Pashtun tribes in the context of Indo-European migrations

Khan (/xɑːn/, /kɑːn/, /kæn/) is a historic Turkic and Mongolic title originating among nomadic tribes in the Central and Eastern Eurasian Steppe to refer to a king. It first appears among the Rouran and then the Göktürks as a variant of khagan (sovereign, emperor) and implied a subordinate ruler. In the Seljük Empire, it was the highest noble title, ranking above malik (king) and emir (prince). In the Mongol Empire it signified the ruler of a horde (ulus), while the ruler of all the Mongols was the khagan or great khan. It is a title commonly used to signify the head of a Pashtun tribe or clan.

The title subsequently declined in importance. During the Safavid and Qajar dynasty it was the title of an army general high noble rank who was ruling a province, and in Mughal India it was a high noble rank restricted to courtiers. After the downfall of the Mughals it was used promiscuously and became a surname. Khan and its female forms occur in many personal names, generally without any nobiliary of political relevance, although it remains a common part of noble names as well.

The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Kingdom of Afghanistan, Afghan Empire or the Sadozai Kingdom, was an Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian plateau, and the Indian subcontinent. At its peak, it ruled over present-day Afghanistan, much of Pakistan, parts of northeastern and southeastern Iran, eastern Turkmenistan, and northwestern India. Next to the Ottoman Empire, the Durrani Empire is considered to be among the most significant Islamic empires of the second half of the 18th century.

Ahmad was the son of Muhammad Zaman Khan (an Afghan chieftain of the Abdali tribe) and the commander of Nader Shah Afshar. Following Afshar's death in June 1747, Ahmad secured Afghanistan by taking Kandahar, Ghazni, Kabul, and Peshawar. After his accession as the nation's king, he changed his tribal name from Abdali to Durrani. In 1749, the Mughal Empire had ceded sovereignty over much of northwestern India to the Afghans; Ahmad then set out westward to take possession of Mashhad, which was ruled by the Afsharid dynasty under Shahrokh Shah, who also acknowledged Afghan suzerainty. Subsequently, Ahmad sent an army to subdue the areas north of the Hindu Kush down to the Amu Darya, and in short order, all of the different Afghan tribes began to join his cause. Under Ahmad, the Afghans invaded India on eight occasions, subjugating parts of Kashmir and the majority of Punjab. In early 1757, he sacked Delhi, but permitted Mughal emperor Alamgir II to remain in nominal control as long as he acknowledged Afghan suzerainty over the regions south of the Indus River, till Sutlej river.

The Durrānī (Pashto: دراني, pronounced [durɑˈni]), formerly known as Abdālī (ابدالي), are one of the largest tribal confederation of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, Pakistan, but they are also settled in other parts of Afghanistan and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Ahmad Shah Durrani, who is considered the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan, belonged to the Abdali tribe. In 1747 after establishing the Durrani Empire based in Kandahar, he adopted the epithet Shāh Durr-i-Durrān, "King, Pearl of Pearls," and changed the name of his Tareen Abdali tribe to "Durrani" after himself.

Mohammad Afzal Khan Barakzai (1815 – 7 October 1867) was the governor of Afghan Turkestan from 1849 to 1863 and was Emir of Afghanistan from May 1866 to October 1867. The oldest son of Dost Mohammad Khan, Afzal Khan was born in Kabul in 1815. His father died on 9 June 1863 followed by a civil war among Dost Mohammad Khan's sons. In May 1866 he seized power from his brother Sher Ali Khan and captured Kabul. A year later he contracted cholera and died on 7 October 1867. Following Afzal Khan's death, Mohammad Azam Khan was proclaimed Amir of Afghanistan. He was an ethnic Pashtun and belonged to the Barakzai tribe.

Mohammad Afzal Khan's third son Abdur Rahman Khan was Emir from 1880 to 1901. Afzal Khan was also responsible for the creation of Takhtapul.

Sibi (Urdu and Balochi: سبی ) is a district in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The climate and topography of Sibi District are quite varied compared to the other districts of Balochistan. It is also known as the "hotspot" of Pakistan, where the temperatures in the summer exceeded 52.6 °C (126.7 °F). Until 2002, the district had two subdivisions, Sibi and Harnai, further organized into Tehsils and sub-tehsils: Sibi, Kutmandi and Sangan. Lehri was joined with Sibi district in 2002 and Harnai was made a separate district. Sibi tehsil is predominantly inhabited by Baloch tribes (Silachi, Rind, Marri, Jamot, Magsi) and Pashtun tribes of Panni (Barozai, Luni, Khajjak Nodhani, etc.). The town of Sibi is chiefly built upon lands of Marghazani and Dehpal.

The Yusufzai or Yousafzai (Pashto: یوسفزی, pronounced [jusəpˈzai]), also referred to as the Esapzai (ايسپزی, pronounced [iːsəpˈzai]), or Yusufzai Afghans historically, are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. They are natively based in the northern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Malakand, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Buner, Swabi, Mardan, Bajaur, Peshawar, Tor Ghar), to which they migrated from Kabul during the 16th century, but they are also present in parts of Afghanistan, including Kunar, Kabul, Kandahar and Farah. Outside of these countries, they can be found in Ghoriwala District Bannu (Mughal Khel), Balochistan Sibi (Akazai), Chagai (Hassanzai) and Rohilkandh.

Most of the Yusufzai speak a northern variety of Pashto and some southern variety of Pashto (as in case of Mughal Khel) and Afghan dialect Persian.

The Khalaj (Bactrian: χαλασσ, romanized: Xalass; Persian: خلج‌ها, romanized: Xalajhâ) are a Turkic ethnic group who mainly reside in Iran. In Iran they still speak the Khalaj language, although most of them are Persianized.

Historically, the Khalaj who lived among Pashtuns were slowly Pashtunized. Due to this, the Khaljis of Delhi, originating from Khalaj migrants from Afghanistan into India, were often considered to be Pashtuns by other Turkic nobles. The Ghiljis, one of the largest Pashtun tribes, also derive their name from the Khalaj, and it is likely that the Khalaj initially formed the core of this tribe.

Sakzai (Pashto: ساکزي), also called Sakzi, Saagzi, Saakzai, Saakzay, Isaaczai, Ishaqzai, Es-haqzai, Sajzi, Sajzai, Sakazai,, are a Pashtun tribe in Afghanistan located around the historical region of Sistan (modern day Nimroz, Helmand and Farah), as well as the Ghor region and the northern parts of the Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran.

Their name suggests a connection with the historic East Iranian Saka tribes of Central Asia, as well as the historical inhabitants of the region, Also they can be found among the Baloch tribes.

Farah (Pashto, Dari: فراه) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the western part of the country on the border with Iran. It is a spacious and sparsely populated province, divided into eleven districts and contains hundreds of villages. It has a population of about 563,026, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural tribal society. The Pashtuns of Farah speak southern dialect (Kandahari Pashto) and mostly belongs to the Durrani clan of Pashtuns. The Farah Airport is located near the city of Farah, which serves as the capital of the province. Farah is linked with Iran via the Iranian border town of Mahirud. The famous tourism sites of the province include Pul Garden, New Garden, Kafee Garden, shrine of Sultan Amir and Kafer castle.[1]

Geographically the province is approximately 48,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi), roughly twice the size of Maryland, or half the size of South Korea. The province is bounded on the north by Herat, on the northeast by Ghor, the southeast by Helmand, the south by Nimroz, and on the west by Iran. It is the fourth largest province in Afghanistan by area, but the second least densely populated province.

The Mughal–Afghan wars were a series of wars that took place during the 16th and 18th centuries between the Mughal Empire of India and different Afghan tribes and kingdoms.

The conflict over the lands in modern-day Afghanistan, which were crucial from a strategic standpoint for both sides, served as the primary catalyst for these conflicts. The Afghans struggled to protect their independence and resisted Mughal expansion while the Mughals worked to enlarge their empire and take control of the area.

Popalzai or Popalzay (Pashto: پوپلزی), also known as Popal, are Durrani (formerly called Abdali or Bor Tareen) Pashtuns of Afghanistan. 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 forefathers of Ahmad Shāh Durrānī, the founder of the Durrani Empire, 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.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.

The Bangash, Bungish, Bangaš or Bangakh (Pashto: بنګښ) 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 as a smaller population in Dera Ismail Khel, Bannu while also a smaller population of Bangash inhabit mainly Gardez, Paktia and around the Lōya Paktia region of Afghanistan.

The Zazi (Pashto: ځاځي; plur. ځاځی), also spelled Zazai, zarakzai or Jaji, are a Karlani (کرلاڼي) Pashtun tribe. They are found in Afghanistan and Pakistan

They are most prominent in the Paktia and Khost provinces in the Loya Paktia region of southeastern Afghanistan but also have a presence in Kabul, Logar, Ghazni, Nangharhar, Kunduz, and Baghlan in Afghanistan and neighbouring Kurram District and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa across the border.

The Banuchi(Shitak) (Pashto: شيتک), Bannuzai (Pashto: بنوزي), also Banusi (Pashto: بنوڅي) or Banisi, is a prominent tribe of Pashtun people which has the reputation of being one of the most warlike amongst Pashtun people.They inhabit the Bannu District and Dera Ismail Khan of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan and North Waziristan of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, with some members settled in Afghanistan. The Banuchi trace their descent to the Shitak superclan of the larger Karlani tribe. The word banuchi is strictly used for the people who descend from the Shitak super tribe namely Surani (Sur), Mirian (Miri) and Sam (Sami).

The siege of Malakand was the 26 July – 2 August 1897 siege of the British garrison in the Malakand region of colonial British India's North West Frontier Province. The British faced a force of Pashtun tribesmen whose tribal lands had been bisected by the Durand Line, the 1,519 mile (2,445 km) border between Afghanistan and British India drawn up at the end of the Anglo-Afghan wars to help hold back what the British feared to be the Russian Empire's spread of influence towards the Indian subcontinent.

The unrest caused by this division of the Pashtun lands of Afghania led to the rise of Saidullah, a Pashtun faqir who led a great army of at least 10,000 tribesmen of the regional Yusufzai, Mohmand, Uthmankhel, Bunerwal, Swati tribes among others against the British garrison in Malakand. Although the British forces were divided among a number of poorly defended positions, the small garrison at the camp of Malakand South and the small fort at Chakdara were both able to hold out for six days against the much larger Pashtun army.