Origins of the name Afghan
Encyclopedia
The ethnonym
Afghan ( ) has been used in reference to the Pashtun people
during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. The name Afghanistan
( ) is a derivation from the ethnonym, originally in the loose meaning "land of the Afghans (Pashtuns)" and referred to the territory inhabited by Pashtun tribes south of the Hindu Kush
and was later adopted by the Pashtun-dominated kingdoms of Kabul
. The Pashtun people are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and constitute the second largest ethnic community in neighbouring Pakistan
.
In the 3rd century AD, the Sassanids
mention a tribe called Abgân, which is attested in its Arabic form (Afġān) in the 10th century Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam. It likely derives from a Sanskrit
ic tribal
name, Aśvaka, used in reference to the Kambojas
in antiquity. The Arabic is an adaptation of the Prakritic form अवगाना (), as used by Varahamihira
in his Bṛhat Saṃhitā in 6th century CE. Since the Middle Ages
, "Afghan" has been used as a synonym for Pashtun
, while the native name for the ethnic group is "Pashtun".
The earliest mention of the name Afghan (Abgân) is by Shapur I
of the Sassanid Empire
during the 3rd century CE, which is later recorded in the 6th century CE in the form of "Avagānā" by the Indian astronomer Varāha Mihira
in his Brihat-samhita. It was used to refer to a common legendary ancestor known as "Afghana
", grandson of King Saul of Israel
.
The Encyclopædia Iranica
explains:
Hiven Tsiang
, a Chinese
pilgrim visiting the Afghanistan area several times between 630 to 644 CE, also speaks about the native tribes inhabiting the region. According to several scholars such as V. Minorsky
, W.K. Frazier Tyler and M.C. Gillet, the word Afghan has appeared in the 982 AD Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam, where a reference is made to a village.
Saul was probably located near Gardez, in the Paktia province
of Afghanistan. Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam also speaks of a king in "Ninhar" (Nangarhar), who shows a public display of conversion to Islam, even though he has over 30 wives, which are described as "Muslim, Afghan, and Hindu" wives. It should be noted that these names were often used as geographical terms. For example, Hindu
(or Hindustani
) has been historically used as a geographical term to describe someone who was native from the region known as Hindustan
(Indian subcontinent
).
Al-Utbi, the Ghaznavid chronicler, in his Tarikh-i Yamini records that recruitment for Sabuktigin's army was answered by Afghans and the 'Khalaj
' (possibly related to modern Ghilzai
), and he enrolled thousands of them. With these armies he twice defeated the Hindushahi King Jaipal in Laghman
and Nangarhar, and drove him out of the upper Kabul valley
, capturing immense treasures. Al-Utbi further states that Afghans and Ghilzais made a part of Mahmud Ghaznavi
's army and were sent on his expedition to Tocharistan, while on another occasion Mahmud Ghaznavi attacked and punished a group of opposing Afghans, as also corroborated by Abulfazl Beyhaqi. In the 11th century AD, Afghans mentioned in Al-Biruni's Tarikh-ul Hind ("History of India"), which describes a group of "rebellious" Afghans in the tribal lands that he passed by. Al-Biruni refers to these Afghans in another passage (loc. Cit. p. 199) where he mentions an uncivilized people in the mountains west of the Indus River
(i.e. Suleiman Mountains) as tribes of Hindus or akin to them. Afghan soldiers were also enrolled in the Ghurid Kingdom (1148–1215). From the beginning of the Khilji dynasty
in 1290, Afghans are becoming more recognized in the Delhi Sultanate
of India
.
Ibn Battuta
, a famous Moroccan
traveler, visiting Afghanistan following the era of the Khilji dynasty in early 1300s writes.
Firishta
, a 16th century Muslim historians writing about the history of Muslim rule in India
states:
In the writings of the 17th-century Pashto poet Khushal Khan Khattak
, the equation of Afghan and Pashtun is further confirmed:
The last part of the name -stān
is a Persian
suffix for "place of", prominent in many languages of Asia. The name Afghanistan
is mentioned in writing by the 16th century Mughal rulers Babur
and his descendants, referring to the territory between Khorasan
, Kabulistan
, and the Indus River
, which was inhabited by tribes of Afghans
.
The name "Afghanistan" is also mentioned many times in the writings of the 16th century historian, Ferishta, and many others.
Regarding the modern state
of Afghanistan, the Encyclopædia Of Islam
explains:
Aśvakas, qv. the Assakenoi of Arrian
. This view was propounded by scholars like Christian Lassen
, J. W. McCrindle, M. V. de Saint Martin, and É. Reclus
, and has been supported by numerous modern scholars.
In Sanskrit
, the word ashva
(Iranian
aspa, Prakrit
assa) means "horse", and ashvaka (Prakrit assaka) means "horseman", "horse people", "land of horses", as well as "horse breeders". Pre-Christian times knew the people of the Hindukush region as Ashvakas (horsemen
), since they raised a fine breed of horses and had a reputation for providing expert cavalrymen. The fifth-century-BCE Indian grammarian Pāṇini calls them Ashvakayana and Ashvayana. Mahabharata
mentions them as Ashvaka(na). Classical writers, however, use the respective equivalents Aspasioi (or Aspasii, Hippasii) and Assakenoi (or Assaceni/Assacani, Asscenus) etc. The Aspasioi/Assakenoi (Ashvakas = Cavalrymen) is stated to be another name for the Kambojas
of ancient texts because of their equestrian characteristics. Alexander Cunningham
and a few other scholars identify these designations with the modern name Afghan.
The Indian epic
Mahabharata speaks about Kambojas among the finest horsemen
, and ancient Pali
texts describe their lands as the land of horses. Kambojas
spoke Avestan language
and followed Zoroastrianism
. Some scholars believe Zoroastrianism originated in land of Kambojas.
The former Aspins of Chitral
and Ashkuns (Yashkuns) of Gilgit
are identified as the modern representatives of the Pāṇinian Aśvakayanas (Greek: Assakenoi); and the Asip/Isap (cf. Aspa-zai > Yusufzai) in the Kabul valley (between the rivers Kabul
and Indus) are believed to be modern representatives of the Pāṇinian Aśvayanas (Greek: Aspasioi) respectively.
Ethnonym
An ethnonym is the name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms and autonyms or endonyms .As an example, the ethnonym for...
Afghan ( ) has been used in reference to the Pashtun people
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. The name Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
( ) is a derivation from the ethnonym, originally in the loose meaning "land of the Afghans (Pashtuns)" and referred to the territory inhabited by Pashtun tribes south of the Hindu Kush
Hindu Kush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range that stretches between central Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. The highest point in the Hindu Kush is Tirich Mir in the Chitral region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.It is the westernmost extension of the Pamir Mountains, the Karakoram Range, and is a...
and was later adopted by the Pashtun-dominated kingdoms of Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
. The Pashtun people are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and constitute the second largest ethnic community in neighbouring Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
In the 3rd century AD, the Sassanids
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
mention a tribe called Abgân, which is attested in its Arabic form (Afġān) in the 10th century Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam. It likely derives from a Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
ic tribal
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
name, Aśvaka, used in reference to the Kambojas
Kambojas
The Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
in antiquity. The Arabic is an adaptation of the Prakritic form अवगाना (), as used by Varahamihira
Varahamihira
Varāhamihira , also called Varaha or Mihira, was an Indian astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer who lived in Ujjain...
in his Bṛhat Saṃhitā in 6th century CE. Since the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, "Afghan" has been used as a synonym for Pashtun
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
, while the native name for the ethnic group is "Pashtun".
Origin of the names Afghan and Afghana
Shapur I
Shapur I or also known as Shapur I the Great was the second Sassanid King of the Second Persian Empire. The dates of his reign are commonly given as 240/42 - 270/72, but it is likely that he also reigned as co-regent prior to his father's death in 242 .-Early years:Shapur was the son of Ardashir I...
of the Sassanid Empire
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
during the 3rd century CE, which is later recorded in the 6th century CE in the form of "Avagānā" by the Indian astronomer Varāha Mihira
Varahamihira
Varāhamihira , also called Varaha or Mihira, was an Indian astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer who lived in Ujjain...
in his Brihat-samhita. It was used to refer to a common legendary ancestor known as "Afghana
Afghana
Afghana or Avagana is considered in Afghan folklore a tribal chief or prince of Bani Israel origin and a progenitor of modern-day Pashtuns , the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and second largest in Pakistan...
", grandson of King Saul of Israel
Saul
-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
.
The Encyclopædia Iranica
Encyclopædia Iranica
Encyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
explains:
Hiven Tsiang
Xuanzang
Xuanzang was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period...
, a Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
pilgrim visiting the Afghanistan area several times between 630 to 644 CE, also speaks about the native tribes inhabiting the region. According to several scholars such as V. Minorsky
Vladimir Fedorovich Minorsky
Vladimir Fedorovich Minorsky was a Russian Orientalist best known for his contributions to Kurdish and Persian history, geography, literature, and culture.-Life and career:...
, W.K. Frazier Tyler and M.C. Gillet, the word Afghan has appeared in the 982 AD Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam, where a reference is made to a village.
Saul was probably located near Gardez, in the Paktia province
Paktia Province
Paktia , is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, in the east of the country. Its capital is Gardez. The population is predominantly Pashtun.- History:...
of Afghanistan. Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam also speaks of a king in "Ninhar" (Nangarhar), who shows a public display of conversion to Islam, even though he has over 30 wives, which are described as "Muslim, Afghan, and Hindu" wives. It should be noted that these names were often used as geographical terms. For example, Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
(or Hindustani
Hindustani people
Hindustani people or Hindoostani people was a word often used in British India and also in 20th Century in India for the group of people whose native language was a variety of Hindi or persons using Hindustani language — mainly residing in present day Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh,...
) has been historically used as a geographical term to describe someone who was native from the region known as Hindustan
Hindustan
Hindustan or Indostan, literal translation "Land of River Sindhu ", is one of the popular names of South Asia. It can also mean "the land of the Hindus"...
(Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
).
Al-Utbi, the Ghaznavid chronicler, in his Tarikh-i Yamini records that recruitment for Sabuktigin's army was answered by Afghans and the 'Khalaj
Khalaj
Khalaj may refer to:* Khalaj language* Khalaj people* Khalaj, Afghanistan, in Helmand Province* Khalaj, Armenia* Khalaj, Iran...
' (possibly related to modern Ghilzai
Ghilzai
Ghilzai are the largest Pashtun tribal confederacy found in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They are also known historically as Ghilji, Khilji, Ghalji, Ghilzye, and possibly Gharzai...
), and he enrolled thousands of them. With these armies he twice defeated the Hindushahi King Jaipal in Laghman
Laghman
Laghman can refer to:* Laghman Province in Afghanistan* Laghman, a place in Jowzjan Province, Afghanistan* Lamian and variants thereof as soup...
and Nangarhar, and drove him out of the upper Kabul valley
Kabul Province
Kābul , situated in the east of the country, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. The capital of the province is Kabul City, which is also Afghanistan's capital. The population of Kabul province is 3.5 million people as of 2009, of which almost 80 percent live in the urban areas...
, capturing immense treasures. Al-Utbi further states that Afghans and Ghilzais made a part of Mahmud Ghaznavi
Mahmud of Ghazni
Mahmud of Ghazni , actually ', was the most prominent ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty who ruled from 997 until his death in 1030 in the eastern Iranian lands. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazni into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which covered most of today's Iran,...
's army and were sent on his expedition to Tocharistan, while on another occasion Mahmud Ghaznavi attacked and punished a group of opposing Afghans, as also corroborated by Abulfazl Beyhaqi. In the 11th century AD, Afghans mentioned in Al-Biruni's Tarikh-ul Hind ("History of India"), which describes a group of "rebellious" Afghans in the tribal lands that he passed by. Al-Biruni refers to these Afghans in another passage (loc. Cit. p. 199) where he mentions an uncivilized people in the mountains west of the Indus River
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
(i.e. Suleiman Mountains) as tribes of Hindus or akin to them. Afghan soldiers were also enrolled in the Ghurid Kingdom (1148–1215). From the beginning of the Khilji dynasty
Khilji dynasty
The Khilji Sultanate was a dynasty of Turko-Afghan Khalaj origin who ruled large parts of South Asia from 1290 - 1320. They were the second dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate of India...
in 1290, Afghans are becoming more recognized in the Delhi Sultanate
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...
of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Ibn Battuta
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta , or simply Ibn Battuta, also known as Shams ad–Din , was a Muslim Moroccan Berber explorer, known for his extensive travels published in the Rihla...
, a famous Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
traveler, visiting Afghanistan following the era of the Khilji dynasty in early 1300s writes.
Firishta
Firishta
Firishta or Ferishta, full name Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah , was born in 1560 and died in 1620 and he was a Persian historian. The name Firishta means angel or one who is sent in Persian.-Life:...
, a 16th century Muslim historians writing about the history of Muslim rule in India
Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent
Muslim conquest in South Asia mainly took place from the 13th to the 16th centuries, though earlier Muslim conquests made limited inroads into the region, beginning during the period of the ascendancy of the Rajput Kingdoms in North India, from the 7th century onwards.However, the Himalayan...
states:
In the writings of the 17th-century Pashto poet Khushal Khan Khattak
Khushal Khan Khattak
Khushal Khan Khattak was a prominent Pashtun malik, poet, warrior,A charismatic personality and tribal chief of the Khattak tribe. He wrote a huge collection of Pashto poems during the Mughal Empire in the 17th century, and admonished Pashtuns to forsake their divisive tendencies and unite...
, the equation of Afghan and Pashtun is further confirmed:
Afghanistan
-stan
The suffix -stan is Persian for "place of", a cognate to Pashto -tun and to Indo-Aryan -sthāna , a Sanskrit suffix with a similar meaning...
is a Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
suffix for "place of", prominent in many languages of Asia. The name Afghanistan
Name of Afghanistan
The name of Afghanistan is believed to be as old as the ethnonym Afghan, which is documented in a 10th century geography book called Hudud ul-'alam focusing on territories south of the Hindu Kush around the Sulaiman Mountains. The root name "Afghan" has been used historically in reference to the...
is mentioned in writing by the 16th century Mughal rulers Babur
Babur
Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother...
and his descendants, referring to the territory between Khorasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
, Kabulistan
Kabulistan
Kabulistan is a historical term referring to the eastern territories of Greater Khorasan that is centered around present-day Kabul, Afghanistan...
, and the Indus River
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
, which was inhabited by tribes of Afghans
Pashtun tribes
The Pashtun people are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and the second largest in Pakistan. Pashtun, tribes are divided into four supertribal confederacies: the Arbanee , Betanee , Gharghasht, and Karlanee .Traditionally, according to folklore, all Pashtuns are said to have descended, at...
.
The name "Afghanistan" is also mentioned many times in the writings of the 16th century historian, Ferishta, and many others.
Regarding the modern state
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
of Afghanistan, the Encyclopædia Of Islam
Encyclopaedia of Islam
The Encyclopaedia of Islam is an encyclopaedia of the academic discipline of Islamic studies. It embraces articles on distinguished Muslims of every age and land, on tribes and dynasties, on the crafts and sciences, on political and religious institutions, on the geography, ethnography, flora and...
explains:
Ashvaka
The etymological view supported by numerous noted scholars is that the name Afghan evidently derives from SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
Aśvakas, qv. the Assakenoi of Arrian
Arrian
Lucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon , known in English as Arrian , and Arrian of Nicomedia, was a Roman historian, public servant, a military commander and a philosopher of the 2nd-century Roman period...
. This view was propounded by scholars like Christian Lassen
Christian Lassen
Christian Lassen was a Norwegian-German orientalist.-Life:He was born at Bergen, Norway. Having received a university education at Oslo, he went to Germany and continued his studies at the University of Heidelberg and the University of Bonn. In Bonn, Lassen acquired a sound knowledge of Sanskrit...
, J. W. McCrindle, M. V. de Saint Martin, and É. Reclus
Élisée Reclus
Élisée Reclus , also known as Jacques Élisée Reclus, was a renowned French geographer, writer and anarchist. He produced his 19-volume masterwork La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes , over a period of nearly 20 years...
, and has been supported by numerous modern scholars.
In Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, the word ashva
Ashva
Aśvaḥ is the Sanskrit word for a "horse", one of the significant animals finding references in the Vedas as well as later Hindu scriptures. The corresponding Avestan term is aspa...
(Iranian
Iranian languages
The Iranian languages form a subfamily of the Indo-Iranian languages which in turn is a subgroup of Indo-European language family. They have been and are spoken by Iranian peoples....
aspa, Prakrit
Prakrit
Prakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...
assa) means "horse", and ashvaka (Prakrit assaka) means "horseman", "horse people", "land of horses", as well as "horse breeders". Pre-Christian times knew the people of the Hindukush region as Ashvakas (horsemen
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
), since they raised a fine breed of horses and had a reputation for providing expert cavalrymen. The fifth-century-BCE Indian grammarian Pāṇini calls them Ashvakayana and Ashvayana. Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
mentions them as Ashvaka(na). Classical writers, however, use the respective equivalents Aspasioi (or Aspasii, Hippasii) and Assakenoi (or Assaceni/Assacani, Asscenus) etc. The Aspasioi/Assakenoi (Ashvakas = Cavalrymen) is stated to be another name for the Kambojas
Kambojas
The Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
of ancient texts because of their equestrian characteristics. Alexander Cunningham
Alexander Cunningham
Sir Alexander Cunningham KCIE CSI was a British archaeologist and army engineer, known as the father of the Archaeological Survey of India...
and a few other scholars identify these designations with the modern name Afghan.
The Indian epic
Indian epic poetry
Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called Kavya . The Ramayana and Mahabharata, originally composed in Sanskrit and translated thereafter into many other Indian languages, are some of the oldest surviving epic poems on earth and form part of...
Mahabharata speaks about Kambojas among the finest horsemen
Horsemen
Horsemen may refer to:*Equestrianism, including cavalry*Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse*Four Horsemen *Royal Canadian Mounted Police*Horsemen , starring Dennis Quaid*The Horsemen , starring Omar Sharif...
, and ancient Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
texts describe their lands as the land of horses. Kambojas
Kambojas
The Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
spoke Avestan language
Avestan language
Avestan is an East Iranian language known only from its use as the language of Zoroastrian scripture, i.e. the Avesta, from which it derives its name...
and followed Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
. Some scholars believe Zoroastrianism originated in land of Kambojas.
The former Aspins of Chitral
Chitral
Chitral or Chetrar , translated as field in the native language Khowar, is the capital of the Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Kunar River , in Pakistan. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, high...
and Ashkuns (Yashkuns) of Gilgit
Gilgit
Gilgit is a city in northern PakistanGilgit may refer to other terms related with the area of the city:* Gilgit River* Gilgit Valley* Gilgit District* Gilgit Agency * Gilgit Airport...
are identified as the modern representatives of the Pāṇinian Aśvakayanas (Greek: Assakenoi); and the Asip/Isap (cf. Aspa-zai > Yusufzai) in the Kabul valley (between the rivers Kabul
Kabul River
Kabul River , the classical Cophes , is a 700 km long river that starts in the Sanglakh Range of the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan and ends in the Indus River near Attock, Pakistan. It is the main river in eastern Afghanistan and is separated from the watershed of the Helmand by the Unai Pass...
and Indus) are believed to be modern representatives of the Pāṇinian Aśvayanas (Greek: Aspasioi) respectively.
Historical suggestions
There are a number of other hypotheses suggested for the name historically, all of them obsolete.- The "Maḫzan-e Afġān" by Nimat Allah al-HarawiNimat Allah al-HarawiNi'mat Allah al-Harawi is the author of a Persian language epic history of the Afghans while serving as a chronicler at the court of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir...
, written in 1612 at the Mughal courtMughal EmpireThe Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
, traces the name Afghan to an eponymous ancestor, an Afghana, identified as a grandson of SaulSaul-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
. Afghana was supposedly a son of Irmia (Jeremia), who was in turn a son of SaulSaul-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
(Talut). Afghana was orphaned at a young age, and brought up by DavidDavidDavid was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
. When Solomon became king, Afghana was promoted as the commander-in-chiefCommander-in-ChiefA commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of the army. Neither Afghana nor Jeremia son of Saul figure in the Hebrew BibleHebrew BibleThe Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
. Some four centuries after Afghana, in the sixth century BCE, Bakhtunnasar, or NebuchadnezzarNebuchadnezzarNebuchadnezzar was the name of several kings of Babylonia.* Nebuchadnezzar I, who ruled the Babylonian Empire in the 12th century BC* Nebuchadnezzar II , the Babylonian ruler mentioned in the biblical Book of Daniel...
, the king of Babil, attacked the Kingdom of JudahKingdom of JudahThe Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
and exiled the descendants of Afghana, some of whom went to the mountains of Ghor in present-day Afghanistan and some to the neighborhood of MeccaMeccaMecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
in Arabia. Until the time of MuhammadMuhammadMuhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, the deported Children of Israel of the east continually increased in number in the countries around Ghor which included KabulKabulKabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, KandaharKandaharKandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
and GhazniGhazniFor the Province of Ghazni see Ghazni ProvinceGhazni is a city in central-east Afghanistan with a population of about 141,000 people...
, and made wars with the infidels around them. Khalid bin Walid is said to belong to the tribe of descendants of Afghana in the neighborhood of Mecca, although actually he was from the tribe of Quraysh. After conversion to Islam, Khalid invited his kinsmen, the Children of Israel of Ghor, to Islam. A deputation led by QaisQais Abdur RashidQais Abdur Rashid Khan , also known as Kesh, Kish, Qesh and Imraul Qais is a legendary ancestor of the Pashtun race, claimed to be the first ethnic Pashtun who travelled to Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia during the early days of Islam.) He is believed to be the 37th descendent of King Saul .He...
proceeded to MedinaMedinaMedina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
to meet Muhammad, and embraced Islam. Muhammad lavished blessings on them, and gave the name Abdur Rashid to Qais, who returned to Ghor successfully to propagate Islam. Qais had three sons, Sarbanr, BatanBatanBatan may refer to the following places:* Batan, Aklan, a municipality in the Philippines* Batan Island, the main island of the province of Batanes, the Philippines* Batan Island, Albay, in Rapu-rapu, Albay, the Philippines...
and Ghourghusht, who are progenitors of the various Pashtun tribesPashtun tribesThe Pashtun people are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and the second largest in Pakistan. Pashtun, tribes are divided into four supertribal confederacies: the Arbanee , Betanee , Gharghasht, and Karlanee .Traditionally, according to folklore, all Pashtuns are said to have descended, at...
. - Samuel G. Benjamin (1887) derived the name Afghan from a term for 'wailing', which the Persians are said to have contemptuously used for their plaintive eastern neighbors.
- H. W. Bellew, in his 1891 An Inquiry into the Ethnography of Afghanistan, believes that the name Afghan comes from Alban which derives from the LatinLatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
term albus, meaning "white", or "mountain", as mountains are often white-capped with snow (cf. AlpsAlpsThe Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
); used by ArmeniansArmeniansArmenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
as Alvan or Alwan, which refers to mountaineers, and in the case of transliterated Armenian characters, would be pronounced as AghvanCaucasian AlbaniaAlbania is a name for the historical region of the eastern Caucasus, that existed on the territory of present-day republic of...
or Aghwan. To the Persians, this would further be altered to Aoghan, Avghan, and Afghan as a reference to the eastern highlanders or "mountaineers". - Michanovsky suggests the name Afghan derives from Sanskrit Avagana, which in turn derives from the ancient SumerianSumerian languageSumerian is the language of ancient Sumer, which was spoken in southern Mesopotamia since at least the 4th millennium BC. During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism...
word for BadakhshanBadakhshanBadakhshan is an historic region comprising parts of what is now northeastern Afghanistan and southeastern Tajikistan. The name is retained in Badakhshan Province which is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, in the far northeast of Afghanistan, and contains the Wakhan Corridor...
- Ab-bar-Gan, or "high country". - There are also a few people who have attempted to link "Afghan" to an UzbekUzbek languageUzbek is a Turkic language and the official language of Uzbekistan. It has about 25.5 million native speakers, and it is spoken by the Uzbeks in Uzbekistan and elsewhere in Central Asia...
word "Avagan" said to mean "original".
See also
- Afghan (disambiguation)
- AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
- Pashtun peoplePashtun peoplePashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
- List of country name etymologies