Editing Syr Darya (section)

==Name==
The second part of the name ({{lang|fa-Latn|darya}}, {{wikt-lang|fa|دریا}}) means "lake" or "sea" in [[Persian language|Persian]] and "river" in the [[Tajik language|Central Asian Persian]]. The current name dates only from the 18th century.

The earliest recorded name was ''Jaxartes'' or ''Iaxartes'' ({{lang|grc|Ἰαξάρτης}}) in [[Ancient Greek]], consist of two morpheme ''Iaxa'' and ''artes'', found in several sources, including those relating to [[Alexander the Great]]. This variant of the Greek name hearkens back to the [[Old Persian]] name ''Yakhsha Arta'' ("True Pearl"), perhaps a reference to the color of its glacially-fed water.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Islam">"Sïr Daryā." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Online, 2014.</ref>  However there is also usage of the name ''Tanais'' river in certain sources, such as those of Arrian, a possible usage of the actual Tanais River's name to represent a furthest east river by distance.<ref name="Nearchus, Guides, and Place Names on Alexander’s Expedition">https://www.jstor.org/stable/26989155</ref> More evidence for the Persian [[etymology]] comes from the river's Turkic name up to the time of the Arab conquest, the ''Yinçü'', or "Pearl river", from [[Middle Chinese]] {{lang|ltc|眞珠}} *''t͡ɕiɪn-t͡ɕɨo''.<ref name="В. В. Бартольд. К истории орошения Туркестана.">В. В. Бартольд. К истории орошения Туркестана. (On the history of Irrigation in Turkestan) in Работы по исторической географии (Works on Historical Geography). Moscow: Vostochnaia Literatura, 2002. Pages 210-231</ref><ref name="Tekin1997">{{cite journal|last = Tekin|first= Talat|title= Notes on Some Chinese Loanwords in Old Turkic|journal= Türk Dilleri Araştırmaları|issue= 7|year= 1997|pages= 165–173|url= http://www.turkdilleri.org/turkdilleri/sayilar/tda7/TTekinChinese.pdf}}</ref> [[Tang dynasty|Tang Chinese]] also recorded this name as Yaosha River {{lang|ltc|藥殺水}} ([[Middle Chinese|MC]]: *''jɨɐk-ʃˠɛt'') and later Ye River {{lang|ltc|葉河}} (MC: *''jiɛp'').

The current local name of the river, ''Syr'' (''Sïr''), does not appear before the 16th century. In the 17th century, [[Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur]] Khan, historian and ruler of [[Khiva]], called the [[Aral Sea]] the "Sea of Sïr," or ''Sïr Tengizi''.

The important evidence is the etymology of the name of the Syr-Darya River mentioned by the ancient authors – <nowiki>'''</nowiki>Yaksart<nowiki>'''</nowiki>, established by V. A. Livshits (2003: 10). It means '<nowiki>'''</nowiki>flowing' or 'streaming'.<nowiki>'''</nowiki> The word belongs to the [[Sogdia|Sogdian]] dialect that had emerged from the [[Saka]] language group.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Koryakova, Ludmila |date=2008-06-01 |title=Review at Cambridge Core- Elena E. Kuzmina (edited by J.P. Mallory): The Origins of the Indo-Iranians. xviii+762 pages, 132 figures. 2007. Leiden: Brill; 978-90-04-16054-5 hardback. |journal=Antiquity Publications |volume=82 |issue=316 |page=457 |doi=10.1017/s0003598x00097076 |issn=0003-598X}}</ref>