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The Aimak (or Eimak, Aimaq) are a Persian-speaking nomadic or semi-nomadic tribes of a mixed Iranian and Mongolian stock inhabiting the north and north-west Afghan highlands immediately to the north of Herat. They were originally known as chahar (the four) Eimaks, because there were four principal tribes: the Taimani (the predominating element in the population of Ghur), the Ferozkhoi, the Jamshidi and, according to some authorities, the Hazara. The Aimak peoples number upwards of a quarter of a million, and speak a dialect said to be closely related to the Kalmuck. They are Sunnite Muslims in distinction from the Hazara who are Shiites. They are predominantly of Iranian or quasi-Iranian blood, while the Hazara are Turanian. They are a bold, wild people and renowned fighters.
The name is Mongolian for clan, or section of a tribe.
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.
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