AIMAK, the name of nomadic or semi-nomadic Mongolian tribes inhabiting the north and north-west Afghan highlands north of Herat. Aimak is a Mongolian word meaning "clan" or "section of a tribe." They were originally known as "chahar (the four) eimaks," because there were four principal tribes : the Taimani, the Ferozkhoi, the Jamshidi and the Hazara. They number about 250,000, and speak a dialect akin to Kalmuck. They are Sunnite Mohammedans.