Airyanem Vaejah

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The Airyanem Vaejah or Airyana Waejah (Aryan Expanse) was the legendary home of the Aryan (Indo-Iranian) people, as described in writings in the Avesta, the holy book of Zoroastrians.

The location of Airyanem Vaejah was between the Caucasus and south Asian region. It is believed that the Aryan tribes separated in to two groups, some staying in the Iranian plateu (Iran and Afghanistan), while the rest moved to lands where north India is today.

Zoroaster in Avesta describes that he lived in Airyanem Vaejah and Eranvej (the Iranian expanse). Later when Cyrus established his empire, he called it the Persian empire, after his clan's name. However since the Sassanid period, when Zoroastrianism was the state religion, the name "Iran Shahr", "Aryanam" or Iran (land of Aryans) has been used.

Some experts such as Bahram Farahvashi and Nasser Takmil Homayoun among others claim that Airyanem Vaejah was probably centered around Khwarazm, which is now split between the Central Asian republics. (p.27)

It has also been suggested that Airyanem Vaejah could refer to Kashmir<ref>see Talageri, Shrikant. (2000) The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis </ref>, where summer lasts two months. In the first chapter of the Vedidad is a geographical list of sixteen countries, where Airyanem Vaejah seems to lie in the north.<ref>Zoroaster’s Time and Homeland: A Study on the Origins of Mazdeism and Related Problems by Gherardo Gnoli, Instituto Universitario Orientale, Seminario di Studi Asiatici, (Series Minor VII), Naples, 1980; Talageri, Shrikant. (2000) The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis </ref>

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