Ashtavakra or Ushtaavukruhu is a revered Vedic sage in Hinduism. His name literally means "eight deformities", reflecting the eight physical deformities he was born with. His maternal grandfather was the Vedic sage Aruni, his parents were both Vedic students at Aruni's school. Ashtavakra studied, became a sage and a celebrated character of the Hindu Itihasa epics and Puranas.
Ashwin Sanghi is an Indian writer and author of the novels: The Rozabal Line, Chanakya's Chant, The Krishna Key, Sialkot Saga, Keepers Of The Kalachakra, The Vault of Vishnu and The Magicians of Mazda.
Aşık Çelebi was the name of Pir Mehmed, an Ottoman biographer, poet, and translator. Born in Prizren, he served as kadi (judge) in many towns of the Rumelia. His major work Senses of Poets (Meşairü'ş-Şuara) of 1568 is of major importance.
Dervish Ahmed, better known by his pen name Âşıki or family name Aşıkpaşazade, was an Ottoman historian, a prominent representative of the early Ottoman historiography. He was a descendant of mystic poet dervish Aşık Pasha (1272–1333). He was born in the region of Amasya and studied in various Anatolian towns before going to Hajj and stayed some time in Egypt. He later took part in various Ottoman campaigns, such as the Battle of Kosovo (1448), Fall of Constantinople and witnessed the circumcision festivities of Mustafa and Bayezid II the sons of Mehmed the Conqueror. Later in his life he started to write his famous history work Tevārīḫ-i Āl-i ʿOsmān.
Aşıq Ümer was a Crimean Tatar medieval poet of ashik, and is one of the most famous representatives of the Turkic-speaking ashik poetry in general. Ashik poetry is a special kind of literary oeuvre, the representatives of which — folk poets-singers — accompany their performances with playing the string-plucked musical instrument bağlama. Hence another name for this poetry — "bağlama poetry".
Askar Akayevich Akayev is a Kyrgyz politician who served as President of Kyrgyzstan from 1990 until being overthrown in the March 2005 Tulip Revolution.
Askold Igorevich Ivantchik is a Russian historian. Receiving his Ph.D. in history in 1996, Ivantchik was made a Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2003 and is Professor of History at Moscow State University. Since 2009 he has been editor-in-chief of the Journal of Ancient History. Ivantchik specializes in the study of the ancient Eurasian steppe nomads such as the Cimmerians and Scythians. From 2017 he is a editor-in-chief of the Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia and foreign Corresponding Member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres.
Askold Anatolievich Makarov was a Russian ballet dancer and ballet professor, leading soloist at the Kirov Ballet during the 1960s and early 1970s. Director of the Saint-Petesburg State Academic Ballet from 1976 to 2000. Awarded with: State Prize of the USSR (1951) and People's Artist of the USSR (1983).
