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10 Interesting Facts About One of Central Asia’s Earliest Historians

 

  1. The name “Narshakhi” in Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ja’far ibn Zakariyya al-Khattab ibn Sharik al-Narshakhi’s full name comes from the village where he was born.

 

  1. Abu Bakr Narshakhi is considered one of the earliest historians of Central Asia.

 

  1. His most famous work is “The History of Bukhara”. This book is a vital source not only on the history of Bukhara but also on Central Asia as a whole and was dedicated to Nuh ibn Nasr.

 

  1. The original Arabic version of the work has been lost; the version that has reached us is a Persian translation made in the 11th century.

 

  1. The History of Bukhara plays an important role in studying the history of Uzbekistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and other regions of Central Asia.

 

  1. In his work, Narshakhi included not only historical facts but also oral narratives. Through this approach, he documented not just the political history of Bukhara but also its religious, cultural, and oral heritage.

 

 

  1. The work also covers the pre-Islamic periods, including information about Zoroastrianism, shamanism, and ancient belief systems.

 

  1. After Narshakhi’s death, his descendants continued the work. Later, the text was abridged and supplemented with additional content.

 

  1. The History of Bukhara has been published in various languages: in French in Paris, in Persian in Bukhara and Tehran, in Russian and Uzbek in Tashkent, in English in Cambridge, and in Tajik in Dushanbe.

 

  1. To further enrich the exhibition of the Center of Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan, the project dedicated to Narshakhi’s The History of Bukhara has entered its second phase. This phase includes identifying manuscript copies of the work, preparing its digital version and facsimile publication, and producing a video about the author.
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