History of the Pashtun people
From a richly illustrated manuscript of Pashto diwan of Rahman Baba, commissioned by Sardar Abdullah Khan Alakozai, Kashmir, dated to 14th October, 1798. Source Abdullah Khan Alakozai was governor of Kashmir from 1795 to 1807. In 1796.A.D, Syed Yahya from Baghdad visited Kashmir. After paying his visit to various religious places of valley he decided to leave. … Read more
The origin of the Pindaris is shrouded in obscurity. They first come into notice as a class of unpaid auxiliaries attached to Maratha armies of the eighteenth century who lived by plunder and devastation of the enemy country. The name is Marathi and probably derives from two words, meaning “bundle of grass” and “who takes” … Read more
In a letter Ahmad Shah Abdali to in a letter written to Raja Madho Singh (the ruler of Jaipur), Ahmad Shah Durrani reveals very important information. He informs Madho Singh that on the day of the battle of Panipat, Marathas came out with 200,000 (two lakh) cavalry and foot besides artillery and a force of … Read more
The Abdali historical tradition (recorded in early 19th century) relates that a grand jirga of Abdali clans around Kandahar was held in 1589 AD. To get rid of the feuds between the various clans of Abdali, they decided that the entire tribe should have one malik as had been the case when the tribe dwelt … Read more
Origin legend According to the legends prevalent amongst the Orakzai elders, Tirah was formerly occupied by the Hindu non-Pashtun race, called the Tirahis whose descendants are, to this day, found in some villages as ‘Hamsaya‘ (dependents) of the Orakzai. Tirahis were ruled by different rajas whose names can still be traced in several places in … Read more
Jadunath Sarkar’s statement about the marriage of Princess Hazrat Mahal with Ahmad Shah Durrani In any confrontation, a hero of one side is often the villain of another. Renowned Indian historian Jadunath Nath Sarkar while mentioning Ahmad Shah’s marriage with Princess Hazrat Mahal in 1756, casts aspersion on the former as under: “This tender lamb … Read more
Ahmad Shah Durrani had served so long under Nadir Shah that it should be of no surprise that he organized his army on similar lines as the Persian one. Hence, the backbone of the Durrani army consisted of an elite corps of about 10,000 royal slaves (ghulam-shahis), one-third being former Qizalbashes who had served in … Read more
After Panipat war of 1761, Najib Khan Yousafzai, entitled Najib ad-Dawlah, became the regent of Delhi. Najib’s Baloch proteges formed a line of defence along the south-western frontier of his domain. The Baloch settlements were in the modern Rohtak district, — such as Jhajhar, Bahadurgarh, Farrukhnagar and Tauru — the petty Barons of which clung … Read more
According to Makhzan-i-Afghani of Naimatullah Haravi [composed in 1612 A.D], Khajak was one of the 18 sons of Panni, son of Dani, son of Ghurghusht. The Khajjaks and some of the Panni clans have been invariably mistaken by the British writers for the Kakars. Charles Masson turns the Khajjaks into a Baloch tribe. The Khajaks … Read more