Sur or Soor is one of the historical names of the Afghan tribes, they are now found primarily among the Pashtun people in Afghanistan and Pakistan.[1][2] They claim to be descendants of Mohammad Sur, one of the princes of the Ghorids, who left his native Ghor region and settled among the Afghan tribes in the Sulaiman Mountains. The founder of Sur dynasty in India, Sher Shah Suri, belonged to the Sur Afghan tribe. They ruled Delhi Sultanate from 1540 until 1556-57 after being removed from power by the Mughal Empire.
It was at the time of this bounty of Sultán Bahlol, that the grandfather of Sher Sháh, by name Ibráhím Khán Súr,*[The Súr represent themselves as descendants of Muhammad Súr, one of the princes of the house of the Ghorian, who left his native country, and married a daughter of one of the Afghán chiefs of Roh.] with his son Hasan Khán, the father of Sher Sháh, came to Hindu-stán from Afghánistán, from a place which is called in the Afghán tongue "Shargarí,"* but in the Multán tongue "Rohrí." It is a ridge, a spur of the Sulaimán Mountains, about six or seven kos in length, situated on the banks of the Gumal. They entered into the service of Muhabbat Khán Súr, Dáúd Sáhú-khail, to whom Sultán Bahlol had given in jágír the parganas of Hariána and Bahkála, etc., in the Panjáb, and they settled in the pargana of Bajwára.[3]—Abbas Khan Sarwani, 1580
Today, Sur is part of the Pashtun tribal system and belongs to the sub-groups of the Ghilzais.
| “ | The Suri Tribe of the Afghans inhabited the mountains of Ghor east of Furrah and their principal cities were Ghore, Feruzi and Bamian[4] | ” |
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According to recorded Afghan tradition, Surs and Sherwanis are descended from the Ghori tribe. Several books by Islamic historians including Tarikh-I-Guzida of Hamdu-lla-Mustaufi, Towareekh Yumny, as well as Ferishta record the Hindu King of the Ghorians Suri was attacked by Mahmud of Ghazni and the Hindu population converted to Islam by Him.
| “ | Sultan Mahumud now went to fight with the Ghorians, who were infidels at that time. Suri, their chief, was killed in this war, and his son was taken prisoner; but he killed himself by sucking poison which he had kept under the stone of his ring. The country of Ghor was annexed to that of the Sultan, and the population thereof converted to Islam. He now attacked the fort of Bhim, where was a temple of the Hindus.[5] | ” |
| “ | 'In the following year AH 401 (AD 1010), Mahmood led his army towards Ghoor. The native prince of the country, Mahomed, of the Afghan tribe of Soor (the same race which gave birth to the dynasty that eventually succeeded in subverting the family of Sebüktigin), occupied an entrinched camp with 10,000 men. Mahmood was repulsed in repeated assaults which he made from morning till noon. Finding that the troops of Ghoor defended their entrenchments with such obstinacy, he caused his army to retreat in apparent confusion, in order to allure the enemy out of his fortified position. The Ghoorians, deceived by the stratagem, pursued the army of Ghizny; when the king, facing about, attacked and defeated them with great slaughter. Mahommed Soor, being made prisoner was brought to the king, but having taken poison, which he always kept under his ring, he died in a few hours; his country was annexed to the dominions of Ghizny. The author of the Towareekh Yumny affirms, that neither the sovereigns of Ghoor nor its inhabitants were Mahomedans till after this victory; whilst the author of the Tubkat-Nasiry, and Fukhr-ood-Deen Moobarik Shah Lody, the latter of whom wrote a history of the Kings of Ghoor in verse, both affirm, that they were converted many years before, even so early as the time of Ally[6] | ” |
Suri is the name of a Khatri clan[7] The Hindu and Sikh Suri now living in India, form one of the Kukhran clan that originates from Khurasan and is found in Greater Punjab areas of India and Pakistan.
| “ | The oral history of the Khokharan traditionally trace their ancient origins to Khurasan in Iran[8] | ” |
| “ | Shah Hussain was descended from the younger branch of the Ghorian race, while Muhammad-i-Suri, said to be the great-great-grandfather of the Sultans Ghiyas-ud-Din and Muizz-ud-Din (Muhammad of Ghor) was descended from the elder branch, with whom sovereignty lay. Shah Hussain by one of his Afghan wives, had three sons, Ghalzi, Ibrahim surnamed Lodi, and Sarwani. The Afghan tribe of Sur was founded by Sur, son of Ismail, grandson of Lodi[9] | ” |
| “ | It was also the last stronghold of an ancient religion professed by the inhabitants when all their neighbors had become Muslim. In the 11th century AD Mahmud of Ghazni defeated the prince of Ghor Ibn –I-Suri, and made him prisoner in a severely-contested engagement in the valley of Ahingaran. Ibn-I-Suri is called a Hindu by the author, who has recorded his overthrow; it does not follow that he was one by religion or by race, but merely that he was not Muhammadan[10] | ” |
In some historical texts, Mahuy Suri is said to have been appointed king of Khorasan by Caliph Hazrat Ali after having murdered the Iranian Sassanian king Yazdegerd III.[11] According to the historian in Shahnameh Lord of Khorasan, Mahuy Suri treacherously asked one of his millers to kill Yazdgerd III, the last Persian king, after his defeat in Iraq.
| “ | Mahui sends the miller to cut off his head on pain of losing his own, and having none of his race left alive. His chiefs hear this and cry out against him, and a Mobed of the name of Radui tells him that to kill a king or prophet will bring evil upon him and his son, and is supported in what he says by a holy m,an of the name of Hormuzd Kharad Shehran, and Mehronush.[11] | ” |
| “ | The miller most unwillingly goes in and stabs him with a dagger in the middle. Mahui s horsemen all go and see him and take off his clothing and ornaments, leaving him on the ground. All the nobles curse Mahui and wish him the same fate.[11] | ” |
Another Suri king, Banji Baharan, was appointed by Khalifah Harun al-Rashid as the king of Ghor after he signed a peace treaty.
Subsequently, after their arrival in Afghanistan, Islamic rulers ended an era of peaceful policies and began a struggle against Pashtunwali, Pashtun nationalism and Afghan nationalism. The Pashtun kingdoms were crushed during this Islamic expansion.
The Suri clan originates from the Pashtun belt of Afghanistan and Pakistan and have migrated and settled in Punjab province where Pashtun communities exist today. There is also a sizable community of Suri Pathans in Bihar in especially around Rohtas and Sasaram.
The most famous Suri in the history was The Afghan Pashtun Emperor Sher Shah Suri of Sasaram belonged to the Suri tribe of the Pathans.[12] Ruled over undivided India from Sasaram Bihar.