Barakzai
بارکزئ
EthnicityPashtun
LocationAfghanistan, Pakistan
Populationseveral millions
BranchesMohammadzai
LanguagePashto and Dari
Religion Islam

Bārakzai (Pashto: بارکزی, Bārakzay; plur. Pashto: بارکزي, Bārakzī) is the name of a Pashtun tribe from present-day, Kandahar, Afghanistan. '"Barakzai" is a common name among the Pashtuns and it means "son of Barak" in Pashto.[1] According to the Encyclopædia Iranica, "In the detailed Pashtun genealogies there are no fewer than seven instances of the ethnic name Bārakzī, at very different levels of tribal segmentation. Six of them designate simple lineages within six different tribes located in the Solaymān mountains or adjacent lands... The seventh instance, on the other hand, designates one of the most important Pashtun tribes in numbers and historic role, part of the Zīrak branch of the Dorrānay confederation.[2]

History

Ludwig W. Adamec wrote that the Barakzai are "an important section of the Zirak branch of the Durrani to which the former Barakzai/Muhammadzai ruling family belongs. In numbers, economic, and political strength, the Barakzai were the paramount tribe of Afghanistan...They were soldiers in the service of Nadir Shah, founder of the short-lived Afsharid dynasty in Iran, and were settled on land seized from the Ghilzai. They continued to hold jagirs, fiefs, in exchange for their military services to Ahmad Shah Durrani. When Painda Khan, leader of the Barakzais, was assassinated, the Barakzai chiefs under Dost Muhammad ousted and replaced the Sadozai dynasty. The Barakzai continue to possess large areas of agricultural land and extensive flocks in the area between Herat and Kandahar."[3]

Pedigree of the Payendah Khel Pashtun clan of Afghanistan.
Genealogy of the rulers of Afghanistan from the Barakzai dynasty.

Mohammadzai

Mohammadzai are the most prominent & powerful sub-tribe of Barakzai, they belong to the Zirak branch of the Durrani confederacy, and are primarily centered around Kandahar. They can also be found in other provinces throughout Afghanistan as well across the border in the Pakistan's Balochistan Province.

The Musahiban, originally the Yahya Khel clan,[4] are descendants of Sultan Mohammad Khan. Mohammadzai Barakzai are closely related to Amanullah Khan.

Shaghasi

Shaghasi are sub-tribe of Barakzai, they belong to the Zirak branch of the Durrani confederacy, and are primarily centered around Kandahar.

The Shaghasi Khel were even more powerful than the Mohammadzai during the reign of Emir Sher Ali Khan - Emir of Afghanistan, and Emir Amanullah Khan - Emir of Afghanistan (February 28, 1919 – 1926), later King of Afghanistan (1926 - January 14, 1929).[5] Shaghasi Barakzai are closely related to Amanullah Khan. Queen Sawar Sultana Begum Shaghasi daughter of Loinab Sher Dil Khan of Shaghasi, Governor of Balkh was King Amanullah Khan's mother.

Ali Ahmad Khan Shaghasi (1883–1929) who was declared King of Afghanistan twice in 1929 was also Shaghasi Barakzai.

Loynab Shir Dil Khan Shaghasi' son of Shaghasi Mirdaad Khan Barakzai, grand son of Bazar Khan Barakzai, and great grand son of Sardar Yasin Khan Barakzai. Işik Aqasi (Minister of the Royal Court "Chemberlain") to Dost Mohammad Khan 1856, and Sher Ali Khan. Regional Sardar, Governor of Turkistan and Balkh, and the first and only Loynaad of Afghanistan during the Barakzai dynasty.

Politics

From 1826 to 1978, most rulers of Afghanistan belonged to the two branches of one Barakzai dynasty descending from the chiefs of the Barakzai tribe (belonging to the Mohammadzai sub-tribe).[6]

Languages

The principal language of Barakzai is Pashto. Dari is also used as the language for records and correspondence.[7][8][9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Martin, Mike (2014). An Intimate War: An Oral History of the Helmand Conflict, 1978-2012. Oxford University Press. p. 321. ISBN 978-0199387984. Retrieved 26 July 2016. In Pushtun folklore, Barak, Alak and Popol were brothers who went their separate ways to found tribes in their own namesake with the addition of the—zai (son of) suffix, for example, Barakzai.
  2. ↑ Balland, D. "BĀRAKZĪ". Encyclopædia Iranica (Online ed.). United States: Columbia University.
  3. ↑ Adamec, Ludwig W. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan 4th revised edition. Scarecrow Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-0810878150. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  4. ↑ Saikal, Amin (2004). Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival. B. Tauris. pp. 47–49. ISBN 978-1850434375. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  5. ↑ Habibi, Abdul Hai (1984) [1363]. Constitutionalism movements in Afghanistan (in Dari) (1 ed.). Kabul: Governmental press. p. 197.
  6. ↑ Afghanistan – Ethnic Groups
  7. ↑ Pakistan and the emergence of Islamic militancy in Afghanistan By Rizwan Hussain Page 16
  8. ↑ page 64 India and Central Asia By J. N. Roy, J.N. Roy And B.B. Kumar, Astha Bharati (Organization)
  9. ↑ Study of the Pathan Communities in Four States of India[usurped], Khyber.org (retrieved 30 January 2008)
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