It needs to be noted, that Tajik people are on of the most ancient nations of the world, the gained a worldwide fame and acknowledgment of their rich and colorful history literary heritage. Throughout our history, hundreds of representatives of the Tajik nation have made a worthy contribution to the development of world science, enlightenment, culture and education, leaving their treasury of knowledge and science with their rich heritage for the next generations.
In the IX-X centuries, in the era of the Samanids, the final formation of the Tajik nation was complete. According to the informationof the trusted source, the ethnic composition of the Tajiks consisted of Sogdians, Bactrians, Tahoreans, Ferghanians, Khorasans and Saka tribes.
It was exactly in the Samanid dynasty, which was the era of the development of self-knowledge of the Tajik nation, that the great Tajik poet Abuabdullo Rudaki appeared as a social phenomenon in the literary and political field. He had strong ties and connections at the court of Ismail Samani and Ahmed Ibn Ismail, and at the court of Nasr ibn Ahmed Samani (914-943) he was awarded the high rank of «nadim» — an associate and favorite person of the king. Rudaki himself talks about this:
And thee who was awarded greatness,
Oli Somon the greatness brought upon!
In the IX-X centuries, the science and culture of the nations of Central Asia widely developed. The development of science and culture of the Mediterranean and Hurasan was mainly promoted by the Tajik (Dari) language. Poetry began to improve on this language, which was embodied in the work of the founder of the Tajik-Persian classic literature Abuabdullo Jafar Rudaki, the brilliant poet Abulkasim Firdavsi and many others.
Rudaki is immortal in our hearts,
And every single poet will approve it,
He is the teacher of the poets of all kinds,
His rhymes in all the situations fit.
And it’s no doubt that everything he wrote,
Beginning of the rhyming fire lit.
Another very important treasury of science and literature left to us by our ancestors, and which is very well known all around the globe, is the immortal poem “Shahname” written by Abulkosim Firdavsi. In this great creation of all times we can see almost all kind highest human values such as knowledge and wisdom, science and philosophy, bravery and courage and etc.:
The pain of body should be tolerated,
The path to knowledge is more painful.
At this historical period most of the fundamental sciences such as mathematics, astronomy, geography, chemistry, medicine, history, literature studies and etc. were greatly developed and the famous representatives of the great scientists of their times are these scientists-encyclopedists Abunasr Farabi, Avicenna, Abumahmud Khujandi, Aburayhon Beruni and others.
The big cities of the Central Asia – Bukhara, Samarqand, Balkh, Marv, Nishopur, Khujand, Bunjikat and others turned into the main cultural centers of their states. Scientists, poets, artists and other representatives of science and culture for all around the East were moving and visiting these cities, especially, the capital of the state – Bukhara.
Bukhara became one of the biggest cultural centers of the East. The city had one of the biggest and richest libraries, which was famous by the name of “Savon-al-hikmat”. The very rare books from all around the world were gathered and stored in the walls of that library. It was а valuable heritage of the local and foreign scientists about different aspects and spheres of science. Also there was a book market, where unique and rare scientific books and talmuds (big scientific works) could be bought.
More than that, it has to be noted, that science – is an inseparable part of human lives and activity, that is directed to preparation and arrangement of the objective knowledge and facts about the reality we live in.
Aristotle said the following: “The state can only belong to a person, that exists alongside with nature and who considers other human beings as a political phenomenon”. This means, that a healthy person, despite their social and political status is still a phenomenon that cannot exist out of politics. The whole essence of human beings is political. But representatives and followers of the scientific materialism still insist on this: “Illiterate person exists out of politics… First of all he has to learn the alphabet. Without literacy, no matter what, he cannot be a part of politics. Without knowledge and literacy there can be no politics but rumors, gossips, delusions and bigotry”.
The President of our country emphasized in his speech, that the scientific discoveries and achievements of Muhammad Khorazmi, Ahmad Fergani, Zakariya Razi, Aunasr Farabi, Abumahmud Khujandi, Aburaihan Beruni, Abuali-ibn-Sino, Nosiri Khusravi Qubodiyoni and many others were used by the scientists of Europe and other countries throughout many centuries.
Next we want to give the reader some information about the activity and status of some masterminds of science and wisdom of their time.
Abuabdullo Muhammad-ibn-Musa-al-Khorazmi.Born in the end of the VIIIth century around the year 783 in the city of Khiva (Nowadays Khorazm) and passed away around the year 850 in the city of Baghdad. He was a great Tajik-Persian scientists, mathematician, astronomer and geographer, and he mainly focused his studies on mathematics, practical and theoretical astronomy, geography and history. Al-Khorezmi’s Geographical treatise “The book of image of Earth” became the very first geographical achievement in Arabian language.
Among contemporaries of Al-Hkorazmi, that lived in Baghdad in those times, other famous and great scientists and astronomers can be named. They are Abulabbas Ahmad Al-Fergani and Ahmad-ibn-Abdullo Al-Marvazi (widely known as Khabash Al-Hasib).
The following books and works of this unrivalled person made it to our times: “The book of Indian calculation”, “A short book of comparative algebra”, “Astrological table”, “Book of image of earth”, “Book of astrological structure”, “Book of astrological basics”; “Book of solar clock”, “Treatise of compilation of Jewish holidays and traditions”, “Book of history”.
Abul Abbas Ahmad-ibn-Muhammad-al-Fergani was born around the year of 798 and passed away around 861. Ahmad-al-Fergani was one of the most outstanding scientists of the Middle Asia in the IX century. He made a huge and significant contribution in the development of astrology, mathematics and geography. Alongside with a group of scientists made a lot of important scientific discoveries, some which are: calculation of the magnitude of the Earth meridian, calculation of the circumference of the Earth, star map(table) compilation, which contained the exact coordinates and description of thousands of sky objects.
Abubakr Muhammad Zachariah-ibn-Yahya Ar-Razi (865-925) was born on August 28th, 865 in the city of Rai of Iran.
Abubakr Muhammad Zachariah-ibn-Yahya Ar-Razi, the great Tajik-Persian scientist-encyclopedian, philosopher, doctor, teacher, mathematician, chemist and nature scientist of the VIII-IX centuries. Alongside with Abuali-ibn-Sina (Avicenna) and Aburayhan Beruni left behind one of the richest heritages on medicine, chemistry, biology, philosophy and many other spheres of science. He was an author of 272 books, 22 of which are chemistry books. Ar-Razi is the first scientist-medic who tightly combined theory with practice. His treatises “About medicament making”, “About medicaments”, “About artificial medicaments”, “About purgatives” and other books and works contributed in development of today’s medicament making. His big encyclopedic works are “Kitob A;-Khavi” and “Kitob-at-tib al-Mansuri” (“Medical book, dedicated to Mabsur”).
Ar-Razi introduced the following innovations into medicine:
- For the first time in the history of Middle East medicine began to mark the name, age, profession and the place of residence of the patient.
- For the first time used the method of variegation for pox prevention.
- Invented an mean for extracting foreign objects from the larynx.
- For the first time in the history of medicine used cotton and bandages.
- Introduced the concept of “One doctor can’t work with all kind of patients and illnesses” into medicine.
- For the first time created and published a manual for the lower layers of population “Medicine, for those, who doesn’t have a personal doctor”.
- Wrote about the value of terrain properties for building hospitals.
- Created a systematic guide on the Greek-Persian medicine.
- For the first time in medicine used mercury based ointments.
- The means, that he made for the pharmaceutics were used by European pharmaceutics up to XVIII century.
Zachariah Ar-Razi passed away on October 25th, 625.
Abunasr Muhammad-ibn-Muhammad-ibn-Tarhon-ibn-Uzlagi Farabi, philosopher, mathematician, musicologist and scientist, recognized as one of the greatest representatives of the Middle age East philosophy. He was born in 870 in the city of Farab of Khurasan. When he was young he moved to Baghdad for applying for education and studied logics and philosophy from Matto-ibn-Yunus.
Al-Farabi became very famous as a scientist and philosopher in a very short period of time. In 941, he moved to Damask, where he spent the remaining time of his life still working on his scientific works. In Damask, Farabi finally finishes his early work “Treatise about the virtuous city”. Farabi passed away at age of 80 at Damask approximately in 950-951. It is very clear from his books and works, that he had a great talent for studying philology, Mathematics, chemistry, astronomy, military science, music, nature science, theology, cultural studies, Muslim laws, logic and philosophy. In the sunnas (teachings) of the Islamic philosophy Farabi was named “The second teacher” after Aristotle who was “The first teacher”.
Al-Farabi very early in his life, had the opportunity to get familiar with the originals of the best works of Aristotle, Plato and other ancient Greek philosophers, which helped him in his path of becoming one of the founders of Eastern Aristotelianism, in connection with which he received the nickname of “The second Teacher” after Aristotle. He left behind a very rich scientific heritage — about 200 treatises that cover a wide variety of different sciences. Farabi commented on the “Category”, “Hermeneutics”, “Topics”, “Category”, “Analytics” (1st and 2nd), “Sophistry”, “Rhetoric”, “Logic” and “Poetics” of Aristotle, as well “Introduction to Philosophy” by Porfiry and other works of the well-known ancient Greek thinkers. The most famous of the original works of Farabi are the treatise “Pearls of Wisdom,” “A Treatise on the Views of the Residents of a Virtuous City”, “Philosophical Treatises” and “The Big Book of Music,” which brought him fame in medieval Europe.
Abu Mahmoud Hamid ibn al-Khizr al-Khojandi was born around 940 in Khujand and passed away in 1000. He was a famous mathematician and astrologer, and he made a lot of outstanding discoveries in these fields of science. In the “Book on the Past Hours of the Night”, al-Khojandi proved the sine theorem for a spherical triangle, which simplified the ways to finding solutions for several problems of spherical astronomy.
Abu Reikhan Muhammad ibn Ahmed al-Biruni — was born on October 4th, 973 in the city of Kyat (now Khorezm), passed away on December 9th, 1048 in the city of Hansa (now Afghanistan).
He was the greatest scientist in the fields of history, geography, philology, astronomy, mathematics, mechanics, geodesy, mineralogy, pharmacology, geology, etc. Beruni throughout his extremely fruitful scientific activities wrote over 100 scientific works and treatises in Arabic and Persian languages. Al-Biruni’s works are devoted to mathematics, astronomy, physics, botany, geography, general geology, mineralogy, ethnography, history and chronology. In the «Chronology of Ancient Peoples» (1000)Al-Biruni collected and described all the calendar systems known in his time, and the ones that were used by various people of the world, and compiled a chronological table of all eras, starting from the biblical patriarchs.
In his treatise «Chronology of the Heritage of the Past,» Biruni gave a detailed description of all the calendar systems that were existing at that time. Al-Biruni wrote 45 scientific treatises on astronomy, one of the most famous among them, is the book «Canon of Masoud according to astronomy and stars».
Husayn ibn-Abdallah ibn-Hassan ibn-Ali ibn-Sinaknown as Abuali ibn Sina (Avicenna) was born on August 16th, 980 in a village of Afshan near Bukhara in a Tajik family, passed away on June 18th, 1037 in the city of Hamadan, Iran.
He is recognized as one of the greatest scientists and doctors of the Middle Ages, as well as an astronomer, chemist, music theorist, geologist, paleontologist, mathematician, physicist, psychologist, philosopher, poet, teacher and great Tajik-Persian writer.
Abu Ali ibn Sina wrote over 450 scientific treatises, of which only 240 have been saved and made it to our times. Out of the remaining 240, 150 are devoted to philosophical science and over 40 to the medical science. His most famous works are “Kitabu-sh-Shifo” — “The Book of Healing” and “Kitabu-l-Konun fit-Tibb” — “Canon of Medical Science”. Both are recognized as the greatest scientific and philosophical encyclopedias of the world. “Canon of Medicine” – is the medical encyclopedia in 5 parts. It was reprinted in Latin about 30 times and for many centuries was a compulsory guide in Europe and the East. It was also translated into many European languages.
In the foreword of the book “Ibn Sina. Selected philosophical works”, published in the eighties of the last century by the “Nauka”(“Science”) Publishing House in Moscow, states: “The name of Abu Ali ibn Sina (Avicenna), that was born in Bukhara, went down in the history of the world culture. And this is not a coincidence. He is recognized as one of the greatest scientists and encyclopedian of the Middle Ages. His scientific heritage is very extensive and covers various fields and sciences: philosophy, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, botany, geology, philology, poetry and music”.
Abu Ali Ibn Sina himself divided theoretical sciences into three groups:
The first – is a science of the highest category or primary science, it is also called a science that exists outside of nature.
The second – is secondary science, mathematics.
The third – is the science of nature.
In continuation to what was said, Abu Ali ibn Sina emphasizes: «Of all the sciences, the most understandable and the closest to people is the science of nature, but there is a lot of incomprehensibility in it.»
Abu Muin Hamid ad-Din Nasir ibn Khusrav was born on August 28, 1004 in Kubadiyan (Khatlon region). Passed away in 1088 in Yumgan province of Afghanistan.
Nasir ibn Khusrav became famous in the 30s of the XI century as an outstanding poet and scientist. For some time he served in the treasury at the court of the Sultan, Mahmoud Geznevi. The collected works of Nosir Khusraw consist of religious, philosophical and social odes (panegyrics), ghazalles(rhymes), rubyas (quatrains) and kitas(short stories) and comprise 11,000 beyts(lines). His masnavi (book, scientific work)“Rushnai-name” — “Book of Enlightenment” consists of 592 beits and “Saodat-name” — “Book of Happiness” — consists of 300 beits, which reflects problems of ethics, philosophy, instructive edifications, relationships between people, labor, seers and saints, scientists and thinkers.
The beginning of the formation of science and knowledge among Tajiks and Persians dates back to the Sassanid era and even before the period of the Arab caliphate. At that time, as we have already emphasized before, the Gundi Shapur Academy gained worldwide fame. Scientists of this scientific center compiled an encyclopedia of three parts, filling them with their own tremendous achievements in the fields of medicine, chemistry and other sciences.
Only thanks to the ruthless, but fair onslaught of science, all phenomena of nature, society and thinking lose their mysterious essence, manifest and obey to Adam – Man. Serve him. As world experience shows, there is no other such strength and support in the nature. In this case, Hegel specifically emphasizes: «In the hidden and mysterious essence of the world there is no power capable of resisting the onslaught of science: it must open up to science and expose the diversity of its depths and present the possibility of its uses.»
Rahimzoda Ramazon Hamro – Minister for Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan, Colonel General of Police, Doctor of Juridical Science, Winner of the Muhammad Osimi Social Science Award, current member of the World Academy of Collective Security Sciences.
