Afghanistan literally means the land of the Afghans, but the region has had a plethora of other names that have been applied to its general location in the past. Between the fall of the Taliban after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 Loya jirga, Afghanistan was referred to by the Government of the United States as the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan. Under its new constitution, the country is now officially named the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Flag flown by the Taliban. ... Combatants al-Qaeda, Taliban Northern Alliance, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, New Zealand, Italy, Germany Commanders Mohammed Omar Osama bin Laden Tommy Franks Mohammed Fahim Strength Casualties {{{notes}}} The United States invasion of Afghanistan occurred in October 2001, in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on... A 502-delegate loya jirga convened in Kabul, Afghanistan, on December 14, 2003, to consider the proposed Afghan Constitution. ... An Islamic republic in its modern context has come to mean several things. ...

The origins and history of the name Afghanistan remain unclear, but there are numerous views regarding the origin of name Afghan, most of them being purely speculative as can be seen below:

• Makhzan-i-Afghni by Nematullah, written in 1612 CE, traces the Afghan or Pakhtun origin fromAbraham down to one named King Talut or Saul. It states that Saul had a son Irmia (Jeremia), who had a son called Afghana. Upon the death of King Saul, Afghana was raised by David, and was later promoted to the chief command of the army during the reign of King Solomon. The progeny of this Afghana multiplied numerously, and came to be called Bani-Israel. In the sixth century BCE, Bakhtunnasar, or Nebuchadnezzar king of Babil, attacked Judah and exiled the progeny of Afghana to Ghor located in the center of what is now Afghanistan. In course of time, the exiled community came to be addressed as Afghan after the name of their ancestor, and the country got its name as Afghanistan. This traditional view has some critics who refer to insufficient historical records.

• Another version of Pashtun legend places Afghana, the professed eponymous ancestor of the Afghans or Pushtuns, as a contemporary of Muslim Prophet Mohammad. On hearing about the new faith of Islam, Qais from Aryana travelled to Medina to see the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, and returned to Aryana as a Muslim. Qais Abdur Rashid purportedly had many sons, one of whom was Afghana. Afghana, in turn, had four sons who set out to the east to establish their separate lineages. The first son went to Swat, the second to Lahore and India, the third to Multan, and the last one to Quetta. This legend is one of many traditional tales amongst the Pashtuns regarding their disparate origins. Again, it was this legendary Afghana who is stated to have given the Pushtuns their current name. It is notable that the Afghan of this legend is separated from the Afghana of Solomon's times by at least 11 centuries.

• Dr H.W. Bellew, in his book An Enquiry into the Ethnography of Afghanistan, believes that the name Afghan derives from the Latin term Alban, used by Armenians as Alvan or Alwan, which refers to mountaineers, and in the case of transliterated Armenian characters, would be pronounced as Aghvan or Aghwan. To the Persians, this would further be altered to Aoghan, Avghan, and Afghan as a reference to the highlanders or "mountaineers" of the eastern Iranian plateau.

• Few people hold that the name derives from "Abagan" (i.e without God) which term the Persians are stated to have coined for the Pashtuns to describe them as Godless or non-believers. It is claimed that word Abagan is antonym of the word Bagan (=believer in God) just as word apolitical is antonym of political in the English language ^{[citation needed]}..

• There are also a few people who tend to link "Afghan" to an Uzbek word "Avagan" said to mean "original" ^{[citation needed]}.

• Still others believe that the name derives from Sanskrit upa-ganah, said to mean "allied tribes" ^{[citation needed]}.

• Another etymological view supported by numerous noted scholars is that the name Afghan evidently derives from Sanskrit Ashvaka or Ashvakan (q.v), the Assakenois of Arrian^[1]. This view was propounded by scholars like Dr Christian Lassen, J. W. McCrindle ^[2] etc and has been supported by numerous modern scholars ^{[3] [4]}. In Sanskrit, word ashva (Iranian aspa, Prakrit assa) means "horse", and ashvaka (Prakrit assaka) means "horseman". Pre-Christian times knew the people of eastern Afghanistan as Ashvakas (horsemen), since they raised a fine breed of horses and had a reputation for providing expert cavalrymen. The fifth-century-BCE Indian grammarian Panini calls them Ashvakayana ^[5] and Ashvayana ^[6] respectively ^[7]. Classical writers use the respective equivalents Aspasios (or Aspasii, Hippasii) and Assakenois (or Assaceni/Assacani, Asscenus) etc. The Aspasios/Assakenois (Ashvakas = Cavalrymen) is stated to be another name for the Kambojas of Ancient texts because of their equestrian characteristics. In ancient Pali texts, the Kamboja land is described as the land of horses ^{[8] [9] [10] [11]}. The relics of the name Assakenoi are still seen in the Aspin of Chitral and the Yashkun of Gilgit, according to Dr J. W. McCrindle ^{[12] [13]}.

Before being called 'Afghanistan', the region had gone through several name changes in its long history of around 5000 years. One of the most ancient names, according to historians and scholars, was Ariana - the Greek pronunciation of the ancient Avestan Aryanam Vaeja or the Sanskrit "Aryavarta", Land of the Aryans. Today this Old-Persian, and Avestan expression is preserved in the name Iran and it is noted in the name of the Afghan national airline, Ariana Airlines. The term 'Ariana Afghanistan' is still popular amongst Persian speakers in the country. Abraham (אַבְרָהָם Father/Leader of many, (circa 1900 BCE) Standard Hebrew Avraham, Tiberian Hebrew ; Arabic ابراهيم ; Geez አብርሃም ) is regarded as the founding patriarch of the Israelites whom God chose to bless out of all the families of the earth. ... Saul (Hebrew Shaul meaning demanded) is: 1. ... Solomon (Hebrew, Shlomo from Shalom for peace, also Arabic as Suleiman or Sulyaman meaning peace) can mean any of the following: 1. ... Nebuchadnezzar was the name of several kings of Babylonia. ... Babil is the Arabic name of Babylon. ... Judah (יְהוּדָה Praise, Standard Hebrew YÉ™huda, Tiberian Hebrew YÉ™hûḏāh) is the name of several Biblical and historical figures. ... An eponym is a person (real or fictitious) whose name has become identified with a particular object or activity. ... Pashto (پښتو; also known as Afghan, Pushto, Pashto, Pashtoe, Pashtu, and Pukhto) is the language spoken by the ethnic Afghan otherwise known as the Pashtun people who inhabit Afghanistan and the Western provinces of Pakistan. ... Muhammad is a common Muslim male name. ... This article is about the city in Saudi Arabia. ... For other people named Muhammad, see Muhammad (disambiguation). ... Wiktionary has related dictionary definitions, such as: swat Swat or SWAT may refer to: Swat (Pakistan), the valley, district or town in the basin of the Swat River Swat River, a river in northern Pakistan State of Swat, a princely state which existed in the north of the modern North... The Minar-e-Pakistan represents Pakistani independence The Hazuri Bagh, looking towards the Roshnai Gate Lahore (Urdu: لاہور; Hindi: लाहौर) is a major city of Pakistan and is the capital of the province of Punjab. ... Multan (ملتان) is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan, and capital of Multan District. ... Quetta (کویتہ) is the capital of the province Balochistan in Pakistan. ... Solomon (Hebrew, Shlomo from Shalom for peace, also Arabic as Suleiman or Sulyaman meaning peace) can mean any of the following: 1. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Ancient countries of Caucasus: Armenia, Iberia, Colchis and Albania Caucasian Albania (or Aghbania) was an ancient kingdom that covered what is now southern Dagestan and most of todays Azerbaijan of the Caucasus. ... The Persians of Iran (officially named Persia by West until 1935 while still referred to as Persia by some) are an Iranian people who speak Persian (locally named Fârsi by native speakers) and often refer to themselves as ethnic Iranians as well. ... The Iranian plateau is major geologic formation in the Middle East and the southern Eurasian Plate. ... The Persians of Iran (officially named Persia by West until 1935 while still referred to as Persia by some) are an Iranian people who speak Persian (locally named Fârsi by native speakers) and often refer to themselves as ethnic Iranians as well. ... The Pashtuns (also Pushtun, Pakhtun, ethnic Afghan, or Pathan) are an ethno-linguistic group consisting mainly of eastern Iranian stock living primarily in eastern and southern Afghanistan, and the North West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Baluchistan provinces of Pakistan. ... Antonyms, from the Greek anti (against) and onoma (name) are word pairs that are opposite in meaning, such as hot and cold, fat and thin, and up and down. ... Sanskrit ( संस्कृतम् ; pronunciation: ) is an Indo-European classical language of India and a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. ... Etymology is the study of the origins of words. ... Sanskrit ( संस्कृतम् ; pronunciation: ) is an Indo-European classical language of India and a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. ... The Ashvakas are very ancient people of north-east Afghanistan. ... The Ashvakas are very ancient people of north-east Afghanistan. ... The Ashvakas are very ancient people of north-east Afghanistan. ... Lucius Flavius Arrianus Xenophon (c 92-c 175), known in English as Arrian, was a Roman historian. ... Christian Lassen (October 22, 1800 _ May 8, 1876) was a German orientalist. ... Sanskrit ( संस्कृतम् ; pronunciation: ) is an Indo-European classical language of India and a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. ... Prakrit (Sanskrit prāká¹›ta प्राकृत (from pra-ká¹›ti प्रकृति), original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual, i. ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. ... Kircholm, a 1925 painting by Wojciech Kossak. ... An army unit consisting of mounted soldiers are commonly known as cavalry. ... This article is about grammar from a linguistic perspective. ... Panini can refer to: Pāṇini, the 5th century BC Sanskrit grammarian Panini (sandwich), a type of Italian sandwich Panini (stickers), a brand of collectible stickers Giovanni Paolo Panini, an Italian artist This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The word classical has several meanings: Pertaining to the societies of the classical antiquity, ancient Greece or Rome. ... Kambojas are a very ancient people of north-western parts of ancient India and Afghanistan , frequently mentioned in ancient texts, although not in the Rig Veda. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Eurasian nomads. ... Pali may refer to: Pāli, a Middle Indo-Aryan language Pali, Rajasthan, a town and district in Rajasthan, western India Pali, a Hawaiian word, meaning cliffs Nuuanu Pali, a region on the Hawaiian island of Oahu Ballaleshwar Pali, the Ganapati temple of pali and place in Maharastra This is... Chitral, or Chitrāl, is the name of a town (35° 53 N; 71° 48 E), valley, river, district, and former princely state in the Malakand Division of the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan. ... Gilgit is a region in the Northern Areas of Pakistan, bordering the Chinese region of Xinjiang. ... Yasna 28. ... Sanskrit ( संस्कृतम् ; pronunciation: ) is an Indo-European classical language of India and a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. ... This article is about the term Aryan. For Arian, a follower of the ancient Christian sect, See Arianism. ... Yasna 28. ... Ariana Afghan Airlines is the national airline of Afghanistan. ...

Many centuries later, Afghanistan was part of Greater Khorasan, and hence was recognized with the name Khorasan (along with regions centered around Merv and Neishabur), which in Pahlavi means "The Land of the Rising Sun" (خاور زمین in Persian). (Dehkhoda, p8457) Greater Khorasan is an area of land from the past which included parts that are presently in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. ... Khorasan (also spelled Khurasan and Khorassan; Xorasan or Xurasan in Kurdish; خراسان in Persian) is an area, located in eastern and northeastern Iran. ... Merv – Persian name: مرو; formerly Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana (Greek: Αντιόχεια η Μαργιανή) – in current-day Turkmenistan, was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near todays Mary. ... Tomb of Omar Khayyam, Neishabur Nishapur (or Neyshâbûr; نیشابور in Persian) is a town in the province of Khorasan in northeastern Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot of the Binalud Mountains, near the regional capital of Mashhad. ... The Pahlavi script was used broadly in the Sasanid Persian Empire to write down Middle Persian for secular, as well as religious purposes. ... Ali Akbar Dekhoda (علی‌اکبر دهخدا in Persian; 1879–March 9, 1959) was a prominent Iranian linguist, and author of the most extensive dictionary of the Persian language ever published. ...

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