Afshar
The Afshar , more strongly Germanized Afshars (modern Turkish spelling: Afşar or Avşar , Persian افشار, DMG Afšār ), were an important Oghuz tribe, who in turn belong to the Turkic peoples .
Mahmud al-Kāshgharī mentioned them under the name Afshar as one of the 24 Oghusian tribes. As a totem animal , they had a peregrine falcon . Their tribal name means enthusiastic about animal hunting in Old Turkish .
The Afshars came with the Seljuks from Central Asia to Anatolia and the Middle East in the 11th century ; some groups also settled in the Balkans from the 14th century. The Afshar established many dynasties and empires, including the Afsharid Dynasty , Aydiniden , Germiyaniden , Qaramaniden , Menteşe -Oghullari, sarukhanids , Zengids , Dulkadiriden and the Karabakh Khanate .
Today there are still remnants of the tribe in Turkey, Azerbaijan and other states in the Middle East and the Balkans. In today's Turkey there are 55 places with the name Afşar or Avşar , in Iran 23 and in Afghanistan seven places with the name Afshar or Avshar and in Azerbaijan one place with the name Avşar .
Today, the descendants of the Afshars speak various Turkish and Azerbaijani dialects as their mother tongue . In Iran and Afghanistan they are largely assimilated and mostly speak the Persian language . The Afshar language , named after them, which was attested until a few generations ago, is only understood and spoken by a few, mostly older Afshars. The Afshars are also known for their special, hand-knotted Afshar carpets , which were still made in the 1990s according to a long-standing tradition with typical patterns. These patterns are even used in the conventional, so-called Persian carpet .
literature
- Thomson Gale: Encyclopedia of The Modern Middle East and North Africa , Detroit 2004, p. 1112.
- Georg Stöber: The Afshār. Nomadism in the Kermān area (central Iran) . Geographical Institute, Marburg / Lahn 1978 (= Marburg Geographical Writings, 76)