History of the Sarwani tribe

Sarwani Pashtuns (corrupted into 'Sherwani' in India) are descendants of Sarwanaey, son of Shah Hussain Ghori, by his second wife Bibi Mahi who was daughter of a servant of Shaikh Batan. Descendants of Sarwanaey were brought up by Bibi Mato and are also grouped under the general name of Mati tribes.

Out of Shah Hussain's descendants, the Sarwanis were the first to leave their original home.  They are said to have taken possession of Darabhan and surrounding areas (in present-day Dera Ismail Khan, KP), soon after the time of Shahabuddin Ghori. The ancient Darabhan has been deserted, the present town of that name having built on a different site. Its northern gate was named after its founder Shaikh Mali Qatal Sarwani of Sari-pal section that was, till recently, referred to as Shaikh Qatal Sarwani gate.

A feud with the Sur tribe was the cause of Sarwani decadence and made them unable to withstand the inroads of more energetic neighbors. It is said that a Sur from Rohri eloped with a girl of his clan and took refuge with the neighboring Sarwanis of Darabhan. Sarwanis demanded handing over of the culprit. The Sarwani jirga, following the tenets of Pashtunwali, refused the demand and instead offered five maidens from Sarwani tribe to the relations of the girl. This offer was refused by Suri men who repeated their demand and prepared to enforce it. Roused to indignation the Sarwani also flew to arms, and the opposing forces met at old Darabhan. The fight was very fierce, and not until most of the young men on both sides were killed, did the remaining few desist from mutual slaughter, to collect the thousands of the slain and dispose of them in shallow, hastily made graves. 

In the reign of Humayun, Miyakhel and Bakhtiyar clans attacked the enfeebled Sarwani tribe, destroying and dispersing them, and taking their principal own Darabhan. Most of the survivors made their way to Maler Kotla (East Punjab, India), the ruler of which was a fellow clansman. Many of the Sarwanis had earlier moved to Hind and made their name as powerful mercenary groups. The tribe may say to have been extinct in Afghanistan/Pakhtunkhwa.

The Sarwanis consisted of 52 or 104 'Khels' or minor sub-divisions and though possibly they may have visited India before the Tughlaq Sultans of Delhi, but the first Sarwani of note, about whom we hear , was Malik Qabul Khan, Governor of Badoan, during the reign of Feruz Shah Tughlaq, and later on, about the end of Tughlaq dynasty, we find that Malik Yousuf Sarwani was included as a commander in the army of Tamurlang that overran India up to the Gangetic plain. Powerful and influential Sarwani chiefs were in the service of Lodi sultans and later, that of Sur sultans.

Known Sarwani nobles of the Lodi empire

→ Sikandar Khan Sarwani

→ Umar Khan Sarwani (entitled Khan-i-Azam)

→ Ibrahim Khan Sarwani

→ Babu Khan Sarwani

→ Saif Khan Sarwani

→ Ahmad Khan Sarwani (entitled of Azam Humayun , rank of 45,000 sawars, 700 elephants)

→ Fateh Khan Sarwani ( rank of 10,000 sawars)

→ Daud Khan alias Rao Khan Sarwani

→ Haibat Khan Sarwani

→ Said Khan Sarwani

→ Muhammad Khan Sarwani

→ Darya Khan Sarwani

→ Firoz Khan Sarwani (rank of 6,000 sawars)

→ Isa Khan Sarwani

→ Islam Khan Sarwani (rank of 40,000 sawars and 500 elephants)

→Jamal Khan son of Khaira Sarwani (governor at the fort of Budaun , 1495-96)

→ Qutb Khan Sarwani

→ Dilawar Khan Sarvani

Sarwani nobles of Sur empire

→ Isa Khan Sarwani (entitled Masnad-i Ali)

→ Muzaffar Khan Sarwani (entitled Khan-i-Azam)

→ Said Khan Sarwani

→ Shaikh Muhammad Sarwani

→ Saif Khan Acha Khel Sarwani

→ Shahbaz Khan Acha Khel Sarwani

→ Ibrahim Khan Sarwani (entitled Sarmast Khan)

→ Bijli Khan Sarwani

→ Ayub Kakbur Sarwani

→ Muhammad Kakbur Sarwani

→ Darya Khan Sarwani

Khwaja Khizr Sarwani

Mausoleum of Khwaja Khizr Sarwani (Sonipat, Haryana, India)

 

Mausoleum of Khwaja Khizr Sarwani (Sonipat, Haryana, India)

According to a Persian inscription on the site, Khwaja Khizr was the son of Darya Khan Sarwani. Darya Khan himself was an influential noble in the court of Sikandar Lodi. Work commenced on the tomb in 1522 and was completed by 1524 by Ibrahim Lodi.

Shaikh Sadar-ud-Din Sarwani

Shaikh Sadar-ud-Din, commonly known as Sadar Jahan, fourteenth in descent from common ancestor Sarwani, was of devout life and pious practices. Leaving his native Darahban, he set out for a journey through Hindustan, and having reached what is now Maler, built himself a hut on the banks of a tributary of the Sutlej, and there became absorbed in religious practices and meditations. In view of his piety, Bahlol gave him his daughter in marriage and bestowed on her 12 large and 55 small villages which formed the nucleus of Malerkotla state. The Shaikh afterwards also married a Rajput maiden. Shaikh Sadr-ud-Din died in 1515 A.D, and was buried in the midst of Maler, where his grave is still resorted to by high and low. His children by the Afghan princess became the guardians of his shrine while his children by Indian wife succeeded to his rank and jagir.

Afghans of Malerkotla, c.1830-1840. British Library. Photo courtesy: Farrukh Husain

 

Afghans of Malerkotla, c.1830-1840. British Library. Photo courtesy: Farrukh Husain

Aligarh Fort

Aligarh Fort (Uttar Pradesh, India). The fort was built by Muhammad Khan Sarwani son of Umar Khan Sarwani (Sarwani is a Pashtun tribe), Ibrahim Lodi's governor of Kol (Aligarh). Muhammad Khan Sarwani hastily constructed and completed fort in 1525. We do not know what happened to Muhammad Khan Sarwani after battle of Panipat. The inscription in the fort says: -

"At first i said: —' Praise be to God, who has created Mustafa (the prophet).' 

I then wrote several verses on account of the fort. I shall not remain, a monument (of me) shall remain. 

A strong fort, a firm foundation, completed in the reign of my king, 

Whose name is Ibrahim [son of] Sikandar, who bestows silver and gold on beggars. 

During the shiakdari of Muhammad, son of Umar, when Shihab, son of Munawwar, was councillor. 

He has suffered much hardship on account of the building, and raised the structure, in a short time. 

It was in 931 H (1525). when the fort was completed. 

May I, a helpless man, whose name is Ahmad, find on the day of resurrection the shadow oi Ahmad (the prophet)." [Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1872, p-167]

 Aligarh fort built by Muhammad Khan Sarwani

Lineage tree of Sarwani tribe

 

References:

1- Muhammad Hayat Khan,"Hayat-i-Afghani", p-302.
2- Muhammad Abbas Khan Sarwani, 'Proceedings of the Indian history congress", 1943, p-392-95
3- Haroon Rashid, "History of the Pathans", Vol-III, pp-390-393.
3- Rita Joshi, ''Afghan nobility and the Mughals", p-92 , p-99
4- Abdul Halim, History of the Lodi sultans of Delhi and Agra

Abdali or Durrani tribe

Abdal or Awdal, son of Tarin, is the progenitor of the Abdali tribe. They are known by the name of Durrani since the reign of Ahmad Shah Durrani. Tradition claims that Abdal bore this surname because he had been in the service of one of the abdal, who represent the fifth degree in the hierarchy of Sufi saints.

The Abdali has two main divisions: (a) The Zirak, who, especially in the region of Qandahar, include the clans of the Popalzai, the Alikozai, the Barakzai, and the Achakzai. (b) The Panjpai, which include the Nurzai, the Alizai and the Ishaqzai or Sakzai, reside for the most part in the west of the country (Helmand, Farah, Sistan and Herat).

Seyyeed Khan, a Dooraunee Patan, a merchant of Candahar. circa 1816-20, an illustration from the Fraser Album, Company School, Delhi or Haryana.

A Durrani shepherd, 1815. A Plate from Mountstuart Elphinstone's book "An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, and Its Dependencies in Persia, Tartary, and India: Comprising a View of the Afghaun Nation, and a History of the Dooraunee Monarchy"

A Durrani shepherd, 1815. A Plate from Mountstuart Elphinstone's book

nMoolah Seyed Oollah, a Dooraunee Patan, a horse merchant of Caubul, circa 1816-20, an illustration from the Fraser Album, Company School, Delhi or Haryana.

Muhammad Gul Durrani , a zamindar of Jalalabad, 1878. Sketch by William Simpson

A Durrani Pashtun, Kabul, 1868. From Watson and Kaye collection

Ahmad Shah Abdali, ca.1840 (made).Place of origin : Punjab. Inscribed in Persian : "Picture of Ahmad Shah King of Turan". Victoria and Albert Museum

The travel of an Ottoman admiral through Pakhtunkhwa in 16th century

In 1556 AD Seydi Ali Reis, an Ottoman Admiral, travelled through the Khyber Pass and saw two rhinos there.

In his book "Mirat ul Mamalik", Seydi Ali Reis writes : "After crossing the rivers Khushab and Nilab (Indus) in ships, I set foot upon the shore of Bakhtar (Kabulistan). In the beginning of the month Jumada al-Awwal we left the river Nilab and turned toward Kabul. For fear of the Afghans (Pashtuns) under Adam Khan, we made a quick march through the night, and at daybreak we arrived at the foot of the mountain. So far the Afghans had not seen us, but by the time we had reached the top there were thousands of them gathered together. We seized our guns, and with God's help managed to get out of their way, and came to the town of Pershuer, i.e., Peshawer. Soon after, we crossed the Khaiber Pass, and reached Djushai (?). In the mountains we saw two rhinoceroses (Kerkedans), each the size of a small elephant; they have a horn on their nose about two inches long. In Abyssinia these animals are much more plentiful." 

Seydi Ali Reis describes Kabul city as follow : "we entered Kabulistan and its capital, Kabul. Here I visited the two sons of Humayun, Mohammad Hakim Mirza and Farrukh Fal Mirza; I also saw Munim Khan, and after presenting the ferman from Humayun, I was treated with much honour. Kabul itself is a beautiful city, surrounded by mountains covered with snow, and pleasure-gardens with running brooks. Pleasure and merriment prevailed everywhere, feasting and banqueting were the order of the day. In every corner were gaily dressed, slender Lulis enticing one with music and song to join the merry crowd; the populace, in fact, seemed to have no thought for anything but for pleasure and enjoyment.

 "Who would long for Huris and the Paradise, whose good fortune has brought him amongst the Lulis of Kabul?" 

Translator's footnote: "Luli is, in Central Asia, the name given to the Gipsies, to which tribe the dancing and singing damsels and the prostitutes generally belonged. This used also to be the case in Turkey". 

Source: "The Travels and Adventures of the Turkish Admiral Sidi Ali Reïs", translated into English by A.Vambery. 

A 16th century painting showing Mughal emperor Babur hunting rhinos near Bagram (Peshawar). His son Humayun also hunted rhinos in the present-day Nowshera district.

Indian Rhino

Khyber Pass

Marathas neither captured Peshawar nor Attock fort

The Maratha adventure in Punjab has been acclaimed by some historians as "carrying the Hindu paramountcy up to Attock. It is doubtful if the Maratha army actually advanced as far as Attock, and the collection of revenue in the Trans-Chenab was purely a temporary affair. Most of the historians including Sir Jadunath Sarkar were of opinion that the Marathas did not pursue the retiring Afghans beyond the river Chenab. G. S. Sardesai also questions it. It was emphatically refuted by Khare G. H. and Shejwalkar T. S., two well-known Maratha historians.

 Muhammad Ali Ansari of Panipat in his history entitled Tarikh-e-Muzaffari , states: "Some Maratha chiefs ran in pursuit up to the river Jehlam and then returned". .

Although on Wikipedia, Battle of Peshwar 1758 is mentioned with claim that Marathas captured Peshawar and pursued Afghans beyond Khyber pass. Its fake history, no such battle happened in actual history. 

Afghan nobility of Sayyid Sultans of Delhi

After the death of Mahmud Tughlaq, the empire of Delhi fell into the hands of the Sayyids , a dynasty founded by Khizr Khan. The author of Tarikh Mubarik Shahi trace the family of Khizr Khan to that of the Prophet Muhammad but according to Muntakhab al-Lubab, Khizr Khan was an Afghan.

"He, Khizr Khan, was by origin and by the names of his ancestors an Afghan, as is apparent by the title Malik ; but after he came to the throne of Dehli, the historians of his reign, upon very weak proofs, applied to him in a loose way the title of Saiyid. " [Muntakhab-ul-Lubab. Elliot and Dowson, Vol. VII, p. 405]

The political ascension of Afghans in northern India begins from the times of the Sayyid rulers of Delhi. From 1414 to 1451 many Afghans held important shiqs and iqtas in the sultanate of Delhi. The iqtadars and shiqdars enjoyed the traditional right of enrolling their own armies. The Afghan officers of Punjab close to their homeland, must have continuously increased the numerical strength of their armies with their kinsmen. Many important forts of the Panjab province were held by Afghans.

As early as 1417 AD, Khizr Khan assigned the territory of Sirhind to Malik Shah Bahram Lodi, afterwards known as Islam Khan. He had under him 12,000 Afghan soldiers. He was succeeded by his nephew as the muqta of Sirhind. Malik Sulaiman Lodi enjoyed a good status in Multan where he was killed fighting against Shaikh 'Ali, a Mughal invader of Kabul in 1418 A. D. The extensive iqta of Rapri was held by Hussain Khan Afghan who was succeeded by his son Qutub Khan Afghan, during the reign of Sultan Mubarak Shah. In 1432 AD another Afghan , Malik Allahdad Lodi , was assigned Tarbindah, but soon he was driven away from there by Jasrath Khokar. After some time he was assigned the extensive iqta of Sambhal, loyal to the throne, he turned hostile towards Sarwar-ul-Mulk who had brought about the murder of Sultan Mubarak Shah in 1434 AD. Shortly after, he succeeded in destroying Sarwar-ul-Mulk and his party. The new Sultan Mahmud Shah wished to extend favour to him but he refused to accept any title. However the Sultan honored his younger brother with the title of Darya Khan. (Rita Joshi, The Afghan nobility and the Mughals, p-27)

Tomb of Muhammad Shah