dards - war-like north westernmost âindoâ aryans & asvas
-Â Strabo and Pliny mentioned war-like people Dardae.
- The term "Dardic" is only a geographic convention used to denote the northwesternmost group of Indo-Aryan languages (spoken in northern Pakistan, northwestern India and parts of northeastern Afghanistan)
- Usage of the term is curiously parallel to the Sanskrit usage, where it connoted nonspecific ferocious outsiders living in the mountains beyond the borders of the region.
-Â Dardic languages contain absolutely no features which cannot be derived from old [Indo-Aryan language]. They have simply retained a number of striking archasisms, which had already disappeared in most Prakrit dialects... There is not a single common feature distinguishing Dardic, as a whole, from the rest of the [Indo-Aryan] languages... Dardic is simply a convenient term to denote a bundle of aberrant [Indo-Aryan] hill-languages which, in their relative isolation, accented in many cases by the invasion of Pathan tribes, have been in varying degrees sheltered against the expand influence of [Indo-Aryan] Midland (Madhyadesha) innovations, being left free to develop on their own
-Â Due to their geographic isolation, many Dardic languages have preserved archaisms and other features of Old Indo-Aryan. These features include three sibilants, several types of clusters of consonants, and archaic or antiquated vocabulary lost in other modern Indo-Aryan languages.
-Â Kalasha and Khowar are the most archaic of all modern Indo-Aryan languages, retaining a great part of Sanskrit case inflexion, and retaining many words in a nearly Sanskritic form.[29][30] For example atâhi "bone" in Kalasha is nearly identical to asthi in Sanskrit[31] and aĆĄrĂș "tear" in Khowar is identical to the Sanskrit word
- The Sanskrit term aĆva, Avestan aspa, and Prakrit assa means horse. The name AĆvaka/AĆvakan or Assaka is derived from the Sanskrit AĆva or Prakrit Assa and it denotes someone connected with the horses, hence a horseman, or a cavalryman or horse breeder. The AĆvakas were especially engaged in the occupation of breeding, raising and training war horses, as also in providing expert cavalry services.[citation needed]
- The name of the AĆvakan or Assakan has been preserved in that of the modern AfghÄn.
- According to philologist J.W. McCrindle, the name AĆvaka is also "distinctly preserved" in the name of the Esapzai (or Yusufzai) tribe of Pashtuns. McCrindle noted: "The name of the AĆvaka indicates that their country was renowned in primitive times, as it is at the present day, for its superior breed of horses.
- The fact that the Greeks translated their name into "Hippasioi" (from ጔÏÏÎżÏ, a horse) shows that they must have been aware of its etymological signification."
- Ancient Greek historians who documented the exploits of Alexander the Great refer to the Aspasioi and Assakenoi (áŒÏÏαÎșÎ·ÎœÎżÎŻ) tribes among his opponents. The Assakenoi fielded 2,000 cavalry, 30 elephants and 30,000 infantry against Alexander during his campaign in India, which began in 327 BCE, but they eventually had to surrender after losses at places such as Beira, Massaga and Ora
-Â Diodorus recorded the strength of the AĆvaka opposition, noting that the women took up arms along with the men, preferring "a glorious death to a life of dishonour".[21]Queen Cleophis was the main leader of Ashvaka during their war against Alexander.
-Â The Asvayanas have been attested to be good cattle breeders and agriculturists by classical writers. Arrian said that, during the time of Alexander, there were a large number of bullocks - 230,000 - of a size and shape superior to what the Macedonians had known, which Alexander captured from them and decided to send to Macedonia for agriculture
