List of countryname etymologies
Aśvakan literally means "horsemen", "horse breeders", or " cavalrymen " (from aśva or aspa, the Sanskrit and Avestan words for " horse "). Historically, the ethnonym Afghān was used to refer to ethnic Pashtuns. The Persian form of the name, Afġān was first attested in the 10thcentury geography book Hudud al'Alam.