The Barakzai dynasty (, "Sons of Barak"), also known as the Muhammadzai dynasty ("the ruling sub-clan of the Barakzai"),[Ende in Islam in the World Today: A Handbook of Politics, Religion, Culture, and Society, p. 259][Herbe in All in the family, Absolutism, Revolution, and Democracy in Middle Eastern Monarchies, p. 199][Ahmed in Afghanistan Rising Islamic Law and Statecraft Between the Ottoman and British Empires, p. 23] ruled what is now Afghanistan from 1823 to 1978, when the monarchy ended de jure under Musahiban Mohammad Zahir Shah and de facto under his cousin Mohammad Daoud Khan. The Barakzai dynasty was established by Dost Mohammad Khan after the Durrani Empire of Ahmad Shah Durrani was removed from power. As the Pahlavi dynasty in Iran, the Muhammadzai era was known for its progressivism, practice of Sufism, peaceful security and Neutral country, in which Afghanistan was referred to as the "Switzerland of Asia".
History and background
Ancestral background
The Barakzai claim descent from
Israelites in a direct line through
Saul, whose family intermarried with the family of his successor
King David.
[Kharnam, Encyclopaedic ethnography of Middle-East and Central Asia 2005, publisher Global Vision, , page 20][Socio-economic Behaviour of Pukhtun Tribes By Dipali Saha, Dipali Saha – 2006 – 282 pages – Page 124] Saul grandson the Prince (Malak) Afghana was grown up by
King Solomon, acting as his commander in chief and Manager in the construction of the
Temple Mount.
[The people of India By Herbert Risley, W. Crooke – 1999 – 472 pages – Page 64.][Illustrations of prophecy, By Joseph Lomas Towers – 1796 – 799 pages – page 590.] However Prince Afghana sought refuge in a place called "Takht-e-Sulaiman", where he settled as Exil Arch.
[Tadhkirat al-Muluk: A Manual of Safavid Administration, Translated by V. Minorsky, Publisher: Gibb Memorial Trust; 2nd edition (December 1, 1980) Language: English, ISBN 978-0906094129, Paperback: 360 pages.] A direct descendant of Prince Afghana in the 37th generation called Qais heard of the message of the
Islamic prophet Muhammad and visited him in
. Qais regarded Muhammad as the awaited
Moschiach and embraced
Islam under him. He changed his name Qais to Abdul Rashid Pathan and married a daughter of Khalid bin Walid.
[Niamatullah's history of the Afghans, Volume 1, Niʻmat Allāh, Nirod Bhusan Roy, Santiniketan Press, 1958.][Settling the frontier: land, law and society in the Peshawar valley, 1500–1900, Robert Nichols, Robert Nichols (PhD.), Oxford University Press, 2001 – 321 pages.][Imperial gazetteer of India, Volume 5, Sir William Wilson Hunter, Great Britain. India Office, Clarendon Press, 1908.]
Qais Abdur Rashid's descendant Sulaiman, also known as "Zirak Khan" is regarded as the forefather of Durrani to whom the Barakzai also belonged, next to the Popalzai and Alakozai. It is through Sulaiman's son Barak, that the Barakzai derive their name from, because Barakzai means "children of Barak".[Alikozai in a Conside History of Afghanistan, p. 355, Trafford 2013]
Naming Afghanistan
It was in honor of their ancestor Prince Afghana of Israel, whom some Muslims venerate as a Saint that the first Barakzai King Sultan Mohammed Khan and his brother Dost Mohammed Khan named their Kingdom "Afghanistan", a fact some
Afghans tried to hide because of international
antisemitic sentiments that were present in the late 19th century, peaking in World War II in the form of
Fascism.
[Journal of the United Service Institution of India, United Service Institution of India 1880, p. 71]
Political background
The Barakzai dynasty was the line of rulers in Afghanistan in the 19th and 20th centuries. Following the fall of the
Durrani Empire in 1823, chaos reigned in the domains of Ahmad Shah Durrani's
Afghan Empire as various sons of
Timur Shah struggled for supremacy. The Afghan Empire ceased to exist as a single
nation state, disintegrating for a brief time into a fragmented collection of small units. Dost Mohammad Khan gained preeminence alongside his brother, Sultan Mohammad Khan in 1823. Dost Mohammad Khan would found the Barakzai dynasty in about 1837. Thereafter, his descendants ruled in direct succession until 1929, when King
Amanullah Khan and his brother
Inayatullah Khan abdicated and their cousin Mohammed Nadir Shah secured the throne after defeating Habibullah Kalakani. The most prominent and powerful sub-clan of the Barakzai Pashtun tribe is the
Mohammadzai, from which the 1823–1973 Afghanistan ruling dynasty comes.
Prior the seizing of the Durrani empire by the Barakzai dynasty, Loy Qandahar was captured by the Dil Brothers, Sardar Pur Dil Khan, Sardar Kohan Dil Khan, Sardar Sher Dil Khan, Sardar Mir Dil Khan, Sardar Rahim Dil Khan, in the year 1818 and declared their independence, which lasted as an independent state until 1855, when Amir Dost Mohammad Khan unified Qandahar with Kabul.
At the start of Barakzai rule over Emirate of Kabul in March 1823, the Afghans lost their former stronghold of the Peshawar Valley to the Sikh Khalsa Army of Ranjit Singh at the Battle of Nowshera. The Afghan forces in the battle were supported by Azim Khan, half-brother of Dost Mohammad Khan. During the Barakzai era, Afghanistan saw much of its territory lost to the British Raj in the south and east, Persia in the west, and Russia in the north. There were also many conflicts within Afghanistan, including the three major Anglo-Afghan wars and the 1928–29 civil war.
Definition and cadet branches
The Royal Barakzai or "Muhammadzai" are the descendants of the founder of the Barakzai dynasty the Emir ul Umara (Emir of all Emirs) Payindah Mohammed Khan, who plotted against the Durrani Imperial Family, proclaiming himself Emir. The hereditary title
Sardar (
Prince) is bestowed upon all descendants of Emir Payindah Mohammed.
Seraj
The Seraj cadet-branch are the descendants of Emir Dost Mohammed Khan, who alongside his predecessor and brother Sultan Mohammad Khan consolidated Barakzai rule in Afghanistan. The Seraj were mainly the Emirs of the first Emirate of Afghanistan that ended with the
Saqqawist led by Habibullah Kalakani. With support from the royal family, the Telai cadet branch killed Kalakani and re-established the second Barakzai Kingdom.
Telai
The Telai cadet-branch are the descendants of Sultan Mohammad Khan "Telai", 2nd Emir of Afghanistan succeeding his father Payindah Mohammed Khan. The descendants of His Royal Highness Prince Yahya Khan Telai (
Musahiban) to whom Nadir Shah and
Zahir Shah belonged were closely related to
Amanullah Khan through marriages.
[Hadi in Afghan Experiences, Greenville 2016]
Another Telai branch that had immense power in Afghanistan's military was that of His Royal Highness Field Marshal Prince Abdul Aziz Khan Telai and his children. Prince Abdul Aziz Telai was son of the Afghan King HM Sultan Mohammed Khan Telai and acted as a Field Marshal of the Afghan Army, preceding his grand-nephew Muhammad Nadir Shah as Minister of war under his other grand-nephew King Amanullah Khan. Prince Abdul Aziz additionally acted as Governor of
Kandahar and
Badakhshan. His eldest son was Prince Abdul Qayyum Khan, who acted as Governor of many central Afghan Provinces. Prince Abdul Qayyum Khan's son was the Afghan father of physics and Royal Afghan UN ambassador Professor Prince Abdul Khalek Khan Telai, who was a
Murid (religious novice) of his father-in-law Mir Muhammad Jan son of Mir Fazlullah Agha. Prince Abdul Khalek's descendants consequently call themselves the
Dakik Family and chose the surname Dakik (Persian for "Exact") after the
Saur Revolution. Next to the title Sultan (above
Sardar/Prince but below
Shah/King),
[Buyers in Royal Ark, Afghanistan, Glossary] they also bear the title Mir and Sayyid to denote their descent to
Muhammad through General Mir Muhammad Jan.
[Buyers in Royal Ark, Chapter: Telai III][Adamek in Who is Who in Afghanistan]
Another known son of Prince Abdul Aziz was Field Marshal Prince Amir Muhammad Khan Telai, who proclaimed himself Shah in exile in Peshawar contesting the rule of his rival cousin Mohammad Nadir Shah, siding with the British Empire. His son Assadullah, whose nickname was "Sharza" became a general in the US Air Force, representing Telai interests in Washington DC.
Another well known son of Prince Abdul Aziz was Brigade General Sardar Abdul Ghafar Khan, who acted as commander of the Personal Royal Brigade of his cousin King Nadir Shah. Prince Abdul Ghafar Khan executed the Amanist Charkhi family, who had plotted against his cousin HM King Nadir Shah. These executions made by Prince Abdul Ghaffar Khan led to Ghulam Nabi Khan Charkhi's daughter convincing a Hazara Amanist called Abdul Khaliq Hazaragi to take revenge for the Charkhi family's massacre and murder King Nadir Shah.
Shaghasi
The Shaghasi cadet-branch is another prominent and powerful sub-tribe of Barakzai, descending from the brothers of Emir Sultan Mohammed Khan and Emir Dost Mohammed Khan.
Shaghasi Khel are descendants of Mirdaad Khan Barakzai, Işik Aqasi (Minister of the Royal Court "Chemberlain") during the reign of the Kandahari Sardars (Dost Muhammad Khan's brothers), as well as the reign of Dost Muhammad Khan 1863 – 1866 and 1868 – 1879. His father, Bazar Khan Barakzai was a local Barakzai chief, and his grandfather was Sardar Yasin Khan Omar Khanzai (Barakzai) , resident of Maruf District (at that time part of Arghistan District) of Kandahar, and one of the notable Sardars of Kandahar during the reigns of Timur Shah Durrani
Salar, Dar-ul-Adalat, and Hakim-e-Ala) in Ghazni, Uruzgan and Kandahar
were equally (Shaghasi) Barakzai, Mohammad Alam Khan in Lugar and Kuchi and other governors were the same.
Ali Ahmad Khan Shaghasi (1883–1929) who was declared Emir of Afghanistan twice in 1929 son of General Loinab Khushdil Khan, sometime Governor of Kabul and Kandahar, by his wife Sahira Begum, daughter of Amir al-Mumenin, Amir al-Kabir, Amir Dost Muhammad Khan, Amir of Afghanistan, by his wife, a daughter of Agha Muhammad Qizilbash was also Shaghasi Barakzai. Ali Ahmad's sister, the Ulya Mukhadara Zarin Jan Begum was the mother of Humaira Begum who was the Queen consort of Afghanistan.
List of Barakzai rulers
Principality of Qandahar (1818–1855)
Emirate of Afghanistan
(Emirate of Kabul 1823–1855)
Kingdom of Afghanistan (1926–1929)
Saqqawist Emirate and the 1928–1929 civil war
Kingdom of Afghanistan (restored; 1929–1973)
Republic of Afghanistan (1973–1978)
Heads of the House of Barakzai since 1973
-
Mohammed Daoud Khan As first president of Afghanistan, renouncing the title Shah after taking power (1973–1978)
-
Abdul Khaliq Khan, for Saratanists as lone Barakzai survivor of the Saur Revolution (1978–1992)
-
Mohammed Zahir Shah (17 July 1978 – 23 July 2007)
-
Crown Prince Sardar Ahmad Shah Khan (1964 Constitution of Afghanistan) (23 July 2007 – 4 June 2024)
-
Prince Muhammad Zahir Khan (4 June 2024 – Present)
Languages
The principal language of the Barakzai is
Pashto. Formerly,
Persian language was used as the language for records and correspondence; until the late nineteenth century tombstones were also inscribed in Persian. The language of the Barakzai tribes in Pishin,
Quetta, Gulistan and Dukki (District. Loralai) is just like the language spoken in
Kandahar. Those who have settled away from Pishin speak local languages (Pushto), such as
Multani language or
Saraiki language in
Multan,
Hindko in
Hazara people,
Urdu in
Bhopal and
Sindhi language in
Sindh. Barakzai, a dialect of
Pashto, is the language spoken by
Harnai Barakzai.
[Pakistan and the emergence of Islamic militancy in Afghanistan By Rizwan Hussain Page 16][page 64 India and Central Asia By J. N. Roy, J.N. Roy And B.B. Kumar, Astha Bharati (Organization)]
Religion
The Barakzai are adherents to the Sunni Sufi branch of Islam, following mostly the
Hanafi and
Maturidi. In the history
Sardar Ata Mohammad Khan Barakzai, another brother of Sultan Mohammed Khan Telai, acting as Governor of
Kashmir under Shah Shuja Durrani issued coins in honor of the Sufi Saint
Nund Rishi and renovated his shrine.
[Suri, Sohan Lal, `L/mdat-ut-Twankh. Lahore, 1885–89] Some Barakzai including the Mir Muhammad Jan Khel sub-cadet branch of the Telai (known by the surname Dakik) are following the
Hanbali and
Athari.
[ Official website of Prince Sayyid Raphael Dakik]
Custodianship of the Hazrat Ali Mazar
As
Sufis the Barakzais are devotees of
Muhammad's cousin and son in law Ali ibn Abi Talib, who according to
Afghans is buried in
Mazar Sharif. The Emirs and Kings acted as custodians of the "Hazrat Ali Mazar". Kings who are buried in the Hazrat Ali Shrine Complex are the following:
-
Dost Mohammed Khan
-
Wazir Akbar Khan
-
Sher Ali Khan
It is because of this emphasis made by the Barakzai that some claim that the Mosque in the Afghan Flag stands for the Hazrat Ali Mazar.
Anti-fundamentalism
Although many Barakzai were practicing the faith of Islam, and integrating conservative
Sharia Law in their legal system, they were known for their anti-fundamentalist policies, regarding fundamentalists as primarily politically motivated, rather than religiously motivated. Abdur Rahman Khan's chief justice Sayyid Mir Fazlullah Agha contributed essentially to the definition of the conservative
Jurisprudence of the Emirate of Afghanistan, that was later adopted in the Kingdom. Sayyid Mir Fazlullah Agha was especially suspicious towards fundamentalist
Shia Islam, whom he regarded as fundamentalist proxies of
Qajar dynasty. He was also credited for anti-corruption enforcement and rule of law in Afghanistan by forcing Abdur Rahman Khan to adhere to the Law despite being a King.
[Tazkare Khwanadane Hazrat Eshan(genealogy of the family of Hazrat Eshan)(by author and investigator:Muhammad Yasin Qasvari Naqshbandi company:Edara Talimat Naqshbandiyya Lahore)p. 313] Under Prince Daoud Khan's regime, fundamentalists were regarded as political enemies of the regime, being suppressed along with
Communists.
Royal standards
=== National flags ===
=== Coat of arms ===
=== Private standards ===
Contemporary role
After the fall of the
Taliban in the year 2001, negotiations about the reestablishment of the Kingdom of Afghanistan were held, including negotiations about the re-installation of Mohammad Zahir Shah as the king of Afghanistan. However, pressure from the side of
Tajiks who threatened to revolt against Zahir Shah and pressure from the government of
Pakistan on the question of the
Durand Line, forced Zahir Shah to renounce his claim to the throne, he accepted the title of
Baba-e-Millat (), which weakened his political role.
[Gilles (2005). "The Return to Political Fragmentation". Afghanistan: Revolution Unending, 1979–2002, p.330][Grossmann in Inside the Pentagon: EXILED AFGHAN KING CONTESTS OTHER FACTIONS FOR POWER IN U.N. TALKS, Vol 17 No. 47]
Since then Prince Ali of the Seraj cadet branch and Prince Nadir Naeem of the Yahya-Khel of the Telai cadet branch ran for Presidency of Afghanistan in 2009 and 2014.
After the Fall of Kabul in 2021, Prince Raphael Dakik of the Mir Muhammad Jan-Khel of the Telai cadet branch, assessed the reestablishment of the Barakzai dynasty through Lobbying conducted by an anti-Taliban lobby group called "Royal Afghan Government in Exile" (RAGE). Next to Swiss people politicians, especially from the Swiss People's Party, senior WEF officials and research experts on lobbying, anti-corruption and diplomacy, some of his special envoys are former US congressmen, including Steve Watkins and Curt Weldon.[ Private Office sayyidraphaeldakik.com]
Envoys of Prince Raphael's lobby group, RAGE, were invited in an ambassador conference in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, which attracted media attention. Although Prince Raphael's private office shares a strong relationship with the princely House of Liechtenstein, RAGE was not accredited as an official government by Liechtenstein's foreign ministry in order to avoid international clashes of interest.
See also
External links
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