Editing Hindu Kush (section)

==Name origin==
The earliest known usage of the Persian name ''Hindu Kush'' occurs on a map published about 1000 CE.<ref name="brithkushfm2">Fosco Maraini et al., [https://www.britannica.com/place/Hindu-Kush Hindu Kush], Encyclopædia Britannica</ref> Some modern scholars remove the space and refer to the mountain range as ''Hindukush''.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Karl Jettmar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ig8ngEACAAJ|title=The Religions of the Hindukush: The religion of the Kafirs|author2-link=Schuyler Jones|author2=Schuyler Jones|publisher=Aris & Phillips|year=1986|isbn=978-0-85668-163-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Winiger|first1=M.|last2=Gumpert|first2=M.|last3=Yamout|first3=H.|year=2005|title=Karakorum-Hindukush-western Himalaya: assessing high-altitude water resources|journal=Hydrological Processes|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|volume=19|issue=12|pages=2329–2338|bibcode=2005HyPr...19.2329W|doi=10.1002/hyp.5887|s2cid=130210677 }}</ref>

=== Etymology ===
''Hindu Kush'' is generally translated as "Killer of [[Hindu]]"<ref>{{Cite book|last=|first=|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=usbRAAAAMAAJ&q=%22hindu+kush%22+%22killer+of+hindus%22|title=The National Geographic Magazine|date=1958|publisher=National Geographic Society|isbn=|location=|pages=|language=en|quote=Such bitter journeys gave the range its name, Hindu Kush –  "Killer of Hindus."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Metha|first=Arun|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X0IwAQAAIAAJ&q=%22hindu+kush%22+%22killer+of+hindus%22|title=History of medieval India|date=2004|publisher=ABD Publishers|isbn=9788185771953|location=|pages=|language=en|quote=of the Shahis from Kabul to behind the Hindu Kush mountains (Hindu Kush is literally 'killer of Hindus'}}</ref><ref name="McColl2014p41332">{{cite book|author=R. W. McColl|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJgnebGbAB8C&pg=PA413|title=Encyclopedia of World Geography|publisher=Infobase Publishing|year=2014|isbn=978-0-8160-7229-3|pages=413–414}}</ref><ref name="Nigel2001p54622">{{cite journal|last=Allan|first=Nigel|year=2001|title=Defining Place and People in Afghanistan|journal=Post-Soviet Geography and Economics|series=8|volume=42|issue=8|page=546|doi=10.1080/10889388.2001.10641186|s2cid=152546226}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Runion|first=Meredith L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EY6NDgAAQBAJ&q=%22hindu+kush%22+%22killer+of+hindus%22&pg=PA4|title=The History of Afghanistan|edition=2nd|date=2017|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-61069-778-1|location=|pages=|language=en|quote=The literal translation of the name “Hindu Kush” is a true reflection of its forbidding topography, as this difficult and jagged section of Afghanistan translates to "Killer of Hindus."}}</ref><ref name = 'CWeston' >{{Cite book|last=Weston|first=Christine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZFDhAAAAMAAJ&q=%22hindu+kush%22+%22hindu+killers%22|title=Afghanistan|date=1962|publisher=Scribner|isbn=|location=|pages=|language=en|quote=To the north and northeast, magnificent and frightening, stretched the mountains of the Hindu Kush, or Hindu Killers, a name derived from the fact that in ancient times slaves brought from India perished here like flies from exposure and cold.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Knox|first=Barbara|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vzPswhHQAH0C&q=%22hindu+kush%22+%22killer+of+hindus%22&pg=PA4|title=Afghanistan|date=2004|publisher=Capstone|isbn=978-0-7368-2448-4|location=|pages=|language=en|quote=Hindu Kush means 'killer of Hindus.' Many people have died trying to cross these mountains.}}</ref> or "Hindu-Killer" by most writers.<ref>[a] {{cite book|author=Michael Franzak|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KqenaOE0ziIC&pg=PA241|title=A Nightmare's Prayer: A Marine Harrier Pilot's War in Afghanistan|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4391-9499-7|page=241}};

[b] {{cite book|author=Ehsan Yarshater|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ulYOAQAAMAAJ|title=Encyclopædia Iranica|publisher=The Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation|year=2003|isbn=978-0-933273-76-4|page=312}}

[c] {{cite book|author=James Wynbrandt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xQGwgJnCPZgC|title=A Brief History of Pakistan|publisher=Infobase Publishing|year=2009|isbn=978-0-8160-6184-6|page=5}};

[d] {{cite book|title=Encyclopedia Americana|year=1993|volume=14|page=206}};

[e] {{cite book|author=André Wink|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&pg=PA110|title=Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7th–11th Centuries|publisher=Brill Academic|year=2002|isbn=978-0-391-04173-8|page=110}}, Quote: "(..) the Muslim Arabs also applied the name 'Khurasan' to all the Muslim provinces to the east of the Great Desert and up to the '''Hindu-Kush ('Hindu killer')''' mountains, the Chinese desert and the Pamir mountains".</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Runion|first=Meredith L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EY6NDgAAQBAJ&q=%22hindu+kush%22+%22killer+of+hindus%22&pg=PA4|title=The History of Afghanistan|edition=2nd|date=2017|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-61069-778-1|language=en|quote=The literal translation of the name “Hindu Kush” is a true reflection of its forbidding topography, as this difficult and jagged section of Afghanistan translates to “Killer of Hindus.”}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Weston|first=Christine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZFDhAAAAMAAJ&q=%22hindu+kush%22+%22hindu+killers%22|title=Afghanistan|date=1962|publisher=Scribner|language=en|quote=To the north and northeast, magnificent and frightening, stretched the mountains of the Hindu Kush, or Hindu Killers, a name derived from the fact that in ancient times slaves brought from India perished here like flies from exposure and cold.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Knox|first=Barbara|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vzPswhHQAH0C&q=%22hindu+kush%22+%22killer+of+hindus%22&pg=PA4|title=Afghanistan|date=2004|publisher=Capstone|isbn=978-0-7368-2448-4|language=en|quote=Hindu Kush means "killer of Hindus." Many people have died trying to cross these mountains.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The World Book Encyclopedia|publisher=[[Scott Fetzer Company|World Book Inc.]]|year=1990|edition=1994|volume=9|page=235}}</ref> Boyle's Persian–English dictionary indicates that the Persian suffix -''koš'' {{IPA|fa|koʃ|}} is the present stem of the verb 'to kill' (''koštan'' {{nastaliq|کشتن}}).<ref name="auto1">{{cite book|last=Boyle|first=J.A.|title=A Practical Dictionary of the Persian Language|publisher=Luzac & Co.|year=1949|page=129}}</ref> According to linguist [[Francis Joseph Steingass]], the suffix -''kush'' means "a male; (imp. of ''kushtan'' in comp.) a killer, who kills, slays, murders, oppresses as ''azhdaha-kush'' ['dragon-slayer']."<ref name="Steingass1992p1030" />

The earliest explanation offered for the name comes from [[Ibn Battuta]]. According to him, ''Hindu Kush'' means Hindu Killer as [[Slavery in India#Islamic invasions (8th to 12th century AD)|slaves]]<ref name = 'CWeston' /> from the [[Indian subcontinent]] died in the harsh climatic conditions of the mountains while being taken to [[Turkestan]] by traders.<ref name = 'CWeston' /><ref name="iranicaonline">Ervin Grötzbach (2012 Ed., Original: 2003), [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hindu-kush Hindu Kush], Encyclopædia Iranica</ref><ref name="Nigel2001p54622"/><ref>{{Cite book|last=Dunn|first=Ross E.|title=The Adventures of Ibn Battuta|publisher=University of California Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-520-24385-9|pages=171–178|author-link=Ross E. Dunn}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=André Wink|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&pg=PA110|title=Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7th–11th Centuries|publisher=Brill Academic|year=2002|isbn=978-0-391-04173-8|page=110}}, Quote: "(..) the Muslim Arabs also applied the name 'Khurasan' to all the Muslim provinces to the east of the Great Desert and up to the '''Hindu-Kush ('Hindu killer')''' mountains, the Chinese desert and the Pamir mountains".</ref>{{efn|Boyle's Persian-English dictionary indicates that the suffix -''koš'' {{IPA|fa|koʃ|}} is the present stem of the verb 'to kill' (''koštan'' {{nastaliq|کشتن}}).<ref name="auto1"/> According to linguist [[Francis Joseph Steingass]], the suffix -''kush'' means 'a male; (imp. of ''kushtan'' in comp.) a killer, who kills, slays, murders, oppresses as ''azhdaha-kush''.'<ref name="Steingass1992p1030" />}}

But Ibn battuta explanation is doubtful<ref>https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Encyclopaedia_Britannica/oxtLAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=hindu+kush+name+origin&pg=PA514&printsec=frontcover</ref> several other theories have been propounded as to the origins of the name.<ref name="McColl2014p41332"/> According to Nigel Allan, the term ''Hindu Kush'' has two alternate meanings i.e 'sparkling snows of India' and 'mountains of India', with ''Kush'' possibly being a soft variant of the Persian ''kuh'' ('mountain'). Allan states that Hindu Kush was the frontier boundary to Arab geographers.<ref name="Allan 2001 545–5602">{{cite journal|last=Allan|first=Nigel|year=2001|title=Defining Place and People in Afghanistan|journal=Post-Soviet Geography and Economics|series=8|volume=42|issue=8|pages=545–560|doi=10.1080/10889388.2001.10641186|s2cid=152546226}}</ref> Yet others suggest that the name may be derived from ancient [[Avestan language|Avestan]], meaning 'water mountain'.<ref name="McColl2014p41332"/> 

According to ''[[Hobson-Jobson]]'', a 19th-century British dictionary, ''Hindukush'' might be a corruption of the ancient Latin ''Indicus (Caucasus);'' the entry mentions the interpretation first given by [[Ibn Battuta]] as a popular theory already at that time, despite doubts cast upon it.<ref>{{cite book|author=Henry Yule|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F51h6q-bB6sC&pg=PA258|title=Hobson-Jobson: The Definitive Glossary of British India|author2=A. C. Burnell|date=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199601134|editor=Kate Teltscher|page=258}}</ref>

=== Other names ===
In [[Vedic Sanskrit]], the range was known as ''upariśaina'', and in [[Avestan]], as ''upāirisaēna'' (from [[Proto-Iranian]] *''upārisaina''- 'covered with juniper').<ref>{{cite book|last=Thapar|first=Romila|title=Which of Us are Aryans?: Rethinking the Concept of Our Origins|date=2019|publisher=Aleph|isbn=978-93-88292-38-2|pages=1|author-link=Romila Thapar}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Schmitt |first=Rüdiger |date=2007|title=Iškata|url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iskata|website=Encyclopaedia Iranica}}</ref> It can alternatively be interpreted as "beyond the reach of eagles".<ref>{{cite book |last=Griffiths |first=Arlo |title=The Vedas: Texts, Language & Ritual |publisher=Egbert Forsten |publication-place=Groningen |year=2004 |isbn=90-6980-149-3 |oclc=57477186 |page=594 |url=https://www.ling.upenn.edu/~rnoyer/courses/51/Witzel2002.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730063254/http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~rnoyer/courses/51/Witzel2002.pdf |archive-date=2012-07-30 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the time of [[Alexander the Great]], the mountain range was referred to as the ''Caucasus Indicus'' (as opposed to the [[Greater Caucasus]] range between the [[Caspian Sea|Caspian]] and [[Black Sea]]s), and the extension of the former as ''Paropamisos'' (see ''[[Paropamisadae]]'') by [[Hellenistic period|Hellenic Greeks]] in the late first millennium BCE.<ref name="Vogelsang">{{cite book|last1=Vogelsang|first1=Willem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9kfJ6MlMsJQC&pg=PA1|title=The Afghans|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|year=2002|isbn=978-0-631-19841-3|access-date=22 August 2010}}</ref>

Some 19th-century encyclopedias and gazetteers state that the term ''Hindu Kush'' originally applied only to the peak in the area of the [[Kushan Pass]], which had become a center of the [[Kushan Empire]] by the first century.<ref>[1890] 1896 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' s.v. "Afghanistan", Vol. I p. 228.;<br />[1893] 1899 ''Johnson's Universal Encyclopedia'' Vol. I p. 61.;<br />1885 ''Imperial Gazetteer of India'', VoI. p. 30.<br />1850 ''A Gazetteer of the World'' Vol. I p. 62.</ref>