Tim Epkenhans is professor of Islamic studies at the University of Freiburg.

This innovative and exhaustively researched monograph morethan achieves the author’s stated goal.... Given its comprehensiveness, Epkenhans’ book will probably become the definitive account of the war’s beginnings in the near future. The book breaks new ground, first and foremost, with respect to methodology.... Another welcome, and novel, feature of the volume is its emphasis on individual personalities and life stories.... Epkenhans has done our field a great service by applying his unparalleled expertise on Tajik history and society to an analysis of the war.

• Chapter 1: Prelude: A Post-Colonial Moment in Late Soviet TajikistanChapter 2: Narrating a House Divided: Regionalism RevisitedChapter 3: “Bloody Bahman”Chapter 4: IndependenceChapter 5: IslamChapter 6: Tensions Rising: The Tale of Two Squares (March & April 1992)Chapter 7: Men of Disorder: Masculinity, Crime and Violent ConflictChapter 8: Civil WarChapter 9: The 16th Session of the Supreme Soviet

Tim Epkenhans is professor of Islamic studies at the University of Freiburg.

This innovative and exhaustively researched monograph morethan achieves the author’s stated goal.... Given its comprehensiveness, Epkenhans’ book will probably become the definitive account of the war’s beginnings in the near future. The book breaks new ground, first and foremost, with respect to methodology.... Another welcome, and novel, feature of the volume is its emphasis on individual personalities and life stories.... Epkenhans has done our field a great service by applying his unparalleled expertise on Tajik history and society to an analysis of the war.

• Chapter 1: Prelude: A Post-Colonial Moment in Late Soviet TajikistanChapter 2: Narrating a House Divided: Regionalism RevisitedChapter 3: “Bloody Bahman”Chapter 4: IndependenceChapter 5: IslamChapter 6: Tensions Rising: The Tale of Two Squares (March & April 1992)Chapter 7: Men of Disorder: Masculinity, Crime and Violent ConflictChapter 8: Civil WarChapter 9: The 16th Session of the Supreme Soviet

Tim Epkenhans is professor of Islamic studies at the University of Freiburg.

This innovative and exhaustively researched monograph morethan achieves the author’s stated goal.... Given its comprehensiveness, Epkenhans’ book will probably become the definitive account of the war’s beginnings in the near future. The book breaks new ground, first and foremost, with respect to methodology.... Another welcome, and novel, feature of the volume is its emphasis on individual personalities and life stories.... Epkenhans has done our field a great service by applying his unparalleled expertise on Tajik history and society to an analysis of the war.

• Chapter 1: Prelude: A Post-Colonial Moment in Late Soviet TajikistanChapter 2: Narrating a House Divided: Regionalism RevisitedChapter 3: “Bloody Bahman”Chapter 4: IndependenceChapter 5: IslamChapter 6: Tensions Rising: The Tale of Two Squares (March & April 1992)Chapter 7: Men of Disorder: Masculinity, Crime and Violent ConflictChapter 8: Civil WarChapter 9: The 16th Session of the Supreme Soviet