Ghilzai Afghans
By: Abubakr Asadulla MD, MS
At this juncture, it is important that I discuss an extremely important group of Afghans known variously as Khalaj, Khalji, Khilji, or Ghilzi (singular Ghilzai). They have been mentioned in many historical books and manuscripts beginning with 10th and 11th centuries. As we will see, the Ghilzai Pashtuns have played an important role in creating Afghan history. Afghan history would be incomplete without a complete understanding of them. Based on present interpretations of western scholars, as we shall see, their origin seems to be shrouded in mystery, and at times blatantly wrong. Scholars have been puzzled by their origin and the list of their origin ranges from being Israelis, Egyptians, Mongolian, Armenians, Tatars, Hepthlites, Sakas, Rajputs, Brahmans, Jats(Gypsies), Greeks, Turks and even Arabs.
Based on an extensive review of the available literature, there is no doubt that Ghilzais are Pashtuns who speak Pashtu--an Indo-European language of the northeastern Iranic subdivision. Its closest related living languages are the Pamiri languages of Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and the modern Ossetic spoken in Georgia and the southern Russian region of Ossetia. Pashtu is spoken by approximately 40 million people divided between Afghanistan and Northwestern Pakistan, which is referred to, by the government of Pakistan, as North Western Frontier Province (N.W.F.P), and Pakhtunkhwa by locals.
Phonetic Derivation of Ghilzai from Pashtu
Pashto is a S-O-V language with split ergativity. Adjectives come before nouns. Nouns and adjectives are inflected for gender, number (singular/plural), and case (direct, oblique I, oblique II and vocative). The verb system is very intricate with the following tenses: present, subjunctive, simple past, past progressive, present perfect and past perfect. In any of the past tenses (simple past, past progressive, present perfect and past perfe
ct), Pashtu is an ergative language; i.e., transitive verbs in any of the past tenses agree with the object of the sentence.
Importantly, for our discussion, Pashtu has more vowels and consonants than either Arabic or Persian (Dari/Farsi). As a result, the Pashto alphabet has several letters which do not appear in any other Arabic script. For example, the letters representing the retroflex consonants Tt, Dd, Rh and Nn are written like the standard Arabic ´´teh´´, ´´deh´´, ´´reh´´ and ´´nun´´ with a ´´panddak´´, ´´gharrwandai´´ or also called ´´skerrai´´ attached underneath, which looks like a small circle: ړ ,ډ ,ټ, and ڼ, respectively. It also has the letters ´´äin´´ and ´´eeh´´ (representing voiceless and voiced retroflex frictives), which look like a ´´sin´´ and ´´reh´´ respectively with a dot above and beneath: ښ and ږ. The letters representing ´´ts´´ and ´´dz´´ are also specific to Pashtu; they look like a ح with three dots above and an hamza (ء) above; څ (´´ṡe´´)and ځ(´´że´´). It has a number of additional vowel diacritics as well.
Based on the pronunciation of letters Pashtu has two major dialects referred to as the ´´soft´´ and ´´hard´´. The division mainly arises in different pronunciation of ښ and ږ. In the ´´soft´´ dialect ښ is pronounced as ´´shīn´´ and ´´k´hīn´´. In the ´´hard´´ dialect ږ is pronounced as ´´ge´´ and ´´ẓhe´´ in the ´´soft´´ dialect.
Interestingly, Arabs and Persians at times tend to interchange between ﻕ ´´qāf´´ and ک ´´kāf´´. An example frequently encountered is the interchange between Qandahar and Kandahar. Even westerners have carried this error in their writings. The most notorious being Avicenna´s Canon of Medicine. Here we notice that the Arabic ﻕ has been transformed to ک. Thus Qanon has been transmuted to Canon ´´Kanon´´. Those who understand the grammar of Arabic and/or Persian can easily attest to such transformations.
Now we have to go back and examine how the Persians and Arabs treat the non-existent Pashtu letters in their la
nguage in their writings and pronunciations. One that both seem to have problems with is the Pashtu ځ(´´że´´). As already mentioned this letter is unique to Pashto, and not found in either Persian or Arabic, or in any of the European languages. In Persian this letter is usually substituted for ﺝ ´´jīm´´. Thus, we have examples such as the Pashtu ځيب (pocket) ´´żeb´´ is transformed to جيب (pocket) ´´jeb´´, ځنګل (Jungle) ´´żengal´´ is changed to جنگل (Jungle) ´´Jangal´´, ځای (place) ´´żāy´´ is written as جای ´´Jāy´´, and so forth. In fact this transformation can be seen even in how Pashtun tribal names are written and pronounced. Obvious examples are ځاځی ´´Zazai´´ is changed to جاجی ´´Jaji´´ or ځدران ´´Zadran´´ to جدران ´´Jadran´´.
Also, one more interesting pervasive transformation that one notices is the interchange between ﺥ ´´Kh´´, ﻍ ´´Gh´´ and ﻕ ´´Q´´. An example of this triangular transformation is well understood by Nizamuddin Ahmad who proposed that the Khilji were descendents of Qulji Khan, Chengiz Khan´s son-in-law. He makes this wrongful assertion as he understands that ´´Q´´ and ´´Kh´´ are interchangeable, and since changing ´´Kh´´ to ´´Q´´ one can link Khilji with Qulji, he can construct linkage [1]. Nevertheless, this theory has no merit as the word Khilji was in common use at least two centuries prior to Chengiz Khan´s appearance in Afghanistan. Furthermore Alama Habibi points out that Minahaju-s Siraj the author of Tabakat-I Nasiri writes Sakhar, a territory south of Ghor, for the present day Saghar. [2]
So how does this brief introduction to the written relationship between Arabic and Persian help with understanding the origins of Ghilzai Pashtuns. Before we can answer that question, let us examine how the non-Pashtuns referred to the Ghilzi (singular Ghilzai) and the answer will become obvious. Ghilzi Pastuns have been variously called Khalji, Khilji, Ghalji, and example of each abound historical books. Caroe supports this assertion by stating, ´´Khalji is merely the Persianized´´ [3] term for Ghilzai. Nevertheless, the real and original pronunciation is Ghilzi. As we saw in the last paragraph ´´Kh´´ is interchangeable with ´´Gh´´ and ´´J´´ with Pashtu ´´że´´, and if that transformation is performed the Persian/Arabic forms of Khalji, or Ghalji -- in accordance with accepted phonetic differences ... becomes GHALZI. This pattern of transformation between Arabic/Persian to Pashtu is not unique to the Ghilzi Pashtuns, but it is also true for the Zazi (Jaji) and Zadrans (Jadran).
Moreover, with the appropriate phonetic changes one more pattern emerges and that is the ending ´´zai´´, which means offspring of. This suffix is frequently found amongst Pashtun tribal names to indicate their line of descent. ´´zai´´ is very similar in meaning with suffix ´´son´´ in English family names and ´´ian´´ of Armenians. Besides Ghilzai, we have Zazai. Others along that pattern include Alekozai, Barakzai, Yusufzai, Popalzai, and tens more. As can be deduced -- based on phonetics -- the Persian and Arab word Khilji is non-other than the Pashtu Ghilzi. Interestingly, the word Ghilzai or Ghalzai means a ´´son of mountains´´. The Pamiris of Afghanistan, as mentioned before, who share linguistic relationship with Pashtu are called Ghalchas --- Mountaineers. [4]
Historical Connection Between Khilji/Ghilzai and Afghans
Now let us evaluate this relationship from a historical perspective. The first recorded use of a word similar to Persianized Khilji is found in the annals of Arab geographers. Their accounts must be accepted with caution as their reports are scanty, vague, and verbatim copies of their predecessors. The appendix of the first volume of The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians: The Muhammadan Period, [5] reminds as that before Al-Biruni (973-1048 AD):
´The whole of Upper India was a perfect terra incognito, and the Arabians knew much less of it than Pliny and Ptolemy.´
The geographical extracts at the beginning of this volume, fully prove the justice of this observation. Multan, Mansura, Alor, and other places of note in the valley of the Indus, were visited by their early travellers, and the ports upon the coast, especially those about Gulf of Cambay, were also known from the reports of their mariners. All beyond this was vague, and evidently drawn from hearsay information. Their scanty knowledge is farther shown by the identity of much that was written on the subject. Sulaiman and Ma´sudi drew their information from very similar sources; and a great part of of Istakhari´s and Ibn Haukal´s description is verbatim the same, so that there can be no doubt that one copied from the other... Idrisi gives full compilation from the works of his predecessors...his work is blemished by many false spellings.
From a historical perspective, a confusion has arisen that connects the Turkish, depending on pronunciation, ´´Khallukh´´ or ´´khallakh´´ خلَِّخ (also known as Kharlluk خرلَِّخ) with Arabized /Persianized ´´Khalji´´ or ´´khalaji´´ خلج of Afghan/Pashtun ´´Ghalzai´´ or ´´Ghilzi´´ غلځی. Appropriately, the authors of History of Civilizations of Central Asia state, ´´Arab geographers of the ninth and tenth centuries place them (Ghilzi) among the Turk tribes and frequently confuse the Khalaj (Ghilzi) with Khallukh (i.e. Kharlluk) as only diacritical marks distinguish these two ethnonyms in Arabic script. Hence, information relating to the Khallukh is often included in descriptions of the Khalaj (Ghilzi).[6] For example, the Arab geographer Ibn Khurradadhbih, in his description of the lands of Turks contradicts himself by locating the Khalaj both in the region of River Talas and ´on this side´ of Amu Darya, i.e. present day Afghanistan.[7]
Even more confusion is added given that both of these races, one Caucasian (Khilji/Ghilzai) and the other Mongoloid (Kharllukh or Khallukh) both are migratory. Even today many غلځی Pashtuns migrate in the summers towards Badakhshan, Takhar, Kunduz, and so forth, close to Turkish nations on the other side of Amu Darya. It is possible that some of the so-called Khalaj Turks of central Asia, who spoke a Turkish langauge were either Turkized Ghilzai Pashtuns, or those called Khalaj were in fact Khallukh. Interestingly, the Khallukh are known to have barely reached the Amu Darya in the 8th century, hence, they can´t be the ´´Khilji/Ghilzai´´ Afghans, as the ´´Khilij/Ghilzai´´ were well established by that time period.[8] Nomadic migration is not unique to Ghilzai Pashtuns, as most of the nomads in Western Afghanistan are Durrani Pashtuns. As is evident, unless one understands the phonetic and linguistic differences, one is bound to make errors in discerning between the various ethnic names in question. With the preceding in mind, let us review the available records. The oldest records of these two tribes, one Turkish and the other Afghan/Pashtun, seem to originate from between 10th and 11th centuries. The two often quoted passages that consider Ghilzai as Turks are those of Istakhari and Al-Khwarizimi, neither who was native to Afghanistan.
Istakhari (circa AD 930) says, as written by Minorsky, ´The Khalaji are a class of Turks who in the days of the old (fi qadim al-ayyam) came to the country stretching between India and the districts of Sijistan behind Ghur. They are cattle breeders of Turkish appearance (khilq), dress, and language´.[9] Clearly this ´Khalaji´ is not the Khilji/Ghilzai of Afghans. It would be amazing for this ´Khalaji´ to be related to ´´Khilji/Ghilzai´´ of Afghanistan, as Nizam al-Mulk [10] reports that Alaptagin ( r. 961-968 AD, Ghazni) sent Subuktagin to collect taxes from Khalaji and Turkman.[11] Clearly, Nizam al-Mulk makes an obvious distinction between the Turks and ´Khalaji´; Also, Berthold reminds us that per Nizam al-Mulk, Alaptagin´s son, Sultan Mahmud, was desirous of maintaining an army that was representative of various nations. [12] The facts seem to bare that desire for diversity as al-Utbi reminds us of Sultan Mahmud´s army composed of various tribes of Turks, Indians, Khalajis, Afghans, and Ghaznawis.[14] Moreover, it would be amazing for this ´Khalaj´ to be related to the Khalji/Ghilzai of Pashtuns, as the author of Tarikhi Yamini, Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Muhammad al Jabbaru-a ´Utb (Al-Utbi), who was Sultan Mahmud´s (971-1030 AD) secretary in his writings also make a distinction between the Turks and ´Khalaji´´. In his description of Sultan Mahmud´s mobilization against I´lak Khan in Balkh, he writes the Sultan advanced ready for action with an army composed of Turks, Indians, Khaljis, Afghans and Ghaznavides. Clearly, the words Turk and Khalji appear distinctively. Hence, ´´Khalaj´´ of Istakhari cannot be the ´´Khalji´´ of Al-Utbi, as it would be impossible for the ´´Khalaj´´ to have become non-Turk in a matter of thirty-one years. This racial difference continued to be realized, and in fact became a point of contention in 1290 AD between Turks and Afghans in India. The ´´Khilji/Ghilzai´´ were opposed to the throne of India by the Turks because of their race. Barani the author of Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi, writes the government of the country ´passed from the family of Turks to that of the Khiljisäthe gentry, commoners and soldiersäwere amazed. It appeared strange to them how the Khiljis were sitting on the throne in place of the Turks, and kingship had passed from the race of the Turks to (the people of) another race´.[15]
The above points raise a few important facts about the validity of Istakhari´s passage. He asserted that the ´´Khalaj´´ came to what is Afghanistan ´in the days of the old´ and amazingly retained their language, but within 31 years of his statement the Khalaj/Khilji/Ghilzai were already considered non-Turks and by 1290 AD they were at odds with Turks for being Afghan. In the next few paragraphs, we will continue to see evidence that differentiates between Turks and Kalaji/Ghilzai. Nevertheless, at this point the most logical conclusions are that Istakhari´s ´´Khalaj´´ are not ´´Khilji/Ghilzai´´, or Istakhari´s ´´Khalaj´´ are ´´khilji/Ghilzai´´ but the attributed Turk ethnicity and language are wrong. In either case, the ´´Khilji/Ghilzai´´ would be non-Turk.
Moreover, Minorsky has quoted al-Khwarizimi the author of Mafatih al-ulum, who wrote sometime between 365/975 and 381/991, ´The Haytatila (Hephthalites) are a tribe of men who enjoyed grandeur and possessed the country Tukharistan; the Turks called Khalaj and K.njina are their remnants´.[16] If in fact the Ghilzi Pashtuns are Hephthalites, per recent research, they are not Turks, but rather an Eastern Indo-Iranian people that spoke an Indo-European language, and not Turkish.[17] More recently Xavier Tremblay´s very detailed examination of surviving Hephthalite personal names has indicated that Enoki´s hypothesis that they were East Iranian may well be correct.[18] Again, what is important for us is that these ´Turks called Khalaji´ are not Turks, but Caucasian Ghilzai Pashtuns. We have to look at the writings of Arab and Muslim geographers, contemporaries of al-Khwarizmi, to realize that.
Let us review some of these contemporary passages to see the difference. Minorsky quotes Al-Utbi (written circa 411/1020), as announcing his intention to narrate Sultan Mahmud Ghaznawi´s victories ´´in India, as well as among Turks and Khalaj´´.[19] Clearly, Al-Utbi who resided in Ghazni, and much closer to the Afghans than Khwarizimi, who lived in Central Asia, considers the Khalaj different from the Turks. This distinction is highlighted by Firdausi (935ä1020 AD ), the author of Shah Nama, who also resided in Ghazni clearly distinguishes Turks from Khalaj (Ghilzai) in this poem:[20]
Bar-Avard mili za sang-u za gaj
Ki kas ra ba-Iran za Turk-u Khalaji (Ghilzai)
Nabudi gugar juz ba farman-I shah
Haman niz Jayhun miyani ba rah
Moreover, Mahmud Kashghari--a lexicographer of Turkish languages-- who studied the Turkic dialects of his time and wrote the first detailed dictionary of Turkic languages, Dīwānu l-Luġat al-Turk (Arabic: ´´Compendium of the language of the Turks´´) in 1072, also distinguishes between Turks and Khalaj (Ghilzai). In his legend of the ancestors of Turks, he states: ´Initially they (i.e. Turkmans) were twenty-four tribes but the two tribes of Khalaj separated from them; therefore now the latter are not counted of them.´´ [21]
Thus ´Khalaji´ certainly represents the ´´Khilji/Ghilzai´´ as they-as expected -were different from the Turks. According to Caroe, we frequently find the words ´´khaljis´´ and ´´Afghan´´ coupled, and in fact Khalaji starts to replace Khalaj as Persian and awareness replaces the older unreliable Arabic compilations.[22] This is appropriate from a historical perspective, as the Arabs were foreigners to Afghanistan, but the Persians were more connected culturally, historically and linguistically. It makes sense that Persian records to be more precise and accurate. Having said that, Al-Gardizi (d. 1061)--an Afghan historian and geographer-- living in the heart of Pashtun/Afghan territory writes in his Zayn al-Akhbar about some ´Afghan´ insurgents against Sultan Mas´ud (AD 1031-41), while al-Bayhaqi (tenth century) mentions the rebels as the ´Khalaji´. What is obvious from this discrepancy is that Al-Gardizi, who knew his people well, refers to this group of insurgents as ´Afghan´, whereas, al-Bayhaqi considered them ´Khalaji´, thus, this ´Khalaji´ is most likely the Pashtun Khilji/Ghilzai who are Afghan.[23] In one sense they are both correct, as ´Khalaj´ are Afghan. Moreover, the unknown author of Tarikhi-E Sistan (c. 1062) clearly distinguishes between Turks and Khalaj. He narrates the departure of Ya´qub for Rokhad to fight Zanbil[´s son] like this: ´´on the way back (Ya´qub) he killed many Khalaj and Turks, taking their herds as well as many slaves back with himä´´[24] Pashtuns tend to have very strong tribal affiliation, and that is not different with Ghilzai Pashtuns. In the past, as is today, their identification with their tribe is extremely important. That is why Bellow as quoted by Raverty states that the Ghilzai ´never styles himself anything but GHILJI.´ [25]
More evidence for confusing ´´Khiljis/Ghilzais´´ with ´´Khalaj´´ Turks can be found in the writings of Najib Bakran´s geography Jahan-nama, written (circa AD, 1200-1220) close to Mongol invasion states: ´The Khalaji are a tribe of Turks who from the Khallukh limits migrated to ZabulistanäThen, on account of the heat of the air, their complexion has changed and tended towards blackness; the tongue (zaban) too has undergone alterations and become a different language (lughat).[26] This passage brings to light two important points. First, the ´´Khalaj´´ being described as Turks were phenotypically different from Turks, as their skin was darker, and that is true today between Pashtuns of all tribes and Turks, so, as is expected, we are seeing a genetic difference between Turks and Pashtuns. Number two, it is obvious that the ´´Khalaj´´ described does not speak Turkish, but a ´different language´. For obvious reasons, that other language spoken in Zabulistan was Pashtu, than as it is now.
It would be amazing to see this transition in a matter of 250 years from being Turkish to becoming Afghan without any recollection, or evidence. On the contrary, the early evidence suggests that within thirty-one years of Istakhari´s description of Turkish ´´Khalaj´´ documents point to a different ethnicity most likely the ´´Kharllukh´´ . As is clear now, the ´´Khalaj´´ were none other than the Pashtun Khilji/Ghilzai; they were darker and spoke a different language. Again we see confusion between the ´´Khilji/Ghilzai´´ Pashtuns and a tribe of Turks called ´´Kharllukh´´.
Appropriately, by mid-13th century Khilji and Afghan were becoming coupled and Juvayni the author of Jahan-kusha associates the ´´Khalaj of Ghazni´´ with ´´afghans´´.[27] By 16th and 17th centuries there was no doubt that Khilji/Ghilzai were Afghans. In Babur Nama, we see many references to Ghilzai Pashtuns. And the most popular Pashtun poet Khushal Khan Khattak writes:
Bia Sultan Jalauddin puh sarir k´khenast
Chih puh asli k´khe Ghalji da wilayat wuh
Then Sultan Jalaluddin took seat upon the throne,
Who by race was of the Ghilzai country
Not surprisingly, as the sophistication and knowledge of chroniclers improved Khiji/Ghilzai became more coupled with Afghan. The Khilji/Ghilzai in the course of time became more powerful and at various times became rulers of Persia, India and Afghanistan. The Ghilzai Pashtuns were the most dominate Pashtun tribe from 1000 AD until 1747 AD when power shifted to the Durranis, formerly known as Abdalis. As we progress to describe the history of Afghans, I will continue to point to the non-Turkic origin of Khilji/Ghilzai Pashtuns. For now, I hope this brief sketch has demonstrated the mistaken affiliation of ´´khilji/Ghilzai´´ Pashtuns with a Turkish tribe known as ´´Khallukh´´. As mentioned previously, I will continue to highlight the difference in the origin of Ghilzai Pashtuns from the Turks.
Notes
1 - Lal, Kishori Saran, History of the Khiljis, Asia Publishing House, New York, 1967, page 10.
2 -Habibi, Allama, Khaljies are Afghans (Web: http://alamahabibi.com/English ArticlesKhaljies_are_Afghan.htm)
3 - Caroe, Olaf, The Pathans: 500 B.C. ä A.D. 1957, page 130.
4 - Vogelsang, Willem, The Afghans, Blackwell Publishers Ltd, Oxford, 2002, page 30.
5 - The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians; Edited from the posthumous papers of the late Sir H.M. Elliot, K.C.B by professor John Dowson, Vol. 1, p. 353
6 - Ahmad Hasan Dani, Vadim Mikhaĭlovich Masson, Unesco, Jänos Harmatta, Boris Abramovich
Litvinovskiĭ, Clifford Edmund Bosworth, History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol. III page. 179
7 - V. Minorsky, The Turkish Dialect of the Khalaj, Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London, Vol. 10, No.2 (1940), Cambridge University Press on behalf of the School of Oriental and African Studies page 417-437, page 428.
8 - W. Barthold, ´´Four Studies In History Of Central Asia´´, Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1962, pp.87-92)
9 - V. Minorsky page 430
10- Siyasat-nama (485/1096 AD, ch xxvii, p. 90)
11 - V. Minorsky page 431
12 - Turkistan Down to the Mongol Invasion, by W. Barthold Third edition London, 1968 page 291
13 - Ibid, note 3 page 291
14 - History of India Elliot, Tarikh Yamini page 32, 1966
15 - Lal, K.S., History of the Khiljis, Asia publishing House, 1967, page 10
16 - V. Minorsky, p. 426.
17 - On the nationality of Hephtalites By Kazuo Enoki Enoki, Kazuo, Memoirs of the Research Department of the Tokyo Bunko, 1995, No. 18, ´´On the Nationality of the Ephthalites´´
18 - Xavier Tremblay, Pour une histore de la Särinde. Le manichäisme parmi les peoples et religions d´Asie Centrale d´aprä les sources primare, Vienna, 2001, pp. 183-88
19 - V. Minorsky, p. 431
20 - V. Minorsky page 429
21 - Ibid, 429
22 - Caroe, Pathans, page 127
23 - The Afghans by Willem Vogelsang quoting page 187 ´´C.E Bosworth 1977, page 13-14´´
24 - The Tarikh-E Sistan trans. Milton Gold, Roma, Istituto Italiano Per IL ED Estremo Oriente, 1976 page 170
25 - Notes on Afghanistan and Part of Baluchistan by Henry George Raverty page 52
26 - Minorsky p 432
27 - Minorsky page 432
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