1. Introduction
2. The Roots of Kyrgyz Culture
3. Education
4. Ideology
5. Regionalism
6. Ethnicity
7. Conclusion

1. The Manaschi and His Audience
2. The Role of Islam in the Epic
3. Manas's Early Life
4. Almambet's Story
5. Manas Marries Kanikei
6. Funeral Repast for Koketei Khan
7. Manas's Death

Portrait of Amir Alim Khan at the Sitara Mahi Khassa palace Bukhara, 1993

Iraj Bashiri, The History of the Asharkhanid Rulers of Bukhara Iraj Bashiri, From the Manghits to a Democratic State The History of the Manghit Amirs of Bukhara I The History of the Manghit Amirs of Bukhara II The Vosse Uprising Soviet Tajikistan

• Yusuf, Nuraliev, Medicine and Medical Care Under the Samanids

• Bashiri, Iraj. Rahim Masov's History of a National Catastrophe. Several of the germane points of Masov's work are discussed in this article. Those interested in the history of the Tajiks in the early 1920's may want to look at this before turning to Masov's complete work below.

Many of the difficulties that the newly established republics of Central Asia experience today are directly related to V. I. Lenin's 1924 national-administrative divisions of the region. In this regard, Rahim Masov's History of a National Catastrophe,translated here from Tajiki, is invaluable. The book is in two parts. In part one, Masov reveals the inequities in the system that allowed Soviet policy makers to take advantage of some groups at the expense of some others. The manner by which the Tajiks were gradually divested of their cultural heritage and economic rights by their Soviet brothers, especially those from Russia and Uzbekistan, is a case in point. In part two, Masov produces the rare archival materials that led him to his conclusions and, more importantly, to the realization that the story of Tajikistan in the 1920's must be told.

More articles:

• Sulhiniso Rahmatullaeva,The Peculiarities of Samanid Decorative Architecture

• Sulhiniso Rahmatullaeva, Architectural Decoration in Ma Wara' al-Nahr During the Khujandi Era

• L. Dodkhoudoeva & M. Sharif, Firdowsi and His Shahnamein Tajik Representational Art
  
  
• The heroes of Firdowsi's Shahname, especially Rustam, have a special place in Tajik society and thought. To commemorate the exploits of Rustam, the Tajiks used to hold an annual celebration in which the champion and his retinue participated. Now that tradition is superseded by more modern concerns. Nizam Nurjanov's keen insight in Carnival Procession with Rustam fills the gap.
  
  
• During its heyday, Tajik cinema boasted of great cinematographers like Davlat Khuda Nazar and Saif Rahimov as well as accomplished actors like Bensiyon Arievich Kimiyagarov. As a result of the contribution of such talented individuals, Tajik Film produced a number of worthy features, including an anthology depicting stories from Firdowsi's epic, the Shahname. Epic on the Screen by A. Ahrorov, deals with the specifics of this exciting period of Tajik cinema.
  
  
• In the early 1990's if you stood next to Almaty's only mosque and asked passersby where the mosque was, most of the populace could not direct you to it. The situation, of course, has changed; cities like Almaty and Bishkek have refurbished their mosques to meet the need of their ever-increasing Muslim populations. The contribution of A. Bazarov and R. Majidov, entitled Islamic Survivals and the Ways to Overcome Them, is part of a longer study that harks to the days when Islam was under Soviet control and when strategies were being devised and implemented to eradicate it from the Soviet scene.
  
  
• Iraj Bashiri's "Islam and Communism: Tajikistan in Transition" deals with regionalism and ethnic conflicts between the north (Khujand, formerly Leninabad) and the south (Kulab and Qurqanteppe). This paper was originally read at the conference entitled The Case of the Former Soviet Central Asian Republics, held at the University of Minnesota, April 11-13, 1996. It has been submitted to appear as part of the proceedings of that conference. The material is also being revised to be included in Bashiri's forthcoming Role of Russia in the Tajik-Uzbek Conflict: 1876-1996.

• Iraj Bashiri, The Bukhara of Sadriddin Aini
  
  
• Abdulhai Komili, Science in the Epoch of Firdowsi

• Iraj Bashiri, Muslims and Communists Vie for Power in Tajikistan
  
  
• Iraj Bashiri, Neither Tajiki Nor Uzbeki: Russian
  
  
• D. Davudov, The Coins of the Time of Kamal Khujandi