Durrani (Pashto: دراني) or Abdali (Pashto: ابدالي) is the name of a chief Pashtun tribal confederation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Originally known by their ancient name Sadozai and later as Abdali, they have been called Durrani since the beginning of the Durrani Empire in 1747.[1] The number of Durranis are estimated to be roughly 16% of the population of Afghanistan or 5 million individuals.[2] They are also found in large numbers in western Pakistan. The Durrani Pashtuns are usually multilingual in Pashto, Persian and Urdu, and are arguably the urbanized and more educated of the Pashtun tribes.
The Durranis have been prominent leaders, as the royal family of Afghanistan is derived from this tribe, and a substantial number of Durrani Pashtuns are bureaucrats and public officials, as well as businessmen, wealthy merchants and hold high ranks in the military. The particular dialect of Pashto language favored by the Durrani Pashtuns tends to be tinged with a slight Persian inflection and is considered the more genteel and urbane dialect, often viewed by Pashtuns overall as the more 'proper' dialect, as opposed to the rougher "Pukhtu" version favoured in the north and by most of the Pashtuns of Pakistan.
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History
The Durranis are, like other Pashtun people, Indo-European in heritage and language. They were known in the past as Abdalis, from approximately the 7th century until the mid-18th century when Ahmad Shah Durrani was chosen as the new Emir and the Durrani Empire was established. One of Ahmad Shah's first acts as Emir was to adopt the title padshah durr-i dawran ('King, "pearl of the age").[3]. He united the Pashtun tribes following a loya jirga in western Kandahar and changed his own name from Ahmad Shah Abdali to Ahmad Shah Durrani. Since that period, the kings of Afghanistan have been of Durrani extraction.
The Durranis or Abdalis trace their family tree to Abdal (the first and founder of the Abdali tribe). Abdal had three sons, Popal, Barak, and Alako.[4] The Abdalis appear to have begun to spread out during the early Middle Ages along with other Pashtun tribes and came to inhabit much of what is today Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Durranis were the most divided Pashtun tribe during the rule of the Ghilzai-dominated Taliban, with some having openly opposed them. The Durrani are the politically dominant Pashtun group in Afghanistan as the current President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, is of the Durrani sub-group known as the Popalzai and has close ties to the last king of Afghanistan, Zahir Shah, another member of the Durrani tribe.
According to Hayat Khan history of Afghanistan from their progenitor Bor Tareen, otherwise known as Abdal, are descended two main division the Zirak and the Panjpai. The term Abdal, however, gradually superseded that of Bor Tareen and came into special prominence when Ahmad Shah Abdali commonly known as Durrani, began his career of conquest. The Achakzais are, in strictness, a branch of the Barakzai but Ahmad Shah, Durrani himself an Abdal Tareen, fearing the growing numbers of the Barakzai, separated them from the parent stock, since which time their organization has remained distinct. It is still used, though sparingly, for the Achakzais, who have become localised in Toba and are regarded as a separate political unit from the rest of the Tareens.
Branches or subtribes
Sadozai Abdali tribe is the tribe Ahmad Shah Abdali was from. The Durrani Tareen tribe is divided into two branches Panjpai and Zirak. Durrani tribes of the Zirak branch include Popalzai, Alikozai, Barakzai, Badozai, and Achakzai.[citation needed]
The Panjpai branch are mainly found in the western Kandahar Helmand and Farah area, and they include Noorzai, Alizai, Eshaqzai or Sakzai, Khokani, and Maku. These tribes are the subtribes of Tareen.[citation needed]
The literacy rate of the Durrani is the highest among all the Pashtun tribes and hovers around 25%. The Durranis are considered the most liberal of the Pashtun tribes. The Durranis continue to live in close proximity to other people of Afghanistan and culturally overlap in many ways with the Tajiks whom they often share more cultural and socio-economic traits in comparison to the more tribal Pashtuns such as the Ghilzai, which is the other major Pashtun tribe.
See also
References
- ^ Encyclopedia Britannica, Durrani
- ^ Ethnologue 14 report for language code:PBU
- ^ The Afghans (2002) By Willem Vogelsang. Page 229.
- ^ Life of the Amîr Dost Mohammed Khan, of Kabul: with his political ..., by Mohan Lal, Volume 1. Page 1-3.
External links
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