A History of the Tajiks: Iranians of the East

Description

In this comprehensive and up to date history, from prehistoric proto-Indo-Iranian times to the post-Soviet period, Richard Foltz traces the complex linguistic, cultural and political history of the Tajiks, a Persian-speaking Iranian ethnic group from the modern-day Central Asian states of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan. In eight chapters, the author explores the revitalisation of Persian culture under the Samanid Empire in the Tajik heartlands of historical Khorasan and Transoxiana; analyses the evolution of the politics of Tajik identity; and traces the history of the ethnic Tajik diaspora today.

Richard Foltz is Professor of Religions and Cultures at Concordia University, Canada. He is the author of a number of titles on Iranian and Central Asian history, culture and religion including Iran in World History, Religions of Iran and Religions of the Silk Road.

This engagingly written, excellent new history of the Tajik people is an outstanding achievement. * Rustam Shukurov, Professor of History, Moscow State University, Russia * An informative introduction to an important subject that has been ill-served both in history and in scholarship. * Central Asian Survey * Foltz's monograph on the history of the Tajiks against the backdrop of Iranian cultural history fills an important gap ... This work is a vitally important contribution to this growing body of literature. * Acta Via Serica *