Ariana, the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek Ἀρ(ε)ιανή Ar(e)ianē, originating from the Old Persian word Ariyanem (Ariana) meaning "The Land of the Aryans", similar to the use of Āryāvarta. It was a general geographical term used by some Greek and Roman authors of the ancient period for a district of wide extent between Central Asia and the Indus River, comprising the eastern provinces of the Achaemenid Empire that covered the whole of modern-day Afghanistan, as well as the easternmost part of Iran and up to the Indus River in Pakistan.
