Editing Hazaras (section)

== Etymology ==

The etymology of the word "Hazara" is disputed, with differing opinions on its origin.

[[Nasir Khusraw|Nasir Khusraw Balkhi]], the 11th-century Persian-language poet and scholar, refers to the word "Hazara" ({{transliteration|fa|Hazāra}} {{lang|fa|هزاره}}) in his poetry:<ref name="Mousavi-1998-35">{{cite book |last=Mousavi |first=Sayed Askar |url= |title=The Hazaras of Afghanistan: An Historical, Cultural, Economic and Political Study |publisher=Curzon Press |year=1998 |isbn=0-7007-0630-5 |location= |page=35 |language=en}}</ref>
{{quote|{{lang|fa|'''هزاران قول خوب و نغز و باریک'''<br />'''از او یابند چون تار هزاره'''}}<br /><br />''Hazaran qaul-e khob-o naghz-o barik''<br />''Azo yaband chon tar-e Hazara''<br /><br />Translation:<br />''It is from wisdom that spring thousands of fine and thoughtful words''<br />''As does music from the strings of a Hazara [[dutar|tar]]''}}

One of the earliest mentions of the Hazaras appears in the ''[[Baburnama]]'', written by [[Babur]], the founder of the [[Mughal Empire]], in the early 16th century. The text specifically refers to prominent [[Hazara tribes]], including the [[Sultan Masudi]]<ref name="Babur">Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad Babur (1921).[https://www.rarebooksocietyofindia.org/book_archive/196174216674_10156335502831675.pdf "Memoirs Of Zehir-Ed-Din Muhammed Babur. Volume 1."]. Oxford University Press. Pages 44, 243, 279."</ref> and [[First Campaign against Turkoman Hazaras|Turkoman Hazaras]].<ref name="Babur-1826a">{{Cite book |last=Babur |first=Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ztbAAAAQAAJ&q=turkoman+hazaras&pg=PA173 |title=Memoirs of Zehir-Ed-Din Muhammed Baber: Emperor of Hindustan |publisher=Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green |year=1826 |language=en}}</ref>

*Historian [[Abdul Hai Habibi]] suggests that the word "Hazara" ({{transliteration|fa|Hazāra}} {{lang|fa|هزاره}}) is of ancient origin, derived from the term "Hazala" ({{transliteration|fa|həzālə}} {{lang|fa|هزاله}}), which gradually evolved into "Hazara" over time, and originally meant "good-hearted."<ref>یزدانی، حسینعلی. پژوهشی در تاریخ هزاره‌ها. چاپخانه مهتاب. ص 96</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=هزاله – لغت‌نامهٔ دهخدا |trans-title=''[[Dehkhoda Dictionary]]'' |url=https://abadis.ir/fatofa/%D9%87%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87/<!--&#124;url-status=live-->}}</ref>

*The name "Hazara" ({{transliteration|fa|Hazāra}} {{lang|fa|هزاره}}) is thought to derive from the Persian word "Hazar" ({{transliteration|fa|Hazār}} {{lang|fa|هزار}}), meaning "thousand." It may be a translation of the [[Mongolic languages|Mongolic]] word {{transliteration|mn|[[mingghan]]}}, which referred to a military unit of thousand soldiers during the time of [[Genghis Khan]].<ref>{{cite book |first=H. F. |last=Schurmann |title=The Mon-gols of Afghanistan: An Ethnography of the Moghôls and Related Peoples of Afghanistan |publisher=La Haye |year=1962 |page=115}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Poladi, Hassan |title=The Hazâras |publisher=Stockton |year=1989 |page=22|title-link=The Hazaras (book) |author-link=Hassan Poladi }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Mousavi, Sayed Askar |title=The Hazaras of Afghanistan |trans-title=An Historical, Cultural, Economic and Political Study |publisher=Richmond |year=1998 |pages=23–25|title-link=The Hazaras of Afghanistan |author-link=Syed Askar Mousavi }}</ref> The term might have been used as a substitute for the Mongolic word to represent the group of people.<ref name="Khazeni-2003">{{cite encyclopedia |first1=Arash |last1=Khazeni |first2=Alessandro |last2=Monsutti |first3=Charles M. |last3=Kieffer |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |title=HAZĀRA |url=http://iranicaonline.org/articles/hazara-1 |date=15 December 2003 |access-date=23 December 2007}}</ref> However, this theory is highly questionable and widely regarded as unacceptable. No primary historical documents have been found to confirm that Genghis Khan or his commanders ordered their forces to settle in the area now known as [[Hazarajat]]. Furthermore, there is no historical evidence to support the claim that the origins of the Hazaras are linked to this military settlement.<ref name="Mousavi-1998-35"/> 

In their [[Hazaragi|native language]], the Hazaras refer to themselves as "Azra" ({{transliteration|haz|āzrə}} {{lang|haz|آزره}}) or ({{transliteration|haz|əzrə}} {{lang|haz|ازره}}).<ref>{{Cite book|last=دلجو|first=عباس|script-title=fa:تاریخ باستانی هزاره‌ها|date=2018 |publisher=موسسه انتشارات مقصوی، کابل|isbn=978-9936-624-00-9|location=کابل، افغانستان|page=199}}</ref>