The Hazāra (Persian: هزاره) are a Persian-speaking ethnic group who live mainly in the central region of Afghanistan. They are overwhelmingly Shia Muslims, with a Sunni minority, and comprise the second largest ethnic group of the country with about 30% of its population. Hazaras are also found in large numbers in neighboring Pakistan, especially in the city of Quetta, and also in Iran, mainly as refugees.
The name Hazara, probably, comes from th...
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The Hazāra (Persian: هزاره) are a Persian-speaking ethnic group who live mainly in the central region of Afghanistan. They are overwhelmingly Shia Muslims, with a Sunni minority, and comprise the second largest ethnic group of the country with about 30% of its population. Hazaras are also found in large numbers in neighboring Pakistan, especially in the city of Quetta, and also in Iran, mainly as refugees.
The name Hazara, probably, comes from the Persian word hazār, which means "thousand". Some scientists think that the term was used to refer to a Mongol military unit of 1,000 but was later applied to a distinct group of people.
The origins of the Hazaras are not fully reconstructible and thus debatable.
At least partial Mongol descent is difficult to rule out, because the Hazaras' physical attributes and parts of their culture and language resemble those of Mongolians. Thus, it is widely accepted that Hazaras do have Mongolian ancestry, if not direct male-line descent from Genghis...
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