History of Pashtuns-Updates And Discussions

[Mohammad Ilyas]

Iran or Persia has been an ancient vast and super power throughout history before Islam. Kurds, Tajiks, Balochis and Afghans are Persian people by history. Later Afghan being applied to a country comprising territory from river Oxus to Durand Line the name of Afghan is now applied to a nation and the specific race has now got a specific name by their language as Pushtuns or Pathans. Pushtuns are by origin not from a single race or tribe. They are mixture of Persian, Turkic and local Kafir or Indian people. In history Afghans or Pushtuns were mentioned as the tribes living in between the mountains between Kabul City and Peshawar. Later the race spread with Islamization and minor tribes were dissolved in Pushtun faction and Pushtun culture e.g people around Peshawar, Bajaur, Dir and Swat were lastly local pagans that got into Islam and then to Pushtundom. Akbar's commander in his raids against Yousufzai Afghans/Pushtuns has mentioned in history that the army snatched some areas of present Dir from Kafirs.

 

[PakSarzameen5823]

The eastern Iranic people are a sub-group of the Iranic race. The only notable ethnicity present today that is considered eastern Iranic are the Pashtuns. Throughout history, there have been many eastern Iranic peoples scattered across Greater Iran, and even inhabiting places beyond it such as the Tarim Basin in China.

One prominent example of eastern Iranic people were the Scythians, a group of nomads who occupied a vast region known as Scythia. The Scythians were particularly well known for their ferocity as warriors, fighting frequently with their neighbours and often being used as mercenaries. They typically rode into battle on horseback and utilised expert archery skills to defeat their opponents, and showed remarkable prowess at guerilla warfare.

The Scythians eventually came to South Asia, and established the Indo-Scythian dynasty (150 BC - 400 AD) which centred around what is now southern Afghanistan and Pakistan, but also conquered large portions of India. Sources from the time refer to them as the Sakas:

Soon after the Indo-Scythians, the Kushans came along to South Asia. They migrated to the region from the Tarim Basin in China, and established a vast empire (30 AD - 375 AD) centred around Afghanistan/Pakistan but also spreading to include large portions of India that they had conquered. They fueled the growth of Buddhism via the Silk Road, which also boosted trade throughout the region:

And after the Kushans, the final wave of pre-Islamic eastern Iranics came along. The Huna people (325 AD - 665 AD). These guys originated in Bactria (present-day Central Asia and northern Afghanistan) and founded numerous dynasties across the region, launching a massive warpath and creating utter destruction just about everywhere they want, with some of their rulers (such as the infamous Mihirakula) being particularly known for their brutality. The Hunas are credited as being the primary reason for the decline of the Gupta Empire:

These invasions were also accompanied by mass migrations of eastern Iranic people, many of whom assimilated into the Pashtun ethnicity (although others assimilated into the Indic race and established their own clans/tribes, such as the Kamboj, Tomar or Gorsi).

The Pashtuns themselves came into prominence in the Islamic era, where they would continue the trend of their ancestors of invading the Indian sub-continent. Pashtuns formed a significant component of the Islamic armies that invaded the region, and many of the ruling dynasties themselves ended up assimilating into the Pashtun ethnicity.

Ghaznavids (Kharoti Pashtuns are said to be descended from them):

Ghaurids (Sur Pashtuns are said to be descended from them):

Khilijis (Ghiliji confederation of Pashtuns are said to be descended from them):

Some Islamic dynasties themselves were also founded by the Pashtuns, such as the Sur, Lodi, Hotak and Durrani dynasties:

The Sur, Lodi and Durrani dynasties deserve notable attention because the Sur dynasty re-established the GTR (boosting trade throughout the region), the Durrani dynasty created the last eastern Iranic empire whose borders also mimicked that of Pakistan's, and all three of them were founded by Pashtuns from Pakistan.

 

[ShazzadAhmedMahdi]

Iran or Persia has been an ancient vast and super power throughout history before Islam. Kurds, Tajiks, Balochis and Afghans are Persian people by history. Later Afghan being applied to a country comprising territory from river Oxus to Durand Line the name of Afghan is now applied to a nation and the specific race has now got a specific name by their language as Pushtuns or Pathans. Pushtuns are by origin not from a single race or tribe. They are mixture of Persian, Turkic and local Kafir or Indian people. In history Afghans or Pushtuns were mentioned as the tribes living in between the mountains between Kabul City and Peshawar. Later the race spread with Islamization and minor tribes were dissolved in Pushtun faction and Pushtun culture e.g people around Peshawar, Bajaur, Dir and Swat were lastly local pagans that got into Islam and then to Pushtundom. Akbar's commander in his raids against Yousufzai Afghans/Pushtuns has mentioned in history that the army snatched some areas of present Dir from Kafirs.

I don't know about Persian because eastern iranian was a farther way branch of iranic people

 

[ghazi52]

Battle Of Jamrud, Circa 1837.
(Excerpt Fom Afghanistan In The Age Of Empires By Farrukh Husain)

Hari Singh had impudently written to Dost Mahomed Khan to the effect that Hindu scriptures predicted the Sikh conquest of Kabul. Therefore unless Dost Mahomed Khan wanted to burn he should obediently hand Kabul over. Otherwise the purdah protecting Dost Mahomed Khan’s honour would be split asunder – a clear and unequivocal threat to Dost Mahomed Khan’s harem.

Hari Singh added for good measure that a failure to comply with the demand would leave Dost Mahomed Khan biting his own hand in remorse and that Hari Singh would not then show any mercy to Dost Mahomed Khan (pp.184-185 Vo.1 Siraj al Tawarikh.)

For this reason Dost Mahomed Khan declared war on Hari Singh. Dost Mahomed Khan’s two sons Mohamed Afzal Khan and Mohamed Akbar Khan distinguished themselves by leading the forces of their father into battle at Jamrud. The battle was waged for twelve long days. For the first eleven days the outcome of the battle was unclear. Then on the twelfth day the Sikhs broke through the Afghan forces. Hari Singh had launched a bold attack, driving his Afghan opponents backwards in defeat. However, Sardar Muhammad Afzal Khan turned back from retreat and though the Sikhs were devastating the Afghans with deadly slashes of their sabres, Sardar Muhammed Afzal Khan rallied the Afghan forces by leading an attack upon the Sikh force. The Sikhs wilted under Muhammed Afzal Khan’s onslaught and Sirdar Mohammed Akbar Khan also turned back from retreat to join his brother’s offensive and pounced on the Sikhs (p210 vol 1 Siraj al Tawarikh).


It fell to Mohammed Afzal Khan as oldest son of the Amir Dost Mohammed Khan, to seek out and destroy the Sikh dragon Hari Singh. Hari had dared to lead his forces breathing fire and war into the land of the Khyber. Mohammed Afzal Khan charged towards him, perhaps inspired by the poem of Hanzala of Badghis,
“If leadership rests inside the lion’s jaw,

So be it. Go, snatch it from his jaws.

Your ‘lot shall be greatness, prestige, honor and glory.

If all fails, face death like a man."

There was to be no escape for this jingoistic old fire breather, harried by the Afghans he would now meet his doom. Hari Singh fell in a ball of smoke as he was blasted by Mohammed Afzal Khan, from an Afghan swivel cannon mounted atop a camel (p352 Ghani. Brief history of Afghanistan). Hari Singh died as violently as he had lived, in the land of his Afghan opponents, near a watch tower (p.52 Tarikh-i-Peshawar; p.91 SM Jaffar).

In 1834 before occupying Peshawar, Hari Singh had openly voiced “his contempt for Afghans and did not conceal his design to carry Sikh arms beyond Peshawar” (p240 History of the Sikhs Cunningham) and now he paid the price for his misjudgement and ironically fulfilled his wishes and carried his arms just beyond what was at that time Peshawar City, before being blasted to death (See p.186 Vol.1 Siraj al Tawarikh which states that Mahomed Akbar Khan killed Hari Singh in combat with his sword. This seems unlikely since Mahomed Akbar Khan was on horseback and the Sikh was on an Elephant so could not have been within the reach of swordsmen to inflict blows upon him.

On a separate note related to the Zamburak, though long since out of use the power of the Zumbarak is used as a curse by parents when angry with their kids. There are two sayings that are used: firstly, “pa zamburak soray she”, which translates as “may allah make a hole in your body by a zamburak” and secondly, “pa zamburak owahalay she” meaning “may allah struck you by a zamburak”.)

“Hari Singh was possessed of great personal intrepidity, but, whether from want of judgement or from undervaluing his foes, had frequently been placed in critical situations, and at length fell a victim to his temerity. He held the Afghans in bitter contempt, ever affirming that they were dogs and cowards, and that he knew them well." (p.387 vol.3 Travels in Balochistan, Punjab -Masson)

The Sikh and the Pashtun had met in combat and the Sikh had been found wanting. Though Mahomed Akbar Khan wanted to advance to Peshawar, two of his uncles came to warn him that the Sikhs had managed to reinforce their troops and the Afghan forces retreated without liberating their city.
Ten thousand Kandahari troops arrived too late to participate in the battle and reinforced Mohammed Akbar Khan and Mohammed Afzal Khan. During the course of the retreat letters from Runjeet Singh were found addressed to the two uncles who had proposed the retreat of the Afghan forces.

The two uncles were immediately arrested and the Afghan forces retraced their steps towards Jamrud ( pp.86-87 Note 356 Calendar of Persian Correspondence, collection of treaties , sanads, letters etc which passed between the East India Company, Sikhs, Afghans and other notables Vol 1 1972). However, the Afghans were too late because the Sikh force had departed looking for easier prey.

Runjeet Singh was reduced to tears on learning about the death of his childhood playmate Hari Singh (pp.256-257 Cunningham). This did not prevent Runjeet continuing to toy with the Afghans, by holding on to the fair vale of Peshawar. Runjeet was not the only one to cry about the battle of Jamrud, Dost Mahomed Khan’s son, “Mahomed Haider Khan, a boy, who had never before seen battle, retired weeping"( p.384 vol.3 Masson).

The ‘boy' was actually about twenty years of age since Neville Chamberlain describes him as being twenty-two in 1839. Only time would tell whether Mahomed Haider Khan had the mettle to engage in conflict and come out victorious, but the omens were not fortuitous, since the clouds of war were rapidly gathering. Another Afghan commander named Hajji Khan Kakar also did not fight the Sikhs for he had been in league with the Sikhs. For this reason Kakar was later dismissed from service by Dost Mahomed Khan. This traitor then went to serve the Kandahar Sardars where he would sow further mischief.


Though the battle of Jamrud was over, blood however was still to be shed in the Peshawar valley. As the Afghan troops turned their backs on Peshawar and headed towards Kabul, they would not have heard the screams of terror emanating from Peshawar city.

The poor defenceless residents, of the former Afghan winter capital, of Peshawar faced a terrible massacre from the defeated Sikh troops, “all the mosques were set on fire and six hundred Afghans were killed by the Sikhs."(Note 356 p.87 Calendar of Persian Correspondence)
The Sikhs sought to avenge the loss of their leader, such is the way of war and the deeds of those who know no chivalry. However, the occupiers would not enjoy safety in Peshawar:

“the French officers could not with safety leave homes to an evening dinner while we were at Peshawar and our intercourse was confined to breakfasts." (cited at p.140 A H Tabibi, Afghanistan a nation in love with Freedom quoting Burnes letter 2nd June 1838 to McNaghten.)

Living under Sikh occupation and their Napoleonic mercenaries was traumatic for the Peshawar Afghans, since their life was worth less than that of a cow. The famous dish of Peshawar is the sandal (chappali) shaped kebab , made from beef, but the cow is venerated by the Sikhs. No longer could the inhabitants of Peshawar savour their regional delicacy.

“An unfortunate Musulman, at Peshawur, was found guilty of eating roast beef; the Sikhs kindled a large fire, placed their victim within the circle they formed around it, prevented his escape by thrusting pointed sticks at him, and so burnt him alive." (p.246 A personal narrative of a visit to Ghazni, Kabul and Afghanistan Vigne.)

Peshawar was a quagmire for Runjeet Singh, but to give it up would be to admit defeat, in return for which the Sikhs had lost many able men and expended a great deal of money. It was the classic dilemma faced by those that occupy Afghan territory. Runjeet Singh himself called Peshawar a necklace of knives hung around my throat by Hari Singh (p.81 A Fletcher Afghanistan Highway of Conquest).
An Italian officer Avitabile, now took on the governorship of Peshawar and was notorious for being utterly ruthless and ensuring that the gallows and minarets of Peshawar were swinging with the corpses of unfortunate Afghans. The tussle for Peshawar was essentially a mini-run of the forthcoming first Anglo Afghan War. This war should have served as a warning to the British not to compromise themselves by getting involved in the Afghan imbroglio.



The Illustrations Depict Mohammed Akbar Khan (Print Based On Vincent Eyre's Painting)

 

[ghazi52]

The Kabul Airlift, Dec 1928 - Feb 1929.

King of Afghanistan Inayatullah Khan leaving the Vickers Victoria in Risalpur. He was flown to safety by Air Chief Marshal Sir Ivelaw-Chapman, at the time a Flight Lieutenant with No. 70 Squadron Victorias. “I flew out the King with a few of his immediate followers…. (Squadron Leader) Maxwell took the Harem. I had lost the toss!”

The Kabul Airlift was an air evacuation of British and a number of European diplomatic staff and their families conducted by the Royal Air Force from Kabul between December 1928 and February 1929.

 

[ghazi52]

1911

.

A Wazir Tribesman With Rifle, Circa 1919.

Waziristan was traditionally the most unruly region of the North West Frontier. Inhabited by fiercely independent tribes, including the Mahsuds and the Waziris (or Darwesh Khel), these proud warriors had honed their fighting skills by years of raiding the settled areas to the east, along the Indus, and by attacking the trading caravans that travelled to and from Afghanistan.

The Waziris consisted of the Tochi (or Utmanzai) Waziris who lived along the Tochi and Khaisora valleys, and the Wana (or Ahmadzai) Waziris who lived around Bannu and Wana. In 1919 their fighting strength was estimated at over 20,000 tribesmen. Apart from the Mahsuds, with whom they were frequently at war, the Waziris were the most formidable foes faced by the British on the frontier.

One of a collection of photographs collected by Major-General J G Fitzgerald.

 

[ghazi52]

Parushapura "Peshawar" Was The Capital Of The Kushan Empire Which Ruled Much Of South & Central Asia.

A High-Resolution Map Of India In The 2nd Century C.E. From Joppen's ''Historical Atlas Of India'', 1907, Showing The "Kushan Empire" During "Kanishka's Reign".

Most Historians Consider The Empire To Have Variously Extended As Far East As The Middle Ganges Plain, To Varanasi On The Confluence Of The Ganges And The Jumna, Or Probably Even Pataliputra.

 

[ghazi52]

Thal Fort (Present Day District Hangu) Circa 1919, Photograph 3rd Afghan War.

The fort at Thal guarded the strategically vital Kurram valley. On the outbreak of the 3rd Afghan War (1919), it was garrisoned by four under-strength battalions of Sikhs and Gurkhas and a squadron of Indian cavalry under the command of Brigadier-General Alexander Eustace. They were soon besieged by a large Afghan regular force under the command of General Nadir Khan.

The Afghans were able to occupy a tower 500 yards (460 m) from the fort and from there they were able to set fire to several food dumps. Although under constant attack for a week the garrison held out until they were relieved on 2 June 1919 by a brigade from Peshawar led by Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer.

 

[ghazi52]

Shabkadar Fort (Mohmand Field Force) General Willock's Residence At Shabkadar, 1908.

On April 24th, 1908 they inspired thousands of Mohmand tribesmen to launch an attack into Peshawar district. The Moh

mands lived on very arid land adjacent to the Khyber Pass, and often had no recourse but to raid settled areas. They were repulsed by British Indian troops; the press referred to the fighting as a “weekend war” even when, unusually, fighting extended into the summer months that year. Thousands of troops passed, eighteen miles outside of Peshawar, through Shabkadar Fort, which became a focus of postcard, paintings and other military imagery in the British press.

Compare this finely hand-tinted version with a black-and-white version by the military photographer Baljee who accompanied the "Mohmand Field Force" as it was known on its campaign that year. As the postcard illustrates, armies traveled with enormous amounts of baggage in those days. The slits in the fort were common in Frontier fortifications and testifies to the danger the British troops perceived around them.

 

[ghazi52]

An Infantry In Action Against Afridis In Khajuri Plains, Circa 1930.

The Afridi Redshirt Rebellion was a military campaign conducted by British and Indian armies against Afridi tribesmen in the North West Frontier region of the Indian Empire, now in Pakistan in 1930–1931. The Afridi are a Karlani Pashtun tribe who inhabit the border area of Pakistan, notably in the Spin Ghar mountain range to the west of Peshawar and the Maidan Valley in Tirah.

The Afridis often clashed with the British and Indian Armies during India’s expansion towards the Afghan border, notably during the Anglo-Afghan Wars.

In the summer of 1930 a rebellion by dissident Afridi tribesmen, known as Redshirts, broke out. As this threatened the security of Peshawar, two Brigade Groups were sent to occupy the Khajuri Plain, west of Peshawar and south of the Khyber Pass. Their role was to open up the area by constructing roads and strong points.

This would help prevent any future tribal infiltration towards Peshawar as well as being a punitive measure, since the Afridis had been accustomed to pasture their flocks on this low ground during the winter months.

On 17 October 1930 the British-led force crossed into the Tirah Valley at Bara, six miles from Peshawar, and advanced a further seven miles to Miri Khel. Here a fortified camp was constructed from which operations against the Afridis were conducted. On 16 January 1931, the force was withdrawn, having accomplished its objective.

British and Indian Army forces that took part in the campaign received the India General Service Medal with the clasp North West Frontier 1930-31.

 

[ghazi52]

Zamburak Gatling Gun, Late 19th Century.

Did you know that Zamburak is a military unit, literally meaning wasp, was a specialized form of self-propelled artillery from the early modern period, featuring small cannons fired from swivel-mounts on camels.

The operator of a zamburak is known as a zamburakchi. The weapon was used by the gunpowder empires, especially the Iranian empires of the Safavid dynasty and Afsharid dynasty, due to the ruggedness of the Iranian Plateau, which made typical transportation of heavy cannons problematic.

The zamburak became a deadly weapon in the 18th century. The Pashtuns used it to deadly effect in the Battle of Gulnabad, routing a numerically superior imperial Safavid army.

The zamburak was also used successfully in Nader's Campaigns, when the shah and military genius Nader Shah utilized a zamburak corps in conjunction with a regular artillery corps of conventional cannon to devastating effect in numerous battles such as at the Battle of Damghan (1729), the Battle of Yeghevārd, and the Battle of Karnal.

 

[ghazi52]

In Waziristan on the North West Frontier the majority of routes which could be used by a force of any size lay in the valleys and were usually within effective range of the heights on either flank. As a column or convoy advanced, picquets were posted on peaks or ridges on both sides of a valley to deny this high ground to the enemy. No movement took place at night. When the camping ground was reached, picquets constructed small forts with stone walls (sangars) all round the camp site to prevent it being fired into. The camp itself, which was also surrounded by a stone wall, could then be made.

 

[ghazi52]

A Place in Gorveik, North Waziristan where the charismatic Haji Mirzali Khan or the Faqir of Ipi used to reside while fighting the British Indian Empire.

He was the armed leader who forced the colonial authorities to bring their 40,000 soldiers to Waziristan out of total 80,000 British soldiers in India. However, they failed to subdue or buy his independent spirit of freedom and continued his struggle started in 1936 til 1947 when the British divided their Indian Empire into India and Pakistan.

The Lashkars and followers of Haji sahib rendered hundreds of sacred lives for the cause of freedom where the British used to heavily bomb the scattered villages of Waziristan in the late 1930s killing innocent women and children including the fighters of Faqir of Ipi, destroying and demolishing houses and arresting dozens of tribal leaders.

The tribes of Madda Khel Wazir were particularly bombed several times in 1937-38 and their tribal chiefs were compelled to surrender to the mighty and powerful political authorities. The Haji sahib and his followers were compelled to live in these caves for minimizing destruction of the common people as a result of the aerial bombardment of the villages. Columns of British security forces were dispatched every now and then from Miranshah and Razmak headquarters in order to capture, kill or buy the Faqir but they did not succeed.

Owing to the large number of British forces in Waziristan along with heavy weapons and airforce, the Haji sahib was unable to confront the imperialists on the ground in Waziristan, the Haji sahib used to send groups of fighters in the settled districts of Bannu and D.I. Khan for attacking British installations and were supported by the rural local population of these areas.

It should be noted that the Tanis, Zadran, khostwal, Mangal and other Pashtun tribes living on Afghan side of the Durand Line were joining his Lashkars on regular basis against the British.

Unfortunately, very few of us today know about his struggle for the cause of freedom. One may agree or not with his armed resistance but the sacrifices of hundreds of people for resisting imperialism despite meagre resources should not be forgotten.

 

[Juggernaut_Flat_Plane_V8]

quality thread

 

[TNT]

A Place in Gorveik, North Waziristan where the charismatic Haji Mirzali Khan or the Faqir of Ipi used to reside while fighting the British Indian Empire.

View attachment 722812


He was the armed leader who forced the colonial authorities to bring their 40,000 soldiers to Waziristan out of total 80,000 British soldiers in India. However, they failed to subdue or buy his independent spirit of freedom and continued his struggle started in 1936 til 1947 when the British divided their Indian Empire into India and Pakistan.

The Lashkars and followers of Haji sahib rendered hundreds of sacred lives for the cause of freedom where the British used to heavily bomb the scattered villages of Waziristan in the late 1930s killing innocent women and children including the fighters of Faqir of Ipi, destroying and demolishing houses and arresting dozens of tribal leaders.

The tribes of Madda Khel Wazir were particularly bombed several times in 1937-38 and their tribal chiefs were compelled to surrender to the mighty and powerful political authorities. The Haji sahib and his followers were compelled to live in these caves for minimizing destruction of the common people as a result of the aerial bombardment of the villages. Columns of British security forces were dispatched every now and then from Miranshah and Razmak headquarters in order to capture, kill or buy the Faqir but they did not succeed.

Owing to the large number of British forces in Waziristan along with heavy weapons and airforce, the Haji sahib was unable to confront the imperialists on the ground in Waziristan, the Haji sahib used to send groups of fighters in the settled districts of Bannu and D.I. Khan for attacking British installations and were supported by the rural local population of these areas.

It should be noted that the Tanis, Zadran, khostwal, Mangal and other Pashtun tribes living on Afghan side of the Durand Line were joining his Lashkars on regular basis against the British.

Unfortunately, very few of us today know about his struggle for the cause of freedom. One may agree or not with his armed resistance but the sacrifices of hundreds of people for resisting imperialism despite meagre resources should not be forgotten.

And guess what, a few days after Independence of Pakistan, the RPAF started bombing those areas. This shows we never were truly independent. Why make enmity with the people and fight on behalf of colonial masters? Guess why the hatred for the state of Pakistan still runs in those areas.