The Barakzai dynasty ("Sons of Barak"), also known as the Muhammadzai dynasty ("the ruling sub-clan of the Barakzai"),[1] [2] [3] [4] 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 Sardar Mohammad Daoud Khan. The Barakzai dynasty was established by Dost Mohammad Khan after the Durrani dynasty of Ahmad Shah Durrani was removed from power. As the Pahlavi era in Iran, the Muhammadzai era was known for its progressivist modernity, practice of Sufism, peaceful security and neutrality, in which Afghanistan was referred to as the "Switzerland of Asia".[5]
The Barakzai claim descent from the children of Israel in a direct line through the first Israeli King Saul, whose family intermarried with the family of his successor King David.[6] [7] King Saul's 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.[8] [9] However Prince Afghana sought refuge in a place called "Takht-e-Sulaiman", where he settled as Exil Arch.[10] 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 Medinah. 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.[11] [12] [13]
Qais Abdur Rashid's descendant Sulaiman, also known as "Zirak Khan" is regarded as the forefather of the Durrani Pashtuns 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".[14]
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.[15]
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.[16]
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.[17]
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 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.
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.[18]
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 Coup led by Habibullah Kalakani. With support from the royal family, the Telai cadet branch killed Kalakani and re-established the second Barakzai Kingdom.
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 (Yahya-Khel) to whom Nadir Shah and Zahir Shah belonged were closely related to Amanullah Khan through marriages.[19] 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 Mir Muhammad Jan Khel and chose the surname Dakik (Persian for "Exact") after the Saur Revolution. Next to the title Sultan (above Sardar/Prince but below Shah/King),[20] they also bear the title Mir and Sayyid to denote their descent to Muhammad through General Mir Muhammad Jan.[21] [22]
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. His son Assadullah, whose nickname was "Sharza" became a general in the US Air Force, representing Telai interests in Washington DC.[21] [22]
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.[21] [22]
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.[23]
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[24] [25] and brother to Muhammad of the Mohammadzai. The Shaghasi's were even more powerful than the Mohammadzai's during the ruling of Emir Sher Ali Khan - Emir of Afghanistan, and Emir Amanullah Khan - Emir of Afghanistan (February 28, 1919 – 1926), later King of Afghanistan (1926 - January 14, 1929). Prominent Afghan historian, Abdul Hai Habibi denotes that during King Amanullah Khan's reign, the former governor of Kabul was Mahmoud Khan Yawar and the later one was Ali Ahmad Khan (both Shaghasi) Barakzai. Abdul Aziz Khan (later Minister of war, and Prime Minister, Mohammad Sarwar Khan and Abdul Karim Khan were Naib -ul- Hukuma's (all of them were Shaghasi) Barakzai. In Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat Abdul Karim and Mohammad Ibrahim Khan (later Minister) were also Khan Naib -ul- Hukuma's, and Abdul Rahman and Nik Mohammad Khan were Firqa Meshar (all of them were Shaghasi) Barakzai. Abdul Karim Khan in Paktya, and Dost Mahammad Khan Nazim (later Naib Salar, Sipah
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.[26] To the Shaghasi Khel is related King Amanullah Khan's mother Queen Sarwar Sultana Begum, Siraj ul-Khwatin, the Aliya Hazrat (b. at Kabul, 1875; d. at Istanbul, Turkey, 1965), eldest daughter of Loinab Sher Dil Khan Shaghasi, by his third wife, Benazir Begum, a lady form the Popalzai clan.[27]
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.[28]
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)
The principal language of the Barakzai is Pashto. Formerly, Persian 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 or Saraiki in Multan, Hindko in Hazara, Urdu in Bhopal and Sindhi in Sindh. Barakzai, a dialect of Pashto, is the language spoken by Harnai Barakzai.[29] [30]
The Barakzai are adherents to the Sunni Sufi branch of Islam, following mostly the Hanafi school of Jurispudence and Maturidi school of theology. 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.[31] Some Barakzai including the Mir Muhammad Jan Khel sub-cadet branch of the Telai (known by the surname Dakik) are Islamic Scholars following the Hanbali school of jurispudence and Athari school of Theology.[32] The Mir Muhammad Jan Khel are venerated as successors (Emir/Mir) of their ancestor Muhammad's family (Ahlul-Bayt) according to the Sayyid ul Sadatiyya Line of Imamate with a significant international fellowship.[33]
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:[34]
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.
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 them as politically motivated in the first line. Abdur Rahman Khan's Chief Justice and Naqib al Ashraf Sayyid Mir Fazlullah Agha (father of Sayyid Mir Muhammad Jan) contributed essentially to the definition of the conservative ratio legis of the Emirate of Afghanistan, that was later adopted in the Kingdom. Sayyid Mir Fazlullah Agha was especially supsicious towards Fundamentalist Shiite Movements, whom he regarded as fundamentalist proxies of the Shiite 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.[35] Under Prince Daoud Khan's regime, Fundamentalists were regarded as political enemies of the regime, being suppressed next to Communists.
After the fall of the Taliban in the year 2001, negotiations about the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Afghanistan were held, including negotiations about the re-installation of His Majesty Zahir Shah as Shah. However, pressure from the side of Ethnic 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.[36] [37]
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.[38] [39]
After the Fall of Kabul in 2021 Prince Raphael Dakik of the Mir Muhammad Jan-Khel of the Telai cadet branch, assessed the re-establishment of the Barakzai Dynasty through lobbyistical measures in an experiment called "Royal Afghan Government in Exile" (RAGE). Next to Swiss 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.[40] [41]
Envoys of Prince Raphael's Project Afghan Royal Government in Exile (ARGE) 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 yet accredited as an official government by Liechtenstein's foreign ministry in order to avoid international clashes of interest.[42]