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THE AFGHANS 

PH. D. FOR. M.R. A. S. M.T.C.

AND PROFESSOR OF ORIENTAL LITERATURE IN THE IMPERIAL RUSSIAN UNIVERSITY OF KHARKOV.

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CONTENTS

Part I:

    Foreword

    Preface
        A. Manuscripts treating on the Afghans
        B. Other manuscripts cited
        Spelling of Proper Names

    Errata

Author's Introduction

Contents

CHAPTER I. The History of Yacoob Israel, to which prophet this people trace their origin.
 

CHAPTER II. The History of King Talut; and of the transmigration of the Afghans to the mountainous country of Ghor, and from thence to Koh Suleiman and Roh.
 

        Concise history of Suleiman.
 

CHAPTER III. The History of Khaled ben Valeed, till the end of the Khelafat of Omar, the Prince of the Faithful.

FIRST BOOK. The History of Sultan Behlol, Sultan Sekunder Lodi, and Sultan Ibrahim Lodi.
 

SECOND BOOK. The History of Sheer Shah, Islam Shah Soor, and several other Afghans.

        The History of Adeli, Baz Behader, the Kerranians and Lohanians.


Part II:

    Preface to the Second Part.

THIRD BOOK. Memoirs of Derveeshes amongst this people, whose purity and holiness advanced them to eminent stations.

    Chapter I.
    Chapter II. Account of the Sheikhs of the Batni Race.
    Chapter III. Memoirs of the Sheikhs of the Ghurghushti Family.

CONCLUSION. Account of the Afghan Tribes descended from Serbun, Bateni, and Ghurghusht, the sons of Abd Ulrasheed, Pat'han.
 

Annotations on Part the First.

Annotations on Part the Second.

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From the PREFACE

AMONGST those Histories which, in recent times, have attracted the attention, of the Learned, and have been made the object of their researches — by which much light was thrown upon them, and the obscurity, that enveloped them before, partly removed — we may justly number the HISTORY OF THE AFGHANS; a nation which, for many reasons, claims our particular attention: for it is not only remarkable as being a link between the Indian and middle Asiatic nations, and probably belonging to the extended assemblage of Indo-Teutonic nations, but as having, at different periods, acted a conspicuous part in history; where these people seem to appear first in the seventh century of the Christian era; when, about 682 A.D., they issued from their mountainous habitations, and caused desolation and destruction in the contiguous countries: in which incursions, however, they were checked by the Raja of Lahore. After that, an Afghan, Sheikh Hameed, was nominated Governor of the Multan and of Lumghan; from which time we see the military services of the Afghans eagerly sought after, and themselves much honoured by the kings of the Ghaznevide race; which, at length, was dispossessed of sovereignty by those whom it had formerly cherished and loaded with honours. In the year A.D. 1186, Sultan Khosru, the last king of the Ghaznevides, was compelled to surrender to the Afghan Chief, Shehab Uddeen Mohammed Ghori; Lahore was delivered to him; and he ascended the throne of the unfortunate Khosru.

In the middle of the fifteenth century, another dynasty of Afghan sovereigns established their power in Dehli, under Behlol Lodi (1451—1488); Sultan Sekunder (1483—1517); and Sultan Ibrahim (1517—1526).

Towards the middle of the sixteenth century, Sheer Shah raised himself to the throne of Dehli: and he and his successors were in continual struggles with the Moguls, whom they often successfully opposed.

During almost the whole of the eighteenth century, the Afghans carried on war with Persia; where they, about the year 1720, captured Isphahan under Meer Vais; and remained in that country, until, in 1737, they were totally subdued by Nadir Shah.

In 1747, Ahmed Shah Durrani was crowned King, at Candahar; and from that time the Afghans were governed by a king chosen from their own people; and in this state they continue up to the present moment.

Besides this historical curiosity attaching to them, they are remarkable in other respects: amongst which, is their pretended origin from the Jews; and the multitude and number of their tribes and clans; which, according to Historians, amount to three hundred and fifty-nine; in which regard they bear a great resemblance to the ancient Scottish clans, and afford much matter for reflection. But another most striking circumstance, in a psychological point of view, that occurs in their History, from its first commencement till this day, and which characterizes them before all other Asiatic nations, is their indelible love of freedom and liberty. They never submitted to a despotic government; but, at every time, succeeded in maintaining their natural right: and the present King of Kabul is little more than the first citizen of the empire. Hence it is, that their history does not reek with blood shed by blood-thirsty sovereigns, with which the histories of other countries of Asia are filled; and although the whole government centres in the king, yet security against the arbitrary power of the sovereign is the object of the Afghans' most fervent praises: and how deeply this feeling is rooted in the breast of this people, is best illustrated by an answer given to Mr. Elphinstone by an Afghan:— "We are content with discord; we are content with alarms; we are content with blood: but we never will be content with a master."

... The present work, which is the first Afghan History translated from an Oriental language, and in compiling which the best works on that subject were used by the author, will at once afford a full insight into all the mysteries related by the Afghans, of their origin. It contains their history from Adam, to the sixteenth century. In the Third Book, the lives of sixty-eight Sheikhs are found; after which follows an account of the numerous tribes. The materials of the book of the Afghans were collected by Hybet Khan of Samana; but, under his patronage, composed into a History by Neamet Ullah, Historiographer (Wakianuwees) at the court of the Emperor Jehangheer, between the year of the Hejra 1018—1020 (A.D. 1609—11) and upwards. The copy from which this Translation is made, belongs to the ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY; and is written very carelessly, by one Fut'h Khan, for his own use, in the year 1131 of the Hejra (A.D. 1718). It bears the title of "Makhzen Afghani;" and appears to be a different and, in some parts, abridged edition of the original work of Neamet Ullah; when Ibrahim Batni, who mentions himself at the end of the Second Book, supplied the deficiencies from the original of Neamet Ullah, and other Histories: and thus it is generally much more minute in the history it relates, than any other book that treats on the same subject. The style is the Persian, as generally spoken in India; and many Hindustani words are found in the course of the narrative.

Another edition, or perhaps the original work itself, is preserved in the East-India House, and entitled "Tareekh Khanjehan Lodi wa Makhzen Afghani," and was also composed between 1018—1020 A.H. and upwards. The coincidence of the first part of this work with ours is perfect; and they correspond almost word for word: but afterwards it frequently does not enter into such details, as our work does; and mostly leaves out the speeches, which so frequently occur in the translated copy. But it gives a history of Khanjehan Lodi, which is not to be found in the work here translated; which circumstance, undoubtedly, is the reason that the latter is called only "Makhzen Afghani." It is written much better than the copy I have used, and served in many places to bear me out in such passages as seemed to be unintelligible. The proper names are often differently written.
 

From the PREFACE TO THE SECOND PART:
 

... When translating that part of the present History which relates to the Afghan Saints, I was, at first, at a loss how to proceed. The inflated titles and epithets bestowed upon the Sheikhs; such as, "The sun of the sphere of guidance"; "The magazine of knowledge"; "The extract of the herbage of religion"; "Crocodile in the ocean of unity"; sound strangely in European ears: but, as they are not easily rendered by equivalent expressions more familiar to us, I have thought proper to retain them. The stories recounted of the Saints are even more strange: but they will contribute to illustrate the religious belief of the Afghans, who, no doubt, take this History as an authentication of the miracles in question; although its compiler, among other wonderful relations, gravely assures us, that in the year 1002 (A.D. 1592-3), he, with other persons, saw the lips of Sheikh Bustan Baraich, after his death, in motion, reciting the Koran!

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The following summary draws upon various sources, for example:

A Wikipedia on Nimatullah al-Harawi

A Banglapedia article on the Tarikh-i-Khan Jahani Wa Makhzan-i-Afghani

A chapter from the Ahmadiyya book "Jesus in India"

History of Pakistan article on the Pashtuns / Pakhtuns / Pathans / Afghans

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About this work

Ni'matullah Harawi's (fl. 1613-1630 CE) History of the Afghans / Makhzan-i Afghani, which was translated from Farsi into English and published between 1829-1836, is believed to be a shorter recension of another work of his, the Tarikh-i Khan Jahani Wa Makhzan-i Afghani. Henry Elliot and following him some modern scholars think that both works are essentially one and the same, while others, including S. M. Imamuddin (author of an English translation of the Tarikh), take the two books to represent two different titles.

The Makhzan-i Afghani is a Persian epic of Khwaja Nimatullah dealing with the history of the Afghans in India from the time of Bahlol Lodi to the death of Khwaja Usman. The author composed the book in between 1612-1613 CE, but later in 1615 he himself added some information about the biography of his patron Khan Jahan.

Khwaja Nimatullah cites the names of many Afghan and non-Afghan histories that he consulted in writing the Tarikh-i Khan Jahani wa Makhzan-i Afghani. He was a librarian of Abdur Rahim Khan Khanan, son of Bairam Khan Khan Khanan in 1576 CE, but later he became a Waqia-Navis in the reign of Jahangir. After several years, Khan Jahan Lodi, an Afghan general of Jahangir, employed him. During this time he came into contact with Haibat Khan Lodi who also was an attendant of Khan Jahan. The author gratefully recognises his indebtedness to Haibat Khan in writing his book.

The material covers Afghan rulers in Bengal, contemporary events, and Afghan hagiography. The author describes in detail and in chronological sequence, the political events of the period, and the character and cultural attainments of the rulers. As a chronicle the book is of great value, the most important part of the book is the account of the early achievements of Khan Jahan Lodi, the genealogical table of the Afghans, and the history of the first eight years of Jahangir's reign. The author was an eyewitness of such events as the death of Akbar, the coronation of Jahangir and the rebellion, flight and ultimate defeat of Khusrau (eldest son of Jahangir). These events are not only systematically discussed, but the narration is also very faithful. The Khatimah or concluding portion of the book contains lives of sixty-eight saints who were Afghans either by birth or by adoption. Were it not for this work, lives of many of these saints would have remained unknown.

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About the Afghans

Tribal Nomenclature of the Afghans

Between South Asia, Central Asia and the Iranian plateau of Sijistan lies a triangular shaped territory studded by bare and barren mountains covering an area of approximately 250,000 square miles. Starting from Dir in the north, this triangle runs along the Indus, takes a westward turn a few miles south of Dera Ismail Khan, and embracing within its fold Loralai, Sharigh, Degari, Harnai, Quetta, Pishin, Chaman and Qandahar extends up to Herat. From here it curves north-east and following the foothills of Hindu Kush comes back to Dir. This region includes the major portion of the North West Frontier, a part of the Quetta Division of Baluchistan and three quarters of Afghanistan. In this triangular-shaped, hilly country divided between Afghanistan and Pakistan lives the world's largest group of tribesmen numbering over 30 million, variously called Afghans, Pathans, Pashtuns or Pakhtuns.

Any attempt to delve deep into the history of these interesting people and find out their origin would prove baffling. But strangely indeed their history has attracted the attention of an unusually large number of scholars. In the modern period more and more western historians and researchers are taking keen interest in the past of this region and its people. But the larger literature on the subject, the greater the difference of opinion and deeper the confusion.

The difficulty arises because of the fact that the area is inhabited by a large number of tribes each of which makes different claims about its origin. The confusion becomes worse confounded when it is found that these claims do not conform to historical evidence and do not agree with the conclusions arrived at by the researchers. In view of this peculiar situation, it is proposed to give only the consensus of opinion and to simpilify matters as far as possible. Many Pathans may not agree with what has been stated here; but unfortunately the nature of the subject is such that an agreement even on broad outlines seems difficult.

Let us first discuss the origin of the names Pathan and Afghan. The term Pakhtun or Pashtun, according to Raverty, is derived from the Persian word "Pusht" meaning "back". Since the tribes lived on the back of the mountains, Persians called them Pashtun which is also pronounced Pakhtun. Some scholars think that the word Pashtun or Pakhtun comes from the old Iranian words parsava, parsa meaning robust men, knights. In Indian languages it was spelt as Pakhtana or Pathan. Herodotus and several other Greek and Roman historians have mentioned a people called "Paktye" living on the eastern frontier of Iran. By the word Paktye they meant the people of the frontier. (According to the Encyclopædia of Islam the word Pathan is from the Sanskrit word Pratisthana.) Muslim historians from Biruni onward called them Afghans, never using the word Pathan which expression was extensively employed by the Hindus. "No Afghan or speaker of Pashtu ever referred to himself as a Pathan and the word is an Indian usage." (The Pathans, by Sir Olaf Caroe)

"It is significant that neither Ibn Batuta nor Baber mention the word "Pathan". Baber gives the names of many east Afghanistan tribes, but nowhere does he mention Pathans, Pakhtuns or Pashtuns. He calls the people Afghans and their language, Afghani." (Afghan Immigration in the early Middle Ages, by K. S. Lal.)

As for the word Afghan, it appears in the inscriptions of Shahpur I at Naksh-e-Rustam which mentions a certain Goundifer Abgan Rismaund. According to Sprengler, a similar name "Apakan" occurs as the designation of the later Sassanian Emperor Shahpur III. "The word Afghan, though of unknown origin, first appears in history in the Hudud-al-Alam, a work by an unknown Arab geographer who wrote in 982 A.D." (Afghanistan, by W.K Frazier Tytler.) But according to the Encyclopædia of Islam: "the first mention of the Afghans in written history is in the Chronicle of al-Utbi in Tarikh-e-Yamini and an almost contemporary mention by al-Biruni. Utbi records that Sabuktagin enrolled Afghans in his army." Another version states that the earliest recorded use of the name Afghan is by the Indian astronomer, Varaha-Mihira of the 6th Century CE. in the form Avagana. (Encyclopædia Britannica.)

"The supposition that the Pathans are any different from the Afghans is not borne out either by the legendary accounts associated with the origin of this people or by historical or ethnological data." (Afghan Immigration in the Early Middle Ages, by K. S. Lal.) Both Bellew and Longworth Dames consider the two terms as appellation of a common people. There is no racial difference between the two. The two words are synonymous referring to one and the same people though a few writers try to make a distinction between Afghans and Pathans which is ephemeral.

For instance, some authors maintain that only those tribes living in southern Afghanistan, particularly between Herat and Qandahar and who speak Persian should be called Afghans while others living in the rest of Afghanistan, the North West Frontier of Pakistan and in Baluchistan, speaking the Pashtu language, should be called Pathans. What they mean is that those who speak Pashtu are Pathans and those of them who speak Persian are Afghans. Sir Olaf Caroe makes a distinction between the Afghans and the Pathans on the basis of the hillsmen and plainsmen. He thinks that those living in the fertile plains of Qandhar, Herat, Kabul and Peshawar should be called Afghans and those living in the hills, Pathans. Lt. Gen. George McMunn divides Afghans into three groups: Abdalis, Ghilzais and Pathans (Afghanistan from Darius to Amanullah, by Lt. Gen. Dir George McMunn). But, as already stated, such distinctions are confusing and will lead nowhere. All should be called either Afghans, Pashtuns, Pakhtuns or Pathans.

There has, however, been no dispute over the name of the language they speak. It is called by one name only i.e., Pashtu. But its origin, again is disputed. Most of the authors are agreed that "it is both in origin and structure an Eastern Iranian language which has borrowed freely from the Indo-Aryan group." (The Pathans, by Sir Olaf Caroe). But one of the greatest authorities on the Pathans, Morgenstierne, on the other hand, feels that it is probably a Saka dialect from the north. The general opinion, however, is that Pashtu is a branch of the original Iranian language called Pahlawi.

 

Origins of the Afghans

The triangle between the Indus, Hindu Kush and the Sijistan plateau of Iran is populated by an assorted group of tribesmen some of them living in plains and valleys and others in mountains interspersed over the entire length and breadth of this triangle. As already stated this is the largest conglomeration of tribal people in the world.

We shall begin with the accounts of their origin as given by later Muslim historians. According to Niamatulla's Makhzan-i Afghani and Hamdullah Mustawfi Qazwini's Tarikh-i Guzida, one of Prophet Abrahim's descendants, King Talut (or Saul, who lived around 1092 BCE in Palestine) had two sons, one of whom was named Irmiya (or Jeremiah). Irmiya had a son named Afghan, who is supposed to have given the name to the Afghan people. Afghan was said to have been raised by King David upon the death of King Saul, and was thereafter promoted to the chief command of the army during the reign of Solomon. Around the 6th Century BCE, Bakht un-Nasr or Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylonia, attacked Judah. The Makhzan-i Afghani has it that Nebuchadnezzar exiled the progeny of Afghan, being the Ten Tribes, to Ghor in Afghanistan. The Tarikh-i Sher Shahi states that Nebuchadnezzar who invaded Jerusalem, destroyed it, and expelled the Jewish tribes, including the putative sons of Afghan, from their homeland. This is contradictory, as Nebuchadnezzar attacked the Kingdom of Judah and Benjamin, not the kingdom of the Ten Tribes. However, Babylonia did also conquer Assyria, where the Ten Tribes had been exiled to decades before. After that, Babylonia was conquered by Cyrus of Persia. So if Babylonia achieved jurisdiction over them that way, that would credibly explain how they were exiled originally by Assyria, yet the Pashtuns' story depicts them being ruled by Babylonia, and then by Cyrus of Persia. The Assyrian king Shalmaneser is the one who raided the Kingdom of Israel in 721 BCE and sent the Ten Tribes in exile to Media, the North-Western part of today's Iran. The Persian Empire didn't exist at the time of first Jewish captivity (721 BCE) and was founded later by Cyrus in 550 BCE. The ten exiled tribes might have mingled with the local population of Media or dispersed over to Russia and Eastern Europe, but the Jewish captives from the Kingdom of Judah were eventually sent to Jerusalem.

During the days of the Babylonian captivity when the Jews were scattered, one of the tribes settled in the Hari Rud area of modern (south) Afghanistan. Pathan legend states that they accepted Islam during the time of the Prophet when a group of their kinsmen (said to be Jews) living in Arabia sent word to them that the true Prophet of God as prophesied in their scriptures had appeared in Makkah. The Afghans, the story goes, sent a delegation to Arabia headed by one Imraul Qais who met the Prophet, embraced Islam, came back and converted the entire tribe to the new religion. The Prophet was so pleased with Qais that he gave him the name of Abdur Rashid, called him Malik (King) and Pehtan (keel or rudder of a ship) for showing his people the path of Islam. Hence the ethnonym "Pathan".

The story proceeds: Qais, alias Abdur Rashid, alias Pehtan, had three sons named Sarban, Batan (or Bitan / Baitan) and Ghourghust. Most of the present-day Pathan tribes claim descent from these three persons. Karlan, the fourth legendary ancestor, was supposedly an adopted foundling. Batan had a daughter named Bibi Matto. She fell in love with Hussain Shah, a prince of Turkish origin, and their intimacy reached a stage where her pregnancy could not be concealed. Marriage was the only course open, but the offspring, a boy, was given the name of Ghilzai, meaning in the Afghan language a son "born of theft". Bibi Matto's next son was Ibrahim who, because of his intelligence and wisdom, was addressed by Qais as Loi-dey (Lodi) i.e., Ibrahim is great. Two of Loi-dey's grandsons were Pranki and Ismail. Bahlul Lodhi, the founder of the Afghan empire of Delhi, was eight generations from Pranki and was a member of the Sahukhel tribe of Lodhis. The Suris and Nuhanis are descended from Ismail's two sons Sur and Nuh. Thus the Ghilzais (Khiljis), Lodhis, Suris, Nuhanis, and their branches, the Sarwanis and Niazis are common descendants of Bibi Matto from her Turkish husband Hussain Shah.

The major tribes of Afghans named above, it must have been noted, should be of Turkish origin as they are descended from the Turkish prince Hussain Shah who married the Afghan girl Matto, daughter of Batan and grand-daughter of Qais Abdur Rashid. Thus, according to their own accounts there would be two groups of Afghans, one of Jewish (Semitic) origin and the other of Turkish origin.

There is a third group of Afghans called Hazaras living in the Hazarajat areas of Afghanistan. They are said to be descended from the remnants of the Mongol armies which had come along with Genghis Khan or during later Mongol inroads. The origin of the Hazara Afghans, as such, is Mongol.

Regarding the large number of tribes living on both sides of Pakistan-Afghan border such as Shinwaris, Mohmands, Mahsuds, Khattaks, Afridis, Orakzais, Achakzais, Bannuchis, Waziris, Bangash, Yusufzais, etc., some trace their origin to Aryans, others to Greeks who had come with Alexander, some to the Jews and still others to the Caucasians. "The Kalnari tribes of today: the Waziris, Bannuchis, Khattaks, Bangash, Orakzais, Afridis and the rest are sprung from an indigenous stock not Pushtu-speaking and became fused with or overlaid by Pushtu and Pushtu-speaking peoples learning in the process the language of the dominant race. The Kalnaris are not Afghans in the true line and may be much older-established." (The Pathans, by Sir Olaf Caroe)

"The original Afghans are a race of probably Jewish or Arab extraction; and they together with a tribe of Indian origin with which they have long been blended still distinguish themselves as the true Afghans, or since the rise of Ahmad Shah Durrani as Durranis, and class all non-Durrani Pushto speakers as Opra. But they have lately given their name to Afghanistan, the country formerly known as Khorasan.

"All inhabitants of Afghanistan are now in comon parlance known as Afghans, the races thus included being the Afghan proper, the Pathan proper, the Gilzai, the Tajik and the Hazara, besides tribes of less importance living in the confines of the country". (The Punjab Castes, by Denzil Ibbetson.)

Of late, scholars in Afghanistan are seriously absorbed in research to prove that Afghans are neither of Jewish, nor Turkish nor Mongol nor Greek origin but of pure Aryan stock. They are taking pains to demonstrate original home of Aryans was Afghanistan by pointing out the similarity in the names of several places in their country with those mentioned in the Rig Veda.

One Ahmadiyya author maintains that Jesus travelled through Persia and Afghanistan in order to give the Gospel to the Lost Tribes scattered there, and that the word "Afghan" appears to be of Hebrew origin; it is a derivative which means "brave" and that at the height of their victories, they adopted this name for themselves.

Thus, the different tribes of Afghans / Pathans have different claims, racially as divergent as the Semites and Aryans, Greeks and Turks, or Mongols and Caucasian. Based on the intormation obtained from latest excavations and the data collected in a specific manner, modern scholars have expressed certain views on the origin of the Afghans / Pathans which cannot be brushed aside lightly.

 

Modern Scholarship on the Origins of the Afghans

Modern scholars consider that there might have been some settlements of the Jews in the area in 800 BCE or so; similarly, some remnants of the Aryans might have been left in the inaccessible mountains in days of yore; and that there did exist some Greek and Iranian colonies here and there. But from 1st Century BCE to 5th Century CE, during a span of 600 years, this area witnessed three immigrations from Central Asia of such gigantic magnitude - those of the Sakas, Kushans, Huns and Gujjars - that everything was swept before them, overwhelmed by them and submerged in them. In short, hardly any previous group whether Aryan, Jewish, Greek or Iranian could retain its identity.

Western scholars, therefore, maintain that an overwhelming majority of the Afghan / Pathan tribes are positively descended from the Sakas, Kushans, Huns and Gujjars. Some of the scholars point out the possibility of the word Abdali being another form of Epthalite by which name the White Huns (the ancestors of Rajputs) were known. Grierson finds a form of Pathan in use in the East Gangetic Valley to denote a Muslim Rajput. Bellew, one of the greatest authorities on Pathans, notes that several characteristics are common to both the Rajputs and Afghans and suggests that Sarban, one of the ancestors of the Afghans, was a corruption of the word Suryabans (solar race) from which many Rajputs claim descent (Bellew's Races of Afghanistan). The great Muslim historian Masudi writes that Qandahar was a separate kingdom with a non-Muslim ruler and states that "it is a country of Rajputs". It would be pertinent to mention here that at the time of Masudi most of the Afghans were concentrated in Qandahar and adjacent areas and had not expanded to the north. Therefore, it is highly significant that Masudi should call Qandahar a Rajput country.

Since the modern state of Afghanistan and the North West Frontier province of Pakistan were the main regions through which Central Asian tribes passed and in which they settled down, it is impossible that these areas should have remained uncolonised and the blood of their inhabitants unsullied. Therefore, it can be safely concluded that the present day Afghans / Pathans are mostly, notwithstanding their claims, the descendants of Central Asian tribes of Sakas, Kushans, Huns and Gujjars. It need hardly be pointed out that from them are also descended the major tribes of the Kashmir, Punjab, Sind and Baluchistan.

Just as the present-day Greeks are Slavicised and not of the same race as Alexander and Aristotle, so also is the case with the present day Afghans and Pathans. According to the Encyclopædia of Islam, the theory of the Jewish descent of Afghans is of later origin and may be traced back to Makhzan-i Afghani compiled for Khan-i Jehan Lodhi in the reign of Mughal Emperor Jehangir and does not seem to have been recorded before the end of the 16th Century CE. Prior to this period no other book mentions that Afghans are descended from Jewish tribes. Neither does the Jewish literature mention anywhere that Saul's son Jeremiah had a son named Afghan, from whom Afghans claim descent.

Similarly, the story of Qais Abdur Rashid having gone from Afghanistan to Arabia to meet the Prophet and after returning to his country having converted the Afghans to Islam also does not stand the scrutiny of history. Muslim historians Ibn Hawkal, Utbi and Biruni are unanimous in the view that uptill the time of Mahmud Ghaznavi i.e. almost 400 years after the death of the Prophet, most of the Afghans were still non-Muslims. Mahmud Ghaznavi "had to fight against the infidel Afghans in the Sulaiman mountains". Even 200 years later in the encounter between Muhammad Ghori and Prithviraj in 1192 CE, according to Farishta, Hindu / Buddhist / Animist / Pagan / Shamanist / Zoroastrian Afghans were fighting on the side of the Rajput Chief. The fact that the Afghans should have joined the Rajput confederacy of Prithviraj may also indicate some sort of kinship between them.

On this subject the views of the Russian scholar Yuri Gankovsky are also interesting. He says: "My opinion is that the formation of the union of largely East-Iranian tribes which became the initial ethnic stratum of the Pashtun ethnogenesis dates from the middle of the first millennium AD and is connected with the dissolution of the Epthalite (White Huns) confederacy. In the areas north of the Hindu Kush some of the tribes of this confederacy participated in the formation of the nationalities who inhabit Middle Asia today, and, among other tribes, in the formation of the Turkmen and Uzbek nationalities. This is attested, among other things, in the records of genonimy which indicate that among the Turkmen and Uzbeks (as well as among the Lokai) there occurs the ethnonym Abdal descending from the name of an Epthalite tribal union (Abdals, Abdel). South of the Hindu Kush, another part of the Epthalite tribes lost their privileged status as the military stronghold of the ruling dynasty and was ousted into the thinly peopled areas of the Sulaiman mountains, areas where there were not enough water supplies and grazing grounds. There they became a tribal union which formed the basis of the Pashtun ethnogenesis.

"Of the contribution of the Epthalites (White Huns) to the ethnogenesis of the Pashtuns we find evidence in the ethnonym of the largest of the Pashtun tribe unions, the Abdali (Durrani after 1747 CE) associated with the putative ethnic name of the Epthalites - Abdal. The Siah-posh, the Kafirs of the Hindu Kush, called all Pashtuns by a general name of Abdal even at the beginning of the 19th Century.

"It is not impossible that certain Kushan-Tokharian elements also took the formation of the Pashtun ethnic community. In this connection it is worthwhile to note the fact cited by G. Morgenstierne: among the Ormuri the Pashtuns are known under the ethnic names 'kas' i.e., Kushan. A number of Pakhtun tribes belong to the Ormuri group. They are Afridis, Orakzais, Khattaks, Khugiani, etc." Thus the treatise of Professor Gankovsky forcefully puts forward the view that Afghans-Pakhtuns are the descendants of Epthalite (White Huns) and Kushans.

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About other editions

- Ferrer, JP - History of the Afghans (1858) [translated from the original unpublished French manuscript by Captain William Jesse]

- Nirodbhusan, Roy - Niamatullah's History of the Afghans (1958) [partial translation]

- Imamuddin, SM - Tarikh-i-Khan Jahani Wa Makhzan-i-Afghani (Dhaka, 1960-62) [in 2 volumes]

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Author Bibliography

- Tarikh-i Khan Jahani wa Makhzan-i Afghani

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QUOTES

Part I, p. 63: It was not long after that, that the garrison of Narvar, being reduced to the greatest weakness by scarcity both of provisions and water, came out with their families; upon which, the Sultan rased the temples, erected mosques, and settled allowances on learned and scientific men ... About this time, Niamet Khatun, the consort of Kotb Khan Lodi, arrived; and, on the Sultan coming to see her, she interceded on behalf of Jelal Khan. He not only complied with her wishes as to this point, but presented her also with one hundred and twenty horses, fifteen elephants, and an honorary robe of the first degree.

Part I, p. 77: Alem Khan, with a Mongol force, penetrated as far as Sialkot; which surrendering, he continued his progress to Lahore, where he and Doulet Khan proposed to the Mongol Chiefs, in concurrence with their promises of assistance, to aid them in taking possession of the country, and in beating Sultan Ibrahim and capturing Dehli, before Babur's arrival. But this the Mongols refusing to comply with, Alem Khan separated from them, and marched, at the head of forty thousand horse, upon Dehli; which he invested.

Part I, p. 113: The Afghans, like hungry lions, issued from the ambush, and commenced the contest. They fell upon each other, like the stormy waves of the ocean; but that small band stood like a mountain, and obstinately hindered their opponents from passing, till three wounds were inflicted on Yusuf Khan, and almost all his brothers had died a glorious death. Yusuf, in a state of insensibility, was carried by the Moguls before Humayoon; who observed, that every trusty servant ought to act, in his master's concerns, in a similar way, without fearing to sacrifice his life for him, or to take into consideration the weakness of his own party, or the great superiority of his opponents. He then gave Yusuf Khan the choice, either to remain with him, or take his departure; and he, choosing the latter, the Emperor set him at liberty.

Part I, p. 138: ... he resumed the field against Ajmeer; where Raja Ramdeo had, during the disturbances caused by the Moguls, seized districts of the royal possessions, from Lalsoont to Joudpoor and Malpoora, and declared himself master of them; whilst his army, consisting of fifty thousand horse and three hundred thousand foot, inflated him with pride. To extirpate them, Sheer Shah took the field. The army following his victorious banners is related to have been so numerous, that no one could see the end of it, even when ascending a height; and the oldest persons acknowledged it to have never before been equalled in number.

Part I, p. 176: Heemoon, on his part, came to Dehli; from whence he, after a stay of some days, and the regulation of many affairs, marched out to fight the Emperor Babur. He had vowed, in case he should reduce Dehli, to embrace Islamism; but this bliss not being destined to him by fate, he violated his vow, and remained in eternal misery. He moreover assumed a very insolent behaviour towards the Afghans, inviting the greater part of the army to dinner, and sitting himself upon a raised seat, to which no hand could reach; in which posture he jested with the Afghans, and bade them eat, and salute him Heemoon Shah. At this the Afghan Chiefs were so highly offended, that they agreed to desert him in the next battle, at the decisive moment, that he irrevocably might travel to the regions of hell. They anxiously waited an opportunity; when, at length, in a battle near Sonepetta against the victorious army of Babur, they, agreeably to their purpose, drew their hands back, and dispersed themselves. At this moment an arrow sunk into Heemoon's side, who rode upon an elephant called Hevai: he instantly swooned in his seat, and ordered the driver, if possible, to drive him, without delay, out of the contest. The keeper obeying, led the elephant from the field, and attempted to escape; when, unexpectedly, through the direction of fortune, Shah Kuli Khan, who had just arrived to join and succour Babur, asked the driver whether the general report of Heemoon's being mounted upon that elephant was true. The driver, being frightened, signified by a wink that it was so; whereupon Shah Kuli Khan led the elephant to Babur; and, dismounting Heemoon, presented him before the monarch. Kuli Khan, in remuneration for his services, was promoted to the highest honours, and, on the spot, presented with colours and a kettle-drum. Hemoon, when carried before Akbar, breathed his last; but the Emperor, with his own hand, severed the head of that infidel from the body, and assumed, from that moment, the title Akbar Padishah Ghazi. The dead body he ordered to be cast on a dunghill.

Part II, p. 117: he sent him off, to take the government of Bengal. The sheikh, on his arrival, desolated most of the finest provinces; and addressed a letter, expressive of promises and threats, and hopes and menaces, to Khuaja Othman, and summoned him to present himself and submit to the Emperor. Khuaja Othman, from confidence in his valour, refused complying with this demand; and, with the answer, transmitted to the sheikh, some cotton, a distaff, a musical instrument, some dormice, and two or three broken-down female elephants, with his message: 'You are a sheikhzadeh, and have the right to be an officiating priest: war is not at all becoming you: anoint yourself with perfumes; touch the instruments, read prayers, and perform songs and dances.' The sheikh, perusing the letter, understood its meaning, and became extremely confounded. Towards the end of the year 1021 he marched, with a chosen army, to fight and chastise Khuaja Othman.

Part II, p. 16: He had numerous revelations, and worked many miracles. His noble descendants in the village of Tahara are the asylum of mankind. He was a brother of Shah Abd Ulrahman Bakhtiar, and master of the most excellent Sheikh Shahab Bakhtiar. He revealed the secrets of every person who came to him; and his greatness appears from the fact, that men like Meer Sheikh Shahab Bakhtiar owed their education to him. The noble posterity of Shahab Bakhtiar, in the village of Kithel, are still the refuge of high and low.

§ xiv. That polar star of man, and ornament of the Islam, Shah Guda Bakhtiar, a son of Shah Guda Ababecr, succeeded his father at his death, and occupied his carpet. He was famous for his austerities, theological knowledge, and contemplative life.

§ xvi. That source of divine illumination, and mine of celestial inspiration; that swimmer in the ocean of unity, and repository of divine truth; that flower of the saints, Sheikh Shahab Bakhtiar, lived in the village of Kithel, and was incessantly inflamed with a longing anxiety after the Deity. He used frequently to stretch out his hand, and exclaim: "By God! by God!" In his presence, never was a syllable uttered, except the mention of the Supreme Being. He performed the ablutions thrice a day; the first, before morning-prayers; the second, at the time of noon-prayers; the third, before evening-prayers; from which practice he never departed. He used to carry continually with him two purses; the one rilled with betel-nuts and cardamoms, and the other with Behlolis; and whoever came to see him, was, without exception, served with betel-nuts and cardamoms; from which custom, also, he never deviated, through life.

Part II, p. 37: On their arrival in town, the super-intendant and chief officer of the police, heing informed of this event, which made much noise, apprehended and conducted them to Sultan Sekander. The sultan had them both examined in open court, and, having learned the details, asked them if they could recognise those two horsemen who had come to their deliverance. To this they replied, that they certainly recognised them, but that fear prevented them from pointing them out. The emperor pressing them to speak without fear, they said: " Thou thyself killedst the four robbers; and this person (viz. Malik Adam Kaker, who sat at his side) restored my husband to life. Malik Adam Kaker, however, assured them they were mistaken; for, said he, those were undoubtedly angels in our shape, or spirits assuming our likeness, that appeared to you. Malik Adam had indeed, notwithstanding his high rank and influence, acquired consummate sanctity.

§ xiii. That abstracted sage, and consummate enthusiast among the intoxicated of the world, Sheikh Hamza ben Malik Adam Kaker, was subject to ecstasy, rapture, and phrensy. He was generally in a state of nudity. In his father's garden there was a pit, that furnished but little water: no other pit being at that place, the inhabitants suffered from want of water, and requested the sheikh to offer up prayers for a more abundant supply of it in the pit. The sheikh immediately arose, repaired to the pit, took up a brick, and, casting it with great vehemence into it, exclaimed: "O pit! Sheikh Adam Kaker dug thee to supply water: why dost thou not furnish it?" From that very moment the water never proved deficient. His tomb lies in the township of Lucnow, near that of Malik Adam Kaker.

§xiv. That object of divine light, source of unbounded grace, and eminent alchemist, Sheikh Niknam Davi, was exceedingly religious and abstinent. His son taking it into his head to learn alchemy, and the sheikh being apprised of his desire, said: "My son! thou wishest to know alchemy: come along; I will teach it thee: go, and bring a bushel of fresh grass." The youth fetching it, he rubbed it in his hands, and then struck it against a piece of iron, when it was immediately transmuted into pure gold. He then said: "Dear son! alchemy is a privilege of godly men."

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