Mongolian History

Are Hazaras Mongolian?

Hazaras in Afghanistan

Are Hazaras Mongolian?

The three million Hazaras in present-day Afghanistan are said to have descended from Genghis Khan’s thousands of horsemen. The name “Hazara” come from the Persian “hazar,” or thousand, a reference to the Mongolian 1 thousand hordes.
Hazara’s facial bone structures and parts of their culture and some words in their language resemble those of Mongolians. However, generally they are culturally, linguistically and religiously different to Mongolians. Hazaras speak a variant of Persian called Hazaragi and the vast majority follow the Shi’a sect of Islam. While Mongolians have own language and believe in Buddhism.

Hazaras who are mixed Mongols and Turco-Mongols intermarried with the local population and had lost their language and heritage and assimilated into the mass culture and formed the distinct ethnics. To sum up briefly, Hazara indicate partial Mongolian ancestry.

Hazaras in Afghanistan:
The majority of Hazaras live in Hazarajat land of the Hazara’, which is situated in the rugged central mountainous core of Afghanistan with an area of approximately 50,000 sq. km., while others living in the Badakhshan mountains.
Within Afghan culture, Hazaras are famous for their music and poetry and the proverbs from which their poetry stems.
The Hazara supported the wrong candidate in the election in the late 19th century, and ended up rebelling against the new government. After three revolts, Hazaras were massacred as many as 65% of them also migrated to Pakistan or Iran. Hazara continued to face severe social, economic and political discrimination through most of the 19 and 20th century. They have continued to occupy lower-status jobs and face harsh discrimination.
Following the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States, British and American forces invaded Afghanistan. Many Hazara have pursued higher education, enrolled in the army, and many have top government positions in today’s newly emerging.

 

 

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