Aimak

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The Aimak (or Eimak, Aimaq) are Persian-speaking nomadic or semi-nomadic tribes of mixed Iranian and Mongolian stock inhabiting the north and north-west Afghan highlands immediately to the north of Herat. They are closely related to the Hazara, and - in varying degrees - to the Tajiks. They live in western Hazarajat in the provinces of Ghowr, Farah, Herat, Badghis, Faryab, Jowzjan and Sar-e Pol. The name is Mongolian for clan, or section of a tribe.

They were originally known as chahar or (the four) Eimaks, because there were four principal tribes: the Taimani (the predominating element in the population of Ghowr), the Ferozkhoi, the Temuri, and the Jamshidi.

Estimates of the Aimak population vary between 250,000 and 2 million. They are Sunni Muslims, in contrast to the Hazara, who are Shiahs. They are predominantly of Iranian ancestry, while the Hazara are of Mongolian and some Iranian ancestry. They are renowned fighters.

The best estimates of the Aimak population in Afghanistan hover around 1-2 million. The tally is made difficult since, as a consequence of centuries of oppression of the Hazara people in Afghnanistan, some Aimagh Hazaras are classified by the state as Tajik, or Persian instead of Aimaks.