The Musahiban (mus-hi-been; the name derives from Persian ''Muṣāḥib'', meaning "courtier" or "aide de camp") are a

Mohammadzai Mohammadzai ( ps, محمدزی), also spelled Moḥammadzay (meaning "descendants of Mohammad"), is a Pashtun sub-tribe or clan of the Barakzai which is part of the Durrani confederacy of tribes. They are primarily centered on Kandahar, Kab ...

family who founded the Afghan

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 Durr ...

, and members of the royal lineage that ruled

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 borde ...

as emir, king or president from 1823 to 1978. They descend from

Sultan Mohammad Khan Sultan Mohammad Khan (Pashto/ Dari: ), also known as Ghazi Sardar Sultan Mohammad Talaei, was an Afghan aristocrat, chief minister and regent. He was a powerful brother of Emir Dost Mohammad Khan, the eventual ruler of Afghanistan who seized co ...

Telai (1795–1861) and his older brother Emir

Dost Mohammad Khan Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai (Pashto/ Persian: ; 23 December 17929 June 1863), nicknamed the Amir-i Kabir, Also titled Amir al-Mu'minin, was a member of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of the Emirate of Afghanistan. His 37-ye ...

(1792-1863), and were the last rulers of the Mohammadzai dynasty before being overthrown in the

Saur Revolution The Saur Revolution or Sowr Revolution ( ps, د ثور انقلاب; prs, إنقلاب ثور), also known as the April Revolution or the April Coup, was staged on 27–28 April 1978 (, ) by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) ...

in April 1978.

Name and origins

The family are descendants of

(1795–1861), nicknamed "Telai" which means "possessor of gold" or "golden" (a nickname he was given because of his wealth and love of fine clothing), and his older brother was

who gained control of Afghanistan and became its ruler. Telai had a son named Yahya and Yahya's son, Sardar Mohammad Yusuf Khan, founded the Yahya-khel clan which was later named the Musahiban. According to

Amin Saikal Professor Amin Saikal (born in Kabul, Afghanistan), is Adjunct Professor of Social Sciences at the University of Western Australia, and a former University Distinguished Professor and Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies (The Mi ...

, "by 1905,

Yossef Yosef (; also transliterated as Yossef, Josef, Yoseph Tiberian Hebrew and Aramaic ''Yôsēp̄'') is a Hebrew male name derived from the Biblical character Joseph. The name can also consist of the Hebrew yadah meaning "praise", "fame" and the w ...

and his brother, Asef, became the Amir's Musahiban-e Khas (Attendants par Excellence), from which originated the tribe name Musahiban".

Policies

The Musahiban have historically been known for a step-by-step, culturally progressive and tribally sensitive, evolution for the modernization and opening up of Afghanistan in contrast to the often more radically accelerated strategies promoted in the past.

References

{{Clear Pashtun dynasties Emirate of Afghanistan Kingdom of Afghanistan 19th-century Afghan politicians 20th-century Afghan politicians