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. This revised edition includes a new chapter on the Tajiks' situation in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan since 2018, covering notably the effects of the Taliban's return to power in August 2021 and the COVID pandemic in all three countries, as well as border clashes with Kyrgyzstan.

A new edition of the most comprehensive and up to date history of the Tajiks

About the Author
Richard Foltz is Professor of Religions and Cultures at Concordia University, Canada.

Reviews
The book will be an indispensable academic resource for anyone interested in Iranian or Central Asian studies ... Given the depth of its research and the strengths of its arguments, it remains the key text on Tajik politics and history to date. * Europe-Asia Studies *
An informative introduction to an important subject that has been ill-served both in history and in scholarship. * Daniel Beben, Central Asian Survey *
This engagingly written, excellent new history of the Tajik people is an outstanding achievement. * Rustam Shukurov, Professor of History, Moscow State University, Russia *



Book Information
ISBN 9780755649648
Author Richard Foltz
Format Hardback
Page Count 280
Imprint I.B. Tauris
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC