The Baloch people or the Balochs are an Iranian ethnic group which speaks the Western Iranic Balochi language and are native to the Balochistan region of South and West Asia, occupying parts of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. There are also Baloch diaspora communities in neighbouring regions, including in Central Asia, and the Arabian Peninsula. They were traditionally nomadic pastoralists.

The majority of the Baloch reside within Pakistan. About 50% of the total Baloch population live in the Pakistani province of Balochistan, while 40% are settled in Sindh and a significant albeit smaller number resides in the Pakistani Punjab. They make up 3.6% of Pakistan's total population, 2% of Iran's population, and around 0.5%–1% of the population of Afghanistan, and the largest non-Arab community in Oman.

Etymology

The exact origin of the word "Baloch" is unclear. According to the Baloch historian Naseer Dashti (2012), the name of the ethnic group derives from Balaschik living in Balasagan, between the Caspian Sea and Lake Van in present-day Turkey and Azerbaijan, who are believed to have migrated to Balochistan during the Sasanian times. The remnants of the original name such as Balochuk and Balochiki are said to be still used as ethnic names in Balochistan.

Ernst Emil Herzfeld believes that the word Baloch is derived from the Median term brza -vačiya meaning "loud shouting".

Regardless of its possible roots in ancient era, the ethnonym Baloch might be derived from a term cockscomb or crest used in Middle Persian that refer to the Baloch in Median kingdom and Kayanian dynasty who were part of the army of Astyages or Kay Khosrow troops. In ancient time, the Baloch wore distinctive helmets decorated with a cock's comb. It is presumably indicated to Turban that known as the "Paag" in Balochi language. The Baloch traditionally wear various styles of the turban, wrapped around the head.

Some other writers suggest a derivation from Sanskrit words bal, meaning strength, and och meaning high or magnificent.

An earliest Sanskrit reference to the Baloch might be the Gwalior inscription of the Gurjara-Pratihara ruler Mihira Bhoja (r. 836–885), which says that the dynasty's founder Nagabhata I repelled a powerful army of Valacha Mlecchas, translated as "Baloch foreigners" by D. R. Bhandarkar. The army in question is that of the Umayyad Caliphate after the conquest of Sindh.

Language

Balochi (, romanised: ) is an Indo-European language, spoken by the Baloch and belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the family. As an Iranian language, it is classified in the Northwestern group, spoken primarily in the Balochistan region of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. In addition, there are speakers in Oman, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Turkmenistan, East Africa and in diaspora communities in other parts of the world.

There are a number of characteristic features that Balochi shares to Parthian and Median and close affinity with them.

The Balochi dialects are classified as:

  • Eastern group (the Soleimani dialect group)
  • Southern group or Makrani dialect (part of the Makrani dialect group)
  • Western group (part of the Rakhshani dialect group)

Koroshi is also classified as Balochi.

Many Baloch are either bilingual or multilingual, speaking the language of their respective nation of origin, such as Urdu, Persian, and Arabic as a second language alongside their native Balochi, while those in diaspora communities often speak three or more languages.

Agha Mir Nasir Khan Ahmadzai the author of seven-volume book on the history of Baloch and Balochistan, connects Balochs with Medes and considers them descendants of the Medes, the people of ancient Iran. He makes mention of all Baloch tribes are descendants of the Medes, who came to Balochistan and settled in ancient time. based on the source, Padishkhwārgar (located at the vicinity of Segistan) was a Sasanian province in Late Antiquity and people who contributed to building 21 cities in Padishkhwargar were the Kōfyār "mountain dweller" people called Baločān "Balochs".

Mansel Longworth Dames in 1902 stated that "a theory of the origin of the Baloch people, the largest ethnic group in the region, is that they are of Median descent."

The Baloch were among Kay Khosrow allies and formed part of his army headed by General Ashkash.

Also in another piece of this pose which is depicted in the same work: