Map of Tajikistan

Tajikistan

Tajikistan is 90% mountains, most notably, the Pamir Range. The country was scattered tribes and quarreling kingdoms until the last quarter of 4th century BCE, when the entire area was subsumed by the Bactrian empire and called Turkmenistan. In the early part of the second century, the Arabs conquered the land, followed by the Sassanids and eventually the Mongols.
The country saw little turmoil, inside or out, until 1864, when Russia invaded. While Russian rule ended in 1885, Russia reconquered the country and renamed it the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924. The country gained permanent independence in 1991, with the fall of the Soviet Union.
Sadly, the country was the poorest country integrated into the USSR and remains the poorest post-soviet country in the world. Illegal drug trafficking is rampant, as it is a huge source of income.