Ariana

In the Greco-Roman geography, Ariana was a geographical term referring to a general region between Central Asia and the Indus River. Situated far to the east in the Achaemenid Empire, it covered a number of satrapies spanning what is today the entirety of Afghanistan, the easternmost parts of Iran, and the westernmost parts of Pakistan. "Ariana" is Latinized from Greek: Ἀρ(ε)ιανή Ar(e)ianē [region]; Ἀρ(ε)ιανοί Ar(e)ianoi [demonym]. The Greek word, in turn, is derived from the term Airyanem (lit. 'Land of the Aryans') in Avestan. During several periods of history, Ariana was governed by the Persians, such as the Achaemenids, the Kushano-Sasanians, and the Sasanians. Other significant rulers were the Greeks and the Indians, such as the Macedonians, the Seleucids, the Mauryas, the Greco-Bactrians, the Indo-Greeks, the Indo-Scythians, and the Parthians (including the Indo-Parthians) and the Kushans. A historic presence of various Huna peoples and other Central Asian nomads was also established in parts of Ariana, such as the Xionites (including the Kidarites and the Hephthalites).