Daudpotra (alternatively Daudpota or Daudputra; literally "Sons of Daud") is a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

clan originating from

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

, found in south

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

and north-western

provinces of Pakistan. The Nawabs of Bahawalpur belonged to this clan.

History

The Daudpotra were considered a powerful tribe in the 17th century lower Sindh. The Daudpotra are closely related to the

Kalhora The Kalhora or Kalhora Abbasi () is a Sindhi Sammat clan in Sindh, Pakistan. Etymology According to the natives of Sindh, the word ''Kalhoro'' originates from the (/ Kalho) meaning ''Alone''. Origin The Kalhora belong to the Indigenous ...

tribe, with both claiming descent from

Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib () was a paternal uncle and sahabi (companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, just three years older than his nephew. A wealthy merchant, during the early years of Islam he protected Muhammad while he was in Mecca, ...

André Wink André Wink is an emeritus professor of history at University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is known for his studies on India and the Indian Ocean area, particularly over the medieval and early modern age (700 to 1800 CE). He is the author of a series ...

considers their progenitor, Daud, to be a Julaha from

Jat The Jat people (, ), also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in l ...

community. The city of

Shikarpur Shikarpur or Shakkarpur or Sikarpur may refer to the following places: India *Shikarpur, Bihar (Vidhan Sabha constituency) * Shikarpur, Gujarat, a village and Harappan archeological site in Kutch district of Gujarat * Shikarpur, Shimoga, a town in ...

in Sindh was founded in 1617 A.D. by the Daudpotra after a battle with Mahars and they remained the Jagirdars and later rulers of Shikarpur for almost 128 years with breaks in between. Their rule was contested by their cousins, the Kalhoras. In 1739,

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

reinstated Daudpotra rule in

Sehwan Sehwan (; ; also commonly referred to as Sehwan Sharif or ''Noble Sehwan'') is a historic city located in Jamshoro District of Sindh province in Pakistan situated on the west bank of the Indus River north-west of Hyderabad. The city is renowned ...

and Shikarpur. In 1747, their rule in Shikarpur ended and during the absence of Sadiq Khan from Shikarpur, he laid the foundations of a new state with support from the

Nawab Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

and the

Sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

Uch Uch (; ), frequently referred to as Uch Sharīf (; ; ''"Noble Uch"''), is a historic city in the Pakistan's Punjab province. Uch may have been founded as Alexandria on the Indus, a town founded by Alexander the Great during his invasion of t ...

. The Daudpotra were granted

jagir A jagir (), ( Hindustani: जागीर/جاگیر, ''Jāgīr''), ( Marathi: जहागीर, ''Jahāgīrá'') also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar ( Zamindar ...

s by them in the areas that later formed the Bahawalpur state. Bahawal Khan, the son of Sadiq Khan, established the new state. After the death of his father he renounced all claims on Shikarpur.

Notable people

Umar Bin Muhammad Daudpota Umar Bin Mohammad Daudpota (25 March 1896 – 22 November 1958) () was a Sindhi researcher, historian, linguist and scholar of the Indus Valley. Life Daudpota was born on 25 March 1896 at Talti, Dadu District, British India. His primary e ...

Azim Daudpota Mohammed Azim Daudpota (; 14 September 1933 – 3 April 2017) was a three-star officer in the Pakistan Air Force who went on to serve as the Chief of Air Staff of the Air Force of Zimbabwe, and then to briefly serve as Governor of Sindh. E ...

Notes

References

Sindhi tribes Surnames {{Pakistan-ethno-stub