A chronology of key events:
8th century - Tajiks emerge as distinct ethnic group; Arab invaders conquer Central Asia, including what is now Tajikistan, and introduce Islam.
DUSHANBE
9th/10th century - Persian Samanid dynasty gains control of Central Asia and, in alliance with the caliph of Baghdad, develops Bukhara as centre of Muslim culture.
13th century - Genghis Khan conquers Tajikistan and the rest of Central Asia, which becomes part of the Mongol Empire.
14th century - Tajikistan becomes part of Turkic ruler Tamerlane's empire.
1860-1900 - Tajikistan divided, with the north coming under Tsarist Russian rule while the south is annexed by the Emirate of Bukhara.
1917-18 - Armed Central Asian groups exploit the upheaval in Russia following the Bolshevik revolution to mount an insurrection, but eventually fail.
Soviet rule
1921 - Northern Tajikistan becomes part of the Bolshevik-designated Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), which also included Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, part of northern Turkmenistan and southern Kazakhstan.
1924 - Tajik ASSR set up by Soviets and becomes part of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR).
1929 - Tajik ASSR upgraded to the status of an SSR and becomes distinct from the Uzbek SSR; acquires territory of Khujand from Uzbek SSR.
1930s - The collectivisation of agriculture completed despite widespread resistance.
1960s - Tajikistan becomes the third largest cotton-producing republic in the Soviet Union; heavy industries, notably aluminium, introduced.
1970s - Increased Islamic influence, violence towards non-indigenous nationalities.
Pamir mountain range lies mainly in Tajikistan
1978 - Some 13,000 people take part in anti-Russian riots.
Late 1980s - Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's policy of glasnost, or openness, leads to the formation of unofficial political groups and a renewed interest in Tajik culture.
1989 - Tajik Supreme Soviet (legislature) declares Tajik to be official state language; Rastokhez People's Front established.
Independence and civil war
1990 - State of emergency declared and some 5,000 Soviet troops sent to the capital, Dushanbe, to suppress pro-democracy protests, which are also fuelled by rumours that Armenian refugees are to be settled in Dushanbe; Supreme Soviet declares state sovereignty.
1991 - Tajik Communist leader Qahhor Makhkamov forced to resign after supporting the failed anti-Gorbachev coup in Moscow.
Supreme Soviet declares Tajikistan independent from the Soviet Union; Rahmon Nabiyev, Communist leader during 1982-85, wins Tajikistan's first direct presidential election with 57% of the vote; Tajikistan joins Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) following the collapse of the Soviet Union in December.
1992 - Anti-government demonstrations in Dushanbe escalate into civil war between pro-government forces and Islamist and pro-democracy groups which eventually claims 20,000 lives, displaces 600,000 and devastates the economy.
Violent demonstrations force Nabiyev to resign in September; Emomali Rahmonov, a pro-Nabiyev communist, takes over as head of state in November.
1993 - Government re-establishes control, suppresses political opposition and imposes strict media controls; Supreme Court bans all opposition parties, leaving the Communist Party of Tajikistan as the only legal party; CIS peacekeeping force deployed on Tajik-Afghan border to prevent Islamist guerrilla groups infiltrating from bases in Afghanistan.
1994 - Ceasefire between government and rebels agreed; Rahmonov announces willingness to negotiate with opposition; referendum approves draft constitution reinstituting presidential system; Rahmonov elected president in ballot deemed by international observers as neither free nor fair.
1995 - Rahmonov supporters win parliamentary elections; fighting on Afghan border erupts.
1996 - Islamist rebels capture towns in southwestern Tajikistan; UN-sponsored cease-fire between government and rebels comes into effect.
Peace accord
1997 - Government and rebel United Tajik Opposition (UTO) sign peace accord; National Reconciliation Commission, comprising government and opposition members, created to supervise implementation of accord; Rahmonov injured in grenade attack.
1998 - Rahmonov pardons all opposition leaders in exile and agrees to appoint one of the Islamist opposition's leaders as first deputy prime minister. Rebel uprising in north is crushed with the help of former opposition groups.
RAHMON NABIYEV
Tajikistan joins CIS Customs Union.
1999 - Rahmonov re-elected for second term with 96 % of the vote; UTO armed forces integrated into state army; Rahmonov awarded order of Hero of Tajikistan.
2000 - Last meeting of the National Reconciliation Commission held and a new bicameral parliament set up in March; a new national currency, the somoni, introduced; visas introduced for travel between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
2001 January - Minimum wage tripled to equivalent of just over one US dollar.
2001 April - Deputy Interior Minister Habib Sanginov assassinated in Dushanbe.
2001 June - Leaders of China, Russia and four Central Asian states launch the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and agree to fight ethnic and religious militancy while promoting trade and investment.
2001 August - Renegade warlord and former opposition commander Rahmon Sanginov, regarded by the government as one of its most wanted criminals, is killed in a gun battle with security forces.
19,000 prisoners amnestied to mark 10th anniversary of independence.
2001 September - Culture Minister Abdurakhim Rakhimov is shot dead by an unidentified gunman, the third senior official to be assassinated in a year.
Tajikistan is quick to offer support to the US-led anti-terror coalition, set up after the September 11 attacks on the US.
War in Afghanistan
2002 July - Tajikistan doubles the number of border guards along its 1,300-km frontier with Afghanistan to prevent al-Qaeda members from entering the country to escape US forces.
2003 February - Eleven Islamic militants sentenced to death and dozens to lengthy jail sentences for murder and kidnapping during and after the civil war of the 1990s.
2003 April - Russian President Vladimir Putin visits and announces plans to boost Russian military presence.
2003 June - Shamsiddin Shamsiddinov, deputy leader of the opposition Islamic Rebirth Party, arrested and charged with murder. Party leadership asserts that the arrest is politically motivated.
Referendum vote goes in favour of allowing President Rahmonov to run for a further two consecutive seven-year terms when his current one ends in 2006. The opposition describes the referendum as a travesty of democracy.
2003 July - Parliament approves a draft law abolishing the death penalty for women and reducing the number of crimes for which men can face punishment.
Supreme Court sentences Shamsiddin Shamsiddinov, deputy leader of opposition Islamic Rebirth Party, to 16 years in jail.
2004 July - Parliament approves moratorium on death penalty.
2004 October - Russia formally opens military base and takes back control over former Soviet space monitoring centre.
Opposition leader arrested
2004 December - Leader of opposition Democratic Party, Mahmadruzi Iskandarov, arrested in Moscow at request of Tajik prosecutor's office. Tajik authorities seek his extradition, alleging involvement in terrorism and arms offences as well as corruption. His supporters say the move is politically motivated.
2005 January - Car blows up near government building in Dushanbe, killing at least one person. Fire breaks out at Security Ministry on same day. Government later blames Islamic militants.
2005 February - Ruling party wins overwhelming victory in parliamentary elections. International observers say poll fails to meet acceptable standards.
2005 April - Opposition leader Mahmadruzi Iskandarov released in Moscow after extradition request turned down but kidnapped and rearrested in Tajikistan.
2005 June - Russian border guards complete withdrawal, handing the task over to Tajik forces.
2005 October - Opposition leader Mahmadruzi Iskandarov sentenced in Dushanbe to 23 years in jail on terrorism and corruption charges
2006 May - Several killed when gunmen attack border post before crossing into Kyrgyzstan.
2006 August - Gaffor Mirzoyev, former top military commander, sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted on charges of terrorism and plotting to overthrow the government. His supporters say the trial was politically motivated.
Said Abdullo Nuri, leader of the opposition Islamic Revival Party, dies.
Rakhmonov re-elected
2006 November - President Rakhmonov wins a third term in office, in an election which international observers say is neither free nor fair.
2007 March - President Rakhmonov orders that babies no longer be registered under Russian-style surnames, and himself drops the Russian ending -ov from his own name.
2007 November - A powerful explosion kills a guard near the presidential palace.
2008 February - Tajikistan appeals for help after suffering its worst winter in 50 years as well as an energy crisis.
2008 April - International Monetary Fund (IMF) orders the return of loan of $47m after it finds Tajikistan submitted false data.
2008 July - Russia agrees to write off Tajikistan's $240m debt in return for cession of a Soviet-designed space tracking station.
2008 December - Military court bans religious organisation Jehovah's Witnesses from practising in Tajikistan.
2009 January - Agreement signed with US military allowing it to transport non-military supplies to Afghanistan over Tajik territory.
2009 September - Uzbekistan cuts off gas supplies to Tajikistan for three days amid a dispute about Tajikistan's payment arrears.
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