Hazarajat in the context of "Aimaq dialect"

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⭐ Core Definition: Hazarajat


Hazarajat (Dari: هزاره‌جات), also known as Hazaristan (Dari: هزارستان), is a mostly mountainous region in the central highlands of Afghanistan, among the Kuh-e Baba mountains in the western extremities of the Hindu Kush. It is the homeland of the Hazara people, who make up the majority of its population. Hazarajat denotes an ethnic and religious zone.

Hazarajat is primarily made up of the provinces of Bamyan, Daikundi, Ghazni, large parts of Ghor, and Maidan Wardak, and small parts of Sar-e-Pol, Balkh, Samangan, Uruzgan, and Parwan. The most populous towns in Hazarajat are Bamyan, Yakawlang (Bamyan), Nili (Daikundi), Lal wa Sarjangal (Ghor), Sang-e-Masha (Ghazni), Gizab (Daikundi) and Behsud (Maidan Wardak). The Kabul, Arghandab, Helmand, Farah, Hari, Murghab, Balkh, and Kunduz rivers originate from Hazarajat.

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In this Dossier

Hazarajat in the context of Bamyan

Bamyan (Pashto, Dari: بامیان), also spelled Bamian or Bamiyan, is the capital of Bamyan Province in central Afghanistan. Its population of approximately 100,000 people makes it the largest city in the Hazarajat region of Afghanistan. Bamyan is at an altitude of about 8,366 feet (2,550 m) above sea level. The Bamyan Airport is located in the middle of the city. The driving distance between Bamyan and Kabul in the southeast is approximately 180 kilometres (110 mi). The Band-e-Amir National Park is to the west, about a half-hour drive from the city of Bamyan.

Bamyan is referred to by some as the "Shining Light" and "Valley of Gods". There are several tourist attractions near the city, including the destroyed Buddhas of Bamyan, which were carved into cliffs on the north side of Bamyan city in the 3rd to 5th centuries CE, dating them to the pre-Islamic Hephthalite rule. They were part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site and were tragically destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. Other attractions close to the city include Shahr-e Gholghola and Zuhak. In 2008, in a maze of caves in the Bamiyan Valley were found the world's oldest oil paintings. At the end of the 10th century, there was a Buddhist culture in which several thousand Buddhist monks lived in caves carved into the mountain. The 53 meters known as the Salsal and 35 meters known as Shahmama were the high-standing Buddha statues and best-known monuments left by the Buddhists, which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. Furthermore, there are several cultural sites left from both the Buddhist and the later Islamic era of the valley. While the Taliban were out of power from 2002 to 2021, considerable efforts were made to preserve the cultural monuments in the valley. The city of Bamyan has four districts and a total land area of 3,539 hectares. The total number of dwellings in this city is 4,435.

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Hazarajat in the context of Gharchistan

Gharjestan (also Gharchestan, Gharshistan, Gharchegan, Garshestan) was historical region comprising large mountainous land located between Herat and Kabul. The area comprised the lands later known as Hazarajat.

Gharjistan was originally known as "Garshestan", derived from the Avestan word "Garsh" and the Persian suffix "stan". It was later Arabized to "Gharjistan". The Avestan word "Gar" meant "mountain", and was mentioned in the Yasna. The word "Giro" in Hazaragi is widely used in the mountainous regions of Gharjistan.

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Hazarajat in the context of Pashtunistan

Pashtunistan (Pashto: پښتونستان, lit.'land of the Pashtuns') or Pakhtunistan is a historical region on the crossroads of Central and South Asia, located on the Iranian Plateau, inhabited by the Pashtun people of southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan, wherein Pashtun culture, the Pashto language, and identity have been based. Alternative names historically used for the region include Pashtūnkhwā or Pakhtūnkhwā (پښتونخوا), or simply the Pashtun Belt.

During British rule in India in 1893, Mortimer Durand drew the Durand Line, fixing the limits of the spheres of influence between the Emirate of Afghanistan and British India during the Great Game and leaving about half of historical Pashtun territory under British colonial rule; after the partition of British India, the Durand Line now forms the internationally recognized border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The traditional Pashtun homeland stretches roughly from the areas south of the Amu River in Afghanistan to the areas west of the Indus River in Pakistan; it predominantly comprises the southwestern, eastern and some northern and western districts of Afghanistan, as well as most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Balochistan in Pakistan. The region is bordered by Punjab and Hazara to the east, Balochistan to the south, Kohistan and Chitral to the north, and Hazarajat and Tajik-inhabited territory to the west.

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Hazarajat in the context of Hazara genocide

The Hazara genocide occurred in the Hazarajat area of Afghanistan in the aftermath of Second Anglo-Afghan War when the Afghanistan Emirate signed the Treaty of Gandamak. Afghan Amir Abdur Rahman set out to bring the Turkistan, Hazaristan, and Kafiristan regions under Afghan control. He launched several campaigns in the Hazarajat due to resistance to oppression from the Hazaras, culminating in the Battle of Uruzgan and he conducted a widespread genocidal campaign against its population.

The Hazaras are a Shia Muslim minority in predominantly Sunni Muslim countries. This religious difference has contributed to their historic marginalization and made them targets of sectarian violence. Over 60 percent of the total Hazara population was massacred with some being displaced and exiled by migrating to Quetta, British Raj and Mashhad (Iran) and other adjoining areas. The Hazara land was distributed among loyalist villagers of nearby non-Hazaras. The repression after the uprising has been called the most significant case of genocide or ethnic cleansing in the history of modern Afghanistan.

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Hazarajat in the context of Daykundi Province

Daikundi is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 516,504, most of whom are peasants, traders, and shop owners.

Daikundi falls into the traditionally ethnic Hazara region known as the Hazarajat in the highlands of central Afghanistan with the provincial capital, Nili. It was carved out from the northern part of Uruzgan Province in 2004, becoming a separate province.

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Hazarajat in the context of Tarnak River

The Tarnak River is located in Ghazni, Zabul, and Kandahar provinces of Afghanistan. The city of Kandahar is located on a plain directly adjacent to the Tarnak.

It rises in Afghanistan's highlands region of Hazarajat, near 33°7′N 67°56′E / 33.117°N 67.933°E / 33.117; 67.933, south of the Lomar Pass. The Tarnak flows in a south-westerly direction for around 350 km before joining the Dori River some 30 km downstream of the Dori-Arghastan confluence, and some 30 km upstream of the Dori-Arghandab confluence, at 31°24′N 65°33′E / 31.400°N 65.550°E / 31.400; 65.550. The combined waters of these rivers join the Helmand at 31°27′N 64°23′E / 31.450°N 64.383°E / 31.450; 64.383, near Lashkargah.

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Hazarajat in the context of Hajigak Pass

The Hajigak Pass (Hazaragi: حاجیگک hajji gak 'little pilgrim') is a mountain pass of Afghanistan. It is situated at a height of 3,700 metres (12,100 ft) above sea-level in the northern part of Maidan Wardak province, connecting it with Bamyan province to the northwest. It is one of the two main routes from Kabul to Bamyan in Hazarajat, leading across the Koh-i-Baba range.

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