The Gakhar () is a historical Punjabi tribe, originating in the

Pothohar Plateau The Pothohar Plateau (, : ''Pо̄ṭhoā̀r Paṭhār''; , ''Satāh Murtafā Pо̄ṭhohār''), also spelled Pothwar, is a plateau in the Sindh Sagar Doab, Sind Sagar Doab of northern Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan, located between the Indus ...

Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (, ) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. With a population of over 127 million, it is the Demographics of Pakistan, most populous province in Pakistan and the List of first-level administrative divisions by popu ...

. They predominantly adhere to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

History

In the Muslim historiography, the Gakhars have been frequently confused with the

Khokhar Khokhar () is a historical Punjabi clan primarily native to the Salt Range of Pakistani Punjab. Khokhars are also found in the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. Khokhars predominantly follow Islam, having converted to Islam from Hinduism ...

s, who inhabited the same region, and it has been challenging to separate the events of both tribes. Gakhars formed an important part of the army of Shāhis of

Gandhāra Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending as far east as the Pothohar Platea ...

. Around 30,000 Gakhars fought against Maḥmūd of Ghazna in 1008 CE near

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

but were defeated. By the time of Sultan Muʿizz al-Dīn Muḥammad Ghūrī Gakhars had converted to Islam. In the following centuries, Gakhars engaged in a long-running struggle for sovereignty over the

Salt Range The Salt Range ( and Namkistan نمکستان) is a mountain range in the north of Punjab province of Pakistan, deriving its name from its extensive deposits of rock salt. The range extends along the south of the Potohar Plateau and the north ...

with the neighbouring tribes: For a period, Gakhars were superseded by the Khokhars who under their chieftain

Jasrat Jasrat Khan ( – ), also known as Jasrath, was a 15th-century Punjabi Muslim chieftain who ruled parts of Punjab from 1410 until his death in 1442. He had his capital at Sialkot. A son of Shaikha, Jasrat fought against Tamerlane during his i ...

gained control of most of upper Punjab in the 15th century. However, by the time of Mughal emperor Bābur's invasion of subcontinent, Gakhars had regained power. Under their chief Hātī Khān, Gakhars attacked Babūr in 1525 when he marched against the Delhi Sultanate. Babūr seized Gakhar fortress of Phaŕwāla and Hātī Khān fled, but when Hātī Khān offered his submission to Babūr and provided supplies for the Mughal army, he compensated Hātī Khān well and conferred on him the title of Sultan. Kamal Khan Ghakkar defeats Sultan Adam Ghakkar

Kamal Khan Ghakkar defeats Sultan Adam Ghakkar

During the reign of Humāyūn, Sulṭān Sārang Khān gained much prominence. He refused to acknowledge Shēr Shāh Sūr as new emperor when the latter defeated Humāyūn, as a result Shēr Shāh led an expedition against Sārang Khān who was defeated and executed. His tomb is in Rawāt. Sārang Khān's brother, Ādam Khān succeeded him. In 1552, Humāyūn's rebel brother prince Kamrān sought shelter with Ādam Khān but he was betrayed and given up to Humāyūn, who rewarded Ādam Khān with the insignia of nobility for the treachery. In 1555, Ādam Khān was defeated and killed by his nephew Kamāl Khān, a son of Sārang Khān, possibly on the instigation by emperor

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

to strengthen his hold over the Gakhars. Further a daughter of Kamāl Khān's brother, Sayd Khān was married to prince Salim.

History

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading