Ajam
Encyclopedia
Ajam is a word used in Persian and Arabic literature but with different concepts. Ajam (عجم) in Arabic
has two primary meanings: "non-Arab" and "Persian
".literally it has other meaning "one who is illiterate in language", "silent
", or "mute
", and refers to non-Arab
s in general, or people of Southern Persian origin specifically. In the former sense it is a neutral term meaning "stranger" or "foreign".
in Persian language Ajamis used to refer to Persian language as a synonym and also it refer to iran and Iranian.
The word `ajam comes from the Semitic root `-j-m. Related forms of the same root include, but are not limited to:
Homophonous words, which may or may not be derived from the same root, include:
A Persian folk etymology derives the word from the name of an ancient Persian king, Jamshid
, though this is linguistically dubious. The folk etymology would have "Ajam" as an arabized version of the kings name 'Jam' through the addition of the definite article al-
. However, as jīm
is a lunar
and not a solar letter, this explanation cannot account for the anomalous assimilation of the "l" by the jīm or the ayin
at the beginning of the word in place of the alif
that would be expected from the article al-.
, Greeks
, Ethiopians, and the somewhat related Nabataeans
. Over time the term because specialized and referred to Persians almost exclusively as an ethnic term, but varied in its usage from place to place as the early Muslim conquests led to a much wider of Arabic-speakers. However, the original meaning still exists, and in much of the non-Arabic speaking Muslim world the term does not have a pejorative meaning as the word is understood to mean anyone who does not speak Arabic.
During the early age of the Caliph
ates, Ajam was often synonymous for "barbarian" or stranger. In the eastern portions of the Middle East, it was generally applied to the Persians
, while in al-Andalus
it referred to speakers of Romance languages
- becoming "Aljamiado
" in Spanish in reference to Arabic-script writing of those languages - and in West Africa
, Ajami
similarly refers to Ajami script
, or the writing of local languages such as Hausa
and Fulani in the Arabic alphabet
. In Zanzibar
ajami and ajamo means Persian which came from the Persian Gulf
and the cities of Shiraz and Siraf
. In Turkish
and Urdu
, the usage of the term is not used to any ethnic group, but instead may have evolved from the original Arabic usage for outsiders in general.
According to Encyclopædia Iranica
, the name "ajam", while "given to the non-Arabs of the Islamic empire" in general, was "applied especially to Persians" by the Arabs. The verb ʿaǰama originally meant "to mumble, and speak indistinctly", which is the opposite of ʿaraba, “to speak clearly”. Accordingly, the noun ʿoǰma, of the same root, is the opposite of foṣḥa, which means "chaste, correct, Arabic language". In general, ajam was a pejorative term used by Arabs conscious of their social and political superiority, in early Islam. However, the distinction between Arab and Ajam is discernible in pre-Islamic poetry.
According to Clifford Edmund Bosworth
, "by the 3rd/9th century, the non-Arabs, and above all the Persians, were asserting their social and cultural equality (taswīa) with the Arabs, if not their superiority (tafżīl) over them (a process seen in the literary movement of the Šoʿūbīya). In any case, there was always in some minds a current of admiration for the ʿAǰam as heirs of an ancient, cultured tradition of life. Even the great proponent of the Arab cause, Jāḥeẓ, wrote a Ketāb al-taswīa bayn al-ʿArab wa’l-ʿAǰam. After these controversies had died down, and the Persians had achieved a position of power in the Islamic world comparable to their numbers and capabilities, "ʿAjam" became a simple ethnic and geographical designation.". Thus by the 9th century, the term was being used by Persians themselves as an ethnic term, and examples can be given by Asadi Tusi in his poem comparing the superiority of Persians and Arabs.
Accordingly: "territorial notions of “Iran,” are reflected in such terms as irānšahr, irānzamin, or Fors, the arabicized form of Pārs/Fārs (Persia). The ethnic notion of “Iranian” is denoted by the Persian words Pārsi or Irāni, and the Arabic term ahl al-fors (inhabitants of Persia) or ʿAjam, referring to non-Arabs, but primarily to Persians as in molk-e ʿAjam (Persian kingdom) or moluk-e ʿAjam (Persian kings).".
In the Persian Gulf
region today, people usually refer to Persian as Ajami as they refer to Persian carpet (Ajami carpet or Sajjad al Ajami), Persian cat (Ajami cat), and Persian emperors (Ajami kings).
The Persian community in Bahrain
calls itself Ajami, see: Ajam (Bahrain)
See also: "Ajami (disambiguation)
"
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
has two primary meanings: "non-Arab" and "Persian
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
".literally it has other meaning "one who is illiterate in language", "silent
Silence
Silence is the relative or total lack of audible sound. By analogy, the word silence may also refer to any absence of communication, even in media other than speech....
", or "mute
Speech disorder
Speech disorders or speech impediments are a type of communication disorders where 'normal' speech is disrupted. This can mean stuttering, lisps, etc. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is considered mute.-Classification:...
", and refers to non-Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s in general, or people of Southern Persian origin specifically. In the former sense it is a neutral term meaning "stranger" or "foreign".
in Persian language Ajamis used to refer to Persian language as a synonym and also it refer to iran and Iranian.
Origin
Ajam has two primary meanings in Arabic: "non-Arab" and "Persian".The word `ajam comes from the Semitic root `-j-m. Related forms of the same root include, but are not limited to:
- `ajama / 'a'jama / `ajjama: to dot - in particular, to add the dots that distinguish between various Arabic letters to a text (and hence make it easier for a non-native Arabic speaker to read). Now an obsolete term, since all modern Arabic texts are dotted. This may also be linked to `ajaam / `ajam: pit/seed (e.g. of a date or grape).
- in'ajama: (of speech) to be incomprehensible
- ista'jama: to fall silent; to be unable to speak
- 'a'jam: non-fluent
- musta'jim: mute, incapable of speech
Homophonous words, which may or may not be derived from the same root, include:
- `ajama: to test (a person); to try (a food).
A Persian folk etymology derives the word from the name of an ancient Persian king, Jamshid
Jamshid
Jamshid is a mythological figure of Greater Iranian culture and tradition.In tradition and folklore, Jamshid is described as having been the fourth and greatest king of the epigraphically unattested Pishdadian dynasty . This role is already alluded to in Zoroastrian scripture Jamshid (Middle-...
, though this is linguistically dubious. The folk etymology would have "Ajam" as an arabized version of the kings name 'Jam' through the addition of the definite article al-
Al-
is the definite article in the Arabic language; a particle whose function is to render the noun on which it is prefixed definite. For example, the word kitāb 'book' can be made definite by prefixing it with al-, resulting in al-kitāb 'the book'...
. However, as jīm
Arabic alphabet
The Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjad is the Arabic script as it is codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written from right to left, in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters. Because letters usually stand for consonants, it is classified as an abjad.-Consonants:The Arabic alphabet has...
is a lunar
Lunar letters
In literary Arabic and Maltese, the consonants are divided into two groups, called the sun letters and moon letters , based on whether or not they assimilate the of a preceding article...
and not a solar letter, this explanation cannot account for the anomalous assimilation of the "l" by the jīm or the ayin
Ayin
' or ' is the sixteenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic . It is the twenty-first letter in the new Persian alphabet...
at the beginning of the word in place of the alif
Aleph
* Aleph or Alef is the first letter of the Semitic abjads descended from Proto-Canaanite, Arabic alphabet, Phoenician alphabet, Hebrew alphabet, Syriac alphabet-People:*Aleph , an Italo disco artist and alias of Dave Rodgers...
that would be expected from the article al-.
Development
According to The Political Language of Islam, during the Islamic period, Ajam was originally used as a reference to denote those whom Arabs in the Arabian peninsula viewed as 'alien' or outsiders. The early application of the term included all of the peoples with whom the Arabs had contact including PersiansPersian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
, Greeks
Byzantine Greeks
Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenised citizens of the Byzantine Empire, centered mainly in Constantinople, the southern Balkans, the Greek islands, Asia Minor , Cyprus and the large urban centres of the Near East...
, Ethiopians, and the somewhat related Nabataeans
Nabataeans
Thamudi3.jpgThe Nabataeans, also Nabateans , were ancient peoples of southern Canaan and the northern part of Arabia, whose oasis settlements in the time of Josephus , gave the name of Nabatene to the borderland between Syria and Arabia, from the Euphrates to the Red Sea...
. Over time the term because specialized and referred to Persians almost exclusively as an ethnic term, but varied in its usage from place to place as the early Muslim conquests led to a much wider of Arabic-speakers. However, the original meaning still exists, and in much of the non-Arabic speaking Muslim world the term does not have a pejorative meaning as the word is understood to mean anyone who does not speak Arabic.
During the early age of the Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
ates, Ajam was often synonymous for "barbarian" or stranger. In the eastern portions of the Middle East, it was generally applied to the Persians
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
, while in al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
it referred to speakers of Romance languages
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
- becoming "Aljamiado
Aljamiado
Aljamiado or Aljamía texts are manuscripts which use the Arabic script for transcribing Romance languages such as Mozarabic, Berber Spanish or Ladino.According to Anwar G...
" in Spanish in reference to Arabic-script writing of those languages - and in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, Ajami
Ajami script
The term Ajami , or Ajamiyya , which comes from the Arabic root for "foreign" or "stranger," has been applied to Arabic alphabets used for writing African languages....
similarly refers to Ajami script
Ajami script
The term Ajami , or Ajamiyya , which comes from the Arabic root for "foreign" or "stranger," has been applied to Arabic alphabets used for writing African languages....
, or the writing of local languages such as Hausa
Hausa language
Hausa is the Chadic language with the largest number of speakers, spoken as a first language by about 25 million people, and as a second language by about 18 million more, an approximate total of 43 million people...
and Fulani in the Arabic alphabet
Arabic alphabet
The Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjad is the Arabic script as it is codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written from right to left, in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters. Because letters usually stand for consonants, it is classified as an abjad.-Consonants:The Arabic alphabet has...
. In Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
ajami and ajamo means Persian which came from the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
and the cities of Shiraz and Siraf
Siraf
Siraf is a city in the Central District of Kangan County, Bushehr Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 3,500, in 722 families....
. In Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
and Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, the usage of the term is not used to any ethnic group, but instead may have evolved from the original Arabic usage for outsiders in general.
According to Encyclopædia Iranica
Encyclopædia Iranica
Encyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
, the name "ajam", while "given to the non-Arabs of the Islamic empire" in general, was "applied especially to Persians" by the Arabs. The verb ʿaǰama originally meant "to mumble, and speak indistinctly", which is the opposite of ʿaraba, “to speak clearly”. Accordingly, the noun ʿoǰma, of the same root, is the opposite of foṣḥa, which means "chaste, correct, Arabic language". In general, ajam was a pejorative term used by Arabs conscious of their social and political superiority, in early Islam. However, the distinction between Arab and Ajam is discernible in pre-Islamic poetry.
According to Clifford Edmund Bosworth
Clifford Edmund Bosworth
Clifford Edmund Bosworth FBA is an English historian and orientalist, specializing in Arabic studies. He received his B.A. degree from Oxford University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Edinburgh University. He held permanent posts at St. Andrews University, Manchester University, and the Center...
, "by the 3rd/9th century, the non-Arabs, and above all the Persians, were asserting their social and cultural equality (taswīa) with the Arabs, if not their superiority (tafżīl) over them (a process seen in the literary movement of the Šoʿūbīya). In any case, there was always in some minds a current of admiration for the ʿAǰam as heirs of an ancient, cultured tradition of life. Even the great proponent of the Arab cause, Jāḥeẓ, wrote a Ketāb al-taswīa bayn al-ʿArab wa’l-ʿAǰam. After these controversies had died down, and the Persians had achieved a position of power in the Islamic world comparable to their numbers and capabilities, "ʿAjam" became a simple ethnic and geographical designation.". Thus by the 9th century, the term was being used by Persians themselves as an ethnic term, and examples can be given by Asadi Tusi in his poem comparing the superiority of Persians and Arabs.
Accordingly: "territorial notions of “Iran,” are reflected in such terms as irānšahr, irānzamin, or Fors, the arabicized form of Pārs/Fārs (Persia). The ethnic notion of “Iranian” is denoted by the Persian words Pārsi or Irāni, and the Arabic term ahl al-fors (inhabitants of Persia) or ʿAjam, referring to non-Arabs, but primarily to Persians as in molk-e ʿAjam (Persian kingdom) or moluk-e ʿAjam (Persian kings).".
In the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
region today, people usually refer to Persian as Ajami as they refer to Persian carpet (Ajami carpet or Sajjad al Ajami), Persian cat (Ajami cat), and Persian emperors (Ajami kings).
The Persian community in Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
calls itself Ajami, see: Ajam (Bahrain)
Ajam (Bahrain)
The Iranians in Bahrain or Ajam are a community of Persians in Bahrain. They have traditionally been merchants living in a specific quarters of Manama and Muharraq. They mostly adhere to the Shia sect of Islam, while a very small minority follow the Bahai faith...
Other usages
- 'Ajam used by the Ottomans, referred to the Persian Safavids
- The Kurdish historian, Sharaf-al-Din Bitlisi, uses the term Ajam( عجم) in his book Sharafnama (1597) to refer to the(Shia religion) Persians.
- Modern Sunni Kurds of Iran use this term to denote Persians, Azeris and Southern Kurds.
- Adjam, Hajjam, Ajaim, Ajami, Akham (as Axam in Spain for ajam), Ayam in eastern Europe.
- In TurkishTurkish languageTurkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, the usage of the term is not applied to any ethnic group, but instead appears to have evolved from the original Arabic usage for outsiders in-general and shifted into a different meaning as the term ajemi (in modern Turkish acemi) literally means 'rookie, clumsy, inept or novice. The word, with this meaning, has been borrowed into languages of the former Ottoman EmpireOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
such as BulgarianBulgarian languageBulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
and MacedonianMacedonian languageMacedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
(аджамия) and Serbo-CroatianSerbo-Croatian languageSerbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
(adžamija). - It is also used as a surname.
- It is also the old name of Iran used mostly by Arabs and Turks(keshvar E, Ajam) as a synonym to Persia also a medieval name for the Persian Gulf as Bahr e Ajam also it is used to refer to the follower of Shiaa religion.
- In Arabic music there is a maqamArabic maqamArabic maqām is the system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music, which is mainly melodic. The word maqam in Arabic means place, location or rank. The Arabic maqam is a melody type...
or musical mode called Ajam, meaning "the Persian mode", corresponding to the major scale in Western music. - In Northern Indian music there is a Muqam called Navroz-e-Ajam.
See also: "Ajami (disambiguation)
Ajami (disambiguation)
Ajami is the Arabic adjective applied to an Ajam, a Persian or alien.Ajami or Ajam may also refer to:* Ajam , a musical mode* Ajami , a 2009 film* Ajam , a community of Persians in Bahrain...
"