Brief History of Afghans in India from 682 A.D to 1436 A.D

[Samandri]

Brother you are right an example would be of the Pathans of multan who have been living for ages and now are more punjabi than Pathans .
Talking of multan can you tell me if Baba Farid of multan was an afghan ?

Also you have mentioned that Pathans came up north during the rule of Kabul shahi's any thing relevant to prove it ?

I think Farid ganjshakar has nothing to do with Afghans

 

[Zaalim]

I think Farid ganjshakar has nothing to do with Afghans

He was Punjabi.

A saint that Muslims and Sikhs both revere. Especially from the Jalandar area.

He was rumored to have captured electricity in a lota, by reciting the name of Allah swt according to folk lore.

 

[zip]

There are also hindu lohana and pashtun-lohani, there are even rohilla-rajputs who insist that they have nothing to do with Afghan-rohillas. Same might be the case with langahs. "rai" doesnt signify any thing, earliar pashtuns had weird and diverse names. Farishta and ahmad yadgar mention them as afghans, moreover they themeselves claim that they have migrated from sibi-dhadar, an afghan abode contineous with koh sulieman region.

Rai is surname for very small community of people in coastal area of south India ..According to sources they were warrior race ..That very small region has different language then dominating other languages ...There may be a link between these people

 

[zip]

There are also hindu lohana and pashtun-lohani, there are even rohilla-rajputs who insist that they have nothing to do with Afghan-rohillas. Same might be the case with langahs. "rai" doesnt signify any thing, earliar pashtuns had weird and diverse names. Farishta and ahmad yadgar mention them as afghans, moreover they themeselves claim that they have migrated from sibi-dhadar, an afghan abode contineous with koh sulieman region.

Rai is surname for very small community of people in coastal area of south India ..According to sources they were warrior race ..That very small region has different language then dominating other languages ...There may be a link between these people

 

[dil_dil]

There are also hindu lohana and pashtun-lohani, there are even rohilla-rajputs who insist that they have nothing to do with Afghan-rohillas. Same might be the case with langahs. "rai" doesnt signify any thing, earliar pashtuns had weird and diverse names. Farishta and ahmad yadgar mention them as afghans, moreover they themeselves claim that they have migrated from sibi-dhadar, an afghan abode continuous with Koh sulieman region. Note that Dera Ghazi Khan at that time was abode of Nahar clan of Ghurghast Afghans who established independent kingdom of Sitpur in 1450 A.D. Khetrans is sub-tribe of miana Afghans but the ones in Barkhan associate themselves with Balochs (they are balochized) while the ones in DG Khan call themselves Pathans.
Tarikh-i-Ferishta, Ain-i-Akbari Vol.II (page 336) and Cambridge history of India Vol.III (page 503) mention Langahs as Afghan clan which used to rule Siwi immediately before 1440 A.D. Its possible that they may not be from Sibi-dhadar at all, but they must have asserted their claim of Afghan origin at that time.
English historian Henry George Raverty consider Langahs as Jats and dismiss their Afghan origin claim.

I can post more sources, Langah are not pashtuns and never were. Rai is title like rajput, no pashtun will use this surname. And its also entirely possible they didn't move from Sibi but just claim it. Lohani-pashtuns have to do with lohani hindus, you will not accept this but its true.

Rohilla rajput indeed have nothing to do with pashtuns. Because in UP there were 2 types of pathans.

Nasli pathans and divani pathans. Nasli being actual decendent of pashtuns and divani being native converts in UP/Bihar.

And half of punjabis are arabs or what ever according to H.A Rose book anyway, no need to take these claims at face value. Especially when so much evidence exist, like mirasis record. You can't ignore mirasis, they know who is who in rural areas.

 

[dil_dil]

I have been looking at famous Khokhars place of birth. Sheikha Khokhar was from village Thakkhar, just about west of river Chenab, in border of district Mandi Bahuddin.

Jasrath Khokhar was from village Kuri, where there is still grave/mazar of him. This village is also just beside river Chenab.

Thakkhar

Thakkar, Pakistán - Google Maps

Kuri

Kuri, Pakistán - Google Maps

First i though Kuri village was in Kharian tehsil but this is not the case, Jasrath khokhar village is in Union Council Mari Khokhran. These villages are mostly inhabited by Malik Khokhars.

 

[dil_dil]

KakaZai a Pushtun tribe settled in Punjab, the ones in Punjab are Punjabi pathans they speak Punjabi, a lot migrated from East Punjab in 1947.

Copied from Wikipedia:
Early History

The Kakazai came to South Asia during invasions such as those of Mahmud of Ghazni, settling in various regions.[1][2][10]

British-Raj Era

A major Kakazai group from Gurdaspur, East Punjab, India settled in twelve villages, including Babal Chak, Faizullah Chak, Sut Kohiah (Satkoha), and Wazir Chak, near Dhariwal. At the independence in August 1947, having been initially told they (being Muslim) would be in Pakistan, they were caught up in the ensuing violence and the survivors displaced when their area became part of India.[30][31][32][33][34][35]

Modern Era

Today, the majority of the Kakazai reside in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan, they reside in Marawara District, and the Barkanai and Shortan areas of Kunar[36] as well as some areas of Laghman.[24]

In Pakistan, they reside in all provinces, particularly in the areas of Dara Kakazai (Valley of Watelai, also known as Mamund Valley),[37] Bajaur Agency (Lagharai, Kalozai, Kaga, Mukha, Maina and Ghakhi areas of Tehsil Mamund), Lahore,[38][39] Abbottabad, Peshawar, Sialkot,[40] Dera Ghazi Khan, Quetta, Karachi, Kashmir, Jehlum, Bhalwal, Sargodha, Chakwal, Gujrat, Chak Karal, Isa Khel, Musa Khel, and Killi Kakazai (Pishin, Baluchistan).[24][31][41][42]

Kakezai have dubious pashtun ancestry, they are trading caste in punjab. Mostly live in urban areas and are very succefull. Its possible they may have migrated from Afghanistan (Dari people?) before converting to Islam as one find many non-muslim surnames in ancestors of Kakezai.

 

[Jit]

Afgans have always played a necessary and significant role in Indian history; considered gate keepers of the northwest; numerous instances of inter-marriages. Even today from north to southern peninsula, term 'patani' is quite well known for pathans engaged in money lending

 

[niaz]

There is mention of Afghans in the Shahnameh implying that a group of people referred to as Abgan or Afghan were known post Kushan/Ephthalite period before the Islamic era. However the areas called Khorasan, Zabulistan, Gandhara, Bactaria, Archosia etc. which formed the present day Afghanistan were largely Buddhists, Hindus, Zoroastrians or Shamanists around 682 AD.

Islamization of the Eastern Iranian empire on any large scale really started during early ninth century. Therefore presence of Afghan soldiers in the army of Mohammed bin Qassim appears to be farfetched.

 

[Samandri]

There is mention of Afghans in the Shahnameh implying that a group of people referred to as Abgan or Afghan were known post Kushan/Ephthalite period before the Islamic era. However the areas called Khorasan, Zabulistan, Gandhara, Bactaria, Archosia etc. which formed the present day Afghanistan were largely Buddhists, Hindus, Zoroastrians or Shamanists around 682 AD.

Islamization of the Eastern Iranian empire on any large scale really started during early ninth century. Therefore presence of Afghan soldiers in the army of Mohammed bin Qassim appears to be farfetched.

Afghans made their first expedition into India in 705 AD, when their contingent from Khurasan, then under the rule of Abdul Malik Hijjaj bin Yousuf joined Muhammad bin Qasim to Sind. (Henry Priestly, “Inhabitants of Afghanistan” p- 25.)
See also The Encyclopaedia of Islam p-782

 

[niaz]

Khorasan during the Sassanid times referred mostly to north eastern part of Iran & Afghanistan, seatof the governor was at Merv which is now in Turkmenistan. Abu Muslim Khorasani who started the rebellion against the Omayyad’s in 747 was from Merv. Merv was a garrison town and the troops were mostly of Arab origin. Garrison from Khorsan does not imply that it consisted of Afghan soldiers. Abu Muslim Khorasani moved to Iraq & Syria after capturing Merv in 748, there is no mention of any Afghan soldiers in his army even though it was 40 years after Mohammed bin Qassim.

Understand by Afghans you mean Pashtuns or Pathans. Pashtuns homelands were mostly south of Hindu Kush range and referred to as Zamindawar & Kabulistan.

Kabul Shahi /Hindu Shahi kingdom’s capital was Kapisa / Kabul until 870 AD. Later it was transferred to Waihind supposed to be near Peshawar. Kabul Shahi Kings were of Turkish lineage and population was Buddhist or Hindu. Conversion to Islam started in the 9th century and continued well into the tenth century AD.

In my view Tajiks were the first people of Eastern Iran that converted to Islam as early as the 8th century AD. The name Tajik is understood to be a corruption of the Iranian Tazik meaning Arab referring to them adopting Islam.

However if you insist on believing that Pashtun became Muslims in 705 and joined Mohammed bin Qassim, you are welcome.

 

[Samandri]

Khorasan during the Sassanid times referred mostly to north eastern part of Iran & Afghanistan, seat the governor was at Merv which is now in Turkmenistan. Abu Muslim Khorasani who started the rebellion against the Omayyad’s in 747 was from Merv. Merv was a garrison town and the troops were mostly of Arab origin. Garrison from Khorsan does not imply that it consisted of Afghan soldiers. Abu Muslim Khorasani moved to Iraq & Syria after capturing Merv in 748, there is no mention of any Afghan soldiers in his army even though it was 40 years after Mohammed bin Qassim.

Understand by Afghans you mean Pashtuns or Pathans. Pashtuns homelands were mostly south of Hindu Kush range and referred to as Zamindawar & Kabulistan.

Kabul Shahi /Hindu Shahi kingdom’s capital was Kapisa / Kabul until 870 AD. Later it was transferred to Waihind supposed to be near Peshawar. Kabul Shahi Kings were of Turkish lineage and population was Buddhist or Hindu. Conversion to Islam started in the 9th century and continued well into the tenth century AD.

In my view Tajiks were the first people of Eastern Iran that converted to Islam as early as the 8th century AD. The name Tajik is understood to be a corruption of the Iranian Tazik meaning Arab referring to them adopting Islam.

However if you insist on believing that Pashtun became Muslims in 705 and joined Mohammed bin Qassim, you are welcome.

Actually Pashtuns were not inhabitants of Kabulistan during the period of Arab invasion, their abode was Koh Suleiman range which was under Khorasan.

 

[Aepsilons]

According to Ferishta, In 682 AD, the Afghans from their mountains, who had, even at that early period, embraced the Islam, wrested certain possessions from the Hindu Rajput king of Lahore, Prithviraj Chauhan. Afghans also came to the Indus plains from Roh in 711-12 A.D with the army of Muhammad Bin Qasim , the conqueror of Sindh and allied themselves politically with the Hindu-Shahi, rulers of Lahore, and receiving parts of Laghman for settlement , built a fort in the mountains of Peshawer to protect the Punjab from raids. During Alapatgin government at Ghazna, when his commander-in-chief Subuktigin raided Lamghan and Mulatn, the Afghans sought help from Raja Jaipal who appointed their chief , Shiekh Hamid Lodhi, viceroy of Wilayats of Lamghan and Multan. Shiekh Hamid appointed his own men as governors of those districts , and thereby the Afghans gained political importance; their settlements stretched southwards from Laghman to Multan, incorporating the tracts of Bannu and Dera Isamel Khan.

Later a family of the Lodhi tribe settled at Multan , which was ruled in 1005 A.D by Abu Fateh Daud, a grandson of Shiekh Hamid Lodhi. There was also a strong Afghan element in the forces of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna and Shahabudin of Ghor. The latter on his third campaign to India had 12,000 experienced Afghan horsemen in his army and he defeated the Rajputs under Pritviraj Chauhan. He apponted Malik Mauz al din Ghori at the head of 20,000 men to transplant the Afghans from Ghor to the new settlements , tract extending from Kabul to Indus, thereby paving his way for the conquest of Hindostan. Each clan was granted an Ikta in the environs of Nilab and the Indus.

Serving thus in the army of Shahabudin Ghori , the Afghans rose to power and settled over a large tract of land. Their leader Ali Kirmakh was appointed governor of Multan in 1186-87 A.D.

Balban brought areas known as kohpaya.Bharatpur, Dholpur and parts of what became Jaipur and Lawar, under the sword with the help of a body of Afghans. From about the same time fortresses on Mongol frontier had begun to be garrisoned by Afghans. Balban garrisoned other forts in the Mewati territory with Afghans, who kept who kept the road between Delhi and Bengal open and they were employed later in Awadh.

Balban continued to use Afghans after he became Sultan. They were deployed in the strategic areas of the Ganges-Jammuna doab soon after his accession and the further afield in the areas of Haryana and western Punjab. Old military cantonments were refortified and Afghans were given charge of these strategically important areas. A decade after this deployment, Afghans controlled the cantonments that encircled the capital of sultanate.

Afghans made a marked progress during Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign. Malik ikhtiyar-ud-din Yal Afghan who had been noticed earlier in connection with nobility under Ala-ud-din khalji continued to hold the position under Muhammad bin Tughlaq. Malik Makh Afghan, his younger brother was sent by ghiyas-ud-din to the expedition against Warangal in A.D 1321 under the leadership of his son ulugh khan. Other notable Afghans of Muhammad bin tughlaq were Malik khattah Afghan, Jalhu Afghan, tughal-al-Afghan, Bahram Afghan, Mandi Afghan and last but the least Malik Shahu Lodhi. His successor Firuz Tughlaq continued to patronize the Afghans and prominent among them were Malik Afghan, Malik Daud Khan Afghan, the muqti of bihar, Malik Muhammad Shah Afghan, the muqti of tughluqpur, Malik Bali Afghan and Yasin, son of Malik Shah Afghan.

During Muhammad bin tughlaq reign, the lower grade officers came to be called Sadah, jagir of a hundred villages. The Sadah amirs were Mongols as well as Afghans. The emergence of large number of Afghan zamindars during the latter part of 14th century was, in fact, made possible by the position enjoyed by them as Sadah amirs.

In 1341 Malik Shahu Lodhi, an Afghan noble,who had considerable following of his own tribe, slew Malik Bihzad, governor of Multan. When this news reached Delhi, the Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq assembled his army and set out to crush him. He had hardly covered two or three stages, when he heard that his mother had died but sultan continued his march. When he reached Dipalpur, he learnt that Shahu had fled to Afghanistan. The sultan thereupon return to his capital and issued orders for the wholesale arrest of Afghans in his empire.

In 1347 the nobles of Deccan rose into rebellion against Muhammad bin Tuqhlaq, they occupied the city of Daulatabad and one of them an Afghan chief—Ismail Mukh became the King of Deccan. He assumed the title Nasir-ud-din Shah. Nasir-ud-din Shah was an old man and hence he resigned from the post and the nobles nominated Hasan Gangu or Zafar Khan, an Afghan general of Tughlaqs, as the new chief under the title Abul Muzaffar Alauddin Bahman Shah.

During Feroz Shah Tughlaq's times , In 1376-1377 the fief of Bihar was given to Malik Bir Afghan ..Malik Bir was succeeded on his death, by his son, Daud Khan. In 1377 malik Bulli Afghan was appointed to the muqta of Ikhal.

During the invasion of India by Timur in 1398, Afghan groups fought on both sides. Malik Khidr Lodhi , Malik Baha al-Din Jilwani , Malik Yusuf Habib Sarwani and Malik habib Niazi joined Timur with 12,000 soldiers.

About this time Malik Bahram Lodhi had come as a warrior-trader to Multan from Balot , a pargana in the Birun-i-pandjand sarkar on the border of Balochistan , according to the Ain-i-Akbari. He took service under Firoz Shah Tughlaq's governor Multan, namely Malik Mardan Dawlat ( Tabakat i akbari and Tarikh i Mubarak shahi). Malik Bahram organized a tribal militia. After his death , his sons Sultan Shah Lodhi, Malik Feroz , Malik Muhammad , Malik Khwaja and Malik Kala stayed on in Multan while the city passed during the political confusion and unrest , into several hands. After the death of Malik Mardan Dawlat , his son Malik Shiekh and his adopted son Malik Sulieman were appointed after his death governors of Multan in succession by Feroz Shah Tughlaq. Malik Sulieman was succeeded in the governorship by his son Khizr Khan , the founder of Delhi dynasty of Delhi, who had been appointed governor of Multan and Punjab by Tughlaqs in recognition of his military service , but later betrayed the Tughlaqs and joined the invading Mongol force under Timur.

Sultan Shah Lodhi , who succeeded his father Malik Bahram as chief of Afghan mercenaries, distinguished himself in the service of Khizr Khan and helped him in overpowering the Tughlaqs. He succeeded in killing Malik Ikbal Khan, the de facto ruler of Delhi and the staunch supporter of Mahmud Tughlaq, in the battlle of Ajodhan fought on the banks of sutlaj (11 November 1405). Thus Multan together with the Punjab seceded from Delhi, and Sultan Shah Lodhi was put in charge of Sirhind with the title of Islam Khan. On the death of Muhammad Tughluq, the throne of Delhi was occupied by Daulat khan Lodhi, who governed the country for about two years. In 1414, he was defeated by Khizar Khan. After the defeat of Dualat Khan, Khizar Khan became the king of Delhi.

During the times of Sultan Mubarik Shah , son of Khizr Khan, the Afghan chief Sultan Shah Lodhi obtained power and held Sirhind with the neighboring districts in Jagir. He settled there with his four brothers and gathered a strong contingent of 12,000 horse , mostly of his own tribe. Malik Kala married his uncle's daughter , received Dawrala (Sirhind sarkar) in Jagir and served under Nasir Khan who held Multan as governor on behalf of Sayyid Sultan Khizr khan. His child was named Bahlol, the subsequent founder of Lodhi dynasty. He died in a struggle against Niazi emigrants in the indus valley, and the child was brought up by his uncle Malik Sultan Shah Lodhi at Sirhind. Finding him a soldier of promising character, Sultan Shah Lodhi gave him his daughter , Shams Khatun , in marriage.

Sultan Shah Lodhi nominated Bahlol as his heir apparent in preference to his adult son Kutb Khan. On his father-in-law's death in march 1431 , the Afghan militia became divided into three camps under Kutb Khan, Malik Feruz (brother of Sultan Shah Lodhi) and Bahlul Lodhi; the latter won over his uncle Malik Feroz to his side against the confederation of Kutb Khan and Muhammad Shah , the Sayyid ruler of Delhi. The latter sent a force under his wazir Malik Sikander Tuhfa and Jasrath Khokar to drive the Afghans out of Sirhind and to deprive Bahlol Lodhi of his jagir. The Afghans, defeated, fled to the hills. Malik Feroz was made captive and his son Malik Shaheen Khan was killed. Bahlol escaped, and , on Jasrath return to Punjab, he managed to re-gather his scattered army. Malik Feruz escaped from Delhi and joined Bahlul. The contrite Kutb Khan also joined Bahlul's camp. Thus re-mustering his forces, Bahlul Lodhi re-captured Sirhind in 1436 A.D. The Sayyid Sultan Muhammad Shah sent a large force under one of his chiefs, Haji Shudani, better known as hussam khan , which was defeated at Kara near Khizrabad Sadhura, and, Husam Khan escaped to Delhi While Bahlul firmly established himself in Punjab.


Source:
1-The Encyclopaedia of Islam
2.A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province
3- Tarikh-i-ferishta
4- Tarikh mubarak shahi
Brief History of Afghans in India from 682 A.D to 1436 A.D | History of Pashtuns

What an excellent read! I wonder if the catalyst for Afghani movement into North India and Present day Pakistan was the incursion of Sasanian Empire into traditionally Afghani lands.

 

[Samandri]

What an excellent read! I wonder if the catalyst for Afghani movement into North India and Present day Pakistan was the incursion of Sasanian Empire into traditionally Afghani lands.

Mongol invasion was the catalyst. With establishment of Mongol rule over central asia and due to change of demographics, the Turk rulers could no longer rely on central asia.........Afghans and khiljis were increasingly getting recruited as mercenary soldiers in slave dynasty of 13th century. When turko-afghan khiljis established their rule over India, Afghans achieved lot of positions in army and to some extent in nobility. By the end of tughlaqs period in 14th century, the old turki nobility had dwindled and was getting replaced by Afghans, mughals, khorasanis and local hindustanis. In 15th century , Afghans were the most numerous foreigners in northern India.

 

[Force-India]

Tajiks the mongoloid race (Moghuls) converted Iran and Baloch to Islam because only easier route to it was through the Afghan or through India. Later they invaded India snd defeated small Arab army at outskirts of India (Sindh etc.),then conquered north India. But they were less in numbers, and they acted as the President while on lower levels kingdom was ruled by Hindus. Arabs came for spread of Islam and teachings of Muhammed (PBUH) while Moghuls were power hungry specialy Aurangzeb. He converted most of Punjab and Kashmir, later defeated by Sikhs and Marathas.

Source Below