--- "S.Kalyanaraman <
kalyan97@...>"
<
kalyan97@...> wrote:
> About Haraxwaiti. Many Croats claim that they are
> descendants from
> this region. Sarasvati > Haraxwaiti > Hravat >
> Kravat > Croat.
> Counter? Nationalism!
*****GK: I believe there is a name (Khoroathos)
attested in the region of the North Caucasus prior to
500 AD, but I would need to check the source
(Ptolemy?). As for the Croats, there is little doubt
that most of them are of Slavic descent. My theory is
that when the Avars established their Empire in
Central Europe (568-->), they settled allied steppe
tribes on their northern and northeastern borders as
"guards" or "defenders" among the Slavs (I think there
is a word related to "Croat" in Slovak which retains
this meaning). The ethnicity of these steppe tribes
was likely mixed, but judging by the "ruling" names
preserved in Constantine Porphyrogenitus some may even
have been Turkic. As time passed they blended in with
a variety of local Slavic groups. The best known of
course are those who eventually settled in the former
Yugoslavia, but there was a string of "Croats" along
and beyond the Carpathians, esp. in Czechia, Poland,
and Ukraine. Only the "Yugoslav" Croats retained the
original (Iranic) name. I'm not sure if Khoroathos
implies the Afghan Harahvaiti, or some other. Perhaps
our linguists can say.****
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