Abstract
The lack of historical sources from ancient Iran and the oral transmission of historical events of the Baloch until recent centuries have led to the emergence of numerous hypotheses about the historical background of the Baloch, especially the initial origin of this people. For example, linguists have introduced Gilan or the shores of the Caspian Sea as the initial origin of the Baloch, and researchers who focus on the poems and stories of the Baloch themselves believe that the Baloch have a Semitic and Arabic origin and background. However, a comprehensive study with emphasis on historical sources has not been conducted on the origin and historical background of the Baloch. By carefully analyzing historical sources, it is concluded that the historical background of the Baloch goes back to the first Islamic centuries in the eastern region of Kerman and the northern parts of present-day Balochistan. Evidence and clues indicate that in the centuries before that, the Baloch people also lived and resided in this same territory. The purpose of this research is to identify the origins and historical background of the Baloch people, which is written in a historical manner by describing and analyzing data collected from library sources
Keywords: Baloch, origin, Jiroft, Gilan, Makran
 
Introduction
The origin and historical background of the Baloch people are disputed. The historiography of Balochistan is mostly oral, and among the Baloch people themselves, most historical events have been narrated in the form of numerous stories in the form of Baloch prose or poems. The scattered sources that directly mentioned the Baloch people date back to the early Islamic centuries. Before that, there is indirect information in literary works, inscriptions, etc., about which several interpretations can be presented. Most of the research conducted on the origin and historical background of the Baloch people disagree. Most linguists believe that the Baloch people first lived in the northwest of the Iranian plateau and in the vicinity of the Caspian Sea, then for unknown reasons they migrated from this region to Kerman during the Sassanid period. Some Baloch scholars believe that the Baloch people are related to the Semitic race in terms of origin. Central Asia and even India have also been introduced as the original origin of the Baloch people by a few researchers. By carefully analyzing historical sources, it can be inferred that what the Greek texts referred to as Gedrosia meant by Gedrosia was Baluch. Gedrosia in Greek sources corresponds geographically to Jiroft and parts of present-day Baluchistan. The earliest sources of the early Islamic centuries also mentioned the Baluch people in the Jiroft area. Therefore, it can be assumed that the original origin of the Baluch people in ancient times was the eastern region of Kerman, namely Jiroft, as well as the northern regions of present-day Baluchistan.
Materials & Methods
The materials and data of this research have been collected from library sources. The collected data, including news, information, analysis, and opinions, were categorized and then analyzed. This realization has been written in a historical manner and the description and analysis of the collected data have been written.
Discussion & Results
Researchers who believe that the Baluchi originated in the Gilan region or the shores of the Caspian Sea in northwest Iran cite the Shahnameh, and some also cite the text of the cities of Iranshahr. Others consider the linguistic and cultural similarities between the Baluchi and Gilani people as the reason for this hypothesis. If the verses of the Shahnameh are carefully examined, it is understood that there is no explicit connection in terms of the neighborhood of the Baluchi's place of residence with Gilan. If this relationship existed, given that it was not extensive and was not mentioned in historical sources, it was probably in line with the migration of some Baluchi at some point in the history of ancient Iran from the area of modern Kerman and Makran to Gilan and the northern borders. This migration took place in order to suppress rebellions there, or with defensive intentions against invaders, or to adjust power.
Regarding the linguistic similarities between the Baluchi and Gilaki people, it can be said that this similarity is due to the common linguistic roots of these two peoples. This means that both languages had their roots in ancient Iranian languages and had little interaction with other languages and peoples throughout history, and their original form has been preserved.
The first historical and geographical sources that explicitly mention the Baloch are geographers from the first Islamic centuries. According to reports, in the fourth century, a large population of Baloch people lived in the eastern regions of Kerman and the vicinity of Jiroft. Therefore, it can be inferred that during that period and even a few centuries before that, the central core of the Baloch population was in this region. One of the very old sources that testifies to this claim is the Geography of Musa Khurani. In the text of the Geography of Musa Khurani, two areas of the coast of Nimroz or South are mentioned as Spit and Vasht. Vasht is the Baloch pronunciation of the word Khosh. The place that the geographers of the first Islamic centuries called Khavash. Spit, the Baloch pronunciation of the word Sefid, is actually modern-day Nusrat Abad. The use of Baluchi words in these areas during the Sasanian period indicates the presence of Baluchis in this region.
Conclusion
Considering the specific linguistic, cultural, social and economic characteristics of the Baloch people, who spread over a vast area in the southeast of the Iranian plateau to the Indus, it is more acceptable to assume that the original origin of the Baloch people was in the eastern region of Kerman to parts of Makran, and that they were scattered in scattered and minority forms to the outskirts of the desert and Lut to the vicinity of Alborz and parts of Sistan, Khorasan and surrounding areas. The forced and voluntary migrations of the Baloch people throughout history have caused some Baloch people to live in the northern regions of Iran or Aleppo, Syria, etc. at some point in time, and their linguistic, cultural and mythological traces can be traced in these lands. The migration of some ethnic groups from other lands to Balochistan and their gradual erosion into Baloch culture and their becoming Baloch has also led to the original location of those ethnic groups being considered as the original origin of all Baloch people.