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Avestan geography

Compilation of the geographical references in Avesta

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Through Afghanistan

Identifying such connections is important for localizing the people of the Avesta and is therefore crucial for understanding the early history of Zoroastrianism and the Iranians. Sources for such geographical references are exclusively found in the younger Avestan portion of the text, in particular in the Vendidad and several of the Yashts. The identification of these Avestan places with real locations is often supported by comparisons with references made in later Iranian sources.

A major challenge to establish these connections is the fact that the Iranian people often used the same name for different places. As a result, not all Avestan place names can be identified with certainty with present-day locations and therefore remain subject to debate. Modern scholarship, however, agrees that the place names in the Avesta are concentrated in the eastern regions of Greater Iran up to the Indo-Iranian border.

Vendidad references

The main Avestan text of geographical interest is the first chapter of the Vendidad (Avestan: vi.daēwa.dāta, 'The Law repudiating the Deavas'). It consists of a list of the sixteen good lands (asah) and countries (šōiθra) created by Ahura Mazda. Each country is introduced with a verse describing its Ohrmazdian characteristic, followed by one describing the corresponding counter-creation (paityāra) by Angra Mainyu. The only exceptions are the first and eleventh country on the list where two verses explain its Ahrimanic counter-creation:

The first of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the Airyanem Vaejah, by the good river Daitya.
Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created the serpent in the river and winter, a work of the Deavas.

There are ten winter months there, two summer months; and those are cold for the waters, cold for the earth, cold for the trees.
Winter falls there, with the worst of all plagues.

The second of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the Gava, inhabited by the Sogdians.
Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created the locust, which brings death unto cattle and plants.

...

The sixteenth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the land by the floods of the Rangha, where people live who have no chiefs.
Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created winter, a work of the Daevas.

— Vendidad 5.33 - 5.35 (translated by James Darmesteter).

Early Pahlavi sources have traditionally located many of these countries in the western Iranian regions; a tendency that was followed by much of 20th century scholarship. This changed with the work of Gherardo Gnoli who argued that all place names in the Vendidad are located in the eastern part of Greater Iran, i.e. centered around modern day Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Since then, a number of revisions of Gnoli's work have been proposed, often attempting to derive the position of the more uncertain place names from an assumed arrangement according to which countries appear in the list. The following list presents these place names and discusses the different localization attempts made by scholars throughout the years:

  1. Airyanem Vaejah, by the good river Daitya (airiianəm vaẽjō vahuii dåitiiaii): The identity of both Airyanem Vaejah and the river Daitya are not universally agreed upon. Iranian sources have traditionally located Aryanem Vaejah in around Azerbaijan, a hypothesis that was shared, e.g., by James Darmesteter and Ernst Herzfeld,. In contrast, historians such as Walter Bruno Henning, Josef Markwart, and Mary Boyce believe its location to be in Chorasmia or northeast Iran around the Aral Sea and the Oxus River. Yet according to Michael Witzel, Airyanem Vaejah should be located at the center of the sixteen lands, specifically in what are now the central Afghan highlands (around modern Bamyan Province). One of arguments in favor of locating Airyanem Vaejah in central Afghanistan is that a mountainous region explains its severe climate (Vd. 1.2.3) better than does its supposed location in Chorasmia. According to Gnoli, it was situated between the Helmand River and the Hindu Kush Mountains, while historians like Skjaervo have declared the localization of Airyanem Vaejah to be unsolveable.
  2. Gava, inhabited by the Sogdians (gāum yim suγδō.šaiianəm): The toponym Gava appears twice in the Avesta. Each time it is connected with the Sogdians and it is consequently identified with the region of Sogdia. While the place name Gava remains elusive, Vogelsang connects it with Gabae, a Sogdian stronghold in western Sogdia and speculates that during the time of the Avesta, the center of Sogdia may have been closer to Bukhara instead of Samarkand.
  3. Mouru the just (mōurum sūrəm): This toponym is universally identified with Margiana, a historical region located in the eastern portion of Turkmenistan.
  4. Bahdi the beautiful with uplifted banners (båxδīm srīrąm ərəδβō.drafšąm): Likewise, Bahdi is universally identified with Bactria, a historical region around the city of Balkh located mostly in today's Afghanistan.
  5. Nisai between Mouru and Bahdi (nisåim yim antarə mōurum-ca båxδīm-ca): The Vendidad states that Nisai is located between Margiana and Bactria, which would place it somewhere near to today's Faryab Province. However, some historians have also proposed a more western location centered around Nisa in modern day southern Turkmenistan or Neyshabur in north-eastern Iran.
  6. Haroiva with vis harezanem (harōiiūm yim viš.harəzanəm): The meaning of 'vis harezanem' is unclear, yet the name Haroiva continues in the modern city of Herat as well as the name of Aria, the satrapy that was centered around this city. The name Haroiva also appears as Sarayu, a Vedic river in India.
  7. Vakereta, inhabited by the Duzhaka (vaẽkərətəm yim dužakō.šaiianəm): Early Pahlavi sources identify this country with the Kabul region. Modern scholarship mostly identifies Vakereta with the nearby region of Gandhara. Diverting from this widely shared localization, Witzel places it close to Gorgan.
  8. Urva rich in pastures (uruuąm pouru.våstrąm): The exact location of Urva is unknown. Gnoli proposed Ghazni, while Darmesteter believed it to be Urgench in modern day Uzbekistan.
  9. Khnenta, inhabited by the Vehrkana (xnəntẽm yim vəhrkånō.šaiianəm): This place name is not found in any historical sources, but the Vehrkana are often connected with the Hyrcanians and Khnenta is, therefore, identified with Hyrcania. However, Gnoli connects the name with the Barkanioi, a tribe mentioned by Ctesias and places Khnenta north of the Hindukush. On the other hand, Grenet connects the name Vehrkana with the town Urgun south of the Hindukush.
  10. Harakhvaiti the beautiful (haraxᵛaitīm srīrąm): This name appears during the Achaemenid Empire as Harauvatish and was known to the Greeks as Arachosia, a historical region centered around the valley of the Arghandab River in modern-day southern Afghanistan. The name also appears as Sarasvati, a Vedic river in India. It has been noted that the name of Harakhvaiti found in the Avesta differs from a reconstructed correct Avestan form *haranᵛhaitīm and therefore may reflect a local dialect.
  11. Haetumant possessing the Khvarenah (haētumantəm raẽuuantəm xᵛarənanhantəm): Haetumant is the region of Helmand River, which derives its name from it and roughly corresponds to the Achaemenian region of Drangiana, which later became known as Sistan under the Sassanians.
  12. Ragha of the three tribes (raγąm θrizantūm): Classic Pahlavi commentary identified Ragha with Median Ragā (modern day Rey in Tehran province) and therefore placed it in western Iran. Following Gnoli, however, modern localization attempts often place it in Afghanistan, whereas others still support its traditional localization in western Iran.
  13. Chakhra the strong, supporting the religious order (caxrəm sūrəm asauuanəm): The location of Chakhra is still uncertain, but Darmesteter believes the location is Čarx between Ghaznī and Kabul, in the valley of Lōgar, whereas Grenet identifies Chakhra with the Chitral valley.
  14. Varena with four corners (varənəm yim caθru.gaošəm): According to Pahlavi tradition, Varena is located in mountainous Gilan, the birthplace of Zahhak, who was killed by Thraetaona. This localization was accepted by a number of historians. According to Gnoli, however, Varena is identified with modern Buner between the Indus River and the Swat District. Yet, according to Witzel, Varena lies south of Kabul.
  15. Hapta Hendu (hapta həndu, Vsn. Sapta Sindhava, 'seven rivers'): Beginning with Pahlavi tradition, Hapta Hendu has been interpreted as referring to Punjab plus the Kabul River and the Indus River, a tradition that is shared by the vast majority of modern scholars.
  16. The land by the floods of the Rangha, where people live who have no chiefs (upa aodaẽšu rahaii yōi asårō aiβiiåxšaiieinti): Like the first country on the list, Airyanem Vaejah, the last country Rangha is also afflicted by the same evil plague; the Deava-created winter. This makes a location in the north or the mountains plausible. The name Rangha is widely interpreted as the Avestan counterpart of the Rasā, a semi-mystical river known from Vedic geography. Like Airyanem Vaejah, the place name Rangha and its associated river are, therefore, sometimes interpreted to be both a mythological and a geographical location.

In summary, there is a broad consensus regarding about half of the lands on this list, while Vakereta, Urva, Khnenta, Ragha, Chakhra and Varena are disputed to varying degrees. Airyanem Vaejah and Rangha, however, remain the most debated items. This is because these two place names may not only be geographical locations, but can also be interpreted as part of Iranian cosmology. This is due to the elusive description of both countries, the fact that they start and end the list, the fact that they are both characterized by the same Deava-created winter, and the fact that they are both connected with a mythical river. As regards Airyanem Vaejah, it has been interpreted as "the traditional homeland" or "the ancient homeland" of the Iranians. These definitions perpetuate interpretations of the Airyanem Vaejah as Urheimat des Awestavolkes, Urland of the Indo-Iranians or the Wiege aller iranischen Arier.

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