Afghans

Afghans(Dari:افغان‌ها;Pashto:افغانان) are the citizens and nationals ofAfghanistan, as well as their descendants in theAfghan diaspora.The country is made up of various ethnic groups, of whichPashtuns,Tajiks,Hazaras, andUzbeksare the largest. The three main languages spoken among the Afghan people areDari,Pashto, andUzbek.Historically, the term "Afghan"was a Pashtun ethnonym, but later came to refer to all people in the country, regardless of their ethnicity.
The earliest mention of the nameAfghan(Abgân) is byShapur Iof theSassanid Empireduring the 3rd century CE,In the 4th century, the word "Afghans/Afghana" (αβγανανο) as reference to the Pashtun people is mentioned in theBactriandocuments found in Northern Afghanistan.The word 'Afghan' is ofPersianorigin and refers to the Pashtun people.Some scholars suggest that the word "Afghan" is derived from the wordsawajan/apajaninAvestanandava-Han/apa-HaninSanskrit, 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.In the past, several scholars sought a connection with "horse", Skt.aśva-, Av.aspa-, i.e. the Aśvaka or Aśvakayana, the name of theAśvakanorAssakan, the ancient inhabitants of theHindu Kushregion. Some have theorized that the name of theAśvakanorAssakanhas been preserved in that of the modernPashtun, with the name Afghan being derived fromAsvakan.
As an adjective, the word Afghan also means "of or relating to Afghanistan or its people,languageor culture". According to the1964 Constitution of Afghanistan, all Afghans citizens are equal in rights and obligations before the law.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.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.
The pre-nation state, historical ethnonymAfghanwas 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 identityof people from Afghanistan of all ethnicities.
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.
The less common Afghanistani (افغانستانی) is an alternative identity marker for citizens of Afghanistan. The term "Afghanistani" refers to someone who is a citizen of Afghanistan,regardless of race, ethnicity or religion.In multiethnic Afghanistan, the term "Afghan" has always been associated with the Pashtun people. Some non-Pashtun citizens such as the Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks equate the term with Pashtun hegemony and the risk of having their own ethnic identities erased by it.The term Afghanistani has been used among some refugees and diasporas, particularly among non-Pashtuns.
The termAfghanirefers 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.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 theanglicizedform of "Afghani" when translating from Dari Persian, but not from Pashto.Another variant isAfghanese, which has been seldom used in place of Afghan.
Afghans come from various ethnic backgrounds. The largest ethnic groups arePashtuns,Tajiks,Hazaras, andUzbeks, who make up approximately 95% of the population of Afghanistan. They are of diverse origins including ofIranic,TurkicorMongolicethnolinguistic roots.
The Afghan people of all ethnicities are predominantly and traditionally followers ofIslam, of whom around 90% are ofSunniand 10% theShiabranch. Other religious minorities include theAfghan Hindus,Afghan Sikhs,Afghan Zoroastrians,Afghan JewsandAfghan Christians.
Afghan culture has existed for over three millennia, dating back to the time of theAchaemenid Empirein 500 BCE. Afghans have both common cultural features and those that differ between regions with each of the34 provinceshaving its own unique distinctive cultures partly as a result of geographic obstacles that divide the country. Afghanistan's culture is historically linked to nearbyPersia, including both countries following theIslamic religion, theSolar Hijri calendarand speaking similar languages, this is due to Iran and Afghanistan being culturally close to each other for thousands of years.