Barakzai

Barakzai
Total population
(several millions)
Regions with significant populations
Afghanistan, Pakistan
Languages
Pashto, Dari Persian, Balochi
Religion
Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
Barakzaiother Pashtun tribes, other Iranian peoples

Bārakzai (Pashto: بارکزی‎, bārakzay, plur. 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. There are seven distinct Pashtun tribes named Barakzai, with the Zirak branch of the Durrani tribe being the most important and largest tribe with over 4 million people. [1]

Many people from the Barakzai tribe moved to Pakistan. They are living in Chhachh in Pakistan.

Emblem of Afghanistan (1928–1929)
Flag of the Abdali Afghan Tribes. Made from historical Texts & references.

History

According to Hyat Khan's history of Afghanistan, from their progenitor Bor Tareen, otherwise known as Abdal, are descended two main divisions: the Zirak and the Panjpai. The term Abdal, however, gradually superseded Bor Tareen and came into special prominence when Ahmad Shah Abdali, commonly known as Durrani, began his career of conquest. The Achakzi were once a branch of the large Barakzai tribe, but Ahmad Shah Durrani was worried over this large tribe as potential competition for control of Kabul’s throne and split the tribe into two separate components and since then the Achakzi have remained distinct and are a separate tribe today. Their original homeland was Maruf District, Kandahar Province.[2][3] [4]

Rachel's Tomb, near Bethlehem, 1891

Barakzai, are also sometimes counted to be as one of the Lost tribes of Israel and are sometimes associated with the Tribe of Benjamin (Hebrew: בִּנְיָמִין, Modern Binyamin, Tiberian Binyāmîn).[5][6][7][8][9] It's said that Barakzai are the descendants of "Afghana" (born ~ 1000 BC) the grandson of King Saul of the Tribe of Benjamin is considered in Afghan folklore a tribal chief or prince of Bani Israel[10] (Israelite) origin and a progenitor of modern-day Pashtuns (ethnic Afghans),[11][12][13][14][15] the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and second largest in Pakistan. The ethnonym "Afghan" is believed to derive from his name.[11][12][13][14][15]

Durrani tribe are their closest counters and then next closest to Muhammad zai , Kasi, Shinwari , Ghoryakhel , Yousafzai (Sons of Joseph) since Yūsuf was Binyāmîn's full brother, and Ephriti (Tribe of Ephraim) & Khattak (Tribe of Menashe) as their last closest in terms of the Lost Tribes of Israel and also in relations because Ephraim & Menashe were the sons of Yūsuf, which makes Ephraim & Menashe the nephew of Binyāmîn, who was the youngest son of Yaʿqūb with Raḥel.[16][17][18][19] [20] Even the name Barakzi and its most prominent & powerful sub tribe of Mohammadzi can be compared with the name of Ashkenazi, who are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. The term suffix - zi, the plural of Pashto zay, stands for "descendant.[21] However, research towards validating such claims has been inconclusive.[22][23][24]

Afghana

Further information: Afghan (ethnonym)
Family Tree & Lineage
Afghana, legendary grandson of King Saul and ancestor of Qais Abdur Rashid

The legend describes Afghana as the grandson of King Saul (Talut). Afghana was the son of Irmia (Jeremia), and Jeremia in turn was the son of King Talut. This name is mentioned in the form of Abgan in the 3rd century CE by the Sassanians [25] and as Avagana in the 6th century CE by Indian astronomer Varahamihira.[26]

It is mentioned that Afghana was orphaned at a young age, and brought up by King David. When Solomon became the king, Afghana was made commander-in-chief of the army. Afghana is also credited with the building of the first temple (also known as Bait ul-Mukaddas or the Temple of Jerusalem):[27][28][29]

According to Tadhkirat al-Muluk, Afghana migrated to the place known as Takht-i-Sulaiman and generations later Qais Abdur Rashid a descendant of Afghana embraced Islam.[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] Qais Abdur Rashid's pedigree ascended in a series of thirty-seven degrees to King Talut (Saul) through Afghana.[39][40][41] The genealogy of the Royal Family of Afghanistan and the country's Mohammadzai Emirs & Kings who ruled it are Afghana's descendants and they strictly maintain the ethics and ways of the Pashtunwali.[42][43][44]

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.

Musahiban also known as Sultan Muhammed Khel or the Yahya Khel. Descendants of Sultan Muhammed Khan, ruler of Peshawar, brother of Dost Muhammad Khan. Mohammadzai Barakzai are closely related to Amanullah Khan. The family of Nadir and Zahir Shah.

Payendah Khel are descendants of Payendah Khan, head of the Mohammadzai branch of the Barakzai tribe during the reigns of Timur and Zaman Shah, who became rulers with the decline of the Sadozai dynasty.

The Tarzi family is a branch of the Mohammadzai of Afghanistan. Although a smaller branch of the Barakzai ruling dynasty, the Tarzi family has produced some of the most famous and affluent members. The founder of Tarzi family was Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi.[45]

Politics

Genealogy of the Barakzai rulers of Afghanistan from the Barakzai dynasty

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).[46]

Languages

The principal language of Barakzai is Pashto. Persian is also used as the language for records and correspondence,[47][48][49]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Balland, D. "BĀRAKZĪ". Encyclopædia Iranica (Online ed.). United States: Columbia University.
  2. ↑ http://books.themajlis.net/book/print/538 Shariat and Tasawwuf
  3. ↑ http://www.islamicrepublicofafghanistan.com/the-legendary-qais-abdur-rashid/ The Legendary Qais Abdur Rashid
  4. ↑ http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/17/israel-lost-tribes-pashtun Pashtun clue to lost tribes of Israel: Genetic study sets out to uncover if there is a 2,700-year-old link to Afghanistan and Pakistan
  5. ↑ http://www.kulanu.org/pathan/israeliteorigins.html Pashtun Bani Israelite Origins
  6. ↑ http://www.dangoor.com/74069.html Hebrew Pashtun Article 1
  7. ↑ http://www.dangoor.com/74039.html Hebrew Pashtun Article 2
  8. ↑ Alden Oreck, The Virtual Jewish History Tour: Afghanistan from Jewish Virtual Library
  9. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0jTrbJyDQk
  10. ↑ http://wn.com/Bani-Israel
  11. 1 2 Socio-economic Behaviour of Pukhtun Tribe By Dipali Saha, Dipali Saha - 2006 - 282 pages - Page 124.
  12. 1 2 India and the Afghans: a study of a neglected region, 1370-1576 A.D., Amrendra Kumar Thakur, Janaki Prakashan, 1992 - 231 pages, Covers the history of Bihar during the Afghan rule in India. Page 2 & 9.
  13. 1 2 Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan, Volume 22, Research Society of Pakistan, 1985 - Page 4.
  14. 1 2 Pukhtun economy and society: traditional structure and economic development in a tribal society, Akbar S. Ahmed, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980 - 406 pages - Page 128 & 129.
  15. 1 2 Niamatullah's history of the Afghans , Volume 1, Niʻmat Allāh, Nirod Bhusan Roy, Santiniketan Press, 1958 - Page 5 & 9.
  16. ↑ Amir Mizroch (2010-01-09). "Are Taliban descendants of Israelites?". The Jerusalem Post.
  17. ↑ "Israelites fund scholarship to study DNA link to Taliban"
  18. ↑ Sachin Parashar (2010-01-11). "Lucknow Pathans have Jewish roots?". Times of India.
  19. ↑ Rory McCarthy (2010-01-17). "Pashtun clue to lost tribes of Israel". The Observer.
  20. ↑ https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Afghanistan.html
  21. ↑ http://www.nps.edu/Programs/CCs/FamilyTrees.html
  22. ↑ Amir Mizroch (2010-01-09). "Are Taliban descendants of Israelites?". The Jerusalem Post.
  23. ↑ Sachin Parashar (2010-01-11). "Lucknow Pathans have Jewish roots?". Times of India.
  24. ↑ Rory McCarthy (2010-01-17). "Pashtun clue to lost tribes of Israel". The Observer.
  25. ↑ name="Britannica-Abgan">"History of Afghanistan". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
  26. ↑ name="Afghan">Ch. M. Kieffer (December 15, 1983). "Afghan". Encyclopædia Iranica (Encyclopædia Iranica Online ed.). Columbia University.
  27. ↑ Pathan tribal patterns: an interim study of authoritarian family process and structure, Ruth Einsidler Newman, Foreign Studies Institute, 1965 - 111 pages.
  28. ↑ Among the wild tribes of the Afghan frontier, Theodore Leighton Pennell, Oxford University Press, 1975 - 323 pages - page 31.
  29. ↑ Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. Edited by James Hastings, Volume 1, James Hastings, John Alexander Selbie - 2001 - 343 pages - Page 159.
  30. ↑ The people of India, Sir Herbert Hope Risley, William Crooke, Oriental Books Reprint Corp.; exclusively distributed by Munshiram Manoharlal, 1969 - 472 pages - Page 64.
  31. ↑ Balochistan: land, history, people, Ihsan H. Nadiem, Sang-e-Meel Publications, 2007 - Balochistān (Pakistan) - 160 pages - Page 16.
  32. ↑ Pakistan pictorial, Pakistan Publications, 2003.
  33. ↑ Frontier and Overseas Expeditions from India: Baluchistan and the first Afghan war, India. Army. Intelligence Branch, Nisa Traders : sole distributors, Gosha-e-Adab, 1979 - Page 19.
  34. ↑ Balochistan Through the Ages: Tribes, Baluchistan (Pakistan), Nisa Traders : sole distributors Gosha-e-Adab, 1979 - Page 104.
  35. ↑ Imperial gazetteer of India , Volume 5, Sir William Wilson Hunter, Great Britain. India Office, Clarendon Press, 1908.
  36. ↑ The guardians of the frontier: the Frontier Corps, N.W.F.P., Mohammad Nawaz Khan, Frontier Corps, North West Frontier Province, 1994 - 498 pages.
  37. ↑ Balochistan: land, history, people, Ihsan H. Nadiem, Sang-e-Meel Publications, 2007 - - 160 pages, Page 16.
  38. ↑ Pakistan pictorial, Publisher: Pakistan Publications, 2003.
  39. ↑ Niamatullah's history of the Afghans , Volume 1, Niʻmat Allāh, Nirod Bhusan Roy, Santiniketan Press, 1958.
  40. ↑ Census of India, 1901 , Volume 18, Part 1, India. Census Commissioner, Edward Albert Gait, Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1902 - Page 88.
  41. ↑ Settling the frontier: land, law and society in the Peshawar valley, 1500-1900, Robert Nichols, Robert Nichols (PhD.), Oxford University Press, 2001 - 321 pages.
  42. ↑ Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society , Volume 39, Pakistan Historical Society, Pakistan Historical Society, 1991.
  43. ↑ Tadhkirat al-Muluk: A Manual of Safavid Administration, Translated by V. Minorsky, Publisher: Gibb Memorial Trust; 2nd edition (December 1, 1980) Language: English, ISBN 978-0-906094-12-9, Paperback: 360 pages.
  44. ↑ Meaning and Practice, Afghanistan Country Study: Religion, Illinois Institute of Technology (retrieved 18 January 2007).
  45. ↑ http://www.royalark.net/Afghanistan/tarzi.htm
  46. ↑ Afghanistan - Ethnic Groups
  47. ↑ Pakistan and the emergence of Islamic militancy in Afghanistan By Rizwan Hussain Page 16
  48. ↑ page 64 India and Central Asia By J. N. Roy, J.N. Roy And B.B. Kumar, Astha Bharati (Organization)
  49. ↑ Study of the Pathan Communities in Four States of India, Khyber.org (retrieved 30 January 2008)

External links

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