Bobojon Gafurovich Ghafurov (; 18 December 1908 – 12 July 1977) or Babadzan Gafurovich Gafurov () 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 species; as well as the ...

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. Accor ...

, 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, sometimes spelled Khodjent and formerly known as Leninabad from 1936 to 1991, is the second-largest city of Tajikistan and the capital of Tajikistan's northernmost Sughd province. Khujand is one of the oldest cities in Central Asia, d ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

. 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. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (u ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

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

Isma'ili Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (Imamate in Nizari doctrine, imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the ...

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 (; ; also spelled ''Tadzhiks'' or ''Tadjiks'') is the name of various Persian-speaking Eastern Iranian groups of people native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Even though the term ''Tajik'' ...

were simply

Uzbeks The Uzbeks () are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, being among the largest Turkic ethnic groups in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakhs, Kazakh and Karakalpaks, Karakalpak ...

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

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

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 Ghafurov (also Gafurov, ; ) is a town in Ghafurov district, Sughd Region, Tajikistan. It has a population of 20,600 (2020 estimate), up from 18,900 in the 1989 census. The town was created in 1965, and until 1978 had the name Sovietabad (). In t ...

and

Ghafurov district Ghafurov District (; ) is a district in the northern part of Sughd Region, Tajikistan. Its capital is Ghafurov, a town in the south of the district. The district surrounds, but does not include the cities Khujand Khujand, sometimes spelled Kh ...

(formally known as Bobojon Ghafurov district), in the

Sughd Province Sughd Province, also referred to as the Sogdia Region, and Leninabad before 2001, is one of the four administrative divisions and one of the three provinces that make up Tajikistan. Centered in the historical Sogdiana, it is located in the northw ...

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 People from Sughd Region People from Samarkand Oblast Ethnic Tajik people Tajik people from the Soviet Union Muslims from the Russian Empire Members of the Central Committee of the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Members of the Central Committee of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Second convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Third convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Fourth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Fifth convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Seventh convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities First secretaries of the Communist Party of Tajikistan Soviet historians 20th-century Tajikistani historians Central Asian studies scholars Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Members of the Tajik Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the October Revolution Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour