Karlāṇī or Karrani () is a

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

tribal confederacy. They primarily inhabit the

FATA The Federally Administered Tribal Areas, commonly known as FATA, was a autonomous administrative division, semi-autonomous tribal region in north-western Pakistan that existed from Independence Day (Pakistan), 1947 until being merged with the ...

region of

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

province of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and certain parts of eastern Afghanistan. In the 16th century the Karlani founded the

Karrani dynasty The Karrani dynasty (, ) was founded in 1564 by Taj Khan Karrani, an ethnic Afghan from the Karlani tribe, hailing from Bangash district. It was the last dynasty to rule the Sultanate of Bengal, before the region became a Subah of the Mugha ...

, the last dynasty to rule the

Bengal Sultanate The Bengal Sultanate (Middle Bengali: , Classical Persian: ) was a Post-classical history, late medieval sultanate based in the Bengal region in the eastern South Asia between the 14th and 16th century. It was the dominant power of the Ganges- ...

. .

Origins

Karlani itself means "adopted". The 17th century Mughal scribe

Nimat Allah al-Harawi Ni'mat Allah al-Harawi (also known as Niamatullah; ) was a chronicler at the court of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir where he compiled a Persian history of the Afghans, the '' Tarikh-i-Khan-Jahani''. He was a '' waqia navis'' (news-writer) in the ...

does not mention Karlani tribes in his ''

Makhzan-i-Afghani The ''Tarikh-i-Khan-Jahani'' () is a 17th-century Persian language text describing the history of the ethnic Afghans. Versions of the work are referred to by the names ''Makhzan-i-Afghani'' () and ''Tarikh-i-Khan Jahani Wa Makhzan-i-Afghani.'' It ...

''. According to a legend, Karlan was the adopted son of

Qais Abdur Rasheed Qais Abdur Rashīd or Qais Abdul Rasheed () is said to be, in post-Islamic lore, the legendary founding father of the Pashtuns. It is believed that the conception of such a figure was promoted to bring harmony between religious and ethnic identit ...

, the eponymous ancestor of Pashtuns. In another variant of the tradition, Karlan was adopted in exchange of a cooking pot, and was found by two

Ormur The Ormur (), also called Burki or Baraki (), are an Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranic people and Pashtuns, Pashtun tribe mainly living in Baraki Barak, in the Logar Province, Logar province of Afghanistan and in Kaniguram, in the South Waziristan ...

brothers in an empty field where an army had encamped previous night. The childless brother then exchanged baby for a pot. This suggests that Karlanis are adopted tribes of non-Pashtun origins unlike the rest of the tribes. The exact genesis of Karlani Pashtuns remains disputed, with Karlani tribes like Afridis and

Bangash The Bangash, Bungish, Bangaš or Bangakh () are a tribe of Pashtuns, inhabiting their traditional homeland, the Bangash district which stretches from Kohat to Tall in Hangu and Spīn Ghar, Kurram in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. They also live ...

having

Dardic The Dardic languages (also Dardu or Pisaca), or Hindu-Kush Indo-Aryan languages, are a group of several Indo-Aryan languages spoken in northern Pakistan, northwestern India and parts of northeastern Afghanistan. This region has sometimes been re ...

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

origins. Sections of Karlanis claim descent from Muhammad. Nevertheless, the Karlanis consider themselves as Pashtuns.

Origins

Dialect

Karlani tribes

See also

References