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Afghanistan: Zeus / Serapis / Ohrmazd with Kushan worshipper, Bactria, 3rd Century CE. The Kushan Empire was originally formed in the early 1st century CE under Prince Kujula Kadphises in the territories of ancient Bactria on either side of the Oxus River in what is now northern Afghanistan, southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.<br/><br/> The Kushan kings were a branch of the Yuezhi confederation (possibly intermarried with local families) and they had diplomatic contacts with Rome, Persia and Han China. The empire declined from the 3rd century and fell to the Sassanid and Gupta empires.
Afghanistan: Kushan worshipper and the deity Pharro, Bactria, 3rd Century CE. The Kushan Empire was originally formed in the early 1st century CE under Prince Kujula Kadphises in the territories of ancient Bactria on either side of the Oxus River in what is now northern Afghanistan, southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.<br/><br/> The Kushan kings were a branch of the Yuezhi confederation (possibly intermarried with local families) and they had diplomatic contacts with Rome, Persia and Han China. The empire declined from the 3rd century and fell to the Sassanid and Gupta empires.
Osrushana, also known as Istarawshan, Sudujshana, Usrushana, or Ustrushana, was a former Iranian region in Transoxiana. Osrushana lay to the south of the great, southernmost bend of the Syr Darya and extended roughly from Samarkand to Khujand.<br/><br/> The capital city of Osrushana was Banjikat.
The Buddhist cloister of Ajina-Tepa is situated 12 km east of the city of Kurgan-Tiube, Tajikistan. According to archeologists, the cloister was built in the 7th - 8th centuries CE. Ajina-Tepa was a name given by the locals to the hill under which the ruins of the cloister lay hidden. The name translates from Tajik as 'Devil's Hill', as it is believed that the place is the abode of evil spirits.<br/><br/> The excavations of the hill were started in 1959 by Soviet archaeologists. The cloister had 2-m thick walls, built out of massive blocks of adobe, and consisted of two rectangular courtyards, surrounded by stupas, corridors and cells. More than 600 works of art, found during the 15 years of excavation, indicate how rich the original decoration of the temple was.
Osrushana, also known as Istarawshan, Sudujshana, Usrushana, or Ustrushana, was a former Iranian region in Transoxiana. Osrushana lay to the south of the great, southernmost bend of the Syr Darya and extended roughly from Samarkand to Khujand.<br/><br/> The capital city of Osrushana was Banjikat.
Osrushana, also known as Istarawshan, Sudujshana, Usrushana, or Ustrushana, was a former Iranian region in Transoxiana. Osrushana lay to the south of the great, southernmost bend of the Syr Darya and extended roughly from Samarkand to Khujand.<br/><br/> The capital city of Osrushana was Banjikat.
A burqa, also transliterated burkha, burka or burqua from Arabic: برقع‎ burquʻ or burqaʻ ) is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic traditions to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering (Arabic: jilbāb), plus the head-covering (Arabic: ḥijāb), plus the face-veil (Arabic: niqāb).
Nur ad-Dīn Abd ar-Rahmān Jāmī (Persian: نورالدین عبدالرحمن جامی‎) also known as DJāmī, Mawlanā Nūr al-Dīn 'Abd al-Rahmān or Abd-Al-Rahmān Nur-Al-Din Muhammad Dashti who is commonly known as Jami (August 18, 1414 – November 17, 1492), is known for his achievements as a scholar, mystic, writer, composer of numerous lyrics and idylls, historian, and one of the greatest Persian and Sufi poets of the 15th century. Jami was primarily an outstanding poet-theologian of the school of Ibn Arabī and a prominent Khwājagānī Sũfī. He was recognized for his eloquent tongue and ready at repartee who analyzed the idea of the metaphysics of mercy. Among his famous poetical works are: Haft Awrang, Tuhfat al-Ahrar, Layla wa -Majnun, Fatihat al-Shabab, Lawa'ih, Al-Durrah al-Fakhirah.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (Persian: جلال‌الدین محمد بلخى), also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (Persian: جلال‌الدین محمد رومی) and popularly known as Mevlānā in Turkey and Mawlānā in Iran and Afghanistan but known to the English-speaking world simply as Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273) was a 13th-century Persian Muslim poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic.<br/><br/> He was born in Balkh Province in Afghanistan at a small town located by the river Wakhsh in what is now Tajikistan. Wakhsh belonged to the larger province of Balkh, and in the year Rumi was born, his father was an appointed scholar there. Both these cities were at the time included in the greater Persian cultural sphere of Khorasan, the easternmost province of Persia and was part of the Khwarezmian Empire.<br/><br/> He lived most of his life under the Sultanate of Rum, where he produced his works and died in 1273 CE. He was buried in Konya and his shrine became a place of pilgrimage. Following his death, his followers and his son Sultan Walad founded the Mevlevi Order, also known as the Order of the Whirling Dervishes, famous for its Sufi dance known as the Sama ceremony.<br/><br/> Rumi's works are written in the New Persian language. A Persian literary renaissance (in the 8th/9th century) started in regions of Sistan, Khorāsān and Transoxiana and by the 10th/11th century, it reinforced the Persian language as the preferred literary and cultural language in the Persian Islamic world.<br/><br/> Rumi's importance is considered to transcend national and ethnic borders. His original works are widely read in their original language across the Persian-speaking world. Translations of his works are very popular in other countries. His poetry has influenced Persian literature as well as Urdu, Punjabi and other Pakistani languages written in Perso/Arabic script e.g. Pashto and Sindhi. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages and transposed into various formats. In 2007, he was described as the 'most popular poet in America' by the BBC.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (Persian: جلال‌الدین محمد بلخى), also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (Persian: جلال‌الدین محمد رومی) and popularly known as Mevlānā in Turkey and Mawlānā in Iran and Afghanistan but known to the English-speaking world simply as Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273) was a 13th-century Persian Muslim poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic.<br/><br/> He was born in Balkh Province in Afghanistan at a small town located by the river Wakhsh in what is now Tajikistan. Wakhsh belonged to the larger province of Balkh, and in the year Rumi was born, his father was an appointed scholar there. Both these cities were at the time included in the greater Persian cultural sphere of Khorasan, the easternmost province of Persia and was part of the Khwarezmian Empire.<br/><br/> He lived most of his life under the Sultanate of Rum, where he produced his works and died in 1273 CE. He was buried in Konya and his shrine became a place of pilgrimage. Following his death, his followers and his son Sultan Walad founded the Mevlevi Order, also known as the Order of the Whirling Dervishes, famous for its Sufi dance known as the Sama ceremony.<br/><br/> Rumi's works are written in the New Persian language. A Persian literary renaissance (in the 8th/9th century) started in regions of Sistan, Khorāsān and Transoxiana and by the 10th/11th century, it reinforced the Persian language as the preferred literary and cultural language in the Persian Islamic world.<br/><br/> Rumi's importance is considered to transcend national and ethnic borders. His original works are widely read in their original language across the Persian-speaking world. Translations of his works are very popular in other countries. His poetry has influenced Persian literature as well as Urdu, Punjabi and other Pakistani languages written in Perso/Arabic script e.g. Pashto and Sindhi. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages and transposed into various formats. In 2007, he was described as the 'most popular poet in America' by the BBC.
Isma'il ibn Ahmad (ابو ابراهیم اسماعیل بن احمد, Abu Ibrahim Ismail ibn Ahmad, d. November 907) also referred to as, 'Amir Adil' (the Just Commander) was the Persian Samanid amir of Transoxiana (892-907) and Khorasan (900-907). His reign saw the emergence of the Samanids as a powerful force. He was the son of Ahmad ibn Asad and a descendant of Saman Khuda, the founder of the Samanid dynasty who renounced Zoroastrianism and embraced Islam. Ismail is considered the father of the Tajik nation.<br/><br/> Bukhara was founded in 500 BCE in the area now called the Ark. However, the Bukhara oasis had been inhabitated long before.<br/><br/> The city has been one of the main centres of Persian civilization from its early days in 6th century BCE. From the 6th century CE, Turkic speakers gradually moved in.<br/><br/> Bukhara's architecture and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art. The region of Bukhara was for a long period a part of the Persian Empire. The origin of its inhabitants goes back to the period of Aryan immigration into the region.
Isma'il ibn Ahmad (ابو ابراهیم اسماعیل بن احمد, Abu Ibrahim Ismail ibn Ahmad, d. November 907) also referred to as, 'Amir Adil' (the Just Commander) was the Persian Samanid amir of Transoxiana (892-907) and Khorasan (900-907). His reign saw the emergence of the Samanids as a powerful force. He was the son of Ahmad ibn Asad and a descendant of Saman Khuda, the founder of the Samanid dynasty who renounced Zoroastrianism and embraced Islam. Ismail is considered the father of the Tajik nation.<br/><br/> Bukhara was founded in 500 BCE in the area now called the Ark. However, the Bukhara oasis had been inhabitated long before.<br/><br/> The city has been one of the main centres of Persian civilization from its early days in 6th century BCE. From the 6th century CE, Turkic speakers gradually moved in.<br/><br/> Bukhara's architecture and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art. The region of Bukhara was for a long period a part of the Persian Empire. The origin of its inhabitants goes back to the period of Aryan immigration into the region.
Isma'il ibn Ahmad (ابو ابراهیم اسماعیل بن احمد, Abu Ibrahim Ismail ibn Ahmad, d. November 907) also referred to as, 'Amir Adil' (the Just Commander) was the Persian Samanid amir of Transoxiana (892-907) and Khorasan (900-907). His reign saw the emergence of the Samanids as a powerful force. He was the son of Ahmad ibn Asad and a descendant of Saman Khuda, the founder of the Samanid dynasty who renounced Zoroastrianism and embraced Islam. Ismail is considered the father of the Tajik nation.<br/><br/> Bukhara was founded in 500 BCE in the area now called the Ark. However, the Bukhara oasis had been inhabitated long before.<br/><br/> The city has been one of the main centres of Persian civilization from its early days in 6th century BCE. From the 6th century CE, Turkic speakers gradually moved in.<br/><br/> Bukhara's architecture and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art. The region of Bukhara was for a long period a part of the Persian Empire. The origin of its inhabitants goes back to the period of Aryan immigration into the region.
Isma'il ibn Ahmad (ابو ابراهیم اسماعیل بن احمد, Abu Ibrahim Ismail ibn Ahmad, d. November 907) also referred to as, 'Amir Adil' (the Just Commander) was the Persian Samanid amir of Transoxiana (892-907) and Khorasan (900-907). His reign saw the emergence of the Samanids as a powerful force. He was the son of Ahmad ibn Asad and a descendant of Saman Khuda, the founder of the Samanid dynasty who renounced Zoroastrianism and embraced Islam. Ismail is considered the father of the Tajik nation.<br/><br/> Bukhara was founded in 500 BCE in the area now called the Ark. However, the Bukhara oasis had been inhabitated long before.<br/><br/> The city has been one of the main centres of Persian civilization from its early days in 6th century BCE. From the 6th century CE, Turkic speakers gradually moved in.<br/><br/> Bukhara's architecture and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art. The region of Bukhara was for a long period a part of the Persian Empire. The origin of its inhabitants goes back to the period of Aryan immigration into the region.
Sufism or taṣawwuf (Arabic: تصوّف‎) is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a ṣūfī (صُوفِيّ). Another name for a Sufi is Dervish.<br/><br/> Classical Sufi scholars have defined Sufism as 'a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God'. Alternatively, in the words of the Darqawi Sufi teacher Ahmad ibn Ajiba, 'a science through which one can know how to travel into the presence of the Divine, purify one's inner self from filth, and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits'.<br/><br/> Classical Sufis were characterised by their attachment to dhikr (a practice of repeating the names of God) and asceticism. Sufism gained adherents among a number of Muslims as a reaction against the worldliness of the early Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 CE). Sufis have spanned several continents and cultures over a millennium, at first expressed through Arabic, then through Persian, Turkish and a dozen other languages. 'Orders' (ṭuruq), which are either Sunni or Shia or mixed in doctrine, trace many of their original precepts from the Prophet Muhammad through his cousin 'Alī, with the notable exception of the Naqshbandi who trace their origins through the first Caliph, Abu Bakr.
Ancient Panjekent was a small but flourishing town of the Soghdians in pre-Islamic Central Asia. It was known as Panchekanth, meaning 'five towns'.<br/><br/> The ethnic and territorial name Soghd/Soghdian or Sughd/Sughdian is mentioned in history as early as the Iranian Achaemenid Dynasty (6th century BCE). The Achaemenids founded several city-states, as well as cities along the ancient Silk Road and in the Zarafshan valley.<br/><br/> The town grew in the 5th century CE and many professionals such as established businessmen and landowners made their livelihoods in Panjakent. In 722 CE, Arabian forces besieged and annexed the town. The last ruler of the town, Divashtich, fled into upper Zarafshan but he was captured and sentenced to death.<br/><br/> For around 50 years, ancient Panjakent was ruled by new administrators but towards the end of the 8th century the town on the upper terraces was depopulated and relocated. Many ancient ruins of the old city, particularly the city architecture and works of art remain today.
Tajik (Persian: تاجيک‎, Tājīk; Tajik: Тоҷик) is a general designation for a wide range of Persian-speaking people of Iranic origin, with traditional homelands in present-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. There are also smaller communities living in Iran and Pakistan, consisting mainly of refugees from Afghanistan and immigrants from Tajikistan.<br/><br/> In terms of language, culture, and history the Tajiks are closely related to the Persians of Iran.
Located on the Silk Road, Bukhara has for three millennia been a center of trade, scholarship, culture and religion. During the golden age of the Samanids, Bukhara became the intellectual center of the Islamic world. Part of the Persian Empire for several centuries, it is today mostly populated by Tajik-speakers. The historic center of Bukhara, which contains numerous mosques and madrassas, has been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
The Kushan Empire originally formed in the early first century CE under Prince Kujula Kadphises in ancient Bactria on either side of the Oxus River in what is now northern Afghanistan, and southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. During the first and early second centuries CE, the Kushans expanded rapidly across the northern part of the Indian subcontinent at least as far as Saketa and Sarnath near Varanasi (Benares) where inscriptions have been found dated to the first few years of the era of the most famous Kushan ruler, Kanishka, which apparently began about 127 CE. The Kushan kings were a branch of the Yuezhi confederation (possibly intermarried with local families) and they had diplomatic contacts with Rome, Persia and Han China. The empire declined from the third century and fell to the Sassanid and Gupta empires.
The Kushan Empire originally formed in the early 1st century CE under Prince Kujula Kadphises in the territories of ancient Bactria on either side of the Oxus River in what is now northern Afghanistan, southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. During the 1st and early 2nd centuries CE, the Kushans expanded rapidly across the northern part of the Indian subcontinent at least as far as Saketa and Sarnath near Varanasi (Benares) where inscriptions have been found dated to the first few years of the era of the most famous Kushan ruler, Kanishka, which reportedly began about 127 CE. The Kushan kings were a branch of the Yuezhi confederation (possibly intermarried with local families) and they had diplomatic contacts with Rome, Persia and Han China. The empire declined from the 3rd century and fell to the Sassanid and Gupta empires.
The Kushan Empire originally formed in the early 1st century CE under Prince Kujula Kadphises in the territories of ancient Bactria on either side of the Oxus River in what is now northern Afghanistan, southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.<br/><br/> During the 1st and early 2nd centuries CE, the Kushans expanded rapidly across the northern part of the Indian subcontinent at least as far as Saketa and Sarnath near Varanasi (Benares) where inscriptions have been found dated to the first few years of the era of the most famous Kushan ruler, Kanishka, which reportedly began about 127 CE.<br/><br/> The Kushan kings were a branch of the Yuezhi confederation (possibly intermarried with local families) and they had diplomatic contacts with Rome, Persia and Han China. The empire declined from the 3rd century and fell to the Sassanid and Gupta empires.