Saddu Khan was a Pashtun figure, and the ancestor of the
Saddozai clan, which is a branch of the
Abdali confederation.
Ahmad Shah Abdali
Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (; ; – 4 June 1772), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan.
Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought ov ...
belonged to the lineage of Sado, alongside some known families 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 ...
,
Dera Ismail Khan
Dera Ismail Khan (; Urdu and , ), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 10th largest city of Pakistan and third or fourth largest in the province of Khy ...
and others settled throughout
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 ...
and
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# ...
.
He succeeded his father as chief of the
Habibzai section of the tribe, but due to his "bravery and ability" he was selected by the
Abdalis (later known as ''Durrani''), then living between Kandahar and
Herat
Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...
, to be their overall leader in 1598.
Shadi Khan, the governor of the 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 ...
at Kandahar, was hostile to Saddu Khan, resulting in Saddu supporting the rivaling
Abbas I of Persia
Abbas I (; 27 January 1571 – 19 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the fifth Safavid shah of Iran from 1588 to 1629. The third son of Shah Mohammad Khodabanda, he is generally considered one of the most important rulers i ...
, whom had previously lost Kandahar in 1594 to the
Mughals
The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...
and was intriguing for its recovery. This culminated in the Safavid recapture of Kandahar in 1621, in which Saddu aided Abbas. As a reward for his services, he was declared the
titular ruler
A titular ruler, or titular head, is a person in an official position of leadership who possesses few, if any, actual powers. Sometimes a person may inhabit a position of titular leadership and yet exercise more power than would normally be expecte ...
of Kandahar. Saddu Khan died in 1626 leaving five sons, from whom descended the Saddozai (sons of Sado).
The descendants of Saddu Khan are the "Saddozai", the clan to which
Ahmad Shah Durrani
Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (; ; – 4 June 1772), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan.
Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought ov ...
,
Timur Shah
Timur Shah Durrani (; ;), also known as Timur Shah Abdali or Taimur Shah Abdali (December 1746 – 20 May 1793) was the second ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire, from November 1772 until his death in 1793. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the second e ...
,
Zaman Shah
Zaman Shah Durrani, or Zaman Shah Abdali ( Persian: ; 1767 – 1844) was the third King of the Durrani Empire from 1793 until 1801. An ethnic Pashtun of the Sadozai clan, Zaman Shah was the grandson of Ahmad Shah Durrani and the fifth son of Timu ...
, Hassan Javaid Khan and
Shuja Shah Durrani
Shuja (, , ) is a surname and male given name.
Notable people with this name include:
* Shuja al-Khwarazmi, was the mother of Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil
Ja'far ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn al-Mutawakkil ʿalā ...
belonged.
Ahmad Shah Durrani
Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (; ; – 4 June 1772), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan.
Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought ov ...
founded the
Durrani Empire
The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...
, which the Saddozais ruled until their expulsion from power and subsequent replacement by
Dost Mohammad Khan
Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai (Pashto/; 23 December 1792 – 8 June 1863), nicknamed the Amir-i Kabir, was the founder of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of Afghanistan during the First Anglo-Afghan War. With the decline of ...
of the
Barakzai
Bārakzai (, plur. , ) is the name of a Pashtun tribe from present-day Kandahar, Afghanistan. '"Barakzai" is a common name among the Pashtuns and it means "son of Barak" in Pashto. According to the Encyclopædia Iranica, "In the detailed Pash ...
.
He has been wrongly called 'Asadullah Khan' or 'Saadullah Khan' by some historians, but his real name was 'Saddu Khan'.
Saddu In the eyes of registered Sudhanoti
Historian Yusuf Khan Abakhil Saduzai writes in his famous contemporary book (Register Sadhnoti) that many authors have incorrectly written the date of birth of Malik Sadu, the ancestor of the Saduzai tribe. He writes that these historians have written the date of birth of Malik Sadu bin Umar as 1558 and have listed him as the sixteenth descendant of Qais Abdul Rashid, who was born in 575. There is no doubt that all historians, whether Pakhtun or non-Pakhtun, have unanimously recognized Malik Saddo, the ancestor of the Sadozai tribes, as the sixteenth descendant of Qais Abdul Rashid. This lineage has been accepted because Malik Saddo bin Umar's genealogy is perfectly aligned with the standards of human reasoning, logic, science, sociology, and genealogy. According to this lineage, Qais Abdul Rashid, who was born in 575 AD, has Malik Saddo, the ancestor of the Sadozai tribes, born as his sixteenth descendant. This genealogy is out- lined as follows:
*1. Qais Abdul Rashid,
*2. Satarbin,
*3. Khurushbun (Khairuddin),
*4. Tarin,
*5. Abdal,
* 6. Zakhtar,
* 7. Isa,
* 8. Zirk,
* 9. Popal,
* 10. Habib,
* 11. Bami,
* 12. Gani,
* 13. Bahlul,
* 14. Maroof Khan,
* 15. Umar,
* 16. Malik Saddo
From this genealogy, it is clear that Malik Saddo, the ancestor of the Sadozai tribes, was born as the sixteenth descendant of Qais Abdul Rashid. All historians, especially those who have written the genealogy of Malik Saddo, the ancestor of the Sadozai tribe, in their books agree on this. After this, the birthdate of Malik Saddo was written as 1558, which indicates that these historians are unaware of the science of human genealogy. These historians have mistakenly mixed Malik Saddo, the ancestor of the Sadozai tribes, who was born in 1078, with a fictional governor of Safa Malik Saddo, whose birthdate is 1558. This claim by these historians contradicts the scientific principles of human genealogy in a funny manner.
According to science, it takes at least 78 years for three generations to pass, with a maximum of 96 years required. Let's test human genealogy with a scientific principle by giving an example. Suppose a person named Malik Abdullah is born in 2020, marries at the age of 24 in 2046, and has a son named Abdullah , in 2047. In 2072, Abdullah , marry at the age of 25, and a year later, in 2073, Abdullah Il is born. In 2098, Abdullah II marries at the age of 25 and has a son named Abdullah Ill in 2099. The genealogy would be like this: 1. Abdullah Ill, son of, 2. Abdullah Il, son of, 3. Abdullah I, son of, 4. Malik Abdullah
In this genealogy, Abdullah Ill enters the third generation after Malik Abdullah and the fourth generation afterward, but by genealogical principles, Abdullah Ill will be counted in the third generation. From this, it is evident that the period from Malik Abdullah, born in 2020, to Abdullah Ill is 79 years. This is the "scientific principle of human genealogy,’ showing that three generations can easily come into existence within 79 years. This is why expert genealogists have set the minimum duration of three generations from one person at 70 years and the maximum at 96 years.
Based on this scientific standard, if we consider the 575 AD birthdate of Qais Abdul Rashid and apply a 96-year limit per three generations up to Malik Saddo, the ancestor of the Sadozai tribe, it still turns out that the combined age of sixteen generations from Qais Abdul Rashid to Malik Saddo is 505 years, which is the maximum stated. Therefore, according to the scientific standard of human genealogy, Malik Saddo bin Umar, the ancestor of the Sadozai tribes, who is the sixteenth descendant of Qais Abdul Rashid, cannot have been born in 1558. Readers of this book can estimate the period from their great-grandfather to themselves, as no one can be more than 70, 80, 90, 96, or at most 100 years younger than their great-grandfather's father (i.e., their great-great-grandfather). Hence, if we apply a 100-year limit per three generations from Qais Abdul Rashid's birthdate of 575 AD to Malik Saddo, the ancestor of the Sadozai tribe, it still turns out that Malik Saddo, the ancestor of the Sadozai tribes, would have been born 525 years later, making his birthdate 1100 AD, which can be consistent with science, sociology, human genealogy, and logic. However, a birth date of 1558 AD is unreasonable, as it is impossible for someone born in 575 AD to have a descendant in the sixteenth generation born in 1558.
Therefore, according to the writings of historian Sardar Suba Khan in the book "Maakhaz-e-Sudhnoti," the birth date of Malik Saddo bin Umar, the ancestor of Afghan Nawab Jassi Khan Abdal Sadozai, as 1078 AD is correct and accurate in every respect.
References
{{Reflist
Pashtun people
People from Multan
1558 births
1621 deaths