The area that is today the Tajik Republic has been inhabited for thousands of years. It was part of the Persian Empire for a long period of time. Later it became part of the Batrian Empire and then the Arabs came, brining the religion of Islam.
In 875 AD the Samanid Empire came in to power. They ruled until 1000 AD and much of the Tajik culture comes from the Samanid Empire.
In the 19th century Tajikistan was absorbed into the Russian Empire. Following World War I and the rise of the Soviet Union, it also became part of the Soviet Union. When the Soviet Union broke up, Tajikistan became an independent country if 1991.
