The Hazaras ( fa, , Həzārə; haz, , Āzərə) are an

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

and the principal component of the population of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, native to, and primarily residing in the

Hazaristan Hazaristan ( fa, هزارستان, Hazāristān), or Hazarajat ( fa, هزاره‌جات, Hazārajāt) is a mostly mountainous region in the central highlands of Afghanistan, among the Koh-i-Baba mountains in the western extremities of the H ...

(Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan and generally scattered throughout Afghanistan. They are one of the largest

ethnic groups in Afghanistan Afghanistan is a multiethnic and mostly tribal society. The population of the country consists of numerous ethnolinguistic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Aimaq, Turkmen, Baloch, Pashai, Nuristani, Kurds, Gujjar, Arab, Brahui, ...

, and are also significant minority groups in neighboring

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, mostly in

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

, and as well as in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. They speak the

Hazaragi Hazaragi ( fa, , Həzārəgī; haz, , links=no, Āzərəgī) is an eastern dialect of Persian that is spoken by the Hazara people, primarily in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, as well as other Hazara-populated areas of Afghanist ...

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, which is mutually intelligible with

Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī � ...

, one of the two official

languages of Afghanistan Afghanistan is a multilingual country in which two Iranic languages – Pashto and Dari Persian – are both official and most widely spoken. Dari is the official name of the variety of Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. It is often referr ...

. Hazaras are considered to be one of the most persecuted groups in Afghanistan, and their persecution has occurred various times across previous decades.

Etymology

The etymology of the word "Hazara" remains disputed, but some have differing views on the term. *

Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...

, founder of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

in the early 16th century, records the name "Hazara" in Baburnama. He has mentioned "Hazara" as "Turkoman Hazaras" several times in Baburnama. *Historian

Abdul Hai Habibi Abdul Hai Habibi ( ps, عبدالحى حبيبي, fa, عبدالحی حبیبی) – ''ʿAbd' ul-Ḥay Ḥabībi'') (1910 – 9 May 1984) was a prominent Afghan historian for much of his lifetime as well as a member of the National Assembly of ...

considers the word "Hazara" ( ) to be very old, and it is derived from "Hazala" ( ), which has changed to "Hazara" over time and has meant "good-hearted". *Another view is that the name "Hazara" ( ) derives from the

word for "thousand" ("Hazar") ( ). It may be the translation of the Mongolic word (), a military unit of 1,000 soldiers at the time of

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...

. The term could have been substituted for the Mongolic word and stands for the group of people, while the Hazara people in their

native language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

call themselves "Azra" ( or ).

Origin

Despite being one of the principal population elements of Afghanistan, the origins of the Hazara people have not been fully reconstructed. However, due to genetic and linguistic analysis, Hazaras are certainly a racially mixed group with Hazaras having varying degrees of Mongolic, Turkic and

Iranic The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separate ...

ancestry. As a result of common physical attributes, physical appearance, parts of their

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

and

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

resembling those of

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

n Turkic tribes and the Mongols. Although as a mixed ethnic group, phenotype can vary, with some noting that certain Hazaras may resemble Europeans or peoples native to the

Iranian plateau The Iranian plateau or Persian plateau is a geological feature in Western Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia. It comprises part of the Eurasian Plate and is wedged between the Arabian Plate and the Indian Plate; situated between the Zagros ...

. Over the course of centuries, invading

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

and

Turco-Mongols The Turco-Mongol or Turko-Mongol tradition was an ethnocultural synthesis that arose in Asia during the 14th century, among the ruling elites of the Golden Horde and the Chagatai Khanate. The ruling Mongol elites of these Khanates eventually a ...

mixed with the local

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

Turkic and

populations. Notably, the

Qara'unas The Qara'unas or Negüderi were a Mongol people who settled in Afghanistan after moving from Turkestan and Mongolia. Foundation The word Qarauna derived from the Mongolian word ''Qara'' meaning black in Mongolian. At first they were subjects ...

, the

Central Asian Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former S ...

Chagatai Turco-Mongols, the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...

and the

Timurids The Timurid Empire ( chg, , fa, ), self-designated as Gurkani ( Chagatai: کورگن, ''Küregen''; fa, , ''Gūrkāniyān''), was a PersianateB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006 Turco-Mongol empire ...

, all of whom settled in Hazarajat and mixed with the local populations. While academics agree that Hazaras are ultimately the result of a combination of several Turkic, Mongol and Iranic tribes, there is a dispute by some on what groups played the largest roles in this combination. Temirkhanov L. (1968)
"О некоторых спорных вопросах этнической истории хазарейского народа"
Советская этнография. 1. P. 94. In Russian: ''"тюркские элементы ... по сравнению с монгольскими ... играли второстепенную роль."'' Despite being a mix of multiple distinct ethnicities, a number of researchers in their works write focusing on the Mongoliс component. Authors, along with the term Hazaras, use the name Hazara Mongols: such as Elizabeth Emaline Bacon,Elizabeth E. Bacon. (1951)
"The Inquiry into the History of the Hazara Mongols of Afghanistan"
Southwestern Journal of Anthropology. Vol. 7. No. 3. pp. 230–247. Barbara A. West, Yuri Averyanov,Аверьянов Ю. А. (2017)
"Хазарейцы - ираноязычные монголы Афганистана""
Мир Центральной Азии. pp. 110–117. Elbrus SattsayevСатцаев Э. Б. (2009)
"Монголы-хазарейцы Афганистана и аспекты "народного шиизма""
Единая Калмыкия в единой России: через века в будущее. pp. 413–415. and other. According to historian Lutfi Temirkhanov, the Mongolian detachments left in

or his successors became the starting layer, the basis of the Hazara ethnogenesis. Temirkhanov L. (1968)
"О некоторых спорных вопросах этнической истории хазарейского народа"
Советская этнография. 1. P. 86. In Russian: ''"...монгольские отряды, оставленные в Афганистане Чингиз-ханом или его преемниками, стали исходным пластом, основой хазарейского этногенеза. "'' According to him, the Turkic elements compared to the Mongolian ones played a secondary role. Temirkhanov L. (1968)
"О некоторых спорных вопросах этнической истории хазарейского народа"
Советская этнография. 1. P. 94. In Russian: ''"тюркские элементы ... по сравнению с монгольскими ... играли второстепенную роль."'' The Hazaras in the

Ghilji The Ghiljī ( ps, غلجي, ; fa, خیلجی, Xelji) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai or Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also sett ...

neighborhood are called Mongols. Temirkhanov L. (1968)
"О некоторых спорных вопросах этнической истории хазарейского народа"
Советская этнография. 1. P. 91. In Russian: ''"Ближайшие соседи хазарейцев – гильзаи – называли и называют их «монголы»."'' The participation of the Mongols in the ethnogenesis of the Hazaras is evidenced by linguistic data, historical sources, data on toponymy, Temirkhanov L. (1968)
"О некоторых спорных вопросах этнической истории хазарейского народа"
Советская этнография. 1. P. 91. In Russian: ''"Об участии монголов в этногенезе хазарейцев свидетельствуют и данные лингвистики... также исторические источники (например, «Записки Бабура») и данные топонимики"'' as well as works on population genetics.Sabitov Zh. M. (2011
"Происхождение хазарейцев с точки зрения ДНК-генеалогии"
The Russian Journal of Genetic Genealogy. 2 (1): pp. 37–40. In the 16th century the

Mongolian language Mongolian is the official language of Mongolia and both the most widely spoken and best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residen ...

Great Russian Encyclopedia The ''Great Russian Encyclopedia'' (GRE; russian: Большая российская энциклопедия, БРЭ, transliterated as ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya entsiklopediya'' or academically as ''Bolšaja rossijskaja enciklopedija'') is a u ...

until the 19th century Hazaras spoke Mongolian."Хазарейцы • Большая российская энциклопедия - электронная версия"
bigenc.ru. In Russian: ''"Упоминаются с 16 в. До 19 в. говорили на монг. языке."'' Such scholars as

Vasily Bartold Vasily Vladimirovich Bartold (russian: Васи́лий Влади́мирович Барто́льд.; 1869–1930), who published in the West under his German baptism name, Wilhelm Barthold, was a Russian orientalist who specialized in the his ...

, Бартольд. В. В. (2022)
Ислам. Культура мусульманства.
Москва: Litres. p. 162. In Russian: ''"...еще в XVI веке говорили хазарейцы по-монгольски в северной части Афганистана..."''

Ármin Vámbéry Ármin Vámbéry (born Hermann Wamberger; 19 March 183215 September 1913), also known as Arminius Vámbéry, was a Hungarian Turkology, Turkologist and traveller. Early life Vámbéry was born in Szent-György, Kingdom of Hungary (now Svät� ...

, Ármin Vámbéry (2003)
Путешествие по Средней Азии.
Москва: Восточная литература. In Russian: ''"Говорят, что хазарейцы ... были перевезены Чингисханом из Монголии, своей прародины, на юг Средней Азии и благодаря влиянию шаха Аббаса II обращены в шиизм. Поразительно, что они заменили свой родной язык персидским, который даже в населенных ими областях не повсеместно распространен, и лишь небольшая часть, оставшаяся изолированной в горах поблизости от Герата и уже несколько столетий занимающаяся выжиганием угля, говорит на некоем жаргоне монгольского языка."'' Vadim Masson, Vadim Romodin, Массон В. М., Ромодин В. А. (1964)
История Афганистана. Том I. С древнейших времен до начала XVI века.
Москва: Наука. pp. 289–290. In Russian: ''"Еще в XVI в., по сообщению Бабура, среди хазарейцев был распространен монгольский язык, а небольшая часть их, по-видимому, и в XIX в. говорила на языке, близком к монгольскому."'' Ilya Petrushevsky, Петрушевский И. П. (1952)
Рашид-ад-дин и его исторический труд.
Москва/Ленинград: Издательство Академии Наук СССР. P. 29. In Russian: ''"Как известно, большой массив монгольского населения (хезарейцы), отчасти сохранявшего свой язык еще в XIX в., сложился на территории Афганистана..."'' Allah Rakha, Fatima, Min-Sheng Peng, Atif Adan, Rui Bi, Memona Yasmin, Yong-Gang Yao also wrote about the use of the Mongolian language by the Hazaras.Allah Rakha, Fatima, Min-Sheng Peng, Atif Adan, Rui Bi, Memona Yasmin, Yong-Gang Yao (2017
"mtDNA sequence diversity of Hazara ethnic group from Pakistan"
Forensic Science International: Genetics. Volume 30: Pages e1-e5. In English: ''"Moreover, there are also lines of evidence that some of the remote tribes of Hazaras spoke Mongol language till last century. Their central Asian facial features including sparse beards, high cheekbones and epicanthic eye folds further supports their Mongol origin."''

Genetics

Genetically, the Hazara are a mixture of

West Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Ja ...

and East Eurasian components, i.e. racially

Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Ja ...

. Genetic research suggests that the Hazaras of Afghanistan cluster closely with the

Uzbeks The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...

population of the country, while both groups are at a notable distance from Afghanistan's

Tajiks Tajiks ( fa, تاجيک، تاجک, ''Tājīk, Tājek''; tg, Тоҷик) are a Persian-speaking Iranian ethnic group native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Tajiks are the largest ethnicity in Tajik ...

and

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

populations. There is evidence of both paternal and maternal relations to

Turkic peoples The Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West, Central, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members speak languages belonging t ...

and

amongst Hazaras. Begoña Martínez-Cruz in 2011, together with other scientists, as a result of a study of autosomal microsatellite loci, concluded that the Hazaras are closely related to the Turkic populations of Central Asia rather than Mongols and East Asians or Indo-Iranians. In a 2019-2020 study (by Guanglin He, Atif Adnan, Allah Rakha, Ivy Hui-Yuan Yeh and other), outgroup and admixture f3, f4, f4-ratio, qpWave, and qpAdm results further demonstrate that Hazara shares more alleles with East Asians than with other Central Asians and carries 57.8% Mongolian-related ancestry. According to Guanglin He, Hazaras have experienced genetic admixture with the local or neighboring populations and formed the current East-West Eurasian admixed genetic profile after their separation from the Mongolians.Guanglin He, Atif Adnan, Allah Rakha, Ivy Hui-Yuan Yeh (2019
"A comprehensive exploration of the genetic legacy and forensic features of Afghanistan and Pakistan Mongolian-descent Hazara"
According to Atif Adnan, admixture and outgroup findings further clarified that Hazara have 57.8% gene pool from Mongolians. East Eurasian male and female ancestry are supported by studies in genetic genealogy as well. East Asian maternal haplogroups (mtDNA) make up about 35%, suggesting that the male descendants Mongolic and Turkic peoples were accompanied by women of East Asian ancestry,Allah Rakha, Fatima, Min-Sheng Peng, Atif Adan, Rui Bi, Memona Yasmin, Yong-Gang Yao (2017
"mtDNA sequence diversity of Hazara ethnic group from Pakistan"
Forensic Science International: Genetics. Volume 30: Page 3. though the Hazaras as a whole have mostly west Eurasian mtDNA. Women of Non-East Asian

mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...

in Hazaras are at about 65%, most which are West Eurasians and some South Asian. The most frequent paternal haplogroups found amongst the Pakistani Hazara in one study were

haplogroup C-M217 } Haplogroup C-M217, also known as C2 (and previously as C3), is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. It is the most frequently occurring branch of the wider Haplogroup C (M130). It is found mostly in Central Asia, Eastern Siberia and significant fre ...

at 40% (10/25) and Haplogroup R1b at 32% (8/25). Relatively high frequencies of R1b were also found in Eastern Russian

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

and

Bashkirs , native_name_lang = bak , flag = File:Bashkirs of Baymak rayon.jpg , flag_caption = Bashkirs of Baymak in traditional dress , image = , caption = , population = approx. 2 million , popplace ...

. All three groups are thought to be associated with the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...

. Haplogroup C-M217, also known as C2, is most frequent haplogroup in Mongol and Kazakh populations. According to PhD Sabitov: "Y-DNA haplogroup C2 is certainly associated with the expansion of the Mongols".Sabitov Zh. M. (2011
"Происхождение хазарейцев с точки зрения ДНК-генеалогии"
The Russian Journal of Genetic Genealogy. 2 (1): pp. 37–40. In Russian: ''"Гаплогруппа СЗ безусловно связана с экспансией монголов..."'' According to PhD Zhabagin: "The high frequency of haplogroup C2-M217 is consistent with the Mongolian origin of the Hazaras". Жабагин М. К. (2017)
Анализ связи полиморфизма Y-хромосомы и родоплеменной структуры в казахской популяции
Москва. p. 71. In Russian: ''"...за счет высокой частоты гаплогруппы С2-М217, что согласуется с монгольским происхождением хазарейцев."'' Haplogroup C-M217 originated in

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

about ~ 1,000 years ago. One study about paternal DNA haplogroups of Afghanistan shows that the Y-DNA haplogroups R1a and C-M217 are the most common, followed by J2-M172 and L-M20. Some Hazaras also have the haplogroup R1a1a-M17, E1b1b1-M35, L-M20 and H-M69, which are common in

as well as Indian populations. In one study, a small minority had the haplogroup B-M60, normally found in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

, and in one mtDNA study of Hazara, mtDNA Haplogroup L (which is of

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

origin) was detected at a frequency of 7.5%. A recent study shows that some Hazaras are linked to the

Uyghurs The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...

History

The first mention of Hazara is made by

in the early 16th century and later by the court historians of Shah Abbas of the

Safavid dynasty The Safavid dynasty (; fa, دودمان صفوی, Dudmâne Safavi, ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of th ...

. It is reported that they embraced

Shia Islam Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, m ...

between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century, during the Safavid period. Hazara men, along with those of other ethnic groups, were recruited to the army of

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...

in the 18th century.

19th century

During the second reign of

Dost Mohammad Khan Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai (Pashto/Persian: ; 23 December 17929 June 1863), nicknamed the Amir-i Kabir, Also titled Amir al-Mu'minin, was a member of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of the Emirate of Afghanistan. His 37-year ...

in the 19th century, Hazara from Hazarajat began to be taxed for the first time. However, for the most part, they still managed to keep their regional

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...

until the 1892 Battle of Uruzgan and subsequent subjugation of

Abdur Rahman Khan Abdur Rahman Khan GCSI (Pashto/Dari: ) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of the Durand Line Ag ...

began in the late 19th century. When the Treaty of Gandomak was signed and the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...

ended in 1880, Abdur Rahman Khan set out a goal to bring

(Hazarajat),

Turkistan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turk ...

and

Kafiristan Kāfiristān, or Kāfirstān ( ps, کاپیرستان, prs, کافرستان), is a historical region that covered present-day Nuristan Province in Afghanistan and Chitral District of Pakistan. This historic region lies on, and mainly comprises ...

under his control. He launched several campaigns in Hazarajat due to resistance from the Hazara in which his forces committed atrocities. The southern part of Hazarajat was spared as they accepted his rule, while the other parts of Hazarajat rejected Abdur Rahman and instead supported his uncle,

Sher Ali Khan Sher Ali Khan (); c. 1825 – 21 February 1879) was Amir of Afghanistan from 1863 to 1866 and from 1868 until his death in 1879. He was one of the sons of Dost Mohammed Khan, founder of the Barakzai dynasty in Afghanistan. Life Sher Ali Khan ...

. In response to this Abdur Rahman waged a war against tribal leaders who rejected his policies and rule. This is known as the Hazara Uprisings. These campaigns had a catastrophic impact on the demographics of Hazaras causing over 60% of them to perish with some becoming displaced. After these massacres, Abdul Rahman Khan forced many Hazara families from the Hazara areas of

Uruzgan Uruzgan ( Dari), also spelled as Urozgan or Oruzgan, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Uruzgan is located in the center of the country. The population is 436,079, and the province is mostly a tribal society. Tarinkot serves as ...

and other parts of Hazarajat to leave their hometowns and ancestral lands. causing some many Hazaras fled to neighboring countries such as Central Asia,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. Those Hazaras living in the northern

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Provinc ...

went to

Tsarist Russia Tsarist Russia may refer to: * Grand Duchy of Moscow (1480–1547) *Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721) *Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of ...

, mostly in the southern cities of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, and some of them went to Iran. Hazara people living in the Tsarist Russian regions lost their language, accent and ethnic identity over time due to the similarities between the racial building and the physical appearance of the people of those regions, and they settled and gravitated among them. These fleeing Hazaras settled in previous Tsarist Russia regions, including

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

and

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...

. But the Hazaras in northwestern Afghanistan migrated to Iran and settled in neighborhoods in and around

Mashhad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...

. These Hazaras later became known as Khawari or Barbari. Another part of Hazaras from the southeast of the Hazara regions of Afghanistan has moved to British India, which resides in

, present-day

. One of the most famous political and military figures of these Hazaras is Muhammad Musa Khan, who held the general's military rank in Pakistani system. Another group has settled in Syria, Iraq and British India. These Hazara people who migrated to Pakistan, Iran, Syria and Iraq were unable to settle with the people of these areas because of the differences in physical appearance, so they have not lost their language, culture and ethnic identity.

20th and 21st century

In 1901,

Habibullah Khan Habibullah Khan (Pashto/Dari: ; 3 June 1872 – 20 February 1919) was the Emir of Afghanistan from 1901 until his death in 1919. He was the eldest son of the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, whom he succeeded by right of primogeniture in October 1901 ...

, Abdur Rahman's eldest son and successor granted amnesty to all people who were exiled by his predecessor. Hazara continued to face social, economic, and political

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

through most of the 20th century. In 1933

Mohammed Nadir Shah Mohammed Nadir Shah ( Persian and ps, محمد نادر شاه – born Mohammed Nadir Khan; 9 April 1883 – 8 November 1933) was King of Afghanistan from 15 October 1929 until his assassination in November 1933. Previously, he served as Mini ...

the

King of Afghanistan This article lists the heads of state of Afghanistan since the foundation of the first modern Afghan state, the Hotak Empire, in 1709. History The Hotak Empire was formed after a successful uprising led by Mirwais Hotak and other Afghan triba ...

was assassinated by

Abdul Khaliq Hazara Abdul Khaliq Hazara may refer to: * Abdul Khaliq Hazara (assassin) (1916–1933), assassinated King Nadir Khan of Afghanistan on 8 November 1933 * Abdul Khaliq Hazara (politician), ethnic Hazara politician in Balochistan, Pakistan - active late ...

. The Afghan government captured and executed him later, along with several of his family members. Mistrust of the central government by the Hazaras and local uprisings continued. In particular, from 1945 to 1946, during

Zahir Shah Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto/Dari: , 15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last king of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan s ...

's rule, a revolt took place against new taxes that were exclusively imposed on the Hazara. The

Kuchis Kochis or Kuchis (Pashto: کوچۍ Kuchis) are pastoral nomads belonging primarily to the Ghilji Pashtuns. In the southern, western and northern regions of Afghanistan they are also referred to at times as maldar (Pashto: مالدار maldar ...

meanwhile not only were exempted from taxes but also received allowances from the Afghan government. The angry rebels began capturing and killing government officials. In response, the central government sent a force to subdue the region and later removed the taxes. Mazari

The repressive policies of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) after the Saur Revolution in 1978 caused uprisings throughout the country. Fearing Iranian influence, the Hazaras were particularly persecuted. President

Hafizullah Amin Hafizullah Amin (Pashto/ prs, حفيظ الله امين; 1 August 192927 December 1979) was an Afghan communist revolutionary, politician and teacher. He organized the Saur Revolution of 1978 and co-founded the Democratic Republic of Afghan ...

published in October 1979 a list of 12,000 victims of the Taraki government. Among them were 7,000 Hazaras who were shot in the notorious

Pul-e-Charkhi prison Pul-e-Charkhi Prison (Pashto/Dari: زندان پل چرخی), also known as the Afghan National Detention Facility, is the largest prison in Afghanistan, located in the outskirts east of Kabul. As of 2018, it holds up to 5,000 inmates. The prison ...

. During the Soviet-Afghan War, the Hazarajat region did not see as much heavy fighting as other regions of Afghanistan. Most of the Hazara

mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...

fought the Soviets in the regions which were on the periphery of the Hazarajat region. There was a division between the Tanzeem Nasle Nau Hazara, a party based in Quetta, of Hazara nationalists and secular intellectuals, and the Islamist parties in Hazarajat. By 1979, the Hazara-Islamist groups had already liberated Hazarajat from the central Soviet-backed Afghan government and later took entire control of Hazarajat away from the secularists. By 1984, the Islamist dominance of Hazarajat was complete. As the Soviets withdrew in 1989, the Islamist groups felt the need to broaden their political appeal and turned their focus to Hazara nationalism. This led to the establishment of the Hizbe-Wahdat, an alliance of all the Hazara resistance groups (except the Harakat-e Islami). In 1992 with the fall of

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, the Harakat-e Islami took sides with

Burhanuddin Rabbani Burhānuddīn Rabbānī (Persian: ; 20 September 1940 – 20 September 2011) was an Afghanistani politician and teacher who served as President of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996 (in exile from 1996 to 2001). Born in the Badakhshan Province, Ra ...

's government while the Hizbe-Wahdat took sides with the opposition. The Hizbe-Wahdat was eventually forced out of Kabul in 1995 when the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

movement captured and killed their leader

Abdul Ali Mazari ) , image = Abdul Ali Mazari.jpeg , caption = , office1 = Leader of Hezbe Wahdat , primeminister1= , term_start1 = 1989 , term_end1 = 13 March 1995 , predecessor1 = , successor1 = , office2 = , pri ...

. With the Taliban's capture of Kabul in 1996, all the Hazara groups united with the new

Northern Alliance The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( prs, جبهه متحد اسلامی ملی برای نجات افغانستان ''Jabha-yi Muttahid-i Islāmi-yi Millī barāyi Nijāt ...

against the common new enemy. However, despite fierce resistance Hazarajat fell to the Taliban in 1998. The Taliban had Hazarajat isolated from the rest of the world going as far as not allowing the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

to deliver food to the provinces of

Bamyan Bamyan or Bamyan Valley (); ( prs, بامیان) also spelled Bamiyan or Bamian is the capital of Bamyan Province in central Afghanistan. Its population of approximately 70,000 people makes it the largest city in Hazarajat. Bamyan is at an al ...

Ghor Ghōr (Dari: ), also spelled Ghowr or Ghur, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in the western Hindu Kush in central Afghanistan, towards the northwest. The province contains eleven districts, encompassing hundreds ...

Maidan Wardak Maidan Wardak (Pashto: ; Dari: ), also called Wardag or Wardak, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the central region of Afghanistan. It is divided into eight districts and has a population of approximately 500,00 The capital ...

, and

Daykundi Daykundi ( prs, دایکندی) also spelled as Daikundi, Daykondi, Daikondi or Dai Kundi, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the central part of the country. It has a population of about 516,504, and is a Hazara Pro ...

. In 1997, a revolt broke out among Hazaras in Mazar-e Sharif when they refused to be disarmed by the Taliban; 600 Taliban were killed in subsequent fighting. In retaliation, the genocidal policies of

's era was adopted by the Taliban. In 1998, six thousand Hazaras were killed in the north; the intention was ethnic cleansing of Hazaras. In March 2001, the two giant

Buddhas of Bamiyan The Buddhas of Bamiyan (or Bamyan) were two 6th-century monumental statues carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley of Hazarajat region in central Afghanistan, northwest of Kabul at an elevation of . Carbon dating of the structural ...

, were also destroyed even though there was a lot of condemnation. Qazi Muhammad Essa

Hazaras have also played a significant role in the creation of

. One such Hazara was

Qazi Muhammad Essa Qazi Muhammad Isa ( ur, ); (17 July 1914 – 19 June 1976) was a Pakistani politician and one of the prominent leaders of the Pakistan Movement.Sheikh Ali tribe, who had been close friends with

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

, having met each other for the first time while they were studying in London. He had been the first from his native province of

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

to obtain a Bar-at-Law degree and had helped set up the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcontin ...

in Balochistan. Though Hazaras played a role in the anti-Soviet movement, other Hazaras participated in the new communist government, which actively courted Afghan minorities. Sultan Ali Kishtmand, a Hazara, served as prime minister of Afghanistan from 1981 to 1990 (with one brief interruption in 1988). The Ismaili Hazara of Baghlan Province likewise supported the communists, and their '' pir'' (religious leader) Jaffar Naderi led a pro-Communist militia in the region. During the years that followed, Hazara suffered severe oppression, and many ethnic massacres, genocides, and pogroms were carried out by the predominantly ethnic Pashtun Taliban and are documented by such groups as the

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

. Following the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, American and Coalition forces invaded Afghanistan. After the fall of the Taliban many Hazaras became important figures in Afghanistan. Hazara have also pursued higher education, enrolled in the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, and many have top government positions. For example,

Mohammad Mohaqiq Haji Muhammad Mohaqiq ( prs, حاجی محمد محقق; born 26 July 1955 in Balkh) is a politician in Afghanistan, who served as a member of the Afghanistan Parliament. He is also the founder and chairman of the People's Islamic Unity Party of A ...

, a Hazara from the Hizb-i-Wahdat party, ran in the 2004 presidential election in Afghanistan, and

Karim Khalili Karim Khalili ( fa, کریم خلیلی) is an Afghan politician serving as leader of the Hezb-e Wahdat Islami Afghanistan party. Most recently he was Chief of the Afghan High Peace Council from 2017 until its dissolvement in 2019. He was selec ...

became the

Vice President of Afghanistan The vice president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was the second highest political position attainable in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The vice presidents were elected on the same ticket as the president. A presidential candidate ...

. Some

ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

and

governors A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

were Hazara, including

Sima Samar Sima Samar ( fa, سیما سمر; born 3 February 1957) is an Afghan woman and human rights advocate, activist and social worker within national and international forums, who served as Minister of Women's Affairs of Afghanistan from December 2 ...

Habiba Sarabi Habiba (Arabic: حَبِيْبَه, ''ḥabībah''), alternatively Habibah and Habeeba , is a female given name of Arabic origin meaning ''beloved'', ''sweetheart'', or ''lover'', stemming from the male name Habib. Habiba or Habibah may refer to ...

Sarwar Danish Muhammad Sarwar Danish ( prs, ; born 1961) is an Afghan politician who was the second vice president of Afghanistan, from 2014 to 2021. He was previously the acting minister of justice from 2004 to 2010 and acting minister of higher education f ...

Sayed Hussein Anwari Sayed Hussein Anwari ( prs, سید حسین انوری) (1956 – 5 July 2016) was a politician in Afghanistan. He was a Shia and came from Mohammed Asef Mohseni's Harakat-e Islami (Islamic Movement party). Early life Anwari, an ethnic Hazara ...

Abdul Haq Shafaq Abdul Haq Shafaq ( prs, عبدالحق شفق) is an ethnic Hazara politician in Afghanistan. He is the former governor of Faryab, Daykundi, Samangan and Sar-e Pol provinces. Abdul Haq Shafaq is former commander of the Hezbe Wahdat. After t ...

Sayed Anwar Rahmati Anwar Rahmati ( fa, انور رحمتی; born 1959) is an ethnic Arab- Hazara politician in Afghanistan. He was a governor of Daykundi province beginning on November 22, 2018. Previously he served as Governor of Sar-e Pol from May 25, 2010 to Ap ...

Qurban Ali Oruzgani Qurban Ali Urozgani ( prs, قربان‌علی اروزگانی) was the previous governor of Daykundi Province of Afghanistan. He was selected as governor by President Karzai in April 2010. He belongs to Hazara ethnic of Afghanistan. Early lif ...

. The mayor of

Nili NILI was a Jewish espionage network which assisted the United Kingdom in its fight against the Ottoman Empire in Palestine between 1915 and 1917, during World War I. NILI is an acronym which stands for the Hebrew phrase "Netzah Yisrael Lo Yesha ...

Daykundi Province Daykundi ( prs, دایکندی) also spelled as Daikundi, Daykondi, Daikondi or Dai Kundi, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the central part of the country. It has a population of about 516,504, and is a Hazara Pro ...

Azra Jafari Azra Jafari ( fa, عذرا جعفری) is an Afghanistani politician and women rights advocate who became the first female mayor in Afghanistan appointed by President Hamid Karzai in December 2008. She became the mayor of Nili, a town in Daykundi ...

, who became the first female mayor in Afghanistan. Some other notable Hazaras include

Sultan Ali Keshtmand Sultan Ali Keshtmand ( fa, سلطان‌علی کشتمند; born May 22, 1935, in Kabul), sometimes transliterated Kishtmand, was an Afghan politician. He served twice as Chairman of the Council of Ministers during the 1980s, from 1981 to 1988 a ...

Daoud Naji Daoud Naji also spelled as Dawood Naji ( fa, داوود ناجی) is an ethnic Hazara politician, political activist and journalist from Afghanistan. He was senior political adviser to the Afghan National Security Council. Before he joined the ...

, Abdul Wahed Sarābi, Ghulam Ali Wahdat, Akram Yari,

Sayed Mustafa Kazemi Sayed Mustafa Kazemi ( prs, سید مصطفی کاظمی, 1959 – November 6, 2007) from Parwan was a prominent Afghan politician. He was one of the leaders and the spokesman for the opposition movement known as the United National Front. He was ...

Muhammad Arif Shah Jahan Muhammad Arif Shah Jahan ( prs, محمد عارف شاه‌جهان) is a politician and the former governor of Maidan Wardak province and Farah province in Afghanistan. He was appointed as governor of Wardak province by President Ashraf Ghani in ...

, Ghulam Husain Naseri,

Abbas Noyan Abbas Noyan ( prs, عباس نویان) is an ethnic Hazara politician. He is Afghanistan's ambassador to Sweden, from the Islamic Republic that fell in August 2021 to the Taliban. Previously he served as a Member of Parliament to Wolesi Jirga, ...

, Abbas Ibrahim Zada,

Ramazan Bashardost Ramazan Bashardost ( fa, رمضان بشردوست; born 1961) was former planning minister in Afghanistan and a current member of the National Assembly of Afghanistan. He was an independent candidate in the 2009 Afghan presidential election. E ...

, Ahmad Shah Ramazan, Ahmad Behzad,

Nasrullah Sadiqi Zada Nili Nasrullah Sadiqi Zada Nili (Dari: , known as Sadiqi Zada Nili, Dari: ) is an ethnic Hazara politician from Afghanistan. He is the representative of the Daikundi people in the fifteenth and sixteenth parliamentary sessions of the Afghanistan Parl ...

Fahim Hashimy Fahim Hashimi ( fa, فهیم هاشمی; born 27 September 1980) is an ethnic Hazaras, Hazara politician from Afghanistan. Between May 2019 and August 2020, Hashimy was the former Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (Afghani ...

Maryam Monsef Maryam Monsef ( fa, مریم منصف) (born Monsefzadeh; November 7, 1984) is an Afghan Canadian former politician. She first was elected to represent the riding of Peterborough—Kawartha as a Liberal member the House of Commons of Canad ...

, Fatima Payman and more. Although Afghanistan has been historically one of the poorest countries in the world, the Hazarajat region has been kept less developed by past governments. Since the ousting of the Taliban in late 2001, billions of dollars poured into Afghanistan for reconstruction and several large-scale reconstruction projects took place in Afghanistan from August 2012. For example, there have been more than 5000 kilometers of road pavement completed across Afghanistan, of which little was done in central Afghanistan (Hazarajat). On the other hand, the

Band-e Amir __NOTOC__ Band-e Amir National Park ( fa, بند امیر) Afghanistan established its first national park on April 22, 2009, to promote and protect the natural beauty of a series of intensely blue lakes created by natural dams high in the Hindu ...

Bamyan Province Bamyan Province ( prs, ولایت بامیان) also spelled Bamiyan, Bāmīān or Bāmyān is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the central highlands of the Afghanistan. The terrain in Bamyan is mountainous or semi-m ...

became the first

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

in Afghanistan. A road from Kabul to

was also built, along with new police stations, government institutions, hospitals, and schools in

, and others. The first

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

in Afghanistan was also established in Bamyan Province. Discrimination indicates that

(Pashtun nomads who have historically been migrating from region to region depending on the season) are allowed to use Hazarajat pastures during the summer season. It is believed that allowing the Kuchis to use some of the grazing lands in Hazarajat began during the rule of Abdur Rahman Khan. Living in mountainous Hazarajat, where little farmland exists, Hazara people rely on these pasture lands for their livelihood during the long and harsh winters. In 2007 some Kuchi nomads entered into parts of Hazarajat to graze their livestock, and when the local Hazara resisted, a clash took place and several people on both sides died using assault rifles. Such events continue to occur, even after the central government was forced to intervene, including President

Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...

. In late July 2012, a Hazara police commander in Uruzgan province reportedly rounded up and killed 9 Pashtun civilians in revenge for the death of two local Hazara. The matter is being investigated by the Afghan government. The drive by President Hamid Karzai after the Peace Jirga to strike a deal with Taliban leaders caused deep unease in Afghanistan's minority communities, who fought the Taliban the longest and suffered the most during their rule. The leaders of the Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara communities, vowed to resist any return of the Taliban to power, referring to the large-scale massacres of Hazara civilians during the Taliban period. Following the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in 2021, which ended the war in Afghanistan, concerns were raised as to whether the Taliban would reimpose the persecution of Hazaras as in the 1990s. An academic at

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...

said that "The Hazaras are very fearful that the Taliban will likely be reinstating the policies of the 1990s" despite Taliban reassurances that they will not revert to the bad old ways of the 1990s. File:George W. Bush meets Afghan politicians in Kabul.jpg,

, former 2nd Vice President of Afghanistan (with turban) is standing next to

Mohammed Fahim Mohammad Qasim Fahim ( prs, محمد فهیم, also known as "Marshal Fahim"; 1957 – 9 March 2014) was a politician in Afghanistan who served as Vice President from June 2002 until December 2004 and from November 2009 until his death. Betwee ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, facing

. File:Habiba Sarabi speaking in April 2011.jpg, Habiba Sarābi is a hematologist, politician, and former Governor of

Bamyan province Bamyan Province ( prs, ولایت بامیان) also spelled Bamiyan, Bāmīān or Bāmyān is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the central highlands of the Afghanistan. The terrain in Bamyan is mountainous or semi-m ...

in Afghanistan. File:Nasrullah Sadiqi Zada Nili.jpg,

is a politician and former representative of the people

Daykundi province Daykundi ( prs, دایکندی) also spelled as Daikundi, Daykondi, Daikondi or Dai Kundi, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the central part of the country. It has a population of about 516,504, and is a Hazara Pro ...

in the fifteenth and sixteenth parliamentary sessions of the Afghanistan Parliament. File:Abbas Noyan in Kabul in 2018.jpg,

is a politician, who served as a member of the Afghanistan Parliament, representative of the people of

Kabul province Kabul (Persian: ), 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 and largest city. The population of the Kabul Province is ...

from 2005 to 2010. He is the former Afghanistan's ambassador to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. File:Fahim Hashimy.jpg,

is a politician and former Minister for Telecommunication and Information Technology in Afghanistan.

Demographics

US Army ethnolinguistic map of Afghanistan -- circa 2001-09

Some sources claim that Hazaras are about 20 to 30 percent of the total

population of Afghanistan The population of Afghanistan is around 40 million as of 2021. The nation is composed of a multi-ethnic and multilingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between Central Asia, South Asia, and Western ...

. They were by far the largest ethnic group in the past, in 1888–1893 Uprisings of Hazaras over 60% of them were massacred with some being displaced.

Geographic distribution

Afghanistan

The historical and main homeland of Hazara people is the

(Hazarajat), which is now located in the central highlands of Afghanistan. The vast majority of Hazaras live in Hazarajat, and many others reside in the cities, including in neighboring countries or abroad.

Pakistan

General Musa, Circa 1935 in a British Uniform

During the period of British colonial rule on the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century, Hazaras worked during the winter months in coal mines, road construction, and other

working-class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

jobs in some cities of what is now Pakistan. The earliest record of Hazara in the areas of Pakistan is found in Broadfoot's Sappers company from 1835 in Quetta. This company had also participated in the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War ( fa, جنگ اول افغان و انگلیس) was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Afghanistan, Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking si ...

. Some Hazara also worked on the agriculture farms in

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

and the construction of the Sukkur barrage. Most Pakistani Hazaras today live in the city of Quetta, in

Balochistan, Pakistan Balochistan (; bal, بلۏچستان; ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It shares land ...

. Localities in the city of Quetta with prominent Hazara populations include

Hazara Town Hazara Town (Urdu: , Hazaragi: , Dari: ) is a lower- to middle-income area on the western outskirts of Quetta, Pakistan with a population of up to 2,500,000, of which an estimated two-thirds are ethnic Hazaras and the remaining portion are Pas ...

and

Mehr Abad Mariabad ( haz, ) is an inner eastern suburb of Quetta, capital of Pakistan's Balochistan province. It is the most populous area of Quetta with five lakh population. The majority of the population are Hazara people. This place is the birthplac ...

and Hazara tribes such as the ''Sardar'' are exclusively Pakistani. The literacy level among the Hazara community in Pakistan is relatively high compared to the Hazaras of Afghanistan, and they have integrated well into the social dynamics of the local society. Saira Batool, a Hazara woman, was one of the first female pilots in the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

. Other notable Hazaras include Qazi Mohammad Esa, Muhammad Musa Khan, who served as Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Army from 1958 to 1968, Air Marshal

Sharbat Ali Changezi Air-Marshal Sharbat Ali Changezi (Urdu: شربت على ݘݩگݐڒی; b. 10 March 1932), , is a retired three-star air officer in the Pakistan Air Force and a former fighter pilot who led the aerial operations in the Indo-Pakistani War of ...

Hussain Ali Yousafi Hussain Ali Yousafi (Persian/Urdu: حسین علی یوسفی) was an ethnic Hazara politician in Balochistan, Pakistan. Yousafi was chairman of the Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) and a member of the Quetta city council. He was assassinated by u ...

, the slain chairman of the

Hazara Democratic Party The Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) ( ur, ہزارہ ڈیموکریٹک پارٹی): is a political party of the Hazara people in Pakistan. It is mainly active in Quetta city, where up to half a million Hazara currently reside. Establishment In ...

Sayed Nasir Ali Shah Sayed Nasir Ali Shah (Urdu and haz, ) is a Pakistani politician and parliamentarian from the Pakistan Peoples Party who is an elected member of the National Assembly (MNA). Shah hails from the city of Quetta in Balochistan and belongs to the H ...

, MNA from Quetta and his father

Haji Sayed Hussain Hazara Haji Sayed Hussain Hazara (born Quetta, British India; 15 February 1917, 9 August 2002 – Quetta, Pakistan) was a Pakistani politician. He belonged to the Hazara people. He was a member of National Awami Party and was trialed in Hyderabad Tribu ...

who was a senator and member of Majlis-e-Shura during the

Zia-ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, ( Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial ...

era. Despite all of this, Hazaras are often targeted by militant groups such as the

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ; ur, ) or "Army of Jhangvi", is a Deobandi Sunni supremacist, terrorist and jihadist militant organisation based in Afghanistan. The organisation operates in Pakistan and Afghanistan and is an offshoot of anti-Shi ...

and others. "Activists say at least 800-1,000 Hazaras have been killed since 1999 and the pace is quickening. More than one hundred have been murdered in and around Quetta since January, according to

." The political representation of the community is served by

, a secular liberal democratic party, headed by

Iran

The Hazara people in Iran are also referred to as Khāwari or Barbari. Over the many years as a result of political unrest in Afghanistan, some Hazaras have migrated to Iran. The local Hazara population has been estimated at 500,000 people including Afghan immigrants who make up the majority of it. At least one-third have spent more than half their life in Iran.

Diaspora

Alessandro Monsutti argues, in his recent

anthropological Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

book, that

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

is the traditional way of life of the Hazara people, referring to the seasonal and historical migrations which have never ceased and do not seem to be dictated only by emergencies such as war. Due to the decades of war in Afghanistan and the

sectarian violence in Pakistan Sectarian violence in Pakistan refers to attacks and counter-attacks against people and places in Pakistan motivated by antagonism toward the target's sect, usually a religious extremist group. Targets in Pakistan include the Shia, Barelvis, ...

, many Hazaras left their communities and have settled in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and particularly the

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...

an countries such as

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. Some go to these countries as exchange students while others through human smuggling, which sometimes costs them their lives. Since 2001, about 1,000 people have died in the ocean while trying to reach Australia by boats from Indonesia. Many of these were Hazaras, including women and small children who could not swim. The notable case was the

Tampa affair In late August 2001, the Howard Government of Australia refused permission for the Norwegian freighter MV ''Tampa'', carrying 433 rescued refugees (predominantly Hazaras of Afghanistan from a distressed fishing vessel in international water ...

in which a shipload of refugees, mostly Hazara, was rescued by the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

freighter MV ''Tampa'' and subsequently sent to

Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...

Culture

Hazara culture is a combination of customs, traditions, behaviors, beliefs and norms that have been formed in interaction and confrontation with the surrounding phenomena for many years and now it is displayed as a cultural identity. The Hazara culture is rich in heritage, with many unique cultures, and has common influences with various cultures of

and

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

. The Hazara, outside of Hazarajat, have adopted the cultures of the cities where they dwell, resembling the cultures and traditions of the Afghan Tajiks and

. Traditionally the Hazara are highland farmers. In Hazarajat, they have retained many of their own cultures and traditions, some of which are more closely related to those of Central Asians than to those of the Afghan Tajiks. The Hazara live in houses, but some of the

Aimaq Hazara The Aimaq Hazara (Hazara-e qala-e naw); ( prs, ایماق هزاره, Aimāq Hazāra) are the Aimaq's subtribe of Hazara origin, however, they are Sunni Muslims while most other Hazaras are Shia Muslims. The Aimaq Hazara consists of 38 subtrib ...

who are semi-nomadic live in

yurts A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger ( Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and insulated with skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct nomadic groups in the steppes and mountains of Central Asia. ...

covered with

felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...

Attire

Hazara clothing have an important and special role in supporting the

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...

, traditional and social identity of the Hazara ethnicity. Hazara clothes are produced manually and by machine; In

these types of clothes are sewn in most parts of the country, especially in central provinces of Afghanistan.

Male clothing

Hazara men traditionally wear

barak Barak ( or ; he, בָּרָק; Tiberian Hebrew: '' Bārāq''; ar, البُراق ''al-Burāq'' "lightning") was a ruler of Ancient Israel. As military commander in the biblical Book of Judges, Barak, with Deborah, from the Tribe of Ephrai ...

and

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

. Barak is one of the important components of Hazara people's clothing. Barak is a kind of soft, sticky and thick piece made from the first wool of lambs of special sheep that are raised in Hazarajat, provided. In addition to being a very acceptable, stylish, and regal clothe, the Hazara barak is also a warm winter that is resistant to moisture and does not get wet easily in snow and rain. Also, barak has a special property and softness, it reduces

muscle pains Myalgia (also called muscle pain and muscle ache in layman's terms) is the medical term for muscle pain. Myalgia is a symptom of many diseases. The most common cause of acute myalgia is the overuse of a muscle or group of muscles; another lik ...

and is also healing for joint pains. Nowadays, the most common clothes among Hazara men is the perahan o tunban and sometimes with a hat or a

turban A turban (from Persian دولبند‌, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with promine ...

Female clothing

The traditional clothing of Hazara women includes a pleated skirt with a tunban or

undergarment Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer garments from being soiled o ...

. The lower tunbans are made of fabrics such as flowered chits and the upper skirts are made of better fabrics such as

velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

zari ''Zari'' (or ''jari'') is an even thread traditionally made of fine gold or silver used in traditional Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani garments, especially as brocade in saris etc. This thread is woven into fabrics, primarily silk, to make i ...

and

net Net or net may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Net (mathematics), a filter-like topological generalization of a sequence * Net, a linear system of divisors of dimension 2 * Net (polyhedron), an arrangement of polygons that can be folded up ...

and have a border or decoration at the bottom. The women's shirt is calf-length, close-collared, and long-sleeved, and has slits on both sides that are placed on the skirts, which are admired for their completeness in the Islamic set. Hazara women's clothing has certain characteristics according to their social, economic, and age conditions. The clothes of young Hazara women are made of different fabrics in different colors and happy designs with beautiful and colorful

chador A chādor ( Persian, ur, چادر, lit=tent), also variously spelled in English as chadah, chad(d)ar, chader, chud(d)ah, chadur, and naturalized as , is an outer garment or open cloak worn by many women in the Persian-influenced countries of I ...

, but older women prefer dark-colored fabrics with simple black and white designs. Hazara women's chador or head cover is often decorated with

ornaments An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration *Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts *Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve on ...

that is often silver or gold, and sometimes with a hat. The ornaments on the clothe is silver or gold

necklace A necklace is an article of jewellery that is worn around the neck. Necklaces may have been one of the earliest types of adornment worn by humans. They often serve Ceremony, ceremonial, Religion, religious, magic (illusion), magical, or Funerary ...

with colorful

bead A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under ...

button A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, o ...

bangle Bangles are traditionally rigid bracelets which are usually made of metal, wood, glass or plastic. These ornament are worn mostly by women in the Indian subcontinent, Southeastern Asia, Arabian Peninsula, and Africa. It is common to see a bride ...

s and silver or gold

bracelet A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a wikt:supportive, supportive function to hold other items of ...

Cuisine

The Hazara cuisine is strongly influenced by

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, ...

and

cuisines. However, there are special foods, cooking methods and different cooking styles that are specific to them. They have a hospitable dining etiquette. In their culture, it is customary to prepare special food for guests.

Art

Music

Many Hazara musicians are widely hailed as being skilled in playing the

dambura The ''dombra'', also known as ''dombyra'' ( kz, домбыра, uz, dombira, ba, думбыра) is a long-necked Kazakh, Uzbek and Bashkir lute and a musical string instrument. The dombyra shares certain characteristics with the komuz ...

, a native, regional lute instrument similarly found in other Central Asian nations, such as

and

. Some of the famous Hazara musician and dambura players are, such as

Sarwar Sarkhosh Sarwar Sarkhosh ( Dari-Persian: ) was a singer and one of the Hazara nationalists in Afghanistan. He is the elder brother of Dawood Sarkhosh, a famous singer of the Hazara people. Early life Sarwar Sarkhosh was born in 1942, in Urozgan Pr ...

Dawood Sarkhosh Dawood Sarkhosh (also spelled as Daud Sarkhosh) (Dari-Persian: ) born 26 April 1971 in Urozgan, Afghanistan, is an ethnic Hazara singer, musician and poet. Early life Sarkhosh's inspiration was his older brother Sarwar Sarkhosh, a nationali ...

, Safdar Tawakoli, Sayed Anwar Azad and others. In Hazara dambura revolutionary hymns are very common. The first singer who started singing revolutionary hymns on dambura was Sarwar Sarkhosh, and his main message was the uprising of the young generation and the fight against oppression. Also

Ghaychak Ghaychak or Gheychak ( Persian: غیچک) is a bowed lute used in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan. The name is similar to the Central Asian ghijak, but that instrument is more closely related to the kamancheh. Double-chambered bowl lu ...

a field instruments in music that is usually played like a fiddle. The resonance bowl is made of walnuts or berries and its wires are metal which is one of the

stringed instruments String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the st ...

in Hazara music.

Cinema

Hazara

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

artists have no older background, but nowadays some of their famous actors and actresses include

Hussain Sadiqi Hussain Sadiqi ( prs, حسین صادقی) is a Hazara Australian actor and martial artist. He won an award for the best fight scene for the Australian made action movie ''Among Dead Men'' at International Film Festival in Pasadena, California. ...

Abid Ali Nazish Abid Ali Nazish (2 January 1972 – 25 January 2012) was a Pakistani actor from the Ethnic group Hazara. On 25 January 2012, he was shot and killed while he and two others were driving around in Quetta, Pakistan. He was with the Federal Invest ...

, Shamila Shirzad, Nikbakht Noruz and others.

Writers and poets

Some famous Hazara writers and poets include

Faiz Muhammad Kateb Faiz Muhammad Kāteb ( prs, فیض‌محمد کاتب) also known as Kāteb () was a contemporary writer and historian. He was Afghan court chronicler, a skilled calligrapher and secretary to Habibullah Khan from 1901 to 1919.Kitab-e Tadakkor-e ...

Amir Khosrow Dehlavi Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253–1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau was an Indo-Persian culture, Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar who lived under the Delhi Sultanate. He is an iconic figure in the cultural his ...

, Ismail Balkhi,

Hassan Poladi Hassan Poladi (also referred to as Hassan Foladi) was the writer of '' The Hazaras'', a book about the Hazara people. Poladi was born in Quetta, as a second-generation Hazara. He grew up and got his early education from local schools and colleges, ...

, Kazim Yazdani,

Ali Mohaqiq Nasab Ali Mohaqiq Nasab (Persian language, Persian: آیت الله علی محقق نسب) is a liberal Afghans, Afghan Shi'ite cleric and a former editor-in-chief of Huqūqi Zan (Women's Rights). Arrest and detention On October 1, 2005, he was arrest ...

Kamran Mir Hazar Kamran Mir Hazar (Persian language, Persian/ Dari/ Hazaragi:کامران میرهزار) (born 1976) is a Hazaras, Hazara Norwegian poet, journalist and human rights activist. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Kabul Press and Refugee Face ...

Basir Ahang Basir Ahang ( prs, بصیر آهنگ) is a Hazaras, Hazara poet, journalist and human rights activist from Afghanistan. He obtained political refugee status in Italy and lives in the United Kingdom. Biography An ethnic Hazara people, Hazara, ...

, Sayed Askar Mousavi,

Ali Baba Taj Ali Baba Taj ( ur, علی بابا تاج) is an Urdu, Persian and Hazaragi poet, based in Quetta, Pakistan. He is known for his use of nazm style in Urdu poetry. He received his Master's Degree in Persian language and literature from the Univer ...

, Sayed Abutalib Mozaffari, Muhammad Akram Gizabi and so on.

Cultural sports

Buzkashi

Buzkashi Buzkashi ( Pashto/ fa, بزکشی, lit=goat pulling) is a traditional Central Asian sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to place a goat or calf carcass in a goal. It is played primarily in Afghanistan. Similar games are known as kokpar, ...

is a Central Asian sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to place a

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

calf Calf most often refers to: * Calf (animal), the young of domestic cattle. * Calf (leg), in humans (and other primates), the back portion of the lower leg Calf or calves may also refer to: Biology and animal byproducts * Veal, meat from calves * ...

carcass in a goal. It is the national sport in Afghanistan and is one of the cultural sports of the Hazara people and they still practice this sport in Afghanistan.

Tirandāzi

Tirandāzi is a kind of archery and an old cultural sport of Hazaras.

Pahlawani

Pahlawani or

Kushti The ''kushti'' () also known as kosti, kusti and kustig is the sacred girdle worn by invested Zoroastrians around their waists. Along with the sedreh, the kushti is part of the ritual dress of the Zoroastrians. Origin The Avestan term for ...

is a kind of cultural

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

sport that is performed by Hazaras. Pahlawani has a long history in Afghanistan and among the Hazaras. In Afghanistan, on holidays, Pahlawani fields are set up. Pahlawani is held in different age groups. This cultural sport has its special techniques. Because this sport is very ancient and familiar, it has been continued from generation to generation among the Hazara people.

Language

Hazara people living in

(Hazarajat) areas speak the

dialect. According to Encyclopaedia of Islam, Hazaragi is a

dialect, which is infused with many Turkic and a few Mongolic words or loanwords.Farhadi, A. G. Ravan (1955). ''Le persan parlé en Afghanistan: Grammaire du kâboli accompagnée d'un recuil de quatrains populaires de la région de Kâbol''. Paris. According to Atif Adnan, the Hazara population speaks Persian with some Mongolian words. The primary differences between Persian and Hazaragi are the accent. Despite these differences, Hazaragi is mutually intelligible with

, one of the two official languages in Afghanistan. According to Doctor of Sciences Lutfi Temirkhanov, the ancestors of the Hazaras were Mongol-speaking Temirkhanov L. (1968)
"О некоторых спорных вопросах этнической истории хазарейского народа"
Советская этнография. 1. P. 86. In Russian: ''"...монгольские отряды, оставленные в Афганистане Чингиз-ханом или его преемниками, стали исходным пластом, основой хазарейского этногенеза. "'' Temirkhanov L. (1968)
"О некоторых спорных вопросах этнической истории хазарейского народа"
Советская этнография. 1. P. 91. In Russian: ''"Об участии монголов в этногенезе хазарейцев свидетельствуют и данные лингвистики... также исторические источники (например, «Записки Бабура») и данные топонимики"'' and only after the resettlement, they mixed with the Persian-speaking and Turkic-speaking population: ''"hordes of Mongol princes and feudal lords found themselves in a Persian-speaking encirclement; they mixed with them, were influenced by the Persian-Tajik culture and gradually adopted the Persian language"''. Temirkhanov L. (1968)
"О некоторых спорных вопросах этнической истории хазарейского народа"
Советская этнография. 1. P. 93-94. In Russian: ''"орды монгольских царевичей и феодалов оказались в таджикском окружении; они смешивались с таджиками, подвергались влиянию персидско-таджикской культуры и постепенно принимали язык таджиков, отсюда и таджикская речь хазарейцев"''. In the 16th century the

was widespread among the Hazaras. Массон В. М., Ромодин В. А. (1964)
История Афганистана. Том I. С древнейших времен до начала XVI века.
Москва: Наука. pp. 289–290. In Russian: ''"Еще в XVI в., по сообщению Бабура, среди хазарейцев был распространен монгольский язык, а небольшая часть их, по-видимому, и в XIX в. говорила на языке, близком к монгольскому."'' Until the 19th century Hazaras spoke Mongolian. Mongolian elements make up 10% of the Hazara vocabulary. Temirkhanov L. (1968)
"О некоторых спорных вопросах этнической истории хазарейского народа"
Советская этнография. 1. P. 91. In Russian: ''"монгольские элементы составляют 10% хазарейской лексики"''.

Religion

The Hazara people of Daykundi in September 20, 2009

Hazaras predominantly practice

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, mostly the

Shi'a Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

of the

Twelver Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...

sect A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. Although the term was originally a classification for religious separated groups, it can now refer to any organization that b ...

, with significant

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

, some

Isma'ili Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor ( imām) to Ja'far al- ...

and

Non-denominational Muslim Non-denominational Muslims () are Muslims who do not belong to, do not self-identify with, or cannot be readily classified under one of the identifiable Islamic schools and branches. Non-denominational Muslims are found primarily in Central Asi ...

minorities.The Afghans, Their History and Culture
Religion
The majority of Afghanistan's population practices Sunni Islam; this may have contributed to the discrimination against them. There is no single theory about the acceptance of the Shi'a Islam by the majority of Hazaras. Probably most of them accepted Shi'a Islam during the first part of the 16th century, in the early days of the

. Some Sunni Hazaras, who have been attached to non-Hazara tribes are the

Timuri The Timuri, or Taimuri ( fa, تیموری), are a sub-tribe of the Aimaq people of Afghanistan and Iran, one of the four major Aimaq tribes, which also include the Firozkohi, Taymani, and Jamshidi. The Timuri originated in western Badghis Provi ...

and

, while the Isma'ili Hazaras have always been kept separate from the rest of the Hazaras on account of religious beliefs and political purposes.

Hazara tribes

The Hazara people have been organized by various

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

s. Some overarching Hazara tribes are Sheikh Ali,

Jaghori , image_skyline = Jaghori Mountaintop View (4K).jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = View of Sang-e-Masha (Central Jaghori) from Badasiya Mountain, , image_flag ...

Muhammad Khwaja The Hazāra of Muḥammad Khwāja ( fa, هزارهٔ محمد خواجه) is one of the major tribes of the ethnic Hazara inhabiting Afghanistan. Emir Muhammad Khwaja belonged to the Barlas tribe. He was the son of Emir Haji SaifuddinPage 478 ...

, Jaghatu, Qara Baghi, Ghaznichi, Behsudi, Dai Mirdadi, Turkmani, Uruzgani, Dai Kundi, Dai Zangi, Dai Chopan, Dai Zinyat, Qarlugh and others. The different tribes come from Hazaristan (Hazarajat), regions such as Parwan, Bamyan, Ghazni, Ghor, Urozgan, Daykundi, Maidan Wardak and have spread outwards from Hazarajat (main region) in other parts of Afghanistan and also in other Hazara-populated areas.

Sports

Many Hazaras engaged in varieties of sports, including

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

, wushu, Jujitsu,

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

and more. Pahlawan Ebrahim Khedri, a 62 kg wrestler, was the national champion for two decades in Afghanistan. Another famous Hazara wrestler

Wakil Hussain Allahdad Wakil Hussain Allahdad (1986-2018) was an ethnic Hazara wrestler, entrepreneur and community first responder in Afghanistan. History Wakil Hussain Allahdad was born in 1986 in Afghanistan in a family who were members of the Hazara ethnic gro ...

was killed in the 22 April 2018 Kabul suicide bombing in the

Dashte Barchi Dashte Barchi ( prs, دشت برچی) is a settlement located in western Kabul, Afghanistan. Previously barren and agricultural, Dashte Barchi became populated in the early 2000s by newcomers from the provinces, mostly ethnic Hazaras from Maidan ...

area of Kabul.

Rohullah Nikpai Rohullah Nikpai ( prs, روح‌الله نیکپا; born June 15, 1987) is an ethnic Hazara taekwondo practitioner and two-time Olympic bronze medalist from Afghanistan. Career Nikpai started his training in Kabul, Afghanistan, at the age of ...

, won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

at the Beijing Olympics 2008, beating world champion

Juan Antonio Ramos Juan Antonio Ramos Sánchez (born 18 August 1976 in Barcelona) is a Spanish taekwondo practitioner. He is a two-time world champion, winning the finweight title in 1997 and the flyweight title in 2007. He also competed for Spain at the ...

of Spain 4–1 in a play-off final. It was Afghanistan's first-ever Olympic medal. He then won a second Olympic medal for Afghanistan in the London 2012 games. Another famous Hazara athlete Syed Abdul Jalil Waiz was the first ever

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

player representing Afghanistan in Asian Junior Championships in 2005 where he produced the first win for his country against Iraq, with 15–13, 15–1. He participated in several international championships since 2005 and achieved victories against

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and

. Hamid Rahimi is a new boxer from Afghanistan and lives in Germany. Hazara famous football players are

Zohib Islam Amiri Zohib Islam Amiri ( prs, ذهیب اسلام امیری; born 15 February 1990) is a professional footballer from Afghanistan who plays as a centre-back for A.S. Blainville and the Afghanistan national team. Early life Amiri was born on 15 Fe ...

, who is currently playing for the

Afghanistan national football team The Afghanistan national football team ( ''Tīm-e Millī-e Fūtbāl-e Afghānestān'') is the national football team of Afghanistan and is controlled by the Afghanistan Football Federation. Founded in 1922, they played their first international ...

Moshtagh Yaghoubi Moshtagh Hossain Yaghoubi (; in Dari: مشتاق حسین یعقوبی) aka Mosa (born 8 November 1994) is an Afghan-born Finnish footballer who plays for SJK. Early life Moshtagh Yaghoubi was born on 8 November 1994 to an ethnic Hazara fami ...

an Afghan-Finnish footballer who plays for

HIFK HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf (officially abbreviated IFK Helsingfors, colloquially often Helsingfors IFK or Helsingin IFK ) is a multi-sport association based in Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 on ...

Mustafa Amini Mohammad Mustafa Castillo Amini, known as Mustafa Amini, (Dari language, Dari: محمد مصطفی کاستیلو امینی, born 20 April 1993) is an Australian professional Association football, footballer who plays for Perth Glory FC, Perth ...

an Afghan-Australian footballer who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each ye ...

club AGF and the Australian national team,

Rahmat Akbari Rahmat Akbari (born 20 June 2000) is an Afghan professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Brisbane Roar and the Afghan National Team. Club career Brisbane Roar On 6 October 2017, Akbari made his professional debut in the opening ...

an Afghan-Australian footballer who plays as a midfielder for

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisba ...

, and others like

Roholla Iqbalzadeh Roholla Iqbalzadeh (Dari language, Dari: روح‌الله اقبالزاده, born 2 November 1994) is a Norway, Norwegian-born Afghans, Afghan association football, footballer who plays as a defender for Kolstad Fotball, Kolstad. He can play as ...

, Omran Haydary,

Zelfy Nazary Zelfagar "Zelfy" Nazary ( prs, ذوالفقار نظری; born 1 January 1995) is an Afghan professional association football, footballer who plays for St Albans Saints SC, St Albans Saints in the National Premier Leagues Victoria and the Afgha ...

Moshtaq Ahmadi Moshtaq Ahmadi (born 21 April 1996) is an Afghan Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (Association football), attacker. Career Ahmadi started his career with Swedish fifth tier side Ljungby IF, Ljungby. Before the 2018 season, ...

and Zahra Mahmoodi. A Pakistani Hazara Abrar Hussain, a former Olympic boxer served as deputy director-general of the

Pakistan Sports Board Pakistan Sports Board ( ur, ) was established under the Ministry of Education in 1962 as a corporate body for the purposes of promoting and developing uniform standards of competition for sports in Pakistan comparable to the standards prevailing ...

. He represented Pakistan three times at the Olympics and won a gold medal at the 1990 Asian Games in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. Another Hazara boxer from Pakistan is Haider Ali a

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

gold medalist and Olympian who is currently retired. Some Hazara from Pakistan have also excelled in sports and have received numerous awards, particularly in boxing, football and

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

. New Hazara youngsters are seen to appear in many sports in Pakistan mostly from

. Rajab Ali Hazara, who is leading the under 16 Pakistan Football team as captain.

Notable people

Gallery

File:Hazara 134439 (May-2022).jpg, Rally of Hazaras in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. File:Hazara men from villages near Ghazni, 1840 (1).jpg, Hazara men from villages near

Ghazni Ghazni ( prs, غزنی, ps, غزني), historically known as Ghaznain () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana ( gr, Αλεξάνδρεια Ωπιανή), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan ...

, painting by James Atkinson.

References

External links

*
Hazara tribal structure
Program for Culture and Conflict Studies,

US Naval Postgraduate School The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. It offers master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 70 fields of study to the U.S. Armed Forces, DOD ci ...

Peril and Persecution in Afghanistan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazara People Ethnic groups in Afghanistan Ethnic groups in Iran Ethnic groups in Pakistan

Etymology

Origin

Genetics

History

19th century

20th and 21st century

Demographics

Geographic distribution

Afghanistan

Pakistan

Iran

Diaspora

Culture

Attire

Male clothing

Female clothing

Cuisine

Art

Music

Cinema

Writers and poets

Cultural sports

Buzkashi

Tirandāzi

Pahlawani

Language

Religion

Hazara tribes

Sports

Notable people

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links