Description

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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.

About the Author

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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.