Tajiks
The Tajiks are one of the principal ethnic groups of Central Asia, and are primarily found in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The Tajiks are among the oldest inhabitants of the region, and can trace their roots back to the original Iranian peoples that settled Central Asia in ancient times, such as the Bactrians, Sogdians, and Parthians. The term "Tajik" is generally applied to the Persian-speaking peoples living in the lands east of Iran. The Persian language of the Tajiks is also called Tajik, Tajiki, or Dari. Although other Persian-speaking groups live in Central Asia, such as the Hazara, Qizilbash, and Aimaq, they are distinguished from the Tajiks in that they are of non-Iranian origin, and only adopted the Persian language over the last millennium. The so-called "Mountain Tajiks" or Pamiris of the Badakhshan region in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, as well as the group usually known as "Tajik" in China's western Xinjiang region are actually a collection of over a dozen small East Iranian ethnic groups that are related to, but distinct from, the Tajiks themselves.The origin of the term "Tajik" is somewhat unclear. While one theory, popularly accepted among the Tajiks themselves, traces the word to the Persian word "taj," meaning "crown," another ascribes its origin to the word "tazi," which was originally applied to Iranian-speaking Central Asians that had converted to Islam. Tajiks are the principal ethnic group in most of Tajikistan, as well as in northeastern Afghanistan and the Afghan cities of Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, and Herat. Tajiks also dominate the populations of the cities of Bukhara and Samarqand in Uzbekistan, and are found in large numbers in the Surkhandarya region of southern Uzbekistan, and in the eastern part of that country, along its border with Tajikistan. Historically, the ancestors of the Tajiks lived in a much larger territory in Central Asia, but were largely displaced as waves of Turkic invaders moved into the region from the north and east. Today, Tajiks comprise around 66% of the population of Tajikistan, and between 25-30% of the population of Afghanistan. While official statistics in Uzbekistan state the Tajik community as comprising 5% of the nation's total population, it is widely believed that the actual figure is much higher.
The great majority of Tajiks follow the Sunni form of Islam, although small Ismaili and Jafari Shia minorities also exist in scattered pockets. The popular forms of Islam practiced by the Tajiks often bear the influence of Zoroastrianism and pre-Zoroastrian cults that were followed before the advent of Islam to Central Asia. Additionally, large Tajik-speaking Jewish communities have existed since ancient times in the cities of Samarqand and Bukhara, and in smaller numbers in Herat, Kabul, and other Tajik centers. Over the 20th century, the majority of these Tajik-speaking Jews emigrated to Israel and the United States, although many of these emigrants maintain ties with their homeland. Despite the advent of Christian missionaries to Central Asia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Tajik Christian population is virtually non-existent.
Physically, the Tajiks belong to the Mediterranean subgroup of the Caucasian race. While the average Tajik is has dark hair and eyes with medium to fair skin, light hair and eyes are quite common, particularly in mountainous regions such as Badakhshan where intermarriage with other ethnic groups is less common.
The collapse of the Soviet Union and the civil war in Afghanistan both gave rise to a resurgence in Tajik nationalism across the region. Tajikistan in particular has been a focal point for this movement, and the government there has made a conscious effort to revive the legacy of the Samanid empire, the first Tajik-dominated state in the region after the Arab conquest.
Sources
"Central Asian Jews." from The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire.
Dupree, Louis. Afghanistan. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980
Jawad, Nassim. Afghanistan: A Nation of Minorities. London: Minority Rights Group, 1992.