Editing Alans (section)

==Name==
The Alans were documented by foreign observers from the 1st century CE onward under similar names: {{Langx|la|Alānī}}; {{langx|el|Ἀλανοί}} ''{{transliteration|el|Alanoi}}''; {{lang-zh|阿蘭聊}} ''{{transliteration|zh|ISO|Alanliao}}'' ([[Pinyin]]; ''Alan'' + ''Liu'') in the 2nd century,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html| title = The ''Hou Hanshu''}}</ref> {{lang|zh|阿蘭}} ''{{transliteration|zh|ISO|Alan}}'' in the 3rd century,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html| title = The ''Weilüe''}}</ref> later ''Alanguo'' ({{lang|zh|阿蘭國}});<ref>Kozin, S.A., Sokrovennoe skazanie, M.-L., 1941. pp. 83–84</ref> [[Parthian language|Parthian]] and [[Middle Persian]] ''Alānān'' (plural); [[Arabic]] ''Alān'' (singular); [[Syriac language|Syriac]] ''Alānayē''; [[Classical Armenian]] ''Alank'''; [[Georgian language|Georgian]] ''Alaneti'' ('country of the Alans'); [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ''Alan'' (pl. ''Alanim'').{{sfn|Alemany|2000|pp=1–2}}{{sfn|Golden|2009}} Rarer Latin spellings include ''Alauni'' or ''Halani''.{{Sfn|Alemany|2000|pp=33, 99}} The name was also preserved in the modern [[Ossetian language]] as ''Allon''.<ref>Abaev V. I. Historical-Etymological Dictionary of Ossetian Language. V. 1. М.–Л., 1958. pp. 47–48.</ref>{{Sfn|Alemany|2000|p=4}}

The [[ethnonym]] ''Alān'' is a dialectal variant of the [[Old Iranian]] *''Aryāna'', itself derived from the root ''arya''-, meaning '[[Aryan]]', the common self-designation of [[Indo-Iranian peoples]].<ref name="Mallory">{{harvnb|Mallory|Adams|1997|p=213|ps=: "Iran ''Alani'' (< *''aryana'') (the name of an Iranian group whose descendants are the Ossetes, one of whose subdivisions is the ''Iron'' [< *''aryana''-)), *''aryranam'' (gen. pi.) ‘of the Aryans’ (> MPers ''Iran'')."}}</ref><ref name="Alemany">{{harvnb|Alemany|2000|pp=3–4|ps=: "Nowadays, however, only two possibilities are admitted as regards [the etymology of ''Alān''], both closely related: (a) the adjective *''aryāna''- and (b) the gen. pl. *''aryānām''; in both cases the underlying OIran. ajective *''arya''- 'Aryan' is found. It is worth mentioning that although it is not possible to give an unequivocal option because both forms produce the same phonetic result, most researchers tend to favour the derivative *''aryāna''-, because it has a more appropriate semantic value ... The ethnic name *''arya''- underlying in the name of the Alans has been linked to the Av. ''Airiianəm Vaēǰō'' 'the Aryan plain'."}}</ref>{{sfn|Golden|2009}} It probably came in use in the early history of the Alans for the purpose of uniting a heterogeneous group of tribes through the invocation of a common, ancestral 'Aryan' origin.{{Sfn|Alemany|2000|p=4}} Like the [[name of Iran]] (*''Aryānām''), the adjective *''aryāna'' is related to ''[[Airyanem Vaejah|Airyanəm Waēǰō]]'' ('stretch of the Aryas'), the mythical homeland of the early Iranians mentioned in the ''[[Avesta]]''.<ref name="Alemany" />{{sfn|Golden|2009}}

Some other ethnonyms also bear the name of the Alans: the ''[[Rhoxolani|Rhoxolāni]]'' ('Bright Alans'), an offshoot of the Alans whose name may be linked to religious practices, and the ''Alanorsoi'' ('White Alans'), perhaps a conglomerate of Alans and [[Aorsi]].{{Sfn|Alemany|2000|p=8}} The personal names ''[[Alan (given name)|Alan]]'' and ''[[Alain (given name)|Alain]]'' (from Latin ''Alanus'') may have been introduced by Alan settlers to Western Europe during the first millennium CE.{{Sfn|Alemany|2000|p=5}}

The Alans were also known over the course of their history by another group of related names including the variations ''Asi'', ''As'', and ''Os'' ([[Romanian language|Romanian]] ''{{lang|ro|Iasi or Olani}}'', [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] ''{{transliteration|bg|Uzi}}'', [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] ''{{lang|hu|Jász}}'', [[Russian language|Russian]] ''{{transliteration|ru|Jasy}}'', [[Georgian language|Georgian]] ''{{transliteration|ka|Osi}}'').{{Sfn|Alemany|2000|pp=5–7}}<ref>Sergiu Bacalov, ''Medieval Alans in Moldova'' / ''Consideraţii privind olanii (alanii) sau iaşii din Moldova medievală. Cu accent asupra acelor din regiunea Nistrului de Jos'' https://bacalovsergiu.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/download-sergiu-bacalov-considerac5a3ii-privind-olanii-alanii-sau-iac59fii-din-moldova-medievalc483.pdf)</ref> It is this name at the root of the modern ''[[Ossetians|Ossetian]]''.{{sfn|Alemany|2000|pp=5–7}}