Nournews: A few days ago, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon instructed the government to strengthen the teaching of the “Alphabet of the Ancestors” in the country's schools. In Tajikistan’s official discourse, the term refers to the Persian script—the script in which Rudaki, Ferdowsi, Naser Khusraw, Jami, and hundreds of other prominent figures of the region’s cultural heritage wrote their works.
At first glance, the decision may appear to be little more than an educational adjustment—an increase in teaching hours or a revision of the school curriculum. However, when viewed alongside developments that have taken place in Tajikistan over the past several years, its significance becomes clearer. What is unfolding is not merely an educational policy but a gradual return to historical memory and a redefinition of cultural identity.
Several years ago, the Tajik government undertook another initiative that has few parallels in today’s world. By presidential decree, Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh was published in the Cyrillic script and distributed free of charge to more than 3.5 million families across the country, ensuring that every Tajik household would possess a copy of this millennium-old masterpiece. At the time, the move was largely viewed as a symbolic cultural project. Today, however, in light of the renewed emphasis on teaching the Persian script, it can be seen as part of a broader and more consistent effort to rebuild a nation’s historical connection with its written heritage.
On the surface, these are two separate initiatives: strengthening the teaching of the “Alphabet of the Ancestors” in schools and expanding public access to the Shahnameh. Yet at a deeper level, they are closely linked. One revives the ability to read the historical script, while the other restores one of the most important texts of that heritage to everyday life. In pursuing these policies, Tajikistan has gone beyond a simple educational choice and entered a more complex process of cultural nation-building. Having spent much of the twentieth century within the framework of the Soviet Union and largely disconnected from its traditional script and literary sources, the country is now gradually revisiting its historical roots.
In this process, the Shahnameh occupies a central position. It is not merely a literary work but a grand narrative of history, mythology, and cultural identity. Alongside it, figures such as Rudaki, the Samanids, and other personalities of the region’s cultural past have re-entered the sphere of cultural policy. From this perspective, learning the Persian script—or the “Alphabet of the Ancestors”—is no longer simply a linguistic skill; it is a key to accessing an entire textual and historical universe.
Notably, the Tajik government has chosen not to construct entirely new identities or sever ties with the past. Instead, it has sought to rebuild connections with an existing heritage. In a world where many societies face crises of identity or historical discontinuity, this choice carries particular significance.
Viewed from this angle, developments in Tajikistan can be understood as part of a broader trend across Central Asia. After periods of ideological transformation and rapid modernization, nations are increasingly turning back to the deeper layers of their historical identities. This return does not necessarily represent nostalgia; rather, it reflects a search for a stable foundation in a rapidly changing world.
Within this context, the Persian language holds a special place. It is not merely a means of communication but the bearer of a long tradition of poetry, historiography, philosophy, and collective memory. Consequently, the revival of the Persian script in Tajikistan also represents a return to a broader civilizational network.
The importance of this process, however, extends beyond Tajikistan itself. A look at the cultural map of the region reveals a vast linguistic and civilizational sphere encompassing at least Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. Despite political and historical differences, these countries remain connected at a deeper level through the Persian language. This linguistic bond is one of the few shared civilizational assets that still possesses the potential to be activated on a regional scale.
In this framework, Persian is not merely a cultural or literary issue; it can also be understood as an instrument of cultural diplomacy. In an era when soft power is increasingly important, shared languages and cultural legacies can serve as bridges between nations and states. Given its historical and geographical reach, Persian is one of the region’s most significant assets in this regard.
For Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, this common linguistic heritage can become more than a legacy of the past—it can be an opportunity for the future: a basis for dialogue, cultural cooperation, academic exchange, and even a form of soft regional convergence. Such potential, however, can only be realized if purely nostalgic or symbolic approaches give way to active and strategic cultural policymaking.
In Iran, this heritage is often taken for granted, as though the Persian language were something permanent and unchanging. Yet beyond Iran’s borders—in Tajikistan and Afghanistan—the same language is the subject of reflection, policymaking, and even national projects. This difference in perspective itself highlights the need to reconsider the role of language in the region’s cultural policies.
What is happening in Tajikistan today can ultimately be summarized in a single sentence: an effort to transform fragmented historical memory into a living and sustainable identity. From teaching the “Alphabet of the Ancestors” in schools to bringing the Shahnameh into homes, all these initiatives reflect a common goal: enabling a nation to remember itself once again and, in doing so, rediscover a broader cultural world in which the Persian language remains one of the principal pillars.