Afghan (ethnonym)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The

Pashto: افغان) has been used historically to refer to the Pashtuns.[1] Since the second half of the twentieth century, the term "Afghan" evolved into a demonym for all residents of Afghanistan, including those outside of the Pashtun ethnicity.[1][2]

Mentions

Sassanid Empire during the 3rd century CE.[3] In the 4th century, the word "Afghans/Afghana" (αβγανανο) as a reference to a particular people is mentioned in the Bactrian documents found in Northern Afghanistan.[4][5]

"To Ormuzd Bunukan, from Bredag Watanan ... greetings and homage from ... the sotang (?) of Parpaz (under) the glorious Yabghu of Hephthal, the chief of the Afghans, the judge of Tukharistan and Gharchistan. Moreove, a letter [has come hither] from you, so I have heard how [you have] written to me concerning my health. I arrived in good health (and) afterwards (?) I heard that a message was sent thither to you (saying ) thus : ... look after the farming but the order was given to you thus. You should hand over the grain and then request it from the citizens store: I will not order, so ... I myself order and in respect of winter sends men thither to you then look after the farming. To Ormuzd Bunukan, Greetings."

— Bactrian documents, 4th century

"because [you] (pl.), the clan of the Afghans, said thus to me: ... And you should not have denied (?) the men of Rob[6] [that] the Afghans took (away) the horses."

— Bactrian documents, 4th century, Sims-Williams 2007b, pp. 90-91.

"[To...]-bid the Afghan... Moreover, they are in [War]nu (?) because of the Afghans, so [you should] impose a penalty on Nat Kharagan ... ... Lord of Warnu with ... ... ...the Afghan... ..."

— Bactrian documents, 4th century, Sims-Williams 2007b, pp. 90-91.

The name of the Aśvakan or Assakan has been preserved in that of the modern

Pashtun, with the name Afghan being derived from Asvakan.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

The term "Afghan" is later recorded in the 6th century CE in the form of "Avagāṇa" [अवगाण]

"It would be unfavourable to the people of Chola, the Afghans (Avagāṇa), the white Huns and the Chinese."[17]

— Varāha Mihira, 6th century CE, chapt. 11, verse 61.

The word Afghan also appeared in the 982

Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam, where a reference is made to the village of Saul, which was probably located near Gardez, in the Paktia province of Afghanistan.[18]

"Saul, a pleasant village on a mountain. In it live Afghans."[18]

Hudud al-'Alam also speaks of a king in Ninhar (Nangarhar), who had Muslim, Afghan and Hindu wives.[19]

"Ninhar, a place of which the king makes a show of Islam, and has many wives, (namely) over thirty Muslim, Afghan, and Hindu (wives). The rest of the people are idolaters. In (Ninhar) there are three large idols."

In the 11th century, Afghans are mentioned in al-Biruni's Tarikh-ul Hind ("History of the Indus"), which describes groups of rebellious Afghans in the tribal lands west of the Indus River in what is today Pakistan.[18][20]

Al-Utbi, the Ghaznavid chronicler, in his Tarikh-i Yamini records that many Afghans and Khiljis (possibly the modern Ghilji) living between Laghman and Peshawar enlisted in the army of Sabuktigin after Jayapala was defeated.

"The Afghans and Khiljis who resided among the mountains having taken the oath of allegiance to Subooktugeen, many of them were enlisted in his army, after which he returned in triumph to Ghizny."[21]

Al-Utbi further states that Afghans and Ghiljis made up a part of

Khilji dynasty
in 1290, Afghans have been well known in northern India.

Muslim historian writing about the history of Muslim rule in the subcontinent
states:

"He [Khalid bin Abdullah son of

Ferishta
, 1560-1620

The coined term of Afghanistan came into place in 1855, officially recognized by the British during the reign of Dost Mohammad Khan.[26]

Etymology

Some scholars suggest that the word "Afghan" is derived from the words awajan/apajan in

Sasanians, and possibly the Parthian Empire, the word was used to refer to men of a certain Persian sect.[27]

Another view is that the name Afghan evidently derives from the word

Assakenoi of Arrian, which was the name used for ancient inhabitants of the Hindu Kush.[28][29] This view was propounded by scholars like Christian Lassen,[8] J. W. McCrindle,[30] M. V. de Saint Martin,[9] and É. Reclus,[10][11][12][13][14][31]

The Indian

Avestan language and followed Zoroastrianism.[36][37] Some scholars believe Zoroastrianism originated in the land of Kambojas.[38]

Afghanistan

The last part of the name

Pashāis, Parāchis, Tājiks, Berekis, and Afghans... In the hill-country to the north-east lies Kaferistān, such as Kattor and Gebrek. To the south is Afghānistān."[39]

— Babur
, 1525

The name "Afghanistan" is also mentioned in the writings of the 16th-century historian

Patán; however the reason for this is not known. But it occurs to me, that when, under the rule of Muhammadan sovereigns, Musulmáns first came to the city of Patná, and dwelt there, the people of India (for that reason) called them Patáns—but God knows!"[40]

Regarding the modern

British India (Pakistan)."[42]

Historical and obsolete suggestions

There are a number of other hypotheses suggested for the name historically, all of them obsolete.

See also

References

  1. ^ . In Afghanistan, up until the 1970s, the common reference to Afghan meant Pashtun. Other groups were known as Farsiwan, meaning Persian-speakers. Tajiks (northeast region), Uzbeks (northern region), Turkmen (northern region), Kazak (northern region). or Hazara (central region). The term Afghan as an inclusive term for all ethnic groups was an effort begun by the "modernizing" King Amanullah (1909-1921), who went as far as printing the four different languages on the four corners of his money. Later this was continued by King Mohammad Zahir, who tried to unify the country under the banner of Afghan.
  2. . The largest ethnic group in Afghanistan is that of Pashtuns, who were historically known as the Afghans. The term Afghan is now intended to indicate people of other ethnic groups as well.
  3. . Retrieved 24 September 2010. The earliest mention of the name 'Afghan' (Abgan) is to be found in a Sasanid inscription from the 3rd century, and it appears in India in the form of 'Avagana'...
  4. . [ To Ormuzd Bunukan , ... greetings and homage from ... ) , Pithe ( sot ] ang ( ? ) of Parpaz ( under ) [ the glorious ) yabghu of [ Heph ] thal , the chief ... of the Afghans
  5. .
  6. ^ A small kingdom in Bactria
  7. ^ "The name Afghan has evidently been derived from Asvakan, the Assakenoi of Arrian... " (Megasthenes and Arrian, p 180. See also: Alexander's Invasion of India, p 38; J.W. McCrindle).
  8. ^ a b Indische Alterthumskunde, Vol I, fn 6; also Vol II, p 129, et al.
  9. ^ a b Etude Sur la Geog Grecque & c, pp 39-47, M. V. de Saint Martin.
  10. ^ a b The Earth and Its Inhabitants, 1891, p 83, Élisée Reclus - Geography.
  11. ^ a b "Even the name Afghan is Aryan being derived from Asvakayana, an important clan of the Asvakas or horsemen who must have derived this title from their handling of celebrated breeds of horses" (See: Imprints of Indian Thought and Culture abroad, p 124, Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan).
  12. ^ a b cf: "Their name (Afghan) means "cavalier" being derived from the Sanskrit, Asva, or Asvaka, a horse, and shows that their country must have been noted in ancient times, as it is at the present day, for its superior breed of horses. Asvaka was an important tribe settled north to Kabul river, which offered a gallant resistance but ineffectual resistance to the arms of Alexander "(Ref: Scottish Geographical Magazine, 1999, p 275, Royal Scottish Geographical Society).
  13. ^
    Ashvaka
    meaning 'horsemen' "
    (Ref: Sva, 1915, p 113, Christopher Molesworth Birdwood).
  14. ^
    Anglo-Indian
    words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological..by Henry Yule, AD Burnell).
  15. ^ "Sanskritdictionary.com: Definition of avagāṇa". sanskritdictionary.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Afghan". Ch. M. Kieffer. Encyclopædia Iranica Online Edition. 15 December 1983. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  17. ^ .
  18. ^ . Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  19. .
  20. Ferishta, History of the Rise of Mohammedan Power in India, Volume 1: Section 15. Packard Humanities Institute. Archived from the original
    on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  21. ^ R. Khanam, Encyclopaedic ethnography of Middle-East and Central Asia: P-Z, Volume 3 - Page 18
  22. . Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  23. . Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  24. ^ History Of The Mohamedan Power In India Archived 2009-02-11 at the Wayback Machine by Muhammad Qāsim Hindū Šāh Astarābādī Firištah, The Packard Humanities Institute Persian Texts in Translation.
  25. .
  26. ^ Fikrat & Umar 2008.
  27. ^ * "The name Afghan has evidently been derived from Asvakan, the Assakenoi of Arrian... " (Megasthenes and Arrian, p 180. See also: Alexander's Invasion of India, p 38; J.W. McCrindle).
    • "Even the name Afghan is Aryan being derived from Asvakayana, an important clan of the Asvakas or horsemen who must have derived this title from their handling of celebrated breeds of horses" (See: Imprints of Indian Thought and Culture Abroad, p 124, Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan).
    • cf: "Their name (Afghan) means "cavalier" being derived from the Sanskrit, Asva, or Asvaka, a horse, and shows that their country must have been noted in ancient times, as it is at the present day, for its superior breed of horses. Asvaka was an important tribe settled north to Kabul river, which offered a gallant resistance but ineffectual resistance to the arms of Alexander "(Ref: Scottish Geographical Magazine, 1999, p 275, Royal Scottish Geographical Society).
    • "Afghans are Assakani of the
      Ashvaka
      meaning 'horsemen'"
      (Ref: Sva, 1915, p 113, Christopher Molesworth Birdwood).
    • Cf: "The name represents Sanskrit Asvaka in the sense of a cavalier, and this reappears scarcely modified in the Assakani or Assakeni of the historians of the expedition of
      Anglo-Indian
      words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological..by Henry Yule, AD Burnell).
  28. .
  29. ^ "The name Afghan has evidently been derived from Asvakan, the Assakenoi of Arrian... " (Megasthenes and Arrian, p 180. See also: Alexander's Invasion of India, p 38; J. W. McCrindle).
  30. Louis Vivien de Saint-Martin
    ; An Ethnic Interpretation of Pauranika Personages, 1971, p 34, Chandra Chakraberty; Revue internationale, 1803, p 803; Journal of Indian History: Golden Jubilee Volume, 1973, p 470, Trivandrum, India (City). University of Kerala. Dept. of History; Edinburgh University Publications, 1969, p 113, University of Edinburgh; Shi jie jian wen, 1930, p 68 by Shi jie zhi shi chu ban she. Cf also: Advanced History of Medieval India, 1983, p 31, Dr J. L. Mehta; Asian Relations, 1948, p 301, Asian Relations Organization ("Distributed in the United States by: Institute of Pacific Relations, New York."); Scottish Geographical Magazine, 1892, p 275, Royal Scottish Geographical Society - Geography; The geographical dictionary of ancient and mediaeval India, 1971, p 87, Nundo Lal Dey; Nag Sen of Milind Paṅhö, 1996, p 64, P. K. Kaul - Social Science; The Sultanate of Delhi, 1959, p 30, Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava; Journal of Indian History, 1965, p 354, University of Kerala Dept. of History, University of Allahabad Dept. of Modern Indian History, University of Travancore - India; Mémoires sur les contrées occidentales, 1858, p 313, fn 3, Stanislas Julien Xuanzang - Buddhism.
  31. ^ Journal of American Oriental society, 1889, p 257, American Oriental Society; Mahabharata 10.18.13.
  32. ^ Kambojo assa.nam ayata.nam i.e Kamboja the birthplace of horse......(|| Samangalavilasini, Vol I, p 124||).
  33. ^ Aruppa-Niddesa of Visuddhimagga by Buddhaghosa describes the Kamboja land as the base of horses (10/28)
  34. ^ In the Anushasnaparava section of Mahabharata, the Kambojas are specifically designated as Ashava.yuddha.kushalah (expert cavalrymen).
    tatha Yavana Kamboja Mathuram.abhitash cha ye |
    ete 'ashava.yuddha.kushalahdasinatyasi charminah. || 5 ||.
  35. ^ Jataka, Vol VI, pp 208, 210 (trans Fausboll); The Jataka, VI, p 110, (Trans. E. B. Cowell) + Videvati XIV.5-6 + Herodotus (I.140); Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1912, p 256, Dr Grierson; Das Volk Der Kamboja bei Yaska, First Series of Avesta, Pahlavi and Ancient Persian Studies in honour of the late Shams-ul-ulama Dastur Peshotanji Behramji Sanjana, Strassberg & Leipzig, 1904, pp 213 ff, Dr Ernst Kuhn
  36. Jataka and Avestic
    literature, the Kamboja was the center of ancient Iranian civilization as is evidenced by the peculiar customs of the country " (Ref: The Kamboja Janapada, January 1964, Purana, Vol VI, No 1, p 229; Jataka edited by Fausboll, Vol VI, p 210.)
    • Dr Michael Witzel: "The Kambojas, located somewhere in east Afghanistan, spoke Iranian language and followed Zoroastrian habits of killing lower animals." (Early Eastern Iran and the Atharvaveda, Persica-9, 1980, fn 81, p 114; Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies, Vol. 7 (2001), issue 3 (May 25), Art. 9).
    • Dr D. C. Sircar: "The Kambojas were of Iranian extractions .. they were settled in Afghanistan region in Uttarapatha. Their numbers were occasionally swelled by new migrants from Iran, especially during age of Achaemenians." (Purana, Vol. V, No. 2, July 1963, p 256, Dr D. C. Sircar).
    • Willem Vogelsang: "The name Kamboja was commonly applied in Indian sources to the Iranian population of the borderlands i.e Afghanistan." (The Afghans (Peoples of Asia), 2001, p 127).
    • Dr R. Thapar: "The Kambojas were a tribe of the Iranians " (History of India, Vol. I, 1997, p 276).
    • E. Benveniste: "The Kambojas ... were known in Indian traditions as a foreign people, with peculiar customs, ... raised celebrated horses, spoke - as the Nirukata (II,2.8) tells us - a language with Iranian words in it ... and had, according to Buddhist Jataka (VI.206, 27-30), a certain religious practice - the killing of insects, moths, snakes and worms - which we may recognize as Mazdean from the passages in
      Mazdean
      books like the Videvati (XIV.5-6) as well as from the remark of Herodotus (I.140) about the Persian religion " (Journal Asiatique, CCXLVI 1958, I, pp 47-48, E. Benveniste).
  37. ^ Cf: "Zoroastrian religion had probably originated in Kamboja-land (Bacteria-Badakshan)....and the Kambojas spoke Avestan language" (Ref: Bharatiya Itihaas Ki Rup Rekha, p 229-231, Jaychandra Vidyalankar; Bhartrya Itihaas ki Mimansa, p 229-301, J. C. Vidyalankar; Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, p 217, 221, J. L. Kamboj).
  38. ^ Zahir ud-Din Mohammad Babur (1525). "Events Of The Year 910 (p.5)". Memoirs of Babur. Packard Humanities Institute. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  39. ^ Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah (1560–1620). "The History of India, Volume 6, chpt. 200, Translation of the Introduction to Firishta's History (p.8)". Sir H. M. Elliot. London: Packard Humanities Institute. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  40. G. Morgenstierne, R. Ghirshman, "Afghānistān", in Encyclopaedia of Islam
    , Online Edition
  41. . Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  42. ^ Olaf Caroe, The Pathans: 550 BC - AD 1957, Link
  43. ^ Persia, p 142, Samuel G. Benjamin.
  44. ^ John Charles Griffiths, Afghanistan, pg 13
  45. ^ Gary W. Bowersox, Bonita E, Gemstones of Afghanistan, pg 27
  46. ^ Gankovsky, Yu. V., et al. "A History of Afghanistan." Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1982. 8vo. Cloth. 359 p. USD 22.50

Further reading