Airyanem Vaejah Information
Airyanəm Vaējah, which approximately means "expanse of the Aryans, i.e. Iranians"[1] is the "mythical homeland" of early Iranians and a reference in the Zoroastrian Avesta (Vendidad, Farg. 1) to one of Ahura Mazda's "sixteen perfect lands."[2] It is considered the best of places, but on the other hand the Vīdēvdād 1 claims that there are two months of summer there and ten of winter, and it suffers from flooding at the end of winter.[3]
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Etymology and related words
The Old Iranian term airyanəm vaējah (in Avestan) is formed from the plural genitive case of airya and the word vaējah (whose oft-used nominative case is vaējō). The meaning of vaējah is uncertain. It may be related to the old Indic vej/vij (in Vedic), suggesting the region of a fast-flowing river.[4] it has also been interpreted by some as "seed" or "germ". Avestan airya is etymologically related to the Old Persian ariya.
The related OIr. term "*aryānām xšaθra-" generated the name of "Iran" (through Middle Iranian renderings, such as the Middle Persian term Ērān-shahr and ultimately 'Ērān during Sassanian empire).
Historical concepts
The historical location of Airyanem Vaejah is still uncertain. In the first chapter of the Vendidad is a listing of sixteen countries, and some scholars believe that Airyanem Vaejah lies to the north of all of these.[5] Bahram Farahvashi and Nasser Takmil Homayoun[6] suggest that Airyanem Vaejah was probably centered around Khwarazm, a region that is now split between several Central Asian republics. The University of Hawaii historian Elton L. Daniel likewise believes Khwarazm to be the "most likely locale" corresponding to the original home of the Avestan people,[7] and Dehkhoda once called Khwarazm "the cradle of the Aryan tribe". However, according to the Harvard University scholar Michael Witzel, the "home of the Aryans" was in Afghanistan and the lands surrounding it, with Airyanem Vaejah being in the central Afghan highlands.[3]
References
- ^ see p. 164 in: P.O. Skjaervo, The Avesta as source for the early history of the Iranians. In: G. Erdosy (ed.), The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia. (Indian Philology and South Asian Studies, A. Wezler and M. Witzel, eds.), vol. 1, Berlin/New York: de Gruyter 1995, pp.155-176.
- ^ Darmesteter, James. Sacred Books of the East (1898). Peterson, Joseph H., Avesta - Zoroastrian Archives: VENDIDAD (English): Fargard 1. [1]
- ^ a b M. Witzel, "The Vīdẽvdaδ list obviously was composed or redacted by someone who regarded Afghanistan and the lands surrounding it as the home of all Aryans (airiia), that is of all (eastern) Iranians, with Airiianem Vaẽjah as their center." page 48, "The Home Of The Aryans", Festschrift J. Narten = Münchener Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft, Beihefte NF 19, Dettelbach: J.H. Röll 2000, 283-338. Also published online, at Harvard University (LINK)
- ^ see Edwin Bryant, The Quest for the origins of Vedic culture, 2001: 327
- ^ Zoroaster’s Time and Homeland: A Study on the Origins of Mazdeism and Related Problems by Gherardo Gnoli, Instituto Universitario Orientale, Seminario di Studi Asiatici, (Series Minor VII), Naples, 1980
- ^ Nasser Takmil Homayoun, Kharazm: What do I know about Iran?. 2004. ISBN 964-379-023-1
- ^ Elton L. Daniel, The History of Iran. 2001. ISBN 0-313-30731-8
See also
External links
Categories: History of Iran | Historiography of Afghanistan | Zoroastrianism | Persian mythology | Indology | Avestan language
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