Airyanem Vaejah

Airyanem Vaejah (Old Persian: Aryānām Waiǰah; Avestan: Airyanəm Vaēǰō‎; Middle Persian: Ērānwēz‎; Persian: Irānwēj‎; Parthian: Aryānwēžan, 'expanse of the Aryans')[1] is the homeland of the early Iranians and a reference in the Zoroastrian Avesta (Vendidad, Farg. 1) to one of Ahura Mazda's "sixteen perfect lands".[2] Its actual location remains uncertain.

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The Avestan term airyanəm vaējah is formed from the plural genitive case of airya and vaējah (whose often used nominative case is vaējō). It may be related to Vedic Sanskrit vej/vij, suggesting the region of a fast-flowing river.[3] It has also been interpreted by some as meaning 'seed'. Avestan airya is etymologically related to Old Persian ariya.

The related Old Iranian term *aryānām xšaθra- is the origin of the modern Persian term 'Iran,' via Middle Persian Ērān-shahr (𐭠𐭩𐭥𐭠𐭭𐭱𐭲𐭥𐭩‎) and Ērān (𐭠𐭩𐭥𐭠𐭭‎).

Historical concepts

The historical location of Airyanem Vaejah is still uncertain. In the first chapter of the Vendidad is a listing of 16 countries, and some scholars believe that Airyanem Vaejah lies to the north of all of these.[4] As Darmesteter notes in his translation of the Avesta, Bundahishn 29:12 directly states that it was beside Azerbaijan,[5] however, most modern scholars favor a more eastern location.

Bahram Farahvashi and Nasser Takmil Homayoun suggest that Airyanem Vaejah was probably centered on Khwarezm,[6] a region that is now split between several Central Asian republics. The University of Hawaii historian Elton L. Daniel likewise believes Khwarezm to be the “most likely locale” corresponding to the original home of the Avestan-speaking peoples,[7] and Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda once called Khwarezm “the cradle of the Aryan tribe”.

Conversely, according to Michael Witzel, Airyanem Vaejah lies at the center of the 16 lands mentioned in the Vendidad—an area now in the central Afghan highlands[8] (around Bamyan Province).

According to G. Gnoli, Airyanem Vaejah is situated between the Helmand and the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan.

David Anthony's The Horse, the Wheel and Language,[9] makes no direct reference to Airyanem Vaejah. Anthony may, however, provide evidence linking it to four successive Indo-European cultures.

Shrikant G. Talageri, in his book The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis, proposes that Airyanem Vaejah was located in Kashmir.[10]

See also

References
  1. "ĒRĀN-WĒZ – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  2. Darmesteter, James. Sacred Books of the East (1898). Peterson, Joseph H., Avesta - Zoroastrian Archives: VENDIDAD (English): Fargard 1. http://www.avesta.org/vendidad/vd1sbe.htm
  3. See Edwin Bryant, The Quest for the origins of Vedic culture, 2001: 327
  4. 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
  5. Darmesteter, James. Sacred Books of the East (1898). Peterson, Joseph H., Avesta - Zoroastrian Archives: VENDIDAD (English): Fargard 1.
  6. Nasser Takmil Homayoun, Kharazm: What do I know about Iran?. 2004. ISBN 964-379-023-1
  7. Elton L. Daniel, The History of Iran. 2001. ISBN 0-313-30731-8
  8. M. Witzel, "The Vīdēvdað 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." p. 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)
  9. Anthony, David W. (2007). The Horse, the Wheel, and Language. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-05887-0
  10. "voiceofdharma.org". Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
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