Durrani tribe was known by the name of Abdali before the reign of Ahmad Shah Durrani. Abdal or Awdal, son of Tarin, is the progenitor of the Abdali tribe. Tradition claims that Abdal bore this surname because he had been in the service of one of the Abdal, who represent the fifth degree in the hierarchy of Sufi saints.
Durrani tribe has two main divisions: (a) The Zirak, who, especially in the region of Qandahar, include the clans of the Popalzai, the Alikozai, the Barakzai, and the Achakzai. (b) The Panjpai, which include the Nurzai, the Alizai and the Ishaqzai or Sakzai, reside for the most part in the west of the country (Helmand, Farah, Sistan and Herat).
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| Seyyeed Khan, a Dooraunee Patan, a merchant of Candahar. circa 1816-20, an illustration from the Fraser Album, Company School, Delhi or Haryana. |
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| A Durrani shepherd, 1815. A Plate from Mountstuart Elphinstone’s book “An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, and Its Dependencies in Persia, Tartary, and India: Comprising a View of the Afghaun Nation, and a History of the Dooraunee Monarchy” Â
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| A Durrani shepherd, 1815. A Plate from Mountstuart Elphinstone’s book |
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| nMoolah Seyed Oollah, a Dooraunee Patan, a horse merchant of Caubul, circa 1816-20, an illustration from the Fraser Album, Company School, Delhi or Haryana. |
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| Muhammad Gul Durrani , a zamindar of Jalalabad, 1878. Sketch by William Simpson |
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| A Durrani Pashtun, Kabul, 1868. From Watson and Kaye collection |
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| Ahmad Shah Abdali, ca.1840 (made).Place of origin : Punjab. Inscribed in Persian : “Picture of Ahmad Shah King of Turan”. Victoria and Albert Museum |