Beluch
Encyclopedia
Beluch or the Baluch
of Turkmenistan
are a small part of the greater Baloch people
who live primarily in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. They immigrated into the Merv
and the Murghab River inland delta from the areas west and north of Herat
, Afghanistan
and Iran
in the mid 19th century. More followed in the early 20th century and closure of the Russian/Soviet borders under Stalin in 1925.
The Mervi Beluch are closely related to those Baloch
in Afghanistan and Iran who live nearly the modern borders of Turkmenistan. Today they are the ONLY Iranic peoples remaining in the Merv
Oasia, after the ancient Persian population of the area was deported on mass to Bukhara
and Samarkand
by the Manghit
emir, Shah Murad in the late 1780s. Their fault being their Shia religion. Except for these Baluch, the entire ancient oasis is now Turkified, with the Turkmens forming a vast majority of the population.
Most of the Baluch, however, are losing their linguistic identity, speaking the official language of Turkmenisan, Turkmeni or Russian. A few, however, continue to speak Baluchi (and even some Brahui language).
In 1926 the Baluch of Merv Oasis numbered 9,974. Their numbers fell to 7,842 in the official statistics by 1959 but then rose to 12,582 by 1970 and 18,997 by 1979.
The Baluch are primarily Muslims, practicing Hanafi
branch of Sunnism.
Baloch people
The Baloch or Baluch are an ethnic group that belong to the larger Iranian peoples. Baluch people mainly inhabit the Balochistan region and Sistan and Baluchestan Province in the southeast corner of the Iranian plateau in Western Asia....
of Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
are a small part of the greater Baloch people
Baloch people
The Baloch or Baluch are an ethnic group that belong to the larger Iranian peoples. Baluch people mainly inhabit the Balochistan region and Sistan and Baluchestan Province in the southeast corner of the Iranian plateau in Western Asia....
who live primarily in Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. They immigrated into the Merv
Merv
Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary in Turkmenistan. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of...
and the Murghab River inland delta from the areas west and north of Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
in the mid 19th century. More followed in the early 20th century and closure of the Russian/Soviet borders under Stalin in 1925.
The Mervi Beluch are closely related to those Baloch
Baloch people
The Baloch or Baluch are an ethnic group that belong to the larger Iranian peoples. Baluch people mainly inhabit the Balochistan region and Sistan and Baluchestan Province in the southeast corner of the Iranian plateau in Western Asia....
in Afghanistan and Iran who live nearly the modern borders of Turkmenistan. Today they are the ONLY Iranic peoples remaining in the Merv
Merv
Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary in Turkmenistan. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of...
Oasia, after the ancient Persian population of the area was deported on mass to Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
and Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
by the Manghit
Manghit
The Manġhud or Mangudai were a Mongol tribe of the Urud-Manghud federation. They established the Nogai Horde in the 14th c. and the Manghit Dynasty to rule the Emirate of Bukhara in 1785. The clan name was used for Mongol vanguards as well...
emir, Shah Murad in the late 1780s. Their fault being their Shia religion. Except for these Baluch, the entire ancient oasis is now Turkified, with the Turkmens forming a vast majority of the population.
Most of the Baluch, however, are losing their linguistic identity, speaking the official language of Turkmenisan, Turkmeni or Russian. A few, however, continue to speak Baluchi (and even some Brahui language).
In 1926 the Baluch of Merv Oasis numbered 9,974. Their numbers fell to 7,842 in the official statistics by 1959 but then rose to 12,582 by 1970 and 18,997 by 1979.
The Baluch are primarily Muslims, practicing Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
branch of Sunnism.
Sources
- Wixman, Ronald. The Peoples of the USSR: An Ethnographic Handbook. (Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe, Inc., 1984) p. 25-26.
- MOSHKALO, Vyacheslav V. 2000: "Language and Culture of the Baloch in Turkmenistan". In: Carina JAHANI (ed.): Language in Society – Eight Sociolinguistic Essays on Balochi [Studia Iranica Upsaliensia 3]. Uppsala: Uppsala University, pp. 97–103
- Languages of Turkmenistan, Ethnologue.com