History of Afghanistan E03 | Who are Pashtuns and why are called Afghans?

History of Afghanistan E03 | Who are Pashtuns and why are called Afghans?

It lies 11,444 feet above the sea level. This mountain is located in KPK province of Pakistan. Many legends are associated with the Takht-e-Sulaiman. 

According to a legend, Prophet Solomon of Israel also visited the mountain. He made the mountain his throne and controlled the giants from there. That's why it was called the Takht-e-Sulaiman and the whole mountain range was called Koh-i-Sulaiman. Locals claim that giants or supernatural powers still exist in the area. Therefore, those who climb this hill, they say thanksgiving prayers to avoid wrath of giants. It is said that this grave on the mountain belongs to one of the Companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), Hazrat Qais Abdur Rashid. He is considered to be the ancestor of all the present tribes of Pashtuns. So according to this legend, all the Pashtuns in the world or most of them are his descendants. Qais Abdul Rashid is thought te be a descendant of Afghana, the grandson of Hazrat Talut (Saul), the king of Israel. Some people think that the term Afghan is also derived from Afghana the grandson of Saul. But all this is myth or reality? Pashtun leader Khan Abdul Wali Khan once said that he had been a Pashtun for 6,000 years. Is Pashtun history really 6,000 years old? Afghanistan the Graveyard of Empires series.

You will learn all this in this episode.

To understand Afghanistan, it is better to first learn the history of its majority population, the Pashtuns.

The first thing to know is the origins of Pashtuns? 

There are 2 different versions of history. The first version includes legends and folk tales passed on from one generation to the other. Some people believe these legends are true. But the 2nd version of the history is modern. This version is based on scientific evidence and research. So first we look at the legends. Now, according to a legend, the Pashtuns are the descendants of Benjamin (Binyamin), the son of the Prophet Jacob (Yaqub) of Israel. Pashtuns' genealogy goes back to Talut (Saul), the king of the Israelites. He (Saul) ruled over Israel before David (Daud) and saved the Jews from Palestinian attacks. Talut had a son named Jeremiah (Irmiah), and Jeremiah's son was Afghana. Hazrat Daud brought up Afghana. When Afghana was young, the crown passed from Hazrat Daud to his son Hazrat Sulaiman. Hazrat Sulaiman made Afghana his military commander. After 400 years, Nebuchadnezzar II, the ruler of Babylon, conquered Jerusalem. He took one hundred thousand Jews captives back to Babylon. Those Jews settled around Babylon and Iran. During this period many Israelis who were descendants of Afghana, escaped. Some of them settled in Arabia, including Mecca and Medina. Some of the others fled and settled in the Afghan province of Ghor. The Jews in Arabia named one of their fort, Khyber. Muslims later captured that fort. There is a famous story about that fort. Hazrat Ali (R.A) killed Marhab and captured the fort. So, according to the legend, the Afghan Jews also gave the same name Khyber to their mountain pass. This mountain pass is still called Khyber. But the Israelis who came to Afghanistan did not sever ties with their brothers who had settled in Arabia. They continued correspondence with each other. Then, Islam began to spread in Medina. Hazrat Khalid ibn al-Walid (R.A) invited a Jewish chief Qais Abdur Rashid to Medina. He belonged to the 37th generation of Hazrat Talut (Saul). He visited Medina with some members of his community. All these people visited Medina during the period of Prophet (PBUH) and converted to Islam. They also fought against the infidels to help their fellow Muslims. It is said that they participated in the conquest of Khyber fort or Mecca. According to this story, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) added Abdur Rashid to the name of Qais. Qais also married the daughter of Hazrat Khalid ibn al-Walid after the conquest of Mecca. The Prophet (PBUH) predicted that the descendants of Qais would be so numerous that they would prevail over all other nations. His love for Islam would be strong like the wooden platform on which a ship is built. That wooden platform is called "Batan" in Arabic. This word later became Pathan. Qais Abdur Rashid returned to Afghanistan after becoming a Muslim. He also preached Islam in Afghanistan. He died in 662 in the age of 87. He died in the same year the Umayyad dynasty had taken over the Islamic world. Qais Abdur Rashid was buried in this tomb on the Takht-e-Sulaiman mountain. He had 3 sons who were forefathers of the various branches of Pashtuns. There is another interesting explanation that why are Pathans called Pashtuns? It is said that when the Jews settled in Afghanistan, one of their tribes was called Bani Pakht. Because of this name all the exiled Jewish tribes were collectively called Pakhtuns. Another legend says that this term was coined when Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sind. All the Afghan groups had supported Muhammad bin Qasim. Because of their support the Afghans were called Pushtawans or Pushtibans (supporters). Later, this term became Pashtun. My Curious Fellows, these legends have been popular among Pashtuns for centuries. Then, in 1612, Mughal emperor Jahangir took a bold step. During his time, most of these legends were compiled in form of a book. Jahangir's court historian Ni'mat Allah al-Harawi wrote a book called Makhzan-i-Afghani. He wrote all these legends in his book without any verification. Because a royal historian had written these legends so they got some credibility. But even if these legends look good, modern historians question their authenticity.

They don't consider them credible. Why?

Friends, modern historians categorically deny that the Pashtuns are descendants of the children of Israel. 

Famous Pashtu writer and historian Saadullah Jan Barq is one of them. His book The Pathans and Ethnic of Hindukush reveals that Pashtuns are not a single race. He says that Pashtuns can't be called descendants of one person. He says that in a particular region, every person living under a particular culture and constitution is a Pashtun. And the person who leaves this region and culture is no longer a Pashtun. A specific region means Pak-Afghan border areas. Saadullah Jan Barq's research shows there is no truth in the story of Qais Abdur Rashid and Afghana. Similarly, many Western writers also dismiss Afghana and Qais Abdur Rashid's legends. The British writer Olaf Caroe has mentioned another fact about the legend of Afghana. He points out that even the Jewish scriptures have not mentioned Afghana or his father Jeremiah. Similarly, even the early history of Islam doesn't mention such legends. There is no mention that any delegation from Afghanistan ever visited the Prophet (PBUH). It is also not mentioned that somebody was given the the title of Abdur Rashid or Batan etc.

Then the question arises as to what ethnic group the Pashtuns belong to and what is their true history?

According to the oldest available literature, Pashtuns' history is at least 4,000 years old. 

or even older. Even older than the times of Hazrat Talut (Saul), the supposed ancestor of Pashtuns. Pashtuns have been present in the area for thousands of years. Hazrat Talut (Saul) ruled over the Israelites around 1037 BCE to 1001 BCE. But Pashtuns had been living in the region even a 1,000 years before him. This time difference also proves that Pashtuns are not the descendants of Hazrat Talut (Saul). Pashtuns are also mentioned in ancient Hindu Vedas. The oldest Veda of the Hindus, the Rig Veda, was probably written in 1700 BCE. It mentions a tribe called Pakhta or Pakht. Experts believe that this Pakhta or Pakht tribe was later called Pakhtun or Pashtun. For this reason, their language was also called Pashto (Pakhto). The 2 Afghan provinces of Paktia and Paktika are named after this tribe. That is to say the name transformed from Pakhta to Pakhtia and then Paktia and Paktika. Saadullah Jan Barq also confirms this fact. He says that Pashtuns were mentioned as early as 15th century BCE as Pakti, Paktuis and Paktas in various writings.

But why were Pashtuns called Pathans?

Famous Pakistani tourist and writer Salman Rashid says that Pakhtana was the singular of the term Pakhtun. 

This term was later spoken as 'Pathan' in Punjabi and Central India. According to Saadullah Jan Barq, Pashtuns are not a separate ethnic group living in India and Central Asia. Turks, Turkmen and even Greeks are related to Pashtuns. Similarly Punjabis, Rajputs, Khashtris, Sindhis and Bengalis are also ethnic cousins ​​of Pashtuns. There is little difference between all these communities. Thus the union of different races gave rise to the Pashtun race which later became a proper nation. They also settled in Afghanistan and parts of northwestern India (modern Pakistan). These areas are now part of KPK province including the tribal areas (FATA). Their language Pashto is also closely related to the ancient Iranian language Avestan. Avestan is the language in which the Zoroastrian scriptures were written. Saadullah Jan Barq says that in 500 BCE... ... Pashtuns had become a nation, and Pashtu had achieved the status of a full-fledged language. These were Pashtuns who had fought Alexander the Great along with the central Asians and Scythians. But then the Greeks considered them Bactrians as their native area was called Bactria.

But why are these Pashtuns called Afghans?

It happened because these people groomed and sold horses. 

They were also good riders and their horse selling business was thriving. Now the horse was called 'Asp' in Persian. That's why the rider was called Aspagan. This term was used for Pashtuns. Later, the same word became Afghan. Earlier, the term was used only for Pashtuns, but later it was used for everyone living in Afghanistan. So, it seems more logical that the history of the Pashtuns is thousands of years old. Pakhtun leader Khan Abdul Wali Khan was tried in Hyderabad Jail in 1970s. He gave a famous remark during his trial. He said that he had been a Pakhtun for 6,000 years, a Muslim for 1000 years and a Pakistani for 27 years. His observation was closer to reality. Because their history is at least over 4,000 years old. However, it should be noted that Pashtuns only got the status of a nation around 2,500 years ago. At that time Pashtu had become their language. You watched in the 2nd episode that during the reign of Mahmud Ghaznavi... ... Pashto's writing style was changed from Devanagari to Arabic. The new writing style boosted the language. Poets like Khushal Khan Khattak and Rehman Baba also used this language as a means of expression. But during Mahmud Ghaznavi's times, Pashtuns were not a major political force. They had no concept of a national identity to form a state of their own. It took them 700 years to realize this dream. However, Afghans suffered a lot during these 7 centuries.

What was the story of these 7 centuries?

Turkish Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi ruled Afghanistan for about 32 years from 998 CE to 1030 CE. 

He united the country under his rule. Before Mahmud Ghaznavi, large part of eastern Afghanistan was under the control of Hindu Shahi. Raja Jayapala was the ruler of Hindu Shahi at that time. Punjab and Kashmir were also part of his kingdom. Mahmud Ghaznavi's father Sabuktgin snatched the Afghan territory from Raja Jayapala. Then Mahmud Ghaznavi defeated Raja Jayapala and his descendants and captured Punjab and Kashmir too. He also conquered Lahore in 1221 CE. Mahmud Ghaznavi's slave Ayaz transformed Lahore into a formal fortified city. The history of modern Lahore begins after the Ghaznavi invasion. Then Mahmud Ghaznavi launched attacks up to the Indian state of Gujrat. He took a huge booty back to Afghanistan. He also destroyed the famous Hindu temple of Somnath. He took all its gold reserves to Ghazni. He also attacked Iran and Central Asia. Borders of his kingdom were stretched from Tehran to Samarkand. The detailed story of Mahmud Ghaznavi's conquests is shown in his biographical documentary. Watch this video to know more about him. Mahmud Ghaznavi's kingdom lasted for 156 years after his death. After Mahmud Ghaznavi, all the powerful rulers in Afghanistan adopted the same policy. They all invaded Punjab at their turn. So Afghanistan became the launching pad for attacks on India and especially Punjab. Even after the fall of Ghaznavid dynasty in the 12th century CE, Afghan rulers maintained their hold on India. The Ghaznavids were soon replaced by a Tajik family, the Ghurid family. The Ghurids were named after their native Afghan province of Ghor. The Ghurids were rulers of Ghor province even before the Ghzanavids' takeover of Afghanistan. But Mahmud Ghaznavi defeated the Ghurids and conquered their homeland Ghor. However the Ghurids continued to rule the province of Ghor for another 150 years. But all these rulers pledged their loyalty to the Ghaznavid dynasty. However things changed when a new ruler Allauddin Hussain came to power in 1145 CE. He defied the Ghaznavids' dominance and rebelled against them. Shortly after his accession to the throne, he attacked and destroyed the city of Ghazni. However, he could not control the city for long. Later his successors recaptured the city and made it a permanent part of the Ghurid Empire. The Ghaznavids shifted their capital to Lahore after losing Ghazni. But the Ghurids chased them even in India. Then a Ghurid commander started a massive campaign of conquests and expanded the kingdom's borders to Delhi. His name was Shihab ad-Din Muhammad of Ghor. He was a nephew of Allauddin Hussain. After the death of Allauddin and his son Saifuddin, Shihab ad-Din's brother Ghiyath ad-Din Muhammad took over the Empire. He sent Shihab ad-Din to attack Punjab. Shihab ad-Din marched to Punjab and captured Lahore in 1186. He also arrested the last Ghaznavid ruler Sultan Khusrau Malik. It was the end of the Ghaznavid Empire and the beginning of the Ghurid Empire. Shihab ad-Din Ghuri continued his conquests after the capture of Lahore. He defeated the Hindu raja Prithviraj Chauhan in 1192 and captured Delhi. It was probably for the first time that a local Afghan kingdom had expanded its territory to Delhi. Shortly afterwards, the borders of the Ghurid Empire touched Bengal in the east. This was a great achievement for the Afghans. But the Ghurid dynasty lasted for a very short time. The Ghaznavids had lasted for nearly 200 years. But the Ghurid dynasty only survived for nearly 30 years after the conquest of Lahore. Khokhar rebels assassinated Shihab ad-Din in 1206 near Jehlum. His death was a fatal blow to the Empire.  Khwarazmian dynasty conquered the Ghurid Empire just 9 years after the assassination of Shihab ad-Din. Thus Afghanistan also fell within the jurisdiction of the Khwarazmian Empire. But even this occupation did not last long. Just 4 years after the takeover by the Khwarazmian Empire, Afghanistan faced a new conqueror. This conqueror built an empire not only larger than Alexander the Great's empire but also the largest empire in the world. The name of this conqueror was Genghis Khan. What happened to Genghis Khan in Afghanistan? Afghanistan was once part of the Khorasan region. Which Muslim commanders fought Genghis Khan in this region?

We will show you all this in the next episode of History of Afghanistan ...