The theory that the Pashtun or "ethnic Afghan"s are descended from the ancient Israelites—more precisely, from the perspective of Jewish history the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel— has a longstanding basis as a tradition among the Pashtun themselves, was widely accepted by 19th century British scholars, and has been accepted by some reasonably recent and prominent individuals such as Itzhak Ben-Zvi, second President of Israel. However, contemporary anthropologists continue to debate this, putting forth an eastern Iranian people relation to the other peoples of the Iranian plateau, in addition to other possibilities.
Whether or not the Pashtuns are in fact derived from one ethnic group is unknown, as no comprehensive study of them as a whole group has ever been completed.
The claim of Afghans to be the Bani Israel (Children of Israel) is not founded on oral tradition alone. It is supported by ancient monuments, old inscriptions, manuscripts, and historical works, many in the public domain, and many others in private collections. Of recent report is the 12th century Hebrew cemetery a mile and a half from the base of the Tower of Jam in the middle of a very desolate region of Western Afghanistan. [New York Times Magazine, 42, Aug. 25, 2002]
One of the most ancient manuscripts available is Rauza ul Albab fi Tawarikh-ul-Akabir wal Ansab – The Garden of the Learned in the History of Great Men and Genealogies – by Abu Suleman Daud bin Abul Fazal Muhammad Albenaketi which was written in 1317 AD. The author in his Introduction explains that ever since the times of Moses the ancestors of Afghans have had to face great hardships. They were expelled from place to place and exterminated. Their ancient ancestors were sacked more than once and carried into captivity. In Chapter I a detailed history of Yacub (Jacob) is given and in Chapter II the genealogies of the Afghan tribes are further traced.
Bukhtawar Khan in his most valuable universal history Mirat-ul-Alam – The Mirror of the World – gives a vivid account of the journeys of the Afghans from the Holy Land to Ghor, Ghazni, and Kabul. Similarly Hafiz Rahmat bin Shah Alam in his Khulasat-ul-Ansab and Fareed-ud-Din Ahmad in Risala-i-Ansab-i-Afghana provide the history of the Afghans and deal with their genealogies.
Two of the most famous historical works on the subject are Tarikh-i-Afghana – History of the Afghans – by Niamatullah, which was translated by Bernard Dork in 1829, and Tarikh-i-Hafiz Rahmatkhani, by Hafiz Muhammad Zadeek which he wrote in 1770. These books deal with the early history of the Afghans, their origin and wanderings in general. They particularly discuss the Yusuf Zyes (the Yusefzai, "Sons of Joseph") and their occupation of Kabul, Bajoor, Swat, and Peshawar.
Additional authors Syed Jamal-ud-Din Afghani (Tarikh-i-Afghana, the History of Afghans), and Syed Abdul Jabbar Shah (Mun'ameen-i-Bani Israel, MS.), ex-Ruler of Swat, discuss the question exhaustively and come to the conclusion that the Afghans represent the Lost Tribes of Israel as viewed from the perspective of the Jewish/Western world.
If we turn to Anglo-Western writers during the time of the British Empire we find that they also have come to the same conclusion. The first to reach such is Henry Vansittart. In a letter which appeared in Indian Researches he commented on the Israelitish descent of the Afghans. He expressed the opinion that the claim of the Afghans to be Bani Israel are more than justified given his own observations of their indigenous traditions. [Indian Researches, 1788, Vol. 2: 69]
Sir Alexander Brunes in his Travels into Bokhara, which he published in 1835, speaking of the Afghans said: "The Afghans call themselves Bani Israel, or the children of Israel, but consider the term Yahoodi, or Jew, to be one of reproach. They say that Nebuchadnezzar, after the overthrow of Israel, transplanted them into the towns of Ghore near Bamean and that they were called after their Chief Afghana… they say that they lived as Israelites till Khalid summoned them in the first century of the Mohammadans… Having precisely stated the traditions and history of the Afghans I see no good reason for discrediting them… the Afghans look like Jews and the younger brother marries the widow of the elder. The Afghans entertain strong prejudices against the Jewish nation, which would at least show that they have no desire to claim – without just cause – a descent from them. [Sir Alexander Brunes, Travels into Bokhara, Vol. 2:139–141.]
Brunes was again in 1837 sent as the first British Envoy to the Court of Kabul. For some time he was the guest of King Dost Muhammad Khan. He questioned the King about the descent of the Afghans from the Israelites. The King replied that "his people had no doubt of that, though they repudiated the idea of being Jews".
William Moorcroft traveled during 1819 to 1825 through various countries adjoining India, including Afghanistan. "The Khaibarees," he says, "are tall and have a singularly Jewish cast of features." At Push Kyun, within Afghan territory, he came across a very old copy of the Old Testament in Hebrew. [Moorcroft, Travels in Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Punjab; in Ladakh and Kashmir, in Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz and Bokhara, 12]
J.B. Frazer in his book, An Historical and Descriptive Account of Persia and Afghanistan, which he published in 1843, says: "According to their own tradition they believe themselves to be descendants from the Hebrews… they preserved the purity of their religion until they met with Islam." [J.B. Frazer, A Historical and Descriptive Account of Persia and Afghanistan, 298]
J.P. Ferrier wrote his History of the Afghans in 1858. It was translated by Capt. W. M. Jesse. He too was disposed to believe that the Afghans represented the Ten Tribes of Israel. In support of his view he recorded, among others, a very significant fact: “When Nadir Shah marching to the conquest of India arrived at Peshawar, the chief of the tribe of Yoosoof Zyes (Sons of Joseph) presented him with a Bible written in Hebrew and several other articles that had been used in their ancient worship and which they had preserved. These articles were at once recognized by the Jews who followed the camp.” – J.P. Ferrier, History of the Afghans, 4.
George Moore published his famous work The Lost Tribes in 1861. He gave numerous facts to prove that these tribes are traceable to the Afghans. After giving details of the character of the wandering Israelites, he said: "And we find that the very natural character of Israel reappear in all its life and reality in countries where people call themselves Bani Israel and universally claim to be the descendants of the Lost Tribes. The nomenclature of their tribes and districts, both in ancient Geography, and at the present day, confirms this universal natural tradition. Lastly, we have the route of the Israelites from Media to Afghanistan and India marked by a series of intermediate stations bearing the names of several of the tribes and clearly indicating the stages of their long and arduous journey." [George Moore, The Lost Tribes]
Moore goes on to say: "Sir William Jones, Sir John Malcolm and the missing Chamberlain, after full investigation, were of the opinion that the Ten Tribes migrated to India, Tibet, and Cashemire [Kashmir] through Afghanistan." [[George Moore, The Lost Tribes]
Moore has mentioned only three eminent writers on the subject. But reference can also be made to General Sir George Macmunn (Afghanistan from Darius to Amanullah, 215), Col. [G.B. Malleson (The History of Afghanistan from the Earliest Period to the outbreak of the War of 1878, 39), Col. Failson, (History of Afghanistan, 49), George Bell (Tribes of Afghanistan, 15), E. Balfour (Encyclopedia of India, article on Afghanistan), Sir Henry Yule (Encyclopædia Britannica, article on Afghanistan), and the Hon. Sir George Rose (Rose, The Afghans, the Ten Tribes and the Kings of the East, 26). They, one and all, independently came to the same conclusion. Another, Major H.W. Bellew, went on a political mission to Kandahar and published his impressions in his Journal of a Mission to Kandahar, 1857–8. He then wrote in 1879 his book Afghanistan and Afghans. In 1880 he was sent, once again on another mission to Kabul, and in the same year he delivered two lectures before the United Services Institute at Simla: "A New Afghan Question, or "Are the Afghans Israelites?" and "Who are the Afghans?" He then published another book: The Races of Afghanistan. Finally he collected all his facts in An Enquiry into the Ethnography of Afghanistan, which was published in 1891.
In this work he mentions Killa Yahoodi ("Fort of the Jews") (H.W. Bellew, An Enquiry into the Ethnography of Afghanistan, 34), as being the name of the eastern boundary of their country, and also speaks of Dasht-i-Yahoodi ("Jewish plain") (ibid., 4), a place in Mardan District. He concludes: "The Afghan’s accounts of Jacob and Esau, of Moses and the Exodus, of the Wars of the Israelites with the Amalekites and conquest of Palestine, of the Ark of the Covenant and of the election of Saul to the Kingdom, etc., etc., are clearly founded on the Biblical records, and clearly indicate a knowledge of the Old Testament, which if it does not prove the presence of the Christians at least corroborates their assertion that the Afghans were readers of the Pentateuch up to the time of the appearance of Mohammad." (Ibid., 191)
Note, it is well understood and undisputed that there have never been Christian communities in Afghanistan pre- or for many centuries after the dawn of Islam.
Thomas Ledlie wrote an article in the Calcutta Review, which he subsequently elaborated and published in two volumes. He expressed his views on the subject very clearly: "The Europeans always confuse things, when they consider the fact that the Afghans call themselves Bani Israel and yet reject their Jewish descent. Indeed, the Afghans discard the very idea of any descent from the Jews. They, however, yet claim themselves to be of Bani Israel." [Thomas Ledlie, More Ledlian, Calcutta Review, January, 1898]
Ledlie goes on to explain: "Israelites, or the Ten Tribes, to whom the term Israel was applied – after their separation from the House of David, and the tribe of Judah, which tribe retained the name of Judah and had a distinct history ever after. These last alone are called Jews and are distinguished from the Bani Israel as much in the East as in the West." [Ibid., 7]
Among more contemporary writers Dr. Alfred Edersheim says: "Modern investigations have pointed to the Nestorians and latterly, with almost convincing evidence (so far as it is possible) to the Afghans as descendants from the Lost Tribes." [Dr. Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus, the Messiah, 15]
Sir Thomas Holditch in his The Gates of India says: "But there is one important people (of whom there is much more to be said) who call themselves Bani Israel, who claim a descent from Cush and Ham, who have adopted a strange mixture of Mosaic Law in Ordinances in their moral code, who (some sections at least) keep a feast which strongly accords with the Passover,… and for whom no one has yet been able to suggest any other origin than the one they claim, and claim with determined force, and these people are the overwhelming inhabitants of Afghanistan." – Sir Thomas Holditch, The Gates of India, 49.
There are many additional references, recorded incidents, manuscripts and artifacts related to the Hebraic history of the Pashtuns for the dedicated objective researcher who seeks them out.
In his 1957 classic The Exiled and the Redeemed, Itzhak Ben-Zvi, second President of Israel, writes that Hebrew migrations into Afghanistan began, "with a sprinkling of exiles from Samaria who had been transplanted there by Shalmaneser, King of Assyria (719 BC). From the recurrent references in the Book of Esther to the "one hundred and twenty seven dominions" of King Ahasuerus, the deduction is permissible that eastern Afghanistan was among them." [[The Exiled and the Redeemed, 176]
Ben-Zvi continues, "The Afghan tribes, among whom the Jews have lived for generations, are Moslems who retain to this day their amazing tradition about their descent from the Ten Tribes. It is an ancient tradition, and one not without some historical plausibility. A number of explorers, Jewish and non-Jewish, who visited Afghanistan from time to time, and students of Afghan affairs who probed into literary sources, have referred to this tradition, which was also discussed in several encyclopedias in European languages. The fact that this tradition, and no other, has persisted among these tribes is itself a weighty consideration. Nations normally keep alive memories passed by word of mouth from generation to generation, and much of their history is based not on written records but on verbal tradition. This was particulary so in the case of the nations and the communities of the Levant. The people of the Arabian Peninsula, for example, derived all their knowledge of an original pagan cult, which they abandoned in favor of Islam, from such verbal tradition. So did the people of Iran, formerly worshipers of the religion of Zoroaster; the Turkish and Mongol tribes, formerly Buddhists and Shamanists; and the Syrians who abandoned Christianity in favor of Islam. Therefore, if the Afghan tribes persistently adhere to the tradition that they were once Hebrews and in course of time embraced Islam, and there is not an alternative tradition also existent among them, the matter certainly deserves careful and critical examination
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Pashtuns
The Pashtuns (also Pushtun, Pakhtun, ethnic Afghan, or Pathan are an ethno-linguistic group of people, living primarily in eastern and southern Afghanistan, the NWFP Province and Karachi in Pakistan, and small communities in India. The Pashtuns are characterized by their indigenous code (religion) of honor and culture, Pashtunwali. The Pashtuns are the world's largest segmentary lineage (patriarchal) tribal group in existence. The total population of the group is estimated at over 40 million.
History
Pashtun culture is ancient and much of it is yet to be recorded in contemporary times. There are many conflicting theories, some contemporary, some ancient, about the origins of the Pashtun people, both among historians and the Pashtun themselves.
According to the writer W.K. Frazier Tytler writing in his book Afghanistan, "The word Afghan… first appears in history in the Hudud-al-Alam, a work by an unknown Arab geographer who wrote in 982 AD." Until the advent of the modern Afghan state in the 18th century, the word Afghan had been synonymous with Pashtun.
"The supposition that the Pathans are any different from the Afghans is not borne out either by the legendary accounts associated with the origin of this people or by historical or ethnological data." (Afghan Immigration in the Early Middle Ages, by K.S Lal).
From the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD this region saw immense migrations of peoples from Central Asia: the arrival of the Sakas, Kushans, Huns, Gujjars Hebrews,and Greeks.
According to the Encyclopedia of Islam, the Theory of Pashtun descent from Israelites is traced to Maghzan-e-Afghani who compiled a history for Khan-e-Jehan Lodhi in the reign of Mughal Emperor Jehangir in the 16th century AD. This reference is in line with the commonly held view by Pashtuns that when the twelve tribes of Israel were dispersed (see Israel and Judah, Lost Ten Tribes), the tribe of Joseph among other Hebrew tribes settled in the region. Hence the term 'Yusef Zai' in Pashto translates to the 'sons of Joseph'; the Yusefzai are the 8th largest tribe of the Pashtuns. See Theory of Pashtun descent from Israelites.
However, the Pashtuns appear to be an eastern Iranian people related to the other peoples of the Iranian plateau.
The Pashtuns are intimately tied to the history of modern-era Afghanistan. The country's founder, Ahmad Shah Durrani, was a Pashtun. He founded the state, as we know it today, in 1747 and the Pashtuns would rule it for the next 200 years. More recently the Pashtuns are known for being the primary ethnic group that comprised the Taliban, whose ideological basis began in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, centered around the city of Peshawar and at the Madarassa-e-Haqqania in Akora, Khattak.
Who is a Pashtun
Among historians, anthropologists, and the Pashtun themselves, there is controversy as to exactly who is a Pashtun. The three most prominent views are (1) to define the Pashtun in terms of patrilineal descent going back to legendary times, (2) to consider Pashtun any tribes who have for hundreds of years lived in the relevant geographic area and who speak Pashto and live in an essentially similar manner though may not have a patrilieal descent connection, and (3) only those who follow Pashtunwali regardless of language or ethnicity. We may call these the patrilineal definition, cultural definition, and religious definition respectively.
The patrilineal definition is based on an important orthodox law of Pashtunwali and tradition of Pashtun society. It states simply that if your father is not a Pashtun, neither are you. This law has kept the immemorial trait of the Pashtuns being an exclusively patriarchal tribe intact. Under this definition it does not matter which language you speak (Pashto, Urdu, English, etc.), but that your father be an ethnic Pashtun. Thus the Afridis and Yousafzai of Bhopal, India have lost both the language and presumably many of the ways of their ancestors, but by being able to trace their fathers' ethnic heritage back to the Pashtun tribes, who some believe are descendants of the four sons of a Qais Abdur Rashid, a possible progenitor of the Pashtun, they remain "Pashtun". Thus, under the patrilineal definition language is not in itself a defining point. This patrilineal law is rooted in Pashtunwali.
The cultural definition would include all Pashto speakers and those tribes and communities who have assimilated into Pashtun tradition, who, however, may not have a patrilineal connection. A prime example of this are the Arab tribes who settled amongst the Pashtuns after the Arab invasions of Afghanistan and Sindh during the rise of Islam. These same tribes today are considered Pashtun by some due to their cultural assimilation of Pashtun culture. Additionally, some feel that this cultural definition excludes those whose connection is merely ancestral- though of this there is great debate and historical precedent. Taking this idea further, the cultural definition would exclude the Afridis and Yousafzai of Bhopal, India who are in fact ethnic Pashtuns, but would include some tribal groups that do not share the specific patriarchal ethnic descent required by the patrilineal definition, notably the Swatis, who claim patrilineal descent from Muhammad, the founder of Islam.
The religious definition is based on the laws of Pashtunwali, and that those who are Pashtun adhere to them.
Culture
Throughout Pashtun history poets, prophets, kings and warriors have been the most revered members of society. The term 'Pakhto' or 'Pashto' from which they derive their name is not merely the name of their language, but synonymous with an honour code and religion known as Pashtunwali. The main tenets of 'Pakhto' or formally known as Pashtunwali are:
Hospitality and asylum to all guests seeking help.
Justice: Ancient Israelite Moses' Law, Tooth for a Tooth.
Defense of 'Zan, Zar and Zameen' (Women/Family, Treasury and Property).
Personal Independence. Pashtuns are fiercely independent and there is a lot of internal competition.
Most decisions in tribal life are made by a 'Jirga' or 'Senate' of elected elders and wise men. However, Pashtun society is also marked by its matriarchal tendencies. Folktales involving reverence for Pashtun mothers and matriarchs are common and are passed down from parent to child, as most Pashtun heritage, through a rich oral tradition.
However, some historians believe that the name Pakhtun has its origin in Pactyan, the name of an ancient Iranian tribe that lived in the Persian Satrapy Arachosia.
Institutions
The Pashtuns are predominantly a tribal people, however, increasing numbers now dwell in cities and urban settlements. Many still identify themselves with various clans.
More precisely, there are several levels of organization: the tabar (tribe) is subdivided into kinship groups each of which is a khel. The khel in turn is divided into smaller groups (pllarina or plarganey), each of which consists of several extended families or kahols. [Wardak, 2003, p. 7] "A large tribe often has dozens of sub-tribes whose members may see themselves as belonging to each, some, or all of the sub-tribes in different social situations (co-operative, competitive, confrontational) and identify with each accordingly."
History
Pashtun culture is ancient and much of it is yet to be recorded in contemporary times. There are many conflicting theories, some contemporary, some ancient, about the origins of the Pashtun people, both among historians and the Pashtun themselves.
According to the writer W.K. Frazier Tytler writing in his book Afghanistan, "The word Afghan… first appears in history in the Hudud-al-Alam, a work by an unknown Arab geographer who wrote in 982 AD." Until the advent of the modern Afghan state in the 18th century, the word Afghan had been synonymous with Pashtun.
"The supposition that the Pathans are any different from the Afghans is not borne out either by the legendary accounts associated with the origin of this people or by historical or ethnological data." (Afghan Immigration in the Early Middle Ages, by K.S Lal).
From the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD this region saw immense migrations of peoples from Central Asia: the arrival of the Sakas, Kushans, Huns, Gujjars Hebrews,and Greeks.
According to the Encyclopedia of Islam, the Theory of Pashtun descent from Israelites is traced to Maghzan-e-Afghani who compiled a history for Khan-e-Jehan Lodhi in the reign of Mughal Emperor Jehangir in the 16th century AD. This reference is in line with the commonly held view by Pashtuns that when the twelve tribes of Israel were dispersed (see Israel and Judah, Lost Ten Tribes), the tribe of Joseph among other Hebrew tribes settled in the region. Hence the term 'Yusef Zai' in Pashto translates to the 'sons of Joseph'; the Yusefzai are the 8th largest tribe of the Pashtuns. See Theory of Pashtun descent from Israelites.
However, the Pashtuns appear to be an eastern Iranian people related to the other peoples of the Iranian plateau.
The Pashtuns are intimately tied to the history of modern-era Afghanistan. The country's founder, Ahmad Shah Durrani, was a Pashtun. He founded the state, as we know it today, in 1747 and the Pashtuns would rule it for the next 200 years. More recently the Pashtuns are known for being the primary ethnic group that comprised the Taliban, whose ideological basis began in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, centered around the city of Peshawar and at the Madarassa-e-Haqqania in Akora, Khattak.
Who is a Pashtun
Among historians, anthropologists, and the Pashtun themselves, there is controversy as to exactly who is a Pashtun. The three most prominent views are (1) to define the Pashtun in terms of patrilineal descent going back to legendary times, (2) to consider Pashtun any tribes who have for hundreds of years lived in the relevant geographic area and who speak Pashto and live in an essentially similar manner though may not have a patrilieal descent connection, and (3) only those who follow Pashtunwali regardless of language or ethnicity. We may call these the patrilineal definition, cultural definition, and religious definition respectively.
The patrilineal definition is based on an important orthodox law of Pashtunwali and tradition of Pashtun society. It states simply that if your father is not a Pashtun, neither are you. This law has kept the immemorial trait of the Pashtuns being an exclusively patriarchal tribe intact. Under this definition it does not matter which language you speak (Pashto, Urdu, English, etc.), but that your father be an ethnic Pashtun. Thus the Afridis and Yousafzai of Bhopal, India have lost both the language and presumably many of the ways of their ancestors, but by being able to trace their fathers' ethnic heritage back to the Pashtun tribes, who some believe are descendants of the four sons of a Qais Abdur Rashid, a possible progenitor of the Pashtun, they remain "Pashtun". Thus, under the patrilineal definition language is not in itself a defining point. This patrilineal law is rooted in Pashtunwali.
The cultural definition would include all Pashto speakers and those tribes and communities who have assimilated into Pashtun tradition, who, however, may not have a patrilineal connection. A prime example of this are the Arab tribes who settled amongst the Pashtuns after the Arab invasions of Afghanistan and Sindh during the rise of Islam. These same tribes today are considered Pashtun by some due to their cultural assimilation of Pashtun culture. Additionally, some feel that this cultural definition excludes those whose connection is merely ancestral- though of this there is great debate and historical precedent. Taking this idea further, the cultural definition would exclude the Afridis and Yousafzai of Bhopal, India who are in fact ethnic Pashtuns, but would include some tribal groups that do not share the specific patriarchal ethnic descent required by the patrilineal definition, notably the Swatis, who claim patrilineal descent from Muhammad, the founder of Islam.
The religious definition is based on the laws of Pashtunwali, and that those who are Pashtun adhere to them.
Culture
Throughout Pashtun history poets, prophets, kings and warriors have been the most revered members of society. The term 'Pakhto' or 'Pashto' from which they derive their name is not merely the name of their language, but synonymous with an honour code and religion known as Pashtunwali. The main tenets of 'Pakhto' or formally known as Pashtunwali are:
Hospitality and asylum to all guests seeking help.
Justice: Ancient Israelite Moses' Law, Tooth for a Tooth.
Defense of 'Zan, Zar and Zameen' (Women/Family, Treasury and Property).
Personal Independence. Pashtuns are fiercely independent and there is a lot of internal competition.
Most decisions in tribal life are made by a 'Jirga' or 'Senate' of elected elders and wise men. However, Pashtun society is also marked by its matriarchal tendencies. Folktales involving reverence for Pashtun mothers and matriarchs are common and are passed down from parent to child, as most Pashtun heritage, through a rich oral tradition.
However, some historians believe that the name Pakhtun has its origin in Pactyan, the name of an ancient Iranian tribe that lived in the Persian Satrapy Arachosia.
Institutions
The Pashtuns are predominantly a tribal people, however, increasing numbers now dwell in cities and urban settlements. Many still identify themselves with various clans.
More precisely, there are several levels of organization: the tabar (tribe) is subdivided into kinship groups each of which is a khel. The khel in turn is divided into smaller groups (pllarina or plarganey), each of which consists of several extended families or kahols. [Wardak, 2003, p. 7] "A large tribe often has dozens of sub-tribes whose members may see themselves as belonging to each, some, or all of the sub-tribes in different social situations (co-operative, competitive, confrontational) and identify with each accordingly."
It is Time To Change....
I step into the future
Don't know what's in store
I'll be walking new pathways
Learning moreMeeting new faces,
Making new friends,
The time has come to move on,
It's time to change.
It's hard to leave the things you know and understand
And set out on a journey on unfamiliar land
It's hard to leave old friends behind and walk away,
But the time has come to move on, it's time to change.
But my friends are a part of me,
A part of my personality,
Always there to guide me
Wherever I happen to be
The past leaves its mark on me,
And makes me the person I am
And the good things go with me
When it's time to change.
The seasons turn
And the years move on
Nothing ever stands still
Changing day by day,,,Good wishes go with me
And speed me on towards the sun
The time has come to move on,It's time to change.
The seasons turn, and the years move on,
Nothing ever stands still,
changing day by day Good wishes go with me
And speed me on towards the sun
The time has come to move on,.It's time to change.
Change for the better?
Change for the worse?
Who can tell it better…
It's for me to make it work
The sun is up and shining
And there's a rainbow in the sky
I'm going to find my pot of gold,
It's time to change.
It's time to change,
It's time to change,
The time has come to move on,
it's time to change.
Don't know what's in store
I'll be walking new pathways
Learning moreMeeting new faces,
Making new friends,
The time has come to move on,
It's time to change.
It's hard to leave the things you know and understand
And set out on a journey on unfamiliar land
It's hard to leave old friends behind and walk away,
But the time has come to move on, it's time to change.
But my friends are a part of me,
A part of my personality,
Always there to guide me
Wherever I happen to be
The past leaves its mark on me,
And makes me the person I am
And the good things go with me
When it's time to change.
The seasons turn
And the years move on
Nothing ever stands still
Changing day by day,,,Good wishes go with me
And speed me on towards the sun
The time has come to move on,It's time to change.
The seasons turn, and the years move on,
Nothing ever stands still,
changing day by day Good wishes go with me
And speed me on towards the sun
The time has come to move on,.It's time to change.
Change for the better?
Change for the worse?
Who can tell it better…
It's for me to make it work
The sun is up and shining
And there's a rainbow in the sky
I'm going to find my pot of gold,
It's time to change.
It's time to change,
It's time to change,
The time has come to move on,
it's time to change.
Poverty
The brother weeps
The mother cries
The father sleeps
As the daughter dies.
O hateful world I see before me
The world of poverty.
O hateful world I see before me
That lies beside Eternity.
The brother weepsThe mother cries
The father sleepsThe daughter dies.
Her father doesn't care
That she'd been trapped
By Hunger's cruel snare.O hateful world I see before me
The world of poverty.
O I pray poverty takes me never
For I'll never be ready.
Athena Atalanta
The mother cries
The father sleeps
As the daughter dies.
O hateful world I see before me
The world of poverty.
O hateful world I see before me
That lies beside Eternity.
The brother weepsThe mother cries
The father sleepsThe daughter dies.
Her father doesn't care
That she'd been trapped
By Hunger's cruel snare.O hateful world I see before me
The world of poverty.
O I pray poverty takes me never
For I'll never be ready.
Athena Atalanta
Colonial NWFP or Pakistani Pakhtunkhwa?
North-west of the British has been a changing phenomenon in history. In their westward advance over the decline of the Mughal Empire the British first created the North West Province, which is now called UP in India, and much later in 1901 they agreed to the formation of the present North West Frontier Province and separated it from the province of Punjab. To NWFP was added the Hazara division for administrative purposes, as Gulab Singh to whom Kashmir was sold, could not pay the full amount and hence Hazara was taken away and added to this newly created province. The Mughals had formed Subah-i-Lahore, Subah-i-Multan, to which Sindh was attached, and Subah-i-Kabul, to which was attached more or less the present NWFP. Later the Mughals conquered Kashmir and extended their sovereignty over Baltistan and Ladakh.
To the original British NWF Province the government of Pakistan, in 1970-71, after the abolition of the states, added Swat, Dir and Chitral as new districts and also created the district of Kohistan, which was practically no-man's land in the British period. Just before partition of the sub-continent, the idea of Pakhtunistan was floated by Congress for reasons not difficult to understand, but it fizzled out in the referendum as the people voted to join Pakistan.
Lord Curzon, in his Forward Policy, distinguished between the settled districts of NWFP and the newly established tribal agencies and fixed the border between British India and Afghanistan at the western end of the Khyber Pass for the first time in history and thus made a political division of the Pakhtun tribes. Dr. Akbar S. Ahmad, in his thesis, written under the influence of the British teachers, made unnecessarily sociological distinction between the Pakhtun tribes in the settled districts and those in the artificially created tribal agencies. Such a distinction never existed in history. Sir Olaf Caroe, in his book The Pathans tried in vain to trace the origin of the Pakhtuns from the Huns, although titles like Gul and Khan are certainly borrowed from the Huns and the Mongols.
The Pashto or Pakhto is a well-known Aryan tribe mentioned in the Rigveda along with others, Jadu (or Yadu), Kuru, Sivas and Bhalanases. The Jaduns are the modern Gaduns, Sivas have left behind their name in the modern village of Siva in Swabi tehsil, and Kuru can be recognised in the valley of Panchkora in the district of Dir and Bhalanases have left their name in Bolan Pass. It is the Aryans who first started the geographic name of Gandhara in about the middle of the second millennium BC that extended on either side of the river Indus, with two capitals, Pushkalavati (modern Charsadda) on the west and Taxila on the east. Later the western capital was transferred to Peshawar (old Purushapura).
In Gandhara lived eight Aryan tribes, known as Ashtakas, whose king, named as Astes in the Greek accounts fought with Alexander's forces. The place name Hashtnagar recalls their memory. The Ashtakas have probably left behind their trace in the name Khattaks, who spread out south of the river Kabul right up to Attock.The Achaemenian Iranian Empire extended into this part, and Herodotus names the provinces as Gandhara, Paktyike, Sattagudi (i.e. Sapta Gomati, inclusive of Bannu, D.I. Khan, Zhob and Loralai districts, and finally Maka or Makran in the coastal region. Next province is called Hindu or Sindhu to the east of the river Sindhu. He also mentions the country of Darad in the north and refers to the Babylonian name Paropamisadae, i.e. the hilly area beyond, which in Sanskrit is called Avagana, or Apagana or Afgana (ava meaning far and gana meaning tribe) and hence tribes of the distant area, referring to Kabul region. Paktyike still survives in the provincial name of Paktya in Afghanistan, although it is much reduced in size.
The geographical name Gandhara continued until AD10 century, i.e for nearly twenty-five hundred years, when after the overthrow of the Hindu Shahi dynasty by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, it was incorporated into his Ghazni empire and Gandhara was forgotten into the limbo of history. The Arab conquest of this region does not record Pakhto or Pakya because the Arabs fought with the Turki Shahi or Hindu Shahi rulers. However, the spread of Islam transformed the whole mental make-up and tradition of the people. Many of the tribes started connecting themselves with the Semitic tribes or with Iranian heroes of Shanamah fame; e.g. Gakkhars call themselves Kianis, and the Awans associate themselves with Qutub Shahis. Similarly, the Pakhtuns trace their traditional origin from the lost tribes of the Jews, as recorded in the Makhzan-i-Afghana of the time of Sher Shah Suri. It is after the conquest of the Arabs that the name Khyber was applied to the pass and Ali Masjid was built there near the old Buddhist site. But the name Khyber was never used this side of Jamrud. However, the Pakhto tribes got associated with Turkic conquerors and along with them they spread out into north India right up to Bengal.
From AD 10 century onward the Muslim historians use the word Afghan in their works but in India the world Pakhto is corrupted as Pathan or sometimes a new word is deprived from Roh, i.e. Koh Sulaiman and we get the world Rohilla or Rohilkhand, which played an important part in the later Mughal history.With the spread of the Timurid Empire the Afghan tribes were much disturbed. With Timur's son Shah Rukh sitting at his new capital of Herat, having full control over Kandahar, the Pakhtun tribes around Kandahar were shaken. Some tribes, like Tarin, moved into norther part of Balochistan, and others like Lodhis, Suris, Niazis and Durranis came to Punjab. The Yusufzais moved towards Kabul and later when Babar occupied Kabul, the Yusufzais spread eastward towards Bajaur, Dir, Swat, Mardan and Peshawar districts, displacing the earlier tribes who took shelter in Hazara.
The older tribes, such as the Khattaks in the south and Awans in the east developed rivalry against the newly arrived Yusufzais and Mohammadzais, who were already against the Mughals. The resettlement of the tribes took considerable time when they were again caught in the establishment of the Mughal authority here. In the pre-Mughal period the conditions remained disturbed because of tribal jealousies and Mongol invasions. When the Mughal emperor Akbar was able to befriend the Khattaks and made them give security for the new road that he built south of the river Kabul from Attock to Peshawar and onward through the Khyber Pass to Kabul. In lieu of the toll tax the security was guaranteed and the region west of the Indus river was tagged onto Subah-i-Kabul. When the Afghan State was created after the death of Nadir Shah by his successor Ahmad Shah Abdali the region remained a part of that state until Ranjit Singh separated it and joined with his new state of Punjab.
With the British conquest the Sikh State of Punjab became Punjab province and its extent included this region, until 1901 when the new province was created under the new name of North West Frontier Province.
As far as the British Indian Empire was concerned, the new colonial name of the province was fully justified as this province lay to the north-west frontier of the Empire but in the present geographical context of Pakistan it is neither the only region in the north-west nor the only part lying in the frontier of the state. Hence in my earlier articles I have been using the old historical name, Gandhara, and calling it the Land of the Pakhtuns, because the large majority of the people here are Pakhtuns and they speak the Pakhto or Pashto language. As we have accepted the name Balochistan because large majority of the people are Baloch, although
To the original British NWF Province the government of Pakistan, in 1970-71, after the abolition of the states, added Swat, Dir and Chitral as new districts and also created the district of Kohistan, which was practically no-man's land in the British period. Just before partition of the sub-continent, the idea of Pakhtunistan was floated by Congress for reasons not difficult to understand, but it fizzled out in the referendum as the people voted to join Pakistan.
Lord Curzon, in his Forward Policy, distinguished between the settled districts of NWFP and the newly established tribal agencies and fixed the border between British India and Afghanistan at the western end of the Khyber Pass for the first time in history and thus made a political division of the Pakhtun tribes. Dr. Akbar S. Ahmad, in his thesis, written under the influence of the British teachers, made unnecessarily sociological distinction between the Pakhtun tribes in the settled districts and those in the artificially created tribal agencies. Such a distinction never existed in history. Sir Olaf Caroe, in his book The Pathans tried in vain to trace the origin of the Pakhtuns from the Huns, although titles like Gul and Khan are certainly borrowed from the Huns and the Mongols.
The Pashto or Pakhto is a well-known Aryan tribe mentioned in the Rigveda along with others, Jadu (or Yadu), Kuru, Sivas and Bhalanases. The Jaduns are the modern Gaduns, Sivas have left behind their name in the modern village of Siva in Swabi tehsil, and Kuru can be recognised in the valley of Panchkora in the district of Dir and Bhalanases have left their name in Bolan Pass. It is the Aryans who first started the geographic name of Gandhara in about the middle of the second millennium BC that extended on either side of the river Indus, with two capitals, Pushkalavati (modern Charsadda) on the west and Taxila on the east. Later the western capital was transferred to Peshawar (old Purushapura).
In Gandhara lived eight Aryan tribes, known as Ashtakas, whose king, named as Astes in the Greek accounts fought with Alexander's forces. The place name Hashtnagar recalls their memory. The Ashtakas have probably left behind their trace in the name Khattaks, who spread out south of the river Kabul right up to Attock.The Achaemenian Iranian Empire extended into this part, and Herodotus names the provinces as Gandhara, Paktyike, Sattagudi (i.e. Sapta Gomati, inclusive of Bannu, D.I. Khan, Zhob and Loralai districts, and finally Maka or Makran in the coastal region. Next province is called Hindu or Sindhu to the east of the river Sindhu. He also mentions the country of Darad in the north and refers to the Babylonian name Paropamisadae, i.e. the hilly area beyond, which in Sanskrit is called Avagana, or Apagana or Afgana (ava meaning far and gana meaning tribe) and hence tribes of the distant area, referring to Kabul region. Paktyike still survives in the provincial name of Paktya in Afghanistan, although it is much reduced in size.
The geographical name Gandhara continued until AD10 century, i.e for nearly twenty-five hundred years, when after the overthrow of the Hindu Shahi dynasty by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, it was incorporated into his Ghazni empire and Gandhara was forgotten into the limbo of history. The Arab conquest of this region does not record Pakhto or Pakya because the Arabs fought with the Turki Shahi or Hindu Shahi rulers. However, the spread of Islam transformed the whole mental make-up and tradition of the people. Many of the tribes started connecting themselves with the Semitic tribes or with Iranian heroes of Shanamah fame; e.g. Gakkhars call themselves Kianis, and the Awans associate themselves with Qutub Shahis. Similarly, the Pakhtuns trace their traditional origin from the lost tribes of the Jews, as recorded in the Makhzan-i-Afghana of the time of Sher Shah Suri. It is after the conquest of the Arabs that the name Khyber was applied to the pass and Ali Masjid was built there near the old Buddhist site. But the name Khyber was never used this side of Jamrud. However, the Pakhto tribes got associated with Turkic conquerors and along with them they spread out into north India right up to Bengal.
From AD 10 century onward the Muslim historians use the word Afghan in their works but in India the world Pakhto is corrupted as Pathan or sometimes a new word is deprived from Roh, i.e. Koh Sulaiman and we get the world Rohilla or Rohilkhand, which played an important part in the later Mughal history.With the spread of the Timurid Empire the Afghan tribes were much disturbed. With Timur's son Shah Rukh sitting at his new capital of Herat, having full control over Kandahar, the Pakhtun tribes around Kandahar were shaken. Some tribes, like Tarin, moved into norther part of Balochistan, and others like Lodhis, Suris, Niazis and Durranis came to Punjab. The Yusufzais moved towards Kabul and later when Babar occupied Kabul, the Yusufzais spread eastward towards Bajaur, Dir, Swat, Mardan and Peshawar districts, displacing the earlier tribes who took shelter in Hazara.
The older tribes, such as the Khattaks in the south and Awans in the east developed rivalry against the newly arrived Yusufzais and Mohammadzais, who were already against the Mughals. The resettlement of the tribes took considerable time when they were again caught in the establishment of the Mughal authority here. In the pre-Mughal period the conditions remained disturbed because of tribal jealousies and Mongol invasions. When the Mughal emperor Akbar was able to befriend the Khattaks and made them give security for the new road that he built south of the river Kabul from Attock to Peshawar and onward through the Khyber Pass to Kabul. In lieu of the toll tax the security was guaranteed and the region west of the Indus river was tagged onto Subah-i-Kabul. When the Afghan State was created after the death of Nadir Shah by his successor Ahmad Shah Abdali the region remained a part of that state until Ranjit Singh separated it and joined with his new state of Punjab.
With the British conquest the Sikh State of Punjab became Punjab province and its extent included this region, until 1901 when the new province was created under the new name of North West Frontier Province.
As far as the British Indian Empire was concerned, the new colonial name of the province was fully justified as this province lay to the north-west frontier of the Empire but in the present geographical context of Pakistan it is neither the only region in the north-west nor the only part lying in the frontier of the state. Hence in my earlier articles I have been using the old historical name, Gandhara, and calling it the Land of the Pakhtuns, because the large majority of the people here are Pakhtuns and they speak the Pakhto or Pashto language. As we have accepted the name Balochistan because large majority of the people are Baloch, although
Pashthoons
PASHTUNS....Between South Asia, Central Asia and the Iranian plateau of Sijistan lies a triangular shaped territory studded by bare and barren mountains covering an area of approximately 250,000 sq. miles. Starting from Dir in the north, this triangle runs along the Indus, takes a westward turn a few miles south of Dera Ismail Khan, and embracing within its fold Loralai, Sharigh, Degari, Harnai, Quetta, Pishin, Chaman and Qandahar extends up to Herat. From here it curves north-east and following the foothills of Hindu Kush comes back to Dir. This region includes the major portion of NWFP, a part of Quetta Division of Baluchistan and three-fourths of Afghanistan. In this triangular-shaped, hilly country divided between Afghanistan and Pakistan lives the world's largest group of tribesmen numbering over 30 million variously called Afghans, Pathans, Pashtuns or Pakhtuns.Any attempt to delve deep into the history of these interesting peopIe and find out their origin would prove baffling. But strangely indeed their history has attracted the attention of an unusually large number of scholars. In the modern period more and more western historians and researchers are taking keen interest in the past of this region and its people. But the larger literature on the subject, the greater the difference of opinion and deeper the confusion. The difficulty arises because of the fact that the area is inhabited by a large number of tribes each of which makes different claims about its origin. The confusion becomes worse confounded when it is found that these claims do not conform to historical evidence and do not agree with the conclusions arrived at by the researchers. In view of this peculiar situation, it is proposed to give only the consensus of opinion and to simpilify matters as far as possible. Many Pathans may not agree with what has been stated here; but unfortunately the nature of the subject is such that an agreement even on broad outlines seems difficult.Let us first discuss the origin of the names Pathan and Afghan. The term Pakhtun or Pashtun, according to Raverty, is derived from the Persian word 'Pusht' meaning 'back'. Since the tribes lived on the back of the mountains, Persians called them Pashtun which is also pronounced Pakhtun. Some scholars think that the word Pashtun or Pakhtun comes from the old Iranian words parsava parsa meaning robust men, knights. In Indian Ianguages it was spelt as Pakhtana or Pathan. Herodotus and several other Greek and Roman historians have mentioned a people called 'Paktye' living on the eastern frontier of Iran. By the word Paktye they meant the people of the frontier. (According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam the word Pathan is from the Sanskrit word Pratisthana). Muslim historians from Al-Biruni onward called them Afghans, never using the word Pathan which expression was extensively employed by the Hindus. "No Afghan or speaker of Pashtu ever referred to himself as a Pathan and the word is an Indian usage." (The Pathans, by Sir Olaf Caroe)"It is significant that neither Ibn Batuta nor Baber mention the word 'Pathan'. Baber gives the names of many east Afghanistan tribes, but nowhere does he mention Pathans, Pakhtuns or Pashtuns. He calls the people Afghans and their language, Afghani." (Afghan Immigration in the early Middle Ages, by K.S Lal) As for the word Afghan, it appears in the inscriptions of Shahpur I at Naksh-e-Rustam which mentions a certain Goundifer Abgan Rismaund. According to Sprengler, a similar name 'Apakan' occurs as the designation of the later Sassanian Emperor Shahpur III. "The word Afghan, though of unknown origin, first appears in history in the Hudud-al-Alam, a work by an unknown Arab geographer who wrote in 982 A.D." (Afghanistan, by W.K Frazier Tytler). But according to the Encyclopaedia of Islam: "the first mention of the Afghans in written history is in the Chronicle of al-Utbi in Tarikh-e-Yamini and an almost contemporary mention by Al-Biruni. Utbi records that Sabuktagin enrolled Afghans in his army." Another version states that the earliest recorded use of the name Afghan is by the Indian astronomer, Varaha-Mihira of the 6th century A.D. in the form Avagana. (Encyclopaedia of Britannica)."'The supposition that the Pathans are any different from the Afghans is not borne out either by the legendary accounts associated with the origin of this people or by historical or ethnological data." (Afghan Immigration in the Early Middle Ages, by K.S Lal). Both Bellew and Longworth Dames consider the two terms as appellation of a common people. There is no racial difference between the two. The two words are synonymous referring to one and the same people though a few writers try to make a distinction between Afghans and Pathans which is ephemeral.For instance, some authors maintain that only those tribes living in southern Afghanistan, particularly between Herat and Qandhar and who speak Persian should be called Afghans while others living in the rest of Afghanistan, NWFP and Baluchistan speaking Pashtu language should be called Pathans. What they mean is that those who speak Pashtu are Pathans and those of them who speak Persian are Afghans. Sir Olaf Caroe makes a distinction between the Afghans and the Pathans on the basis of the hillsmen and plainsmen. He thinks that those living in the fertile plains of Qandhar, Herat, Kabul and Peshawar should be called Afghans and those living in the hills, Pathans. Lt. Gen. George McMunn divides Afghans into three groups: Abdalis, Ghilzais and Pathans (Afghanistan from Darius to Amanullah, by Lt. Gen. Dir George McMunn). But, as already stated, such distinctions are confusing and will lead nowhere. All should be called either Afghans, Pashtuns, Pakhtuns or Pathans.There has, however, been no dispute over the name of the language they speak. It is called by one name only i.e., Pashtu. But its origin, again is disputed. Most of the authors are agreed that "it is both in origin and structure an Eastern Iranian language which has borrowed freely from the Indo-Aryan group." (The Pathans, by Sir Olaf Caroe). But one of the greatest authorities on the Pathans, Morgenstierne, on the other hand, feels that it is probably a Saka dialect from the north. The general opinion, however, is that Pashtu is a branch of the original Iranian language called Pahlawi.CLAIMS ABOUT ORIGINThe triangle between the Indus, Hindu Kush and the Sijistan plateau of Iran is populated by an assorted group of tribesmen some of them living in plains and valleys and others in mountains interspersed over the entire length and breadth of this triangle. As already stated this is the largest conglomeration of tribal people in the world.We shall begin with the accounts of their origin as given by later Muslim historians. According to Niamatulla's Makhzan-i-Afghani and Hamdulla Mustaufi's Tarikh-i-Guzida: one of Prophet Ibrahim's descendents, Talut (or Saul) had two sons, one of whom was named Irmiya or Jeremia. Irmiya had a son named Afghan, who is supposed to have given the name to the Afghan people. Tareekh-e-Sher Shahi states that Bakht Nasr who invaded Jerusalem and destroyed it, expelled Jewish tribes, including sons of Afghan, from their homeland. During the days of the Babylonian captivity when the Jews were scattered, one of the tribes settled in the Hari Rud area of modern (south) Afghanistan. Pathan legend states that they accepted Islam during the time of the Prophet when a group of their kinsmen (Jews) living in Arabia sent word to them that the true Prophet of God as prophesied in their scriptures had appeared in Mecca. The Afghans, the story goes, sent a delegation to Arabia headed by one Imraul Qais who met the Prophet, embraced Islam, came back and converted the entire tribe to the new religion. The Prophet was so pleased with Qais that he gave him the name of Abdur Rashid, called him Malik (king) and Pehtan (keel or rudder of a ship) for showing his people the path of Islam.The story proceeds: Qais Alias Abdur Rashid Alias Pehtan had three sons named Sarban, Batan and Ghurghust. Most of the present-day Pathan tribes claim descent from these three persons. Batan had a daughter named Bibi Matto. She fell in love with Hussain Shah, a prince of Turkish origin, and their intimacy reached a stage where her pregnancy could not be concealed. Marriage was the only course open, but the offspring, a boy, was given the name of Ghilzai, meaning in the Afghan language a son 'born of theft'. Bibi Matto's next son was Ibrahim who, because of his intelligence and wisdom, was addressed by Qais as Loi-dey (Lodi) i. e., Ibrahim is great. Two of Loi-dey's grandsons were Pranki and Ismail. BahIul Lodhi, the founder of the Afghan empire of Delhi, was eight generations from Pranki and was a member of the Sahukhel tribe of Lodhis. The Suris and Nuhanis are descended from Ismail's two sons Sur and Nuh. Thus the Ghilzais (Khiljis), Lodhis, Suris, Nuhanis, and their branches, the Sarwanis and Niazis are common descendants of Bibi Matto from her Turkish husband Hussain Shah.The major tribes of Afghans named above, it must have been noted, should be of Turkish origin as they are descended from the Turkish prince Hussain Shah who married the Afghan girl Matto, daughter of Batan and grand-daughter of Qais Abdur Rashid. Thus, according to their own accounts there would be two groups of Afghans, one of Jewish (Semitic) origin and the other of Turkish origin. There is a third group of Afghans called Hazaras living in the Hazarajat areas of Afghanistan. They are said to be descended from the remnants of the Mongol armies which had come along with Changez Khan or during later Mongol inroads. The origin of the Hazara Afghans, as such, is Mongol.
khattaks
khattak is a Pashtun tribe. Khattak tribe is concentrated in North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan on the left side of the Attock river. The Khattak is a Pashtun tribe whose recorded history indicates that they originated in the area around ghazni and logar province. The largest of the tribe's population is now situated in Cherat, which hosts a Special Service Group military outpost in the NWFP. Speaking a variant of the Kandahari pashtu, their appearance belies an origin akin to the old pawindah type Earliest records show their migration from around modern day Bannu northwards towards modern day Kohat, Karak and Nowshera[citation needed]. A warrior poet by the name of Khushal Khan Khattak (1613-1690) belonged to this tribe, and his contributions to Pushto literature are considered as classic texts. They have been translated into numerous languages. The Khattaks have high literacy rate in comparison to other Pashtun tribes having achieved positions of influence throughout history.DemographicsA significant majority of the Khattak now reside in developed countries such as Malaysia, UAE, Japan, USA, Dubai but the largest contingency resides in the Britain. In particular the regions of Birmingham, London, Manchester and Aylesbury. Khattaks are known to be vey successful and wealthy in relation to other tribes. They use this wealth to invest luxurious homes back in the NWFP. Consequently, the region of Cherat and particularly Saleh Khana not surprisingly has one of the highest costs of land in the whole of Pakistan and is known as 'little Britain'. KOHAT, a town and district of Pakistan, in the Peshawar division of the North-West Frontier Province. The town is 37 m. south of Peshawar by the Kohat Pass, along which a military road was opened in 1901. The population in 1901 was 30,762, including 12,670 in the cantonment, which is garrisoned by artillery., cavalry and infantry. In the Tirah campaign of 1S9798 Kohat was the starting-point of Sir William Lockharts expedition against the Orakzais and Afridis. It is the military base for the southern Afridi frontier as Peshawar is for the northern frontier of the same tribe, and it lies in the heart of the Pathan country. - The DISTRICT OF KOHAT has an area of 2973 sq. m. It consists chiefly of a bare and intricate mountain region east of the Indus, deeply scored with river valleys and ravines, but enclosing a few scattered patches of cultivated lowland. The eastern or Khattak country especially comprises a perfect labyrinth of ranges, which fall, however,-into two principaigroups, to the north and south of the Ten Toi river. The Miranzai valley, in the extreme west, appears by comparison a rich and fertile tract. In its small but carefully tilled glens, the plane, palm, fig and many orchard trees flourish luxuriantly; while a brushwood of wild olive, mimosa and other thorny bushes clothes the rugged ravines upon the upper slopes. Occasional grassy glades upon their sides form favorite pasture grounds for the Waziri tribes. The Ten Toi, rising on the eastern limit of Upper Miranzai, runs due eastward to the Indus, which it joins I 2 m. N. of Makhad, dividing the district into two main portions. The drainage from the northern half flows southward into the Ten Toi itself, and northward into the parallel stream of the Kohat Toi. That of the southern tract falls northwards also into the Ten Toi, and southwards towards the Kurram and the Indus. The frontier mountains, continuations of the Safed Koh system, attain in places a considerable elevation, the two principal peaks, Dupa Sir and Mazi Garh, just beyond the British frontier, being 8260 and 7940 ft. above the sea respectively. The waziri hills, on the south, extend like a wedge between the boundaries of Bannu and Kohat, with a general elevation of less than 4000 ft. The salt-mines are situated in the low line of hills crossing the valley of the Ten Toi, and extending along both banks of that river. The deposit has a width of a quarter of a mile, with a thickness of Iooo ft.; it sometimes forms hills 200 ft. in height, almost entirely composed of solid rock-salt, and may probably rank as one of the largest veins of its kind in the world. The most extensive exposure occurs at Bahadur Khel, on the south bank of the Ten Toi. The annual output is about 16,000 tons, yielding a revenue of ~4o,ooo. Petroleum springs exude from a rock at Panoba, 23 m. east of Kohat; and sulphur abounds in the northern range. In 1901 the population was 217,865, showing an iiicrease of II % in the decade. The frontier tribes on the Kohat border are the Afridis, Orakzais, Zaimukhts and Turis. All these a-re described under their separate names. A railway runs from Kushalgarh through Kohat to Thal, and the river Indus has been bridged at Kushalgarh. - The Khattak sub tribes are: - *Seni Khattak(Kohat) - *Barak Khattak(Karak) - *Akorkhel Khattak(Noshera,Kohat: Gumbat, Lachi,Teri and Peshawar) - *Mungikhel Khattak(Shakar Dara) - *Mattukhel Khattak (Shakar Darra) - *Saghri Khattak (Attock)
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