Airyanem Vaejah

Airyanəm Vaejah what " The wide [ land ] of the Aryans " roughly means in German, is one of the 16 perfect countries from the holy book of Avesta. It is considered the homeland of Indoiraner ( " Aryans " ), saying, According to the religious and cultural and historical references were split at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC in an Indo-Aryan and an Iranian branch. Although Airyanəm Vaejah is described as a " perfect land", the winter lasts, according to the Vendidad of the Avesta ten months. At winter's end, the country is regularly threatened by flooding.

Etymology and related words

In the Avestan language Airyanəm Vaejah is formed from the genitive plural of the words Airya and Vaejah. The meaning of the word Vaejah is uncertain. It may be related to the Vedic word vej / vij. Vej / vij in turn can mean in the German region of a fast flowing river, seed or seeds.

Airya (German " Aryans ") was the self-designation of a group of the earliest Indo-Iranian languages ​​and speakers is evidence in ancient Iranian sources both in Achaemenid inscriptions and in the Zoroastrian traditions of the Avesta as well as ( in the form of Arya - ) in the Old Indian. According to language, religion and culture-historical references, it must be at the Indoiranern a uniform group have traded that has undergone a common linguistic and cultural development independent of other Indo-European groups in the early phase.

Historical concepts

The historic location of Airyanəm Vaejah is still uncertain. In the first chapter of the Vendidad 16 countries are listed, and some researchers think that Airyanəm Vaejah lies to the north of these countries. Some experts such as Bahram Farahvashi and Nasser Takmil Homayoun claim that it was in Khorezm. This view is shared by the historian Elton L. Daniel ( University of Hawaii System). Ali Akbar Dehkhoda Choresmien called the cradle of the Aryan tribe. Michael Witzel but assumes because of the long winter that Airyanəm Vaejah was a pasture in the mountains of central Afghanistan.