Editing Baloch people (section)

==Etymology==
The exact origin of the word "Baloch" is unclear. According to the Baloch historian Naseer Dashti (2012), the name of the ethnic group derives from 'Balaschik' living in [[Balasagan]], between the [[Caspian Sea]] and [[Lake Van]] in present-day Turkey and Azerbaijan, who are believed to have migrated to Balochistan during the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] times.{{sfn|Dashti, The Baloch and Balochistan|2012|pp=8,&nbsp;33–34,&nbsp;44}} The remnants of the original name such as "Balochuk" and "Balochiki" are said to be still used as ethnic names in Balochistan.{{sfn|Dashti, The Baloch and Balochistan|2012|pp=33–34}}

Some other writers suggest a derivation from [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]] words ''bal'', meaning strength, and ''och'' meaning high or magnificent.{{sfn|Dashti, The Baloch and Balochistan|2012|pp=33–34}}

Regardless of its possible roots in ancient era, the ethnonym Baloch might be derived from a term cockscomb or crest  used in [[Middle Persian]] that refer to the Baloch in [[Median kingdom]] and [[Kayanian dynasty]] who were part of the army of [[Astyages]] or [[Kay Khosrow]] troops.{{sfn|Dashti, The Baloch and Balochistan|2012|pp=33}}<ref name=":The Baloch race2">{{cite book |last1=Dames |first1=Mansel Longworth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kf0RAAAAYAAJ |title=The Baloch race. A historical and ethnological sketch |date=1904 |publisher=London, Royal Asiatic society |pages=22, 26, 29}}</ref> In ancient time, the Baloch wore distinctive helmets decorated with a cock's comb.<ref name=":ashkash2">{{Cite web |title=AŠKAŠ |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/askas-an-iranian-hero-in-the-reign-of-kay-kosrow |website=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]}}</ref> It is presumably indicated to Turban that known as the "Paag" in Balochi language. The Baloch traditionally wear various styles of the turban, wrapped around the head.{{sfn|Dashti, The Baloch and Balochistan|2012|pp=130}}

[[Ernst Herzfeld|Ernst Emil Herzfeld]] believes that the word Baloch is derived from the [[Median language|Median]] term "brza -vačiya" meaning "loud shouting".<ref>Iran in the Ancient East: Archaeological Studies Presented in the Lowell Lectures at Boston Hardcover by Ernst Emil Herzfeld – 1988. {{ISBN|9780878173082}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Frye |first=Richard N |year=1929 |title=Remarks on Baluchi History |journal=Central Asiatic Journal |volume=6 |pages=44–50 |jstor=41926492 |number=6/1}}</ref>

An earliest Sanskrit reference to the Baloch might be the Gwalior inscription of the [[Gurjara-Pratihara]] ruler [[Mihira Bhoja]] (r. 836–885), which says that the dynasty's founder [[Nagabhata I]] repelled a powerful army of ''Valacha Mlecchas'', translated as "Baluch foreigners" by [[D. R. Bhandarkar]]. The army in question is that of the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] after the conquest of [[Sindh]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bhandarkar |first=D. R. |author-link=D. R. Bhandarkar |year=1929 |title=Indian Studies No. I: Slow Progress of Islam Power in Ancient India |journal=Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute |volume=10 |page=30 |jstor=41682407 |number=1/2}}</ref>