Afshin
افشینGender| Male

|

Language(s)| Middle Persian
Origin
Word/name| Middle Persian
Other names
Variant form(s)| Afšīn, Afšin, Afşin/Afşın, Afshiin, Afsheen[a]

Coin in the name of Rakhanch, Sogdian Afshin of the Principality of Ushrusana. Tamgha symbol on the reverse with title and name of the ruler. Excavated in the Palace of Kala-i Kakhkakha I, Bunjikat. 7th century CE, National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan (RTL 213).[1]

Afshin (Persian: افشین / Afšīn) is a common Persian given name, which is a modern Persian word derived from Avestan. Afshin was used by the Sogdians.[2] Historically, it was the princely title of the rulers of Osrushana at the time of the Muslim conquest.[3] The Afshins of Osrushana were an Iranian principality in Central Asia of whom the later Abbasid general Khaydhar ibn Kawus al-Afshin is the most famous.

## Etymology[edit]

Afšīn is the Arabicized form of the Middle Persian Pišīn, which traces back to the Avestan Pisinah. In pre-Islamic Iranian tradition, it is the name of a grandson of Kayānid king Kavād (Yt. 13.132, 19.71). In the Islamic period, it is found as a proper name attested by Armenian historians in the form Ōšin (from Awšin).[4]

## People[edit]

Historical

* Khaydhar ibn Kawus al-Afshin (died 841), Abbasid general
* Bishr al-Afshini, (died 918), Abbasid military commander
* Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj (died 901), Sājid ruler of Azerbaijan
* Afshin Bey (disappeared 1077), Khorasani Turkmen commander of the Seljuk Empire

Given name

* Afshin (singer), full name Afshin Jafari, Iranian pop star
* Afshin Ellian (born 1966), Iranian-Dutch professor of law, philosopher, poet, and critic of political Islam
* Afshin Esmaeilzadeh (born 1992), Iranian footballer
* Afshin Feiz, Iranian-born British photographer and ex fashion designer
* Afshin Ghaffarian (born 1986), Iranian choreographer, director, dancer, and actor
* Afshin Ghotbi (born 1964), Iranian football coach
* Afshin Habibzadeh, Iranian workers' rights activist and reformist politician
* Afshin Hajipour (born 1975), Iranian footballer
* Afshin Kamaei (born 1974), Iranian footballer
* Afshin Kazemi (born 1986), Iranian futsal player
* Afshin Moghaddam (1945–1976), Iranian singer
* Afshin Mohebbi, Iranian-born United States businessman
* Afshin Molavi, Iranian-American author and expert on global geo-political risk and geo-economics, particularly the Middle East and Asia
* Afshin Naghouni (born 1969), Iranian-born British visual artist
* Afshin Nazemi (born 1971), Iranian football player and coach
* Afshin Peyrovani (born 1970), Iranian footballer and a football coach
* Afshin Norouzi (born 1985), Iranian table tennis player
* Afshin Parsaeian Rad (born 1980), Iranian footballer
* Afshin Rattansi (born 1968), British broadcaster, journalist and author
* Afshin Sadeghi (born 1993), Iranian handball player
* Afshin Zinouri (born 1976), Iranian voice actor who is known for Persian voice-dubbing foreign films and TV programs

Surname

* Arash Afshin (born 1989), Iranian footballer
* Nazanin Afshin-Jam (born 1979), Iranian-Canadian human rights activist, author

## Places[edit]

* Afşin, a town in the Kahramanmaraş Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey

## See also[edit]

* Afsana (name)

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ Anglicization of original name.

## References[edit]

1. ^ Kurbanov, Sharofiddin (2021). Tadjikistan : au pays des fleuves d'or. Paris, Gand: Musée Guimet, Editions Snoeck. p. 152\. ISBN 978-9461616272.
2. ^ Mehrdad Kia (27 June 2016). The Persian Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 100–. ISBN 978-1-61069-391-2.
3. ^ "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica".
4. ^ AFŠĪN in Encyclopedia Iranica. C.E. Bosworth. Online edition. 2010.

Name list

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