The only possible identification of Airyana Vaejah must point to the great Hindukus mountain range. - Gherardo Gnoli

[Likewise, in later Greek tradition, Ariane] “is the Greek name which doubtless reflects an older Iranian tradition that designated with an equivalent form the regions of eastern Iran lying mostly south, and not north, of the Hindukus. It is clear how important this information is in our research as a whole.” ...

We do not know for certain which river of the traditional cosmology it corresponded to, although the one that naturally comes to mind is the river Arodvi Brzi. Likewise we are unsure of its identification with this or that river of actual geography, although in this case, too, it does not seem that we have a great many rivers to choose from. For a number of reasons that we cannot go into here, as it would lead us too far astray the only rivers we can seriously take into consideration are those such as the Oxus and the Helmand... I have already collected on several occasions evidence and arguments in favour of the latter river in particular...

When we speak of Medes and Persians, we must not lose sight of a historical perspective. In all likelihood, the ethnic groups of the Medes and the Persians that were settling the historical lands in the 8th century B.C. must already have been the result of processes of assimilation of heterogeneous ethnic, linguistic and cultural elements.