Afghan people: Encyclopedia - Afghan people

Afghan people

Afghan is the name used to describe a person from the country of Afghanistan. It is, however, hard to combine the varying groups. Often times the Pashtun are refered to as Afghans while other groups hold to their ethnic name (ex. Tajiks are known as Tajiks, etc.). The citizens of Afghanistan are in many ways somewhat distinct from the notion of ethnic Afghans as a result of this understanding. In addition, many Afghans, such as the Tajiks, consider themselves distinct from Iranians since the religious wars between Shias and Sunnis during the Safavid era. The remaining groups are of Turkic, Nuristani and Mongolian ancestry with Jewish (most of whom have left for Israel) origins.

Afghan people - History

For more information see:History of Afghanistan and Durrani Empire

Afghans as a whole draw their modern national identity from the founding of the Durrani Empire in the mid 1700's. From 1747 until 1823 Ahmad Shah and his sons and grandsons held the monarchy. They were the first Pashtun rulers of Afghanistan, from the Sadozai line of the Abdali (known as the Durrani since Ahmad Shah's reign) group of clans. It was under the leadership of Ahmad Shah that the nation of Afghanistan began to take shape following centuries of fragmentation and exploitation. However each ethnic group has its own unique history which makes up the entire Afghan history.

There requires some realization that Afghan nationalism can be synonymous with that of Pashtun nationalism and as a result cannot be conflated into an Afghan national identity as the country is a multiethnic entity. Thus, it is important to note that there have been a variety of groups who have lived in what is today Afghanistan, but were not ethnic Afghans such as the aforementioned Tajiks as well as Uzbeks and Hazaras etc. who are currently divided as to what constitutes a national Afghan identity. Because Afghan history is fraught with regional cleavages it is important to note that any notion of an Afghan nation-state is largely absent until the 18th century and the rise of the Durrani Empire. For this reason, important figures from the past such as Zoroaster and Rumi, who are of ethnic Persian identity but of Tajik extraction, are often not identified as ethnic Afghans or even as Afghan people, at least according to academics, while they are generally included within the context of the collective history of the modern nation-state in the geographic sense.

Afghan people - Pashtun

Pashtun or Pakhtun, are a warlike, fierce, and independent people that reside mainly in southern and eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Considerable pockets also exist throughout other parts of Afghanistan. Smaller groups of Pashtuns are also found in Iran and India as well. Pashtun culture is ancient and much of it is yet to be recorded in contemporary times. There are many conflicting theories, some contemporary, some ancient, about the origins of the Pashtun people, both among historians and the Pashtun themselves. Most scholars agree that the Pashtuns are of Iranian stock and speak an eastern Iranian language. According to the writer W.K. Frazier Tyler writing in his book Afghanistan, "The word Afghan… first appears in history in the Hudud-al-Alam, a work by an unknown Arab geographer who wrote in 982 AD." Until the advent of the modern Afghan state in the 18th century, the word Afghan had been synonymous with Pashtun.

Afghan people - Tajik

The Tajiks are amongst the oldest inhabitants of the region, and can trace their roots back to the original Iranian peoples that settled Central-Asia in ancient times, such as the Bactrians, Sogdians, and Parthians, as well as Persians who fled to Central-Asia during Arab Islamic expansion. The Tajiks also comprise the majority population of Tajikistan and are found in large numbers in Uzbekistan and Iran as well as the western Pakistan and Xinjiang province of China. A related group in Afghanistan known as the Farsiwan are often affiliated with the Tajiks, but are generally of the Shia sect and are mostly distinct from the Hazaras as the Farsiwans are a Mediterrean people and are basically almost identical to the Persians of Iran. Tajiks are, by contrast, considered the Persians of Central Asia.

Afghan people - Hazara

Historically, the Hazara seem to have Turkic-Mongolian origins, but with some Caucasoid admixture from surrounding groups. Linguistically though the Hazara speak Dari, but their variant is interspersed with more Mongolian words, but this is also the case with many Turkic languages such as Uzbek. It may simply be the case that the Hazara are of Uighur Turkic origin as many Turks accompanied the Mongol armies or arrived in the region long before the Mongols. It is however commonly believed by many Afghans that the Hazara are descendants of Genghis Khan's army, which marched into the area during the 12th century. Proponents of this view hold that many of the Mongol soldiers and their family members settled in the area and remained there after the Mongol empire dissolved in the 13th century, converting to Islam and adopting local customs. The theory regarding a more Turkic origin for the Hazara has equal validity and the relatively small number of actual Mongols in comparison to Turks makes it more likely that the Hazara are descendents of Turkic invaders who were Persianized over time. Unlike most Afghans the Hazara are Shia, which has often set them apart from their neighbors.

Afghan people - Uzbek

The Uzbeks are the main Turkic people of Afghanistan and are found mainly in the northern regions of the country. Most likely the Uzbeks migrated with a wave of Turkic invaders and intermingled with local Iranian tribes over time to become the ethnic group they are today. By the 1500s the Uzbeks had settled throughout Central Asia and reached Afghanistan following the conquests of Muhammad Shibani. Most Uzbeks are Sunni Muslim and are closely related to the Turkmen who also can be found in Afghanistan.

Afghan people - Turkmen

The Turkmen are the smaller Turkic group who can also be found in neighoring Turkmenistan. Largely Sunni Muslim, their origins are very similar to that of the Uzbeks.

Afghan people - Baluch

The Baluch are another Iranian ethnic group that numbers around 200,000 in Afghanistan. The main Baloch areas located in Balochistan province in Pakistan and Sistan and Baluchistan province of Iran. Many also live in southern Afghanistan. They are most likely an offshoot of the Kurds and reached Afghanistan sometime between 1000 and 1300 BCE. Mainly pastoral and desert dwellers, the Baluch are also Sunni Muslim.

Afghan people - Nuristani

The Nuristani are an Indo-Iranian people, representing a third branch of independent of the Iranian and Indo-Aryan groups, who live in isolated regions of northeastern Afghanistan. Better known historically as the Kafirs of what was once known as Kafiristan (now called Nuristan), they were forcibly converted to Islam during the rule of "Iron" Amir Abdur Rahman and their country was renamed "Nuristan" or "Land of Light" as in the light of Islam. Many Nuristanis believe that they are the descendents of Alexander's Greeks, but there is a lack of genetic evidence for this and they are more than likely an isolated pocket of early Aryan invaders. They are largely Sunni Muslim.

Afghan people - Culture

Afghan people - Contributions to Humanity

The different ethnic groups that today make up Afghanistan made significant contributions in poetry, architecture, art, music, and religion. Prominent individuals are:

• Literature:
  • Ibn Sina (Avicenna), one of the greatest philosophers and scientists in history - Tajik
  • Jalaundin-e-Rumi, one of the greatest Persian poets - Tajik
  • Khushal Khan Khattak, the greatest Pashtun poet - Pashtun
  • Abdur Rahman Baba, a famous Pashtun poet - Pashtun
  • Sana'i of Ghazni, a great Persian poet of the Ghaznavid era - Tajik
  • Mirza Abdul Qadir Bedel, a famous Persian poet - Tajik
  • Jami of Heart, the last great Sufi poet of the medieval times - Tajik

• Theology And Philosophy:
  • Abu Hanifa, founder of the Hanafi school of thought within Sunni Islam - Tajik
  • al-Bukhari, choronologist of Hadiths - Tajik
  • Sayyid Jamal al-Din Afghani, the last great Muslim philosopher - Pashtun or Tajik (not known)

• Kings And Conquerors:
  • Babur, the founder of the Moghul Dynasty in India - Mongol
  • Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of modern Afghanistan - Pashtun

Modern prominent individuals include mucisians:

• Ustad Mohammad Hashem Cheshti
• Ahmad Zahir
• Farhad Darya

... and poets:

• Mohammad Rahim el-Ham
• Abdul Ali Mustaghni
• Ustad Khalilullah Khalili

Afghan people - Language

Afghans speak a variety of languages of which the largest are Pashto and Dari (Farsi). Other significant languages include the Turkmen and the Uzbek. Pashto and Persian are the official languages of Afghanistan.

Afghan people - Religion

The majority of Afghans are Sunni Muslims. The remaining are mostly Shiites. Before the Muslim conquest of the region various religions including Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrians and Nestorianism significantly influenced Afghan culture.

Afghan people - Symbols

The Flag of Afghanistan has three stripes which represent three stages in Afghan history. The black represents the 19th century when Afghanistan was occupied, the red symbolizes the fight for independence and the green represents the fight for independence. In the past on the flags before communist takeover the black represented sovereignty, the red symbolized progress and development and the green represented Islam. [1]

Afghan people - Identity

The Afghan identity began to develop as Pashtun identity under the rule of Ahmad Shah who united the Pashtun (Afghan) chiefdoms in the late 18th century. Another boost took place under the rule of Nadir Shah who with Pashtun support further centralized the government. In Afghanistan everyone can be called Afghan and they all call themselves Afghans, but the Hazareas who consider themselves Afghani. Even Pashtuns from Pashtunistan NWFP and Balochistan (I.e Durand Line) also consider themselves as "Afghan" but usually rejected by the people of Pakistan. Because internationally they represent "Pakistan" with a green Pakistani Passport.

See also

• Culture of Afghanistan
• Demographics of Afghanistan
• Durrani Empire
• Durand Line
• Hazara
• History of Afghanistan
• Pashtun
• Tajiks
• Pashtunistan

Category: Afghan people

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Afghan people", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki