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Part of a series on Kingdoms (Lodi · Suri |
Ghilzai (Pashto: غرزی 'Ghar-Zai') (meaning: Hill-man) are the largest Pashtun tribal confederacy found in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They are also known historically as Ghilji, Khilji, Ghalji, Ghilzye, and possibly Gharzai. These Pashtun people are located mainly in southeastern Afghanistan, between Kandahar and Kabul, and extending eastwards towards the Suleiman Mountains into Pakistan.[1] In Afghanistan per se, they are the second largest Pashtun tribal confederation after the Abdali/Durrani. Ghilzai are considered to be the most courageous,fiercely independent, warlike and tough Afghan Pashtun tribe.
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One theory states that the name of the Ghilzai is derived from Gharzai (غلزې), (Ghar-zai)meaning "son of mountain"[2] or "swordsman."[3]
The folk story is that the ancestor of the Ghilzai was a prince who married with the daughter of a local ruler. The couple are identified as "either Shah Hussain, a Ghurid prince, and Bibi Mato, a granddaughter of Qays Abdar Rasheed, the putative ancestor of all Pashtuns, or Mokarram Shah; Hussain from Ghor, and the daughter of a Pashtun noble."[4]
The Ghilzais are a confederation of Pashtun tribes whose origin is unknown. They are reputed by some to be descended at least in part from the Ghurids.
Ḡalzī tribal genealogies in general trace their early descent from the union of either Shah Ḥosayn, a Ghurid (q.v.) prince, and Bībī Mātō, a granddaughter of Qays ʿAbd al-Rašīd, the putative ancestor of all Pashtuns, or Mokarram Shah, a Pashtun prince from Ḡūr, and the daughter of a Persian notable...[5]—M. Jamil Hanifi
Others suggest that they descended from the Khalaj or Khilji Turks,[6][7][8] who entered Afghanistan in the 10th century. According to Elphinstone, the Khilji, "though Turks by descent...had so long settled among the Afghans that they had almost identified with that people."[9]
Ghilzais have played an important role in creating Afghan history. Afghan history would be incomplete without a complete understanding of them.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, various Ghilzai Afghan (Pashtun) dynasties took control over vast areas of India. The Lodi Dynasty ruled over the Delhi Sultanate during its last phase. The dynasty, founded by Bahlul Khan Lodi ruled from 1451 to 1526 when the last Lodi ruler, Ibrahim Lodi died. Other Ghilzai dynasties included the Suri Dynasty who was founded by the powerful medieval conqueror, Sher Shah Suri (Shere Khan), who defeated the Mughal Emperor Humayun in Chausa in June 1539 and again in Bilgram in May 1540.
When the Hotak tribe, under the leadership of Mir Wais Hotak revolted against the Safavid dynasty in 1709, the Ghilzai came into conflicts with their western neighbors. Mir Wais Hotak, an influential Afghan tribal leader and founder of the Hotaki dynasty, had visited the Persian court and studied their military weaknesses. The Afghan tribes (Pashtun tribes) rankled under the ruling Shia Safavids because of their continued attempts to convert the Pashtuns from Sunni to Shia Islam.[10] Spawning Afghan nationalism, Mirwais succeeded in expelling the Safavid Georgian Governor of Kandahar, Gurgin Khan, and assumed the post for himself. His eldest son, Mahmud, effected a successful invasion of Persia (now Iran) which culminated in the conquest of Isfahan and the deposition of the Safavid Shah Sultan Husayn. Mahmud was then crowned Shah and ruled for a brief period before being deposed by his own clansmen. His cousin and successor (Ashraf Khan) reigned for nearly five years before being killed by Baloch tribes while fleeing towards Kandahar. The Safavid dynasty in Iran was then restored in the person of Sultan Husayn's only surviving son, Tahmasp II.
During their short but violent occupation of Persia, the Hotakis mismanaged the state funds and administration, massacred civilians, caused famine, and largely destroyed the world-renowned imperial city of Isfahan. In just short seven years of their occupation of Isfahan (1722–1729), the population of the metropolis had dropped from around 1.2 million to just around 10,000 souls. In 1738 Nader Shah of Persia, on his way to occupy the Mughal India, overthrew Hussein, the last of the Hotakis at Kandahar, dispersed the Ghilzai and destroyed both Kandahar and Qalat-i-Ghilzai. Nader Shah then supported the rise of the rival Durrani Pashtuns, extinguishing the aspirations of the Ghilzais for the next three centuries.
In more recent times, three of the pro-communist presidents were Ghilzais, Nur Muhammad Taraki (of the Taraki tribe), Hafizullah Amin (of the Kharoti tribe), and Mohammed Najibullah (of the Ahmadzai sub tribe of suleimankhail). Although the Khalq was dominated mostly by Ghilzais, many of the Mujahideen were also Ghilzais during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, including the violent warlords, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Abdul Rasul Sayyaf. The Taliban leadership, such as the headman, Mullah Omar and most of the Taliban functionaries have been likewise of the Ghilzai tribal confederacy, generating much ill will and disrepute for the Ghilzais.
Ghilzais are known to be extensively hospitable yet remain one of the most troubled and troublesome people among the Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan and continue to be subject of controversy and violence, concurrently, owing to their warlike nature.
The Ghilzais are concentrated in an area spanning Ghazni and Qalat-i-Ghilzai eastward into western Pakistan, but are predominantly a nomadic group unlike the Durranis who can be found in permanent settlements. They regularly cross over between the two countries often being exempted from customs due to the acceptance of their nomadic traditions by officials from both countries. Population estimates vary, but they are most likely around 20% to 25% of the population of Afghanistan and probably number over 9 million in Afghanistan alone with 4 million or more found in neighboring Pakistan. Most Ghilzais are Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi school, often devout to their faith and intensely follow the Pashtun code of honor known as Pashtunwali. Most Ghilzais work as herdsmen as well as construction workers and in other jobs that allow them to travel. Often possessing great mechanical aptitude, the Ghilzai nonetheless have an extremely low literacy rate hovering below 10% in Afghanistan but this improving especially in Pakistan where their literacy rate is fast approaching the national average of 58%.
The Afghan province of Paktika is considered to be a heartland of the Ghaljai tribe. Ghilzai sub-tribes in Paktika include the Kharoti, especially in the Sar Hawza and Urgon districts, the Andar and the largest single Ghilzai sub-tribe, the Suleimankhel, who are the majority in Northern and Western areas of Paktika such as Katawaz.
Many members of the Ghilzai tribe, such as the Kharoti sub-tribe and particularly the Nasher clan were exiled from Loya Paktia (Paktia, Paktika and Khost) to the Afghan North (Qunduz province) by the ruling Abdali tribe of the Afghan Royal family due to their rebellious nature.
The Kharoti tribesmen own several, tightly bound carpet and fabric businesses in the Middle East and Pakistan, especially Karachi.
The Ghilzai remain a somewhat divided family, with the Kharoti and the Suleimankhel being traditional rivals.