Were our ancestors who lived before the Saadat era also "pro-Arab"? (video)

It is true that today the names, customs and clothes that correspond to our national morals and values are vilified with the label of "pro-Arabism". In fact, human needs such as shaving, wearing long clothes, and wrapping a headscarf existed even before the arrival of the Arabs...

It is true that today the names, customs and clothes that correspond to our national morals and values are vilified with the label of "pro-Arabism". In fact, human needs such as shaving, wearing a long dress, and wrapping a headscarf existed even before the arrival of the Arabs.

It should be said that the concept of our nation or the Uzbek nation began to form ethnically after the arrival of the Arabs, mainly during the Karakhanid period in the 11th century. That is, the ethnic formation of the Uzbek nation corresponds to the period when Islam ruled. Before that, our ancestors who lived in Movarounnahr called themselves Turks, Oghuz, and Sughds. Accordingly, when it comes to the customs of our ancestors who lived before the age of prosperity, we have no choice but to mention the culture typical of the ancient Turks and Sugdians.

If we take into account the claims that such household items as beards, headscarves, and long dresses, which disturb the sleep of Islamophobes, are "pro-Arabism" and entered our lands together with the Arabs, then the question arises as to what our Turkish and Sugdan ancestors who lived in this land looked like. Because before the Arabs, there was no name of the nation called "Uzbek".

Below we present interesting historical information about our pre-Islamic ancestors.

How are the Sakas described in ancient sources?

The history of Uzbek statehood goes back three thousand years, say our national historians. It is known that Sak and Massaget tribes lived in Central Asia three thousand years ago. The earliest information about these tribes can be found in the sources of the Achaemenid Empire.

Our ancestors belonging to the Sak tribe of Central Asia are depicted wearing long beards in rock carvings made two and a half thousand years ago.

We can even see that the captured king of the Saka tribes had a thick beard. From this, it turns out that our ancestors used to shave from the earliest times known to us.

Bald Sugdians

According to historical sources, the Sugdians were engaged in extensive trade along the Great Silk Road. They were distinguished from other peoples by their appearance. In particular, the Sugdians were famous for their long and thick beards in the East. Chinese sources from the Tang Dynasty (618–907) often depict the Sugdians as having long, dark beards.

Sugdians are distinguished by their thick beards in the depictions of pre-Islamic Chinese ceramic figurines and wall paintings. The thick and long beard typical of the peoples of Central Asia is more exotic in the eyes of the Chinese.

In the pre-Islamic period, the Sugdians mainly believed in Zoroastrianism. It is also true that today some people are vainly trying to present Zoroastrianism as a national value. However, archeological sources confirm that Zoroastrian monks were "pro-Arab" enough to frighten modern Islamophobes.

You can say: now the exiled Sugdians started to grow beards, monks are also allowed to grow beards?! Our ancestors were not only Sugdians.

Of course, the pre-Islamic wall paintings found on the Afrosiyab hill in Samarkand depict the images of various peoples who lived in our country at that time. In particular, this painting depicts ambassadors from Chakhani and Tashkent who came to the ruler of Samarkand. It seems that the people of Tashkent were distinguished by their trendy beards even at that time. In any case, it can be concluded that our ancestors were "pro-Arab" even before Islam.

How about Zoroastrians in disguise?

Since ancient times, wearing a face mask has been a matter of honor. It is no secret that Zoroastrianism was the most widespread religion among the peoples of Central Asia before Islam. In the Zoroastrian religion, fire is considered sacred. That is why the Zoroastrian monks, who were responsible for lighting the fire, wore masks on their faces so that they would not pollute the sacred fire with their breath.

That is, a person who wears a mask on his face is considered to be doing an honorable job even according to ancient values. Among the Chinese ceramic figurines, there is a statue of a Zoroastrian Zoroastrian with a mask on his face. Perhaps, by today's standards, he was also "pro-Arab". With this, the person who advocates the return to the pre-Islamic era is bound to turn around and become "pro-Arab" again.

Muqanna would have paid a fine...

Some try to portray Muqanna, who fought against the Arabs, as the leader of the national liberation movement. Although not a single local historian has spoken positively about him, but has called him a hypocrite, a liar, a forger, and a charlatan, Islamophobes are promoting him for malicious purposes.

According to historians, Hashim ibn Hakim, a liar, had a very ugly face, was bald and was blind in one eye, so he always hid his secret behind a blue curtain. From that, he was known by the nickname Muqanna, that is, "masked".

We don't know if Muqanna had a beard or not. However, when Muqanna lived in our time, it was clear that he would be fined for wearing a niqab.

This information means that our ancestors who lived in this land followed some customs that are called "pro-Arabism" even before the Arabs, and even if we say that we will return to our national identity, the issue of headscarves, hijab, and beards will be an obstacle.

Even if we want to be like the greatest scientists, kings, leaders and heroes of our nation, we will remain a "pro-Arab" section.

Yes, no, even if we say that we will be strong communists, we will have to grow a beard like Marx, Engels and Lenin. We are just like the post-Khrushchev communists, we have to give up our beards. Even then, we cannot glorify Khrushchev as our ancestor.

© History and politics