The earliest mention of the nameAfghan (Abgân) is byShapur I of theSassanid Empire during the 3rd century CE,[47][48][49] In the 4th century, the word "Afghans/Afghana" (αβγανανο) as reference to the Pashtun people is mentioned in theBactrian documents found in Northern Afghanistan.[50][51] The word 'Afghan' is ofPersian origin and refers to the Pashtun people.[52] Some scholars suggest that the word "Afghan" is derived from the wordsawajan/apajan inAvestan andava-Han/apa-Han inSanskrit, which means "killing, striking, throwing and resisting, or defending." Under theSasanians, and possibly theParthian Empire, the word was used to refer to men of a certain Persian sect.[53] In the past, several scholars sought a connection with "horse", Skt.aśva-, Av.aspa-, i.e. the Aśvaka or Aśvakayana, the name of theAśvakan orAssakan, the ancient inhabitants of theHindu Kush region. Some have theorized that the name of theAśvakan orAssakan has been preserved in that of the modernPashtun, with the name Afghan being derived fromAsvakan.[54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61]
As an adjective, the word Afghan also means "of or relating to Afghanistan or its people,language or culture". According to the1964 Constitution of Afghanistan, all Afghans citizens are equal in rights and obligations before the law.[62] The fourth article of theConstitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which was valid until 2021, states that citizens of Afghanistan consist of Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Baloch, Pashayi, Nuristani, Aimaq, Arab,Kyrgyz,Qizilbash,Gurjar,Brahui, and members of other ethnicities.[63] There are political disputes regarding this: there are members of the non-Pashtun ethnicities of Afghanistan that reject the term Afghan being applied to them, and there are Pashtuns in Pakistan that wish to have the term Afghan applied to them.[64][65][66][67][68]
The pre-nation state, historical ethnonymAfghan was used to refer to a member of the Pashtun ethnic group. Due to the changing political nature of the state, the meaning has changed, and the term has shifted to refer to thenational identity of people from Afghanistan of all ethnicities.[69][70][71]
From a more limited, ethnological point of view, "Afḡhān" is the term by which thePersian-speakers of Afghanistan (and the non-Pashtō-speaking ethnic groups generally) designate the Pashtūn. The equation Afghans = Pashtūn has been propagated all the more, both in and beyond Afghanistan, because the Pashtūn tribal confederation has maintained its hegemony in the country, numerically and politically.[72]
The termAfghani refers to the unit ofAfghan currency. The term is also often used in the English language (and appears in some dictionaries) for a person or thing related to Afghanistan, although some have expressed the opinion that this usage is incorrect.[73] The reason for this usage might be because the term "Afghani" (افغانی) is in fact a valid demonym for Afghans in the overallPersian language, whereas "Afghan" is derived from Pashto. Thus, "Afghan" is theanglicized form of "Afghani" when translating from Dari Persian, but not from Pashto.[74] Another variant isAfghanistani[75][76] andAfghanese, which has been seldom used in place of Afghan.[77][78][79]
Afghans come from various ethnic backgrounds. The largest ethnic groups arePashtuns. Historian Clifford Edmund Bosworth defines "Afghan" primarily as a historical ethnonym for the Pashtun people. In his scholarly analysis of medieval Islamic sources, such as the 10th-century geographyHudūd al-ʿĀlam, Bosworth notes that the term was originally restricted to specific Pashtun tribes residing in the frontier regions between the Hindu Kush and the Indus River. He maintains a clear distinction between these "Afghans" and other ethnic groups residing in the region, such as the Tajiks (sedentary Persian-speakers), Uzbeks, and Hazaras, whom he identifies as having separate linguistic and historical origins.[80][81][82]
While Bosworth acknowledges that the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan formally standardised "Afghan" as a national demonym for all citizens regardless of their ethnicity, his work emphasizes that for most of the region's history, the term remained synonymous with Pashtun identity.[83]Tajiks,Hazaras, andUzbeks, who make up approximately 60–70% of the population of Afghanistan have diverse origins including ofIranic,Turkic orMongolic ethnolinguistic roots.[84]
Historically, Afghan culture is centered on Pashtunwali, an ancient, pre-Islamic code of conduct based on core tenets such as hospitality (melmastia), personal and tribal honour (nang), and retributive justice (badal). While oral tradition served as the primary vessel for this culture for centuries, the oldest direct written literary records of Pashtun culture and social values are found in Pashto poetry and prose, such as the 16th-century and later 19th-century works.
Broader Afghan culture, encompassing the diverse ethnic groups within the modern borders, is historically and linguistically linked to the Persian world.
^"Article Sixteen of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived fromthe original on 28 October 2013. Retrieved13 June 2012.Dari and Pashto are the official languages of the state. Uzbek, Turkmen, Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani, and Pamiri are—in addition to Pashto—the second official language in areas where the majority speaks them.
^Garner, Bryan (2009).Garner's Modern American Usage (third ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 27.ISBN978-0-19-538275-4.
^Siegal, Allan M.; Connolly, William (2015).The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage (fifth ed.). New York: Crown Publishing Group. p. 18.ISBN978-1-336-02484-7.
^Noelle-Karimi, Christine; Conrad J. Schetter; Reinhard Schlagintweit (2002).Afghanistan -a country without a state?.University of Michigan, United States: IKO. p. 18.ISBN3-88939-628-3. Retrieved24 September 2010.The earliest mention of the name 'Afghan' (Abgan) is to be found in a Sasanid inscription from the 3rd century, and it appears in India in the form of 'Avagana'...
^Sims-Williams, Nicholas (2000).Bactrian documents from northern Afghanistan. Oxford: The Nour Foundation in association with Azimuth Editions and Oxford University Press.ISBN1-874780-92-7.
^"The name Afghan has evidently been derived from Asvakan, the Assakenoi of Arrian... " (Megasthenes and Arrian, p 180. See also: Alexander's Invasion of India, p 38; J.W. McCrindle).
^Indische Alterthumskunde, Vol I, fn 6; also Vol II, p 129, et al.
^Etude Sur la Geog Grecque & c, pp 39–47, M. V. de Saint Martin.
^The Earth and Its Inhabitants, 1891, p 83, Élisée Reclus – Geography.
^"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 theSanskrit,Asva, orAsvaka, a horse, and shows that their country must have been noted in ancient times, as it is at the present day, for its superior breed of horses. Asvaka was an important tribe settled north to Kabul river, which offered a gallant resistance but ineffectual resistance to the arms of Alexander "(Ref: Scottish Geographical Magazine, 1999, p 275, Royal Scottish Geographical Society).
^"Afghans are Assakani of theGreeks; this word being theSanskritAshvaka meaning 'horsemen' " (Ref: Sva, 1915, p 113, Christopher Molesworth Birdwood).
^Cf:"The name represents Sanskrit Asvaka in the sense of acavalier, and this reappears scarcely modified in the Assakani or Assakeni of the historians of the expedition ofAlexander" (Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of ColloquialAnglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological..by Henry Yule, AD Burnell).
^"Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived fromthe original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved16 February 2013.National sovereignty in Afghanistan shall belong to the nation, manifested directly and through its elected representatives. The nation of Afghanistan is composed of all individuals who possess the citizenship of Afghanistan. The nation of Afghanistan shall be comprised of Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkman, Baluch, Pachaie, Nuristani, Aymaq, Arab, Qirghiz, Qizilbash, Gujur, Brahwui and other tribes. The word Afghan shall apply to every citizen of Afghanistan. No individual of the nation of Afghanistan shall be deprived of citizenship. The citizenship and asylum related matters shall be regulated by law.
^Kieffer, Ch. M."Afghan".Encyclopædia Iranica.Archived from the original on 16 November 2013.From a more limited, ethnological point of view, "Afḡān" is the term by which the Persian-speakers of Afghanistan (and the non-Paṧtō-speaking ethnic groups generally) designate the Paṧtūn. The equation Afghans = Paṧtūn has been propagated all the more, both in and beyond Afghanistan, because the Paṧtūn tribal confederation is by far the most important in the country, numerically and politically.
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