
Popalzai or Popalzay (), also known as Popal, are
Durrani
The Durrānī (, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes, tribal confederation of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, ...
(formerly called Abdali or Bor
Tareen)
Pashtuns
Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...
of
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 ...
. The Popalzai are part of the
Zirak confederation of
Pashtun tribes. The origin of the Abdali forefathers of the Saddozai tribe is probably the
Hephthalites
The Hephthalites (), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian languages, Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit and Prakrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during the 5th to ...
. The forefathers of
Ahmad Shāh Durrānī, the founder of 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 ...
, were from the Sadozai tribe which is a subtribe of the Popalzai. According to
Mohan Lal, the Zirak line begins with Sulaiman Zirak Khan, who was the father of Popalzai,
Barakzai, and
Alakozai. The tribe's origin is
Kandahar,
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 ...
.
The majority of the Popalzai live in the southern areas of Afghanistan such as in
Kandahar,
Helmand or
Uruzgan. Some members of the Popalzai tribe have migrated with their families to the European Union, North America, and Oceania. Notable members of the Popalzai tribe include
Hamid Karzai and
his extended family, Karim Popal,
Naim Popal, and
Khalida Popal.
Notable people
*
Abdul Ghani Baradar
Abdul Ghani Baradar (born 29 September 1963 known by the honorific ''mullah'') is an Afghan politician and religious leader who is the acting first Deputy Prime Minister of Afghanistan, deputy prime minister, alongside Abdul Salam Hanafi, of the ...
, co-founder and deputy leader of the Taliban
*
Ahmad Shah Durrani, Founder of the Durrani Empire
*
Jahan Khan, Commander-in-Chief of the Durrani Empire
*
Ahmed Wali Karzai
*
Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan 2001–2014
*
Khairullah Khairkhwa
*
Jan Mohammad Khan
*
Khan Mohammad Khan
*
Ghulam Jilani Popal
References
{{Pashtun tribes
Durrani Pashtun tribes
Ethnic groups in Kandahar Province
Ethnic groups in Balochistan