The Hazāra of Muhammad Khwāja () is one of the major

tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

of the ethnic

Hazara people The Hazaras (; ) are an ethnic group and a principal component of Afghanistan’s population. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan, primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan. Hazaras ...

, primarily originating from and residing in

Ghazni Ghazni (, ), historically known as Ghaznayn () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana (), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan with a population of around 190,000 people. The city is strategica ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Origin

The Hazaras of Muhammad Khwaja belong to the Turko-Mongol or Turkic confederation of the

Barlas The Barlas (;Grupper, S. M. 'A Barulas Family Narrative in the Yuan Shih: Some Neglected Prosopographical and Institutional Sources on Timurid Origins'. Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi 8 (1992–94): 11–97 Chagatay language, Chagatay/ ''Barlās'' ...

, who until the sixteenth century spoke the

Chagatai language Chagatai (, ), also known as Turki, Eastern Turkic, or Chagatai Turkic (), is an Extinct language, extinct Turkic languages, Turkic language that was once widely spoken across Central Asia. It remained the shared literary language in the region u ...

, a Turkic language of the Karluk branch.

Emir Muhammad Khwaja

Emir Muhammad Khwaja () belonged to the Timurid

confederation. His ancestral homeland is Kesh, Turkistan in present day

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. Emir Muhammad Khwaja was the son of Emir Haji Saifuddin who was a wazir of

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

in the beginning and later became governor of Qandahar now in Afghanistan. His great-grandfather, Haji Beig Barlas, was the leader of Barlas, who overthrew Qara'unas Abdullah from power in southern

Chagatai Khanate The Chagatai Khanate, also known as the Chagatai Ulus, was a Mongol and later Turkification, Turkicized khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan, second son of Genghis Khan, and his descendants and successors. At its height in the l ...

. Abdullah, who had recently taken power, was young and inexperienced, and his move to Kesh threatened Haji Beig Barlas.

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

, Khan, Beig, Mirza,

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 ...

Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

, Ghazi, and

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

are titles to his tribes and descendants to date. Emir Muhammad Khwaja was the commander in chief of the army of Babur. He is well known as "Khwaja-e bozorg" (the great

Khwaja Khawaja () is an honorific title used across the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, particularly towards Sufi teachers. It is also used by Kashmiri Muslims and Mizrahi Jews—particularly Kurdish Jews. The name or title ...

). His names appears in many historical script including ''

Baburnama The ''Bāburnāma'' (; ) is the memoirs of Babur, Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn Muhammad Bābur (1483–1530), founder of the Mughal Empire and a great-great-great-grandson of Timur. It is written in the Chagatai language, known to Babur as ''Türki'' "Turkic ...

''. Emir Muhammad Khwaja served as commander in chief of Babur’s army during his struggle to capture

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

in each battle, including the last one in

Panipat Panipat () is an industrial , located 95 km north of Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on NH-44 in Panipat district, Haryana, India. It is famous for three major battles fought in 1526, 1556 and 1761. The city is also known as ...

. Emir preferred the continental weather in central Asia and could never adjust to the hot weather of Delhi. It has been recorded that Emir lived in Sharan now in Paktika, Afghanistan and many of his descendants scattered from there to other parts of the country. Emir Muhammad Khwaja died on 1599 in Sharan, Paktia and was buried there.

List of notable Hazara of Muhammad Khwaja

* Faiz Muhammad Kateb, a distinguished historian and calligrapher who served as the Afghan court chronicler and secretary to Habibullah Khan from 1901 to 1919.Kitab-e Tadakkor-e Enqilab, Translation: Shkirando as "Kniga Upominanii o Myatezhe" Moscow, 1988. p. 20 * Sardar Muhammad Azim Khan * Noor Muhammad Khan Hazara * Abdul Wahed Sarābi * Habiba Sarābi * Ramazan Bashardost * Aziz Royesh

Notes

Sources

* * {{authority control Hazara tribes Ethnic groups in Ghazni Province Barlas Hazara people

Origin

Emir Muhammad Khwaja

List of notable Hazara of Muhammad Khwaja

See also

Notes

Sources