Persian Dominance in Commerce and Islamization on the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago: An Analysis of Historic Loanwords

On 15 Jan 202423 Jan 2024 By afzadehLeave a comment

Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. The present article delves into historic commercial and religious contacts between West Asia and the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago from the 9th to the 18th centuries AD. While one might anticipate a significant presence of Arabic loanwords in Malay related to maritime activities and commerce, the analysis surprisingly reveals that such loans predominantly originate from Persian rather than Arabic, pointing to a misattribution of influence. The author argues that a Persian-speaking merchant network played a central role in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea, shedding light on historical linguistic dynamics and questioning the presumed dominance of Arabic in certain domains.

(1) Papan Tinggi cemetery complex at Barus, on the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia (2) The gravestone of one Shaykh Maḥmūd (1426 CE). The headstone is inscribed with a couplet from the Shāhnāmah (Book of Kings) of Ferdowsī (d. c. 1020 CE) addressing the subject of mortality and the impermanence of “worldly life”: جهان یادگارست و ما رفتنى/ زمرد نماند به جز مردمى “The world is a perpetual remembrance and we all leave it in the end; people will leave nothing behind but their good deeds.”

Background
In examining commercial contacts between West Asia and the Malay-Indonesian archipelago between the 9^th and 18^th centuries AD, the term “Arabian” is often used to describe the foreign merchants involved in these exchanges across modern English, Malay and Indonesian language sources. We might therefore expect to encounter an array of vernacular Arabic loans in Malay (and in other indigenous Austronesian languages on Sumatra and Java, including Achehnese, Minangkabau, Javanese and Sundanese) pertaining specifically to maritime activities, commerce, and daily social exchanges. However, upon analysis, it becomes evident that loans in those domains almost exclusively originate from Persian rather than Arabic, offering a different narrative. This is in some ways unsurprising, since robust linguistic and genetic evidence have demonstrated that Persians rather than Arabs formed the dominant Muslim component in China¹, the Thai Kingdom of Ayutthaya², and the Swahili coast of Africa³, and that use of the term ‘Arab’ is in many cases the result of a broad misattribution which has been replicated for various reasons, discussed below. Observe the following Persian loanwords in Classical Malay for important nautical terms (many now obsolete or archaic), including ‘merchant’, ‘sailor’, ‘captain’, ‘harbor master’, ‘port’, ‘warrant officer’:

Classical Malay	Persian	English
Anjiman	انجمن anjuman “association”	An East Indiaman; a large transport or trading vessel belonging to the East India Company
Awar	آوار āvār	Damage of ship or load
Bad	باد bād	Wind
Balabad	بالا باد bālā bād	High wind, land breeze
Bam	بام bām “ceiling”	Crosspiece (a bar or timber connecting two knightheads or two bitts on a ship)
Bandar	بندر bandar	Port, harbor
Gaz	گز gaz	A Persian unit of length, ranging from 24 to 41 inches
Gusi	گشا gušā	mizzen sail; gaff mainsail
Jangkar	لنگر langar	Anchor
Kelasi	خلاشى xalāši (from خلاش “rudder”)	Sailor
Khoja	خواجه xʷāja	Merchant
Nakhoda	ناخدا nākhodā	Captain, shipmaster
Persangga	فرسنگ farsang	A Persian measure of distance, equivalent to about four miles
Saudagar	سوداگر sowdāgar	Merchant
Serang	سرهنگ sarhang	The officer (or warrant officer) in charge of sails, rigging, anchors, cables etc. and all work on deck of a sailing ship
Syabandar	شاه بندر šāh bandar	Harbormaster
Takhta rawan	تخت روان takht ravān	Plank

At the time of writing, the only Malay nautical terms of Arabic extraction known to this author are farsakh “an ancient Persian unit of distance, equivalent to about 4 miles” (doublet of persangga; from Persian فرسنگ farsang via Arabic فرسخ farsakh, also reborrowed into Persian as farsakh) and bahar “sea” (from Arabic بحر baḥr), but their transmission is problematic due to their simultaneous presence in Persian. If the primary participants in maritime trade were indeed predominantly Arab merchants hailing from the Ḥaḍramaut (a southern coastal region of the Arabian Peninsula), with Persians playing a secondary role in these exchanges, then the near complete absence of Arabic nautical loanwords in Malay poses a significant paradox. Why were nautical terms from the supposed ‘minority’ language selectively borrowed?

On the contrary, the remains of a shipwreck in Phanom Surin, Samut Sakhon province, Thailand dating to before the advent of Islam with an inscription of the presumed shipowner Yazd-bōzēd in Middle Persian, as well as a garnet set in gold finger ring found in Palembang, Sumatra (7^th-9^th century?) engraved in an elegant Pahlavi script with the Middle Persian word āfrīn, “blessing”, suggests Persians had maintained the maritime routes to China where sizable Zoroastrian, Manichaean, Christian and Jewish Iranian communities are known to have existed for centuries prior to Islam. Further Perso-Arabic, Pahlavi and Judeo-Persian inscriptions belonging to a 9^th century Persian-speaking merchant community operating under state privileges on the Malabar Coast of southwest India in the same time frame as the shipwrecked Phanom Surin vessel conﬁrms the wider network in which these objects’ discoveries must be seen. Later in the 15^th century, according to the historian Ismail Marcinkowski, “…Persian was the lingua franca in the Indian Ocean trading world and a Persian-speaking merchant community was present in Malacca. The office with the Persian title of Šāhbandar (شاه بندر “harbor master”), known in many of the Indian Ocean trade ports as well as in several parts of the Ottoman Empire, was also established in Malacca.”⁴ This confirms and advances the existence of a longstanding Persianate commercial network in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea centered around a Persian-speaking merchant oligarchy, which in medieval times included Persian-speaking Gujaratis and Bengalis, as well as Hadhrami Arabs.

This is further corroborated by multiple foreign travelers’ attestations to the highly influential and thriving resident colonies of Persian-speaking merchants in Zaiton (泉州 Quánzhōu) in the 14^th century and in Siam’s capital of Ayutthaya in the 16^th century. Notably, the descendants of some of the original Persian traders in Ayutthaya (known since the 15th century by a Persian epithet Scierno, from Šahr-e nāv “City of Boats and Canals” among Western mariners and travelers around the rim of the Indian Ocean), members of the aristocratic Thai-Persian Bunnag, Siphen and Singhseni families, continued to be in positions close to the Thai throne into the 20^th century. The rich and flavorful massaman curry (แกงมัสมั่น kǣng mát-sà-màn), a corruption of a Persian word mosalmān مسلمان “Muslim”, is attributed to the 17^th century Persian community in Ayutthaya through Sheikh Ahmad of Qom (ca. 1543–1631), the patriarch of the Bunnag family.

(1) Tomb of the Persian-born merchant Sheikh Ahmad of Qom (ca. 1543–1631), in Ayutthaya, Thailand. He became a powerful official in the Siamese court, where he was given the title of Châophráya Boworn Râtcháyók (Thai: เจ้าพระยาบวรราชนายก). He was the ancestor of the powerful Thai-Persian Bunnag family (2) Massaman curry paste (มัสมั่น mát-sà-màn, from Persian mosalmān مسلمان “Muslim”), created by the prosperous 17^thcentury Persian community of Ayutthaya, consists of cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, star anise, clove, cardamom, mace (all brought by traders, including Persians, from the Malay-Indonesian archipelago to Siam) and the decidedly un-Thai flourish of raisins and bay leaves (from Iranian cuisine) combined with ingredients more commonly used in Thai cuisine such as coriander, lemongrass, galangal, white pepper, shrimp paste, shallots, and garlic. This dish, along with others inspired by Persian dishes, is among the recipes in the funeral cookbooks of the Bunnag family⁵

Analysis of Persian loanwords in Malay related to the goods these merchants would have brought illuminates the story further:

Classical Malay	Persian	English
Almas	الماس almās	Diamond
Andam	اندام andām	Arrangement
Anggur	انگور angūr	Grapes, wine (Thai: องุ่น à-ngùn)
Anjir	انجير anjir	Fig
Badam	بادام bādām	Almond
Baju	بازو bāzū “arm”	Shirt
Baksis	بخشش baxšiš	Wage, reward
Balur	بلور bolūr	Crystal
Bius	بيهوش bi-hūš	Anesthetic
Bozah	بوزه būze	Fermented drink made from wheat or millet
Cadar	چادر čādar “tent, veil”	Bed cover or tablecloth
Destar	دستار dastār	Headdress
Gandum	گندم gandom	Wheat
Gul	گل gol	Rose
Kaftan	خفتان xaftān	A long Persian tunic
Kahrab	كهربا kahrobā	Amber
Kasa	كاسه kāse	Bowl
Kelebut	كالبد kālbod	Shoemaker’s last
Kismis	كشمش kišmiš	Raisin
Koja	كوزه kūza	Bottlenecked earthenware
Kurma	خرما xormā	Date
Lajak	لچک lačak	Woven fabric from yarn or silk
Mohor	مهر mohr	Stamp, seal
Perca	پارچه pārča	Cloth from remainder fabric
Piala	پياله piāla	Cup, chalice
Picis	پشيز pešiz “small”	Penny (archaic), of small worth
Pinggan	پنگان pengān “bowl”	Dish, plate
Piring	پرنگ parang “copper”	Plate
Pirus	فيروز firuz	Turquoise
Sadir	نشادر nošâdor	Ammonium chloride
Sakar	شكر šakar	Sugar
Syal	شال šāl	Shawl
Tembakau	تمباكو tambāku	Tobacco
Tenggah	تنگه tanga	A piece of gold or silver
Lazuardi	لاجوردى lājevardi	Lapis lazuli
Zamrud	زمرد zomorrod	Emerald

On Arabic Loans in Malay-Indonesian
It is important to note that words with Arabic etymologies exist in high quantities in Malay (and by extension, Indonesian), far exceeding the number of ‘pure’ Persian loans. However, the majority of Arabic terms are either demonstrably (1) learned borrowings of literary provenance based on their semantic domains and unadapted phonology rather than the result of regular language contact with a vernacular Arabic variety or (2) adopted through the medium of Persian. This is not surprising since knowledge of Classical Arabic would have been prevalent across generations of Muslims even in the absence of a significant community of Arabs, since Arabic is the liturgical language of Islam and mastery of it is required for proper interpretation of the Quran and Hadith. Interestingly, the tombs of multiple Persian shaykhs in Sumatra, such as that of one Shaykh Maḥmūd from Barus dating to 1426 CE inscribed with a couplet from the Shāhnāmah (Book of Kings) of Ferdowsī (d. c. 1020 CE), indicate that Persian Muslims served as an important vector for Islamization and the transmission of Arabic to the region.

Moreover, given the presence of Persian phonologic and semantic mutations to numerous Arabic terms in Malay, many words must have been adopted through the medium of Persian rather than directly from Arabic. The number of words borrowed directly from Arabic in the opinion of this author has been, therefore, considerably overestimated. This extensive misclassification has lent false credence to the idea of a robust historic Arab–Malay relationship to the exclusion of Persians. For example, feminine nouns with the final ta marbuta ة are often, but not always, transformed to ta ت in Persian, and this is present in numerous Malay words (e.g. Malay selamat “wellbeing” from Arabic سلامة salāma via Persian سلامت salāmat; hakikat “truth” from Arabic حقيقة ḥaqiqa via Persian حقيقت haqiqat). Calques from Persian are also present which have been misattributed to Arabic influence. For example, Indonesian apa khabar? “How are you?” (lit. “what news”?) is probably a calque of Persian چه خبر če xabar? If this phrase had been calqued from a colloquial Arabic variety from the Arabian Peninsula, it would have been expected to yield something like *apa akhbar mu with the plural noun akhbar and the Malay second person possessive enclitic -mu (cf. vernacular Yemeni Arabic شو اخبارك šu axbārek). Moreover, Arabic-derived terms in Persian that are not used in Arabic must have been borrowed into Malay via Persian. For instance, the term Malay tamadun “civilization” originates from the Arabic verbal noun تَمَدُّن tamaddun “to become urbanized” but must have been adopted through Persian تمدن tamaddon “civilization” (Arabic does not use tamaddun and instead uses حضارة ḥaḍāra “civilization”, a term absent in Persian).

The arrival of the British and Dutch East India companies in the 18^th century heralded the end of Persian commerce and the disappearance of Persian speakers from the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago. The introduction of steamships facilitated Malay-Indonesian contacts with sacred places and study centers on the Arabian Peninsula and in Egypt, wherefrom returning students and pilgrims began to spread puritanical ideas, particularly Wahhabism. By the 19th century the Malay-Indonesian world had directed its gaze toward Arabia rather than toward Persia, which was increasingly associated with heresy and deviant thought, particularly Sufism, pre-Islamic customs and Shi’ism. This in turn gave way to leveling of many Persian words in favor of Arabic ones, as Arabic continued to be actively studied and mastered as the holy language of Islam. Words such as aftab “sun” which were previously known in Malay, were survived only by their Arabic synonyms (Malay syamsu from Arabic شمس šams). In some cases, under prescriptive influences, Persianized Arabic words with meanings unique to Persian were supplanted by their original meanings. For example, Classical Malay logat which has the Persianized –at ending and historically held the Persian meaning of “word; dictionary” has now shifted towards the original Arabic meaning of “vernacular” but retains its Persian shape. In other cases however, such as sejarah “pedigree; history”, the Persian meaning was retained.

Malay	Persian	Arabic	English
umat	ommat	umma	[Muslim] community
berkat	barekat	baraka	Blessing
tamadun	tamaddon	ḥaḍāra	Civilization
sejarah	šajare “family tree”	šajara “tree”	Family tree, history
akhlak	akhlāq “character, nature”	akhlāq “morals, ethics”	Character, nature
logat	loghat “word”	lugha “idiom”	1. Word; dictionary (archaic) 2. Vernacular, idiom

Commercial and Cultural Loanwords from Persian
Nonetheless, Persian loanwords with frequent occurrence in informal speech paint scenes of significant social interaction between Persians and the indigenous populations of the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and Java. This includes both positive instances of intermarriage and occasions of disagreement or conflict. Note multiple words have undergone significant reshaping, in contrast to Arabic loans, indicating their adoption through normal language contact and high frequency use. More interesting is the absence of Arabic loans in the informal register including colloquial and explicit terms (compare Malay bedebah “damned; fuck it!” from Persian بدبخت badbakht; biadab “rude” from Persian بى ادب biadab; haram jadah from حرام‌زاده harāmzādah “bastard”; syabas from شاباش šābāš “well done!”; etc.), which further casts doubt upon the notion that Arabic was ever used as a communication medium:

Classical Malay	Persian	English
Acar	آچار āčār	Pickle, marinade
Adat	عادت ādat	Tradition, custom
Badi	بدى badi	Bad influence (obsolete)
Bahari	بهارى bahāri “vernal”	Beautiful (obsolete)
Bakh	بخش baxš	Fortunate, happy (archaic)
Bedebah!	بدبخت badbakht	Damned, infernal; (offensive, vulgar) fuck it!
Betah	بهتر behtar	Comfortable; recovered
Biadab	بى ادب bi-adab	Rude, impolite
Bustan	بستان bōstān	Garden, orchard
Calak	چالاک čālāk	Good, outstanding; talkative
Derji	درزى darzi	Tailor
Dayah	دايه dāya	Foster mother
Dewala	ديوال divāl “wall”	Wall of a city
Dewana	ديوانه devāna	Madly in love
Geman, Gamang	گمان gomān	Afraid, frightened
Geram	گرم garm	Indignant; angry, infuriated
Gusti	كشتى kušti	Wrestling
Haram jadah	حرام‌زاده harāmzādah	Bastard
Honar	هنر honar “craft, ability”	Mischief, commotion
Ini	اين in	This
Kanduri	خندورى khanduri	Feast, ceremonial meal
Kawin	كابين kābin	To get married; to have sex
Keskul	كشكول kaškūl	Beggar’s bowl
Kofte	كوفته kōfta، from كوفتن kōftan “to grind”	Various spicy meatball or meatloaf dishes
Nisan	نشان nešān	Tombstone
Panja	پنجه panje	Hand
Pasar	بازار bāzār	Market
Pesona	افسون afsun “spell, incantation”	Enthralling, dazzling
Pirang	فرنگ farang “European”	Blond; of a golden brown color (Thai: ฝรั่ง fá-ràng “foreigner”)
Sanubari	صنوبرى ṣanobari “pine-like; the slender and graceful beloved”	Heart, heartstrings
Serbat	شربت‎ šarbat	A drink prepared from fruits, flower petals
Siuman	هوشمند hūšmand “intelligent, wise”	Conscious, mentally healthy
Syabas	شاباش šābāš	Bravo, well done!
Taman	چمن čaman “lawn, orchard”	Park
Tamasya	تماشا tamāšā “look, watch a spectacle”	Festival; the act of going out and looking at things

Garnet set in a gold finger ring, engraved in Pahlavi script with the Middle Persian word āfrīn, “blessing”. Reportedly found in Palembang, Sumatra (the location of the historic entrepot of Srivijaya), 7th to 9th century. Private collection, Hong Kong

The Islamized Austronesians incorporated Persianate court styles and military culture into their societies, although most of these terms are today either archaic or rendered obsolete:

Classical Malay	Persian	English
Bahadur	بهادر bahādur	Hero
Cambuk	چابک čābok “horsewhip”	Whip
Dewan	ديوان dēwān	Court, council
Firman	فرمان farmān	commandment
Geta	كت kat	Dais, throne
Jin	زين zin	Saddle
Johan	جهان jahān	World; hero
Khanjar	خنجر khanjar	Dagger (Thai: กั้นหยั่น gân-yàn)
Kiani	كيانى kiāni	Throne
Kulah	كلاه kulāh	A kind of helmet, headgear
Laskar	لشكر laškar	Army, soldier
Pahlawan	پهلوان pahlavān	Hero, brave warrior
Siasat	سياست siāsat	Tactic, politic
Syah Alam	شاه عالم šāh-e ‘ālam “King of the world”	Title of the sultan of Selangor
Tajuk	تاجک tājak	Crown
Takhta	تخت takht	Throne
Tarkas	ترکش‎ tarkaš	Quiver
Zirah	زره zirih	Armor

The Classical Malay literary tradition and Islamic scholarship were marked by Persian cultural influences much like on the nearby Indian subcontinent. The enigmatic Malay Sufi poet, Ḥamza Fanṣuri (of Fanṣur, modern Barus), who flourished under the reigned Sultan ʿAlāʾ al-Din Reʿāyat Šāh (r. 1588-1604), had a thorough knowledge of Arabic and Persian. In some of his works, he quotes from the masters of classical Persian mysticism such as Šabestari, either in Persian, or in Malay translation. Notable representation of the advice genre, or naṣiḥat, also bear clear parallels to classical Persian literature. An exemplary illustration of this link is the Tāj al-Salāṭin composed by Boḵāri al-Jawhari (a native of Johor in southern Malaya?) during the 17th century. This work, translated into Malay from an unidentified Persian source in the Acheh Sultanate of Sumatra, not only showcases thematic similarities with earlier Persian compositions like Neẓām al-Molk’s Siāsat-nāma but also incorporates Persian expressions, such as nowruz, to denote the commencement of a new year. Another work is Bustān al-Salāṭin also composed in Acheh around the mid-17th century by Nur-al-Din Rāniri, who was born in India and was deeply immersed in the Persian scholarly tradition. The meticulous adherence to Persian models suggests these Malay works as faithful translations. Both compositions explore the theme of the “Just King” as epitomized by Anoshervan, the archetypal ruler of Sasanian Iran.

Thus, while Arabic enjoys special status for all Muslims including Persians, much like Ecclesiastical Latin for Catholics, review of historic loanwords in Malay reveals that the majority of borrowings pertaining to nautical, commercial, military and royal domains come from Persian rather than Arabic. Persian influence is further evident in Malay literature and Sufism, which manifest concepts and styles from Persian antecedents. Arabic loans form the lion’s share in the field of religion and aspects of daily life influenced by Islamic teachings, which is expected and theoretically does not the require the presence of an Arabic-speaking community. Persian was the vector for spreading many Arabic words into Malay, which is revealed by idiosyncratic Persian phonological and semantic mutations to Arabic words. More interesting is the absence of Arabic loans in certain domains, particularly in informal speech including colloquial and explicit terms (compare Malay bedebah “damned; fuck it!” from Persian بدبخت badbakht; biadab “rude” from Persian بى ادب biadab; betah “comfortable; feeling better” from Persian بهتر behtar “better”; haram jadah from حرام‌زاده harāmzādah “bastard”; syabas from شاباش šābāš “well done!”; etc.), which raises doubt whether Arabic was ever used as a language of communication. Nonetheless, the persistence of few but important Persian words alongside Arabic equivalents in the religious sphere bolsters the historic importance of Persianate Islamic culture on the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago:

Malay	Persian	English
Abdas	آبدست ābdast	Ablution (wudu’); compare Hui Chinese 阿布代斯 ā-bù-dài-sī, also from Persian
Bang	بانگ bāng	Islamic call to prayer (adhan); compare Hui Chinese 邦克 bāng-kè, also from Persian
Dargah	درگاه dargāh	Shrine associated with a Muslim saint
Darwis	درویش‎ darviš	An indigent, ascetic person; a Sufi
Langgar	لنگر langar	A small mosque
Peri	پرى pari	Fairy

An Etymology of the Sogdian Title “Afšīn”

On 21 Sep 202329 Jan 2024 By afzadehLeave a comment

Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. This article explores the history and etymology of the Sogdian term “Afšīn” as a derivative of Old East Iranian *xšaēwan in contrast to an untenable etymology that has been proposed from Avestan “Pisinah.”

(1) Wall painting of the goddess Nana (merged with Anāhitā in Sogdia) discovered in the palace of the Afšīns (Kala-i Kahkaha I), Bunjikat, Tajikistan, 8th-9th century CE (2) Wall painting of a deity with features reminiscent of Chinese forms, Kala-i Kahkaha I, early 9th century CE, Hermitage Museum (3) Ruins of a palace (Kala-i Kahkaha), seat of the Afšīns at Bunjkat, which served as the capital of the principality of Osrūšana from the 6th to 9th centuries CE, Sughd province, Tajikistan (4) Burnt wooden statue, Kala-i Kahkaha, Bunjkat, 6-7th century CE

Background
Afšīn was a Sogdian-language title used by the rulers of various principalities in Transoxiana (modern-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) in the centuries immediately preceding the advent of Islam. However, the etymology of the word remains shrouded in uncertainty. Today, Afšīn (Afshin, Afsheen, Ashfeen, Avşîn, Ōšin) is used as a boy’s name in Iran, Armenia, Iraq and Turkey and, apparently through Persian influence, as a name for both boys and girls in the Indian subcontinent. The gender shift may stem from erroneous interpretation of the second element as the Persian affix -īn, signifying likeness, which is found in multiple Persian female names adopted by Hindustani Muslims (e.g. مهين Mahīn “moonlike”; پروين Parvīn “fairylike”; شيرين Shīrīn lit. “milk-like [sweet]”, etc.). It is most similar in shape to another Hindustani female name, assimilated as Afrīn (from Persian آفرين āfarīn “creation”), which may have influenced it. A later Hindustani version, Ašfīn, resulted from metathesis of /f/ and /ʃ/, perhaps being conflated with the Rigvedic divine twin horsemen, Aśvín (अश्विन्). The Armenian variant Օշին Ōšin is explained by vocalization of the sequence /af/ resulting in the diphthong /au/ and then monophthongized to ō (e.g. earlier Աւշին Awšin; compare vocalization of Persian افرنگ afrang to اورنگ aurang “throne; splendor”, i.e. اورنگ‌زیب Aurangzēb lit. “ornament of the throne”, royal epithet of the sixth Mughal emperor), which has also occurred in renditions of the name in other languages, like Sorani Kurdish (اوشين Awšīn).

Its modern use is probably an homage to the last of the Afšīns, a certain Khedār Kāvūs (?- 841 AD). Khedār Kāvūs was a scion of the rulers of Osrūšana, a Sogdian principality that lay at the southernmost bend of the Syr Darya and extended roughly from Samarqand to Khujand. He is popularly held to have been a [secret] protagonist of the ancient Iranic identity and imperial feeling in the face of Arab-Islamic intrusion. In the Arabic sources, Khedār Kāvūs is often referred to simply by his title, rendered al-Afšīn (الأفشين). When a power struggle and dissension broke out among the reigning family of Osrūšana, the prince al-Afšīn (Khedār Kāvūs) fled to Egypt where he succeeded in winning caliphal favor through his role as top commander of the Abbasid guard to the heir apparent, al-Mu’taṣim. After suppressing multiple rebellions and obtaining governorship of Egypt, al-Afšīn rose to the highest echelons of power and circumstance under the Caliph al-Mu’taṣim during a shining career of two decades. He was appointed supreme commander in the Abbasid campaigns against Byzantium and was rewarded governorship of Azarbāyjān, Armenia, and Sind for his victories. With al-Afšīn came a large band of his followers, fellow natives of Osrūšana, who were integrated into the army and, serving under their prince, became known as the al-Ushrūsaniyya (ٱلْأُشْرُوسَنْيَّة) regiment.

However, in later years a series of intrigues caused his star to decline. He was eventually tried in court for suspected collusion with the anti-Arab renegade prince of Ṭabarestān, Māzyār, and also on the grounds that his conversion to Islam had been in some regards insincere. The allegations he faced included (1) housing richly ornamented Buddhist, Zoroastrian or Manichaean relics (“bejeweled idols and sacred books of the Magians”) in his personal palace at Sāmarrā, which he claimed were family heirlooms (2) ordering the flogging of a muezzin and imam in Osrūšana as punishment for converting a local shrine into a mosque, and (3) remaining uncircumcised. Following his indictment, al-Afšīn was imprisoned and starved in Sāmarrā, where he perished in 841 A.D.

It has been widely disseminated that the word Afšīn represents an Arabic corruption of a Middle Persian form, Pišīn, corresponding to Avestan 𐬞𐬌𐬕𐬌𐬥𐬀𐬵 Pisinah–, of unknown etymology. A closer analysis of the available linguistic and historiographical data casts doubt on this idea, and it shall instead be argued that the title is ultimately descended from Old Iranian *xšáyati “king, ruler” via Sogdian *xšaēwan (whence also Old Persian *xšāyaθiya —> New Persian šāh).

Coin in the name of Raxanč, Afšīn (lord) of Osrūšana. Tamgha symbol on the reverse with name of the ruler in Sogdian rγʾnč MRAY “Raxānič Afšīn”. Excavated in the Palace of Kala-i Kahkaha I, Bunjikat, Tajikistan, 7th century CE

Pišīn and Afšīn as False Friends
First, the only attestation of Avestan Pisinah- is in the form Kavi (“king”) Pisinah in the Zam Yasht, or “Hymn to the Earth”, of the Younger Avestā (composed based on existing oral traditions in the early Sasanian period). Kavi Pisinah is one of the listed successors of Kavi Kavāta (كى قباد Kay Qubād), the other successor kings being Kavi Usaδan, Kavi Arṣ̌an, Kavi Byarṣ̌an, and Kavi Syāvarṣ̌an. In the later Iranian national epic, the Shāhnāmeh, Kay Qubād is fashioned as the founder of the Peshdādiān dynasty and his third son كى پشين Kay Pišīn (from Avestan Pisinah) is mentioned in passing as characters proudly attribute their descent to him who was “wise” and whose “heart was full of giving”. In a repeating formula substituting only the names of the five successors, Pisinah is mentioned as follows in the Avestā:

𐬐𐬀𐬏𐬋𐬌𐬱 𐬞𐬌𐬕𐬌𐬥𐬀𐬢𐬵𐬋 𐬀𐬴𐬀𐬊𐬥𐬋 𐬟𐬭𐬀𐬏𐬀𐬴𐬍𐬨 𐬫𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬛𐬈
kauuōiš pisinaŋhō aṣ̌aonō frauuaṣ̌īm yazamaide
We worship the fravaṣ̌i [eternal spirit] of the righteous Kavi Pisinah (Y. 13.132, 19.71)

The context in which an Indo-Iranian king’s personal name would be adopted as a regal title in Transoxiana is obscure indeed. Perhaps Avestan Pisinah represents the personification of an existing regional title rather than referencing a real individual. Although, this theory would not explain the absence of attestation to the other personal names listed in the Zam Yasht as regal titles, nor provide any hint to the ultimate etymology of Pisinah. Despite evidence pointing to Zoroastrianism’s status as the dominant religion in Transoxiana throughout the first millennium AD, it is unclear to what extent the religion was patronized by individual Sogdian rulers or the state of its health in the centuries immediately preceding the arrival of Islam. It is clear that Sogdian Zoroastrianism was different in some respects from the officialized Sasanian brand that was practiced in Western Iran. The Sogdian version appears to have featured Old Iranian cult patterns and perhaps a degree of syncretism with Indic religions. Beyond the Sogdian Zoroastrian contingent, Buddhist texts in particular form a significant portion of the surviving Sogdian language corpus, and the primary role Sogdian Buddhist monks from Ān 安 (Bukhara) and Kāng 康 (Samarkand) played in the diffusion of Buddhism into China is well-known. Manichaeism had also taken firm hold in the region since it had exploded on the scene across Eurasia and North Africa in early Sasanian times, and the conversion of the Uighur Qaghan to the universalist faith in the 8th century AD is attributed to Sogdian Manichaeans. Nestorian Christians also formed an important contingent, with thriving colonies present throughout T’ang China. The proposed link between Pisinah and Afšīn appears doubtful in light of these considerations.

Second, to the author’s knowledge there exists neither a regular correspondence between Middle Persian pi– and New Persian af- nor any instances of Middle Persian pi– yielding New Persian af- through Arabic interference. Instead, the element ab- or –af is the Middle Iranian descendent of Proto-Iranian *Hapá “away” (Avestan 𐬀𐬞𐬀‎ apa), and appears extensively already in Middle Persian:

Afrāštan (ʾplʾstn’): to raise, elevate (NP afrāštan or afrāxtan)
Afrōxtan (ʾplwhtn’): to kindle, to illuminate (NP afrūxtan)
Afzār (ʾp̄cʾl, ʾp̄zʾl): wear; material, instrument, tool (NP afzār)
Afzōdan (ʾpzwtn’): to increase; to add (NP afzūdan)
Afšāndan (ʾpšʾn-tn’): to scatter, disperse (NP afšāndan)
Afgandan (ʾpkntn’): to throw, to hurl (NP afkandan, afgandan)
Afrang (ʾplng): throne; splendor, majesty (NP afrang)

Other Middle Persian words with unclear etymologies but perhaps also derived from Hapá-, contained the element af-:

Afsōn: spell, incantation (NP afsūn)
Afsān: myth, story (NP afsāna)
Afsōs: scorn (NP afsūs)

Sometimes, af- appeared in New Persian by prothesis of a- to the cluster frā-:

Afrāsiāb: From Middle Persian plʾsy̲d̲ʾp̄’ (frāsiyāb), plʾsyʾk’ (frāsiyāg). Compare Avestan 𐬟𐬭𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀𐬯𐬌𐬌𐬀𐬥‎ fraŋrasiian

Third and most importantly, a regal title containing the element af-, namely “Afšīyan of Samarkand” (βαγο ογλαργο υονανο þαο οαζαρκο κοþανοþαο σαμαρκανδο αϕþιιανο Lord Uglarg, the king of the Huns, the great king of the Kushans, the Afšīyan of Samarkand), is attested in the Bactrian language as early as the 5th century AD—at least three centuries before the arrival of Islam. Another kindred title, Afšūn, appears in an 8th century epistle written in Sogdian addressing the ruler of Khākhsar from the king of Panjikent, Devaštič, whilst he was hiding on Mount Mugh from his impending doom at the hands of the Arab-Muslims. These examples illustrate the futility of advancing the element af- in Afšīn as a corruption by Arabic speakers following the advent of Islam. The element af- already existed in Middle Persian and Eastern Iranian, with the titles “Afšīyan of Samarkand” and Afšūn attested in Bactrian and Sogdian, respectively. Moreover Arabic interference would not be expected to result in the proposed transformation. Therefore, in searching for the name’s origins, any involvement of Middle Persian Pišīn and Avestan pisinah– can rightfully be discarded.

Letter written in 722 CE on pale-gray Chinese paper in Sogdian from Devaštič, ruler of Panjikent, to Afšūn, ruler of Khākhsar, discovered on Mt. Mugh, Tajikistan. Devaštič reproaches the Afšūn for his incompetence in communicating with the Turkic qaghan, but also expresses a hope that the Turks will come to his rescue on Mt. Mugh where he is making a last-stand against the invading Arab-Muslims. It does not seem that they ever did.

Sogdian Etymologies from Old Iranian
We ought to consider the attestations of Afšīn and variants thereof in the original sources. Was this a Western Iranian rendition of an Eastern term? An internal Sogdian transformation of a high frequency word? In our analysis we need make mention of another Sogdian title, Axšīd (Arabic: الإخشيد al-Ixšīd), a variant of xšyδ, xšēδ “chief; commander”, which was in use among the rulers of Farghāna and attested in the early Islamic period. It is also attested in the late 8th Middle Persian Manichaean text Mahrnāmag as the title of the ruler of nearby Kāšğar (疏勒 Shūlè), a Saka-speaking city-state in the Tarim Basin. The currency of the title must have persisted in the Farghāna valley as late as the 10th century, since the short-lived Ikhshidid dynasty of Egypt and the Levant (935-969 AD) was apparently founded by a Baghdad-born prince of Transoxianan extraction, styled as Muḥammad al-Ixšīd.

Attestations of Afšīn and renditions akin to it are summarized in the table below, followed by a discussion.

Title	Native Locality	Attested Language	Time period
Axšīd or Ixšīd	Farghāna, Kāšğar	Sogdian, Arabic	642–755 CE
Afšīyan	Samarkand	Bactrian	5th century CE (Lord Uglarg)
Afšīn	Osrušana	Arabic	712-14 CE
Afšūn	Khākhsar (modern Do’rmontepa, a locality 20 miles west of Samarkand)	Sogdian	722 CE

Although these titles have been proposed to stem from *xšaēta “radiance brilliance” (whence Persian šīd), the Old Iranian *xšáyati “king, ruler” is more likely to be the origin. According to B. Gharib’s Sogdian-Persian-English dictionary, the origin of Afšīn is specifically *xšaēwan containing the elements *xšay “to dominate, to rule” and -wan(ē) “doer”, equivalent to Proto-East-Iranian *xšaivanaka. The fronting of initial /x/, /xᵛ/, or /h/ to /f/ is attested in Sogdian: e.g. Sogdian Frōm “Rome, Byzantine” cf. Middle Persian Hrōm; Sogdian farn, fan “glory, royal splendor” > Avestan xᵛarənah; Sogdian fraxrōs “timid” Avestan fraxraosya- < xroad-.

It is not difficult to infer fronting in variations of *xšaēwan, including (ə)xšēwanē > axšēwan > Afšīyan? and (ə)xšyōnē > axšōn > Afšūn? The form Afšīn, then, is akin to these, and is perhaps a variation of Afšīyan in particular. As such it is possible that only Axšīd (xšēδ) is derived directly from Old Iranian *xšáyati “king” rather than the form *xšaēwan “dominator, ruler”. It further does not exhibit fronting of the initial voiceless velar fricative /x/, which is peculiar if the inhabitants of Farghāna were part of a dialect continuum with other Sogdian speakers who had fronted the initial velar /x/ in their kindred regal titles. This is problematic in that Axšīd persists chronologically later than the other forms. Perhaps the Ixšīds of Farghāna deliberately chose their title from a more archaic word that was still known to them. Or perhaps their dialect simply escaped the sound change that took place further west. Nonetheless, Gharib’s Sogdian-Persian-English dictionary lists multiple lexemes derived from the root *xšaēwan that apparently retained the initial /x/, including a word for “queen”. In this context, it seems the fronted Afšīn and its variants would have been particularly strange:

(10651) xšāwan -> (a)xšōn: “power, rule, authority”
(10652) xšōndār: “ruler”
(10663) xšōnč, xšēwanč, xšəwanč: “queen”

Thus while we cannot know for certain, it appears most likely that the meaning of Afšīn in Sogdian was “King, ruler”, and is a relative to Persian šāh.

Manichaeism: An Early Universalist Religion

On 7 Sep 202317 Oct 2023 By afzadeh1 Comment

Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. This article surveys the Manichaean religion which was founded in Sasanian Persia in the 3rd century AD but quickly expanded into the Roman Empire and Inner Asia, with a pocket surviving in Fujian, China into modern times

The only extant statue of the Iranian prophet Māni (摩尼 Móní), carved into a cliff at the Cǎo’ān nunnery (photo 3) in 1339 A.D. by Chinese Manichaeans during the Yuan Dynasty, Jinjiang, Fujian province, China. In China, Māni assumed the configuration of “Māni, Buddha of Light,” depicted with straight hair draped over his shoulders and sporting a beard in a Chinese Manichaean icon from the 14th or 15th century A.D. (photo 2) The distinctive features of the prophet (arched eyebrows, fleshy jowls) are still apparent in the carving. By report, the statue had a mustache and sideburns, but they were removed by a 20th-century Buddhist monk trying to make the statue more like a traditional Buddha. UNESCO made the site of the Manichean Cǎo’ān a World Heritage Site in 1991 as a unique relic of an extinct world religion.

Background
Māni (216–274 CE) was an Iranian prophet born near the Sasanian Persian capital, Ctesiphon, who experienced two revelations at the ages of 12 and 24 from a spirit whom he later called his heavenly ‘Twin’ (Greek: σύζυγος súzugos “yokefellow”; Aramaic: תאומא tɑʔwmɑ “twin”). Following successive revelations by Zoroaster, Buddha, and Jesus Christ—the three ‘Apostles of Light’—Māni stylized himself as the ‘final seal’ (or παράκλητος Paráklētos ‘Paraclete of Truth’) in a line of prophets whose respective religions had come to predominate in Rome, Persia and China. Moreover, all three faiths were widespread in the heterodox milieu of Sasanian Persia, where Māni had grown up in a noble Parthian family belonging to the Jewish Christian sect of the Elkasaites in Asōristān (Sasanian Mesopotamia). In essence, Māni’s message calls upon the faithful to liberate the divine light that is imprisoned in matter so it can return to the realm of pure spirit (the World of Light); salvation is obtained through spiritual knowledge and purification from material attachments, since the physical world is inherently evil. It is believed that laypeople who are righteous and follow the Manichaean mysteries will reincarnate into plants that can possibly be saved by being eaten by the Elect (the priesthood). The prophet himself composed numerous sacred books: seven were written in Syriac—a liturgical Aramaic language understood in Asōristān—and one tome outlining the religion for King Shapur I in Middle Persian, called Šābuhragān (Chinese: 二宗经 Èrzōng jīng). Māni was also a famed painter who propagated his teachings through illuminated picture books such as the Aržang (New Persian: ارژنگ; Coptic: ⲉⲓⲕⲱⲛ Eikōn; Parthian: dō bunɣāhīg), songs of praise and theatrical performances, among other media.

Manichaeism has been called ‘the only world religion in the true sense.’ Māni envisioned a creed that covered the whole known world, embraced and surpassed all of its previous traditions, and explained all things in heaven and earth. Owing to its zealously missionary nature, within a mere two centuries Māni’s high-mythologized, universalist, dualistic, vegetarian doctrine gained adherents in viz. Hispania, Gaul, Rome, Numidia (Algeria), Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Transoxiana and China, where it has endured in an altered form into modern times. It is clear that various regional iterations of the faith came into existence–e.g. the so-called ‘Chinese Manichaeism’, ‘Roman Manichaeism’, ‘Egyptian Manichaeism’–which were in early times regulated by the Holy See of Babylon based in Ctesiphon and headed by the office of the Archegos (ἀρχηγός).

Whilst the entirety of the existing Manichaean corpus was recovered fragmentarily in Egypt and China in the 20th century, this speaks naught to the popularity of the religion in other regions. Indeed, Saint Augustine of Hippo (present-day Algeria) was a Manichee prior to his conversion to Christianity following a disillusioning experience with Faustus of Mileve, another Numidian Manichaean bishop in Carthage, and the final recorded Archegos in Ctesiphon, known as Abū Hilāl al-Dayhūri (r. 754–775 AD) to the Muslims, was of North African extraction. Hilary of Poitiers wrote that Manichaeism was a significant force in Roman Gaul by 354 A.D, and numerous Manichaean monasteries existed in Rome in 312 AD during the time of Pope Miltiades. The Uyghur Khaghanate, under the influence of its urban Sogdian clients-turned-bureaucracy, even elevated Manichaeism to its official religion from 763 to 840 AD. Nonetheless, Manichaeism is the only major organized religion with worldwide following that has undergone near-total extinction as a result of severe persecution.

(1) Phases of Manichaean history (3rd-17th centuries A.D.) (2) The spread of Manichaeism (~300-500 A.D.)

Manichaean Cosmogony, Social Organization and Ethics
Māni’s essentially Gnostic doctrines describe a fantastically detailed system of divine and demonic forces. In casting aside syncretic influences and considering notions unique to Manichaeism, the following may be enumerated. The Manichaean narrative speaks of a primordial cosmological battle between two ‘realms’ or ‘natures’ existing outside the limits of the physical universe: the World of Light and the World of Darkness. The conflict between these two intangible realms composed of the substances Light (Spirit) and Darkness (Matter), respectively, continues to define all of reality. The story begins when greedy demons of Darkness attacked the World of Light, causing God (‘Father of Greatness’) to summon divine emanations of himself in defense of his realm. However, in the course of the ensuing combat, the two substances became mixed at the hands of merciless demons. Then, a second set of Light divinities were summoned, who created the world, sun, moon and stars as a complex vehicle for separating the two substances. But demons retaliated to this tactic by further dividing the imprisoned Light into the material constituents of Earth. Thus humans, animals, plants, water, soil and other features are sparks of Light trapped in the illusion of matter, causing the Light particles to become defiled by the Darkness encapsulating them. Therefore, the Manichaean view explained the existence of evil by positing a flawed creation in the formation of which God took no part, and which constituted rather the product of an attack by evil beings against God. The appearance of the Prophet Māni was another attempt by the World of Light to reveal to mankind the true source of the spiritual light imprisoned within their material bodies.

Perhaps owing to their ‘inferior’ intellect (mental activities are a manifestation of Light), animals other than humans were viewed as the abortions of she-demons and therefore were particularly rich in Dark substance. While plants—particularly melons, cucumbers, grapes and other vegetables and fruits with considerable luminescence—were believed to contain high concentrations of Light particles that could be liberated through the Elect’s digestive processes (detailed below). Thus man’s charge is twofold in lending support to the World of Light and its struggling, non-omnipotent God. First, humanity must accept the rules and regulations of the Manichaean Church such as personifying virtues of Light (Spirit), including patience, honesty, non-injury, joy, kind words, temperance, wisdom, vegetarianism and charity. Of note, there exist no commandments about gender roles or sexual orientation for either lay-followers or the priesthood, allowing a socially progressive interpretation of Māni’s teachings, not dissimilar to the tone taken by Zoroaster in the Gāthās. Second, ascetic elites, or the “Elect”, are further tasked with freeing dispersed Light from its demonic material entrapments in the form of vegetables, fruits and grains so it may return to the World of Light. The ascension takes place via the two “ships” or “storage vessels” in the sky—the sun and moon, whose waxing and waning corresponds to the transit of Light—and thence off through the Milky Way.

Artistic restoration of ‘The Work of the Religion Scene’ (MIK III 4794 recto, detail), an illuminated manuscript from Aržang, or Māni’s ‘Book of Pictures, recovered near Turfan, China. This painting is a didactic diagram explaining the goal of Manichaean practice: the freeing of the Light from the captivity of the darkness. Laypeople donate vegetarian food (that is believed to have a high concentration of Light particles) to the Elect (the priesthood). After consuming this food, the bodies of the Elect free the Light. Through the singing of hymns, light departs from the bodies of the Elect and heads towards to the World of Light. The moon and sun act as vessels of the light, transporting the freed Light particles back to God (to the World of Light). God, i.e., “the Father of Greatness” (symbolized here by his right hand) reaches into the scene from above to receive the shipment

Manichaean social organization divided the faithful into two classes: the “Elect”–or elite monks committed to itinerant missionary work and a life of monastic asceticism– and the “Hearers”–or lay-followers leading relatively ordinary lives. These had a reciprocal relationship with each other, inasmuch as the Elect needed the financial and material (food, clothing, shelter) support of the Hearers who committed vices such as procreation and crop cultivation, which were viewed as propagating matter and thereby furthering the dispersal of Light. The Hearers in turn depended on the spiritual salvation provided by the chaste, vegetarian and indigent lifestyle of the Elect, who had to scrupulously follow twelve ethical commandments in order to purify their bodies as instruments of Light liberation. The Elect, who were “sealed” with the three seals of mouth and hands and breast (ensuring virtue of speech and act and feeling), lived in monasteries, but also went on journeys on foot to spread and strengthen the faith, eating a vegetarian meal only once a day after nightfall. As neither community was completely prepared to fulfill all of its respective religious duties, regular atonement ceremonies (Parthian: xwāstwānīft “confession”) were performed on Sundays for Hearers and Mondays for the Elect. It was believed that Hearers who were righteous could possibly be reincarnated as Elect, or perhaps as fruit, which could be saved by being eaten by the Elect. The Elect’s souls, having been untangled from the darkness coating them, could return to the World of Light (Heaven) at the time of life’s departure. Jesus Christ, Māni’s forerunner and whose apostle he himself was, serves as the “guiding deity” who greets the light bodies of the righteous after their deliverance.

Icon of the King Jesus; a digital reconstruction of the enthroned Jesus (光明夷數 Guāngmíng yí shù ‘Jesus of Light’) image on a Manichaean temple banner from ca. 10th-century Gāochāng, China. It is the oldest known Manichean Jesus portrait.

Moreover, the Hearers were expected to provide alms of vegetarian food to the Elect, who would liberate the Light particles imprisoned in melons, gourds, grapes, fruit juice etc. through the miraculous purifying instrument of their digestive tracts. During the daily meal ceremony, the digestive processes of the Elect served as ‘altars’ upon which food was offered and ‘burned’, followed by sequences of prayers and songs of praise for the ascension of freed Light back to the World of Light. The alimentation rituals were elaborated during the ‘Throne festival’ (Greek bēma; Mid. Pers. and Parthian: gāhrōšn “Throne of Light”)—held on the final day of the Manichaean fasting month—when a large portrait of Māni himself (Greek eikṓn, Mid. Pers. pahikirb) would be positioned on a splendidly adorned ‘throne’ at the head of the meal ceremony.

(1) Sacrificial ceremony for the 1013 birthday of Lín Dèng (林瞪; 1003-1059 A.D.), an important Chinese Manichaean leader who lived during the Northern Song Dynasty in Băiyáng township, Xiápǔ county, Fujian province, China. Today in Băiyáng Township, the “Xiápǔ Manichaean manuscripts” are used for rituals conducted for Lín Dèng in the three villages of Băiyáng 柏洋村, Shàngwàn 上万村, and Tǎhòu 塔后村 (2) Master Chen Peisheng officiates prayer scene at Puxi Fushou Palace (福寿宫), Fuzhou, China. (3) A Yuan-era black glazed bowl found at the Cǎo’ān Temple excavation with the engraving on the bottom “Church of Light” (明教會 Míng Jiàohuì), a name for the Manichaean faith known in China as 明教 Míngjiào “Religion of Light”

Syncretism in the Cases of Egypt and China
The remarkable degree of syncretism present in Māni’s teachings allowed local beliefs to be seamlessly woven into the fabric of his own unique notions. By a process loosely analogous to molecular mimicry in venereology, contrived similarities between Manichaean teachings and native beliefs occasioned the rapid comprehension and adoption of his religion by converts. Names for Māni’s religious concepts and mythological actors were often substituted for names drawn from the local religion, while prayers, hymns, and other forms of worship were in many cases adopted wholesale with little variation. Thus Abbā dəRabbūṯā (“Father of Greatness”, the highest Manichaean deity of Light), in Middle Persian texts might either be translated literally as pīd ī wuzurgīh, or substituted with the name of the deity Zurwān, from the Zurvanist branch of Zoroastrianism. The names Māni had assigned to the gods of his religion show identification with those of the Zoroastrian pantheon, even though some divine beings he incorporates are non-Iranian. For example, Jesus, Adam or Eve were, respectively, given the names Xradesahr, Gehmurd or Murdiyānag. Similarly, the Manichaean primal figure Nāšā Qaḏmāyā “The Original Man” was rendered Ohrmazd Bay, after the Zoroastrian god Ohrmazd. Because of these familiar names, Manichaeism did not feel completely foreign to the Zoroastrians in Mesopotamia, Persia and Transoxiana.

This process continued in Manichaeism’s meeting with Chinese Buddhism, where, for example, the original Aramaic קריא qaryā (the “call” from the World of Light to those seeking rescue from the World of Darkness), becomes identified in the Chinese scriptures with Guanyin 觀音 (Avalokiteśvara; lit. “watching/perceiving sounds [of the world]), the bodhisattva of Compassion. During and after the 14th century, some Chinese Manichaeans involved themselves with the Pure Land school of Mahayana Buddhism in southern China. Those Manichaeans practiced their rituals so closely alongside the Mahayana Buddhists that over the years the two sects became indistinguishable. The Cǎo’ān temple in Fujian stands as an example this synthesis, as a statue of the “Buddha of Light” is thought to be a representation of the prophet Māni.

(1) 10th-century Manichaean Electae (women), discovered at the capital of the Uyghur Khaghanate, Gāochāng 高昌 (قۇچۇ Qocho; قاراغوجا Qara-Khoja), Turfan oasis, China (photos 2-3) The ruins of Gāochāng, designated the capital of the Uyghur Khaghanate in 850 A.D., Turfan, China

According to Chinese adherents of Manichaeism during the Ming dynasty, their religious tradition made its way into China via Mōzak during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang (650–683 AD). Bishop Mihr-Ohrmazd, a disciple of Mōzak, followed his mentor into China and was granted an audience with Wu Zetian, who wielded significant power during the Tang dynasty from 684 to 690 AD and ruled as the emperor of the Wu Zhou dynasty from 690 to 705 AD. According to later Buddhist sources, during this audience, he presented the Šābuhragān (Chinese: 二宗经 Èrzōng jīng), which apparently became the most popular text among Chinese Manichaeans. In 731 AD, Emperor Xuanzong sought a summary of their foreign religious beliefs from a Manichaean, resulting in the creation of a text known as the “Compendium of the Teachings of Māni, the Awakened One of Light.” This text interprets the prophet Māni as an incarnation of Laozi.

“Saint Augustin” by Philippe de Champaigne, c. 1645. A former Manichaean, Saint Augustin of Hippo Regius in Numidia (present-day Algeria) was a Berber Christian bishop, theologian and philosopher who contributed significantly to the formulation of Western Christianity. Following an encounter at a Manichaean conference in Carthage with a fellow Numidian Manichaean bishop, Faustus of Mileve, Saint Augustin gradually left the religion and become a prominent anti-Manichaean polemicist, although the religions influenced his interpretations of Christianity

Egypt was evangelized in Māni’s lifetime by his early disciple Adda who arrived in Alexandria, according to Manichaean narratives recovered at Turfan in China. Lower Egypt served as an early transit for the faith into the Roman Empire, from which it spread to Carthage and Western Europe. However, Upper Egypt in particular has been seen as a Manichaean stronghold. In the remote Kellis Oasis in Upper Egypt, Manichean psalms to Jesus were discovered that bear almost the exact formula of a Christian psalm, praising Jesus in every stanza, until the very final words: ‘Glory and victory to our Lord, our Light, Mani and his holy Elect’ (Psalmbook 52). This inherent flexibility likely facilitated its widespread acceptance across various milieus by permitting the harmonization of its teachings with pre-existing religious beliefs. On many occasions, Manichaeans were confused for by the remarkable ability to camouflage at a moment’s notice. Paradoxically, however, this malleability may have contributed to the eventual evaporation of Manichaeism, akin to sand slipping through fingers, as adherents may have found it effortless to revert to the majority religion when the need for spiritual conformity arose. In times of persecution, layers of Manichaean-specific doctrines could be relinquished without the necessity of renouncing the majority faith in its entirety.

The ruins of Kellis, Egypt. The oases of Upper Egypt once served as a stronghold of Manichaeism, with much of the the current Manichaean corpus being recovered from 20th-century expeditions there

Eternal Fires of Ancient Iran–On the Sasanian-era Ādur Gušnasp Zoroastrian Temple

On 25 May 20232 May 2024 By afzadehLeave a comment

Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. This article provides a brief history of the Zoroastrian (Mazdean) religion and the Ādur Gušnasp fire temple located at Taḵt-e Solaymān (Shīz), Iran, which served an important role in the religious and political framework of the Sasanian Persian Empire

(1-5) The ruins of Ādur Gušnasp Fire Temple are situated on an extinct volcano 2,150 meters above sea level at Shīz, Iran. The complex sits atop sediments formed from the overflowing calcinating water of a thermal spring-lake (21° C) which formed in the volcano’s extinct crater. The site transports the observer to a bygone era, in which lofty passageways illuminated by the eternal fire’s soft glow would grant access to a large domed chamber housing Ādur Gušnasp in a grand stone fire-altar

Background
Immediately before the advent of Islam, a diverse range of religious beliefs existed among Iranian peoples, who once inhabited a vast region spanning from Gelonus to Seleucia-Ctesiphon to Khotan. These included native Iranian faiths such as Zoroastrianism (incl. Zurvanism), Manichaeism, Mazdakism, varieties of Iranian polytheism and the Scythian religion, as well as Indic traditions like Buddhism (Tantric Vajrayāna) and Abrahamic religions such as Christianity (Church of the East), Judaism and Gnosticism. However, Zoroastrianism (also called Behdin “the Good Religion”, Mazdaism or Mazdayasna, lit. “wisdom-celebration”) held the sole position of official patronage within the Sasanian Persian Empire beginning with Ardeshir I (r. 226–241 A.D.), the founder of the dynasty and grandson of the eponymous Zoroastrian high-priest of Staḵr, in Pārs, named Lord Sāsān (Sāsān xʷadāy). By the reign of Shapur II (r. 309–379 A.D.), it was declared the official state religion in a move, in all probability, to curtail sympathies towards the Christian state church of its archenemy, the Roman Empire. The Zoroastrian attitude of non-proselytization, however, fostered a policy of religious tolerance—a tradition started by the Persian Achaemenids and continued by the Arsacids—which facilitated strategic inclusivity of Christians, Gnostics, Jews, Manichaeans and Buddhists as a means of sustaining social harmony. Central to Zoroastrian ethics is the concept of personal agency and individual choice as a result of free thought; thus, proselytization was discouraged, while self-initiated conversion was welcomed. By contrast in the Roman Empire, coercive conversion and persecution against non-Christians was frequently used as a tool for maintaining societal cohesion.

(1) A large relief of the investiture of the Sasanian king Ardashir II at Tāq-i-Bustān, Kermānshāh, Iran (c. 4th century A.D.). King Ardashir II and his predecessor Shapur II stand atop the fallen Roman Emperor Julianus Apostata (361-363 A.D.). The archangel (yazāta) Mithra stands atop a Lotus Flower on the left holding a “barsom”—a bundle of twigs from select medicinal plants used by Zoroastrian priests (Magi) in their role as traditional healers. (2) Gold statuettes carrying barsoms, a symbol of priesthood, discovered as part of the Achaemnid-era “Oxus Treasure” in Qobādiyān, Tajikistan.

As a result of gaining official status, concerted efforts were made in early Sasanian times (224-651 A.D.) to collate, edit and systematize the liturgy with the purpose of compiling a master copy of the scripture known by its Middle Persian name Abestāg (NP: Avestā; perhaps from Old Iranian *upa-stāvaka- “praise”). This so-called ‘Sasanian archetype’ canonized an assortment of written and oral traditions, many of which had been composed by priests in times far removed from the lifetime of Zoroaster (c. 1500-1000 B.C.?), in a manner deemed suitable for the likes of an organized state religion. A complete version of the holy scripture likely existed in the Achaemenid epoch (550–330 B.C.), “written on adorned ox hides with golden ink” and housed at the Fortress of Archives (diž ī nipišt) at Staḵr in Pārs. Lamentably, it and other copies were targeted and destroyed by Alexander of Macedon (ōy petyārag ī wad-baxt ī ahlomōγ ī druwand ī anāg-kardār aleksandar ī hrōmāyīg “that wretched, ill-omened adversary, the accursed, evil-doing heretic Alexander the Roman”), who also executed scores of the foremost “religious authorities (dastwarān), judges, hērbeds, mōbeds, religious leaders, and able and wise people of the land of Iran” according to the Sasanian-era Ardā Wirāz Nāmag.

The Sasanian descriptions further state that this original Avesta consisted of twenty-one Nasks or books, and must have been a sort of encyclopædia, not alone of religion, but of many matters relating to the arts, sciences, and professions, closely connected with daily life. It is speculated that among the lost materials were the descriptions of perhaps hundreds of botanical medicines, including the revered haoma (𐬵𐬀𐬊𐬨𐬀 “ephedra”[?], Zoroastrian Dari: هم hōm; a powerful stimulant). This is reflected in the Magi’s ancient renown as physicians and healers who are frequently depicted holding twig bundles (𐬠𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬯𐬨𐬀𐬥 barəsman; MP: barsom), a symbol of priesthood, which they used to prepare a wide array of plant-based extracts.

(1-2) Remnants of murals found in the fire sanctuary gallery at Kūh-e Xʷāja, Sistān, Iran. It appears in the Sasanian period, sacred Zoroastrians precincts had a wealth of luxurious decorations. Aurel Stein observed a three-headed creature and an ox-headed mace (gorz) held by a partially-obliterated seated figure in the first painting, identified as the hero Rostam with his weapon (3) The imposing south façade of the fire sanctuary bears the remnants of a stucco relief that portrayed a contest between a horseman and a lion (4-5) The Kūh-e Xʷāja complex sits on a basalt lava island in the historic Lake Hāmūn. Offerings to water, seen as nurturing the cosmic integrity and strength of the natural element, serves as the culmination of the daily Zoroastrian act of worship

Judging from the table of contents of the Nasks, it would seem that not more than a quarter, perhaps less, of the ancient monument of the Avesta could be restored even at the time of the Sasanian council. Nonetheless, reformists contend that this move on the part of the Sasanian monarchy introduced a host of stringent laws and disagreeable practices—particularly in the form of the Vīdēvdād (lit. “Given against Demons”) ecclesiastical code—that reflect contemporary attitudes among the clerics and communities who conceived of them rather than the abstract, progressive and morally profound tenets set forth by Zoroaster in the Gāthās over a thousand years prior. Indeed, the spirit of the Gāthās is largely non-prescriptive in that it promotes self-dependent righteousness as a result of freethinking and free will, as well as ecological stewardship in nurturing the cosmic integrity of water, earth, the animal and plant kingdoms, air and fire. The immortal personal spirit (Av. 𐬟𐬭𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬴𐬌 fravaṣ̌i; OP *fravarti- –> MP frawahr –> NP فروهر farvahar, forūhar) of each individual, residing somewhere in the intangible universe (Av. 𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎‎ maⁱniiu “spirit [realm]”; MP 𐫖𐫏𐫗𐫇𐫃‎ mēnōg –> NP مينو mīnū), sends out the urvan (𐬎𐬭𐬬𐬀𐬥 ‘soul’; NP روان ravān) to take transient bodily form (𐬙𐬀𐬥𐬎‎ tanu; NP تن tan) in the material world (Earth; MP 𐫃𐫏𐫤𐫏𐫃 gētīg –> NP گيتى gītī)) which serves as the final battlefield in the eternal struggle between the forces of light, truth and intelligence and those of darkness, falsehood, and ignorance. On Earth, the individual possesses free will to act as a co-worker—rather than a slave—of Ahura Mazda and the forces of light or of his demonic adversary, Angra Mainyu (𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎; NP: اهريمن Ahrīman), without dooming repercussions, given the predicted final victory of good over evil and the universal salvation of souls. The Gāthās speak naught to matters such as disposal of corpses, bodily defilement and ritual purification, sodomy, and gender roles as outlined in the Vīdēvdād, whose authors were Magi writing in an unknown geographic location at a time far removed from that of their prophet, when Avestan had already ceased to be spoken, in a deliberately imitative but degenerate form of the Gathic language (Artificial Younger Avestan).

(1) A Zoroastrian priestess directs worship towards God (𐬀𐬵𐬎𐬭𐬋 𐬨𐬀𐬰𐬛𐬃 Ahurō Mazdā̊, lit. “Lord of Wisdom/Intelligence”) before the soft glow of an eternal fire during the ‘Sadeh’ festival, Tehran, Iran (c. 2020) (2) A priestess carries a vase of coals in order to set firewood ablaze for the expansion of an eternal fire for ‘Sadeh’ (3) Sadeh (lit. “one hundred”) is celebrated one hundred days and nights past the end of the summer. A massive bonfire is ignited using embers from a sacred temple fire to symbolize the ultimate triumph of light and positivity over darkness, cold and frost.

Since the establishment of the temple cult of fire likely in the late Achaemenid period (detailed below), Zoroastrians have frequently been known among followers of other faiths as “fire-worshippers”. However, Zoroastrians themselves have consistently rejected this title, asserting that fire instead serves as an icon, directing their thoughts towards God (Ahura Mazda), positivity and truth (𐬀𐬴𐬀 aṣ̌a) as described by their prophet. Indeed, perhaps the warm, animated and seemingly sentient nature of fire inspires veneration with greater immediacy than the static icons found in other traditions. Fire serves as a tangible embodiment of both the illuminated mind and the divine presence, symbolizing the ‘cosmic fire’ or life force in all animate things, plants, animals and men. Zoroastrian ‘eternal fires’—burning uninterruptedly since creation and consecration, sometimes for centuries or even millennia—are invested with an immense aura of sanctity among the faithful. It can be further stated that Zoroastrian liturgy places as much importance in sustaining the purity and integrity of water and the animal and plant kingdoms as it does fire. Special reverence for nature has undeniably bestowed a distinctive quality upon Zoroastrian worship, enriching its spiritual tapestry.

Zoroastrians in Shirāz observe the ancient festival of ‘Sadeh’. In ancient times, the fire was kept burning all night. The following morning, women would take a small portion of the blessed fire back into their homes to make new household fires. At the end of the year (Nowruz), remnants of the fire were returned to the eternal temple fire (c. 2020)

During the Sasanian period (226-651 A.D.), apparently three preeminent fires known as Ātaš Bahrāms (lit. “Flames of Victory”), existing since creation presumably in late Achaemenid or Parthian times, were assigned the highest grade of sanctity in the Zoroastrian religion. According to tradition, an Ātaš Bahrām is consecrated by purified embers from sixteen different sources, including the fire created by a lightning bolt. They therefore symbolized the utmost sanctity and purity, eclipsing other ritual fires (NP آتش ātaš > Avestan 𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭𐬱 ātarš; regular MP 𐭭𐭥𐭥𐭠 ādur, whence NPآذر āḏar) in the realm, and each was in turn associated with a specific region and class of individuals. Each quarter of Iran thus had its own great fire, namely: Ādur Gušnasp in Media dedicated to warriors and nobility, Ādur Farnbāg in Pārs dedicated to the priest class, Ādur Burzēn-Mihr in Parthia dedicated to farmers, and a fourth much venerated great fire was that of Karkūy in Sistān.

After the 5th century A.D., it became customary for each Sasanian king to make a pilgrimage on foot to Ādur Gušnasp temple after his coronation at Seleucia-Ctesiphon. There, the kings lavished the temple with royal gifts, sought counsel from the priests, and received blessings from Ohrmazd through Ādur Gušnasp‘s gentle radiance. Lamentably, following the Arab-Islamic conquest of Persia, Muslims gradually extinguished sacred fires and either demolished fire temples or converted them into mosques (such as the Magok-i ʿAṭṭār Mosque in Bukhara). However, it is likely that an Ātaš Bahrām established in the Yazdi plain around the 13th century A.D. and which is now housed in the Zoroastrian Fire Temple of Yazd represents the union of two preeminent fires from Sasanian times, namely Ādur-Anāhīd from Staḵr and Ādur Farnbāg, whose embers were secretly removed from their original sanctuaries and safeguarded by priests in hiding for centuries.

A Zoroastrian priestess leads the rites to the Ābāngān festival at the Zoroastrian Fire Temple of Yazd, Iran. In this ritual called āb-zōr (from Avestan 𐬀𐬞 𐬰𐬀𐬊𐬚𐬭𐬀 ap-zaoθra, lit. “offering to the waters”), which is also part of the daily liturgy, a mixture called parahōm (from Avestan *para-haoma; lit. “before haoma [ceremony]”) consisting of cow’s milk, consecrated water, haoma (ephedra), and crushed leaves from a pomegranate tree is offered to a flowing body of water whilst reciting the Ābān-yašt. This is a symbolic gesture offering strength and gratitude to the waters for nourishing the plant and animal kingdoms–the fruits of which are to be found in the ingredients of the parahōm mixture. Āb-zōr, much like ātaš-zōr, is viewed as part of humanity’s responsibility in maintaining the cosmic integrity of the four natural elements created by Ahura Mazda on this planet–fire, water, earth (the plant kingdom), and air. Thus every fire temple must be built beside water, whose guardian divinity (yazāta) is Arədvī Sūrā Anāhitā.

History of the Role of Fire in Zoroastrianism
The religion of the prophet Zoroaster (as attested in the Gāthās 𐬔𐬁𐬚𐬁 lit. “hymns”; the oldest portion of the Avesta attributed to Zoroaster himself) was the world’s first monotheistic religion, although there remains no historical evidence pointing to the Zoroastrians’ awareness of this point. Even a hypothetical sect of the religion, Zurvanism, declared the existence of a single transcendental, neutral and passionless deity of infinite time and space that made no distinction between good and evil (Zurvān; from Avestan 𐬰𐬭𐬬𐬀𐬢 zruvan-, lit. ”time”). Zoroastrianism is thus characterized by a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ontology and an eschatology which predicts the ultimate conquest of evil by good. Throughout history, the distinctive characteristics of Zoroastrianism, including its monotheistic nature, messianism, emphasis on free will and the notion of posthumous judgment, the concepts of heaven, hell, angels, and demons, among others, have deeply influenced Christianity, Judaism, Gnosticism, Northern Buddhism, and even Greek philosophy.

The veneration of fire within the Zoroastrian tradition can be traced to the Indo-Iranian cult of the hearth fire in Central Asia, in all probability having its origins in Indo-European times in the Pontic-Caspian Steppe (compare the analogous sacred eternal flame of Vesta in Rome, tended to by the Vestal virgins). The hearth fire, serving as a source of warmth, illumination, and solace, held profound significance for the ancient Iranians, who perceived it as a visible embodiment of the divine entity known as Ātar (Avestan 𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭; of unknown origin). Celestial fires, present in the forms of the sun and moon, were also venerated by facing them and directing worship towards them in open-air, especially if a terrestrial fire was out of reach. This perception positioned Ātar as both the devout servant and the commanding master of humanity, reflecting an enduring reciprocal relationship. As an expression of gratitude for Ātar’s assistance, regular offerings of incense or fragrant woods and sacrificial animal fat (causing the flames to leap up) were presented through a ritual referred to as ātaš-zōhr (from Avestan 𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭𐬱 𐬰𐬀𐬊𐬚𐬭𐬀 *ātarš-zaoθra “offering to fire”). Moreover, natural elements such as fire and water assumed a pivotal role in various religious ceremonies. The ancient Yasna Haptaŋhāiti ritual (Yasna 35–41) is believed to trace its lineage to a pre-Zoroastrian liturgical practice involving priestly acts of devotion directed towards fire and water.

The Aṣ̌əm vohū (Avestan: 𐬀𐬴𐬆𐬨 𐬬𐬊𐬵𐬏) manthra, among the most important prayers found in the Avesta, recited by High Priest (dastūr) Mehrabān Firuzgari. The lyrics translated from Old Avestan: aṣ̌əm vohū vahištəm astī / uštā astī uštā ahmāi / hyat̰ aṣ̌āi vahištāi aṣ̌əm “Righteousness is the best good and it is happiness. Happiness be to him who is righteous for the sake of righteousness.” Zoroastrians view goodness for the sake of goodness and as a result of free thought and free will, rather than goodness driven by God’s surveillance and promises of reward or punishment, to be a central tenet of their worldview and code of conduct.

Zoroaster further elevated this Indo-European cultural inheritance by associating fire to the creation of Aṣ̌a Vahišta (𐬀𐬴𐬀 𐬬𐬀𐬵𐬌𐬱𐬙𐬀 “Best Truth”; NP: ارديبهشت Ordibehešt > MP 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭥𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭩‎ Ardwahišt) and recognizing it as the instrument through which God’s judgment would be executed on the Last Day. According to his teachings, a cataclysmic event, symbolized by a fiery flood of molten metal, would engulf the earth, subjecting humanity to a final judgment (referred to as Frašō-kərəti 𐬟𐬭𐬀𐬱𐬋⸱𐬐𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬙𐬌; MP: 𐭯𐭫𐭱𐭠𐭪𐭥𐭲 Frašagird ) before evil is destroyed once and for all, and the universe will be in perfect unity with Ahura Mazda. For Zoroaster, the cult of fire thus held profound moral and spiritual significance. As expressed in Yasna 43.9, he proclaimed, “I shall diligently contemplate truth (aṣ̌a) during the offering made with reverence to fire,” and he instructed his followers to always pray in high places and in the presence of fire—whether earthly fire or the celestial bodies of the sun and moon (as indicated in Mēnōg-ī xrad, chapter 53.3-5). At this early stage, it is thought that the cult of fire coexisted with other cults, particularly that of water (representing the yazāta Arədvī Sūrā Anāhitā).

*A fortified wall forming an oval with semi-cylindrical bastions (38 total) positioned at regular intervals surrounds the entire site. This wall was constructed during the Sasanian period*, *Ādur Gušnasp Temple, Shīz, Iran*

*A semi-cylindrical bastion and part of the fortified wall from the Sasanian-era has been restored, Ādur Gušnasp Temple, Shīz, Iran*

The cult of terrestrial fire comprised both hearth fires and ritual fires, each serving distinct purposes. In the traditional setting, individuals would establish their own hearth fire upon founding a household, ensuring its continuous burning throughout their lifetime. This domestic fire, symbolizing perpetual warmth and vitality, held great significance for Iranian families. Notably, the Greeks also revered the hearth fire, and while Herodotus acknowledged the Persians’ deep reverence for it, he did not singularly label them as “fire-worshippers” and he made no mention of temples among them. However, in all probability during the later Achaemenid period, a Zoroastrian temple cult dedicated to fire emerged. This development, possibly instigated by the orthodox faction, served as a response to the introduction of temple cults with statues of Anāhīta.

The temple cult of fire, an extension of the domestic fire cult, involved a sacred fire enthroned on an altar-like stand (ātašdān; these were traditionally hewn of stone until the 19th century, when the Parsi community took to putting their sacred fires in big metal vases made of brass or German silver, which they then introduced to their coreligionists in Iran). It retained the traditional wood fire and continued to receive prescribed offerings five times a day, meticulously administered by a priest who safeguarded its purity. Details about the classification and constitution of sacred fires during the Achaemenid period are scant. Nevertheless, it is plausible that the temple cult was instituted with utmost grandeur and dignity, aiming to rival the majestic image-cult of Anāhīta. Consequently, the most revered type of sacred fire (Ātaš Bahrām) likely traces its origins to the earliest periods. According to a post-Sasanian tradition, this fire is created by combining purified embers from numerous fires, including lightning fire, in an elaborate consecration ritual. Once consecrated, the sacred fire is ceremoniously carried in procession to its sanctuary, a triumphant act known as pad wahrāmīh “towards victory”. Accompanying priests brandish swords and maces, and upon completion of the ceremony, some of these weapons are hung on the sanctuary walls, symbolizing the fiery entity’s warrior nature and its unwavering battle against all forces opposed to truth (aṣ̌a).

A hirbod or mugh (Old Persian 𐎶𐎦𐏁 *maguš* —> Ancient Greek μάγος *magos* “Zoroastrian priest; sorcerer, magician”, whence English “magi”, “magic”) tends to an Ātaš Bahrām housed in the Zoroastrian Temple of Yazd, Iran. This highest-grade fire was consecrated in the 13th century A.D. through the union of two preeminent fires from Sasanian times, namely Ādur-Anāhīd and Ādur-Farnbāg. Both great fires were originally installed in Pārs and were safeguarded by Zoroastrians in hiding following the Islamic conquest of Sasanian Persia

The temple site offers a view of what was called Zendān-e Solaymān since Mongol times; it is a cone-shaped hollow mountain built up of limestone during millions of years by a hot spring underneath. The mountain is 97 to 107 meters tall while its crater is 65 meters wide and around 80 meters deep. The crater was at one time full of water, fed by floor springs, but it dried centuries ago. Shīz, Iran

Ādur Gušnasp Fire Temple
The historical knowledge of Ādur Gušnasp surpasses that of the other two prominent fires, namely Ādur Farnbāg and Ādur Burzēn-Mihr, due to two key factors. Firstly, its temple in Azerbaijan was located near the western border of Iran, attracting the attention of numerous foreign visitors. Secondly, the Sasanian kings showed favor towards it starting from the early 5th century. As a result, it received frequent mentions in the later part of the royal chronicle, known as the Xwadāy-nāmag, and in the Šāh-nāma, where it was also referred to as Āḏar-Ābādagān (>”Azerbaijan”). Although the exact original location of Ādur Gušnasp remains uncertain, it appears that it was relocated to a remarkably beautiful site in Azerbaijan, known as Taḵt-e Solaymān during Islamic times, but likely called Mount Asnāvand by the Median magi. This site features a hill of mineral deposits formed by a spring within it, creating a picturesque lake atop the hill that is elevated above the surrounding landscape. A new temple was constructed for Ādur Gušnasp at this location, and its association with the Sasanian royalty was emphasized to the extent that it became customary for each king, following their coronation, to embark on a pilgrimage to the temple on foot (although accounts in the Šāh-nāma suggest that the monarch only walked from the base of the hill as a gesture of deep reverence). The shrine received generous offerings from the kings, and a legend developed claiming that the first monarch to enrich it was Kay Ḵosrow himself, who sought divine assistance against Afrāsīāb while praying at the temple alongside his grandfather Kāvūs.

(1) A recently restored fire temple (ātaškada) known as Qal’a-i Mugh, with a symbolic fire established on the fire-altar, near Istaravshan in the Sughd region, Tajikistan (2019). The structure features characteristic Zoroastrian architectural vocabulary and exterior decorations from Sasanian times, including a domed sanctuary (gombad) with intricate brickwork surrounded by a courtyard (2) The baked brick fire-altar (ātašdān) has a traditional three-step pedestal and long shaft decorated with recessed panels. Ātašdāns holding preeminent fires were historically hewn of solid blocks of stone, with lower-grade fires frequently held in mud-brick altars. However, they were replaced by metal vases per a Parsi trend in the 19th century

There are several references in the epic mentioning visits by Bahrām V (421-39 A.D.) to the fire temple. It is said that he spent the Nowrūz and Sadeh festivals there and, on another occasion, entrusted an Indian princess, his bride, to the high priest of the temple for conversion to the Zoroastrian faith. According to Ṯaʿālebī, upon Bahrām’s return from his campaign against the Turks, he offered the ḵāqān’s crown to the shrine and dedicated his wife and her slaves as servitors. Ḵosrow Anōšīravān is also said to have visited Ādur Gušnasp before embarking on a military campaign. Later, he bestowed a substantial amount of treasure from tribute received from Byzantium on the fire temple. Ḵosrow Parvēz prayed at Ādur Gušnasp for victory in battle and subsequently offered a generous portion of the spoils to the sanctuary. It was not only the kings who made petitions and offerings at the temple, as evidenced by a prescription in the Bundahišn, which states that those praying for the restoration of eyesight should vow to send a golden eye to Ādur Gušnasp, or those seeking an intelligent and wise child should send a gift to the temple.

(1) Ruins of the main domed sanctuary that housed Ādur Gušnasp, which was apparently adorned with a stucco frieze in high relief. Beneath the dome was found the three-stepped pedestal of a great fire-altar, as well as the base of its rounded, pillar-like shaft

An overhead view of the Taḵt-e Solaymān complex, including the Sasanian-era Ādur Gušnasp temple, various other religious buildings including a sanctuary devoted to Anāhīta, and the royal quarters, as well as Mongol-era buildings Shīz, Iran

The grandeur of the ruins of Ādur Gušnasp aligns with the accounts found in literary records and exceeds that of any surviving Zoroastrian place of worship. To safeguard the sanctuary, the hilltop was enclosed by an immensely thick mud-brick wall. Later, during the Sasanian period, a stone wall measuring 50 feet in height and 10 feet in thickness was erected along the rim of the hill, featuring thirty-eight towers at regular intervals. The temple precinct itself was surrounded on three sides by an additional wall, while the south side remained open to the lake. Extensive excavations have unveiled the layout of this grand complex. Approaching from the north, one would enter a spacious courtyard suitable for accommodating numerous pilgrims. From there, a processional path led towards the lake, featuring a square, domed room that faced north and south. This lavishly adorned room possibly served as a space for prayer and ceremonial ablutions, culminating in a large open portico that offered a lovely view of the waters. A covered pathway extended along the front of the building, leading to a remarkable sequence of pillared halls and antechambers that stretched from south to north on the western side of the processional way. It is believed that the sanctuary of Ādur Gušnasp itself occupied the northernmost end of these halls. Initially, the sanctuary took the form of a flat-roofed, pillared structure made of mud-brick, but it was later replaced by a stone construction with a domed roof. The walls of this sanctuary were adorned with a prominent stucco frieze in high relief, and judging by the elaborate Sasanian-era decorations found at the fire temple at Kūh-e Xwāja in Sistān, may have once featured an intricate scheme of paintings and bas reliefs. Beneath the dome, archaeologists discovered a three-stepped pedestal for a grand fire-altar (ātašdān) made of stone and the base of its cylindrical shaft. Fragments of smaller altars and ritual vessels have been unearthed within and near the pillared halls that led to the sanctuary, indicating the ongoing devotional activities, including offerings, prayers, and religious ceremonies.

*A passageway at the ruins of the Ādur Gušnasp complex. The walls were covered in dressed stone during Sasanian times. Shīz, Iran*

The vast temple complex included numerous additional rooms, such as smaller shrines and the temple treasury, which likely held valuable and priceless offerings. Objects that can be precisely dated have not been found in the ruins prior to the reign of Pērōz (A.D. 457-84). However, a room near the main entrance yielded a collection of over 200 clay sealings, including eighteen inscribed with the title “high-priest of the house of the fire of Gušnasp” (mowbed ī xānag ī Ādur ī Gušnasp). In A.D. 623, during his campaigns against Ḵosrow Parvēz, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius sacked the temple of Ādur Gušnasp, destroying its altars, setting fire to the entire structure, and mercilessly killing all living beings present. Nevertheless, the great fire itself was evidently rescued and later reinstated. The destruction of Ādur Gušnasp‘s shrine may be alluded to in a pseudo-prophecy found in the Persian Zand ī Vahman Yašt, which predicts the removal of Ādur Gušnasp from its original location due to the devastation caused by the invading armies, implying its relocation to Padašxwārgar. After being reinstated in its temple on the hill, Ādur Gušnasp continued to burn for many generations following the arrival of Islam. However, the temple faced increasing persecution, and the great fire was likely extinguished by the end of the 10th century or, at the latest, the early 11th century A.D. The ruins of the temple were subsequently utilized as a quarry for constructing a palace on the hilltop for a local Mongol ruler.

Hidden in Plain Sight: Illuminating Indo-European Words in Persian

On 19 May 202311 Apr 2024 By afzadehLeave a comment

Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. This article provides a brief background on the Persian language and its history, as well as provides a list of easily recognizable Indo-European words in the language and English cognates. These words are a reminder of the shared history of the Indo-European language family, despite several thousand years of geographic separation and independent development.

(1) Two-story arched niches decorated with polychrome glazed tiles enclose the central courtyard, Masjed-e Shāh, Isfahan (c. 1629 A.D.) (2) Interior of the northwestern domed chamber. The surface is completely covered with polychrome majollica tiles depicting floral and vegetal motifs which are a metaphor for the idyllic gardens of Paradise, above a continuous marble dado (3) Details of the northwestern dome, of a smaller scale than the dome of the main sanctuary. Floral and vegetal motifs emanate in a sunburst pattern from a turquoise gem at the apex (4) A woman seated before the massive-scale ayvān to the main chamber (5) Details of polychrome glazed tilework in the corridor connecting the portal ayvān to the courtyard (6) The rear portal to the complex, decorated with a stalactite vault and tiles with floral and geometric designs

A Brief History of the Persian language
Persian (endonym Fārsi, Pārsi; frequently Tājiki in Central Asia and Dari in Afghanistan) is an Indo-European language belonging to the Iranic branch of that family. Of note, it is not related to Semitic (Arabic, Hebrew, etc.) or Turkic at any discernible time point. Among its relatives, the Indic branch is genetically closest to Iranic, however, observers are often surprised by the presence of easily recognizable cognates between Persian and the genetically more distant Germanic and Slavic languages (e.g. Persian دختر dokhtar, English daughter; Persian سپاس sepās “thanks”, Russian спасибо spasibo “thank you”). In a manner not dissimilar to that of French in pre-modern Europe, at its zenith, New Persian became a prestige language in a vast zone spanning from the Balkans and Crimea to Western China and Bengal. It was selected as the official court, administrative, educational and diplomatic language by various Islamic dynasties such as the Seljuk, Ottoman, Safavid, Timurid, and Mughal dynasties, and emerged as a global vehicle of high literature, poetry, scholarship and intellectual discourse whose effects are still felt today. Some of the world’s most famous pieces of literature from the Middle Ages, such as the Shahnameh by Ferdowsi, the works of Rumi, the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, the Panj Ganj of Nizami Ganjavi, The Divān of Hafez, The Conference of the Birds by Attar of Nishapur, and the miscellanea of Gulistan and Bustan by Saadi Shirazi, are written in Persian.

A Mughal-era Persian poem inscribed in marble at Agra castle, Delhi, India (c. 1565 A.D.) It reads: از این دلگشا قصر عالی بنا \ سر اکبر آباد شد عرش سا \ بود کنگرش از جبین سپهر \ نمایان چو دندان سیمین سپهر az in delgoshā qaṣr-e ‘āli banā / sar-e akbar ābād shod ‘arsh-sā / buvad kongerash az jabin-e sepehr / namāyān chu dandān-e simin-sepehr“. Persian was the official and court language of Mughal India *(c. 1526 to 1857 A.D.)*

Today, it is spoken primarily in Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, however due to prolonged ages of cultural contact, Persian influences form the lion’s share of foreign elements in Turkish, Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Uyghur, Uzbek, Iraqi and Gulf Arabic dialects, Urdu, Hindi, Kashmiri, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali, Armenian, Georgian, among other languages. Dozens of Persian words reached more distant languages such as Mandarin, Thai, Malay, Swahili, French and Russian through direct historic exchanges. It was indeed the Persian brand of Islam–and Persianized Arabic, or Arabic through the medium of Persians—that evangelized most of the Muslim world (e.g. every Muslim language in Eurasia uses a derivative of the Persian word for “prayer”, نماز namāz, rather than Arabic صلاة ṣalāh, indicating the medium of the religion’s transmission). In the words of the British-American historian Bernard Lewis, “the Ottoman Turks brought a form of Iranian civilization to the walls of Vienna.” The role of the Persian language in human history has been colossal yet regrettably unsung.

A Persian-style Ottoman miniature depicting the Battle of Mohács, Hungary, with Sultan Suleiman I in the middle (c. 16th century). The poem in Persian emulating the prose of the Shāhnāmeh reads: دويدند گردن زنان بيدريغ, بدان بد نهادان نهادند تيغ davidand gardan zanān bidarigh, bedān bad-nahādān nahādand tigh “They marched and beheaded ruthlessly, they put the wicked to the sword.” Persian was the language of historiography, literature, education, administration and diplomacy in the Ottoman Empire.

Iranic and Indic languages share a more recent common ancestor than other branches of Indo-European. According to the Kurgan Hypothesis, the people who spoke this unattested ancestral language, termed Proto-Indo-Iranian, developed along the northeastern edge of the Middle Dnieper culture (3200-2300 BC) in modern-day Ukraine. At the end of that period it is believed they migrated en masse out of the Pontic-Caspian Steppe further east, to Sintashta and its environs, where evidence reveals they engaged in copper mining, bronze metallurgy, and large-scale animal sacrifices. At this point, it appears they called themselves by the ethnonym *Áryas “Aryan; lit. esteemed, noble” (later Old Persian 𐎠𐎼𐎡𐎹 (a-r-i-y /ariyaʰ/ → Middle Persian 𐭠𐭩𐭥𐭠𐭭‎ ʾērān, “of the Aryans” → New Persian ایران‎ irān). Over a period of centuries, they gradually migrated southward where they interacted with the sophisticated Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (short BMAC), also known as the Oxus civilization, a non-Indo-European Bronze Age civilization centered around Marv (Margiana) and Balkh (Bactria) which influenced the Indo-Iranians. From the strange-appearing, unknown language of BMAC, the ancient Indo-Iranians adopted multiple words and concepts e.g. Persian šotor > BMAC *uštra ‘camel’; Persian khišt *ištya ‘brick, clay’; Persian nān > BMAC *nagna ‘bread’; Persian pezešk > BMAC *bʰiš- ‘medicine, healing’. Over time the Proto-Iranians split and differentiated from the Proto-Indo-Aryans, who gradually migrated into India, with an offshoot apparently traversing as far as Syria and becoming the masters of the Kingdom of Mitanni. The Proto-Iranians then swept into the Iranian Plateau after 1800 BC through multiple migrations likely spanning centuries. A cohort back-migrated from Khwārazm into the Eurasian steppe and became the Scythians.

(1) A Persian poem inscribed on a band of glazed azure tiles adorns the Kalta Minor in Khiva, Uzbekistan (c. 1851 A.D.) (2) The pictured couplets read: به جنت کرد نادرش عرضه خاک / رسیده چون ستون بر كاخ گردون / ز وصفش قاصر آمد عقل و ادراک / از این در آگهی سال بنایش “be jannat kard nāderash ‘arze-ye ḵāk / Raside chun sotūn bar kāḵ-e gardūn / ze vaṣfash qāṣer āmad ‘aql-o-edrāk / Az in dar āgahi-ye sāl-e banāyash…” (see here for a complete transcription). Persian served as the official, court, literary, high culture and administrative language of the Sāmānid Empire (f. 819 A.D.) and all successive Muslim polities in Central Asia for over a millennium until the region’s incorporation into the U.S.S.R. in 1923.

The Old Persian language is first attested in a cuneiform script in the Achaemenid royal inscriptions of Darius I (ruled 522–486 BC) at Behistun in Kermānshāh, but the language was actually native to Persis (modern Fārs province, Iran). New Persian emerged on paper more than a millennium after Darius’ royal carvings, apparently following a circuitous route first through Mesopotamia (the “Middle Persian” stage) and then Central Asia, after which it “re-entered” the Iranian plateau. In the Old Persian stage, Persian can be seen as a conservative Indo-European language with three grammatical genders, complex noun inflections and a synthetic morphology. Perhaps owing in part to widespread multilingualism and imperfect language acquisition over a short period of time by non-Iranian Achaemenid subjects who were settled in Persis (for example, laborers such as artisans and builders hailing from various regions of the empire commissioned with the construction of large-scale projects at Persepolis and Susa), vernacular Old Persian seems to have experienced a vast grammatical simplification which cannot be attributed alone to regular language transmission from one generation to the next. Moreover when the next stage of the language, Middle Persian, appeared in a modified imperial Aramaic script in epigraphic texts at the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon, it was profoundly different from Old Persian. This literary language, reflecting vernacular developments, lacks grammatical gender and noun declensions altogether, and features an analytic morphology with re-elaborations in place of the inherited Proto-Indo-European forms. This scenario closely parallels the development of Middle English from Old English on the British Isles, over a millennium later.

Artist’s rendition of Ayvān-e Kasrā, or the Palace of Khosrow, located in the Persian capital Seleucia-Ctesiphon, modern-day Iraq. Ctesiphon was a royal capital of Persia for over eight hundred years under the Parthian (247 B.C.–224 A.D.) *and Sassanian (226–637 A.D.) dynasties, and served as an important stage for the evolution of the Middle Persian language* (*Pārsīk*)

Later in the Sassanian period, elites from Mesopotamia who presumably spoke vernacular Pārsīk (Middle Persian) settled in the northeast of the empire, particularly in the urban centers of Khorāsān and Transoxiana, where the Middle Persian language took hold at the expense of the local Iranic Parthian and Sogdian languages. The presence of garrisons and state administrators further strengthened Middle Persian in the region. With the conquest of the Sassanian empire by Arab-Islamic troops between 632 and 651 A.D. and the flight of yet more Sassanian aristocrats there, it was these Pārsīk vernaculars that had transplanted from Seleucia-Ctesiphon to Khorāsān and Transoxiana that served as the basis of Muslim (New) Persian. In the centuries thereafter, varieties of the new Islamized Persian language, written in a modified Arabic script, spread back into Iran proper, even Fārs (Persis), where it has coexisted with distantly related vernaculars spoken uninterruptedly since the Middle Iranian stage and escaped Islamization (e.g. Lārestāni; for more, see here). These various Western Iranian languages, akin to Persian, also feature etymons that recall quite distant Indo-European relatives (Māzanderāni mi mar o ti per, Spanish mi madre y tu padre “my mother and your father”).

(1-2) Onlookers behold the colossal statue of King Shapur I (c. 240–272 A.D.), chiseled from a huge stalagmite in situ in the 3rd century A.D., in a cave overlooking a royal Sassanian polo field (čōgān), Kāzerun, Iran. Shapur I is depicted with his idiosyncratic thick, wavy locks and crenellated crown (3) A large relief depicting the triumph of Shapur I over the Roman emperors Valerian and Philip the Arab (genuflected before him), Naqsh-e Rostam, Iran (c. 3rd century A.D.)

A list of Persian words with their Indo-European etymologies and recognizable cognates are listed below. These words are a reminder of the shared history of the Indo-European language family, despite several thousand years of separation and Persian’s development in a diverse geographic milieu surrounded by many non-Indo-European languages into present times.

Word List and Indo-European Etymologies

Abrū “eyebrow”: from Middle Persian (blwk’ /brūg/), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *HbʰrúHs, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃bʰruH-. Cognates include Northern Kurdish birû, Ossetian ӕрфыг (ærfyg), Sanskrit भ्रू (bhrū), Ancient Greek ὀφρύς (ophrús) English brū > English brow, eyebrow

Ālofte “enamored; confused” (archaic): possibly from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ-. If so cognate with English love

Āmixtan “to mix, mingle”: from Middle Persian ʾmyhtn (āmēxtan), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meyḱ-, whence also English mix.

Andar “in, within”: from Middle Persian 𐭡𐭩𐭭‎ (BYN /andar/), from Old Persian 𐎠𐎫𐎼 (aⁿtar, “among, within”), from Proto-Iranian *Hántarah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hántaras, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁énteros (“inner, what is inside”). Cognate with English enter, inter–

Angusht “finger”: from Middle Persian ʾngwst’ from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hangúštʰas, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eng- (“joint”). Related to Latin angulus, English angle

Ārugh “belch”: ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewg- (“belch, roar”). Cognate with Latin erugo (“belch”), English eruct

Arg “citadel”: from Middle Persian (arg), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erk-. Cognates include Old Armenian արգել (argel, “obstacle”) and Ancient Greek ἀρκέω (arkéō), Latin arx (“citadel”).

Arre “saw”: from Proto-Indo-European *sers- (“to cut off”). Compare Latin serra “saw”, whence English serrated

Arziz “tin” (archaic): from Middle Persian ʾlcyc (arzīz, “tin, lead”) (Manichaean Middle Persian ʾrzyz). Perhaps ultimately from Proto-Iranian *arjata- (“silver”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erǵ-. Cognate to Greek άργυρος árgyros “silver”, Latin argentum “silver”

Āvāz “voice, sound, echo” and Vāk “voiced” (i.e. pezhvāk “echo”): from Middle Persian ʾwʾz (āwāč, āwāz, “voice, sound, tune”), from 𐭥𐭠𐭰‎ (wāč, wāz, “word, speech”), from Proto-Iranian *wā́xš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *wā́kš, from Proto-Indo-European *wōkʷs. Cognate with Sanskrit वाच् (vā́c) and Latin vōx, English voice

Awj (owj) “apex, zenith”: from Arabic أَوْج‎ (ʔawj), from Persian اوگ‎ (owg), from Middle Iranian, ultimately Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewg- (“related to increasement”). Cognate with English augment, august

Band “band, tie; to close (pres. stem)”: from Proto-Iranian *bandah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bʰandʰas, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ-. Cognate with English band, bind

Bandeh “slave”, Bandegi “bondage, slavery”: from Middle Persian bndk’ /bandag/, from Old Persian 𐎲𐎭𐎣 badaka, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ-. Cognate with English bond, bondage

Barādar “brother”: from Middle Persian (brād, brâdar), from Old Persian 𐎲𐎼𐎠𐎫𐎠 (brātā), from Proto-Iranian *bráHtā, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bʰráHtā, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr. Cognate with English brother

Bār “burden, load; sorrow, grief”: from Middle Persian bʾl (bār, “load, burden; duty; fruit”), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰer-. Cognate with English bear, burden

Bāzū “arm”: from Old Persian 𐎲𐎠𐏀𐎢 (bāzu), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bʰaHȷ́ʰúš, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂ǵʰús (“arm”). Cognate with Avestan 𐬠𐬁𐬰𐬬𐬋‎ (bāzvō), Ancient Greek πῆχυς (pêkhus, “forearm”) and Latin bracchium > Spanish brazo and English brachium

Bimār “sick, ill person”: from Middle Persian 𐭥𐭩𐭬𐭠𐭫‎ (wēmār, “sick, ill”), from Proto-Indo-European *wemh₁- (“to spew, vomit”) + ār (agent suffix). Cognate with Latin vomō (“be sick, vomit”). Cognate with English vomit

Bir “hero, champion”: from Middle Persian wyl (wīr), from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós “man, husband; hero”. Cognate to Lithuanian výras “man”, English wer “man (obsolete)” > werewolf “man-wolf”; Latin vir “man, hero; husband” > English virile “manly”

Bordan “to take; to bear, carry”: from Middle Persian bwltn (bortan, “carry, take”), from Proto-Iranian *bárati, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bʰárati, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti. Cognate to Latin ferre, English bear

Boz “goat”: from Proto-Iranian *bujáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bʰuȷ́ás, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰūǵ-o-s, from *bʰuǵ- (“buck, he-goat”). Cognate with English buck (“male goat”)

Būdan (1) “to be” and Ast (2) “he/she is”: (1) from Middle Persian (būdan, baw-), from Old Persian 𐎲𐎺- (bav-), from Proto-Iranian *báwati, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bʰáwHati, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewH- (“to be, become”), *bʰew- (“to grow”). Cognate with Russian быть bytʹ “to be”, English to be (2) from Middle Persian 𐭠𐭩𐭲𐭩‎ (ast), from Old Persian 𐎠𐎿𐎫𐎡𐎹 (astiy), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti “to be”. Cognate with Latin est, German ist, English is

Burj “tower; fort, castle”: Arabicized form of Classical Syriac ܒܘܪܓܐ‎ (burgāʾ), from Middle Persian (burg), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“high”), with cognates including Persian برز‎ (borz), Sanskrit बृहत् (bṛhát, “lofty, high, tall”), Old Armenian բարձր (barjr, “high”) and Old English burg

Būs “kiss”: from imitative Proto-Indo-European *bu, compare Latin basium (“kiss”), Welsh bus (“kiss, lip”), and English buss (“kiss”).

Chand “how much, how many”: inherited from Middle Persian 𐭰𐭭𐭣‎ (čand), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷíh₂-onts, from *kʷíh₂, neuter of *kʷís. Cognate with Avestan 𐬗𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬧𐬙‎ (cuuaṇt), Sanskrit कियत् (kiyat), Latin quantus

Chāneh “chin”: from Proto-Iranian *jánukah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ȷ́ʰánuš, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénus (“chin, jaw, cheek”), cognate with English chin

Dādan “to give”: from Old Persian 𐎭𐎭𐎠𐎬𐎢𐎺 (d-d-a-tu-u-v /dadātuv/), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dádaHti, from Proto-Indo-European *dédeh₃ti. Cognates include Avestan 𐬛𐬀𐬛𐬁𐬌𐬙𐬌‎ (dadāⁱti), Polish dać, Ancient Greek δίδωμι (dídōmi), Latin dare, datum (lit. “given”) and thereby English data

Dandān “tooth”: from Middle Persian KKA, dnd’n’ /dandān/, “tooth”, from Proto-Iranian *Hdantán-, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hdánts, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃dónts (“tooth”). Cognate with Greek δόντι (dónti), Latin dēns > English dental

Dar “door”: From Middle Persian 𐭡𐭡𐭠‎ dar, “gate, court, palace”, from Old Persian 𐎯𐎺𐎼𐎹𐎠 duvar-, “door, gate”, from Proto-Iranian *dwar-، from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dwar-, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰwer- “gate, door”. Cognate to German Tür, Armenian դուռ (duṙ), Irish doras, English door

Dār “tree, wood”: from Middle Persian (dʾl, “tree, gallows; wood”), from Old Persian 𐎭𐎠𐎽𐎢𐎺 (d-a-ru-u-v /dāruv/), from Proto-Iranian *dā́ru, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dāru, from Proto-Indo-European *dóru. Cognate with English tree

Daridan “to ravage, attack, bite”: from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dar-, from Proto-Indo-European *der-. Cognate with Ancient Greek δέρω (dérō, “I skin, I flay”) and English tear

Div “demon, devil”: from Middle Persian dēw /ŠDYA/, “evil spirit”, from Old Persian 𐎭𐎡𐎺 (daiva-), from Proto-Iranian *daywáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *daywás, from Proto-Indo-European *deywós. Cognate to Latin deus, dīvus and English devil

Do “two”: from Proto-Iranian *dwáH, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁. Cognate with Spanish dos, English two

Dokhtar “daughter; girl”: from Middle Persian dwhtl /duxtar/, oblique case of dwht’ /duxt/, from Old Persian *𐎯𐎧𐏂𐎡 *duxçī-, from Proto-Iranian *dugdā, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dʰugʰdʰā, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰugh₂tḗr. Cognate with German Tochter, English daughter

Dord “The sediment settled at the bottom of a container of unfiltered wine; the worst or lower part”: from Proto-Iranian *dr̥ti- “manure, feces”, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰṛ-to-, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreyd– “to have diarrhea”. Cognate with English dirt

Dorugh “lie, deception”: from Middle Persian drōg, from Old Persian 𐎭𐎼𐎢𐎥 drauga, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dʰráwgʰas, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrówgʰos, from *dʰrewgʰ-. Cognate with German Trug “deception, delusion”, Dutch bedrog “deception, fraud”; Welsh drwg “bad, evil”, English dream (via Proto-Germanic *dʰrowgʰ-mos “falsehood, illusion”)

Doshman “enemy, foe; hostile entity”: from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dušmánas, from Proto-Indo-European *dusménes. Equivalent to *duš- (“bad”) +‎ *mánah (“mind, thought”). Compare Ancient Greek δυσμενής dusmenḗs “enemy, hostile” and English from cognate Greek components dys– + –manía: dysmania

Doshnām “insult”: from Middle Persian (dwšnʾm /dušnām/), from Proto-Iranian *dušHnā́ma (“insult”), from Proto-Indo-European *dus- (“bad”) + *h₁nómn̥ (“name”). Within Persian, compare دشمن‎ (došman, “enemy”), نام‎ (nâm, “name”). Compare English from cognate Greek components dys– + –nómos: dysnomy, dysnomia

Dūst “friend; liking, pleasure”: from Middle Persian 𐭣𐭥𐭮𐭲𐭩‎ (dwst’ /dōst/), from Old Persian 𐎭𐎢𐏁𐎫𐎠 (d-u-š-t-a /dauštā/), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵews- (“to taste, to try”). Cognates with Sanskrit जुष्ट (juṣṭa), Avestan 𐬰𐬎𐬱𐬙𐬀‎ (zušta), Latin gustus, Spanish gusto

Galū “throat”: from Proto-Indo-European *gʷel- (“throat”). Cognate with Russian глотка (glotka, “throat”) Latin gula (“throat”) and English gullet, glutton

Gap “talk, chit-chat” and goftan “to say, to tell”: from Middle Persian gwptn’ (guftan, “to say, speak”), ultimately from Proto-Iranian *gáwbati, from Proto-Indo-European *gewH- (“to call, cry”) with a -b⁽ʰ⁾- enlargement. Cognate to Russian говори́ть govorítʹ “to talk, to speak” and English gab

Garm “warm”: from Proto-Iranian *garmáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *gʰarmás, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰer- (“to warm, heat”), cognate with Khotanese garma- (“hot”), English warm

Gāv “cow”: from Middle Persian (TWRA /gāw/), from Old Persian𐎥𐎢 (g-u), from Proto-Iranian*gā́wš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian*gāuš, from Proto-Indo-European*gʷṓws. Cognate with English cow

Gerd, “round, circular” and Gardidan “to turn, revolve, spin, circulate”: from Proto-Iranian *wart- (“to turn, spin, rotate; to writhe”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wert-. Latin vertere (“to turn”), German werden (“to turn (into), become”), English weird

Gerān “expensive; heavy (archaic)”: from Middle Persian glʾn’ (garān), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷréh₂us (“heavy”). Cognate to Latin gravis (“heavy”), English grave

Gereftan “to grab, grip”: from Middle Persian (/griftan/), from Old Persian [Term?] [Term?] (/grab-/, “to seize”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebh₂- (“to grab, seize”). Cognates include Central Kurdish گرتن‎ (girtin), Baluchi گرگ‎ (girag), Sanskrit गृह्णाति (gṛhṇāti, “he seizes”), Russian гра́бить (grábitʹ), German greifen, and English grab, grip

Haft “seven”: from Middle Persian hp̄t’ haft, “seven”, from Proto-Iranian *haptá, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *saptá, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *septḿ̥. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἑπτά heptá > English hepta-

Ham “same”: from Middle Persian hm (ham, “also, same”), from Old Persian 𐏃𐎶 (h-m /ham(a)/, “same, together”), from Proto-Iranian *hamHáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *samHás, from Proto-Indo-European *somHós (“same”). Compare Sanskrit सम (sama), English same

Javān “young”: from Middle Persian (yw’n /ǰuwān/), from Proto-Iranian *HyúHā, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *HyúHā, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yéwHō. Cognate to Latin iuvenis (Italian giovane, French jeune, or Spanish joven) > English juvenile

Javidan “to chew”: from Middle Persian ywtn’ /jūdan/, from Proto-Indo-European*ǵyewh₁-. Cognate with English chew

Joft “pair, couple”: from Middle Persian (ǰuxt /ywht/), from Proto-Iranian *yuxtáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *yuktás, from Proto-Indo-European *yugtós. Cognate with Latin iuxtā, English juxtapose

Istādan “to stand up; to stay”: from Middle Persian (istātan), from Old Persian, from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”). Cognate with English stand

Kal “bald”: from Proto-Indo-European *gelH- (“naked, bald”) or *kl̥H-. Cognate with English callow and Latin calvus

Kāv “concave, hollow”: from Proto-Indo-European *ḱówH-. Cognate with English cave

Kerm “worm”: from Proto-Iranian *kŕ̥miš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *kŕ̥miš, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷŕ̥mis (“worm”). Cognate with Sanskrit कृमि (kṛ́mi, “worm”), Proto-Slavic *čьrvь (“worm”), Lithuanian kirmìs (“worm”), English worm, wyrm

Khoftan, Khʷāb “sleep, dream”: from Middle Persian 𐭧𐭥𐭠𐭡‎ hwʾb /xvāb/, from Proto-Iranian *hwápati, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *swap-, from Proto-Indo-European *swep- “to dream”. Cognate with Greek Ancient Greek ὕπνος húpnos “sleep”, whence English hypnosis

Kherad “wisdom, intelligence; understanding”: inherited from Middle Persian (hlt /xrat, xrad/, “wisdom, understanding, intelligence”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *krátuš (“intelligence, mental power”), from Proto-Indo-European *krét-us “intelligence, strength”. Cognate with Ancient Greek κρατύς kratús, “strong”, κράτος krátos “strength, power, dominion” > English autocrat, democrat

Khers “bear (animal)”: from Proto-Iranian *Hŕ̥šah (compare Avestan 𐬀𐬭𐬴𐬀‎ (arṣ̌a), Ossetian арс (ars)), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hŕ̥ćšas, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ŕ̥tḱos. Cognate to Latin ursus,

Khor “sun”: from Proto-Iranian *húHar, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *súHar, from Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥. Cognate with Greek helios, Latin sol

Khūk “pig, hog”: from Middle Persian (HZWLYA) /(hwk’ /hūg/), from Proto-Iranian *huHkáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *suH-, from Proto-Indo-European *suh₂kéh₂, from *suH-. Cognate with English hog

Kord “Kurdish; herder (obsolete)”: from Middle Persian (kwrt /kurd/), assumed from Proto-Indo-European *kerdʰ- (“herd”). Cognate with English herd

Lab “lip, edge”: from Proto-Indo-European *leb-. Cognate with English lip

Lis “lick”: from Proto-Iranian *rijáti, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *riȷ́ʰáti, from Proto-Indo-European *leyǵʰ- (“to lick”). Cognate with Latin lingō (“lick”), English lick

Mādar “mother”: from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭠𐭲𐭥‎ (mādar), from Old Persian 𐎶𐎠𐎫𐎠 (mātā), from Proto-Iranian *máHtā, rom Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr; compare Armenian մայր (mayr), Italian madre, English mother

Mammeh “breast, boob”: an onomatopoeic baby-talk common in Indo-European languages, ultimately must descend from Proto-Indo-European. Cognate with Ancient Greek μάμμη mámmē, Latin mamma, whence English mammal

Man “I”: from Middle Persian 𐫖𐫗‎ (man, “me (early), I (later)”) from Old Persian 𐎶𐎴 (m-n /mana/, “me”) from Proto-Iranian *máHm from Proto-Indo-Iranian *máHm (“accusative singular of *aȷ́ʰám”). Cognate with Ancient Greek ἐμέ (emé, “accusative of “ἐγώ””), and Latin me (“accusative of “ego””), English me

Māndan “to remain, to stay”: from Middle Persian KTLWNtn’ māndan, KTLWN mān-, from Old Persian, from Proto-Iranian, from Proto-Indo-European *men- “to stay, stand still”. Cognate with Ancient Greek μένω ménō, “I remain”, Latin maneō “I remain” > remain, maintain

Mard “man” and Mardom “people”: from Middle Persian mlt’ /mard/, GBRA /mard/, from Old Persian 𐎶𐎼𐎫𐎡𐎹 martiya, from Proto-Iranian *mŕ̥tah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *mŕ̥tas, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mr̥tós (“dead, mortal”), from *mer- (“to die”). Cognate to Latin mortuus > English mortal

Marz “border, delineation”: from Middle Persian (mlc /marz/, “boundary, march; (astronomy) term”), from Proto-Indo-European *merǵ- (“edge, boundary, border”). Cognate with Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬰𐬀‎ (mar^əza, “frontier”), Proto-Germanic *markō (> English march), and Latin margo. Akin to English mark, margin

Mey “wine; alcoholic beverage”: from Middle Persian mdy /⁠may⁠/, “wine”, from Old Persian *𐎶𐎯 *m-du /⁠*madu⁠/, from Proto-Indo-European *médʰu (“honey, mead”). Cognate with Greek μέθη méthi, “drunkenness”; English mead

Mixtan “to urinate”: inherited from Middle Persian myc, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃meyǵʰ. Cognate with English micturate “urinate”

Miyān “middle, center”: from Middle Persian mdyʾn’ (mayān), from Old Persian *madyānaʰ, from Proto-Iranian *mádyānah, composed of *mádyah +‎ *-anah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *mádʰyas, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos. Cognate with English middle, median

Mordan “to die”: from Middle Persian YMYTWNtn’ (murdan), from Old Persian (mar-), from Proto-Iranian *márti, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *márti, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *mer- (“to die”). Cognate with Latin mortuus, English murder

Mūsh “mouse”: from Middle Persian mwšk’ (mušk, “Mouse, rat”), from Proto-Iranian *múHs, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *múHs, from Proto-Indo-European *muh₂s. Cognate with English mouse

Na or Ne “no”: from Middle Persian 𐭫𐭠 / 𐭭𐭩‎ (nē), from Proto-Iranian *ná, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ná, from Proto-Indo-European *ne (“not”). Cognate with English no

Nāf “navel, bellybutton”: from Proto-Indo-European *h₃nebʰ (“navel”). Cognate with English navel

Nām “name”: from Middle Persian ŠM (/nām/), from Old Persian 𐎴𐎠𐎶 (n-a-m /nāma/), from Proto-Iranian *Hnā́ma, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ (“name”). Cognate with Italian nome, English name

Nar “man, virile”: from Middle Persian 𐭦𐭪𐭫‎ (ZKL), 𐭭𐭫‎ (nl /nar/, “male”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hnā́, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂nḗr. Cognate to Ancient Greek: ἀνήρ anḗr “man”, Proto-Italic *nēr “man” > Oscan: 𐌍𐌉𐌉𐌓 niir “man” and Latin neriōsus “firm, vigorous”, Nerō (personal name; lit. “masculine”)

Nāv “ship”: from Middle Persian nʾw (nāw, “ship”), from Proto-Iranian (compare Ossetian нау (naw) / науӕ (nawæ)), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *náHuš, from Proto-Indo-European *néh₂us (“boat”) (compare Ancient Greek ναῦς (naûs, “ship”), Latin nāvis (“ship”). Cognate with English navy

Naveh “nephew”: from Middle Persian np (nab, “grandson”)، Old Persian 𐎴𐎱𐎠 (napā), from Proto-Iranian *napāth, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *nápāts, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂népōts, *népōts. Cognate with English nephew

Now “new”: from Middle Persian 𐭭𐭥𐭪𐭩‎ (nōg), from Old Persian 𐎴𐎺 (n-v), from Proto-Iranian *náwah, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *néwos. Cognate to Greek νέος (néos), Russian но́вый (nóvyj), Italian nuovo and English new

Nūn (archaic, poetic; more commonly aknūn) “now”: from Proto-Indo-European *nu (“now”). Cognate with English now

Ostoxān “bone”: ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ésth₁ (bone). Cognate with Ancient Greek ὀστέον ostéon “bone”, English osteopathic

Pā “foot”: from earlier پای‎ (pây), from Middle Persian (pāy), from Old Persian 𐎱𐎠𐎭 pād(a), from Proto-Iranian *pā́dah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *pā́ts, from Proto-Indo-European *pṓds (“foot”). Cognate with Spanish pie, Greek: πόδι pódi > English -pod, foot

Pand “advice, counsel, guidance”: from Middle Persian pnd (pand, “path; counsel, advice”) (compare Parthian pnd‎ (pand, “counsel”), pndʾn‎ (pandān, “path”)), from Proto-Indo-European *pent- (“to go, walk; way, path”). Cognate with Ancient Greek πάτος (pátos), πόντος (póntos), Latin pons “bridge”, English path

*Note archaic Persian meaning “trick, knack” → Arabic fann “art” (Semantic development resembles Ancient Greek τέχνη (tékhnē “cunning, wile”) and Latin ars “cunning, stratagem”)

Panj “five”: from Middle Persian (pnc /panǰ/), from Proto-Iranian *pánča, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *pánča, from Proto-Indo-European *pénkʷe. Cognate with Greek πέντε pénte > English penta-

Par “feather, wing, leaf”: from Proto-Indo-Iranian *parnám, from Proto-Indo-European *pornóm (“feather, wing”), from *perH- (“to fly”). Cognate with Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬥𐬀‎ (par^əna, “feather”), Lithuanian spar̃nas (“wing”), Old Church Slavonic перо (pero, “wing, feather”), Albanian fier (“fern”), English fern

Part “far away, remote”: ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pr̥to-. Cognate with Dutch voort, English forth “away, beyond a certain boundary; forward”

Pas “after, behind; so, therefore”: from Middle Persian 𐭯𐭮‎ (ps /pas/, “then, afterwards, behind”), from Old Persian 𐎱𐎿𐎠 (p-s-a /pasā/), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *pasčáH, from Proto-Indo-European *pos-(sḱ)-kʷéh₁. Cognate with Latin post “after”, whence Spanish pues, después, English post-, posterior

Pedar “father”: from Middle Persian (pidar), from Old Persian 𐎱𐎡𐎫𐎠 (pitā), from Proto-Iranian *pHtā́, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *pHtā́, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr. Cognate with English father

Pesar or Pos (dialectal) “son, boy”: from Middle Persian (BREl) / (pwsl /pusar/, “son”), formed from 𐭡𐭥𐭤‎ (pus [BRE], “son”), from Old Persian 𐎱𐎢𐏂 (p-u-ç /puça/), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂u- “few, little; smallness (semantic development to “small man”). Cognate with Latin paucus “little, small”, puer “boy, lad” > English puerile “childish, silly”

Pol “bridge”: from Middle Persian 𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭫𐭩‎ (puhl, “bridge”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”) (compare English ford, German Furt, and Latin portus

Raftan “to go, leave, depart”: from Middle Persian (SGYTWN-tn’ /raftan/, “to move, proceed”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁p-. Compare Latin rēpō (“I creep; I crawl”), Latvian rãpât, râpt, Middle High German reben (“to move, steer”), English reptile (lit. “creeper, slinker”)

Rāst “straight, right”: from Middle Persian rāst, from Old Persian 𐎼𐎠𐎿𐎫 (rāsta, “right”), from Proto-Iranian *Hraštáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hraštás, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵtós (“having moved in a straight line”), from *h₃reǵ- (“to straighten, direct”). Cognate with English right

Rombidan “to collapse”: from Proto-Iranian *Hrum-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃rew-. Cognate with English ruin.

Sad “hundred”: from Middle Persian 𐭰𐭲‎ (čat, sad), from Old Persian *θata-, from Proto-Iranian *catám, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćatám, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥tóm. Cognates include Latin centum, French cent

Sar “head; topmost part”: from Middle Persian 𐭫𐭥𐭩𐭱𐭤‎ LOYŠE /sar/, from Proto-Iranian *cŕ̥Hah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćŕ̥Has, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-. Cognate with first component of Latin and English cerebrum

Setāre “star”: from Middle Persian (stʾlk’ /stārag/), (stl /star/), from Old Persian 𐎠𐎿𐎫𐎼 (star-), from Proto-Iranian *Hstā́, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hstā́, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr. Cognate with English star

Sharm “shame”: from Middle Persian 𐭱𐭥𐭬‎ (šarm), from Avestan 𐬟𐬱𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬨𐬀‎ (fšar^əma), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱormo- (“suffering, pain”). Cognate with Khotanese (kṣär-, “be ashamed”) and English harm “insult, damage”

Shesh “six”: from Middle Persian (šaš), from Proto-Iranian *šwáš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *šwáćš, from Proto-Indo-European *swéḱs. Cognate with german Sechs, English six

Shūr “salty”: from Parthian 𐫢𐫇𐫡‎ šwr /šōr/; compare with Middle Persian swr /sōr/, perhaps from Proto-Iranian *sauraH “salty”, from Proto-Indo-European *súHros “sour; salty”. Cognate with English sour

Tab “fever”, and Tāb “heat, radiance, illuminating”: from Middle Persian (tp /tab/, “fever”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tépos (“heat, warmth”). Cognate with English tepid

Tāj “crown”: from Arabic تَاج‎ (tāj), from Parthian (tʾg /tāg/, “crown”), attested in 𐫟𐫀𐫡𐫤𐫀𐫃‎ (xʾrtʾg /xārtāg/, “crown of thorns”), from Old Iranian *tāga-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- (“to cover”). Cognate with Latin tegō “cover” (tegaderm), toga “a garment; roof”, English thatch “straw covering”

Tars, tarsidan “fear, terror”: from Middle Persian tlsyt’ (tarsēdan, “fear”), from Proto-Iranian *tr̥ŝáti, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *tr̥sćáti, from Proto-Indo-European *tres-. Cognates include Latin terreō, English terror

To “you”: from Middle Persian 𐭫𐭪‎ (LK /tō/, “you, thou”), from Old Persian (compare 𐎬𐎺𐎶 (tuvam)), from Proto-Iranian *tuHám (compare Northern Kurdish tu, Pashto ته‎ (tə), Avestan 𐬙𐬏𐬨‎ (tūm)), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *tuHám, from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂. Cognate with Spanish tu, English thou

Tondar “thunder”; from Middle Persian (tndr /tundar, tundur/), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *stánati, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tenh₂-. Cognate with with Parthian (tndwr /tandur/), Sogdian (twntr /tundar/), Sanskrit स्तनति (stanati, “to resound; to thunder”) English thunder

Tūdeh “masses, people; heap”: from Proto-Iranian *taw(H)táH, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *taw(H)táH (“people, folk, crowd”), from Proto-Indo-European *tew(H)téh₂ (“people, tribe, men-at-arms”). Cognates include Lithuanian tautà, Welsh tud, Latin tōtus and English total

Vāl “whale”: from Proto-Indo-Iranian *(s)káras, from Proto-Iranian *(s)káras, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kʷálos. Cognate with English whale

Varz “agriculture; craft, trade” and Varzesh “exercise”: from Middle Persian wlc (warz, “work, agriculture”), from Proto-Iranian *warj-, from Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-. Cognate with English work

Vāy “ woe, alas, oh dear!” From Proto-Iranian *wáy, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *wáy, eventually from Proto-Indo-European *wai. Cognate with Latin vae, English woe

Yūgh “yoke” from earlier جغ‎ (joğ), from Middle Persian ywg (juğ, “yoke”), from Proto-Iranian *yugám, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *yugám, from Proto-Indo-European *yugóm. Cognate with English yoke

Zan “woman; wife”: from Middle Persian zan, from Proto-Iranian *ǰánHh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ǰánHs, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷḗn. Cognates include Russian жена (žena), Greek γυναίκα (gynaíka), English queen, gynecology

Zānū “knee”: from Proto-Iranian *jā́nu, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ȷ́ā́nu, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵónu. Cognate with Latin genū, English knee

Zarmān “decrepit old man; old age” From Middle Persian (zlm’n’ /zarmān/). Cognate with Sanskrit जरिमन् (jariman, “old age, decrepitude”). from Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- (“to grow old”), Cognate with English geriatrics

Zesht “ugly, heinous”: from Middle Persian (zyšt’ /zišt/, “hateful, ugly”), a loanword from Avestan 𐬰𐬀𐬉𐬱𐬀‎ (zaēša) from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ȷ́ʰáyždas, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéysd-os, from *ǵʰeysd- (“anger, agitation”). Cognate with Proto-Germanic *gaistaz (“ghost, mind”), English ghost, ghastly

-ande “a suffix that makes agent nouns”: from Middle Persian (-ntk’ /-andag/), from (-nt’ /-and/) +‎ (-k’ /-ag/), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-onts. Cognate to Latin -undus/unda/undum

Moroccan Darija (Casablancan Koiné): A Historical Approach

On 22 Apr 202329 Aug 2023 By afzadehLeave a comment

Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. The goal of this article is to explore the origins of Moroccan Darija through the lens of local sedentary and Bedouin dialects, and to examine historic contacts with autochthonous Berber languages and foreign languages such as Spanish and Persian.

*The main courtyard and its reflection pool, Ibn Youssef madrasa and mosque complex, Marrakesh, Morocco (c. 1564 A.D)*

Background

Northwest Africa (the “Maghreb”, from Arabic المغرب الاقصى al-maġrib al-aqṣa “the farthest West”; and, more recently, Berber: ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵖⴰ Tamazɣa “Land of the Imazighen [Berbers]”) experienced two waves of Arabization separated in time by nearly five centuries. Following a classification made by Ibn Khaldūn, the first wave was composed of mainly urban soldiers while the second wave brought thousands of nomadic Arabian families to the region. The number of Arabophones who arrived in both cases must have been relatively small compared to the indigenous Berber- (and, formerly, Latin-) speaking populations, and whilst many Berbers shifted to the language of their new conquerors over the centuries, this process has failed to result in the adoption of an exclusively Arab identity.

Arabic vernaculars in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia are referred to locally as Darija (lit. “vernacular language”), while the literary Arabic standard used in education, broadcast and administration is called ʕarabiyya fuṣḥa (lit. “eloquent Arabic”). Darija varieties may in turn be divided into sedentary (pre-Hilali, or مديني mdīni lit. “urban”, or حضري ħadˤari “settled”) and Bedouin (Hilali or عروبي ʕarūbi, lit. “Arabian”) dialects. However, these descriptors technically refer to the medieval “Middle Eastern” vernaculars from which they descend rather than the lifestyles of their current speakers. While there is largely direct lineage between the progenitor Middle Eastern urban dialects and Moroccan urban dialects, in some cases, they do not correspond. For example, the Jebli Arabic dialect spoken in the northwestern rim of the Atlas mountains represents a “sedentary” (Pre-Hilali) dialect adopted by Berber mountaineers along the trade routes between Fes and Tangier, which therefore links it with the old urban dialects of North Africa. Moreover, Moroccan Darija, which originated in 20th century Casablanca and is now the lingua franca of the country, is of Bedouin provenance (discussed below).

To further complicate the linguistic landscape in Morocco, sedentary and Bedouin Arabic varieties have interacted individually with neighboring Berber languages for over a millennium. The sedentary (Pre-Hilali) Arabic dialects, representing the first layer of Arabization, are the most innovative and bear the strongest morphosyntactic traces of these contacts. In contrast, Bedouin dialects by and large were influenced by Berber phonetic and semantic interferences. Another distinguishing feature of the sedentary Arabic varieties is the presence of Spanish lexica, transferred by Andalusian Muslim and Jewish refugees who were expelled from Spain during the reconquista and settled in North African cities, while the Bedouin dialects obviously escaped these influences.

Moroccan Darija, which can be used interchangeably with “Casablancan Koine”, arose recently as a product of rapid urbanization around Casablanca in the 20th century. The dialect is of Bedouin provenance, owing to the origin of most Casablancans, but it features a strong admixture of Pre-Hilali elements brought by old urban elites who migrated from Fes, Rabat, Salé, Meknès and other northern cities. It thus represents a conglomeration of diverse contact-induced changes and koineization brought about by recent demic diffusions rather than the modern iteration of any singular historically attested dialect. Although it is now the mother language of a plurality of Moroccans, there still exists a significant degree of variation within Koine speakers, owing to its rather recent genesis and the varied regional origins of its speakers. At times, such as in the case of Fessis, Koine speakers have purposefully transferred certain features of their ancestral lects (e.g. Fessi use of non-trilled [ɹ], emphasized occlusive laryngeal [ʔˤ] or [q] in lieu of Bedouin [g], and gender-neutralized second person pronoun انتينا intīna in the perfective and imperfective aspects) due to historic sociolinguistic associations between these features and urbane refinement and, thereby, prestige.

Painted wood or Tazouaqt (Arabic: تزواقت, from Berber ⵜⴰⵣⵡⵡⴰⵇⵜ) at the entrance to the mausoleum of Moulay Idriss II in Fez, Morocco (c. 1440 A.D., almost completely replaced in the 18th century by Moulay Ismail in a style typical of the Alaouites )

Sedentary (pre-Hilalian) Arabic dialects:

The first wave of Arabs arrived armed on horseback, apparently without their families, in the 7th century AD. This band was composed of mixed urban Arabians (presumably Meccans) and “Middle Eastern” Muslim converts–soldiers hailing from Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt and elsewhere–who introduced complex Perso-Arabian Islamic material culture and sedentary Arabic varieties to Roman Africa, the two Mauretaniæ and Hispania. In 670 A.D., the city of Kairouane (from Middle Persian 𐭪𐭠𐭫𐭥𐭠𐭭 kārawān “military column; caravan”) was established as a headquarters for the Muslims’ expansionist ambitions in the region, wherefrom they “plunged into the heart of the country, traversed the wilderness in which his successors erected the splendid capitals of Fes and…[Marrakesh], and at length penetrated to the verge of the Atlantic and the great desert” (Edward Gibbon).

It appears that the newcomers, apparently numbering only in the few thousands, exchanged extensively with their Berber-speaking neighbors, who must have greatly outnumbered them. In the culinary sphere, they were introduced to local foods (Berber ⵙⴻⴽⵙⵓ seksu → Arabic كسكسو ksksu “couscous”) and in return, they transferred tastes from the orient (particularly Persian cuisine, discussed below). However, owing to the very fact of their small numbers, apparently not enough correct Arabic input was available to language learners, which resulted in significant interference from Berber in the learning process. For example, it has been suggested that the agentive “m” prefix arose due to overgeneralization of a corresponding Berber agentic prefix (ⴰⵎ am-) with a broader scope of use in the first stages of language learning (e.g. مزيان mzyān “good” from زين zayn; including exceptional cases that are actually derived from Berber roots; e.g. Shilha ⴰⵎⵥⵍⵓⴹ amẓluḍ “poor” → مزلط məzluṭ “poor”). The extension of the “fəʕʕal” class of nouns–an unproductive form limited only to occupations in Classical Arabic (e.g. نجار nəjjār “carpenter”)– was probably an attempt by Berber bilinguals to use what they thought was the correct Arabic participial form (e.g. Darija خواف xəwwāf “”fearful”).

This wave was followed by a period of intense Islamization of the “pagan” autochthones, whilst per Quranic prescriptions the ahl al-ḏh̲imma (Iberian Christians and Jews, Berber Jews) were largely left alone. For centuries thereafter, Arabs and Berbers lived in uneasy communion with each other–the latter frequently serving as clients to the former–until various Berber-led rebellions toppled the Umayyad Caliphate by the middle of the 8th century. Arabic vernaculars remained essentially confined to the cities which the Arabs inhabited, whereas in the countryside, Berber languages remained the means of inter-community communications until present times. In the 9th century after the foundation of Fes, the capital of the Idrisids, Arabic became more prestigious with thousands of refugees from Andalusia and Kairouane arriving in that city and founding great mosques and madrasas (al-Andalusiyyin “Andalusians” and al-Qarawiyyin lit. “Kairouanians” mosques, c. 859 A.D.). In a sociolinguistic sense, this influx meant there was suddenly enough native Arabic input available to learners, as well as a social motivation to speak “pure” Arabic, which favored the eradication of salient Berber transferrences. It probably served to reverse the process of creolization in urban dialects which had been underway before this period. However, the few exceptional items which survived were probably too frequent by that time to be leveled by prescriptive Arabic influences (e.g. مزيان mzyān “good”; جوج juj “two”; imperative اجي aji “come!” through elimination of irregular تعال taʕāl “come).

The urban Arabic dialects in Morocco which descend from the first wave of Arabization include those of Fes, Salé, Rabat, Meknès, Marrakesh, Tétouane, Chefchaouen, Tangier, Ouazzane, Taza, as well as the Jebli dialects in the Rif region. Across modern political borders, the dialects of most old cities in the Maghreb (Tlemcen, Constantine, Tunis, Kairouane, Oran, Tripoli etc.) are included in this group. Although a minority dialect, Fessi is today considered a prestige dialect in Morocco inasmuch as it is associated with the landed aristocracy that has mostly migrated to Casablanca within the last century, drawn by the numerous French language schools there. The core vocabulary of the urban Arabic varieties in the Maghreb often corresponds to urban dialects further east, such as in the case of Fessi Arabic, vis-à-vis Casablancan Koine which is of Bedouin provenance:

English	Moroccan Darija	Fessi Arabic	Damascene Arabic
“He did”	dār	ɛamal	ʕamal
“I liked”	bġit	ḥabbit	ḥabbeyt
“heart”	gəlb	ʔalb*	ʔalb
“What’s your name?”	ašnu smītek	šnu ʔesmek	šu ʔesmek
“Listen!”	ṣnnit	smaʕ	ismaʕ
“Good”	mzyān	mliḥ, mzyān	mniḥ
“Here! (take this!)”	hāk	khūd	khud

*Classical Arabic qalb with /q/ is also used

Pre-Hilali dialects like Fessi and, through influence, Casablanca Koine, make the most use of analytic morphology such as the analytic genitive instead of the constructed genitive which is used in ʕarūbi lects. A few salient Pre-Hilali morphologic innovations are listed below:

In Koine, the constructed genitive is no longer productive and is used only in certain relatively frozen constructions, having been replaced by dyāl or d– (e.g. L-malek d’l-mghrib “The King of Morocco”).
1. Some ʕarūbi glosses with the constructed genitive are preferred in Koine (akhūti “my brothers”) in contrast to the more innovative Pre-Hilali forms used in the northern city dialects (khāwa dyāli “ibid.”)
Analytic elatives using ktar “more” have replaced the Classical Arabic afʕal construction : bnīn ktar “tastier” instead of *abnan.
Indefinite singular nouns employ a gender neutralized prefix واحد ال waḥd l- in lieu of a gendered suffix (this development parallels the Medieval Baghdadi prefix فد fad “a” from فرد fard)
An analytic dual construction emerged which has supplanted the inherited dual case. It uses the word جوج juj “two” (from Classical Arabic زوج zawj “pair; couple” > Greek ζεῦγος zeûgos “yoke” via Aramaic ܙܘܓܐ zawgā).
The feminine singular designation for inanimate plurals in Classical Arabic was replaced by masculine gender and plural number: bināyāt zuwīnīn “beautiful buildings”.

English	Moroccan Darija	Modern Standard Arabic
“Beautiful things”	Shiḥwāyej zuwīnīn	Ashyāʔ jamila
“Many things”	Bzzāf dyāl ḥwāyej	Ashyāʔ kaṯīra
“Tasty, tastier”	Bnīn, bnīn ktar	Laḏīḏ, alaḏḏ
“One man”	Waḥd r-rajel	Rajul wāḥed
“Two women”	juj d’l-ʕiyālāt	imraʔatān
“Our house is more beautiful than their house”	D-dār dyālna zuwīna ktar mn d-dār dyālhum	Baytuna ajmal min baytihim

As in other dialects, new native formulations arose, albeit with little concordance with the eastern Arabic idioms: باش bāš “in order to”, from بِأَيِّ شَيْء‎ (biʾayyi šayʾ, “with what thing”);

لاباس labās “well, good” from Arabic لَا بَأْسَ‎ (lā baʾsa), the verbal noun of بَؤُسَ‎ baʾusa “damage, calamity”; كاين kāyin “there exists” (from كائن kā’en “existing”; cf. Medieval Baghdadi Arabic اكو aku from يكون yakūn). Some further innovations include:

Use of ka- or the variant ta- for progressive tense; e.g. ka-nktəb “I write”, ta-tbġini “You love me”
The future tense is constructed using ġādi or simply ġa- (cf. Classical Arabic ġadan “tomorrow”)
First person marker with n- and first person plural use of prefix n- + suffix -u; e.g. nmši “I go”, nmšiu “We go”
Use of feminine 2nd person perfect verb endings (-i) (note: Pre-Hilali dialects use an immutable pronoun intīna with the masculine 2nd person perfect verb ending)

English	Moroccan Darija	Muslim Baghdadi Arabic	Damascene Arabic
“I just came to tell you that I love you very much”	Ġīr jīt bāš ngullək ka-nbġīk bzzāf (variant ta-nbġīk)	Bas ijeet ʕalamud agullak innu āni aḥebbek hwāye	Bas ijet ʕashān aʔullak innī baḥebbak ktīr
“There is or there isn’t”	Kāyen wla ma kāyenš	Aku lo māku	Fī aw mā fī
“I will dance too”	Ḥta ana ġādi nšṭaḥ	Āni ham raḥ arguṣ	Ana raḥ arʔuṣ kamān
“Because”	Ḥet, ḥetāš	liʔan	leʔannu
“We wanted to sleep there”	Kenna nbġīu nnəʕʕsu təmmāk	Činna nrīd ənnām əhnāke	Kān biddna nnām hunīk
“If you were a true Moroccan, you shouldn’t have sold your country to foreigners”	Kūn kenti maḡribi quḥḥ, kūn ma bʕtiš l-blād dyālek lgwar	Lo činit maghrebi ḥaqiqi, ma chān baʕet blādek lil faranj	Iza kent maghrebi ḥaʔiʔi, ma kān beʕt baladak lil faranj

On the Persian Elements in Morocco

Old urban dialects, such as that of Fes, have imbued Moroccan Darija with words of early imperial Islamic origin which recall the Orient, including: بالزاف bzzāf “very; a lot” (from Classical Arabic بالجزاف bil jazāf, itself from Persian گزاف gazāf “exaggerated, excessive”) and ڭاوري gāwri (from Persian گاور gâvor “Zoroastrian from Mesopotamia”; later adopted by the Muslims meaning “infidel”), كفتة kafta (from Persian كوفته kūfte, كوفتن kūftan “to beat, grind, shatter”), شوربة shurba “soup” (from Persian شوربا šurbâ “a kind of stew”, lit. “salty/sour stew”); مݣانة magāna “clock, watch” from Persian پنگان pengān “water clock” (cf. Tunisian Arabic منڨالة mungāla), شرجم،سرجب sarjam/sharjab “window” from Persian چارچوب čârčub “frame”; note Libyan Arabic روشن‎ rōšan, “window” from Persian روزن rowzan‎ “crevice, hole”); بزطام bizṭām (cf. Algerian Arabic تزدام tezdām) from Persian جزدان jozdān “wallet”; سطوان siṭwān “tiled courtyard surrounded by peristyle within the house” (from Persian ستون sotun “column”); خرشوف xarshūf “artichoke” (from Middle Persian 𐭤𐭠𐭫𐭰𐭥𐭯 *xār-čōp, lit. “thorny stick”), خمم xemmem “to think” (irregular variant with -m final of Classical Arabic خمن xammana “to guess, suspect”, maybe ultimately an assimilated root from Persian گمان gumān “supposition; speculation”). Urban dialects like that of Salé have preserved other Abbasid archaisms, such as مارستان māristān “hospital”, from Persian بيمارستان bimārestān.

(1) A Moroccan man clad in traditional striped jeleba fills a bottle of water at Fontaine Nejjarine, Fes, Morocco (c. 18th century) (2) Horseshoe arches with polychrome glazed tiles decorate the Bab Bou Jeloud (built by the French in 1913), with a view of the Bou Inania minaret and old medina, Fes, Morocco (3) Polychrome glazed tiles with geometric motifs, resembling those in Persian architecture, at Dar el Bacha museum, Marrakesh, Morocco (4) The author (right) and his brother in Fes, Morocco (c. 1998)

The presence of Iranian loans at first seems unbewildering given the many hundreds of Persian words that entered the Arabic language–either directly or via Aramaic– following the Islamic conquest of the Sassanid Persian Empire. Persian, Greek, and Aramaic represent the largest loaner languages to Classical Arabic, although frequently only the latter two are emphasized. Persians played a seminal role in the standardization of Arabic as a literary medium and pioneered the academic study of the language; indeed the Arab historiographer Ibn Khaldūn could barely restrain himself from singing the praises of Persian grammarians, physicians, astronomers, mathematicians and other scholars in developing what has frequently been referred to as “Arabian” or “Islamic” science. These lexemes are unique however in that many are unattested in the Arabic vernaculars further east, and this taken in conjunction with the material and onomastic evidence detailed below suggests the presence of a small but influential Iranian element in early Islamic North Africa.

In light of the drastic shortage of historical records on these migrations, the presence of Persian names among intellectuals and dynasts of the Islamic period in North Africa lends credence to that idea. Apparently their descendants founded two dynasties in the Maghreb–the Rustamids (Bānū-Bādūsyān, 777-909 A.D), founded by ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Rustam, were Persian Ibāḍī imāms whose capital Tahert in modern-day Algeria was famed as ‘Iraq al-Maghrib “Mesopotamia of the West”, or Balkh al-Maghrib “Bactria of the West”, perhaps owing in part to the Iranian character of the city. A century later, the Khurāsānid dynasty (Bānū-Khurāsān, 1059-1148 A.D.) founded by ‘Abd al-Ḥaqq ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Khurāsān, ruled an independent principality in modern-day Tunisia. Persian immigrants or those with Iranian nisbahs further appear in Andalusia (Ziryāb, al-Shushtari), detailed below.

*A Persian Kharijite Ibāḍī imām,* ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Rustam, and his descendants ruled the Rustamid (Bānū-Bādūsyān) dynasty in the Maghreb (777-909 A.D). Its capital, Tahert, became a Kharijite stronghold famed as ‘Iraq al-Maghrib “Mesopotamia of the West”, or Balkh al-Maghrib “Bactria of the West”, perhaps owing the Iranian character of the city and some of its inhabitants. A century after its fall, another Iranian dynasty, the Khurāsānids (1059-1148 A.D), came to power in northern Tunisia

It is notable that west of Baghdād (from Middle Persian 𐭡𐭢𐭣𐭲‎ (bgdt /bag-dād/, “given by god”; compare Russian given name Богда́н Bogdan “ibid.”), nowhere in the medieval Islamic world did Iranian forms gain as much currency as in the Maghreb. Perhaps this owed in part to the nature of urbanity in Anatolia, Egypt, Palestine and Greater Syria, where for centuries the materials of Greco-Roman civilization reigned supreme among a Romanized Christian citizenry. Indeed Roman churches and other buildings in these regions were frequently dismantled by the Muslims for reusable materials or repurposed into mosques by the simple addition of a mihrab and minaret (e.g. the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus which was formerly the Basilica of Saint John the Baptist (Greek: βασιλική του Αγίου Ιοάννή του Βαπτιστή Vasilikí tou Agíou Ioánni tou Vaptistí). Islamic architectural forms in these regions employed nearly identical building materials (limestone ashlar) and ornamentation schemes (marble veneer decorations, Greek order columns) to the forms that preceded them, which were Roman in character.

The Maghreb was instead relatively virgin land for the Muslim immigrants, who founded a significant number of new cities which they cohabited with Berbers. These new spaces engendered the transmission and local innovation of Persislamic architectural vocabulary, fashions and culinary stylings. For example, the adoption of the Persian garden form (Arabic: رياد riād; Persian: چهار باغ chahār bāgh) was most marked in the Maghreb, and it became a prominent feature in Moorish palaces in Spain (such as Madinat al-Zaḥrā, the Aljafería, and the Alhambra). In the 9th century, Persians had discovered the manufacture of colored tiles with metallic pigments through the use of tin oxide glaze, which spawned a renaissance of majollica tile production in the Iranian world that apparently also reached the Maghreb. The technology and inspiration behind zellīj tiles in the Maghreb is, thus, undoubtedly Persian, rather than the untenable idea that Roman mosaics which are composed of tesserae and depict human and animal forms somehow circuitously inspired Maghrebi Islamic zellīj. The latter hypothesis is further problematic in that it forces us to accept the unlikely scenario that Persian and Maghrebi tilework, with their strikingly similar compositions and designs, developed twice around the same time and independently of each other. Why this art would not have developed in Syria, Palestine or Egypt, where Roman and Byzantine mosaics existed in great volume, is another perplexing question.

Evidence of Persian craftsmen and architects exporting their crafts abounds in the Arab world; for example, the glazed tiles on several Cairene buildings, including the bulbous stone minarets of the mosque of Nāṣer Moḥammad in the citadel (1318-35 A.D.), indicate that craftsmen from Tabrīz operated a workshop in Cairo in the 1330s and 1340s. Double-shelled, ribbed domes ending in muqarnas corbels (stalactites) with high, calligraphy-ornamented drums are Persian features to be see on the Mausoleum of al-Ṣultaniyya in Cairo, and which are later encountered in Timurid Samarqand. The characteristic Persian four-ayvān plan was first introduced to Mamlūk Egypt in madrasas, though it was rarely, if ever, used in mosques there, but is frequently encountered in the Maghreb. Morever muqarnas vaults, a prominent Persian feature in Maghrebi architecture, were only seldom commissioned in Syria and Egypt, but took strong hold further west where they are carved into stucco. Since in Morocco many buildings were constructed using baked earth or bricks–much like in Persia–geometric ornamentation schemes using glazed tiles or carved plaster or stucco resembling those in Iran could be applied to buildings. This contrasts with the situation in Egypt, Anatolia and Syria, where limestone ashlar buildings with marble veneer decorations predominated. Thus, Persian elements appeared frequently in Maghrebi architecture, probably as a result of the presence in North Africa of individuals with firsthand experience of Persian architecture.

A Persian-style arched ayvān with muqarnas vaulting and polychrome glazed tiles, Bou Inania Madrasa, Fes, Morocco (1350-55 A.D.). Elements of Persian architecture and ornamentation form a foundation for Maghrebi Islamic forms.

Moroccan culinary tradition attributes the widespread use of nuts like almonds and cashews, dried fruits such as raisins, prunes, dates and apricots, pickled lemons (حامض مصير ḥamudh mṣir) and saffron to Persian influence. Indeed, both cuisines are characterized by an idiosyncratic sweet, savory and sour palette, in contrast to the cuisines of their immediate neighbors. Moreover, it is known that Muslims introduced saffron from Persia to North Africa in the 10th century. This, too, points to a tunneling of early Persian forms across Romanized territories to the Maghreb, perhaps through the milieu of few but influential Iranians among the Muslims.

A variation of Moroccan ṭājin barquq w meshmāsh with mutton, prunes, apricots, raisins, sesames, cinnamon and pistachios. Maghrebi cuisine shares an idiosyncratic sweet, savory and sour palette with Persian cuisine, probably reflecting the introduction of Persian ingredients and flavors by the Muslims.

Andalusian Influence

In the 15th century, the aforementioned old Maghrebian cities (particularly Tangier, Fes and Rabat, and more broadly Constantine, Tlemcen, Kairouane, Tunis, Tripoli and Bizerte) saw a massive influx of Muslims and Jews who had been expelled from Islamic Spain (Arabic: الاندلسيين “Andalusians”; Spanish: moriscos “Moors”) and migrated “back” to the Maghreb where they settled among their distant dialectal cousins. This “second urbanite wave” further contributed to the evolution of urban dialects, but not the ʕarūbi (Bedouin) dialects which were spoken in the countryside. Andalusian families, still distinguished by their surnames–Jorio, Fenjiro, Chkalante, Guedira, Gharnaṭa, Qorṭoubi, Andalousi, Prado, Vergas, Lavra–brought features of Spanish and Andalusian Arabic to the local vernaculars. The طرب أندلسي ṭarab ʾandalusī (and by extension غرناطي gharnāṭi in Tlemcen, from the Arabic name for Granada) is attributed to a certain Ziryāb, a freed Persian slave-turned-courtier and musical pioneer who introduced Persian instruments and musical modes to Muslim Spain. The Andalusian repertoire, with its foundations in classical Persian and Spanish music, is thus distinguished from ʕarūbi (what has been termed shaʕbi “folk”), Gnāwa and Berber folk music, which employ different instruments, formats and modes. The Gnāwa repertoire in particular, which features the guembri lute and the call-and-response format of vocal performance, links it with the musical systems of the Songhay in Timbuktu, Gao and Djenné.

A number of old Iberian Romance words entered the Fessi dialect, the legacy of large numbers of Andalusian Muslim and Jewish refugees who migrated to Maghrebian cities after their expulsion from Islamic Spain, some of which have been adopted in Casablancan Koine. These include سيمانة simāna “week” from Spanish semana; Fessi كوشينة kušina “kitchen” from Spanish cocina (doublet with darija كوزينة kuzina, probably a later borrowing during the Spanish protectorate); اشكولة iškuila “school”; from Spanish escuela; قرة qirra from Spanish guerra “war”; فورنو furnu “oven” from Spanish forno; شلية šelya “chair” from Spanish silla; طابلة ṭabla “table” from Spanish tabla; فيشطة fishṭa “party”, from Spanish fiesta; كريلو grīllu “cockroach” from Spanish grillo “cricket”; قميجة qamija “shirt”, from Spanish camisa; بسطيلة basṭila from Spanish pastilla “puff pastry with various fillings”; فابور fābor “free [of charge]; a favor” from Spanish favor; rwina from Spanish ruina “mess, wreck”, qīmrūn “shrimp” from Spanish camarón. Cities like Salé in which Andalusian immigrants settled saw propagation of Spanish words even their core vocabulary, which have not been transferred into Koine owing their salient foreign nature:

English	Salawi Arabic (Salé)	Spanish
“Good”	buinu	bueno
“Wrong”	falṣo	falso
“Luck”	as-suirti	suerte
“Alone”	ṣulu	solo

Some Andalusian Jews in Morocco retained their Spanish vernaculars (Ladino and Ḥaketía) until their exodus to Israel in the mid 20th century.

Bedouin (Hilalian) or ʕarūbi Dialects: the Basis of Moroccan Darija

The second wave of Arabic speakers were Bedouins of the Banu Maʕqil Banu Hilal, Banu Sulaym and Bani Ḥassan tribes who migrated en masse in the 11th and 12th centuries from the Najd region of Arabia to the Magrheb, where they took home in the arid plains and hautes-plateaux. The impetus for this forced migration was the Fatimid Caliphate’s desire to confine the unruly Bedouins in the south of their dominion. As the Bedouins were unaccustomed to urbanity, the Banu Hilal settled in areas where they continued their nomadic lifestyle, and this wave brought significantly greater linguistic arabization and spread of nomadism in areas where agriculture had previously dominated. Camps (1983) estimates the number of Bedouins to have been relatively small; only around 80,000 at the outset, and their migration extended over two centuries and not all of them settled in Morocco. Local Berbers (most likely belonging to the Masmuda confederacy and thus speaking a language related to Shilha, given the Bedouins’ settlement in the lowlying plains between Souss and Rabat), who shared a similar lifestyle of pastoralism, were quickly assimilated to the language of the incomers. The nature of their contact was such that over time, Arabs adopted the modified Arabic language of their Berber neighbors and started to speak it amongst themselves. Moreover, everyone in the community adopted the Berbers’ speech and spoke it to the children. With the establishment of Casablanca, ʕarūbi migrant workers and their dialects–rather than the old sedentary dialects such as Fessis–became the basis of Moroccan Darija. The modern Moroccan Darija is therefore a dialect of Bedouin provenance with an admixture of local sedentary features.

*A Bedouin camp in the desert near Merzouga, Morocco*

In contrast to the sedentary dialects which use the local innovation ka- or ta-, ʕarūbi dialects particularly in northeastern Morocco and Algeria developed a progressive aspect marker and by extension copula -را rā– (lit. “he saw”), probably from Najdi ترا tarā “to be seen”– : e.g. rāni nkteb = “I am writing” (lit. “He saw me writing”); rāk mn wjda “you are from Oujda”. Some comparisons between Moroccan Darija and Najdi Arabic are made below:

English	Moroccan Darija (Oujda)	Najdi Arabic
“Youth, young generation”	drāri	dhrāri
Interrogative particle	wəš	weš
“What my heart wanted (f.)”	Lli bġaha gəlbi	Illi bġaha galbi
“Take this”	hāk	hāk
“She is going”	Rāha tmši	Tarāha temši

With regard to Berber elements in ʕarūbi (Bedouin) dialects, examples of both metatypy and phonological restructuring exist, which is possible in extended and complex contact situations. The Arabization process presumably started with the Arabs’ neighbors, and then these Arabized Berbers served as intermediaries to their next neighbors, etc. A few examples of Berber metatypy in ʕarūbi are listed below:

The Berber feminine/diminutive circumfix ta….t used mainly with nouns of occupations in Moroccan Darija (e.g. bənnay “mason” –> tabənnayət “profession of masonry”) but also for abstract noun derivations, e.g. dərri “child” –> tadərrit “childhood”
The Berber genitive marker n “of”, though limited to some kinship terms like bb°a n Sufiān “father of Soufiane”

On Berber (Amazigh) influences in Darija

Berber (endonym: ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ tamazīɣt; Ar. الامازيغية al-amazīġīyya; الشلحة aš–šilḥa) is a distinct language family belonging to the Afro-Asiatic phylum. Blench (2018) notes that Berber is considerably different from other Afroasiatic branches, and indeed its genetic relation to Arabic–of equal magnitude to its relation with Ancient Egyptian and Cushitic–is vanishingly remote. Proto-Berber probably split from a common ancestor with the other known Afro-Asiatic branches between ~10,000-9,000 years before present, and then this group underwent a putative linguistic bottleneck as recently as ~3,000 years ago, which apparently eradicated the internal diversity of the family and left a contracted number of idioms from which all of the modern Berber languages descend. Proto-Berber then appears to have spread across a vast area from the western banks of the Nile river to the Atlantic coast of North Africa. Today, an estimated 30-40% of Moroccans, 20-30% of Algerians, 5-10% of Libyans and 1% of Tunisians use a Berber language as a mother tongue, but these numbers would have been higher only a century ago.

A map showing the modern distribution of languages belonging to the Afro-Asiatic macrofamily. Berber languages (purple) were indigenous languages to Northwest Africa prior to the arrival of Arabic. Today, an estimated 30-40% of Moroccans, 20-30% of Algerians, 5-10% of Libyans and 1% of Tunisians use a Berber language as a mother tongue.

The region was visited from an early date by seafaring Phoenician merchants from the Eastern Mediterranean (but, apparently, few Greeks), who established important port colonies (e.g. Shilha ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ Agadir, from Phoenician 𐤂𐤃𐤓‎ gādīr “wall;compound”, cognate with Arabic جدار jidār “wall”; Rusadir from Phoenician 𐤓‬𐤔𐤀𐤃𐤓‬ rushādir “powerful). These immigrants later established the Carthaginian empire and perpetuated Punic language and culture, eventually subjugating the Romanized para-Berber kingdom of Numidia. The presence of Punic borrowings in Proto-Berber points to the diversification of modern Berber language varieties subsequent to the fall of Carthage in 146 B.C.; only Guanche and Zenaga lack Punic loanwords. Berberophones along the Mediterranean coast later became subjects of the Roman Empire under administrative divisions of Tripolitania, Africa, Mauretania Caesariensis and Mauretania Tingitana, but commercial and cultural exchanges between Romans and Berbers along the Līmes Mauretaniæ persisted for centuries through the Byzantine period.

During this age of contact, Roman innovations including the ox-plough, camel (Kabyle: ⴰⵍⵖⵯⵎ a-lɣəm via metathesis from Latin camēlus or Coptic ϭⲁⲙⲟⲩⲗ (camoul)?), and orchard management were adopted by Berber communities. Latin loanwords in Berber include, notably, ⴰⴼⵓⵍⵍⵓⵙ afullus “chicken” (from Latin pullus); ⴰⵙⵏⵓⵙ asnus “donkey” (from Latin asinus), ⵓⵔⵜⵉ urti “garden” (from Latin hortus); ⵜⴰⵖⴰⵡⵙⴰ taɣawsa “thing” (from Latin causa “reason/case; motive”); ⴰⵏⵖⴰⵍⵓⵙ anɣalus “angel, spiritual entity” (from Latin angelus); ⵉⴳⴻⵔ iger “cultivated field” (from Latin ager); ⵜⴰⴼⴰⵙⴽⴰ tafaska “feast/religious celebration” (from Latin pascha “Easter; Passover”); ⴰⴼⴰⵍⴽⵓ afalku “bearded vulture” (from Latin falcō “falcon”), ⵜⴰⴼⴻⵙⵏⴰⵅⵜ tafesnaxt “carrot” (from Latin pastinaca “parnsip, stingray”), ⵢⴻⵏⵏⴰⵢⴻⵔ yennayer “January; first month of the Berber New Year” (from Latin ianuarius), inter alia.

*(Top) Ruins of the Basilica of Volubilis; (Bottom left) Roman mosaics at Volubilis; (Bottom right) Storks nesting atop Corinthian-order columns at Volubilis, Morocco*

Berber is the substrate language for the Arabic varieties spoken in the Maghreb. Nonetheless, it has left few lexical borrowings in Arabic varieties, with the most notable exception of toponyms. The overwhelming majority of place names in Morocco are of Berber origin, e.g. ⴰⵎⵓⵔ ⵏ ⴰⴽⵓⵛ amur n akush “Land of God”, whence Marrakesh and Morocco; ⵉⵎⵉ ⵏ ⵜⴰⵏⵓⵜ imi n tanout “mouth of a small well”, ⵉⴼⵔⴰⵏ ifran “caves”; ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ amknas whence Meknes “the Miknasa Zenata Berber tribe”; ⵜⵉⵟⵟⴰⵡⴰⵏ tiṭṭawan “springs” (with the Ghomara Berber feminine plural suffix ⴰⵏ –an) whence Tetouane; ⵜⵉⵏⴳⵉ tingi “marsh”, whence Tangier; ⵡⵔ ⴰⵣⵣⴰⵣⴰⵜ ur azzazat “without clamor; silent” whence Ouarzatate, etc.

Other ancient local words may include ݣناوة gnāwa “Sub-Saharan Africans and their musical repertoire in Morocco; a caste of largely endogamous black Africans living among both Arabophones and Berberophones”, probably from a Shilha gloss ⴰⴳⵏⴰⵡ agnaw “deaf-mute” (pl. ⵉⴳⵏⴰⵡⵏ ignawen) and later “black people” (semantic development resembles Arabic عجم ‘ajam “confusing or unclear way of speaking” → “Persians”). This word is probably also the origin of “Guinea” and perhaps “Djenné”.

A speaker of the Senhaja d’Srair Berber language, spoken in the Ketama commune of Al Hoceïma Province, in the central part of the Rif mountains. Despite its geographic proximity to and influence from the neighboring Riffian Berber language, Senhaja Berber together with nearby Ghomara belong to the Atlas group, linking them to the Shilha and Central Atlas Tamazight languages further south.

In the domestic and culinary spheres, there exist a few important loanwords: كسكسو ksksu “couscous” from Berber ⵙⴻⴽⵙⵓ seksu; ساروت sārūt “key”, from Central Atlas Berber ⵜⴰⵙⴰⵔⵓⵜ tasarut; and صيفط ṣīfṭ “to send” (cf. Kabyle ⵙⵙⵉⴼⴻⴹ ssifeḍ). Some local flora and fauna have also retained their Berber names: زايس zāyis “octopus” from Berber ⴰⵣⴰⵢⵣ azayz; مشّ mušš “cat” (cf. Central Atlas Tamazight ⴰⵎⵓⵛⵛ amušš); لالة Lalla “lady; respected woman”, (related to Central Atlas Berber ⴰⵍⴰⵍⵍⵓ alallu “dignity”, from ⵜⵉⵍⴻⵍⵍⵉ tilelli “freedom”); دشار dšār from ⴷⵛⴰⵔ dšar “region”; شلاغم šlāḡem “mustache” from Berber ⴰⵛⵍⵖⵓⵎ ašlɣum.

It is possible that the use of feminine gender language names in Darija is Berber substrate: الريفية al-rifiyya “Riffian language”, cf. ⵜⴰⵔⵉⴼⵉⵜ Tarifit “Riffian language”. Additionally, Moroccan Darija exhibits a preference for broken plurals, particularly for ethnonyms or nationalities endemic to the region. By contrast, geographically distant peoples use the regular jarr plurals: مغاربة mġārba “Moroccans” (cf. Modern Standard Arabic مغربيين maġrebiyiin “Moroccans”) , تونسة twansa “Tunisians”, فواسة fwāsa “Fessis”, ريافة riyāfa “Riffians”, شلوح šluḥ “Shilha Berbers”, سواسة swāsa “people from the Souss region; frequently used synonymously with Shilha Berbers”, جبالة jbāla “Jbelis”, but مصريين maṣriyiin “Egyptians”, عراقيين erāqiyiin “Iraqis”, etc. It is interesting that Berber too uses complex and apophonic broken plural formations, like other Afro-Asiatic branches: ⴰⵎⵖⵔⵉⴱⵉ amɣribi → ⵉⵎⵖⵔⴰⴱⵉⵢⵏ imɣrabiyen “Moroccans”; ⴰⵛⵍⵃⵉ ašllḥi → ⵉⵛⵍⵃⵉⵢⵏ išlḥiyen “Shilha Berbers”, ⴰⴳⵍⵍⵉⴷ agllid “king” → ⵉⴳⵍⴷⴰⵏ igldan “kings”; ⵜⴰⴳⵍⴷⵉⵜ tagldit kingdom → ⵜⵉⴳⵍⴷⵉⵏ tigldin “kingdoms”.

发热西 Fārèxī – A Look at China’s Muslim Hui Community, its Iranian Origin and Vernacular

On 22 Sep 202222 Sep 2023 By afzadeh2 Comments

Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. The goal of this article is to familiarize the reader with the Iranian origins, history, and language of the Hui community of China.

*The author (right) and companion observe the Eid al-fitr proceedings at Ox Street Mosque (牛街礼拜寺 Niú jiē lǐbàisì; c. 1443 AD), Beijing (2017*)

At greater than 10.5 million souls, the Hui people (回族 huí zú) compose the largest Muslim community and second largest “ethnic minority” in the People’s Republic of China. The Hui are the descendants of 13^th century Persian-speakers who were deported thither following the Mongol conquest of Persia, Transoxiana, Khurāsān, and Khwārezm (the eponymous 回回國 huíhuí guó first referenced in a Ming Dynasty translation of the Mongolian chronicle 蒙古秘史 The Secret History of the Mongols). This means that after the Han Chinese (~1.3 billion) and the Zhuang (~18 million; whose homeland lies in the remote mountains bordering Vietnam), the descendants of Persian immigrants are the third largest ethnic community in China and are distributed broadly in nearly all of her major urban centers. Despite their importance, little international media attention has been devoted to their existence, perhaps due to the precarious conditions faced by smaller minorities such as Tibetans and Uyghurs in the country’s peripheries.

Much effort has been undertaken through the use of deliberately ambiguous language and, in some cases, pseudoscientific acrobatics, to assign Arab, Turkic, and even Indic identity to the ancestors of the Hui, but these attempts have fallen short of providing any compelling evidence towards those ends. The extant inscriptions and texts throughout China, Hui dialectical data as well as official Chinese dynastic accounts reveal without ambiguity that the Hui were originally a monolingual Persian-speaking community whose domestic, communal, and even spiritual life was conducted in Persian, while their Islamic faith necessitated knowledge of Arabic for access to their liturgy.

The Persian Muslims’ deportation to China was not in isolation, as they were originally accompanied in great numbers by Persian Jews (主鶻回回 zhǔhú huíhuí “Jewish Huihui”; zhǔhú being a phonetic transliteration of colloquial Persian جهود juhūd “Jew”) whom they had lived alongside in their homeland, and whose descendants are today referred to in loose terms as “Kaifeng Jews” (開封猶太族; Kāifēng Yóutàizú). Both of these groups preserved vernacular Persian for hundreds of years in diaspora, but were eventually faced with targeted assimilation pressures under the ensuing Ming dynasty (1368–1644) that resulted in their shift to local Chinese languages. Thereafter, for obvious reasons Arabic and Aramaic/Hebrew retained their currency as vital instruments in religious life, but Persian enjoyed a robust status in the arenas of both secular and religious literature, sermons, poetry, social institutions and diplomacy among Hui Muslims, Jews, and even the Chinese administration (discussed below). Today, the Persian language remains an important fixture in the Hui Muslim and Chinese Jewish identities. The Hui have even retained the endonym for the language of their forefathers, 发热西 Fārèxī (lit. “fever west”, a phonetic transliteration of فارسى fârsi) in a manner not dissimilar to the dissemination of the word “Farsi” in lieu of “Persian” by 20th century Iranian immigrants to the Occident–while standard Mandarin uses the historic Chinese allonym 波斯语 Bōsī yǔ “language of Persia”, from 波斯 Bōsī “Persia” first attested in the The Book of [Northern] Wei (Wèi-shū 魏書; composed in 551-54 AD).

The gravestones of two founding Imams (ahōng 啊訇، from Persian âkhond آخوند “imam”) with the nisbahs البخارى al-Bukhārī and القزوينى al-Qazwīnī، revealing their places of origin, are interred here. Beijing’s Ox Street Mosque also includes a commemoratory stele erected at the end of the 15th century in Mandarin and Persian. (2017, photos by Afsheen Sharifzadeh)

On the Origins of the Hui
Insofar as it is possible to generalize about the origins of all the people in China who are classified as Hui, it seem likely that “the origins of most of them are in the thousands of mainly Persian speaking Central Asian Muslims recruited or conscripted by the Mongol armies which took control of China in the thirteenth century” (Dillon, p. 156). This fact at first seems unbewildering, since at its acme the Mongol Horde did not succeed in conquering India, the core of the Arabic-speaking world, Southeast Asia, Byzantium, or any “European” society west of Kievan Rus. The roughly contiguous Chinese and Iranian ecumenes (the Sinosphere 汉字文化圈 and Persosphere ايران بزرگ “Greater Iran; Iranian World”) were the two chief sophisticated urban civilizations that the Mongols succeeded in subjugating, and whose cultures were sufficiently advanced enough to be adopted wholesale by their conquerors (the Golden Horde lived in proximity to, but not among, the eastern Slavs). The popular depictions of plunder, destruction and massacre wrought by Chingis Khan–borne primarily from coeval Persian and Christian missionary sources–are in fact almost exclusively referring to Greater Iranian cities. After all, it was under the pretext of revenge for the Khwārazmshāh‘s execution of a Mongol merchant convoy at Otrār (فاراب Fārāb) that Chingis Khan chose to invade Central Asia and Persia. Minhāj al-Sirāj Juzjānī, a 13^thcentury Persian historian who authored a synchronic commentary on the Mongol conquest of the Khwarezmian Empire from the safety of his refuge in Delhi, laments:

Alas, how much Muslim blood was spilled because of that murder! From all sides poured torrents of pure blood, and this movement of anger brought about the ruin and depopulation of the earth. (55 Levi, 2010, p. 127.)

The ruins of Merv (Persian: مرو, Marv; Chinese: 木鹿 mù-lù), an Iranian metropolis in modern-day Turkmenistan once famed as Marv-i Shāhijān “Merv the Great”. A center of scholarship, silk textile production, fruit cultivation, riches and faith, the city possessed at least ten “grand libraries” and a renowned astronomical observatory where Omar Khayyām studied. Merv was razed to the ground and its entire population of ~500,000 slaughtered by the Mongol Horde in 1221 AD, *making it one of the bloodiest captures of a city in world history*. The other metropolises of Khurāsān, Khwārezm and Transoxiana faced a similar fate, however some of their inhabitants were deported to China.

Chief among the contemporaneous Persian sources is the account of another historian and later Mongol state official, Atā-Malek Juvayni, entitled “History of the World Conqueror” (تاریخ جهانگشای Tārīkh-i Jahān-gushāy; c. 1260 AD). Indeed, Juvayni writes that after the fall of Samarkand and the massacring of its inhabitants,

…the people who had escaped from beneath the sword were numbered; 30,000 of them were chosen for their craftsmanship, and these [Chinggis Khan] distributed among his sons and kinsmen, while the like number were selected from the youthful and valiant to form a levy.

As Huíhuí (referring to both Persian-speaking Muslims and Jews) spread throughout Yuan China, it was craftsman and artisans (工匠 gōngjiàng) who were most prominent after conscripted troops:

Many of the more than 30,000 craftsmen captured by Chinggis Khan’s forces in the 1220 Samarkand campaign, were specialists in delicate work who were enlisted in the official government crafts bureau, the guanju. This might include producing Central Asian style brocades or silks or the manufacture of cannons. All the artisans brought to China by the Mongols were pressed into the official quasi-military system under which the Yuan dynasty employed craftsmen and were not permitted to operate privately. (Dillon, Michael. China’s Muslim Hui Community, p. 23)

Audience with Möngke Khaqan (蒙哥可汗 Ménggē kèhán; منگوقاآن Mangū Qā’ān), illustration from the Persian language work تاريخ جهان گشاى جوينى *Tārīkh-i Jahāngushāy*-i Juvaini (c. 1260 AD) – BNF Supplément persan 206, fol. 101

Juvayni provides similar accounts of the odious fate that befell the people of Bukhārā, Merv, Nisā, Kāth, Gurganj, Termez, Balkh, Nishāpur, Tūs, Herāt and other major urban centers in the medieval Iranian World. For example, following the conquest of Gurganj, the capital of Khwārezm, Juvayni relates that artisans and others with valuable skills such as merchants, scholars and physicians–said to number over 100,000 (certainly hyperbole)–were separated from the rest and deported to China where they lived in diaspora:

‘To be brief, when the Mongols had ended the battle of Khorazm and had done with leading captive, plundering, slaughter and bloodshed, such of the inhabitants as were artisans were divided up and sent to the countries of the East [China and Mongolia]. Today there are many places in these parts that are cultivated and peopled by the inhabitants of Khorazm’ (Juvayni/Boyle 1952) p. 128

Notably, the en masse deportation of Huíhuí artisans from conquered territories in Central Asia is corroborated multiple times in the Secret History of the Mongols (蒙古秘史 Ménggǔ mìshǐ) as well as the official dynastic history of Mongol rule in China (Yuán Shǐ 元史; c. 1370 AD):

‘Hasana, a Kerait, transported 3,000 Huihui artisans from Samarkand and Bukhara and other places and put them in Xunmalin [near Kalgan/Zhangjiakou] in the reign of Ogedei.’ (Yuanshi 122; Leslie (1986) p. 79.

‘In the Yuan period, the Hui-hui (from Samarkand) spread over the whole of China. By the Yuan dynasty the Muslims had extended to the four corners [of the country], all preserving their religion without change.’ (Mingshi 332; Leslie (1986) p.79)

Lanzhou beef noodle soup (兰州拉面 Lánzhōu lāmiàn), originally a popular breakfast dish among Hui Muslims in Gansu, has become a common staple throughout China. The dish consists of carved beef, radish slices, red chili oil, garlic sprouts and hand-pulled noodles served in a broth of boiled lamb’s and cow’s liver. Hui cuisine *(清真菜 qīngzhēn cài, lit. “pure and true [halāl] food”*) is manifestly an iteration of local Gansu cuisine that developed in accordance with halāl dietary laws, however dishes such as 烤羊肉串 kǎo yángròu chuàn “grilled mutton kababs” and 馕 náng bread (from Persian نان nān) link the Hui cuisine with Central Asia.

In the following centuries, Chinese sources make mention of prominent Persian Muslims and Jews in the administrative and mercantile spheres of Chinese society. Many of these individuals hailed from the primary Huíhuí cadre which had been conscripted and deported overland from Central Asia and Persia during the Mongol conquest of those regions. For example, the Persian Sayyed-e Ajall Šams-al-Dīn ʿOmar Boḵārī (d. 1279), a native of Bukhara, was appointed governor of Yunnan province by Qubilai Khan, and together with his son Nāṣer-al-Dīn was responsible for the spread of Islam in southern China (Persian: ماچين Māchīn “Greater China”; rarely منزى Manzī, from Chinese 蠻子 mánzi “southern barbarians; non-Sinicized southerner” > 南蠻 Nánmán via Mongolian). His great-great-great-grandson, the famous Iranian-Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, and fleet admiral Zhèng Hé 郑和 (born 马和 Mǎ Hé) commanded the largest and most advance fleet the world had ever seen to Java, Malacca, Siam, Ceylon, India, Persia, Arabia and the Horn of Africa during seven expeditions between 1405 to 1433. Zheng He presented gifts of silk, porcelain, gold, and silver, and China received such novelties as ostriches, zebras, camels, and ivory from the Swahili Coast in return. The giraffe that he brought back from Malindi was considered to be a 麒麟 qílín and taken as proof of the Mandate of Heaven (天命 tiānmìng) upon the administration.

While the Huíhuí nucleus (Muslim and Jewish Persian-speakers) was predominantly located in the northwest, center and southwest of China where they had been brought overland from Central Asia and Persia by the Mongols, by that period China had also established maritime contacts with merchants from the Persian Gulf, a limited number of whom were permitted to settle in port cities along the East China Sea. Chinese documents do not contain information on the ethnic origins of officials in the foreign quarters of the port of Zaiton (泉州 Quánzhōu; زيتون Zaytūn), however Ibn Baṭṭūṭa mentioned several prominent Persians: Kamāl-al-Dīn ʿAbd-Allāh Eṣfahānī, šayḵ-al-Eslām (dean of Muslim religious leaders) from Isfahan; Tāj-al-Dīn Ardawīlī, qāżi’l-Moslemīn (Muslim judge) from Ardabil; the prosperous merchant Šaraf-al-Dīn Tabrīzī of Tabriz; and Borhān-al-Dīn Kāzerūnī of Kazerun, a shaikh of the Sufi Kāzarūnīya order. While smaller in number, there was also mention of a community of Arabian merchants in Quanzhou that had arrived along the same maritime route as the Persians. Notably, it was through the Persians that the Chinese had first come to know of Arabia and the Arabs (大食 Dà-shí “Arab” < Persian تازى Tāzī “Arab”, referring to Arabs of the tribe of طي Ṭaī). The presence of Arabian merchants in a limited number of port cities where Persian-speakers still seem to have constituted a plurality and oligarchy among Muslims–compounded by the facts that the two coreligionists are usually not differentiated in Chinese historical documents and that Arabic is the liturgical language of both people–has lent false credence to a popular claim among those eager to influence China’s Muslims that the Hui are predominantly descendants of (1) Arabs, (2) Turks or, the deliberately ambiguous option, (3) an unknowable mixture of peoples.

A map showing the modern distribution of the Hui Muslim population in the People’s Republic of China. Each red dot represents 1,000 people. The traditional epicenters of the Huihui (Persian-speaking Muslim) community from the Mongol Yuan period were Gansu, Ningxia, Beijing, Henan, Hebei, and Yunnan as they had been deported overland from Persia and Central Asia and settled primarily in peripheral regions and important economic zones. Few smaller communities persist in port cities on the East and South China Seas, having arrived there historically from Persia and Arabia by maritime route.

The Hui Under the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties
The three officially recognized languages of Yuan administration and education were thus Chinese, Mongolian, and Persian; the terms 回回文 Huí-huí-wén (lit. “language of the hui-hui,” the term referring to Persian-speaking Muslims of Central Asia), 铺速蠻字 pù-sù-mán-zì (“Muslim language”, from Persian مسلمان musalmān), and 亦思替非文 yì-sī-tì-fēi-wén (“chosen language”, possibly < Ar. اصطفاء eṣṭefāʾ “choosing, selecting,” referring to the “chosen,” or “Islamic,” language; Yuan-shi LXXXVII, p. 2190; Huang, pp. 85-86) encountered in the documents of the period probably all refer to Persian (Chenheng, 2000 “Literature of Northwest China”; although it has been proposed that at least in some instances the third term refers to the language of the Qur’an). The Yuan administration opened a Persian language school called 回回國子學 Huíhuí guózi xué which is considered to the earliest foreign language school in China (Han Rulin, 1982; Fu Ke, 2004 “History of Chinese Foreign Teaching”).

During this period, Ibn Baṭṭūṭa, who was visiting China in the mid-14th century, mentions the son of a Mongol khan who was especially fond of Persian singing; apparently on one occasion he ordered his court musicians to sing several times a poem by Saʿdī Shīrāzī, which had been set to music (ibn Baṭṭūṭa, tr. Mowaḥḥed, II, p. 750 n. 2). Ironically, Saʿdī (1210-1292 A.D.), who himself had been cast into a life of itineration by the Mongol invasions, could barely restrain himself from lamenting at the ruin wrought by Chingis Khan, likening the destruction of Samarkand to the Arabian destruction of the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon six centuries earlier. Apparently, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II even recited Saʿdī’s forlorn couplet as he ambulated through the decrepit Mega Palation of Constantinople two centuries thereafter in 1453:

پرده‌داری می‌کند در قصر قیصر عنکبوت; بوم نوبت می‌زند بر تارم افراسیاب
Parde-dāri mikonad dar qaṣr-e Qayṣar ankabūt; būm nowbat mizanad bar tāram-e Afrāsiāb

“The spider is curtain-bearer in the palace of Khosrow [Ctesiphon]; the owl calls the watch shifts in the towers of Afrasiab [Samarkand]”

(1) The prayer hall of the Ming-era Ox Street Mosque (牛街礼拜寺 Niú jiē lǐbàisì; c. 1443 AD), Beijing (2) Hui Muslims on the mosque grounds (3) Entrance to a gǒng-běi (拱北 – “a small Muslim shrine”, from Persian گنبد gonbad “dome”) (4) An incense burner (香爐 xiānglú) used by Muslims (5) the author inside Ox Street Mosque, Beijing (photos by Afsheen Sharifzadeh)

Under the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the Sì-yí-guǎn (四夷館, “Office for the four barbarian [nations]”) was established to train translators to provide official translations of books and diplomatic documents. Since Persian was one of the main diplomatic languages used by the Ming to communicate with Tibet, Ceylon, Cambodia, Champa, Java, Malacca, and the Timurid Empire, numerous Ming-era Persian language inscriptions have been discovered in these territories, including the trilingual Tibetan, Chinese and Persian language inscriptions at Tsurphu monastery in Tibet. The first Ming emperor, Tai-zu 太祖 (r. 1368-97), apparently ordered a group headed by Ma-sha-yi-hei (probably مشايخ Mašāyeḵ) to translate several Persian books, including one on astronomy, into Chinese, and in 1407 Ming Cheng-zu (r. 1403-25) issued an edict in Chinese, Mongolian, and Persian for the protection of Islamic minorities. Additionally the Huí-huí guǎn yì yǔ (回回館譯語 “Textbook for Translation from Huihui [Persian]”), compiled by the Sì-yí-guǎn, was a textbook for teachers and translators; one extant copy includes a Persian-Chinese vocabulary of 1,010 words. Other Chinese Muslim scholars of the Ming period who taught Persian, translated Persian works into Chinese, or integrated material from Persian works into their own books in Chinese were Chang Zhi-mei (1610-70) and Liu Zhi (ca. 1660-1730).

In the mid-16th century madrasas (schools of Islamic law, jīng táng 经堂, lit. “hall of doctrinal texts”) were established in China. Some Muslim scholars taught Islamic books in Persian in their homes and annotated both Arabic and Chinese texts with Persian, but, as time went on, it appears only Arabic was used in religious education, though in a few mosques there was instruction in both languages. Persian continued to be spoken and read among Muslims throughout the period, but by the end of the Ming period Chinese had become the primary spoken language among the Hui. However the Persian language was still taught in several Muslim schools that were established in the 1920s or later. Ha De-chen (1887-1943) and Wang Jing-zhai (1879-1948) were among the most noted Chinese translators from Persian under the National Republic of China. The latter translated Saʿdī’s Golestān گلستان as Zhēn-jìng huā-yuán 真境花园 (“Ethereal Garden”, published by Beijing Muslim Press, 1947).

Today, Beijing alone is home to at least 72 mosques, and visitors can encounter innumerable madrasas and perhaps dozens to hundreds of Hui restaurants with their idiosyncratic façades of crescent-shaped arches, serving traditional dishes such as 烤羊肉串 kǎo yángròu chuàn “grilled mutton kababs”, 手抓羊肉 shǒu zhuā yángròu “grabbing mutton”, and 馕 náng bread (from Persian نان nān).

Sayyed-e Ajall Šams-al-Dīn Boḵārī (Persian: سید اجل شمس‌الدین عمر بخاری; Chinese: 赛典赤·赡思丁 Sàidiǎnchì Zhānsīdīng; 1211–1279), a Persian from Bukhara, was appointed as Yunnan’s first provincial governor during the Yuan dynasty. His descendant, the celebrated Admiral Zheng He 郑和 commanded seven expeditionary treasure voyages to Java, Malacca, Siam, India, Persia, Arabia and the Horn of Africa from 1405 to 1433. The giraffe that he brought back from Malindi was considered to be a 麒麟 qílín and taken as proof of the Mandate of Heaven upon the administration

Hui Chinese Dialects
In the religious sphere, the Hui have inherited terminology from the Persian substrate of their forefathers, however Arabic terms derived from the Qur’an or their Chinese translations are also used today. For example, 木速蠻 mù-sù-mán “Muslim” (from Persian مسلمان mosalmān, first attested as 铺速蠻 pù-sù-mán in Yuan sources, meaning “Persian”; note 穆斯林 mù-sī-lín from Quranic Arabic muslim مسلم is also used today); 別安白爾 bié-ān-báiěr “prophet” (from Persian peyḡambar پيغمبر; cf. Arabic nabī نبي), the Persian term for the Prophet Moḥammad (first attested as 别安白尔皇帝 bié-ān-báiěr huángdì “Emperor prophet” in Xuanzong’s 赛氏总族牒 “Sai’s General Clan Sutra)”; 答失蛮 dá-shī-mán “learned man; scholar” (from Persian dānešmand دانشمند; cf. Arabic ‘ālim عالم); 迭里威士 dié-lǐ-wēi-shì “member of a Sufi order” (from Persian darvīš درويش); 乃瑪孜 nǎi-mǎ-zī “prayer” (from Persian namāz نماز; cf. Arabic ṣalāt صلاة); etc. Many of them (e.g., dá-shī-mán and bié-ān-bái-ěr) were also fashionable in the writings of non-Muslim Chinese literati. Words like 多災海 duō-zāi-hǎi “hell” (from Persian dūzaḵ دزاخ); (Mathews, nos. 6421, 6939, 2014) and 榜达 bǎng dá “morning” (from Persian bāmdād بامداد) are still common among Muslims in Beijing. In addition to incorporating a great many Persian words in their daily religious rituals, Beijing Muslims also hear sermons in Persian, and at evening prayer during the month of Ramażān they recite poems of praise in Persian (Yu Guang-zeng, p. 9).

Hui Muslim restaurants abound throughout China, particularly in Beijing and other historic Hui centers. The Hui are distinguished from the Han Chinese by their round skullcaps and headscarves (戴斯达尔 dài-sī-dá’ěr, from Persian dastâr دستار) , although only sported by some members of the community (Photos by Afsheen Sharifzadeh)

The evening prayer 阿夫他卜—府罗夫贪 Ā-fū-tā-bo fǔ-luō-fū-tān (from آفتاب فرورفتن āftāb forū-raftan) recorded in “Glossary of the Huihui Language”, Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

Not surprisingly, the names of all of the five Islamic prayers still in use among the Hui are from Persian rather than Arabic. These are: 榜达 bǎng dá “prayer at dawn” (from Persian bāmdād بامداد), 撇石尹/撇申/撇失尼 piē shí yǐn/piē shēn/piē shī ní “prayer at midday” (from Persian pišin پيشين), 底盖尔 dǐ gài ěr “afternoon prayer” (from Persian digar ديگر), 沙目 shā mù “prayer at sunset” (from Persian shām شام), 虎夫贪 hǔfū tān “night prayer” (from Persian khoftan خفتن). We encounter another term 阿夫他卜—府罗夫贪 Ā-fū-tā-bo fǔ-luō-fū-tān “sunset prayer” (from Persian آفتاب فرورفتن āftāb forū-raftan “sunset”) in the Persian language glossary entitled 回回館譯語 Huíhuíguǎn Literacy Primer from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Additionally, the names for the days of the week in Hui are retained from Persian: 牙其閃白 yá qí shǎnbái “Sunday”, 都閃白 dū shǎnbái “Monday”, 歇閃白 xiē shǎnbái “Tuesday”, 查爾閃白 chá ěr shǎnbái, 潘值閃白 pān zhí shǎnbái “Thursday”, 主麻 zhǔ má “Friday”, 閃白 shǎnbái “Saturday”. Of note, the Ming-era Persian-Chinese glossary Huíhuíguǎn Literacy Primer also records the Persian celebration of the winter solstice 捨卜夜勒搭 shě bo yè lēi dā (شب يلدا šab-e yaldâ), which must have been celebrated among the Hui historically.

*The Shab-e Yalda (捨卜夜勒搭 shě bo yè lēi dā) festival recorded in the “Seasonal” section of the Persian Language Work “Glossary of the Huihui Language” in the Ming Dynast*y (1368-1644)

The Hui thus bare the mantle of Persislamic civilization, with persisting use of Persian words for an array of domestic, social and religious matters in lieu of the language of the Qur’an, which would only occur among a community that used Persian as its mother language. While many Arabic terms are also used in the realm of religious vocabulary, this is expected since it is the liturgical language of all Muslims. As Michael Dillon notes:

Arabic words are used in connection with religious observance and, since the Qur’an is read and studied in Arabic, this is not surprising. More interesting is the persistence of Persian vocabulary which has social and historical as well as religious connotations. (“China’s Muslim Hui Community”, p. 154)

Hui Words Derived from Persian
A selection of Hui terms pertaining primarily to the religious sphere and their Persian roots are listed below (list composed by Afsheen Sharifzadeh):

湖達 hú-dá – “God; Allah” (from Persian خدا khodâ(y))

別安白爾 bié-ān-báiěr – “prophet [Muhammad]” (from Persian peyḡambar پيغمبر; cf. Arabic nabī نبي)

夏衣马尔旦 xià-yī-mǎ’ěr-dàn – lit. “King of mortals” (from Persian شاه مردان šâh-e mardân)

阿斯曼 ā-sī-màn – “God, sky, heaven” among Qinghai muslims (from Persian آسمان âsemân “sky”)

頓亞 dùn-yà – “world, Earth” (from Persian دنيا dunyâ)

答失蛮 dá-shī-mán – “[Islamic] scholar; learned man” (from Persian dānešmand دانشمند; cf. Arabic ‘ālim عالم)

阿訇 ā-hōng – “imam, mullah” (from Persian آخوند âkhond)

木速蠻 mù-sù-mán – “Muslim” (from Persian مسلمان mosalmān)

戴斯达尔 dài-sī-dá’ěr – “turban; cloth wrapped around head of Muslims” (from Persian dastâr دستار)

别麻日 bié-má-rì – “sick; ill” (from Persian bimâr بيمار)

依禪 yī-chán – “He, they” [referring to religious notables in place of 他们 tā-men “they”] (from Persian išân ايشان “they”)

肉孜 ròu-zī – “religious fasting during Ramadan” (from Persian roze روزه; cf. Arabic ṣawm صوم)

阿布代斯 ā-bù-dài-sī – “ablution; Islamic ritual washing of head, forearms, feet before prayer” (from Persian آبدست âbdast; cf. Arabic وضوء wuḍūʾ)

达旦 dá-dàn – “willing to marry [the woman’s term for marriage]” lit. “to give” (from Persian دادن dâdan)

卡宾 kǎ-bīn – “marriage portion; dowry” (from Persian كابين kâbin)

古瓦希 gǔ-wǎ-xī – “matchmaker, marriage broker” (from Persian گواهى guvâhi “witness”)

掃幹德 sǎo-gàn-dé – “swear, oath” (from Persian سوگند sogand)

虎士努提 hǔ-shì-nǔ-tí – “like, satisfied” (from Persian خشنود khošnud)

麻扎 má-zhā – “Muslim grave” (from Persian مزار mazâr “tomb”)

乃瑪孜 nǎi-mǎ-zī – “[Islamic] prayer” (from Persian نماز namâz, cf. Arabic صلاة ṣalāt)

古尔巴尼 gǔěr-bā-ní – “Eid al-Adha; sacrifice” (from Perso-Arabic قربان ghurbân, عيد قربان Eid-e ghurbân; cf. Arabic ضحي ḍaḥiy “sacrifice”, whence عيد الأضحى ʿEid al-aḍḥa)

班代 bān-dài – “servant, slave [of God]” (from Persian بنده bande)

朵斯提 duǒ-sī-tí – “friend or Muslim friend” (from Persian دوست dôst; note the irregular plural 多斯達尼 duō-sī-dá-ní, from Persian دوستان dôstân “friends”)

牙日 yá-rì – “friend, companion” (from Persian yâr يار)

拱北- gǒng-běi – “a small Muslim shrine” (from Persian گنبد gonbad “dome”)

邦克 bāng-kè- “adhan; Muslim call to prayer” (from Persian بانگ bâng; cf. Arabic اذان adhān)

馕 náng – “flatbread” (from Persian نان nân “bread”; cf. Arabic خبز khubz, Turkic ekmek, çörek)

郭什 guō-shén – “meat [used by Hui to refer specifically to beef and mutton]” (from Persian گوشت gosht)

古纳罕 gǔ-nà-hǎn or 古纳哈 gǔ-nà-hā – “sin” (from Persian گناه gunâh)

哌雷 pài-léi – “fairy, genie” (from Persian پرى pari)

哈宛德 hā-wǎn-dé – “master, leader” (from Persian خاوند xâvand)

睹失蛮 dǔ-shī-mán – “adversary, enemy” (From Persian دشمن dušman)

貓膩 māonì (Beijing dialect)- underhanded activity; something fishy; trick (from Perso-Arabic معنی‎ ma’ni “meaning; subtext or underhanded activity”), borrowed through the language of Hui

牙其閃白 yá qí shǎnbái “Sunday” (Persian يكشنبه yakšanbe), 都閃白 dū shǎnbái “Monday” (Persian دوشنبه dušanbe), 歇閃白 xiē shǎnbái “Tuesday” (Persian سهشنبه sešanbe), 查爾閃白 chá ěr shǎnbái (چاهارشنبه châhâršanbe), 潘值閃白 pān zhí shǎnbái “Thursday” (Persian: پنجشنبه panjšanbe), 主麻 zhǔ má “Friday” (Persian جمعه jum’a), 閃白 shǎnbái “Saturday” (Persian: شنبه šanbe)

榜达 bǎng dá “morning prayer” (from Persian bāmdād بامداد), 撇石尹 piē shí yǐn “prayer at midday” (from Persian pišin پيشين), 底盖尔 dǐ gài ěr “afternoon prayer” (from Persian digar ديگر), 沙目 shā mù “prayer at sunset” (from Persian shām شام), 虎夫贪 hǔfū tān “night prayer” (from Persian khoftan خفتن)

Remarkably, some conservative Hui dialects, such as the vernacular in Linxia county of Gansu known historically as 河州话 Hézhōuhuà, demonstrate Persian substratum in syntax. Of note, these dialects feature verb-final syntax, as in Persian, in contrast to standard Mandarin:

Persian	Hui Chinese (Hezhou)	Standard Mandarin	English
نماز خواندى؟ Namâz khândi?	乃瑪孜做了没有? Nǎimǎzī zuòle méiyǒu?	做礼拜了没有？Zuò lǐbàile méiyǒu?	Have you performed [Muslim] prayer?

*A Persian hymn that has long been circulated among the Hui people in China called 五时赞 Wǔ shí zàn* *“Five Seasons Praise” or 乃玛兹芭莎 Nǎi mǎ zī bā shā”, revering the five daily Islamic prayers with archaic Persian names (*پيشين، ديگر، شام، خفتن، وتر) *The handwriting of Imam Zhang Guangyu (张广玉) in Cangzhou*

References:
“CHINESE-IRANIAN RELATIONS viii. Persian Language and Literature in China” https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/chinese-iranian-viii

Dillon M. China’s Muslim Hui Community: Migration, Settlement and Sects. Routledge; London, UK: New York, NY, USA: 2013.

Ford, G. (2019). The Uses of Persian in Imperial China: The Translation Practices of the Great Ming. In N. Green (Ed.), The Persianate World: The Frontiers of a Eurasian Lingua Franca (1st ed., pp. 113–130). University of California Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvr7fdrv.10

Khwārazm: Examining the Past and Present of the “Lowlands” and its Idioms

On 1 Mar 202227 Sep 2023 By afzadeh1 Comment

Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. The goal of this article is to introduce the reader to the history of Khorezm located in modern-day Uzbekistan, as well as its historic Iranian and modern Turkic vernaculars.

The western gate (Ata-Darvaza) to the Ichan Qal’a complex, Khiva, Khorezm province, Uzbekistan (c. 17th century). Seen in the background are the Kalta Minor minaret (unfinished beyond a *band of azure tiles near the top with an inscription in* Persian), the madrasa of Mohammad Amin Khan, and the Islam Khoja minaret.

History of Khwarezm and its Indigenous Iranian Language

For at least two millennia until the Mongol invasion in the 13th century CE, the inhabitants of Khwarezm (Chorasmia) were of Iranian stock and spoke the Iranian Khwarezmian (Chorasmian) language. This once prominent Iranian language–attested first in royal wood and leather inscriptions at Toprak Kala (7th century C.E.) in an indigenous Aramaic-derived script, and later in al-Biruni’s manuscripts and Zamakhshari’s Arabic-Persian dictionary (Muqadimmat al-Adab)–belonged to the Eastern Iranian clade with nearby Sogdian and Saka (Khotanese, Tumshuqese, Scythian). In fact, with various settlements at Kuyusai 2 in the Oxus delta, which has been dated to the 12th-11th centuries B.C.E. by the presence of so-called “Scythian” (Saka) arrowhead, some scholars have argued that the Iranian Scythians were descended from these northern peoples and that Khwarezm was one early arena for their emergence as a distinct people. In another vein, University of Hawaii historian Elton L. Daniel believes Khwarazm to be the “most likely locale” corresponding to the original home of the Avestan people, and thereby the cradle of Zoroastrianism. Dehkhoda calls Khwarazm “the cradle of the Aryan tribe” (مهد قوم آریا mahd-e qawm-e āryā).

Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion in this oasis, as it may have been the homeland of the religion (what is called in ancient Avestic texts Airyanəm Vaēǰah lit. “expanse of the Aryans”). Remains of the massive Chilpyk Zoroastrian tower of silence (daḵma) from the 1st century B.C.- 1st century A.D. confirms the preeminence of the religion, although it is likely that similarly to neighboring Transoxiana and Khorāsān there were once Manichaean, Buddhist and Christian communities present in the first centuries A.D. There must have been a sizable Zoroastrian community in the early capital Kāth even after the arrival of Islam, from whom the scientist al-Biruni obtained the rich research data on Zoroastrianism in his Āṯār al-bāqia. As Biruni, a native of Khwarezm, verifies in his Āṯār al-bāqia:

أهل خوارزم […] کانوا غصناً من دوحة الفرس
Ahl Ḵawārizm kānū ḡuṣnan min dawḥat al-furus
“The people of Khwārezm were a branch from the Persian tree.”

(1) A map illustrating the historic Iranian regions of Māwara’nnahr (Transoxiana), Khwārazm (Chorasmia) and Greater Khorāsān overlying modern political borders (2) Map of Khwārazm and its important settlements during the early Islamic period (3) Location of the main fortresses of the Chorasmian oasis during the Sassanian period, 4th century BC-6th century AD (4) Fortress of Kyzyl-Kala (c. 1st-4th century AD; restored), one of the many fortresses constructed when the region was inhabited by the Iranian Chorasmian people

Throughout antiquity, the fate of the Khwarezmians rested upon the unpredictable currents of the fierce Oxus river (Āmu Daryā). A large oasis region nestled in a fertile river delta where the Oxus meets the historic Aral Sea, Khwarezm’s urban settlements relied on a complex system of man-made canals and irrigation networks for agricultural growth. Its name is most likely a reference to being the lowest region in Central Asia: kh(w)ar ‘low’ and zam ‘land’. But Khwarezm owed both its glory and demise to the Oxus; due to the nearly flat plain, its cities were frequently flooded when the river changed course. This was particularly felt in the early capital city of Kāth on the right bank of the river, which at its zenith in the 10th century CE apparently rivaled the cities of the Iranian plateau. According to Biruni, who eye-witnessed the flooding of his hometown Fir, a suburb (birūn) of Kāth, before his emigration at the age of twenty-five (in 998 CE), Fir “was broken and shattered by the Oxus, and was swept away piece by piece every year, till the last remains of it had disappeared” in the year 1305 of the Seleucid era (994 CE) (Biruni, Āṯār, tr., p. 41).

During the reign of Shapur I, the Sassanian Persian Empire extended its territorial boundaries to encompass Khwarezm. Historical sources, such as Yāqūt al-Ḥamawī, confirm Khwarezm’s status as a regional capital of the Sassanid empire, with references to the pre-Islamic “Khosrau of Khwarezm” (خسرو خوارزم), Islamic “Amir of Khwarezm” (امیر خوارزم), and the Khwarezmid Empire. These sources explicitly indicate that Khwarezm was a part of the Iranian (Persian) empire, and the conquest of significant areas of Khwarezm during the reign of Khosrow II further supports this assertion. Moreover, Al-Biruni and Ibn Khordādbeh, among other sources, attest to the use of Pahlavi script, which was employed by the Persian bureaucracy in conjunction with the local Chorasmian alphabet around the 2nd century AD.

(1) Khwarezmian frescoes from Kazakly-Yatkan fortress (1st century BC-2nd century AD), modern Republic of Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan. Ancient Iranians in Central Asia made frequent use of cosmetics, as depicted in the figure’s full red ears and lips, thick eyebrows and eyeliner (2) Ruins of the massive Chilpyk Zoroastrian Tower of Silence (daḵma) from the 1st century B.C.- 1st century A.D, Republic of Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan (3) The native Iranian Chorasmian (Khwarezmian) language was likely spoken at least until the Mongol conquest in 13th century A.D., after which it was definitively supplanted by Persianized Turkic dialects and Persian. The language first employed a script derived from Pahlavi and after Islam, a modified Perso-Arabic script. Both scripts read: zβāk āy xwārazm “Khwarezmian language”

The arrival of Islam in the 8th century A.D. delivered a catastrophic blow to the Iranian Chorasmian language, identity and the native Zoroastrian religion in the oasis. According to al-Biruni, the Arabs systematically annihilated the strongholds of the religion, punished those who retained competency in their language and culture, engaged in massive-scale book burning and massacred the region’s scholars and literati. Speaking to the fate of Khwarezm after the Arab conquest, al-Biruni lamented:

When Qutayba ibn Muslim under the command of Al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf was sent to Khwarazmia with a military expedition and conquered it for the second time, he swiftly killed whoever wrote in the Khwarazmian native language and knew of the Khwarazmian heritage, history, and culture. He then killed all their Zoroastrian priests and burned and wasted their books, until gradually the illiterate only remained, who knew nothing of writing, and hence the region’s history was mostly forgotten.

Khwarezm became increasingly Turkicized in the centuries after Islam, particularly after 1044, when it came under the Seljuqs (Tolstow, pp. 290-92). At the same time, however, Persian language was asserting itself in the same area (Spuler, 1966, p. 171), although the indigenous (Middle) Iranian languages Sogdian and Chorasmian were also still spoken (Henning, “Mitteliranisch,” pp. 56-58, 84). With the fall of indigenous Iranian dynasties including the Afrighid and Ma’munid lines, the title of Khwarezmshah was assumed by the Turks, but court life and high culture was conducted in Persian, as confirmed by existing chancery documents authored by a reputable Persian poet Rashid al-din Vatvat who lived at the court in Gurganj. Additionally, the fact that Khwarezmshahs such as ʿAlā al-Dīn Tekish (1172–1200) issued all of their administrative and public orders in Persian further corroborates Al-Biruni’s claims of the status of Persian in the oasis. It appears that the autochthonous Iranian Chorasmian language was still in use in the 13th century A.D., but it disappears from the record following the Mongol invasion of the region. In contrast to the valleys and major oases in Transoxiana such as Bukhara and Samarqand which retained Persian as the dominant language, a deeply Persianized Turkic (Chaghatai) emerged as the dominant language in Khwarezm, while Persian was used as a language of literature, poetry and administration.

A band of glazed azure majollica tiles with an inscription in Persian in nastaʿlīq script adorns the top of the unfinished Kalta Minor, Khiva, Uzbekistan (c. 1851 AD). The minaret and the madrasa that adjoins it were commissioned by the Uzbek Qongrat ruler, Muhammad Amin Khān, who originally planned to build the highest minaret in the world. The poem reads in Persian:

منار عالی فرخنده بنیاد که مانندش ندیده چشم افلاک
Menār-e ‘āli-ye farḵonde bonyād ke mānandash nadide chashm-e aflāk
عمارت شد بامر شاه عالم ز جمله عیبها و نقص ها پاک
‘Emārat shod be amr-e Shāh-e ‘ālam, ze jomle ‘aybhā va naqṣhā pāk
بچشم عقل در وقت نمودش شده سرو سهی مانند خاشاک
Be chashm-e ‘aql dar vaqt-e nemudash shode sarv-e sahi mānand-e ḵāshāk
چو از طوبی آمد دلگشاتر به جنت کرد نادرش عرضه خاک
Cho az ṭubā āmad delgoshātar be jannat kard nāderash ‘arze-ye ḵāk
رسیده چون ستون بر كاخ گردون ز وصفش قاصر آمد عقل و ادراک
Raside chun sotūn bar kāḵ-e gardūn, ze vaṣfash qāṣer āmad ‘aql-o-edrāk
از این در آگهی سال بنایش رقم کرده ستون خاک افلاک
Az in dar āgahi-ye sāl-e banāyash raqam karde sotūn-e ḵāk-e aflāk

Chingis Khan’s conquest of the Khwarezmid empire dealt a fatal blow to the region from which it would never fully recover its former eminence. Its cities, including the imperial capital of Gurganj, were systematically flooded by destruction of the region’s ancient dams, and the majority of Khwarezm’s population was executed by the Mongol horde. Several thousand craftsmen and soldiers who escaped the sword were deported to the China, where they established a thriving diaspora community that persists in present times (for further reading about China’s Hui community, see here). The decimation of the ancient Iranian population of Khwarezm created a vacuum that occasioned the gradual influx of nomadic Turko-Mongol peoples, some of whom maintained their nomadic lifestyle over the centuries, while others came to settle in newly constructed urban centers where they adopted Persian culture. Khwarezm was originally assigned to the Chaghatayid dominion and later–following devastations by the Golden Horde and Timurids– came under the control of a local Jochid-line clan ‘Arabshāhids. Reflecting on the Mongol invasion, the Persian poet Anvari writes:

آخر ای خاک خراسان داد یزدانت نجات
Āḵar ey ḵāk-e Ḵorāsān dād yazdānat nejāt

“Oh land of Khorāsān! God hath saved you,

از بلای غیرت خاک ره گرگانج و کات
Az balā-ye ḡeirat-e ḵāk-e rah-e Gurganj o Kāt

from the disaster that befell the land of Gurganj and Kāth [Khwarezm]”

—Divān of Anvari

(1) The inner shell of the dome covering the hexagonal main hall of the Turabek Khānum Mausoleum. The surface is covered in colorful Persian mosaics depicting ornamental patterns of flowers and stars; a visual metaphor for the heavens (2) The partially-restored mausoleum of Turabek Khānum, wife of Qultugh-Temür (ruled between 1321 and 1336). The capital of the Khwarazmshahid dominion, Gurganj (modern Urgench, Turmenistan) was destroyed and its entire population annihilated at the hands of Genghis Khan

Following the demise of the ‘Arabshāhids, various khans were brought from the steppes to Khiva where they held the reins of power, usually as puppets, while the actual authority was wielded by the inaq, or military chief, of the Mongol Qongrat clan. In the 18th century A.D., nomadic Karakalpaks–a Kipchak people closely related to Kazakhs–settled in the lower reaches of the Āmu Daryā and its delta with the Aral Sea, dotted with the ruins of innumerable fortresses, settlements, and Zoroastrian buildings of ancient Khwarezm, while the upper shores of the river and its watershed have been inhabited by Persianized, mixed Oghuz-Karluk-speaking peoples through modern times. The region came under the control of imperial Russia, and the Soviet era saw the creation of the short-lived People’s Republic of Khorezm (Khorezm SSR; Хорезмская Народная Советская Республика Khorezmskaya Narodnaya Sovetskaya Respublika) before it was incorporated into the Uzbek SSR and thence, Uzbekistan.

There appears to be little, if any, Iranian Chorasmian substrate in modern Khorezmian Turkic. A few terms relating to irrigation (arna “large canal” and yab “small canal”), which survived only at Ḵīva and among the Turkmen are supposed by Barthold (1956, p. 15) to be of Chorasmian origin. By coincidence, Iranian Chorasmian had the dental fricatives [ð] and [θ], a unique feature which it shares with the language that at least partially supplanted it, Turkmen. The largest influence on Khorezmian Turkic is Persian (discussed below), and more recently, Russian.

Khorezmian-Uzbek singer Ulug’bek Sobirov performs a song, “Janim” (“my soul”, from Persian), in the Khorezmian Uzbek language:

-Jan al uch erkalik ba süziŋde, yuz miŋ ma’na karashiŋde, güziŋde
“There are three heart-robbing tricks in your words, there are a hundred-thousand hidden meanings in your glance, in your eye”
-Janim, mani janim sani ichiŋde, kachan-g’acha öldurasan iziŋde
“My soul, my soul is within you, until when will you kill all those who cross your path?
-San küŋlim bag’ini rahyan güli, qalbim nazirasi javahir duri
“You are a basil flower in the garden of my soul, you are a pearl worthy of my whole heart”
-Kimlar man dab aysta– aytaversinlar, sani mandin sevolmiydi hich biri
“Whoever tries to woe you like me, let them woe! None of them can ever love you more than me”

Khorezmian-Uzbek singer Feruza Jumaniyozova performs contemporary iteration of a traditional Khorezmian song, “Man bandang bo’lin” (“May I become thy serf”):

–Aksham düshümde, bir gül-i ranoni güribman
“In my dreams at night, I am holding a beautiful flower”
-Shul gül-i rano bilen bog’da yuribman
“Holding that beautiful flower, I am standing in a garden”
-Ul bog’ ichinde sorı, kızıl güller tiribmen
“In this garden, I am picking yellow and red flowers”
-Shuni yollara harna bela gelsa turibmon
“If any manner of calamity should cross his path, I shall stand my ground”
-Man bandaŋ bo’lin, ko’lıŋ bo’lin, yor, soŋo banda!
“May I become thy serf, may I be thy slave; a slave to thee, my beloved!”
-Sodog’oŋ bo’lin, sariŋa dünin, ö’rtama shuda. Kıynama beda!
“May I be thy sacrifice, may I rotate about thy head; do not interfere in this!”

Khorezmian Turkic as a mixed Oghuz-Karluk language

The main dialect is spoken in Khiva-Urgench and appears to be a mixed language, consisting of an Oghuz core with a strong admixture of Karluk elements. This language appears to descend from an ancestor close to that of the Chaghatai language. In morphology, some Karluk elements have supplanted the Oghuz elements, while in phonology and lexicon KT can in some respects be seen as closer to Oghuz than to Karluk. There is a Kipchak language spoken in Khwarezm, but it does not seem to have influenced the prestige language in Khiva-Urgench to an appreciable degree.

The largest foreign influence on Khorezmian Turkic has been Persian, a fact that is frequently underestimated when speakers compare the “Turkness” of KT to Standard Uzbek (adabiy til, lit. “literary language”) or Sarti Uzbek dialects, which by comparison are viewed as heavily Persianized. There is some truth to the idea inasmuch as KT has retained Turkic phonological features such as vowel harmony while Persian influence eradicated them from Uzbek. However, Khorezmian Turkic also contains hundreds of Persian words used in daily life, some of which do not exist in Uzbek. Like all Islamized Turkic languages among which Chaghatai, Uyghur, Azeri, Ottoman Turkish and Tatar may be enumerated, both Uzbek and Khorezmian Turkic rely heavily on Persian lexicon and formulas (calques, subordinate clauses, relative clauses) in the literary register.

A selection of distinguishing phonological, morphological and lexical features of Khorezmian is discussed below.

Phonology:

The most striking feature of KT’s phonology is the presence of vowel harmony, whereas Karluk in Transoxiana (Sarti Uzbek) lost vowel harmony under the influence of Persian (Tajik). KT has expected phonological correspondences for an Oghuz language: /d/ for Uzbek /t/ ; /g/ for uzbek /k/, i.e: Uzbek til — KT dil “language, tongue”; Uzbek tish — KT dish “tooth”; Uzbek kel —KT gal “come”; Uzbek kerak — KT garak “need”.

Khorezmian, unlike Uzbek, retains vowel harmonized modifications to the personal pronouns: i.e. KT män, maŋa “I, to me” and sän, saŋa “you, to you” for Uzbek men, menga and sen, senga, respectively. This feature is shared with Oghuz, where the presence of -g- reflects early Oghuz dative forms prior to being lost it in modern Azeri mana and Turkish bana.

Turkish	Khorezmian Turkic	Uzbek	English
Yanıma gelib sırrını söyle	Yanıma gelib sırıŋnı sölle	Yonimga kelib siringni ayt	Come to me and tell me your secret
-Adınız ne? -Sana söyleceğim	-Adıŋız ne? -Saŋa sölejekmen	-Ismingiz nima? -Senga aytaman	-What is your name?-I will tell you (later)

Like Oghuz but in contrast to Karluk, KT has an aversion for the voiceless uvular plosive /q/ which is instead approximated as the voiceless velar plosive /k/. In higher registers, /q/ is sometimes realized in an attempt to emulate Standard Uzbek phonology. When followed by rounded /a/, /q/ becomes /g’/.

Turkish	Khorezmian Turkic	Uzbek	English
Kapkara kaşına bak, efendim	Kap-kara kashına bak, og’ojon	Qop-qora qoshiga boq, akajon	Look at her darkest black eyebrows, mister
Akkan su	Akkan suw	Oqqan suv	Running water

/X/ is usually realized as /h/, like in nearby Turkmen and western varieties of Anatolian Turkish. Frequently speakers pronounce /v/ as /w/. Additionally, the Uzbek ablative suffix -dan “from” is vowel harmonized -nan/-nen in KT:

Khorezmian Turkic	Uzbek	English
Harezmıŋ hanları hiwanan kachdıla	Xorazmning xonlari xivadan qochdilar	“The Khans of Khwarezm fled Khiva”

Morphology:

Speakers of KT are frequently socially conscious of linkages between Khorezmian Turkic and Oghuz Turkic languages, particularly Anatolian Turkish. Khorezmian is confederate with Oghuz in use of -n- in third person genitive constructions while Uzbek lacks it. Indeed, it is possible to construct phrases which reveal the affinity of Khorezmian to Anatolian Turkish:

Turkish	Khorezmian Turkic	Uzbek	English
Gözlerinde büyü var, elinde bal var	Güzlerinde efsun ba, elinde bal ba	Ko’zlarida afsun bor, qo’lida asal bor	There is sorcery in his/her eyes, there is honey in his/her hands
çiçeklerin içinde	chicheklerıŋ ichinda	gullarning ichida	inside the flowers

Contrarily, verb endings and morphological paradigms in KT are definitively Karluk in character, with only literary use of the Oghuz styles such as -mish:

Turkish	Khorezmian Turkic	Uzbek	English
Yediğim yemek	Yegen yemegim	Yegan ovqatim	The food I have eaten
Yaprağlar çok güzel*miş*	Yaprag’la dım xushro’y *eken*	Barglar juda chiroyli *ekan*	The leaves are very beautiful

Khorezmian Turkic and Standard Uzbek have variably inherited morphological features that existed in Chaghatai. For example, Khorezmian more frequently uses the focal present marker -yotir- while Uzbek favors -yap-. Of note, -yatir was consciously introduced into Uzbek in the 1920s, but its use remains confined to the literary register

Khorezmian Turkic	Uzbek	English
Og’o gal*yotır*	Aka kel*yap*ti	“The man is coming”

KT makes more use of definitive future -ajak/ejek which it shares with Oghuz Turkic, while Uzbek uses the present-future -a(y)-, presumptive future -ar and intentional -moqchi with higher frequency to indicate actions in the future

Khorezmian Turkic	Uzbek	English
–Opojon galajakmı? –Hawa, galajak	–Onajon keladimi? –Ha, keladi	-“Will mother come?” -“Yes, she will come”
Et satajakman	Go’sht sotmoqchiman	“I want to/will sell meat”

KT has the optative singular ending –in for Uzbek -ay/-ayin and the vowel harmonized optative plural –eli/alı for invariable Uzbek –aylik

Khorezmian Turkic	Uzbek	English
Bu aksham degirmana bar*alı,* chürek yapalı	Bu oqshom tegirmonga bor*aylik,* non yap*aylik*	“Let’s go to the mill at tonight, let’s make bread”
Kara güzinnen aynanin	Qora ko’zidan aylanay	“I’ll ritually circulate around her black eyes to ward off harm from them” (aylanmoq is calqued from the Persian دور گشتن, گرد گشتن)
Nich etin	Nima qilay	“What should I do?”

Like Oghuz, origin is expressed with -li/lı instead of Uzbek and Uyghur (Karluk) -lik, –liq respectively.

Khorezmian Turkic	Uzbek	English
Hiwalı kizla bashkacha	Xiva*lik* qizlar boshqacha	“Girls from Khiva are wonderful”

Vocabulary:

In general Khorezmian Turkic lexicon is close to Karluk Uzbek, but contains three classes of distinct vocabulary from it: (1) Oghuz words (2) Native words of unclear origin, and (3) Persian words (including Persianized Arabic) which are present in one language but not the other.

Some examples of Khorezmian vocabulary and comparison with Uzbek are listed here: el “hand” (Uz. qo’l) , bol “honey” (Uz. asal) , et “meat” (Uz. go’sht), ne, novvi “what” (Uz. nima), nerda “where” (Uz. qayerda), nichik (Uz. qanaqa/qanday), eshik “door” (Uz. qopi), chechak “flower” (Uz. gul), yapraq “leaf” (Uz. barg), ad “name” (Uz. ism), salma “burn” (Uz. soy), taka “pillow” (Uz. yostiq), karvuch “brick” (Uz. g’isht), etmek “to do” (Uz. qilmoq), söllemek “to say” (Uz. aytmoq), dali “crazy” (Uz. devona), pitta “a little” (Uz. biroz), kadi “gourd” (Uz. qovoq), ina’ “here it is; right here; voila” (Uz. mana), mazali “beautiful” (Uz. go’zal), dim “very, a lot” (Uz. juda), xushro’y “beautiful” (Uz. chiroyli), zangi “ladder” (Uz. narvon), yimirta “egg” (Uz. tuxum), brinj “rice” (Uz. guruch).

Khorezmian-Uzbek artist Murod Qilichev performs “Qiliqlari”, a song in the Khorezmian Uzbek language:

-Kılıkları kurmag’ay, sho’xlıkları durmag’ay
“Don’t do these delightful behaviors, don’t let your naughtiness stop”
-Wakh shu kiznı azabları hichkima buyurmag’ay
“Oh goodness, do not direct this woman’s wrath at anyone else”
-Koymin sıra sho’xlıkıŋ, bılmin özda yoklıkıŋ
“May I never stop your contentment, may I never know your absence”
-Shu kiz bilen ekansin, yanib turg’an otlıkıŋ
“When you’re with this girl, your embers burst into flames”

On the Affinity of Pashto with Old Avestan

On 1 Mar 202229 Aug 2023 By afzadehLeave a comment

Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. This article aims to illuminate an ancestral relationship between Pashto and Old Avestan, and explores areal Eastern Iranian features in Pashto as well as the prolonged and intimate contacts with Indic.

*Pashtun children in the village of Khost, Afghanistan*

Background
The ancestor of Pashto in the Old Iranian stage appears to have been akin to the language of the Zoroastrian Gathas (𐬔𐬁𐬚𐬁 gāθā “hymn”). The problem of Pashto’s proximity to Old Avestan is complicated by uncertainties regarding the (1) historic distribution of Avestan and thus the location of the cradle of Zoroastrianism as mentioned in the Gathas (𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀𐬥𐬀 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬘𐬀𐬵 Airyanəm Vaēǰah ‘Abode of the Aryans’; in concordance with the early proposition of Wilhelm Geiger and Josef Markwart, in the opinion of this author the most likely locale is Khwārazm) (2) issues related to Eastern-Western Iranian classification, since Avestan appears to have been more ancient than this split but Pashto is classified as Eastern (3) ethnic and linguistic continuity between the speakers of Old Avestan or related dialects and the the people who starting in the 3rd century onwards are referred to by the exonym Afghān (Bactrian: αβγανανο abganano), and (4) questions related to when these people left Khwārazm(?) and whence they arrived and expanded into their present distribution in the Hindu Kush mountains and the northwestern peripheries of the Indus river valley. Moreover, with the extant corpus of Old Avestan supposedly dating to 1500-1000 BC in an unknown location, and the first attestation of Pashto appearing only in 1651 AD, the answers to these questions are obscured by the sands of voiceless millennia. In this humble setting, as in many others like it–reconstructive linguistics and foreign loanwords may illuminate avenues into the past, along the same paths traversed by the ancestral Pashtuns, when we would otherwise be forced to admit outright defeat.

(1) Map showing the approximate locations of the “sixteen perfect lands” mentioned in the Avesta. Note the proposed location of Airyanəm Vaēǰah in Chorasmia (Khwārazm) (2) Current distribution of Pashto with superimposed political borders

Darmesteter’s monumental work (1890) proved that Pashto is, indeed, an Iranian language, descended from Avestan or another Old Iranian dialect, having separated from Persian before the Pahlavi or Middle Persian period. Grierson cites Darmesteter and states (1921:5) that Pashto is a Medic, or Non-Persic, or eastern Iranian language. The Indic-look features are accounted for by the fact that it has borrowed largely and freely from North Western India but, in its essence, it is an Erānian tongue (p. 9; see also Meillet 1922:44-6). The connections with Saka and other Eastern Iranian languages appear to be areal features rather than ancestral; Khotanese Saka is sufficiently distant from Pashto and closer to modern Wakhi language in the Wakhān Corridor.

Linguists have more recently placed Avestan in an intermediate group somewhere between Western and Eastern Iranian where it was previously classified as Eastern; it appears to have been recorded prior to the split which gave rise to these branches. It was long thought that Avestan represented “Old Bactrian”, but this notion had “rightly fallen into discredit by the end of the 19th century”. It is the opinion of this author, in agreement with Elton L. Daniel, Bahram Farahvashi and Naser Takmil Homayoun, that the homeland of Avestan (Airyanəm Vaēǰah) was most likely in Khwārazm. Indeed, Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda once called Khwārazm “the cradle of the Aryan tribe.”

Contrarily, Pashto is manifestly an Eastern Iranian language, joined in that clade by historically prominent literary languages such as Khwarezmian, Sogdian, Bactrian and Khotanese Saka, with which it once must have formed an areal group. The modern Eastern Iranian languages that join Pashto such as Pamiri languages, Munji-Yidgha, Ossetian and Ormuri-Parachi by contrast appear to be descendants of historically unattested Eastern Iranian dialects whose remoteness allowed them to resist the domination of Persian. This would suggest that Pashto, like the aforementioned modern Eastern Iranian tongues, was relatively isolated. If we are to accept Mallory’s proposal regarding the Yaz culture in Margiana (Marw) as the archaeological remnants of the early “Eastern Iranian” culture as described in the Avesta, the ancestor of Pashto once traveled by way of Margiana into Bactria and thence perhaps the Badakhshan valley and Hindu Kush before arriving in the Indus valley. From the 3rd century CE onward, they are mostly referred to by the name Afghān (Abgān).

The approximate distribution of Eastern Iranic languages in 100 B.C. appears in orange (Note: Khotanese and related Saka languages in the Tarim Basin are missing). Parthian and Western Iranic languages appear in red

Interestingly, it appears the name Pashto is derived from the same Old Iranian stem that gave Pārsi “Persian” and perhaps also Parthian, namely *Parsuwā ‘frontier’, “borderlands’ (cf. 𐎶𐎠𐎭 *Māda ‘Media”, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“middle”) meaning ‘middle country’, ‘middle kingdom’) and Pashtun from *Parswāna-, with the basic stem *Parsū (Untersuchungen zur Geschichte von Eran, Göttingen and Leipzig, 1896-1905, II, p. 177; cf. Morg[enstierne], par. 40b). Perhaps this demonym was once used by a conglomeration of Iranian tribes inhabiting a geographic and/or ethno-linguistic frontier in Transoxiana, wherefrom the name spread widely over different regions following demic diffusions. It is more tenable however that the term has been applied broadly by different groups in different periods; for example, when Western Iranian speakers had already established themselves in the southern Zagros mountains at the gates of Elam and the Persian gulf; a true ‘frontier’ in more than one sense. This hypothesis is buttressed by the parallel usage of Māda ‘Media’ (lit. “middle lands”) by Iranic speakers further north of *Parsuwā.

Although there are numerous different dialects, Pashto is essentially one language (with one possible exception, Waṇecī). Moreover, modern broadcast channels have closed any gap of unintelligibility among dialects. Due to overlaps among various isoglosses, it is difficult to establish a satisfactory classification of Pashto dialects, thus the dialects presenting a further development of common Pashto vocalism may belong either to the “soft” or the “hard” group. Moreover the modern “hard” pronunciation of ҳt as xt is restricted to the northeastern dialects and evidently of recent origin, as evidenced inter alia by the orthography. By contrast the western pronunciation centered in Kandahar, used as standard in this article, retains the archaic phonology ʂt.

Stage	Notes	Contact Languages	Localization	Era
Old Iranian	Akin to Avestan	The unknown language of BMAC	Khwarezm ?Bactria-Margiana?	Mid 2nd millennium BC to early 1st millennium BC
Middle Iranian	Development of “Eastern Iranian” and later contacts with East Iranian areal group	Sogdian, Khwarezmian, Bactrian, (Khotanese?)	Yaz culture of Bactria -Margiana? ThenBadakhshān valley?	Mid to late 1st millennium BC to 1st millennium AD
Middle Iranian	Contacts with Dardic	Dardic languages	Kashmir, Khyber Valley, Kohistān	1st millennium AD
Middle Iranian and Neo-Iranian	Contacts with Indo-Aryan; prescriptive influences of Sassanian Pahlavi and later classical Persian; contacts with Tajiks Fārsiwān	Lahnda dialects (Western Punjabi); literary Persian, Afghan Persian (Tajik)	Khyber Valley, Punjab and Sindh, later Peshāwar and Kandahār	1st millennium BC – present

Phonotactic and lexical influences from Indic (Indo-Aryan) appear to be both ancient and profound, and have in turn given Pashto the impression of an Indic language. Lexical items are diverse and include flora, fauna, quotidian objects and concepts as well as abstractions (rōǧ “health”, max ‘face’ from Skr. mukha, byal from Skr. bheeda “away, separated”). Words with retroflex dentals ʈ, ɖ must be regarded as borrowings from Indo-Aryan; conversely retroflex r and n were originally internal innovations but were likely reinforced by Indo-Aryan and included among later borrowings. This is not to say that either (1) all instances of these phonemes in Pashto must occur in borrowed Indic words, or (2) all examples of ɳ / ṛ / etc. came from Avestan rather than Indic. Moreover, Pashto /ʂ/, /ʐ/ ɳ / and / ṛ / are all developed from Avestan. Pashto ʂ is a reflex of Avestan sr, rs, r, š corresponding to PIE *kś. The Pashto liquid / ṛ / developed from Av. rt, rd, and the nasal from rn. ʈ and ɖ, and kh, however, developed from Indic languages. There must have been prolonged and intimate contacts (perhaps spanning centuries) between ancestral Pashto speakers and speakers of so-called Lahndi or western Punjabi dialects in the “North Indian cultural realm”, as well as with other unknown prakrits close to Sanskrit. Indeed, some Indo-Aryan lexica in Pashto are closer to Sanskrit than to northern Prakrits. This suggests a relatively early date of arrival into the Hindu Kush region. The influence of Dardic has been comparatively meager; given Pashtun dominance in the region the trajectory has primarily been from Pashto to Dardic.

“It is impossible…to suggest in any but the most general way how the retroflexes have developed in the Iranian words in which they are found in such languages as Pashto and Yidgha. Bilingualism, involving Indo-Aryan languages, must be the answer, but no historical or social details can be given to elucidate the process.” -Emenau 1965

Distinctive cultural materials among Pashtuns, including bangṛi ‘bangles’, the partug qamis, and the tradition of facial jewelry must have been adopted within this milieu of exchange with the peoples of Sindh and Punjab. Pashtun women use a variety of jewelry such as paizwan (suspended below the nasal ala), natkai (large nose rings), chargul, pita and maikhakay (small nose ornaments) as well as sangley (pazaib) worn as ankle bracelets. Despite these influences, Pashto remains unmistakably Eastern Iranian character, and like Ossetian has retained a remarkable number of characteristics from Old Iranian–ergativity, use of prepositions with postpositions, gender distinctions, initial consonant clusters– in comparison to Persian. Moreover it seems clear that despite its many superficial resemblances to Indic languages, Pashto is an Iranian language (one of the most conservative); and that the only features in it which cannot be explained by direct reference to Avestan are the stops /ʈ/ and /ɖ/.

Paṣ̌tūn haγa na daγ či Paṣ̌tō wāyi, lekin haγa či Paṣ̌tō ləri

“A Pashtun is not he who speaks Pashto, but he who has Pashtunwali”

List of Pashto words and their Avestan Equivalents

A selection of Pashto lexical items with self-apparent Avestan correspondences is listed below:

anā – “grandmother’ G. < Av. 𐬵𐬀𐬥𐬁 hanā ‘old woman’

āra ‘need, request’; āriya ‘at variance with, disputing’ G. < Av. *arǝθa ‘process, dispute’

bar, ‘victorious’ < Av. upara- ‘higher, superior’

bǝl “other, second’ < Av. bitya–

ǧel ‘thief’ < Av. gadha–

ǧuna – hair, color [of the skin] < Av. gaona– hair, color of the hair

ǧarai– windpipe, throat < Av. garah-

ǧaw ‘noise, brawl’ < Av. gav- ‘shouting’

jinai ‘young girl’ < Av. janai– ‘woman’

kašr ‘younger, junior’ <Av. kasu–

lar ‘lower, below’ <Av. adhara

las ‘ten’ < Av. dasa–

mīna ‘love, affection’, mayən ‘in love, a lover’ < Av.. mayā– ‘pleasure, bliss’; mayah ‘coition”

maira ‘stepmother’ <Av. māthryā

marǧe ‘bird’ < Av. merega–

ōṣ̌a ‘tear’ < Av. arsu-

ōspīna, ōspana ‘iron’ G. <Av. *ayo spaēnǝm *haosafna-

ōmǝ ‘name of a plant’ G. < Av. haoma–

ōr ‘flame’ G. < Av. aθr

ōrǝ “cloud” G. < Av. awra

paī ‘milk’ < Av. payah–

pēẓandel ‘to recognize’ <Av. paiti-zan “to recognize”

plān ‘wide’ < Av. pathana–

pēǧla ‘maid, virgin’ < Av. *payō–gatā

pāṇa ‘leaf’ < Av. parena–

pōr ‘debt’ G. < Av. pāra “guilt”

pse ‘general name for goats and sheep’ < Av. pasu

spai ‘dog ‘ < Av. span–

sara ‘together with’ < Av. sar– ‘union’

saṛai ‘man’ < Av. sarəidya ‘fellow’

star ‘big’ < Av. *stura ‘large, big’

stōrai ‘star’ < Av. stār–

starga ‘eye, planet’ < Av. stere

seẓai ‘lung’ < Av. sushi

ṣ̌e “ good” < Av. sraya- “more beautiful” , srao– ‘good’

trə “paternal or maternal uncle’ < Av. turiya–

tōr ‘black’ < Av. taθra

tar ‘until, to, from “ablative” < Av. tarō

taš ‘empty’ < Av. tusa “to be empty’

taṣ̌tēdal ‘to flee’ < Av. tarshti– flight

uṣ̌ ‘camel’ < Av. ustra–

wana ‘tree’ < Av. vanā

wrōst ‘rotten, decayed’ < Av. *frista– ‘to decay, putrify’

waṛai ‘wool’ < Av. varenā–

wəṛ ‘successful, winning’ Cf. Av. wərəd ‘to augment’

wāwra ‘snow’ < Av. vafra–

wāyəl ‘to speak’ probably < *wafya cf. Av. vaf– ‘to sing’

xpal ‘own, self’ < Av. xwaēpaiθya– ‘own’

yašna ‘boiling’ < Av. yaēšyat– ‘boiling’

zmaka ‘ground, earth’ < Av. zam–

zimai ‘winter’ < Av. zim–

zṛə ‘heart’ < Av. zərəd < *zrdaya

Afghan Pashtun artist Naghma (from Kandahar) sings a traditional tapay in Pashto

The Origin of Khorezmian “Lazgi”

On 5 Dec 202119 Nov 2023 By afzadehLeave a comment

Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. The present article aims to explain the etymology of the Khorezmian “Lazgi” and examine the origins of the UNESCO-recognized dance repertoire and lyrical accompaniment. Notably, with nearly 60% of a version of the lyrics consisting of Persian phraseology and vocabulary which is partially unintelligible to Khorezmian Turkic speakers, lazgi represents an exponent of Persianate material and performance culture in Central Asia.

Khorezmian Uzbek national artist Hulkar Abdullaeva performs a version of lazgi with modified lyrics

Etymology and Origin of Lazgi
The term “Lazgi” is supposedly of elusive origin, according to several Uzbek scholars who have mused on the subject of the UNESCO-recognized dance.¹ In spite of one compelling origin for the word, review of their work reveals no attempt to assign any etymology to lazgi except in one instance where we encounter the vague descriptor “ancient.” I would like to put to rest the hitherto nationalist-driven amnesia on the origin of lazgi, and establish the word as either a corruption of the dialectal Persian ларзагӣ لرزگى larz[a]gī “trembling” or more likely, a calque of the Persian form larzon combining the Persian larz “tremble” + the Turkic adjective formant -gi/-ki: “shaky; trembly”.

Based on a prevalent Khorezmian social memory endorsed by Uzbek authors, the word lazgi apparently originally described the trembling wrist, finger and shoulder motions employed by performers of the dance (compare Persian لرزيدن larzēdan “to tremble”). Dances involving trembling movements are encountered throughout the Iranic world; indeed, larzon-larzon “shake-shake” is a lyric in the Mavrigi (lit. “from Merv”) repertoire from nearby Bukhara. Languages commonly make use of action verbs that apparently describe an element of the dance: e.g. Mandarin 跳舞 tiàowǔ “to dance” from a verb 舞 meaning “to flutter; to soar”; Sorani Kurdish hałpařîn from the verb pařîn meaning “to jump; to leap”; Armenian պարել parel “to dance” from a word meaning “to encircle, to surround”; Persian پای کوبی pāy kūbī “dance” but literally “foot-stomping.”

Additionally, since the affix –gi is common to both Central Asian Karluk and Oghuz Turkic, but also exists in high frequency in Persian, particularly in the Northern Tajik dialects of nearby Bukhara and Samarqand, the second segment of the word less easily interpreted. Aside from its use in forming quality nouns from adjectives (зиндагӣ زندگى zindagi “life”), Northern Tajik makes liberal use of -gī to create participles with a range of adjectival and verbal uses, including the present perfect, past perfect, and conjectural tenses (click here for more on Northern Tajik by the same author). On the other hand, Northern Tajik has made use of the Turkic suffix -gī to describe dance/musical styles in particular: Мавригӣ “Mavrigī” meaning “the dance style of Merv” (a historic Persian-speaking oasis in Khorāsān whose entire population of about 100,000 was deported en masse in 1788-9 A.D. by the Manghit Emir of Bukhara to the Bukharan and Samarqand oases and thence referred to as “Iranians” ēroniy in Soviet and Uzbek censuses); “Buxorogī” “of or pertaining to the style of Bukhara; Bukharan dance”.

Uzbek national artists Yulduz Turdiyeva and Bahrom Nazarov performing Persian-language “Mavrigi” in Uzbekistan, part of the repertoire of Persian-speaking deportees from Merv who were resettled in the Bukharan and Samarqand oases in the late 18th century

The current shape of the word lazgi is explained by internal transformations (r-drop preceding dental consonants is common in Northern Tajik varieties: vernacular kadan for literary кардан kardan “to do”; syncope of unstressed vowels is also prevalent: ondagī for омадагӣ omadagī “he/she has come”), but it is not difficult to imagine the scenario where monolingual Turkic speakers imperfectly acquired an unfamiliar foreign word.

On the subject of the origin of the technical aspects of the dance–which is typified by rapid trembling motions of the wrists and fingers, periodically expanding to include the shoulders and forearms, as well as neck and shoulder-sliding–is self-evidently a member of the broader Iranian dance systems that have existed among the autochthonous Iranian population of Central Asia for millennia. Movements are diverse and energetic, with the performer sometimes miming lyrical themes such as a heartbeat, or rays emanating from a sun. The costume worn by women lazgi performers consists of colorful, slender dresses adorned with coins or sequins, a round headdress ornamented with bands of coins and a large white feather, with the hair tied in multiple long braids per classical Iranian styles. Men who occasionally appear as embellishment wear heavy, bulky sheepskin caps (chugirma) and cotton caftans.

The surviving lyrics of the dance were clearly prescribed by Persian-speaking musicians who either used Persian as a mother tongue or more likely, possessed a masterful command of the literary Persian language due to its historical prominence in Khorezm and Transoxiana as the medium of artists, literati and urban elites. The latter scenario is most probable in a Persianate society such as Khorezm, where in contrast to the oases of Bukhara, Samarqand, the Ferghana valley where Tajiks have always formed a majority, Khorezm never had a sizable Tajik population. Of note, according to multiple accounts in the mid to late-18th century, tens of thousands of Iranians were kidnapped and enslaved by marauding Turkmen tribes in Khorāsān who sold the slaves for profit in the infamous Khiva slave market, but this population was clearly assimilated.

Dilnoza Ortiqova performs instrumental Lazgi dance in Khiva, Khorezm, Uzbekistan

Analysis of Lazgi Lyrics
Analysis of the introductory lyrics reveals that it is not Turkic at all, but pure Persian clauses:

“Ey omon omon, asiram asiram, benavoyam benavoyam, bekasam, giriftoram giriftor” (Persian: “Oh Lord have mercy! I am a serf, a serf; I am miserable, dejected; I am loveless. I am a captive, a captive.”)

Persianized Turkic would have employed at the very least Turkic clitics, yielding “asirman“, “benavomon“, “giriftormon“ etc. This suggests the lyrics were at least in part originally intended to be purely Persian. This is consistent with the role of Persian as the prestige language associated with sedentary refinement in Khorezm and Transoxiana for over a millennium. It is possible that through progressive generational acquisitions of the repertoire and as Persian gradually lost currency in the region in favor of Russian, perhaps the foundation of the lyrics was Turkified to improve intelligibility, while much of the vivid Persian imagery was fossilized. Contrarily, the original lyricists may have composed the lazgi in heavily Persianized Turkic–writing the introductory exclamations in pure Persian– a phenomenon which is consistent with the sociolinguistic prestige of Persian in Central Asia and the fact that musical modes and instruments (including the surnay used in lazgi) were adopted wholesale by Turkic nomads from the indigenous Iranian-speaking population in the process of their sedentarization in the region.

Nonetheless, the text version used for analysis in this article is comprised of a majority of Persian words (59%; 126/212), whilst only a minority are Turkic (41%). This Persian is of the literary register, rich and complex, with preserved morphosyntax such as the ezāfe (e.g. to’ti-yi shakar suxan meaning “sweet-spoken parrot” in Persian; akhtar-i tobanda meaning “radiant star”) and stylistic idiosyncracies of Persian poetry including paired nouns and adjectives (e.g. lola-vu gulnor “tulip and pomegranate flower”; dilbar-i gulru-vu siymin badan “The ruddy-faced and silvery-bodied beloved”). Notably, words of Arabic origin have been borrowed indirectly through the milieu of Persian–because they were considered to be Persian–and thus reflect Persian semantic and phonological modifications to the original Arabic lexica. This phenomenon was true in all Muslim territories in Western Asia, where almost uniformly Arabic was confined to the religious sphere while Persian was the favored medium for poetry, literature, fine arts, diplomacy and administration. Most interestingly, the meanings of the majority of these words are quite unintelligible to modern Turkic Khorezmian speakers, but their preservation suggests the retained social currency of Persianisms in the minds of ordinary people. Moreover, since a number of these Persianisms have not been incorporated into the Khorezmian vernacular and remain unintelligible to the audience, it is remarkable that such a large cache of foreign words should be selectively preserved.

Below a version² of the Lazgi lyrics in Khorezmian vernacular has been transcribed with Persian vocabulary (59% of total) boldened:

Qaysi falak burjining mehr-i puranvorison?
Qaysi sadaf durjining gavhar-i shahvorison?
Qaysi Xo‘tan ohusi, nofayi totorison,
Qaysi chamanzorning lola-vu gulnorison?
So‘yla mongo, ey sanam, kimni sevar yorison?

Qomatinga bandadur bog‘ aro sarv-i ravon,
La’li labing rashkidin g‘uncha erur bag‘ri qon.
Chunki chaman sahnida bo‘lsa yuzing gulfishon,
Nolasin aylar fuzun bulbul-i bexonumon,
So‘yla mongo, ey sanam, kimni sevar yorison?

Yig‘latur oshiqlaring la’li labing xandasi,
To‘bi-yu shamshod erur sarv qading bandasi
Husn-u jamol avjining mehr-i duraxshandasi (alternate lyrics: akhtar-i tobandasi)
Go‘rsa mahi orazing, bo‘lg‘usi sharmandasi
So‘yla mongo, ey sanam, kimni sevar yorison?

Ey, yuzi husn-u jamol bog‘ining ahmar guli,
Jon ila ko‘nglum erur ushbu guling bulbuli
Qumri-yi nolon erur sarv qadingning quli,
Yo‘q esa nechun oning bo‘ynida bordur g‘uli
So‘yla mango, ey sanam, kimni sevar yorisen?

Sen kibi bir dilbar-i gulru-vu siymin badan,
Vaqt-i takallum aro to‘ti-yi shakkar suxan
Majlis aro aylasang shu’bada-yi la’b fan
Vola o‘lurlar sango ahl-i zamon-u zaman
So‘yla mango, ey sanam, kimni sevar yorison?

Aysh-u nashot istabon g‘amg‘a duchor o‘lmag‘on,
Mehringga dil basta-yi zor-u nizor o‘lmag‘on
La’li labing shahdig‘a bormu xumor o‘lmag‘on
Dahr aro yo‘qtur songo oshiq-i zor o‘lmag‘on,
So‘yla mongo, ey sanam, kimni sevar yorison?

Bir kecha aylab mongo mehr-u muhabbat ayon,
Hamrah-u yo‘ldoshsiz borcha ulusdin nihon.
Kulba-yi ahzonima bo‘lsang agar mehmon,
Komil-i mahzuningga rostini etg‘il bayon,
So‘yla mongo, ey sanam, kimni sevar yorison?

Sources:
1. https://uzjournals.edu.uz/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1040&context=ea_music
2. https://tafakkur.net/qaysi-falak-burjining-mehri-puranvorisen/muhammadniyoz-komil-xorazmiy.uz

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