About hazaras

History Of Hazaras

Hazaras are predominantly Shia Muslims, although there are significant populations of Sunni and Ismaili Hazaras in north and northwestern Afghanistan. Often Sunni Hazaras can blur the lines with the Tajiks and Pashtuns.

The Hazaras seem to have mainly Mongolian origins with some Caucasoid admixture, as evidenced by physical attributes and parts of their culture and language. It is commonly believed that the Hazara are descendants of the army of Genghis Khan, which marched into the area in the 12th century, but there are also beliefs holding Hazaras as descendents of the Koshanis, the ancient dwellers of Afghanistan famous for constructing the Buddhas of Bamyan; or Hazaras as people of Turkic origin. Proponents of the Mongol view hold that many of the Mongol soldiers and their families settled in the area and remained there after the Mongol Empire dissolved in the 13th century, converting to Islam and adopting local customs (cultural diffusion).
However, the main Mongolian mixing theory is contested on the basis of historical events surrounding Genghis Khan's invasion of what today constitutes central Afghanistan. The invading Mongol armies encountered fierce resistance from the locals around Bamyan, who had Asian features like the invading Mongols. This suggests that people with Mongolian features inhabited central Afghanistan, possibly of Uyghur Turkic origin, long before Genghis Khan's invasion and probably arrived there in much earlier waves of migration out of Central Asia.
Historical records also mention that in a particularly bloody battle around Bamyan, Genghis Khan's grandson Motochin was killed. He ordered Bamyan burnt to the ground in retribution, renaming it Ma-Obaliq ("Uninhabitable Abode").
After the fall of the Il-Khan empire in Persia, the Safavid Shah Abbas drove out the Mongols from Persia to Khorasan (present-day Afghanistan). Some sources say he drove out the Uzbeks but the distinction is unclear. Around 1550, the first mention of Hazaras are made by the court historians of Shah Abbas, as well as in the Baburnama distinguishing Hazaras from the Chughtai Uzbeks. This is when the national identity of Hazaras apparently began.

Language:
The Hazaragi language is a unique dialect of the Persian language, with some Mongolian and Turkish vocabulary. Many of the urban Hazaras in the larger cities of Kabul and Mazari Sharif speak Dari, while Hazaras from the Dai Kundi and Dai Zangi regions have the many admixture of the Mongolian in their language. Hazaras in Quetta,Pakistan date back to around 1890, and use more Urdu and English words.
Politics:
Since the early 1990s, the Hizb-e-Wahdat political party is the most important Hazara movement. The most influential member, prior to his capture and execution by the Taliban, was Abdul Ali Mazari. This execution at the hands of the Taliban made Hojjatul Islam Abdul Ali Mazari a martyr and a hero to the impoverished Hazara peoples