Central Asia

Satellite Image of Central Asia (Red highlighted section)

Animation highlighting the Ancestral ethnic Scythian Migration component of the Jats of South Asia.

Central Asia (Hindi:मध्य एशिया) is a vast landlocked region of Asia.

The theory of Original home of Jats

Many scholars of history including Professor B.S. Dhillon state, that the original home of the Jat people was in Central Asia near the country now called Ukraine. Many recent DNA studies have provided scientific confirmation & proof that the Jats came from Ukraine, due to them having many Ukrainian DNA markers & Genes. have During the early part of the Christian era, most of the Jats were uprooted by the Mongol people from their homeland in Central Asia (after their ruling for over one thousand years, Chinese Authorities constructed the 1500 miles long the Great Wall of China at the cost of the lives of 400,000 workers. Today this wall is nicknamed as the longest cemetery in the world (all the workers who died were buried inside the wall), and the only man-made object visible from the outer space. In turn the Jats split into 2 groups:

• one group invaded India to the South and
• other invaded the Roman Empire in the West. Thus, they established themselves as (Alans) in France, Spain, Portugal and so on, in the fifth century A.D.

The Central Asia region

Map of area around the Aral Sea

Central Asia borders

Central Asia has historically been closely tied to its nomadic peoples and the Silk Road. As a result, it has acted as a crossroads for the movement of people, goods, and ideas between Europe, Western Asia, South Asia, and East Asia. It is also sometimes known as Middle Asia or Inner Asia, and is within the scope of the wider Eurasian continent.

To a certain extent, it is largely coextensive with Turkestan. Roughly speaking, Central Asia consists of states like:

• Afghanistan
• Kazakhstan,
• Turkmenistan,
• Uzbekistan,
• Kyrgyzstan,
• Tajikistan.
• Mongolia
• Iran (eastern)
• Pakistan (northwestern)
• China (Xinjiang and Tibet)
• India (Kashmir region)
• Siberia (southern)
• Russia (southern)

Major Rivers:

Major rivers of the region include the

• Amu Darya,
• Syr Darya
• Hari River.

Major bodies of water include the

• Aral Sea and
• Lake Balkhash,

both of which are part of the huge west/central Asian endorheic basin that also includes the Caspian Sea. Both of these bodies of water have shrunk significantly in recent decades due to diversion of water from rivers that feed them for irrigation and industrial purposes. Water is an extremely valuable resource in arid Central Asia, and can lead to rather significant international disputes.

Jat History

Prof. B.S. Dhillon writes....Jats are the one component of a group of people known as the Scythians in the Western countries and Sakas in India. Diodorus (first century B.C.) wrote, "But now, in turn, we shall discuss the Scythians who inhabit the country bordering India. But some time later the descendants (Scythians) of these kings, because of their unusual valour and skill as generals, subdued much of the territory beyond the Tanais river (far eastern Europe) as far as Thrace (modern north of Greece), and advancing with their power as far as the Nile in Egypt. This people increased to great strength and had notable kings, one of whom gave his name to the Sacae (Sakas), another to the Massagetae ("great" Jats), another to the Arimaspi, and several other tribes". The recent edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica states "The Scythians were a people who during the 8th-7th centuries B.C. moved from Central Asia to Southern Russia, where they founded an empire that survived until they were gradually overcome and supplanted by the Sarmatians (another Scythian people) during the 4th century B.C. 2nd century A.D.".

Stephen Fuchs suggests that the Jats probably migrated from Central Asia to India as a "predatory nomadic tribe".

DNA study on Y-STR Haplogroup Diversity in the Jat Population

David G. Mahal and Ianis G. Matsoukas conducted a scientific study on Y-STR Haplogroup Diversity in the Jat Population of which brief Conclusion is as under:

The Jats represent a large ethnic community that has inhabited the northwest region of India and Pakistan for several thousand years. It is estimated the community has a population of over 123 million people. Many historians and academics have asserted that the Jats are descendants of Aryans, Scythians, or other ancient people that arrived and lived in northern India at one time. Essentially, the specific origin of these people has remained a matter of contention for a long time. This study demonstrated that the origins of Jats can be clarified by identifying their Y-chromosome haplogroups and tracing their genetic markers on the Y-DNA haplogroup tree. A sample of 302 Y-chromosome haplotypes of Jats in India and Pakistan was analyzed. The results showed that the sample population had several different lines of ancestry and emerged from at least nine different geographical regions of the world. It also became evident that the Jats did not have a unique set of genes, but shared an underlying genetic unity with several other ethnic communities in the Indian subcontinent. A startling new assessment of the genetic ancient origins of these people was revealed with DNA science.

The human Y-chromosome provides a powerful molecular tool for analyzing Y-STR haplotypes and determining their haplogroups which lead to the ancient geographic origins of individuals. For this study, the Jats and 38 other ethnic groups in the Indian subcontinent were analyzed, and their haplogroups were compared. Using genetic markers and available descriptions of haplogroups from the Y-DNA phylogenetic tree, the geographic origins and migratory paths of their ancestors were traced.

The study demonstrated that based on their genetic makeup, the Jats belonged to at least nine specific haplogroups, with nine different lines of ancestry and geographic origins. About 90% of the Jats in our sample belonged to only four different lines of ancestry and geographic origins:

1. Haplogroup L (36.8%)- The origins of this haplogroup can be traced to the rugged and mountainous Pamir Knot region in Tajikistan.

2. Haplogroup R (28.5%): From somewhere in Central Asia, some descendants of the man carrying the M207 mutation on the Y chromosome headed south to arrive in India about 10,000 years ago (Wells, 2007). This is one of the largest haplogroups in India and Pakistan. Of its key subclades, R2 is observed especially in India and central Asia.

3. Haplogroup Q (15.6%): With its origins in central Asia, descendants of this group are linked to the Huns, Mongols, and Turkic people. In Europe it is found in southern Sweden, among Ashkenazi Jews, and in central and Eastern Europe such as, the Rhône-Alpes region of France, southern Sicily, southern Croatia, northern Serbia, parts of Poland and Ukraine.

4. Haplogroup J (9.6%): The ancestor of this haplogroup was born in the Middle East area known as the Fertile Crescent, comprising Israel, the West Bank, Jordon, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. Middle Eastern traders brought this genetic marker to the Indian subcontinent (Kerchner, 2013).

5.-9. Haplogroups E, G, H, I, T (9.5%): The ancestors of the remaining five haplogroups E, G, H, I, and T can be traced to different parts of Africa, Middle East, South Central Asia, and Europe (ISOGG, 2016).

Therefore, attributing the origins of this entire ethnic group to loosely defined ancient populations such as, Indo-Aryans or Indo-Scythians represents very broad generalities and cannot be supported. The study also revealed that even with their different languages, religions, nationalities, customs, cuisines, and physical differences, the Jats shared their haplogroups with several other ethnic groups of the Indian subcontinent, and had the same common ancestors and geographic origins in the distant past. Based on recent developments in DNA science, this study provided new insights into the ancient geographic origins of this major ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. A larger dataset, particularly with more representation of Muslim Jats, is likely to reveal some additional haplogroups and geographical origins for this ethnic group.

"NE Euro" fractions in DNA samples of Jats

Northeastern Europe

In August 2013, the geneticist Razib Khan wrote in an article for the Discover Magazine:

"Finally let's move to North India, and the zone stretching between Punjab in the Northwest and Bihar in the East. Though in much of this region Brahmins have higher "NE Euro" fractions, this relationship seems to breakdown as you go northwest. The Jatt community in particular seems to have the highest in the subcontinent. There are inchoate theories for the origins of the Jatts in Central Asia. I had dismissed them, but am thinking now they need a second look. The reasoning is simple. The Jatts of the eastern Punjab have a higher fraction of "NE Euro" than populations to their northwest (Pathans, Kalash, etc.), and Brahmin groups (e.g., Pandits) in their area who are theoretically higher in caste status. This violation of these two trends implies something not easily explained by straightforward social and geographic processes. The connection between ancestry and caste status also seems to break down somewhat in the Northwest, as there is a wide variation in ancestral components."

मध्य एशिया

चीन के पश्चिम, ईरान तथा अफगानिस्तान के उत्तरपूर्व, तिब्बत के उत्तर और एशियाई रूस के दक्षिण में जो विशाल खण्ड है, उसे ही स्थूल रूप से मध्य एशिया कहा जाता है। इसे तुर्किस्तान भी कहते हैं। राजनैतिक दृष्टि से वर्तमान समय में यह दो भागों में विभक्त है - 1. चीनी तुर्किस्तान 2. रूसी तुर्किस्तान।

चीन के जनवादी गणतन्त्र राज्य के अन्तर्गत चीनी तुर्किस्तान है जिसे सिंगकियांग कहते हैं। इसे पूर्वी मध्य एशिया भी कहा जाता है।

1. रूसी तुर्किस्तान जो रूस की समाजवादी सोवियत रिपब्लिक के अन्तर्गत है, इसे पश्चिमी मध्य एशिया भी कहा जाता है। प्राकृतिक दृष्टि से पश्चिमी मध्य एशिया के दो भाग हैं, दक्षिणापथ और उत्तरापथ। सिर दरिया और अरल सागर के दक्षिण में पश्चिमी मध्य एशिया का जो भाग है उसे दक्षिणापथ कह सकते हैं। इस भाग में तुर्कमान रिपब्लिक, उजबेक रिपब्लिक, ताजिक रिपब्लिक और किरगिज रिपब्लिक स्थित हैं। उत्तरापथ में कज्ज़ाख रिपब्लिक है जो कि अरल सागर के उत्तर में स्थित है।

मध्य एशिया के इस विशाल भूखण्ड का बड़ा भाग मरुभूमि के रूप में है, यद्यपि सीता (तारिम) नदी, सिर दरिया, अमू दरिया आदि अनेक नदियां इसमें विद्यमान हैं। पामीर पठार, कराकुरम, तिएनशान, कनलुन, उल्लाई आदि अनेक पर्वतमालायें भी इसमें स्थित हैं।

सीथिया तथा मध्य एशिया में महाभारतकाल में जाटवंश

दलीप सिंह अहलावत लिखते हैं:

शक, बर्बर, शिवि, पह्लव, चोल, कम्बोज, वाह्लीक, पाण्ड्य, ऋषिक, तुषार, कुण्डू, नागवंश, कालखण्डे, कंग, दरद आदि (महाभारत, भीष्मपर्व, सभापर्व, आदिपर्व, वनपर्व, उद्योगपर्व)। इन सब जाट गोत्रों के वहां पर राज्य स्थापित थे। (तृतीय अध्याय में इन गोत्रों के प्रकरण को देखो)।

इनके अतिरिक्त - सिहाग, हेर, भुल्लर, दहिया लोगों के निकट सिर दरिया के पूर्व में थे तथा तुर्किस्तान व ईरान में भी थे। मौर्य-मौर जाटों का राज्य खोतन व तुर्किस्तान के क्षेत्रों पर था तथा यूनान, यूरोप व इंग्लैंड में भी इनका निवास था।

नव-नौवर जाटों ने महाभारत युद्ध के बाद खोतन प्रदेश पर शासन किया।

शिवि - इन लोगों का राज्य पेशावर के उत्तर में उद्यान नामक प्रदेश पर था।

यौधेय - इन लोगों का एक दल भारतवर्ष से हिमालय को पार करके अमू दरिया को पार करता हुआ कैस्पियन सागर तक पहुंच गया। वहां पर ये लोग ढे व दहाये कहे गये।

दहिया - ये लोग महाभारत युद्ध के बाद ईरान, कैस्पियन सागर तक पहुंच गये थे। इन क्षेत्रों पर इन लोगों का शासन रहा है।

जाखड़ - ये लोग मध्य एशिया के बल्ख क्षेत्र में आबाद थे।

पूनिया - इन लोगों का स्वतन्त्र राज्य काला सागर के निकट लघु एशिया में था। ये लोग अमू दरिया के निकट क्षेत्र में भी रहे हैं। पूनिया व तोखर जाट छठी शताब्दी ई० पू० यूरोप में भी थे।

गौरवंशज जाट - इन लोगों का राज्य मध्य एशिया में गौरूया नामक प्रदेश पर था।

नागवंशज जाट - मध्य एशिया में शकवंशज जाटों के साथ एक न्यूरिअन जाति रहती थी, जिस पर नाग जाटों ने आक्रमण किया था।

कलकल - इन लोगों का राज्य मध्य एशिया के ‘वाकाटक’ प्रदेश पर रहा था। (अधिक जानकारी के लिये, तृतीय अध्याय में इन गोत्रों के प्रकरण में देखो)।

इनके अतिरिक्त “सीथिया और मध्य एशिया” में जिन जाट गोत्रों के निवास, शक्ति तथा शासन थे, वे बी० एस० दहिया द्वारा लिखित पुस्तक (जाट्स दी ऐनशन्ट् रूलर्ज के आधार पर निम्नलिखित हैं -

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जाट वीरों का इतिहास: दलीप सिंह अहलावत, पृष्ठान्त-341

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1. कुरु-कौरव 2. तोमर-तंवर 3. तुर 4. तातरान 5. मान 6. वेन 7. ओझलान 8. कश्यप 9. कसवां 10. कुशान 11. पहलवी 12. सांधराण 13. औधराण 14. हंस 15. डबास 16. चहल 17. सिकरवार 18. छीना 19. गिल 20. गूजर 21. जोहल 22. छिकारा 23. लाम्बा 24. घणगस 25. नोहवार 26. पुरु-पौरव 27. अहलावत 28. कटारिया 29. खटकर 30. राठी 31. सिन्धु 32. चालूक्य 33. गुलिया 34. कुंतल-खूँटेल 35. खासा 36. तांगल 37. उतार 38. स्यौराण-सौराण 39. मिर्धा-मिरदा 40. वाराइस-वराइच 41. शिशि 42. डागर।

ऊपर लिखित इन सब जाट गोत्रों का वर्णन इसी प्रकरण में उचित स्थान पर किया जायेगा।

जिस तरह से भारतवर्ष में गंगा व यमुना नदियों के मैदानों से लेकर सिन्ध नदी तथा उसकी पांच सहायक नदियों के मध्य भूभाग तक पूरे उत्तरी भारत की विशाल एवं उपजाऊ भूमि पर जाटों की घनी संख्या तथा शासन, आदिसृष्टि से रहता आया है, ठीक इसी तरह से सीथिया व मध्य एशिया में भी डेन्यूब नदी तथा नीस्टर नदी के मध्य के उपजाऊ भूभाग से लेकर पूर्व में तारिम नदी की घाटी तक इस विशाल भूखण्ड पर जाटों की घनी आबादी तथा शासन आदिसृष्टि से रहता आया है।

प्राचीनकाल से आज काल तक ऐसा कोई समय नहीं है कि देश-विदेशों में विशेषकर उत्तरी भारत एवं सीथिया तथा मध्य एशिया व मध्य-पूर्व में जाटों का निवास, शक्ति तथा शासन न रहा हो। इसके विषय में तृतीय अध्याय, वैदिक, रामायण तथा महाभारतकाल के प्रकरण में और इसी अध्याय के पिछले पृष्ठों पर काफी प्रकाश डाला गया है।

अब महाभारतकाल के पश्चात् सीथिया तथा मध्य एशिया में जाटों के निवास तथा राज्य के विषय में कुछ उदाहरण लिखे जाते हैं।

‘रेसिज ऑफ मेनकाइण्ड’ पुस्तक, लेखक कलविन केफर्ट के अनुसार -

“आर्यशाखायें जिनको नॉरडिक कहा गया, ने 7700 ई० पू० में तिएनशान पर्वतमाला को पार करके उत्तरी क्षेत्र के देशों में अपना निवास स्थान बना लिया। बाद में ज्ञात हुआ कि ये लोग गेटी (जाट) हैं जो कि वहां हजारों वर्ष तक रहे। इनके देश की सीमा, पश्चिमी तुर्किस्तान के पर्वतीय क्षेत्र, काशगर तक, तिएनशान पर्वतमाला से बाल्खस झील तक, रूस के किर्गीज़ प्रान्त (जो कि पश्चिमी तुर्किस्तान के दक्षिणी भाग में है) जिसमें सात नदियां हैं, सिर दरिया का ऊपरी भाग, इस्सीक झील, चू नदी एवं इली नदी के बीच का क्षेत्र, ये सब शामिल थे। आर्य नस्ल की इस महान् नॉरडिक शाखा के पूर्वपुरुष जाट लोग ही थे (पृ० 228-229)।”

“लगभग 4300 ई० पू० में ये जाट लोग उत्तर की ओर बढ़कर पश्चिम में किर्गिज के मैदानों (रूस में , पश्चिमी तुर्किस्तान का उत्तर भाग) में और यूराल पर्वत तथा Caspian Sea|कैस्पियन सागर]] तक फैल गये। अन्त में ये लोग पांच भागों में अलग-अलग हो गये जिनके नाम ये हैं - 1. शिवि 2. घुमण 3. गेटा (जाट जिन्होंने अपना नाम जाट ही रहने दिया) 4. Massagetae (मस्सागेटे महान् जाट संघ) 5. शक।” ये सब जाट गोत्र हैं (पृ० 232)। आगे यही लेखक लिखता है कि शिवि लोग 2300 ई० पू० में अलग हो गये जबकि घुमण 1700 ई० पू० में और गेटे या जाट 1000 ई० पू० में अलग हुए। शक तथा महान् जाट संघ वहीं पर रहे, जब तक कि वे कुषाण,

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जाट वीरों का इतिहास: दलीप सिंह अहलावत, पृष्ठान्त-342

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तुखारी और श्वेत हूणों के नाम पर फैले।” ये सब जाट थे जैसा कि पिछले पृष्ठों में लिख दिया है।

कलविन केफर्ट ने आगे लिखा है कि “इन्हीं जाटों का एक संघ मांडा कहलाया (पृ० 209)। जाटों ने अपने राजा तानौसिस के नेतृत्व में लगभग 1323-1290 ईस्वी पूर्व मिश्रियों को पराजित किया और वहां से वापिस आकर पश्चिमी एशिया का बहुत सा क्षेत्र जीत लिया। इस क्षेत्र को अपने मित्र मांडा लोगों के राजा सोर्नुस के अधीन करके अपना सहायक बना लिया।” (पृ० 275)

2200 वर्ष ई० पू० में मौर्य-मौर जाटों ने लेस्सरज़ब क्षेत्र तथा अरारट पर्वत (तुर्की में) से मिश्र के राजवंश के ग्यारहवें राजा पर आक्रमण किया। इन मौर जाटों की भूमि, “ज्याती या जाटों की भूमि” कहलाती थी। मौर्य जाटों का राज्य तुर्किस्तान के अन्य क्षेत्रों, खोतन प्रदेश तथा कश्मीर में भी था। (जाट्स दी ऐनशन्ट रूलर्ज लेखक बी० एस० दहिया, पृ० IX, 144, 160), Elliot and Downson. OP. cit. Vol. I)।

जब सेल्यूकस भारतवर्ष से अपने देश यूनान को वापिस गया तो अपने साथ पंजाब के जाटों को सेना में भर्ती करके ले गया। यूनान में इन जाट सैनिकों ने एक बस्ती बसाई जिसका नाम ‘मौर्या’ रखा और एक टापू का नाम ‘जटोती’ रखा। उस समय जटोती पर मौर्य जाट सेना ने शासन किया (देखो, तृतीय अध्याय, मौर्य-मोर प्रकरण)।

पी० साइकेस (P. Sykes) ने लिखा है कि 2600 ईस्वी पूर्व में जाटों का राज्य लेस्सरज़न के पूर्व में स्थापित था। इन लोगों ने सुमेर, असीरिया, बेबीलोनिया और इलम के राज्यों को अपने अधीन कर लिया था और इन सब राज्यों के राजाधिराज बन गये थे। 2500 ई० पू० में इन जाटों का सम्राट् त्रीकन था जिसका राज्य पश्चिमी एशिया पर था। (P. Sykes The History of Persia, Vol 1)

चीन तथा मध्य एशिया में भारतीय संस्कृति तथा धर्म के फैलाने में जाटों का योगदान

दलीप सिंह अहलावत ने लिखा है....“मध्य एशिया तथा चीन में भारतीय संस्कृति” नामक पुस्तक, लेखक सत्यकेतु विद्यालंकार के अनुसार -

1. चीन की एक प्राचीन अनुश्रुति के अनुसार अशोक (273 ई० पू० से 237 ई० पू०) के समय कुछ बौद्ध प्रचारक चीन गए थे और उनके द्वारा वहां बौद्धधर्म का प्रचार प्रारम्भ किया गया था (पृ० 15)। यह तृतीय अध्याय में लिख दिया गया है कि सम्राट् अशोक मौर्य-मौर वंशज जाट थे।

2. चीन के प्राचीन वृत्तान्तों के अनुसार हानवंश के चीनी सम्राट् मिंग-ती ने अपने दूत पश्चिम की ओर भेजे। वे दूत ऋषिकों (युइशियों) के राज्य में जा पहुंचे। ये लोग इस समय तक बौद्धधर्म को अपना चुके थे और वहां पर बहुत से भारतीय बौद्ध विद्वान् विद्यमान थे। मिंग-ती के निमन्त्रण पर वहां से 60 ई० पू० में धर्मरत्न और कश्यप मातंग नामक भारतीय भिक्षु चीन गये। ये दोनों भिक्षु ऋषिक गोत्र के थे। ये चीन की राजधानी सीङान्-फू (जो अब चीन के हूपे प्रान्त का मुख्य नगर है, में ठहरे, जहां पर उन्होंने श्वेताश्व नामक विहार की स्थापना की। वहां निवास करते हुए इन्होंने बौद्धधर्म का प्रचार किया तथा अनेक बौद्ध-ग्रन्थों का चीनी भाषा में अनुवाद किया (पृ० 15)।

3. युइशि (ऋषिक) प्रचारक लोकक्षेम नामक भिक्षु, अमू दरिया के क्षेत्र पर ऋषिकों के राज्य से, सन् 147 ई० में चीन गया। उसने लोयांग को केन्द्र बनाकर अनेक बौद्धग्रन्थों का चीनी भाषा में अनुवाद किया। सन् 147 से 188 ई० तक 41 वर्ष के लम्बे समय में इस भिक्षु ने चीन में बौद्धधर्म के प्रचार के लिए अत्यन्त सराहनीय कार्य किया। लोकक्षेम द्वारा अनूदित अनेक ग्रन्थ इस समय भी पाये जाते हैं।

लोकक्षेम का एक शिष्य चे-कियन था, जो अपने गुरु के समान ऋषिकवंशज जाट था। वह लोयांग से नानकिंग चला गया और उसने चीन की इस नगरी को केन्द्र बनाकर अपना कार्य शुरू किया। सन् 220 से 253 ईस्वी तक चे-कियन ने 100 से भी अधिक बौद्ध ग्रन्थों का चीनी भाषा में अनुवाद किया, जिसमें से 49 अब भी उपलब्ध हैं। दक्षिणी चीन में कार्य करने वाला यह सर्वप्रथम बौद्ध-भिक्षु था। (पृ० 163)।

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1. मध्य एशिया तथा चीन में भारतीय संस्कृति, पृ० 80-81, लेखक सत्यकेतु विद्यालंकार।

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4. चीन में धर्मप्रचार का कार्य करने वाले युइशि (ऋषिक) वंशज भिक्षुओं में धर्मरक्ष का विशेष महत्त्व है। इसका जन्म तीसरी शताब्दी के मध्य में एक ऋषिक परिवार में हुआ था जो कि तुङ्-ह्रांग में बसा हुआ था। उसने अपने भारतीय गुरु से शिक्षा ली तथा उसके साथ मध्य एशिया के अनेक बौद्ध विहारों की यात्रा की। इस प्रकार भ्रमण करते हुए धर्मरक्ष ने 36 भाषायें सीख लीं और बौद्धधर्म का गम्भीर ज्ञान प्राप्त कर लिया। सन् 284 से 313 ईस्वी तक वह चीन में रहा। वहां उसने 200 से भी अधिक संस्कृत ग्रन्थों का चीनी भाषा में अनुवाद किया, जिनमें से 90 अब तक भी उपलब्ध हैं। उसने चीन में अनुवादकों के एक संघ को भी गठित किया, जिसमें भारतीय, ऋषिक, चीनी आदि विद्वान् व भिक्षु एक साथ मिलकर कार्य करते थे। लोकक्षेम, चेकियन तथा धर्मरक्ष के समान ऋषिकवंशज अनेक भिक्षु चीन में बौद्ध धर्म के प्रचार के लिये गए थे। कुषाणवंशी राजा भी ऋषिकवंशज थे और भारत के सम्पर्क में आकर पूर्णतया भारतीय बन गये थे (पृ० 163-164)।

5. पार्थियन बौद्ध प्रचारक - प्राचीन भारतीय ग्रन्थों में पार्थिया को ‘पह्लव’ कहा गया है, और रामायण, महाभारत तथा पुराणों में शक, पह्लव, बर्बर नाम प्रायः साथ-साथ आते हैं जो कि जाटवंश हैं। (तृतीय अध्याय, शक पह्लव, बर्बर प्रकरण देखो)।

पार्थिया प्रदेश बैक्ट्रिया (बल्ख) के पश्चिम और कैस्पियन सागर के दक्षिण-पूर्व में स्थित था। इसकी स्थापना पह्लववंशज जाटों ने 248 ई० पू० में की थी, जिनके नेता असरक और तरिदात थे। इन्होंने ईरान को भी जीत लिया था। यहां के राजाओं तथा निवासियों ने बौद्धधर्म अपना लिया था। दूसरी सदी ईस्वी में पह्लव वंश का बौद्धभिक्षु चीन गया। चीनी साहित्य में उसका नाम न्गन-चे-काओ तथा संस्कृत नाम लोकोत्तम था। वह चीन में श्वेताश्व विहार में रहा, जहां इसने अनुवादकों के लिए एक पीठ की स्थापना की। इसने स्वयं 100 से भी अधिक बौद्ध ग्रन्थों का चीनी भाषा में अनुवाद किया, जिसमें से 55 इस समय भी उपलब्ध हैं। उस अनुवाद पीठ में बहुत से विद्वानों में से ‘न्गन हिउअन’ का नाम उल्लेखनीय है। वह भी पह्लव वंश का था और व्यापार के लिए लोयांग में बसा हुआ था (पृ० 53, 165)।

6. खोतन - इसकी स्थिति यारकन्द के पूर्व में है, जो प्राचीनकाल में तकला मकान मरुस्थल के दक्षिण के राज्यों में सबसे समृद्ध तथा शक्तिशाली था। खोतन को मौर्य-मौर जाटों ने आबाद किया था तथा वहां पर शासन किया था जिसका वर्णन अगले पृष्ठों पर किया जायेगा। खोतन बौद्ध धर्म का महत्त्वपूर्ण केन्द्र था। यहां से अनेक जाट बौद्ध-भिक्षु चीन गये और वहां पर बौद्ध-धर्म को फैलाया। समय-समय पर चीन के बौद्ध-भिक्षु, बौद्ध-धर्म के उच्च अध्ययन के लिए खोतन आते रहते थे। इनमें से प्रसिद्ध ‘चोउ-शे-हिंग’ नामक चीनी भिक्षु है, जो सन् 258 ईस्वी में खोतन गया था।

सन् 291 ईस्वी में मोक्षल नामक भिक्षु खोतन से चीन गया और वहां उसने पंचविंशतिसाहस्रिका पारमिता ग्रन्थ का चीनी भाषा में अनुवाद किया।

पांचवीं सदी के प्रारम्भ (401-433 ईस्वी) में न्गन-यांग नामक चीनी राजकुमार बौद्ध-ग्रन्थों के उच्च अध्ययन के प्रयोजन से खोतन गया था। (पृ० 168-169)।

7. कुची राज्य के प्रचारक - तकला मकान मरुस्थल के उत्तर में स्थित राज्यों में ‘कुची’ सबसे अधिक शक्तिशाली था। इसके निवासियों में भारतीयों की संख्या बहुत अधिक थी। तीसरी सदी के

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अन्त तक यह सारा प्रदेश बौद्ध-धर्म का अनुयायी हो चुका था। यहां से अनेक बौद्ध-भिक्षु चीन में गये। चीन में बौद्ध-धर्म का प्रचार करने वाले कुची के भिक्षुओं में कुमारजीव का स्थान सर्वोपरि है। उसके पिता का नाम कुमारायन था जो भारत के एक राजकुल में उत्पन्न हुआ था। वह भिक्षु होकर कुची पहुंचा। वहां के राजा ने उसकी विद्या तथा ज्ञान से प्रभावित होकर उसे गुरु के पद पर नियुक्त कर दिया। कुची के उस राजा की बहन जीवा उस पर मोहित हो गई और अन्त में दोनों का विवाह हो गया। इनकी दो सन्तानें हुईं, कुमारजीव और पुष्यदेव। कुमारजीव की माता जीवा भिक्षुणी हो गई और उसने कुमारजीव को कश्मीर लाकर वहां के राजा के भाई बन्धुदत्त बौद्ध आचार्य से बौद्ध-धर्म की ऊंची शिक्षा दिलाई। कश्मीर में विद्या ग्रहण करके कुमारजीव शैल देश (काशगर) आया। उसने वहां चारों वेदों, वेदांगों, दर्शन और ज्योतिष आदि का अध्ययन किया। उस समय शैल देश प्राचीन वैदिकधर्म का बहुत बड़ा केन्द्र था। 383 ईस्वी में कुमारजीव अपने देश कुची आ गया और वहां से वह 401 ईस्वी में चीन की राजधानी में पहुंचा। वहां उसने 10 वर्ष में 106 संस्कृत ग्रन्थों का चीनी भाषा में अनुवाद किया। उसके पाण्डित्य की कीर्ति सारे चीन में फैली हुई थी और उससे शिक्षा ग्रहण करने के लिए दूर-दूर से चीनी विद्यार्थी तथा भिक्षु उसकी सेवा में पहुंचा करते थे।

कुमारजीव ने अपने कार्य में सहायता के लिए बहुत से विद्वानों को भारत से भी चीन बुलाया। उसके अनुरोध से जो भारतीय विद्वान् चीन गये, उनमें विमलाक्ष, पुण्यत्रात, बुद्धयश, गौतम संघदेव, धर्मयश, गुणवर्मा, गुणभद्र और बौद्धवर्मा के नाम विशेष रूप से उल्लेखनीय हैं। चीन में जो बौद्ध-धर्म का प्रसार हुआ, उसमें ये सब कुमारजीव के सहयोगी थे (पृ० 166-68)।

इसी प्रकार तिब्बत में भी भारतीयों ने बौद्ध-धर्म फैलाया। मध्य एशिया, चीन, तिब्बत, मध्य-पूर्व, मंगोलिया आदि देशों में जाटों ने उपनिवेश स्थापित किए तथा वहां शासन किया। ये देश सांस्कृतिक दृष्टि से वृहत्तर भारत के अंग रहे हैं।

संस्कृति तथा धर्म के प्रकरण को लिखने का तात्पर्य यह है कि पाठक समझ जाएं कि जाट केवल युद्धवीर तथा योग्य शासक ही नहीं हैं बल्कि समय-समय पर उच्चकोटि के विद्वान् भी होते आये हैं जिन्होंने भारतीय संस्कृति तथा धर्म को देश-विदेशों में फैलाया।

History of Central Asia

The history of Central Asia has been determined primarily by the area's climate and geography of Asia. The aridity of the region makes agriculture difficult, and its distance from the sea cut it off from much trade. Thus, few major cities developed in the region. Nomadic horse peoples of the steppe dominated the area for millennia.

Relations between the steppe nomads and the settled people in and around Central Asia were marked by conflict. The nomadic lifestyle was well suited to warfare, and the steppe horse riders became some of the most militarily potent people in the world, due to the devastating techniques and ability of their horse archers. Periodically, tribal leaders or changing conditions would organize several tribes into a single military force. Many of these tribal coalitions included the Huns' invasion of Europe, Turkic migrations into Transoxiana, the Wu Hu attacks on History of China and most notably the Mongol conquest of much of Eurasia.

Prehistory

Recent genetic studies have concluded that humans arrived in the region 40,000 to 50,000 years ago, making the region one of the oldest known sites of human habitation. The archaeological evidence of population in this region is sparse, whereas evidence of human habitation in Africa and Australia prior to that of Central Asia is well-known. Some studies have also identified this region as the likeliest source of the populations who later inhabited Europe, Siberia, and North America. The region is also often considered to be the source of the root of the Indo-European languages.

As early as 4500 BCE, small communities had developed permanent settlements and began to engage in agricultural practices as well as herding. Around this time, some of these communities began the domestication of the horse. Initially, the horses were bred solely for their meat, as a source of food.

However, by 4000 BCE it is believed that they were used for transportation purposes; wheeled wagons began making an appearance during this time. Once the utility of the horse as a means of transportation became clear the horses (actually ponies) began being bred for strength, and by the 3rd millennium BCE they were strong enough to pull chariots.

By 2000 BCE, war chariots had spoked wheels, thus being made more manoeuverable, and dominated the battlefields. The growing use of the horse, combined with the failure, roughly around 2000 BCE, of the always precarious irrigation systems that had allowed for extensive agriculture in the region, gave rise and dominance of pastoral nomadism by 1000 BCE, a way of life that would dominate the region for the next several millennia.

Scattered nomadic groups maintained herds of sheep, goats, horses, and camels, and conducted annual migrations to find new pastures (a practice known as transhumance). The people lived in yurts (or gers) - tents made of hides and wood that could be disassembled and transported. Each group had several yurts, each accommodating about five people.

While the semi-arid plains were dominated by the nomads, small city-states and sedentary agrarian societies arose in the more humid areas of Central Asia. The Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex of the early 2nd millennium BCE was the first sedentary civilization of the region, practicing irrigation farming of wheat and barley and possibly a form of writing. Bactria-Margiana probably interacted with the contemporary Bronze Age nomads of the Andronovo culture, the originators of the spoke-wheeled chariot, who lived to their north in western Siberia, Russia, and parts of Kazakhstan, and survived as a culture until the 1st millennium BCE. These cultures, particularly Bactria-Margiana, have been posited as possible representatives of the hypothetical Aryan culture ancestral to the speakers of the Indo-Iranian languages (see Indo-Iranians), and possibly the Uralic and Altaic cultures as well.

The Silk Road and trade

Later the strongest of Sogdian city states of the Fergana Valley rose to prominence. After the 1st century BCE, these cities became home to the traders of the Silk Road and grew wealthy from this trade. The steppe nomads were dependent on these settled people for a wide array of goods that were impossible for transient populations to produce. The nomads traded for these when they could, but because they generally did not produce goods of interest to sedentary people, the popular alternative was to carry out raids.

A wide variety of people came to populate the steppes. Nomadic groups in Central Asia included the Huns and other Turkic peoples, the Tocharians, Persian people, Scythians and other Indo-Europeans, and a number of Mongol groups. Despite these ethnic and linguistic differences, the steppe lifestyle led to the adoption of very similar culture across the region.

Jats in Central Asia

According to B S Dhillon, The ancient European historical records and the archaeological findings support that the Central Asian people (Scythians, Sarmatians, and Alans) the forefathers of the modern Jats also Invaded Europe In ancient times. Before, we embark upon the historical accounts of the Alans or Alani, Sarmatians, and Scythians In Europe, let us define the meanings of the these three very words using the Canadian edition of the Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary :

Alans or Alani : These people are described as, "a barbarian people (Alani) of Persian origin (Western authors categorize all Scythians as Iranian people), living between the sea of Azov and the Caucasus (Central Asia). Driven by the Huns (Mongol People), they penetrated into the Roman Empire then Invaded Gaul (A.D. 406), where one group settled in the region of the Loire. A second group entered Spain and was wiped out by the Visigoths (some of the Goths are also said to be of the Central Asian Origin)". The same dictionary defines Gaul as two regions: Cisalpine (north Italy) and Transalpine (France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands).

Sarmatian : This Is described as, "a member of the nomadic Indo-European people (Cousins of the Scythians) who displaced the Scythians (third century B.C.) on the lower Don (river now in Russia). First the enemies and then the allies of Rome, they were displaced by the Goths (also partly Central Asian People) In third century A.D.

"Scythian : This Is described as, "a member of a nomadic Indo-European people who settled in Scythia before the seventh century B.C. and were displaced by the Sarmatians. They were specially noted in warfare for their mounted archers and In art for their rich gold ornaments. They spoke Iranian language (Central Asian)”. Scythia is also described in the very same dictionary on the same page as "an ancient region of South-East Europe and Asia".

Herodotus In the fifth century B.C., was the first historian to give detail accounts of Scythians occupying the area north of the Black Sea, modern Ukraine. As per Herodotus and other authors , , the Scythians of Asia were defeated by their powerful cousins Massagetae, as a result, they (Scythians) moved westward and attacked and subdued Cimmerians residing in the area north of the Black Sea. The Scythians' supremacy lasted in this area over 600 years until their brethren, the Samartians, uprooted them. During their rule Scythians occupied much of Persia and forced the Egyptian ruler to purchase peace on their terms. Scythians were tall people and spoke one of the Iranian group of languages . As per the findings in their graves, Scythian males were warriors and mounted archers. They carried short iron swords (daggers), and six-foot lances with large iron points . Scythians were mare-milkers and milk-drinkers as well as like their other brethren Alans, Sarmatians, Massagetae, and Sakas, they were also accomplished horse riders.

In Punjab Castes, Sir Denzil Ibbetson wrote:

" .... the original Rajput and the original Jat entered India at different times in its history. But if they do originally represent to separate waves of immigration, it is at least exceedingly probable, both from their almost identical physique and facial character and from the close communion which has always existed between them, that they belong to one and the same ethnic stock; and it is almost certain that the joint Jat Rajput stock contains not a few tribes of aboriginal descent, though it is probably in the main Aryo-Scythian, if Scythian be not Aryan."

According to Hukum Singh Panwar (Pauria) the theory of Indo-Scythian origin of Jats was under heavy fire with the advent of 20th century. Investigations in the field of philology, anthropology and history armed the critics like Trump, and Beames, Miller and Grierson, Risley and Russel. Elliot and Haddon, Havell and Nesfield, C.V. Vaidya and Vidyalankar, Qanungo and Thakur Deshraj, Y.P.Shastri and Ram Pande, etc to controvert the theory vehemently.

Hukum Singh Panwar (Pauria) further opines that all the Scythian people, who entered India in the century before Christ and White Huns, popularly known as Ephthalites, who invaded India in the 6th century AD could not have been and were not exterminated in toto. Some of them who acquired India as their (new) home, must have been assimilated in Indian society and may have added some foreign element to the Jats also. This does not mean that all the Jats as a whole may be declared to have originated from them. In fact, as the evidences show, the Jats were already there in India before the advent of these hordes, and reality is that India has been without any doubt and exaggeration, the officina gentium of the Jats since the very beginning of civilization. ,

Calvin Kephart, for the first time, declared that Scythian conveys only geographical sense and there was ethnically no Scythian race.,

I.Sara, a Canadian barrister and solicitor has pointed out that the recent excavations in the Ukraine and Crimea provide visible links of Jats and Scythians.

Ruling Jat clans in Central Asia

Cap. Dalip Singh Ahlawat has reported in an article published in Jat Samaj Patrika (Oct./Nov.1991) that Jats had ruled in Scythia and Central Asia. He has given a list of about 70 Jat gotras who have ruled over there.

Cap. Dalip Singh Ahlawat has mentioned in his book following Jat gotras who ruled over Scythia and Central Asia.

• Ahlawat,
• Baraich,
• Barbar,
• Ven,
• Bhadra (?),
• Bhullar,
• Chahal,
• Chhikara,
• China,
• Chol,
• Dabas,
• Dagar,
• Dahiya,
• Darad,
• Ghangas,
• Gill,
• Gaur,
• Gujar,
• Gulia,
• Hans,
• Her,
• Jakhar,
• Johal,
• Kalkal,
• Kalkhande,
• Kamboj,
• Kang,
• Kashyap,
• Kaswan,
• Kataria,
• Khasa,
• Khatkar,
• Kundu,
• Kuntal-Khoontal,
• Kushan,
• Kuru-Kaurav,
• Lamba,
• Maan,
• Maurya-Maur,
• Mirdha-Mirda,
• Naga,
• Nagi(ਨਾਗੀ ),
• Nagavanshi,
• Nav-Nauvar,
• Nohwar,
• Odhran,
• Ojhlan,
• Pahalavi,
• Palhav,
• Pandya,
• Punia,
• Puru-Paurava,
• Rathi,
• Rishik,
• Saka,
• Sandharan,
• Sheoran,
• Shishi,
• Shivi,
• Sihag,
• Sikarwar,
• Sindhu,
• Solanki,
• Tangal,
• Tatran,
• Tomar-Tanwar,
• Tur,
• Tushar,
• Utar,
• Valhik,
• Yaudheya,

Aral Sea

Map of area around the Aral Sea

The Aral Sea (Kazakh: Арал Теңізі, Aral Tengizi, Uzbek: Orol dengizi, Russian: Аральскοе мοре), Tajik/Persian "Daryocha-i Khorazm" (Lake Khwarazm) (Khor, Khoja Jat clans) is a landlocked endorheic basin in Central Asia; it lies between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan (Karkala Jat clan), an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south. The name roughly translates as "Sea of Islands", referring to more than 1,500 islands of one hectare or more that dotted its waters.

Lake Balqash

Lake Balqash (Kazakh: Балқаш Көлі Balķaš Kôli, also Balkhash (Bal, Balhara Jat clans) from the Russian Озеро Балхаш Ozero Balhaš) is a lake in southeastern Kazakhstan, the second largest in Central Asia after the Aral Sea. It is a closed basin that is part of the endorheic basin that includes the Caspian and Aral seas.

From as early as 103 BC up until the 8th century, the Balkhash polity was known to the Chinese as Pu-Ku/Bu-Ku. From the 8th century the land to the south of the lake, between it and the Tian Shan mountains, was known as "Seven Rivers" (Jetisu in Turkic, Semirechye in Russian). It was a land where the nomadic Turks and Mongols of the steppe mingled cultures with the settled peoples of Central Asia. During China's Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), the lake formed the northwestern-most boundary of the Empire. In 1864, the lake and its neighbouring area was ceded to Imperial Russia through the Sino-Russian Treaty. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the lake became part of Kazakhstan.

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea (Kashyap, Kaswan Jat clans), is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. It has a surface area of 371,000 square kilometers (143,244 sq mi) and a volume of 78,200 cubic kilometers (18,761 cu mi). It is an endorheic body of water (has no outflows), and lies between the southern areas of the Russian Federation and northern Iran. It has a maximum depth of about 1025 meters (3,363 ft). It is called a sea because when the Romans first arrived there, they tasted the water and found it to be salty. It has a salinity of approximately 1.2%, about a third the salinity of most seawater.

It is named after the ancient Caspians. According to Dr. Kephart the Caspian Sea derives its name from the one group of Dahae (Dahiya Jats) known as Caspi. According to B S Dhillon, The name of this Central Asian sea, Caspian Sea, is derived from a Massagetae ("great" Getae or Jats) tribe called Caspii that lived on its western shores. According to General Sir Sykes , once this sea was also called sea of Gillan. The Gill clan, is probably the largest among the Jat Sikhs. In Punjabi, the word "Gillan" is the plural form of the word "Gill" "Gillan de Munde" means "Boys of the Gills".

Discoveries in the Huto cave near the town of Behshahr, Mazandaran south of the Caspian in Iran, suggest human habitation of the area as early as 75,000 years ago.[2]

In classical antiquity among Greeks and Persians it was called the Hyrcanian Ocean. In Persian antiquity, as well as in modern Iran, it is known as the Khazar Sea (Persian خزر) or Mazandaran (Persian مازندران) Lake. In Turkic speaking countries it is known as the Khazar Sea. Old Russian sources call it the Khvalyn (Khvalynian) Sea after the Khvalis (Khyalia Jat clan), inhabitants of Khwarezmia. Ancient Arabic sources refer to Bahr-e-Qazvin — the Caspian/Qazvin Sea.

The word Caspian is derived from the name of the Caspi (Persian کاسی), an ancient people that lived to the west of the sea in Transcaucasia. Strabo wrote that "to the country of the Albanians belongs also the territory called Caspiane, which was named after the Caspian tribe (Kaswan, Kashyap Jat clans), as was also the sea; but the tribe has now disappeared". Moreover, the Caspian Gate, which is the name of a region in Tehran province of Iran, is another possible piece of evidence that they migrated to the south of the sea.

Hyrcania (Virk Jat clan), was an ancient kingdom located in the territories of present day Golestan (Gulia Jat clan), Mazandaran, Gilan (Gill Jat clan) and part of Turkmenistan, lands south of the Caspian Sea. The name "Hyrcania" is the name attested in Greek historiographic accounts. This Greek name is a calque of Old Persian Verkâna, as it is recorded in Darius the Great's Behistun Inscription, as well as in other inscriptions in Old Persian cuneiform. Verkā means "wolf" in Old Persian (New Persian gorg) and consequently, "Hyrcania" means the "Land of the Wolves".

For the Greeks, the Caspian Sea was the "Hyrcanian Sea". In medieval times, the same body of water was the "Mazandaran Sea".

Virk is one of the most important Jat clan whici is associated with "Hyrcania". It is mentioned by Panini and V.S. Agrawal has identified Virk with the Jats. The same identification has been mentioned by Buddha Prakash. Mahabhasya mentions Vrika and its derivative Varkenya, the Varkan of the Persians, and Hyrcan of the Greeks. The Caspian sea was once called the Sea of Vrkans (Hyrcanian). The identification of Hyrcan with Varkan has also been mentioned by Rawlinson in his History of Herodotus, he mentions that even in the thirteenth century, their country in Central Asian was mentioned as Urkanich in Yakut. According to Herodotus they fought in the battle of Thermopylae under their leader named Megapanus, who was afterwards Satrap of Babylonia.

Atil (Antil Jat clan), also spelled Itil (literally meaning "Big River"), was the capital of Khazaria from the middle of the 8th century until the end of the 10th century. The word is also a Turkic name for the Volga River. Atil was located along the Volga delta at the northwestern corner of the Caspian Sea.

Bulla Island (Kharra Zira, Azeri: Bulla adası (Xərə Zirə)) (Bulla/Bola, Kharra Jat clans) is the largest island in the Caspian Sea within the Absheron Peninsula region (area: 3,5 km², maximum length: 3,4 km, width: 2,6 km).

Aktau (Kazakh: Ақтау, Aqtau; Russian: Актау, Aktau), until 1992 Shevchenko (Russian: Шевченко) is a city in Kazakhstan's Mangyshlak Peninsula and country's only seaport on the Caspian Sea. It is the capital of Mangystau Province in the western Kazakhstan. Aktau (Aka Jat clan) literally means "white mountain" in Kazakh, so named after the cliffs overlooking the sea.

The territory of Aktau was once resided by ancient tribes of Scythians. Current archeological finds are the demonstrations of old settlements and utensils. Astara (Persian: آستارا) is a city in the Iranian province of Gilan (Gill Jat clan). It lies on the border with Azerbaijan Republic and on the Caspian Sea. The city's name is derived from the Persian word آهسته‌رو (Aste-ro or Aheste-ro), meaning "the place where the travel gets slower"

Qazvin (Persian: قزوین, also spelled as Ghazvin) is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin (Kaswan Jat clan) in Iran. Qazvin (historically also rendered as Kazvin, Kasvin (Kaswan Jat clan), Casbeen, and Casbin in the West) is a city in Iran, some 165 km northwest of Tehran, in Qazvin Province. Archaeological findings in the Qazvin plain reveal urban agricultural settlements for at least nine millennia. The name “Qazvin” or “Kasbin” is derived from Cas (Kasya Jat clan), an ancient tribe which lived south of the Caspian Sea a thousand years ago. The Caspian Sea itself in fact derives its name from the same origin. Qazvin geographically connects Tehran, Isfahan, and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian seacoast and Asia Minor, hence its strategic location throughout the ages.

Khwarezm (Khoja Jat clan) was a series of states centered on the Amu Darya river delta of the former Aral Sea, in Greater Iran (now modern Uzbekistan), extending across the Ust-Urt plateau and possibly as far west as the eastern shores of the northern Caspian Sea.

To the south it bordered Khorasan (Khor jat clan), to the north the kingdom of Alans (Ahlawat Jat clan), to the southeast Kangju (Kang Jat clan) and Sogdian (Sogaria Jat clan) Transoxiana, and on the northeast with the Huns of Transoxiana. Its capitals were Old Urgench (Persian: Kuhna Gurganj) and, from the 17th century on, Khiva, when Khwarezm became known as the Khanate of Khiva. C.E. Bosworth however, believes the Persian name to be made up of (خور) meaning "the sun" and (زم) meaning "Earth", designating "the land from which the sun rises". More correctly, however, the Iranic compound stands for "lowland" from khwar/khar, "low" and zam/zem, "earth, land.". Khwarezm is indeed the lowest region in Central Asia (except for the Caspian Sea to the far west), located on the delta of the Amu Darya on the southern shores of the Aral Sea. Various versions of khwar/khar/khor/hor (Khare, Khor Jat clans) are commonly used also in the Persian Gulf to stand for tidal flats, marshland, or tidal bays (e.g., Khor Musa, Khor Abdallah, Hor al-Azim, Hor al-Himar, etc.)

Kangju (Kang Jat clan) (Chinese: 康居) was an ancient kingdom, located about 1,000 kilometers northwest of Dayuan (Dahiya Jat clan) (Ferghana) (Fagania Jat clan) and corresponding to the area of Sogdiana. It was mentioned by the Chinese traveller and diplomat Zhang Qian who visited directly the area c. 128 BCE:

"Kangju (Kang Jat clan) is situated some 2,000 li [832 kilometers] northwest of Dayuan. Its people are nomads and resemble the Yuezhi in their customs. They have 80,000 or 90,000 skilled archer fighters. The country is small, and borders Dayuan. It acknowledges sovereignty to the Yuezhi people in the South and the Xiongnu in the East."

Kangju was later named Kang (康国) during the Sui and Tang (Tang Jat clan) dynasties.

The Dayuan or Ta-Yuan (Chinese: 大宛; pinyin: Dàyuān; Wade-Giles: Ta-Yuan, lit. “Great Yuan”) were a people of Ferghana in Central Asia, described in the Chinese historical works of Records of the Grand Historian and the Book of Han, which follow the travels of Chinese explorer Zhang Qian in 130 BCE and the numerous embassies that followed him into Central Asia thereafter. The country of Dayuan (Dahiya Jat clan) is generally accepted as relating to the Ferghana Valley.

The Fergana Valley or Farghana Valley (Uzbek: Farg‘ona vodiysi, Kyrgyz: Фергана өрөөнү, Tajik: водии Фaрғонa, Russian: Ферганская долина, Persian: دشت فرغانه) is a region in Central Asia spreading across eastern Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The most important part of the province is a rich and fertile valley, in an altitude of 1200 to 1500 ft (400 to 500 m), opening towards the southwest. The valley owes its fertility to two rivers, the Naryn (Nehra Jat clan) and the Kara Darya (Kharra Jat clan), which unite in the valley, near Namangan, to form the Syr Darya.

Syr Darya or Jaxartes River

Syr Darya (Kazakh:Сырдария; Tajik:Сирдарё; Uzbek:Sirdaryo; Persian:سيردريا}}, also transliterated Syrdarya or Sirdaryo) is a river in Central Asia, sometimes known as the Jaxartes or Yaxartes, (Jakhar Jat clan), from its Ancient Greek name ὁ Ιαξάρτης. The Greek name is derived from Old Persian, Yakhsha Arta ("Great Pearly"), a reference to the color of the river's water. In medieval Islamic writings, the river is uniformly know as Sayhoun (سيحون) - after one of the four rivers of Paradise. (Amu Darya was likewise known as Jayhoun, the name of another one of the four).

The name, which comes from Persian and has long been used in the East, is a relatively recent one in western writings; prior to the early 20th century, the river was known by various versions of its ancient Greek name. It marked the northernmost limit of Alexander of Macedon's conquests. Greek historians have claimed that here in 329 BC he founded the city Alexandria Eschate (literally, "Alexandria the Furthest") as a permanent garrison. The city is now known as Khujand (Khoja Jat clan). In reality, he had just renamed (and possibly, expanded) the city of Cyropolis founded by king Cyrus the Great of Persia, more than two centuries earlier.

The river rises in two headstreams in the Tian Shan Mountains (ancient Mount Imeon) in Kyrgyzstan and eastern Uzbekistan -- the Naryn River (Nehra Jat clan) and the Kara Darya River (Kharra Jat clan)-- and flows for some 2,212 km (1,380 miles) west and north-west Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan to the remains of the Aral Sea. The Syr Darya drains an area of over 800,000 square kilometres, but no more than 200,000 square kilometres actually contribute water to the river. Its annual flow is a very modest 28 cubic kilometres (23 million acre feet) per year - half that of its sister river, the Amu Darya.

Along its course, the Syr Darya irrigates the most fertile cotton-growing region in the whole of Central Asia, together with the towns of Kokand (Kok, Kookana Jat clans), Khujand (Khoja Jat clan), Kyzylorda and Turkestan.

An extensive system of canals, many built in the 18th century by the Uzbek Khanate of Kokand, spans the regions the river flows through. Massive expansion of irrigation canals during the Soviet Union period, to irrigate cotton fields, wrought ecological carnage to the area, with the river drying up long before reaching the Aral Sea which, as a result, has shrunk to a small remnant of its former size. With millions of people now settled in these cotton areas (and highly repressive post-Soviet regimes in power in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan), it is not clear how the situation can be rectified.

Amu Darya

The Amu Darya (Amia Jat clan) - Amudarya (Tajik:Омударё or дарёи Ому - Omudaryo or daryoi Omu; Persian:آمودریا}} - Âmudaryâ; Uzbek:Amudaryo}}, with darya (Middle Persian|Pahlavi) meaning sea or a very large river), is the longest river in Central Asia.

Amu is said to have come from the city of Āmul (Amla Jat clan), now known as Türkmenabat (Tur Jat clan). It is formed by the junction of the Vakhsh River and Panj River . Many local people refer to the river as Jayhoun (جيحون) which was thought to be a derivative of Gihon, the biblical name for one of the four rivers of the Garden of Eden or paradise. The river is also known by this name to most of the medieval Islamic writers.

The river is navigable for over 1450 km (800 miles). Its total length is 2400 km (1500 miles) and its drainage basin totals 534.739 km² in area, providing a mean discharge of around 55 cubic kilometres of water per year, all of which comes from the high mountains in the south where annual precipitation can be over 1000 mm. Even before large-scale irrigation began, high summer evaporation meant that not all of this discharge reached the Aral Sea - though there is some evidence the large Pamir glaciers provided enough meltwater for the Aral to overflow during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries A.D.

In classical antiquity, the river was known as the Oxus in Greek language --a clear derivative of Vakhsh; the name of the largest tributary of the Amu. It was known as Jayhun or Gihun in ancient Arabic sources. Jayhun was likely influenced by Dgihun, the traditional name given to it by the people who inhabited its surrounding region.

In Vayu Purana and Matsya Purana, the Oxus is mentioned as the river Chakshu, flowing through the countries of Tusharas (Takhar Jat clan) (Rishikas?), Lampakas (Lamba Jat clan, Pahlavas (Pahlawat, Paradas (Parauda Jat clan) and Shakas etc.

One source of the Amu Darya is the Pamir River, which emerges from Lake Zorkul/Victoria in the Pamir Mountains (ancient Mount Imeon), flowing east to Ishtragh, where it turns north and then east north-west through the Hindu Kush as the Panj River, forming the border of Afghanistan and Tajikistan where it passes the Tajik-Afghan Friendship Bridge, and subsequently the border of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan for about 200 km, passing Termez and the Afghanistan-Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge. It follows the border of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan for another 100 km before it flows into Turkmenistan at Kerki. As Amudarya, it flows across Turkmenistan south to north, passing Turkmenabat, and forms the border of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan from Khalkabad (Kalkal Jat clan). It is then split into many waterways that used to form the river delta joining the Aral Sea, passing Urgench (Ark Jat clan), Dashoguz (Dasharna Jat clan) and other cities, but it does not reach what is left of the sea anymore and is lost in the desert.

Another claimed source of the Amu Darya is an ice cave at the end of the Waghjir Valley, located in the Wakhan Corridor, in the Pamir Mountains, on the border with Pakistan. A glacier turns into the Wakhan river and joins the Pamir River about 50 km downstream.

Use of water from the Amu Darya for irrigation has been a major contributing factor in the shrinking of the Aral Sea since the late 1950s.

Historical records state that in different periods the river flowed into the Aral Sea (from the south), the Caspian Sea (from the east) or both, similar to the Syr Darya (Jaxartes, in Ancient Greek).

Naryn River

The Naryn River (Nehra Jats), (Russian: Нарын) rises in the Tien Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia, flowing west through the Fergana Valley into Uzbekistan. Here it confluences with the Kara Darya (Kharra Jats) River (at location 40.9° N 71.75° and 40.9° N 71.75° E to form the Syr Darya. It is 807 km long and has an annual flow of 13.7 cubic km. The river contains many reservoirs which are important in the generation of hydro-electricity. The largest of these is the Toktogul (Tokas Jat clan) Reservoir containing 19.9 cubic kilometers of water.

Kara Darya

The Kara Darya (Kharra Jat clan) or Qaradaryo (Russian: Kapaдарья) is a river in Central Asia, flowing through the Fergana Valley, where it is used for irrigation. In the Fergana Valley its confluence with the Naryn River at 40.9° N 71.75° ECoordinates: 40.9° N 71.75° E) forms the Syr Darya. There are several dams on the river.

Hari River

The Hari River (Hari Jat clan) (Persian: Rudkhaneh-ye Hari Rud sometimes Harirud) is a river flowing 1100 kilometers from the mountains of central Afghanistan to Turkmenistan, where it disappears in the Kara-Kum desert. Rud (Rur Jat clan) means "river" in Persian.

The river originates in the Baba mountain range, part of the Hindu Kush system, and follows a relatively straight course to the west.

In western Afghanistan the Hari River flows to the south of Herat (Heer Jat clan). The valley around Herat was historically famous for its fertility and dense cultivation. The river meets the Jam River at the site of the Minaret of Jam, the second tallest ancient minaret in the world at 65 meters.

After Herat, the river turns northwest, then north, forming the northern part of the border between Afghanistan and Iran. Farther north it forms the south-eastern part of the border between Iran and Turkmenistan.

In Turkmenistan it is known as the Tejen or Tedzhen river (Teja Jat clan) and passes close to the city of Tedzhen. In Latin, it was known as the Arius.

Central Asia is an extremely large region of varied geography, including high passes and mountains (Tian Shan), vast deserts (Kara Kum, Kyzyl Kum, Taklamakan), and especially treeless, grassy steppes. The vast steppe areas of Central Asia are considered together with the steppes of Eastern Europe as a homogenous geographical zone known as the Euro-Asian Steppe.

Much of the land of Central Asia is too dry or too rugged for farming. The Gobi desert extends from the foot of the Pamirs, 77° east, to the Great Khingan (Da Hinggan) Mountains, 116°–118° east.

Tarim River, China

The Tarim River (Mandarin Dayan, 塔里木河) (Manda, Dahiya Jat clans) is the principal river of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China.

Formed from the union of the Aksu River and Yarkand River, it flows in an eastward direction around the Taklamakan Desert. The Muzat River is one of its tributaries.

The Chinese originally considered the Tarim to be the upper course of the Huanghe or Yellow River but, by the time of the Former Han Dynasty (125 BCE-23 CE), it was known that it drains into Lop Nur, a series of salt lakes. Its total length is 2,030 km (or 1,260 mi).

It is the longest inland river in China with an annual flow of 4-6 billion cubic meters. Its valley is home to nearly 10 million Chinese and other ethnic minorities including Uyghur people and Mongolians.

It is shallow, unsuitable for navigation, and because of its heavy silt load, forms a braided stream near its terminus at the Godzareh depression. It gives its name to the arid Tarim Basin.

It lies immediately north of the Tibetan Plateau. The river gives its name to the great Tarim Basin between the Tian Shan and Kunlun Mountains systems of Central Asia. It flows for most of its length through the Taklamakan Desert. The word 'tarim' is used to designate the bank of a river that flows into a lake or that is not able to be differentiated from the sands of a desert. This is a characteristic hydro graphic feature of many rivers that traverse the sands of the Taklamakan Desert. Another characteristic of the rivers of the Tarim Basin, including the Tarim River itself, is their active migration, that is, the shifting of their beds and banks.

The Tarim River is formed by the confluence of the Kashgar River and the Yarkand River in the far west; flowing northeastward from this confluence, the river is then joined some 370 km (230 mi) downstream by the Aksu and the Khotan (Khot Jat clan) rivers. Only the Aksu River flows for the entire year. It is the Tarim's most important tributary, supplying 70–80 percent of its water volume. The name Tarim is used below the Khotan River confluence. The total length of the Yarkand-Tarim river system is 2,030 km (1,261 mi), although, as the Tarim frequently changes its channel, the length tends to vary over the years. Prior to the completion of reservoirs and irrigation works in the mid-20th century, the Tarim's waters eventually reached Lop Nur (now a salt-encrusted lake bed). The river's waters now drain intermittently into Taitema Lake, which is located about 160 km (100 mi) southwest of Lop Nur. The area of the Tarim River Basin is about 557,000 square km (215,000 square mi). A considerable part of the Tarim's course is unformed, following no clearly defined riverbed. The water volume of the lower course of the river diminishes as a result of extensive evaporation and water-diversion schemes. The Tarim's low-water period is from October through April. The spring and summer high waters begin in May and continue through September as the snows melt on the distant Tian Shan and Kunlun mountains.

The Lower Tarim Basin is an arid plain composed of alluvium and lake sediments and is bordered by massive mountain ranges. The basin is the driest region of Eurasia. The predominant part of it is occupied by the Taklamakan Desert, whose sand area exceeds 270,000 square km (105,000 square mi). In addition, there are several comparatively small sand massifs with areas of from 780 to 4,400 square km (300 to 1,700 square mi). Sand dunes are the predominant relief.

Precipitation in the Tarim Basin is extremely scanty, and in some years it is nonexistent. In the Taklamakan Desert and in the Lop Nur basin, the average annual total of precipitation is about 12 mm (0.5 in). In the foothills and in several other areas of the river's basin, the precipitation amounts to from 50 to 100 mm (2 to 4 inches) a year. In the Tian Shan it is much wetter, precipitation often exceeding 20 inches (500 mm). Maximum temperatures in the Tarim Basin are about 40° C (104° F). The Tarim River freezes over every year from December through March.

Mount Imeon

Mount Imeon area with the ancient Bulgar lands according to Acad. Suren T. Eremian’s reconstruction of the original ‘Ashharatsuyts’ map of Central Asia.

Mount Imeon is an ancient name for the Central Asian complex of mountain ranges comprising the present Hindu Kush, Pamir and Tian Shan, extending from the Zagros Mountains in the southwest to the Altay Mountains in the northeast, and linked to the Kunlun Mountains (Kahlon Jat clan), Karakoram and Himalayas to the southeast.

Kingdom of Balhara was a state situated in the upper course of Oxus River (present Amu Darya), and the foothills and valleys of Hindu Kush and Pamir Mountains (ancient Mount Imeon). Established ca. seventh century BC.

The inhabitants of Balhara were called Bulh in the fifth-seventh century AD Armenian geographical atlas ‘Ashharatsuyts’. The atlas describes them as an old settled, artisan and trading nation rather than nomadic tribe, inhabiting the area centered around the ancient major city of Balh (Balkh) that comprised roughly present northern Afghanistan and most of Tajikistan. According to Bulgarian historian Georgi Bakalov, Bulhi was probably the Armenian name of the ancient Bulgars. Historiographers in late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages such as Agathias of Myrina, Theophylact Simocatta, and Michael the Syrian also identify Mount Imeon as an early homeland of the ancient Bulgars.

Tian Shan mountain

The Tian Shan (Chinese: 天山; Pinyin: Tiān Shān; "celestial mountains"), (Tiwana Jat clan) also commonly spelled Tien Shan, and known as Tangri Tagh (Tangar Jat clan) ("celestial mountains" or "mountains of the spirits") in the Uyghur language, is a mountain range located in Central Asia.

The now widely used name Tian Shan is a Chinese translation of the Uyghur name, which may in turn go back to a Xiongnu name, qilian (Gill Jat clan) (祁连) reported by the Shiji as the last place where they met and had their baby as in of the Yuezhi, which has been argued to refer to the Tian Shan rather than to the range 1,500 km further the east now known by this name. A nearby mountain range, the Tannu-Ola Mountains (Tuvan: Таңды-Уула Tangdy-Uula), (Tangad, Ola Jat clans) also bears a synonymous name ("heaven/celestial mountains" or "god/spirit mountains").

The range lies to the north and west of the Taklamakan Desert in the border region of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China. In the south it links up with the Pamir Mountains. It also extends into the Chinese province of Xinjiang and into the northern areas of Pakistan, where it joins the Hindu Kush.

In Western cartography, the eastern end of the Tian Shan is usually understood to be just west of Ürümqi, while the range to the east of that city is known as the Bogda Shan (Bogdawat Jat clan). However, in Chinese cartography, from the Han Dynasty to the present, the Tian Shan is also considered to include the Bogda Shan (Bogdawat Jat clan) and Barkol ranges (Barak Jat clan).

The Tian Shan are a part of the Himalayan orogenic belt which was formed by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates in the Cenozoic era. They are one of the longest mountain ranges in Central Asia, stretching some 2,800 km eastward from Tashkent (Takshak Jat clan) in Uzbekistan.

The highest peak in the Tian Shan is Jengish Chokusu which, at 7,439 metres (24,406 ft), is also the highest point in Kyrgyzstan and is on the border with China. The Tian Shan's second highest peak, Khan Tengri (Tangar Jat clan) (Lord of the Spirits), at 7,010 m, straddles the Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan border. Mountaineers class these as the two most northerly peaks over 7,000 m in the world.

The Torugart Pass (Trigarta Jat clan), 3,752 metres (12,310 ft) high, is located at the border between Kyrgyzstan and China's Xinjiang province. The forested Alatau (Ahlawat Jat clan) ranges, which are at a lower altitude in the northern part of the Tian Shan, are inhabited by pastoral tribes speaking Turkic languages. The major rivers rising in the Tian Shan are the Syr Darya, the Ili river and the Tarim River. The Aksu Canyon is a notable feature in the northwestern Tian Shan.

Tannu-Ola mountains

The Tannu-Ola mountains (Tuvan: Таңды-Уула Tangdy-Uula mountains) is a mountain range in southern Siberia, in the Tuva Republic of Russia. It extends in an east-west direction and curves along the Mongolian border. Its highest peaks reaches 2,930 m.

The northern slopes are part of the watershed of the Yenisei river, facing the western Sayan Mountains. The eastern end touches the large watershed of the Selenge in Mongolia. The foothills of the southern slopes cross into Mongolian territory. They form the northern limits of a large basin of steppes, which extends south to the Mongolian Altay Mountains and includes the salt lake Uvs Nuur. The western end is located near the northern Altay Mountains in the Russian Altai Republic.

Altay Mountains

The Altay Mountains (Russian: Алтай; Mongolian: Алтай, Altai) are a mountain range in central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the rivers Irtysh, Ob and Yenisei have their sources. Altay Mountains are known as the Turkic peoples' birthplace. The northwest end of the range is at 52° N and between 84° and 90° E (where it merges with the Sayan Mountains to the east), and extends southeast from there to about [show location on an interactive map] 45° N 99° E, where it gradually becomes lower and merges into the high plateau of the Gobi Desert.

The name, in Turkic Alytau or Altay, means Al (gold), tau (mount); in Mongolian Алтайн нуруу Altain nuruu, the "Mountains of Gold". The proposed Altaic language family takes its name from the mountain range.

Lake Urmia, Iran

Lake Urmia (Persian: دریاچه ارومیه ), Daryacheh-ye Orumiyeh, ancient name: Lake Matiene) is a salt lake in northwestern Iran near Turkey. The lake is between the provinces of East Azarbaijan and West Azarbaijan, west of the southern portion of the similarly shaped Caspian Sea. It is the largest lake inside Iran, with a surface area of approximately 5,200 km² (2,000 mile²). At its maximum extent, it is about 140 km (87 miles) long, and 55 km (34 miles) wide. Its deepest point is approximately 16 m (52 ft) deep.

The lake is named after the provincial capital city of Urmia (Urima Jat clan), originally a Syriac name meaning city of water. Lake Matianus (Matian Jat clan) (Latin: Lacus Matianus) is an old name for Lake Urmia. It was known as the Lower Nairi Sea Lake Van (Beniwal) Jat clan) was the Upper Nairi Sea (Nehra Jat clan) during the Nairi-Urartu (Nehra Jat clan) period and as the Lower Armenian Sea after the Armenians displaced the Nairi (Nehra Jat clan). It was the center of the Mannaean Kingdom (Mann Jat clan), the capital Hasanlu was on the west side of Lake Matianus (Matian Jat clan). Mannae was overrun by a people who were called Matiani (Matian Jat clan) or Matieni, an Iranic people variously identified as Scythian, Saka, Sarmatian, or Cimmerian. It is not clear whether the lake took its name from the people or the people from the lake, but the country came to be called Matiene or Matiane (Matian Jat clan).

Lake Urmia islands - Lake Urmia has 102 islands. Their names are as follows: (For a Persian transcription of this list see this link). Probable Jat gotra is given in the bracket.

Aram, Arash (Arh), Ardeshir, Arezu, Ashk (Asiagh), Ashksar (Asiagh), Ashku (Asiagh), Atash, Azar (Ajra), Azin (Ajlan), Bahram (Baram), Bard (Bardak), Bardak (Bardak), Bardin (Bardak), Bastvar (Bast), Bon (Beniwal), Bon-Ashk (Beniwal/Asiagh), Borz (Burzia), Borzin (Burzia), Borzu (Burzia), Chak-Tappeh (Chalka), Cheshmeh-kenar (Sheshma), Day (Dahiya), Espir, Espirak, Espiro, Garivak (Garwa), Giv, Golgun (Golyan , Gordeh (Godhe), Gorz (Gorjay, Gor), Iran-Nezhad, Jodarreh (Jodia), Jovin (Joon), Jowzar (Jhojhar ), Kabudan (Kudan), Kafchehnok, Kakayi-e Bala (Kekay), Kakayi-e Pain (Kekay), Kakayi-ye Miyaneh (Kekay), Kalsang (Kalasman ), Kam, Kaman (Kamana), Kameh (Kamedia), Kariveh (Karvir), Karkas (Karkala), Kaveh, Kenarak, Khersak (Kher + Saka), Kuchek-Tappeh, Magh, Mahdis, Mahvar (Mahawal), Markid, Mehr (Mehria), Mehran (Mehria),, Mehrdad (Mehria), Meshkin, Meydan (Manda), Miyaneh (Mann), Nadid, Nahan (Nain), Nahid (Nahar), Nahoft, Nakhoda, Navi (Nav), Naviyan (Nain), Omid, Panah (Pannu), Penhan, Pishva, Sahran (Saharan), Samani (Samanria), Sangan (Sangwan), Sangu (Sangwan), Sarijeh, Sepid (Sepat), Shabdiz, Shahi (Eslami) (Shahi), Shahin (Shahi), Shamshiran, Shurtappeh, Shush-Tappeh, Siyah (Shivi), Siyah-sang (Siyag -Sang), Siyavash (Siwach), Sorkh, Sorush, Tak (Taank), Takht, Takhtan Takhar), Tanjak (Tandi), Tanjeh (Tandi), Tappeh, Tashbal, Tir, Tus, Zagh (Jangoo), Zarkaman, Zarkanak, Zartappeh (Jat), Zirabeh,

Sakastan or Sistan

Map of Sakastan around 100 BCE

Sistan (Persian: سیستان) (Hindi:सीस्तान) or Sakastan is a border region, southeastern Iran and southwestern Afghanistan. One portion is part of the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan. The other portion is part of the Nimruz Province of Afghanistan.

Sistan derives its name from 'Sakastan', which Sistan was once the westernmost part of. The Sakas that were once native to Sistan were driven to the Punjab during the Arsacid era (63 BCE-220 CE). The Saffarids (861-1003 CE), one of the early Iranian dynasties of the Islamic era, were originally rulers of Sistan.

In the Shahnameh, Sistan is also referred to as Zabulistan, after Zabol, a city in the region. In Ferdowsi's epic, Zabulistan is in turn described to be the homeland of the mythological hero-king Rostam.

Sistan has a very strong connection with Zoroastrianism and during Sassanid times Lake Hamun was one of two pilgrimage sites for followers of that religion. In Zoroastrian tradition, the lake is the keeper of Zoroaster's seed and just before the final renovation of the world, three maidens will enter the lake, each then giving birth to the saoshyans who will be the saviours of mankind at the final renovation of the world.

The most famous archaeological site in Sistan is on Kuh-e Khwajeh, a hill rising up as an island in the middle of Lake Hamun.

Parthian Stations by Isidore of Charax, is an account of the overland trade route between the Levant and India, in the 1st century BCE, The Greek text with a translation and commentary by Wilfred H. Schoff. Transcribed from the Original London Edition, 1914. This record mentions about city named Barda. Burdaks are probably originated from city called Barda, the place is the royal residence of the Sakas in Sistan. The presence of the Sakas in Sakastan in the 1st century BCE is mentioned by Isidore of Charax in his "Parthian stations". He explained that they were bordered at that time by Greek cities to the east (Alexandria of the Caucasus and Alexandria of the Arachosians), and the Parthian-controlled territory of Arachosia to the south:

"Beyond is Sacastana of the Scythian Sacae, which is also Paraetacena, 63 schoeni. There are the city of Barda and the city of Min and the city of Palacenti and the city of Sigal (Cf. Nimrus of the Rustam story in the Shah Nama); in that place is the royal residence of the Sacae; and nearby is the city of Alexandria (and nearby is the city of Alexandropolis), and six villages." Parthian stations, 18.

Beyond is Arachosia, 36 schoeni. And the Parthians call this White India; there are the city of Biyt and the city of Pharsana and the city of Chorochoad and the city of Demetrias; then Alexandropolis, the metropolis of Arachosia; it is Greek, and by it flows the river Arachotus. As far as this place the land is under the rule of the Parthians." Parthian stations, 19.

Wardak Province, Afghanistan

Again we find mention of them in the form Wardak وردګ (Pashtoپښتو‎/ wardak vardag vardak, Hindi:(वरडक)) which is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the centre of the country. Its capital is Meydan Shahr. Chaki Wardak (also known as Chak) is a district in the south of Wardak Province, Afghanistan.The records of Kushan ruler Havishka have been unearthed at Wardak, to the west of Kabul. Bhim Singh Dahiya has mentioned about an inscription of Wardak near Kabul of the year 51 of Saka era (129 AD), which relates the establishment of the relic of Lord Buddha in a stupa by Vagramarega who is shown as a scion of Kama Gulya. Here it is related with clan name Gulya of the Jats. Wardak is associated with the history of Burdak Jat clan.

Further reading

• Central Asia - Geography Ancient Central Asia
• Central Asia - Wikipedia
• Great Soviet Encyclopedia
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