Bobojon Ghafurov (18 December 1908 – 12 July 1977) (

Tajiki Tajik (Tajik: , , ), also called Tajiki Persian (Tajik: , , ) or Tajiki, is the variety of Persian spoken in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan by Tajiks. It is closely related to neighbouring Dari with which it forms a continuum of mutually intelligibl ...

: Бобоҷон Ғафуров) or Babadzan Gafurovich Gafurov (russian: Бободжан Гафурович Гафуров) was a Tajik

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

academician An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. In syst ...

, and the author of several books published in Russian and Tajik, including ''History of Tajikistan'' and ''The Tajiks''.

Biography

Ghafurov, the son of poet Roziya Ozod, was born in the village of Isfisar near

Khujand Khujand ( tg, Хуҷанд, Khujand; Uzbek: Хўжанд, romanized: Хo'jand; fa, خجند‌, Khojand), sometimes spelled Khodjent and known as Leninabad (russian: Ленинабад, Leninabad; tg, Ленинобод, Leninobod; fa, لنی ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

. He received his PhD from the Institute of History of the

USSR Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991, uniting the country's leading scientists, subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (until 1946 ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

in 1941 with a dissertation on the ''History of the

Isma'ili Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor ( imām) to Ja'far al- ...

Sect''.Iraj Bashiri
''Prominent Tajik Figures of the Twentieth Century''
International Borbad Foundation, Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, Dushanbe, 2003. Ghafurov's book ''The Tajiks'' (''Tojikon'') is especially influential in modern Tajikistan. Instead of accepting that

Tajiks Tajiks ( fa, تاجيک، تاجک, ''Tājīk, Tājek''; tg, Тоҷик) are a Persian-speaking Iranian ethnic group native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Tajiks are the largest ethnicity in Taj ...

were simply

Uzbeks The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...

who "forgot their language", as Uzbek nationalists commonly argue, ''The Tajiks'' argues that Uzbeks were Turkified from the original

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

population of Central Asia. From 1944 to 1946, he was the Second Secretary and, from August 1946 to 24 May 1956, he was the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Tajikistan. From 1956 to the end of his life, Ghafurov served as the Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union, and as the editor of the Asia and Africa journal." The town of

Ghafurov tg, Ғафуров , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_seal = , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Tajikistan , pushpin_label_position =bottom , pushpin_mapsize = , pushpin_ ...

and Ghafurov district (formally known as Bobojon Ghafurov district), in the

Sughd Province Sughd Province ( tg, Вилояти Суғд, Viloyati Sughd, Sogdia Region , fa, ولایت سغد) is one of the four administrative divisions and one of the three provinces ( tg, вилоятҳо, viloyatho , fa, ولایت) that make up ...

of Tajikistan, are named after him.

References

External links

Tajik banknotes - includes picture of 50 Somoni note with Ghafurov's face.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghafurov, Bobojon 1908 births 1977 deaths First Secretaries of the Communist Party of Tajikistan Soviet historians 20th-century Tajikistani historians Central Asian studies scholars Ethnic Tajik people Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Members of the Tajik Academy of Sciences Second convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Third convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Fourth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Fifth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Seventh convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour People from Sughd Region