Afghan (ethnonym)

The ethnonym Afghan ( Persian/Pashto: ) has been used historically to refers to members of the Pashtuns. However, since the second half of the twentieth century, the term "Afghan" is also used to refer to any native or inhabitant of Afghanistan, including those outside of the Pashtun ethnic group.

Etymology

Some modern scholars suggest that the word "Afghan" is derived from the words ''awajan/apajan'' in Avestan and ''ava-Han/apa-Han'' in Sanskrit, which means "killing, striking, throwing and resisting, or defending." Under the Sasanians, and possibly the Parthian Empire, the word was used to refer to men of a certain Persian sect.

The earliest mention of the name ''Afghan'' (''Abgân'') is by Shapur I of the Sassanid Empire during the 3rd century CE, In the 4th century the word "Afghans/Afghana" (αβγανανο) as a reference to a particular people is mentioned in the Bactrian documents found in Northern Afghanistan.

In the past, several scholars sought a connection with “horse,” Skt.aśva-, Av.aspa-, i.e., the Aśvaka or Aśvakayana. According to linguist Johnny Cheung, however, it would be extremely difficult to reconcile these names with the word Afghan.

The etymological view supported by numerous noted scholars is that the name ''Afghan'' evidently derives from Sanskrit '' Aśvakan'', ''q.v.'' the Assakenoi of Arrian. This view was propounded by scholars like Christian Lassen, J. W. McCrindle,''"The name Afghan has evidently been derived from Asvakan, the Assakenoi of Arrian... "'' (Megasthenes and Arrian, p 180. See also: Alexander's Invasion of India, p 38; J. W. McCrindle). M. V. de Saint Martin, and É. Reclus,''"Even the name Afghan is Aryan being derived from Asvakayana, an important clan of the Asvakas or horsemen who must have derived this title from their handling of celebrated breeds of horses"'' (See: Imprints of Indian Thought and Culture abroad, p 124, Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan).cf: ''"Their name (Afghan) means "cavalier" being derived from the Sanskrit, ''Asva'', or ''Asvaka'', a horse, and shows that their country must have been noted in ancient times, as it is at the present day, for its superior breed of horses. Asvaka was an important tribe settled north to Kabul river, which offered a gallant resistance but ineffectual resistance to the arms of Alexander "''(Ref: Scottish Geographical Magazine, 1999, p 275, Royal Scottish Geographical Society).Cf: ''"The name represents Sanskrit Asvaka in the sense of a ''cavalier'', and this reappears scarcely modified in the Assakani or Assakeni of the historians of the expedition of Alexander" '' (Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological..by Henry Yule, AD Burnell).

The Indian epic Mahabharata speaks about Kambojas among the finest horsemen, and ancient Pali texts describe their lands as the ''land of horses''. Kambojas spoke Avestan language and followed Zoroastrianism. Some scholars believe Zoroastrianism originated in the land of Kambojas.

Hiven Tsiang, a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim visiting the Afghanistan area several times between 630 and 644 CE, speaks about the native tribes inhabiting the region. Dawn News
The cradle of Pathan culture
/ref> According to scholars such as V. Minorsky, W.K. Frazier Tyler and M.C. Gillet, the word Afghan has appeared in the 982 Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam, where a reference is made to a village.

Saul was probably located near Gardez, in the Paktia province of Afghanistan. Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam also speaks of a king in "Ninhar" ( Nangarhar), who shows a public display of conversion to Islam, even though he has over 30 wives, which are described as Muslim, Afghan, and pagan or Hindu wives. Some of these names were used as geographical terms. For example, "Hindu" has been used historically as a geographical term to describe someone who was native from the general region known as Hindustan or the land of the Indus river.

Al-Utbi, the Ghaznavid chronicler, in his ''Tarikh-i Yamini'' records that many Afghans and Khiljis (possibly the modern Ghilji) who lived between Laghman and Peshawar enlisted in the army of Sabuktigin after Jayapala was defeated. Al-Utbi further states that Afghans and Ghiljis made a part of Mahmud Ghaznavi's army and were sent on his expedition to Tocharistan, while on another occasion Mahmud Ghaznavi attacked and punished a group of opposing Afghans, as also corroborated by Abulfazl Beyhaqi. In the 11th century, Afghans are mentioned in Al-Biruni's ''Tarikh-ul Hind'' ("History of the Indus"), which describes groups of rebellious Afghans in the tribal lands west of the Indus River in what is today Pakistan. It is recorded that Afghans were also enrolled in the Ghurid Kingdom (1148–1215). By the beginning of the Khilji dynasty, a famous Moroccan traveler, visiting Afghanistan following the era of the Khilji dynasty in 1333 writes.

A 16th-century Muslim historian writing about the history of Muslim rule in the subcontinent states:

Afghanistan

The last part of the name '' -stān'' is a Persian suffix for "place of", the Pashto translation of which is prominent in many languages of Asia. The name ''Afghanistan'' is mentioned in writing by the 16th century Mughal rulers Babur and his descendants, referring to the territory between Khorasan, Kabulistan, and the Indus River, which was inhabited by tribes of Afghans.

The name "Afghanistan" is also mentioned many times in the writings of the 16th-century historian, ferishta, and many others.

Regarding the modern state of ''Afghanistan'', the '' Encyclopædia Of Islam'' explains:

Historical and obsolete suggestions

There are a number of other hypotheses suggested for the name historically, all of them obsolete.
* The ''"Maḫzan-e Afġān"'' by Nimat Allah al-Harawi, written in 1612 at the Mughal court, traces the name ''Afghan'' to an eponymous ancestor, an ''Afghana'', identified as a grandson of Saul. Afghana was supposedly a son of Irmia (Jeremia), who was in turn a son of Saul (''Talut''). Afghana was orphaned at a young age, and brought up by David. When Solomon became king, Afghana was promoted as the commander-in-chief of the army. Neither Afghana nor Jeremia son of Saul figure in the Hebrew Bible

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