Saeed Gardezi written in the years 1048-1052, “تاریخ بیهقی” [Târîkh-e Beykhaqî] (History of Beyhaqi) of Abu Fazil Bayhaqi (deceased in 1077), “تاریخ سیستان” [Târîkh Sîstân] (History of Sistan) whose author is unknown, appeared.
In the reign of the Samanian, several literary works were translated from Arabic to Persian. Famous examples are the “تاریخ طبری” [Târîkh-e Tabârî] (Ethnic History) and the Quran, whose translations received much attention. It was the Samanians and their inner circles that were responsible for these developments taking place in around 963AD.
One of the greatest Tajik scholars – Abu Ali Sina Balkhi (Ibn Sina, Avicenna) was active in the period of 1022-1038 AD in Isfahan. It was here that he wrote the “دانش نامه” [Dânishnâma] (Encyclopedia) for the local rulers, in the Persian language.
The influence and popularity of written Persian literature was so large in that period, that Persian was not only used in works written by writers from countries where Persian was the mother tongue of the local populations – such as Transoxiana, Khorasan, and Western Iran – but also other countries such as Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Northern India, and Eastern Turkistan.
The use of the term ‘Dari’ in the academic literature refers to specific regional dialects of Persian such as the one used by the Zoroastrians of Yazd and Kerman, the Seiwandi (located in Eastern Tehran), and others. In modern times, this term is used in Afghanistan to refer to one of the official languages of the country, namely ‘Farsi-Dari’.
It is, therefore, absolutely incorrect to refer to the ‘Farsi’ language as different or separate from the ‘Dari’ language.
Abol Fazl-e Balami, in the translation of “تاریخ طبری” [Târîkh Tabârî] (Ethnic History) from Arabic to Persian in 963, refers to the language of the translation as ‘Farsi-Dari’.
Later, evidently after 976, the Arabic introduction to this translation refers back to the language of translation as Parsi/Farsi. In this way, there is absolutely no doubt that the terms Farsi and Farsi-Dari are interchangeable. All these terms refer to the same language, namely the language of classical Farsi and Dari and Tajik literature – the Persian language.
Whenever discussing the origin and development of the Persian language, it is important to not separate classical Tajik, Dari, and Farsi literature from their Eastern past, which have been embodied in Ancient and Middle Persian literary works.
This language did not come to exist in a vacuum. Although its history is related to the Arab conquests, the development of the Persian language dates back to the 6th century BC, and this is confirmed by ancient relics.
The Formation of the Tajik Nation (BC and AD)
The creation of the first government of Iran took place around the 8th and 9th centuries BC. In this period, the western territories of Iran were included in the borders of the government of Assyria and Urartu. In the mid 6th century BC, the Archaemenid government was established to replace the Medi government. The foundation of the Archemenid government took place under the command of the Persian King Cyrus II, and it resembled a Medi Sultanate.
Central Asia during the reign of Alexander the Great and Greece: With what forces did the people of Central Asia resist the troops of Alexander the Great? It should be stated that one of the main weaknesses of the defenses of Central Asia at the time was a lack of centralized armed force.
In the struggle for the independence of Sughd and Bokhtar, it was a local army leader (Spitman) who led the resistance. He was one of the most prominent figures among the history of the ancient ancestors of the Tajik nation. In the year 329BC Spitman captured the city of Morroco through the use of a large army, which included many prosperous people. Most of Alexander’s garrison was killed, and the rest took refuge in the citadel, waiting for the forces.
In the period in which Alexander the Great conquered Central Asia, it was only Khwarazm that was able to maintain its independence.
The ancestors of the Tajiks and the other peoples of Central Asia there fought for their independence for three years and resisted against the foreign invaders who had established a large empire. Even though they faced many defeats during this period, they still continued to bravely resist the forces of Alexander and hit his forces with such a blow that his forces were greatly weakened. If interested in reading more about this, you can look at the book “تاریخ خلق تاجیکان” [Târîkh-e Khalq-e Tâjikân] (The History of the Tajik People) written in 1955.
The formation of the Tajik nation took place in the period when the Samanians controlled the governments of Transoxiana and Khorasan. The writings of Awi Farsi (or more precisely, Middle Persian) in the 7th and 8th centuries found in Merv shows that Persian – Farsi-Dari or simply Farsi as referred to by Tajiks – was spoken by the people of this region during this period.
In the 7th and 8th centuries (AD), the use and position of the Persian language became very strong in the territories that now belong to present day Northeastern Iran, Northern Afghanistan, and Southern Central Asia (including Tajikistan).
Although the formation of the Tajik people mainly continued onto the 9th and 10th century AD, important developments also took place in the following centuries and the solidarity of the Tajik nation was established with the strengthening of its material and spiritual civilization. In the 9th and 10th centuries, in Transoxiana and Khorasan, an important racial and civil decision was made which related to almost the entirety of the sphere of life of the Taharian and Safavian and especially the Somanian governments: According to Beyhaqi, one of the Sultan’s relatives said “ما که تازیک هستیم” (We, who are Tazik).
In the mid 11th century, the phrase ‘Tajik’ came to refer to a people belonging to Central Asia and Khorasan.
References:
تاجیکان در آیینه تاریخ ( از آریایان تا سامانیان) مولف امامعلی رحمانف
کتاب دوم تاجیکان
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