Thislist of ancientIranian peoples includes the names ofIndo-European peoples speakingIranian languages or otherwise considered Iranian ethnically or linguistically in sources from the late 1st millennium BC to the early 2nd millennium AD.
Ancient Iranian peoples spoke languages that were the ancestors of modernIranian languages, these languages form a sub-branch of theIndo-Iranian sub-family, which is a branch of the family of the widerIndo-European languages.[1]
Alans (a closely related people or tribe with theAorsiSarmatians or the same people known by two different names) (Aryan > *Alyan > Alan)[12][13][14] (Ossetians /Irættæ are a modern branch) (also called "Melanchlaeni" - "Black-Cloaks", not to be confused with other two peoples called by that same name that were: the "Melanchlaeni" - "Black-Cloaks" ofPontus, and the "Melanchlaeni" - "Black-Cloaks" of the far north)
Iasi[15][16] (Iasi /Jassi /Jasz are descendants from a group ofAlans that migrated westward, they are related but not identical to the oldestIazyges)
Roxolani (an offshoot and eastern branch of theAlans)
Rhymnici, they dwelt alongRha river banks (today'sVolga) in thesteppe area (the adjective seems to derive from the name "Rha" or "Rā", theScythian name for theVolga river) (Oares was the Greek name for this river)
Gelae /Gilites (possible ancestors of theGilaks), although associate they were not the same people as theCadusii
Tapurians /Tapuri /Tapuraei (initially they lived in southern coasts of the Caspian Sea, Tapuri or Tapyri a tribe whose name and probable habitations appear, at different periods of history, to have been extended along a wide space of country from Armenia to the eastern side of the Oxus) (origin of the nameTapuristan orTabaristan, the land where they went living)
Pasargadae (one of the three main and leading ancient Persian tribes, this was the tribe that contained the clan of theAchaemenids, House of Achaemenes, from whichCyrus the Great, founder of thePersian Empire, was a member)[27] ("House" was synonym of "Clan") (Pasargadae, the first capital of thePersianAchaemenid Empire, was in the land of this tribe and took its name from them)[28]
Bastarnae, an ancient people who between 200 BC and 300 AD inhabited the region between theCarpathian Mountains and the riverDnieper, to the north and east of ancientDacia - one possible origin of the name is fromAvestan andOld Persiancognatebast- "bound, tied; slave" (cf.Osseticbættən "bind",bast "bound"), andProto-Iranian *arna - "offspring"
Ashvakas /Assacenii /Assacani /Aspasii (Aspasians): A few scholars have linked the historicalAfghans (modernPakhtuns/Pashtuns) to the Ashvakas (theAshvakayanas andAshvayanas ofPāṇini or theAssakenoi andAspasio ofArrian). The nameAfghan is said to have derived from theAshvakan ofSanskrit texts.[52][53][54] Ashvakas are identified as a branch of the Kambojas. This people was known, by Greek and Roman authors, asAssakanoi andAssacani. The similarity of the name Assacani with the name Sacae/Sacans/Sakas made that the two peoples were confused by Greeks and Romans (as is shown in map 11 regarding thePamir mountains on the upper right edge). However thePamir mountains were dwelt by theAsvakaKambojas and not by theSacans although they were related peoples (they were both East Iranians, however theAsvakaKambojas were or Southeast Iranians or ancestors of the Nuristani while theSacans/Sakas,Scythians orSarmatians, were Northeast Iranians).
Rishikas, some historians believe the Rishikas were a part of, or synonymous with, theKambojas. However, there are other theories regarding their origins.
There are different or conflicting views among scholars regarding the ethnic and linguistic kinship of the peoples known by theHan Chinese asWusun andYuezhi and also other less known peoples (a minority of scholars argue that they wereTocharians, based, among other things, on the similarity of names like "Kushan" and the native name of "Kucha" (Kuśi) and the native name "Kuśi" and Chinese name "Gushi" or the name "Arsi" and "Asii",[58] however most scholars argue that they were possiblyNortheasternIranian peoples)[59][60]
Asii /Issedones /Wusun (may have been the same people called by different exonym names)
Asii /Asioi /Osii, an ancientIndo-European people ofCentral Asia, during the 2nd and 1st Centuries BCE, known only from Classical Greek and Roman sources.
Gushi orJushi orGushineans (an obscure ancient people that lived in two regions: in theTurpan Basin, i.e. ChineseJushi orGushi, includingKhocho orQočo, known in Chinese asGaochang; and also in a large northern region, roughly in many parts of the region later known asDzungaria, south of theAltay Mountains; they were the basis of theGushi orJushi Kingdom. They spoke a language that eventually diverged into two dialects, as noted by diplomats from the Han empire) (they may have been one of the peoples misnamed "Tocharians", speakers ofTocharian A?) (there are different views among scholars about their ethnic and linguistic kinship)
Yuezhi /Gara?[63][64][65] (an ancient Indo-European speaking people, in the western areas of the modern Chinese province ofGansu, during the 1st millennium BC, or inDunhong, in theTian Shan, later they migrated westward and southward into southCentral Asia, in contact and conflict with theSogdians andBactrians, and they possibly were the people called by the nameTocharians orTukhara, which was possibly anIranian speaking people not to be confused with another people misnamed or not as "Tocharians") (according to the Iranian historianJahanshah Derakhshani theKochi orKuchi people, a group of nomadicGhilji orGhilzaiPakhtun, are descendants from theYuezhi that were assimilated into thePakhtun, the name derives fromGuci, formerly Chinese: 月氏; pinyin:Yuèzhī)
Greater-Yuezhi (Tu Gara?) (Dà Yuèzhī – 大月氏) (Tu Gara > Tu Kara? > Tu Khara?) Possibly the Iranian Tocharians (not to be confused with the peoples called "Tocharians" in a misnomer) (possibly they were the ancestors of theKushans)
Tusharas (Tukharas?), could have been identical with theGreater-Yuezhi, the greater part ofYuezhi, are the people that migrated from westernGansu and after from theIli Valley, migrated southward and settled inTukhara, another name forBactria after the invasion of the Iranian Tocharians that came from the north and northeast (not to be confused with the peoples mistakenly called "Tocharians" which were of anotherIndo-European branch of peoples)
Xiongnu (ruling class)[72] TheXiongnu could also be synonymous with theHuns, that are assumed to be aTurkic people, although there is not certainty or consensus about this matter.
Iyrcae /Iyrkai, people that lived northeast of theThyssagetae, they dwelt in far southwesternSiberia, in the upper basins of theTobol and theIrtysh rivers, possibly they are the ancestors of theUgrian peoples,Khanty andMansi and the more distantly relatedMagyars (Hungarians), they are speakers ofUralic languages and not Iranian. These peoples were collectively calledYugra, where the adjective "Ugric" comes from (possible phonetic change: *Iurka > *Iukra > *Iugra > Jugra or Yugra; J = English Y; u or ü,Ancient Greek y = ü). They were culturally influenced by ancientIranian peoples (including language borrowings). The name "Iyrcae" sometimes was wrongly spelt as "Tyrcae" "(Türkai)" by ancient authors (likePliny the Elder andPomponius Mela) but there is no connection to theTurkic peoples (Turks).
Semi-legendary peoples (inspired by real Iranian peoples)
Amazons, a semi-legendary people or tribe of women warriors (an all-female tribe) that Greek authors such asHerodotus andStrabo said to be related to theScythians and theSarmatians, however, there could be some historical background for a real people with Iranianetymology (*ha-mazan- "warriors") that lived inScythia andSarmatia, but later became the subject of wild exaggerations andmyths. Ancient authors said that they guaranteed their continuity through reproduction with theGargareans (an all-male tribe).
Gargareans, a semi-legendary people or tribe only formed by men (an all-male tribe), however, there could be some historical background for a real people, but later became the subject of wild exaggerations andmyths. Ancient authors said that they guaranteed their continuity through reproduction with theAmazons (an all-female tribe).
^abcdefghMallory, J.P.; Douglas Q. Adams (1997). Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. London: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers.ISBN978-1-884964-98-5.
^Harmatta, János (1992)."The Emergence of the Indo-Iranians: The Indo-Iranian Languages"(PDF). InDani, A. H.; Masson, V. M. (eds.).History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The Dawn of Civilization: Earliest Times to 700 B. C.UNESCO. pp. 346–370.ISBN978-92-3-102719-2. Retrieved29 May 2015.From the first millennium b.c., we have abundant historical, archaeological and linguistic sources for the location of the territory inhabited by the Iranian peoples. In this period the territory of the northern Iranians, they being equestrian nomads, extended over the whole zone of the steppes and the wooded steppes and even the semi-deserts from the Great Hungarian Plain to the Ordos region in northern China.
^Anthony, David W. (2007). The Horse, the Wheel, and Language. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.ISBN978-0-691-05887-0
^Gnoli, Gherardo (1980). Zoroaster's Time and Homeland. Naples: Instituto Univ. Orientale. OCLC 07307436. Iranian tribes that also keep on recurring in the Yasht, Airyas, Tuiryas, Sairimas, Sainus and Dahis
^Allworth, Edward A. (1994). Central Asia: A Historical Overview. Duke University Press. p. 86.ISBN978-0-8223-1521-6.
^Diakonoff, I. M. (1999). The Paths of History. Cambridge University Press. p. 100.ISBN978-0-521-64348-1. Turan was one of the nomadic Iranian tribes mentioned in the Avesta. However, in Firdousi's poem, and in the later Iranian tradition generally, the term Turan is perceived as denoting 'lands inhabited by Turkic speaking tribes.
^Gnoli, Gherardo (1980). Zoroaster's Time and Homeland. Naples: Instituto Univ. Orientale. OCLC 07307436. Iranian tribes that also keep on recurring in the Yasht, Airyas, Tuiryas, Sairimas, Sainus and Dahis
^Diakonoff, I. M. (1999). The Paths of History. Cambridge University Press. p. 100.ISBN978-0-521-64348-1. Turan was one of the nomadic Iranian tribes mentioned in the Avesta. However, in Firdousi's poem, and in the later Iranian tradition generally, the term Turan is perceived as denoting 'lands inhabited by Turkic speaking tribes.
^Simpson, St John (2017). "The Scythians. Discovering the Nomad-Warriors of Siberia". Current World Archaeology. 84: 16–21. "nomadic people made up of many different tribes thrived across a vast region that stretched from the borders of northern China and Mongolia, through southern Siberia and northernKazakhstan, as far as the northern reaches of the Black Sea. Collectively they were known by their Greek name: the Scythians. They spoke Iranian languages..."
^Royal Museums of Art and History (2000). Ancient Nomads of the Altai Mountains: Belgian-Russian Multidisciplinary Archaeological Research on the Scytho-Siberian Culture. "The Achaemenids called the Scythians " Saka " which sometimes leads to confusion in the literature. The term " Scythians " is particularly used for the representatives of this culture who lived in the European part of the steppe zone. Those who lived in Central Asia are often called Sauromates or Saka and in the Altai area, they are generally known as Scytho-Siberians."
^Dandamayev 1994, p. 37 "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Central Asia and Eastern Turkestan to distinguish them from the related Massagetae of the Aral region and the Scythians of the Pontic steppes. These tribes spoke Iranian languages, and their chief occupation was nomadic pastoralism."
^Turko-Persia in Historical Perspective, Robert L. Canfield, Cambridge University Press, 2002 p.49
^Macartney, C. A. (1944). "On the Greek Sources for the History of the Turks in the Sixth Century". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. School of Oriental and African Studies. 11 (2): 266–75. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00072451. ISSN 1474-0699. JSTOR 609313. "the name "Chyon", originally that of an unrelated people, was "transferred later to the Huns owing to the similarity of sound".
^Richard Nelson Frye, "Pre-Islamic and early Islamic cultures in Central Asia" in "Turko-Persia in historical perspective", edited by Robert L. Canfield, Cambridge University Press, 1991. pg 49. "Just as later nomadic empires were confederations of many peoples, we may tentatively propose that the ruling groups of these invaders were, or at least included, Turkic-speaking tribesmen from the east and north, although most probably the bulk of the people in the confederation of Chionites... spoke an Iranian language.... This was the last time in the history of Central Asia that Iranian-speaking nomads played any role; hereafter all nomads would speak Turkic languages".
^Felix, Wolfgang."CHIONITES".Encyclopædia Iranica. Bibliotheca Persica Press. Retrieved29 May 2015.CHIONITES... a tribe of probable Iranian origin that was prominent in Bactria and Transoxania in late antiquity.
^Macartney, C. A. (1944). "On the Greek Sources for the History of the Turks in the Sixth Century". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. School of Oriental and African Studies. 11 (2): 266–75. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00072451. ISSN 1474-0699. JSTOR 609313. "the name "Chyon", originally that of an unrelated people, was "transferred later to the Huns owing to the similarity of sound".
^Richard Nelson Frye, "Pre-Islamic and early Islamic cultures in Central Asia" in "Turko-Persia in historical perspective", edited by Robert L. Canfield, Cambridge University Press, 1991. pg 49. "Just as later nomadic empires were confederations of many peoples, we may tentatively propose that the ruling groups of these invaders were, or at least included, Turkic-speaking tribesmen from the east and north, although most probably the bulk of the people in the confederation of Chionites... spoke an Iranian language.... This was the last time in the history of Central Asia that Iranian-speaking nomads played any role; hereafter all nomads would speak Turkic languages".
^Jayarava Attwood, Possible Iranian Origins for the Śākyas and Aspects of Buddhism. Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies 2012 (3): 47-69
^Christopher I. Beckwith, "Greek Buddha: Pyrrho's Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia", 2016, pp 1-21
^See also: Indian Antiquaries, 52, part 2, 1923; Indian Antiquaries, 203, 1923, p 54.
^Prācīna Kamboja, Jana aura Janapada Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, pp 44, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī; cf also: Dr J. W. McCrindle, Ptolemy, p 268.
^Scholars like V. S. Aggarwala etc locate the Kamboja country in Pamirs and Badakshan (Ref: A Grammatical Dictionary of Sanskrit (Vedic): 700 Complete Reviews.., 1953, p 48, Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala, Surya Kanta, Jacob Wackernagel,Arthur Anthony Macdonell, Peggy Melcher – India; India as Known to Pāṇini: A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashṭādhyāyī, 1963, p 38, Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala – India; The North-west India of the Second Century B.C., 1974, p 40, Mehta Vasishtha Dev Mohan – Greeks in India; The Greco-Shunga period of Indian history, or, the North-West India of the second century B.C, 1973, p 40, India) and theParama Kamboja further north, in the Trans-Pamirian territories (See: The Deeds of Harsha: Being a Cultural Study of Bāṇa's Harshacharita, 1969, p 199, Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala).
^DrMichael Witzel also extends Kamboja including Kapisa/Kabul valleys to Arachosia/Kandahar (See: Persica-9, p 92, fn 81. Michael Witzel).
^Cf: "Zoroastrian religion had probably originated in Kamboja-land (Bacteria-Badakshan)....and the Kambojas spoke Avestan language" (Ref: Bharatiya Itihaas Ki Rup Rekha, p 229-231, Jaychandra Vidyalankar; Bhartrya Itihaas ki Mimansa, p 229-301, J. C. Vidyalankar; Ancient Kamboja, People and the Country, 1981, p 217, 221, J. L. Kamboj)
^The Greeks in Bactria and India 1966 p 170, 461, Dr William Woodthorpe Tarn.
^The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1963, p 291; Indian historical quarterly, Vol XXV-3, 1949, pp 190-92.
^Prācīna Kamboja, Jana aura Janapada Ancient Kamboja, people and country, 1981, p 44, 147, 155, Dr Jiyālāla Kāmboja, Dr Satyavrat Śāstrī.
^"The name Afghan has evidently been derived from Asvakan, the Assakenoi of Arrian..." (Megasthenes and Arrian, p 180. See also: Alexander's Invasion of India, p 38; J. W. McCrindle)
^"Even the name Afghan is Aryan being derived from Asvakayana, an important clan of the Asvakas or horsemen who must have derived this title from their handling of celebrated breeds of horses" (See: Imprints of Indian Thought and Culture abroad, p 124, Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan)
^"Afghans are Assakani of the Greeks; this word being the Sanskrit Ashvaka meaning 'horsemen" (Ref: Sva, 1915, p 113, Christopher Molesworth Birdwood)
^Žhivko Voynikov (Bulgaria). SOME ANCIENT CHINESE NAMES IN EAST TURKESTAN AND CENTRAL ASIA AND THE TOCHARIAN QUESTION[1]
^Wei Lan-Hai; Li Hui; Xu Wenkan (2013). "The separate origins of the Tocharians and the Yuezhi: Results from recent advances in archaeology and genetics" in Research Gate
^A dictionary of Tocharian B by Douglas Q. Adams (Leiden Studies in Indo-European 10), xxxiv, 830 pp., Rodopi: Amsterdam – Atlanta, 1999.[2]
^Fan Ye, Chronicle on the 'Western Regions' from the Hou Hanshu. (transl. John E. Hill), 2011] "Based on a report by General Ban Yong to Emperor An (107–125 CE) near the end of his reign, with a few later additions." (20 December 2015)
^"Ancient Iran: The movement of Iranian peoples".Encyclopædia Britannica Online.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved29 May 2015.At the end of the 3rd century, there began in Chinese Turkistan a long migration of the Yuezhi, an Iranian people who invaded Bactria about 130 bc, putting an end to the Greco-Bactrian kingdom there. (In the 1st century bc they created the Kushān dynasty, whose rule extended from Afghanistan to the Ganges River and from Russian Turkistan to the estuary of the Indus.)
^Wei Lan-Hai; Li Hui; Xu Wenkan (2013). "The separate origins of the Tocharians and the Yuezhi: Results from recent advances in archaeology and genetics" in Research Gate[3]
^Macmillan Education (2016).Macmillan Dictionary of Archaeology. Macmillan International Higher Education. p. 369.ISBN978-1349075898.[permanent dead link] "From that time until the HAN dynasty the Ordos steppe was the home of semi-nomadic Indo-European peoples whose culture can be regarded as an eastern province of a vast Eurasian continuum of Scytho-Siberian cultures."
^Harmatta 1992, p. 348: "From the first millennium b.c., we have abundant historical, archaeological and linguistic sources for the location of the territory inhabited by the Iranian peoples. In this period the territory of the northern Iranians, they being equestrian nomads, extended over the whole zone of the steppes and the wooded steppes and even the semi-deserts from the Great Hungarian Plain to the Ordos in northern China."
Jahanshah Derakhshani, "Die Arier in den nahöstlichen Quellen des 3. und 2. Jahrtausends v. Chr.", 2nd edition, 1999,ISBN964-90368-6-5 ("The Arians in the Middle Eastern sources of the 3rd and 2nd Millennia BC")
Wei Lan-Hai; Li Hui; Xu Wenkan (2013). "The separate origins of the Tocharians and the Yuezhi: Results from recent advances in archaeology and genetics" in Research Gate[4]
[5] - Source texts of ancient Greek and Roman authors
[6] - Strabo's workThe Geography (Geographica). Book 11, Chapters 6 to 13, and Book 15, Chapters 2 and 3, are about regions dwelt by ancient Iranian peoples and tribes (each region has a chapter).
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