Portal:Hazara people
The Hazāra ({{|هزاره}}) are a Dari-speaking people who mainly live in central Afghanistan. They are overwhelmingly Shia Muslims and comprise the third largest ethnic group of Afghanistan, forming about 23% of the total population. Over half a million Hazaras live in neighboring Pakistan (especially in the city of Quetta) and a similar number in Iran.The name Hazara, probably, comes from the Persian word hazār, which means "thousand". According to scholars, the term was first used to refer to a Mongol military unit of 1,000 but was later applied to a distinct group of people. The origins of the Hazaras have not been fully reconstructed. At least partial Mongol descent is difficult to rule out, because the Hazaras' physical attributes and parts of their culture and language resemble those of Mongolians. Thus, it is widely accepted that Hazaras do have Mongolian ancestry, if not direct male-line descent from Genghis Khan, as some Hazaras allege. Some Hazara tribes are named after famous Mongol generals, for example the Tulai Khan Hazara who are named after Tolui, the youngest son of Genghis Khan. Theories of Mongol or partially Mongol descent are plausible, given that the Il-Khanate Mongol rulers, beginning with Oljeitu, embraced Shia Islam. Today, the majority of the Hazaras adhere to Shi'ism, whereas Afghanistan's other ethnic groups are mostly Sunni and Shia. However, the population of the Sunni and Ismaili Hazaras against the Shi'ite Hazaras is not discussed extensively enough by the scholarship. Another theory proposes that Hazaras are descendants of the Kushans, the ancient dwellers of Afghanistan famous for constructing the Buddhas of Bamiyan. Its proponents find the location of the Hazara homeland, and the similarity in facial features of Hazaras with those on frescoes and Buddha's statues in Bamiyan, suggestive. However, this belief is contrary not only to the fact that the Kushans were Indo-European Tocharians, but also to historical records which mention that in a particularly bloody battle around Bamiyan, Genghis Khan's grandson, Mutugen, was killed, and he ordered Bamiyan to be burnt to the ground in retribution. A third theory, and the one accepted by most scholars, maintains that Hazaras are a very mixed race. This is not entirely inconsistent with descent from Mongol military forces. For example, Nikudari Mongols settled in eastern Persia and mixed with native populations who spoke Persian. A second wave of mostly Chagatai Mongols came from Central Asia and were followed by other Turko-Mongols, associated with the Ilkhanate (driven out of Persia) and the Timurids, all of whom settled in Hazarajat and mixed with the local Persian population, forming a distinct group. Genetically, the Hazara are primarily eastern Eurasian with western Eurasian genetic mixtures. Genetic research suggests that they are related to neighboring peoples, while there also seems to be a patrimonial relation to Mongol peoples of Mongolia. Mongol male ancestry is supported by studies in genetic genealogy as well, which have identified a particular lineage of the Y-chromosome characteristic of people of Mongolian descent ("the Y-chromosome of Genghis Khan").This chromosome is virtually absent outside the limits of the Mongol Empire except among the Hazara, where it reaches its highest frequency anywhere. Template:/box-footerLua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. The Hazāra (Persian: هزاره) are a Persian-speaking people who mainly live in central Afghanistan. They are overwhelmingly Shia Muslims and comprise the third largest ethnic group of Afghanistan, forming about 9% of the total population. Over half a million Hazaras live in neighboring Pakistan (especially in the city of Quetta) and a similar number in Iran.The name Hazara, probably, comes from the Persian word hazār, which means "thousand". According to scholars, the term was first used to refer to a Mongol military unit of 1,000 but was later applied to a distinct group of people.The origins of the Hazaras have not been fully reconstructed. At least partial Mongol descent is difficult to rule out, because the Hazaras' physical attributes and parts of their culture and language resemble those of Mongolians. Thus, it is widely accepted that Hazaras do have Mongolian ancestry, if not direct male-line descent from Genghis Khan, as some Hazaras allege. Some Hazara tribes are named after famous Mongol generals, for example the Tulai Khan Hazara who are named after Tolui, the youngest son of Genghis Khan. Theories of Mongol or partially Mongol descent are plausible, given that the Il-Khanate Mongol rulers, beginning with Oljeitu, embraced Shia Islam. Today, the majority of the Hazaras adhere to Shi'ism, whereas Afghanistan's other ethnic groups are mostly Sunni and Shia. However, the population of the Sunni and Ismaili Hazaras against the Shi'ite Hazaras is not discussed extensively enough by the scholarship. Another theory proposes that Hazaras are descendants of the Kushans, the ancient dwellers of Afghanistan famous for constructing the Buddhas of Bamiyan. Read more.. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Box-header/colours' not found. Faiz Mohammad Katib Hazara was the son of Sa'eed Mohammed Hazara of Ghazni Province. He is perhaps best known for his five-volume history of Afghanistan, Siraj al-Tawrikh, which provides one of the best references on nineteenth-century Afghan history.The book was written by the encouragement of the court of Amir Habibullah Khan. He was a court clerk, initially, thus the title of Kateb (clerk) in his name. Faiz Mohammed was also the biographer of the Amir. Amir Habibullah Khan imprisoned him in Sherpur[disambiguation needed] for his political activities and his role in the Constitutionalist Movement. However he was soon released by the Amir due to their personal friendship and for having labored to author Siraj al-Tawrikh. In 1929, Habibullāh Kalakāni issued a decree on the names of the renowned Shiites of Kabul such as Mohammed Ali Jawansher(Jauntier) Chandawali, Qazi Shuhaab, Khalifa Mohmmed Hussein, Ustad Gholam Hassan, and Faiz Mohammad Hazara. They were asked to travel to Dai-Zangi and obtain the support of the Hazara populace in that area. But the Hazara people refused to do so, and the Shiite leaders of Kabul city returned without any success. The disappointed Hamidullah with the help of anti Shiite Pashtun Nomads then ordered them punished for failing in their mission. In the result of the brutal beating, Faiz Mohammad Hazara got sick for a few days, but died one year later during Nadir Shah's reign. Read more..
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The Hazaras, thought to have Mongol ancestry, traditionally occupied an area in central Afghanistan extending from the central spine of the Hindu Kush southward though the foothills to Ghazni, Mukur, and almost up to Kandahar, and from the Paghman Range just west of Kabul to some distance east of Herat. This region was known as Hazarajat. The Hazaras practised agriculture as well as livestock-breeding. Shia Muslims, the Hazaras spoke a Persianised dialect. |
