Eastern Iranian tribes, the ancient ancestors of modern Tajiks, began to live in the area of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya before the middle of the 1st Millennium BC. and during the archaeological excavations in 1980 in the Kulyab region, near Khovaling, finds were made that showed that primitive man lived on the territory of Tajikistan for half a million years ago. Mesolithic and Neolithic monuments were discovered in the mountains of Tajikistan. Two lower horizons (10 – 7 millennia BC) of the cultural layer of the Tutkaul settlement near Nurek belong to the Mesolithic. The settlement of the highlands, including the Pamirs, began in the stone age. On the Eastern Pamir, at an altitude of 4200 meters above sea level, there is a Parking lot for wandering hunters – Oshkhona. Rock paintings Dating back to the early Neolithic period have been found in The mine's grotto, where you can see animals pierced with arrows and figures of hunters.

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The mountains and foothills of Tajikistan were characterized by a Neolithic culture called Hissar. The bearers of this culture, according to some scientists, were engaged in cattle breeding, or, according to others, in both cattle breeding and agriculture. At the same time, hunting continued to play an important role in their economy. Numerous remains of bronze age settlements have been studied in the Kairakkum desert tract in the North of Tajikistan. Most of them date back to the end of the 3rd-beginning of the 2nd Millennium BC. The Kairakkum culture carriers were mainly engaged in cattle breeding, but they also knew agriculture, mining, metallurgy, and pottery. In the South of Tajikistan, in the lower reaches of the rivers Kyzylsu, Vakhsh, Kafirnigan, another culture of bronze was spread in Bishkek - with agriculture, fortified settlements, and a high level of ceramic production. This culture is close to the bronze age monuments of southern Turkmenistan and South-West Asia.

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Early statehood on the territory of Tajikistan.

In the first half of the 1st Millennium BC, the territory of modern Tajikistan was inhabited by Sogdians in the North, and Bactrians in the South. The state of Sogdiana at that time included Ferghana and the Zaravshan valley, and in the West reached the region of Bukhara. This historical region played an important role in international trade, as it was located on the trade routes of the great silk road, which connected China and Central Asia. Somewhat later, in the 8th – 10th centuries, the inhabitants of Sogdiana assimilated with the Iranian-speaking tribes, various Turkic peoples, and (but to a lesser extent) with the Mongol peoples who came here later.

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In the 6th century BC, a large part of Central Asia was captured by the Achaemenids-the rulers of the great Persian power. However, their rule here did not last long, as early as the 4th century BC.the Achaemenid Empire was defeated by Greek troops led by Alexander the great. Alexander captured Sogdiana and Bactria, and conquered many other peoples. And by the end of his short reign, the vast Greco-Bactrian Kingdom was already spreading its power over the territories of modern States such as Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Northwest India.

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The next stage in the history of Tajikistan was the Kushan Kingdom. It was formed in the 1st century ad after a period of internal unrest and invasions of nomadic tribes from the North. The new powerful state United the South-East of Central Asia, Afghanistan and the Northern regions of India. The Kushan Empire actively traded with China and Rome.

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The population living in the territory of the Kingdom professed the religion of Fire-Zoroastrianism, but Buddhism was also widespread here, which penetrated here along the trade routes. Zoroastrianism, by the way, was the dominant religion in Sogdiana until it was supplanted by Islam.

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In the 3rd century, the Kushan Kingdom began to disintegrate, and its possessions in Central Asia, mainly Sogdiana and Bactria, briefly came under the rule of a new Iranian power – the Sassanid Empire. In these areas, the Persian language and culture became widespread.

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After the Sassanid rule in Central Asia ended, the influence of the Turkic tribes in the southern regions of The region began to grow as they moved West and South. In the 6th century, these tribes reached the borders of the Sassanid domain, so, in the end, the population of the plains of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins became more Turkic than Iranian.

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In the 4th – 5th centuries, the steppe tribes of the eftalites ("White Huns") surged into Sogdiana and Tokharistan (as Bactria became known in the 4th century), and in the 6th century the power of the Turkic Khaganate spread to this territory. In the 5th – 6th centuries, the process of feudalization became more and more intense. From the 6th century until the second half of the 19th century, feudal relations prevailed on the territory of modern Tajikistan with some degree of preservation of Patriarchal remnants, a large role of the community, and remnants of slavery. The economic growth that took place in the 6th – 7th centuries, before the Arab conquest, caused even greater social stratification. The landowning aristocracy seized irrigation land and water.

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The rise of the economy was accompanied by the development of culture and the growth of cities. One of the centers of the early medieval culture of Central Asia and modern Tajikistan was Penjikent. Its Palace and religious buildings, state halls, sculptures and multicolored frescoes with themes of the epic show the high level of artistic culture, art and architecture of that time. At the beginning of the 18th century, there are monuments of Sughd script found during the excavations of the Kalai-mugh mountain castle. Feudal castles of the early middle ages were well fortified (for example, the Kalai Bolo castle in the vicinity of Isfara).

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Arabs and Islamization of Zoroastrian Tajikistan.

Since the second half of the 7th century, the Sogdians and Tochars, as well as other peoples of Central Asia, waged a fierce struggle against the Arab expansion. But by the middle of the 8th century, Central Asia was conquered by the Arabs and included in the Arab Caliphate. The peoples of Central Asia resisted the forcible introduction of Islam and the Arabic language and often rebelled against the Arab rulers. The revolt under the leadership of Mukanna (770 – 780s) was particularly long-lasting. The conquerors destroyed cultural monuments and destroyed cities. The population was subjected to numerous heavy taxes and forced labor.

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However, any powerful state education sooner or later comes to an end. And as the power of the Arab Caliphate weakened, the actual power on the ground passed into the hands of regional dynasties.

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Against the background of others, the Samanid dynasty (875 – 999) stood out, uniting the lands from the Syr Darya to South-Western Iran under its rule. The capital of their state was located in Bukhara.

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The patronage of the Samanids contributed to the revival of the Persian language as a literary language. It was at this time that the Persian language began to prevail in Central Asia over the Eastern Iranian languages. Most of Tajikistan was ruled either directly by the Samanids or their vassals; some southern areas were closely linked to Northern Afghanistan.

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By the end of the 10th century, the territory of the Samanid state was divided by two Turkic dynasties. After that, the lands of modern Tajikistan passed from one hand to another of various Turkic rulers, until they were incorporated into the Mongol Empire in the 13th century.

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Some other way were ethnic processes in the Pamir regions. Due to their geographical isolation and a number of historical and socio-economic reasons, by the 10th century they were on the periphery of the territory of the ethnic formation of the Tajiks; therefore, there were independent peoples with their own, different from Tajik, Eastern Iranian languages. In the original culture of the population of the Western Pamir, the influence of Tokharistan, especially its culture of the Kushan period, can be traced. The settlement of the hard-to-reach valleys of the upper Panj took place in the form of a series of migration waves coming from the West, from the territory of modern Afghanistan, Iran and the southern regions of Tajikistan.

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History of Tajikistan in the 14th-16th centuries.

In the 14th century, Tajikistan was part of the vast Timur state that stretched from the Indus to the Volga and from Syria to China, and in the 15th century – in the possession of its successors – the Timurids. The cultural rise of the Timurid state is associated with the activities of Timur's grandson Ulugbek, who ruled in the first half of the 15th century. At this time, the flourishing of science, in particular astronomy, the work of famous scientists, writers, artists who lived in Samarkand and Herat, where the center of the state was soon moved.

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In the 16th century, the territory of Tajikistan became part of the Uzbek Sheibanid state with its capital in Bukhara. During this period, the Bukhara and Khiva khanates were formed, and later, in the 18th century, the Kokand khanate. They were ruled by khans-representatives of Uzbek dynasties.

 

 

Within Russia.

Tajiks lived mainly in the Bukhara and Kokand khanates. The Central Asian khanates of the 16th and 18th centuries were characterized by feudal fragmentation, continuous wars and civil strife. External and internal wars led to the destruction of irrigation systems, the decline of agriculture; sometimes entire areas were devastated.

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England's rivalry with Russia for expanding markets hastened the accession of Central Asia to Russia. In 1868, under the Treaty between Russia and Bukhara, most of the territory of the Emirate became part of the Turkestan General government.

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The Northern part of modern Tajikistan was annexed to Russia later, when after the suppression of the anti – feudal revolt of 1873-1876 in the Kokand khanate, its territory was included in the Ferghana region as part of the Turkestan General government. In 1886, the Russian Imperial political Agency was established in Bukhara. In 1895, the Russian-English agreement established the border of the Emirate of Bukhara with Afghanistan along the Panj in Badakhshan. The South-Eastern and Central parts of modern Tajikistan-Eastern Bukhara and Western Pamir-remained part of the Emirate of Bukhara, while the left-Bank Darvaz, the left-Bank parts of Vakhan, Ishkashim, Shugnan, and Rushan in Badakhshan fell to Afghanistan.

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In 1924, the Tajik Autonomous Soviet socialist Republic was established as part of the Uzbek SSR. The territory of the Republic includes 12 parishes of the Turkestan region, Eastern Bukhara and part of the Pamir. The main political and cultural centers – Bukhara and Samarkand – remained inside the borders of Soviet Uzbekistan.

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The newly formed republics, including the Tajik SSR (since 1929), were governed on the all-Union model, while many established traditions of various ethnic groups were ignored. In Soviet times, Tajikistan was fully integrated into the all-Union economic complex and became deeply dependent on the Center.

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Independence.

In 1990, Tajikistan declared its sovereignty. After the August 1991 putsch in Moscow, the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Tajikistan adopted a Resolution "on proclaiming the state independence of the Republic of Tajikistan". With the collapse of the Union, a long struggle for power began. The confrontation of the old Soviet elite with the opposition coalition of Islamists, nationalist intellectuals and trade and business circles turned into a struggle of regional groups. Rallies and negotiations turned into an armed confrontation in Dushanbe in may 1992, which soon moved to the districts. From this period until the signing of the ceasefire agreement at the end of 1994, there were periodic armed conflicts, especially in the South of Tajikistan. In November 1994, a referendum was held on the adoption of a new Constitution and the election of a new President, who was appointed by E. Rakhmonov. Three months later, in February 1995, elections to the Majlisi Oli (Parliament) were held.