Hazara

The Hazara ethnic group resides mainly in the central Afghanistan mountain region called 'Hazarajat'. They make up anywhere between 9-20% of Afghanistan's population, but an accurate census has not been taken in decades so there is little information to verify at present. There are also significant populations of Hazaras in Pakistan and Iran.

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Historically, the Hazara seem to have mainly Mongoloid origins with some Caucasoid admixture, as evidenced by physical attributes and parts of the culture and language. It is commonly believed that the Hazara are descendants of Genghis Khan's army, which marched into the area during the 12th century. Proponents of this view hold that many of the Mongol soldiers and their families settled in the area and remained there after the Mongol empire dissolved in the 13th century, converting to Islam and adopting local customs.

Afghanistan: Afghanistan (Pashtu/Dari-Persian: ?????????, Af??nist?n) is a country in Asia. It is in Central Asia and fringes upon South Asia and is sometimes allocated to one of these regions and it is often considered part of the Middle East due to its location on the Iranian plateau. It is bordered by Iran in...

Hazarajat: Hazarajat is a mountainous region in central Afghanistan, home to the Hazara ethnic group. The area was historically called Hazarastan, and some wish to return to the former name. Bamiyan is the chief city of Hazarajat and is considered the cultural capital of the Hazaras....

Iran: Iran (Persian: ?????) is a Middle Eastern country located in Southwest Asia bordering Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkmenistan to the north, Pakistan and Afghanistan to the east, Turkey and Iraq to the west. Although locally known as Iran at least since the Sassanian period, until 1935 the country was ...