AMusical genreIndependent states
Shashmaqam
The "six maqams" classical music system born in Bukhara, UNESCO heritage since 2008.
Shashmaqam means "six maqams" in Persian. This classical music system took shape in Bukhara; it is the shared heritage of Uzbeks and Tajiks and a close relative of Azerbaijani mugham.
Each maqam is a large cycle of instrumental and vocal sections, its words mostly Sufi poems on divine love by Navoi, Hafez and others, accompanied by tanbur, dutar, rubab, sato and doira.
UNESCO inscribed shashmaqam in 2008 as the shared heritage of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The composer Yunus Rajabi did much to write down the Uzbek shashmaqam.
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Updated: October 3, 2026