THE ROLE AND SCIENTIFIC LEGACY OF SHOISLOM MAHMUDOVICH SHOMUHAMEDOV IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF UZBEK ORIENTAL STUDIES

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THE ROLE AND SCIENTIFIC LEGACY OF SHOISLOM MAHMUDOVICH SHOMUHAMEDOV IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF UZBEK ORIENTAL STUDIES Sabohat Bakhadirova First-Year Master’s Student in Linguistics (Persian Language) Higher School of Iranian and Afghan Studies Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies Tashkent, Uzbekistan Abstract. This article examines the life, scholarly and pedagogical activities, translation heritage, and contribution of Shoislom Mahmudovich Shomuhamedov, one of the prominent representatives of Uzbek Oriental Studies in the twentieth century. Based on scholarly sources, the study highlights his research on classical Persian-Tajik literature and modern Iranian literature, his achievements in translation studies, and his role in the formation of a scientific school. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the comprehensive analysis of Shomuhamedov’s academic, translation, and pedagogical activities as an integrated system, as well as in identifying his role in the development of the Uzbek school of Oriental Studies through a comparative analysis of relevant sources. The findings demonstrate Shomuhamedov’s significant contribution to the development of Uzbek Oriental Studies and Iranian Studies in the twentieth century, his role in introducing the literary heritage of the East into the Uzbek academic environment, and the importance of his scholarly and pedagogical activities. Furthermore, the study substantiates that his translation of the Shahnameh and his scholarly works had a considerable impact on the development of national culture and translation studies. The scientific and creative legacy of Shoislom Shomuhamedov constitutes an important component of the history of Uzbek Oriental Studies. A thorough investigation of his activities is of considerable theoretical and practical significance for further research in Oriental Studies, Translation Studies, and the history of academic schools.

Keywords: Shoislom Shomuhamedov, Uzbek Oriental Studies, Iranian Studies, Persian-Tajik literature, Translation Studies, scientific legacy, pedagogical activity, Eastern literature, scientific school, Shahnameh.

INTRODUCTION The twentieth century is recognized as a new stage in the development of Oriental Studies in the scientific and cultural life of Uzbekistan. In particular, during this period, scholarly research aimed at studying the languages, literature, history, and culture of the peoples of the East developed on a broad scale. As a result, the Uzbek school of Oriental Studies took shape, and many scholars who made a significant contribution to its development emerged. Among such scholars, Shoislom Mahmudovich Shomuhamedov occupies a special place. He is known not only as a major Orientalist scholar but also as

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a talented translator, pedagogue, and literary scholar, as well as a devoted specialist who was able to establish a scientific school (Ziyouz.uz, 2016; Arboblar.uz, n.d.). Under the present conditions of globalization, the study of the lives and scholarly legacies of scholars who served the development of national science is acquiring particular relevance. Indeed, the formation of scientific schools, their stages of development, and their scholarly traditions are manifested through the activities of the representatives of those schools. From this perspective, researching Shoislom Shomuhamedov’s scholarly and pedagogical activities, his translation skill, and his contribution to the development of Oriental Studies is of considerable importance for contemporary scholarly inquiry. Information about the life and work of Shoislom Shomuhamedov can be found in certain scholarly articles, encyclopedic sources, biographical essays, and popular publications. In particular, the proceedings of the scholarly conference dedicated to the centenary of his birth, the official reports of universities and scientific institutions, and articles published by contemporary researchers present important information about the scholar’s academic work, translation activities, and pedagogical legacy (Aliqulova, 2026; Ziyouz.uz, 2016; Arboblar.uz, n.d.; Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, 2021). However, in most of the existing literature, the life and work of Shoislom Shomuhamedov are presented within the framework of separate areas, and his scholarly, translation, and pedagogical activities have not been analyzed comprehensively as a unified system. The scientific novelty of the topic lies in the fact that this article analyzes Shoislom Shomuhamedov’s biography, scholarly activity, translation heritage, pedagogical services, and his role in the development of Uzbek Oriental Studies in their interrelation. In addition, in highlighting the scholar’s scientific legacy, the information presented in various sources is studied comparatively, and their common and distinctive features are identified.

Shoislom Shomuhamedov’s scholarly legacy is of theoretical and practical importance not only for his own era but also for contemporary research in Oriental Studies. In particular, his services in translating examples of classical Persian-Tajik literature into Uzbek, his work in training Orientalist specialists, and his contribution to creating a scientific school constitute an important source for modern research.

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The aim of this article is to analyze, on the basis of scholarly sources, the life, scholarly and pedagogical activities, translation heritage, and contribution of Shoislom Mahmudovich Shomuhamedov to the development of Uzbek Oriental Studies, and to highlight the present-day significance of his scholarly and cultural legacy. RESEARCH METHODS The object of this study is the life, scholarly and pedagogical activities, and creative legacy of Shoislom Shomuhamedov. The research materials consisted of the scholar’s works, scholarly articles, biographical sources, and official reports. In the course of the research, biographical, historical-analytical, descriptive, and comparative-analytical methods were employed. In addition, the information from various sources was compared, and its reliability and scholarly significance were assessed. In collecting the data, materials from electronic databases, scholarly journals, and official websites were used.

RESULTS As a result of the research, it was established that Shoislom Mahmudovich Shomuhamedov was one of the scholars who occupied an important place in the development of twentieth-century Uzbek Oriental Studies and Iranian Studies (Aliqulova, 2026; Ilmlar.uz, 2026). According to the sources studied, he was born on April 16, 1921, in the city of Tashkent, and took part in the Second World War (Ziyouz.uz, 2016; Arboblar.uz, n.d.). After the war, he graduated from the Faculty of Oriental Studies of Central Asian State University and carried out scholarly and pedagogical work at that educational institution (Arboblar.uz, n.d.). In various years, he held the positions of associate professor, faculty dean, department head, vice-rector, and professor (Ziyouz. uz, 2016; Arboblar.uz, n.d.).

The analyses showed that the main direction of Shoislom Shomuhamedov’s scholarly activity was the study of classical Persian-Tajik literature and modern Iranian literature (Aliqulova, 2026). The scholar produced monographs, textbooks, and study guides (Ilmlar.uz, 2026). In particular, his works Umar Khayyam: His Life and Work and Humanism in the Works of the Classics of Persian-Tajik Literature are among his major scholarly studies (Ilmlar.uz, 2026).

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During the research, it was established that Shoislom Shomuhamedov’s translation activity was also of particular importance (Aliqulova, 2026). He was the author of nearly 90 books and more than 500 scholarly articles, and he translated many examples of classical Persian-Tajik literature into Uzbek (Ziyouz.uz, 2016; Ilmlar.uz, 2026). In particular, the translation of Firdawsi’s epic Shahnameh into Uzbek in three volumes was noted as one of his most important scholarly and cultural achievements (Ziyouz.uz, 2016; Ilmlar.uz, 2026).

The analysis of the sources revealed that the principal information presented regarding the scholar’s academic and translation activities is mutually consistent (Aliqulova, 2026; Arboblar.uz, n.d.). In all sources, his role as an Orientalist, translator, pedagogue, and one of the founders of a scientific school is acknowledged (Aliqulova, 2026; Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, 2021). Furthermore, it was established that Shoislom Shomuhamedov’s scholarly work was recognized with state and international awards, including the International Firdawsi Prize, the title of Honored Scientist of Uzbekistan, and the El-yurt Hurmati (Respect of the People) Order (Arboblar.uz, n.d.; Ilmlar.uz, 2026).

DISCUSSION The findings of the research showed that Shoislom Shomuhamedov was one of the major Orientalist scholars who occupied an important place in the development of twentieth-century Uzbek Oriental Studies. The analysis of the scholarly sources, biographical materials, encyclopedic information, and studies of the scholar’s academic and translation activities confirms that his work was multifaceted in character. In particular, Shoislom Shomuhamedov emerges as a scholar who combined scholarly research, translation studies, source studies, literary studies, pedagogy, and culturaleducational work. In this respect, evaluating his activity within a narrow framework is scientifically insufficient. On the contrary, it is appropriate to study the scholar’s legacy in close connection with the formation and development of the Uzbek school of Oriental Studies.

The results identified during the research showed that one of the main directions of Shoislom Shomuhamedov’s activity was the scholarly study and promotion of the literary heritage of the peoples of the East, in particular Persian-Tajik literature. As a result

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of the scholarly research he carried out, information concerning many rare examples of Eastern literature was introduced into scholarly circulation and conveyed to a wide readership. This, in turn, served to refine the fields of source studies and literary studies within the development of Uzbek Oriental Studies. In particular, his work in studying the output of the major representatives of classical Persian-Tajik literature, analyzing their works scholarly, and translating them into Uzbek occupies a special place in his scientific legacy.

The analyses showed that Shoislom Shomuhamedov’s scholarly views were based on interpreting the Eastern literary heritage not merely as a historical-literary phenomenon but as an important factor of cultural and spiritual development. This aspect is manifested in the fact that, in his scholarly works, alongside the artistic-aesthetic features of the works of the Eastern classics, particular attention was also paid to their philosophical, ethical, and enlightening significance. For this reason, his research is significant not only as philological in character but also as an important scholarly source for cultural studies and civilizational research.

In our view, one of the most important features of Shoislom Shomuhamedov’s scholarly activity is that he was able to ensure the unity of theory and practice. Although many Orientalist scholars conducted scholarly research, Shomuhamedov succeeded in applying his scholarly views in practice through translation. This is especially evident in his work translating Firdawsi’s Shahnameh. This translation may be regarded as one of the important milestones in the history of Uzbek translation studies, because through it the Uzbek reader gained the opportunity to become acquainted, in the native language, with one of the greatest epic monuments of world literature. At the same time, the translation also served to strengthen the literary and cultural ties among the peoples of the East. The results identified during the discussion show that Shoislom Shomuhamedov’s translation activity cannot be assessed as a mere linguistic process. In the process of translation, the scholar strove to preserve not only the content of the text but also its artistic-aesthetic value, historical background, national spirit, and cultural features. As a result, his translations took shape as outstanding examples in which scholarly and artistic criteria are harmonized. This demonstrates that the scholar had a scholarlymethodological approach to translation.

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The research findings also confirmed that another important aspect of Shoislom Shomuhamedov’s activity is connected with pedagogical work. The scholar worked effectively in the higher education system for many years and made a worthy contribution to training many specialists studying Eastern languages, literature, and culture. This aspect is of particular importance in assessing his scientific legacy, because the formation and development of scientific schools is one of the important factors in the advancement of science. The scholarly traditions and methodological approaches that took shape as a result of Shomuhamedov’s scholarly and pedagogical activity continue in the work of subsequent generations of Orientalists.

In our view, the scholar’s contribution to creating a scientific school is no less significant than his individual scholarly achievements, because the existence of a scientific school ensures the stable development of a particular scholarly direction. The scholarly environment and academic traditions established by Shoislom Shomuhamedov served as one of the important factors in the institutional development of Uzbek Oriental Studies. For this reason, in assessing the scholar’s activity, it is necessary to study his scientific legacy in connection not only with his published works and translations but also with his services in training scholarly personnel.

The sources analyzed during the research showed that Shoislom Shomuhamedov’s scholarly potential and scientific legacy were recognized not only in Uzbekistan but also in international Oriental Studies circles. The assessments of the scholar’s academic activity and translation skill given in various sources are close to one another, which confirms that his scientific legacy has been objectively acknowledged. Although in some sources biographical information or certain aspects of his activity are presented differently, it was observed that the general scholarly views regarding his contribution to the development of Oriental Studies are shared.

The discussion results show the need to assess Shoislom Shomuhamedov’s activity in connection with the general trends in the development of twentieth-century Uzbek Oriental Studies. During this period, the processes of studying, scholarly translation, and introduction into scholarly circulation of sources relating to the history, language, and literature of the peoples of the East became considerably more active. As an active participant in these processes, Shoislom Shomuhamedov helped to strengthen the theoretical and practical foundations of Oriental Studies. In this sense, his activity should

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be regarded not merely as a sum of individual scholarly successes but as a component of the development of an entire scholarly direction.

In our view, the contemporary significance of Shoislom Shomuhamedov’s legacy is increasing further, especially under the conditions of intensifying globalization and intercultural dialogue. Today, the expansion of scholarly cooperation between East and West and the growing need to re-examine cultural heritage call for a new perspective on the scholar’s legacy. His works, translations, and scholarly views may serve as an important methodological basis for contemporary research in Oriental Studies, translation studies, literary studies, and cultural studies.

Furthermore, the research findings showed that studying Shoislom Shomuhamedov’s activity is also significant for illuminating certain little-studied aspects of the history of Oriental Studies. In particular, the scholar’s scholarly connections, translation methodology, role in creating a scientific school, and source-studies activity may become a separate object of research in the future. This will serve not only to gain a deeper understanding of the scholar’s legacy but also to reveal more fully the laws governing the development of twentieth-century Uzbek Oriental Studies. On the whole, the research findings confirmed that the scholarly and creative legacy of Shoislom Shomuhamedov occupies a special place in the history of Uzbek Oriental Studies. His scholarly activity, translation skill, pedagogical services, and contribution to creating a scientific school serve as an important theoretical and practical source for studying the stages of formation and development of national Oriental Studies. For this reason, studying the scholar’s legacy on the basis of new sources, modern methodologies, and comparative analyses remains relevant as one of the priority directions of future Oriental Studies research. In particular, a comprehensive study of his scientific legacy in the context of the development of Uzbek Oriental Studies, the theory of translation studies, and intercultural scholarly connections may yield important scholarly results for the advancement of the field.

CONCLUSION As a result of this research, the life, scholarly and pedagogical activities, translation heritage, and contribution of Shoislom Mahmudovich Shomuhamedov to the development of Uzbek Oriental Studies were analyzed on the basis of scholarly sources.

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The aim set before the research was achieved, and the scholar’s scholarly, translation, and pedagogical activities were highlighted comprehensively in their interrelation. The analyses showed that Shoislom Shomuhamedov was one of the major scholars who occupied an important place in the development of twentieth-century Uzbek Oriental Studies and Iranian Studies. It was established that his contribution to studying the Persian-Tajik literary heritage, translating examples of Eastern literature into Uzbek, training scholarly personnel, and developing the scholarly school of Oriental Studies was of important significance for the advancement of national science. The research findings confirmed that Shoislom Shomuhamedov’s scientific legacy is of important theoretical and practical significance not only for his own era but also for contemporary research in Oriental Studies. In particular, his scholarly views, translation activity, and pedagogical experience serve as an important source for studying the stages of development of Uzbek Oriental Studies.

Thus, the scholarly and creative legacy of Shoislom Shomuhamedov constitutes an integral component of the history of Uzbek Oriental Studies. Studying his activity even more deeply on the basis of new sources and modern methodological approaches will serve as an important scholarly foundation for future research on the history of Oriental Studies, translation studies, and scientific schools.

REFERENCES 1. Aliqulova, M. (2026). Shoislom Shomuhamedov – XX asr o‘zbek sharqshunosligining yorqin namoyandasi. Yangi O‘zbekiston Scientific Research Journal, 3(5), 54–56.

2. Arboblar.uz. (n.d.). Shoislom Mahmudovich Shomuhamedov. Retrieved from https://arboblar.uz.

3. Ilmlar.uz. (2026). Shoislom Mahmudovich Shomuhamedov: Hayoti va ijodi. Retrieved from https://ilmlar.uz.

4. Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies. (2021, April 17). A scientific conference dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Shoislom Shomuhamedov. Retrieved from https://tsuos.uz.

5. Ziyouz.uz. (2016, March 30). Shoislom Shomuhamedov (1921–2007). Retrieved from https://ziyouz.uz.

6. Agar jurnal nomlarini ham inglizchaga tarjima qilish kerak bo‘lsa, men ularni to‘liq akademik uslubda bir xillikka keltirib beraman.