Bārakzai ( ps, بارکزی, ''Bārakzay;'' plur. ps, بارکزي, ''Bārakzī'') is the name of a

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

tribe from present-day,

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. '"Barakzai" is a common name among the Pashtuns and it means "son of

Barak Barak ( or ; he, בָּרָק; Tiberian Hebrew: '' Bārāq''; ar, البُراق ''al-Burāq'' "lightning") was a ruler of Ancient Israel. As military commander in the biblical Book of Judges, Barak, with Deborah, from the Tribe of Ephrai ...

" in Pashto. According to the Encyclopædia Iranica, "In the detailed Pashtun genealogies there are no fewer than seven instances of the ethnic name Bārakzī, at very different levels of tribal segmentation. Six of them designate simple lineages within six different tribes located in the Solaymān mountains or adjacent lands... The seventh instance, on the other hand, designates one of the most important Pashtun tribes in numbers and historic role, part of the Zīrak branch of the Dorrānay confederation.

History

Ludwig W. Adamec wrote that the Barakzai are "an important section of the Zirak branch of the Durrani to which the former Barakzai/Muhammadzai ruling family belongs. In numbers, economic, and political strength, the Barakzai were the paramount tribe of Afghanistan...They were soldiers in the service of Nadir Shah, founder of the short-lived Afsharid dynasty in Iran, and were settled on land seized from the Ghilzai. They continued to hold jagirs, fiefs, in exchange for their military services to Ahmad Shah Durrani. When Painda Khan, leader of the Barakzais, was assassinated, the Barakzai chiefs under Dost Muhammad ousted and replaced the Sadozai dynasty. The Barakzai continue to possess large areas of agricultural land and extensive flocks in the area between Herat and Kandahar." PedigreeOfDostMohammed

Mohammadzai

Mohammadzai are the most prominent & powerful sub-tribe of Barakzai, they belong to the

Zirak The Zirak is a tribal confederation of Durrani (Abdali) Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Tribes Among the tribes that form a part of the confederation are: * Popalzai * Achakzai * Alikozai * Barakzai * Mastay * Mohammadzai * Alakozai ...

branch of the Durrani confederacy, and are primarily centered around

. They can also be found in other provinces throughout Afghanistan as well across the border in the Pakistan's Balochistan Province. The

Musahiban The Musahiban (mus-hi-been; the name derives from Persian ''Muṣāḥib'', meaning "courtier" or "aide de camp") are a Mohammadzai family who founded the Afghan Barakzai dynasty, and members of the royal lineage that ruled Afghanistan as emir, k ...

, originally the Yahya Khel clan, are descendants of Sultan Mohammad Khan. Mohammadzai Barakzai are closely related to

Amanullah Khan Ghazi Amanullah Khan ( Pashto and Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1 ...

. Payendah Khel are descendants of Payendah Khan, head of the Mohammadzai branch of the Barakzai tribe during the reigns of Timur and Zaman Shah, who became rulers with the decline of the Sadozai dynasty. The Tarzi family is a branch of the Mohammadzai of

. The founder of Tarzi family was Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi.

Politics

From 1826 to 1978, most rulers of Afghanistan belonged to the two branches of one

Barakzai dynasty The two branches of the Barakzai dynasty (, "sons of Barak") ruled modern day Afghanistan from 1823 to 1973 when the monarchy ended under Musahiban Mohammed Zahir Shah. The Barakzai dynasty was established by Dost Mohammad Khan after the Dur ...

descending from the chiefs of the Barakzai tribe (belonging to the Mohammadzai sub-tribe). *Emir Dost Muhammad Khan Barakzai - (First Mohammadzai Ruler) *Emir Sher Ali Khan - Emir of Afghanistan *Emir Yaqub Khan - Emir of Afghanistan, Signed treaty of Gandamak. *Emir

Abdur Rahman Khan Abdur Rahman Khan GCSI (Pashto/Dari: ) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of the Durand Line Ag ...

- Emir of Afghanistan (October 1879/July 22, 1880 – October 3, 1901) *Emir

Habibullah Khan Habibullah Khan (Pashto/Dari: ; 3 June 1872 – 20 February 1919) was the Emir of Afghanistan from 1901 until his death in 1919. He was the eldest son of the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, whom he succeeded by right of primogeniture in October 1901 ...

- Emir of Afghanistan (October 3, 1901 - February 20, 1919) *Emir

- Emir of Afghanistan (February 28, 1919 – 1926), later King of Afghanistan (1926 - January 14, 1929) *Queen

Soraya Tarzi Soraya Tarzi (Pashto/Dari: ملکه ثريا; November 24, 1899 – April 20, 1968) was the first queen consort of Afghanistan as the wife of King Amanullah Khan. She played a major part in the modernization reforms of Amanullah Khan, particula ...

(w. of King Amanullah Khan) (November 29, 1899 - April 20, 1968). *King Inayatullah Khan (January 14, 1929 - January 17, 1929). *

Mahmud Tarzi Mahmud Tarzi ( ps, محمود طرزۍ, Dari: محمود بیگ طرزی; August 23, 1865 – November 22, 1933) was an Afghan politician and intellectual. He is known as the father of Afghan journalism. He became a key figure in the history of ...

- Poet, Author and Diplomat. Credited for the modernization of Afghanistan. *Sardar Rahmdil Khan - Ruler of Kandahar & Baluchistan. *Sardar Payinda Khan - Ruler of Kandahar & Baluchistan. Father of All Mohammadzai's *King Mohammed Nadir Shah (October 17, 1929 - November 8, 1933). *King

Mohammed Zahir Shah Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto/Dari: , 15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last king of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan ...

(November 8, 1933 - July 17, 1973. *President

Mohammed Daoud Khan Mohammed Daoud Khan ( ps, ), also romanized as Daud Khan or Dawood Khan (18 July 1909 – 28 April 1978), was an Afghan politician and general who served as prime minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and, as leader of the 1973 Afghan coup ...

(First Afghan President) (July 18, 1973 - April 28, 1978)

Languages

The principal language of Barakzai is

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official langua ...

Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī ...

is also used as the language for records and correspondence.page 64 India and Central Asia By J. N. Roy, J.N. Roy And B.B. Kumar, Astha Bharati (Organization)

References

External links